The season of holiday cheer and festive gifting has descended upon us like a feathered flurry of ravenous harpies.  Their joyful talons outstretched, poised to tear seasonal revellers into decorative ribbons of mirth and merriment.

If you love the holiday season as much as I do, you’re probably spending most of your time these days agonizing over what gifts to buy whom this year. Particularly those comic book fans that are always oh-so-hard to shop for – you know the ones, that sister with an obsessive webcomic fixation, or that husband that can’t be torn away from his DC and/or Marvel monthlies.

Well stress no longer, gentle reader. For The Fabler Blog has once again provided a list of gift ideas for comic book fans.

Actually, a lot of these gift ideas would  apply just as well to anyone on your holiday buying list, whether they consider themselves to be existing comic fans or otherwise.  These are gifts for anyone (that just happen to tie into comics in one way or another).

Most items on the list fall into a price range of around $15 – $40, with only a couple of notable exceptions.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Holiday Cards at Topatoco

The first item on the list isn’t technically a gift item, but I’m including it anyway.  Reason being, because Topatoco is awesome and holiday cards are the best presents for friends that don’t quite make your “willing to spend more than 5 dollars on” list but you still want to know you don’t quite hate them.

This year’s holiday card selection includes designs from Hijinks Ensue, Sam & Fuzzy, Exploding Dog, Bad Decision Dinosaur, and the always fabulous Brandon Bird. One set will set you back $15.

Machine of Death

What if all of your favorite webcomic writers and illustrators came together to produce a ‘Creative-Commons-licensed fiction anthology’ of short stories about a machine that could tell people how they are going to die? This hypothetical self-published collection of sci-fi tales would (naturally) be edited by Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics, and within its pages would be something so sinister… so dripping with insidiously evil energy, that even Glenn Beck would be forced to take note.

Blow your friends’ minds with the revelation that this book exists. Blowing may be initiated at Amazon or Topatoco for the meagre sum of around $18.

Questionable Content Vol 1

I can’t get enough Questionable Content. Seriously. Jeph Jacques lays down clever wit and believable character-driven stories of everyday life like Flava Flav drops borderline intelligible hype chants about being awesome. That is to say, he does it well. Scarily well.

Despite QC’s status as a long-running webcomic (of roughly seven years), Jacques only just recently released his first print collection of the strips with Questionable Content Vol 1. The book contains the first 300 comics, minus guest strips, and includes artist commentary.

A perfect gift for anyone interested in closely scrutinizing the personal lives of a circle of directionless, indie-music-loving friends as they crack jokes, get drunk, and consume lattes. $18  plus shipping.

Speaking of shipping, all of the items mentioned so far are available from Topatoco and are subject to their Holiday shipping deadlines. Check their site to find out how much longer you can put off your online Holiday shopping.

The Abominable Charles Christopher -  Book One

If spying into the love lives of infallibly clever indie rock kids falls outside of your giftee’s realm of interest, maybe they’ll be interested in following these exceptionally well-drawn adventures of a loveable, yeti-like beast.

Karl Kerschl’s ongoing masterpiece The Abominable Charles Christopher (his contribution to the Transmission X stable of webcomics) is one of the most highly-lauded internet comic strips out there.  And for good reason. It’s hard to put the innate charm of ACC into words, so instead I’ll recommend you pop on over to the site and read through a few strips yourself.

The Abominable Charles Christopher – Book  One is a prestige hardcover book collecting all of the comics from the first two years of the series. You can pick the regular edition up over at the TX Shop for $40.

Tangles

As if I haven’t gone on about Tangles enough, I will endeavour one more time to relate the sheer emotional power contained in this book about a daughter and her Mom’s struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

The author, Sarah Leavitt, wrote and illustrated this graphic memoir as a personal look into the ways in which her relationship with her Mother changed after the latter was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  Alternatingly heart-wrenching and quirkily charming, I think that Tangles has perhaps the broadest appeal of any item on this list.

Available from Freehand Books for $23.95 US/CDN.

Two Generals

Have an estranged Uncle interested in Canadian WW2 history? A second cousin who likes adventure comic books that double as immaculately-researched period pieces? Or maybe you just know someone that appreciates good art, a good story, and a solid helping of Canadiana.

If any of the above are true, you may be interested in purchasing a copy of Scott Chantler’s graphic novel Two Generals for someone on your gift list. Ostensibly about Scott’s real-life grandfather Law Chantler as per the entries found in his WW2 war diary, Two Generals is really a story about friendship in the face of the uncompromising realities of war.

Two Generals can be purchased for $17.55 CDN on Amazon.ca.

Bigfoot

The latest graphic novel from Quebec-based illustrator Pascal Girard, Bigfoot is, according to publisher Drawn And Quarterly,  “a reflection on youth and budding romantic feelings”.  Drawn with wonderfully expressive simplicity, Bigfoot is the story of an average small-town teenager who finds unwanted internet fame when a youTube video of him dancing in his living room goes viral.

My recommendation of this book, which just released on December 7th, is based largely on Girard’s previous graphic novel, Nicolas. Nicolas is about Girard’s younger brother, who passed away when they were both very small. It really highlighted Pascal’s ability to capture readers through nostalgically relatable dialogue and simple-but-lively linework.

If Bigfoot can tell a story that’s even half as poignant as Nicolas, this D+Q graphic novel is one worth having. Consider it for the indie comic collector on your list, available for $20.95 CDN from Amazon.

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Box Set

Here’s where we segue into gifts that might gel better with more ‘mainstream’ comic fans. Beginning with – naturally – the box set of Scott Pilgrim Books by Ontario-based writer and artist Bryan Lee O’Malley.

I would wager ten solid hypothetical dollars that you know someone who loved the Michael Cera film, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, but has yet to read any of the comics on which the script was based. This is your opportunity to educate that person on what they’re missing out on.

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Box Set, collecting all six volumes of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s epic tale of a slacker versus the seven evil ex-boyfriends of the girl of his dreams, can be found on Amazon.ca for $56.70 CDN.

Sweet Tooth Vol 2: In Captivity

Though you’ll have to postpone your gift-buying until December 14th to pick up this title, it will most definitely be worth the wait.

The second collected Trade Paperback of Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth saga, Sweet Tooth Vol 2: In Captivity, collects issues 6 to 11 of the post-apocalyptic tale about animal/human hybrids and an unlikely source of hope in a bleak world.

Sweet Tooth nabbed Lemire an Eisner nomination for Best New Series, a distinction well-earned for his uniquely expressive, distinct style of drawing and tense, gripping storyline.

Vol 2 of the Sweet Tooth saga may be procured at your local comic shop for around $14.99.

North 40 Trade Paperback

Another relatively new must-have trade paperback is the fantastically illustrated Cthuluean adventure, North 40. Written by Aaron Williams and illustrated by fellow Calgarian Fiona Staples, the collected run spanned six issues of Lovecraftian mayhem centering around a rural Midwestern  town.

The collected edition dropped on Nov 10, and I can attest that it makes a swell addition to any horror comic enthusiast’s collection. Williams writes a mean Midwestern narrative of tentacles, witchcraft, and surly small-town Sheriffs, but Staples really cements the viability of North 40 as a holiday gift bursting with awesome.

Her ability to render a wide selection of horrific monstrosities in varying situations involving mutilation, blood-sucking, and general ultraviolence goes uncontested.

The North 40 Trade Paperback can more than likely be obtained at a local comic retailer for somewhere in the neighbourhood of $17.99.

The Walking Dead Vol 13

You may have heard about this show that’s getting a little bit of attention on obscure blogs and irrelevant news sites. It’s about zombies, see, but it’s really big budget and it’s actually based on this really exceptional comic series… wait, you already know about this?

Maybe I’m not making any revolutionary statements by suggesting that you check out Robert Kirkman’s zombie epic The Walking Dead, now a critically acclaimed television series on AMC. But hey, if you have a horror comic fan on your list that keeps halfway abreast of current titles, chances are they have already read at least some of The Walking Dead comic series.

Volume 13: Too Far Gone, which collects issues 73-78, released on November 26th. This close to the Holidays, there’s a good chance that any current Kirkman readers may have put off purchasing the book in case someone close to them with a strong intuition towards comic gifts were to consider picking it up.

You could be that person of strong intuition. Seize the power today, live up to your potential as an ideal gift-giver, and buy Volume 13 of The Walking Dead for approximately $14.99 at your local comic shop.

The Green Lantern Omnibus Vol. 1

It wouldn’t really be a gift guide for comic fans if I didn’t include at least one obligatory product for each of the respective  DC/Marvel  fans on your list.

Green Lantern may be at the centre of the current DC hype machine on account of the pending feature film starring People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, but the character’s appeal to long-time comic fans goes waaay back. So far back, in fact, that DC decided an Omnibus collecting the original Lantern Hal Jordan’s first adventures would be useful/neat/relevant to fans of the character.

This first Green Lantern Omnibus collected Green Lantern issues 1-21, as well as Showcase # 22-24. The epic-sized hardcover tome covers Jordan’s origin story, his induction to the Lantern corps, and the introduction of a host of characters and villains seminal to the Lantern mythos.

This book is available for $55.18 CDN from Amazon.ca.

Obsessed With Marvel

You know, there are countless DC and Marvel collected trades out there that would make perfect gifts for many of the comic book fans out there. Necessary trades, like collections from Ed Brubaker’s run on Captain America, or Grant Morrison’s superb take on the Batman & Robin title. Both the Green Lantern Omnibus and this last gift entry, Obsessed With Marvel, are less ‘necessary’ books and more companion novelty items that compliment any comic fan’s collection.

The good news there being that, unless you’re shopping for a completionist collector, they may be less likely to own either of these products.

Obsessed With Marvel is a Hardcover trivia book with an interactive digital component that keeps track of your quiz results.  Boasting 2,500 questions spanning every corner of the Marvel Universe, I can’t see this getting old anytime soon. Check it out over on Amazon.com, where it currently sports a modest $19.77 USD price tag.

- Written by Kevin de Vlaming

From the somber reimagining of an H.G. Wells classic to post-apocalyptic landscapes roamed by human/animal hybrids, nobody could fault Ontario artist Jeff Lemire for a lack of creativity.

The wildly talented Lemire has built a name for himself in Canadian comic books as both a compelling storyteller and a uniquely expressive cartoonist. His Essex County Trilogy, a collection of volumes exploring the layered depths of humanity in small town Ontario, earned him vast critical praise for its subtle, heartfelt writing and powerful imagery.

In addition to being nominated for one Harvey and two Eisner Awards, it won Jeff a Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist and a Doug Wright Award for Canadian Cartooning’s Best Emerging Talent.

Jeff now has his sights set on reaching new audiences through DC’s Vertigo Comics, with an original graphic novel due out in July and his own monthly ongoing title beginning in September.

The Nobody, Jeff’s OGN, is a modern reinterpretation of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. Set in a small rural town largely influenced by a Northern Ontario locale Jeff visited as a child, The Nobody explores themes of isolation, loneliness, and the darker side of small town life.

Lemire’s monthly series, which debuts its first issue in September with a promotional price tag of $1 US, is titled ‘Sweet Tooth’. The official Vertigo description of the title is below:

After being raised in total isolation, Gus – a boy born with deer-like antlers – is left to survive in an American landscape devastated a decade earlier by an inexplicable pandemic. Even more remarkable is that Gus is part of a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid children who have emerged in its wake, all apparently immune to the infection.

Jeff managed to make some time in his hectic schedule to answer a few questions for the Fabler. He talks about The Nobody, Sweet Tooth, and the influence of Canadian landscapes and David Lynch on his work to date. The transcript is below.

KD: This is quite a busy summer for you. Between the release of your graphic novel The Nobody in July, the release of the Collected Essex County Trilogy in August, and your debut monthly title Sweet Tooth in September, that first sentence might actually be an understatement. Do you find yourself with any free time at all these days?

JL: You can add a new baby to that list as well, so no, I don’t have much free time, and very little sleep. But, at the same time, I’m doing exactly what I want to do with my life and I’m really happy, so there are no complaints.

KD: I’m going to start with a few questions about The Nobody, since it’s the first release you have coming up on the horizon.  I read an article in Newsarama where you said that you’ve been a Vertigo fan for a very long time. How did you wind up publishing your own original graphic novel through them?

JL: Well, I always loved Vertigo comics; they are probably what kept me reading comics through my late teens and early twenties when the superhero stuff at the time was just terrible. I pitched a couple of ideas to then Vertigo editor Bob Schreck, who I heard through a mutual friend, was a fan of my Essex County books. He loved The Nobody and the rest is history.

KD: From what I’ve read, The Nobody is described as a contemporary take on the Invisible Man, taking place in a small town in the Canadian North. The Essex County trilogy very notably had an emphasis on Canadian landscape and identity. Is there a specific reason you wanted to write another graphic novel highlighting a uniquely Canadian locale?

JL: Well, The Nobody is not specifically set in Canada, although a small northern Ontario town I use to visit as a child influenced it. I think that I am more interested in exploring small towns and rural life than specifically Canadian small towns. I just happen to draw from my own life and the places I know, and as a result, I guess that they end up saying something about the Canadian experience. And, I do feel a sense of pride in my country, and feel it has a rich and vast well of stories to draw from.

KD: In the past, you’ve listed David Lynch as a huge influence on your work. When you talk about how The Nobody explores the darker side of small town life, right away Twin Peaks came to mind. Was that particular work by Lynch an influence with The Nobody, or did your appreciation for Lynch’s artistic perspective have any other impact on it?

JL: Yes, in a big, big way. I even pay homage to the iconic shot of the stoplight swaying in the wind from Peaks and use it in The Nobody. I am a massive Twin Peaks fan, it is probably my favorite single piece of fiction created in any medium, and the setting and themes for The Nobody is no doubt my love letter to Twin Peaks and Lynch, whose entire body of work is very important to me as an artist and storyteller.

KD: What was it like for you to adjust to the change in tone from writing vol. 3 of Essex County to writing The Nobody? Was there anything else you did in between?

JL: I think The Nobody was a direct reaction to working on Essex County for three years. Those books also explored small town life, but in many ways were the flip side of The Nobody, they illustrate how family and rural communities can be drawn together despite guilt, tragedy and time. The Nobody was my reaction to that, I wanted to flip it on its head and do something darker and a little more genre based. Show the close-mindedness that can sometimes pull isolated communities apart.

KD: Moving on to Sweet Tooth… You’ve already given a pretty thorough summary of the concept before, so I won’t trouble you to give me a Coles Notes version of what it’s about. I would like to know, however; how did you first come up with the idea for the comic?

JL: I think it came from a number of different influences, as well as a few ideas that kept popping up in my sketchbooks in various forms over the years. I was really into Jack Kirby’s KAMANDI when I was developing the idea. I was thinking about the kind of version of that I would do if I were to pitch a revamp to Vertigo. That didn’t come to pass, but the ideas of the last boy on earth, animal hybrids etc obviously stuck with me. I am also a huge fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, from Mad Max and Tim Truman’s Scout to The Road, Walking Dead and Corben and Ellison’s Boy and His Dog.  Also when working on The Nobody I reread a bunch of H.G. Welles’ other work including The Island of Dr. Moreau. All of this boiled down into it, and I brought a bunch of myself into it too and somehow Sweet Tooth popped up.

KD: What are some of the themes you plan on exploring with the title?

JL: It’s about fathers and sons, it’s about redemption, it’s about family, and it’s about the friendships that can form in even the darkest of places, and it’s about holding onto hope in a hopeless world.

KD: How are you approaching the art differently for Sweet Tooth than with previous projects?

JL: I think my art has jumped a big notch in Sweet Tooth. It’s  become tighter, cleaner and more detailed, hopefully without losing any of the spontaneity and expressiveness of my previous work. And obviously, it will be color, so I have to think about that when I’m drawing as well, I can leave some things “open” whereas I would add more texture and linework in my black and white work.

The biggest adjustment was writing for 22-page installments, which meant I needed to develop much more economical ways of laying out pages and communicating my ideas. As you know, if you’ve read my previous work, I tend to pace my stories very slowly and really let the panels and scenes breath. When you’re doing a graphic novel, you can do this, but I needed to find other ways of telling stories, hopefully without losing whatever that quality is that makes my stories “mine”, if that makes sense. I think I’ve succeeded and am learning with each issue I work on. I am also trying to fit more and more into each issue, compress the ideas a bit more.

KD: Now that you’re committing to write and illustrate a monthly ongoing title, is that going to be the sole focus of your efforts for the next little while or do you have any plans for anything else in the works?

JL: Oh, yeah. I’m also working on a new, as yet to be announced graphic novel for Top Shelf. I also have a few short pieces due out in various anthologies including Dark Horse’s NOIR and Image’s OUTLAW TERRITORY 2.   There are also a couple of other DC and Vertigo projects which will probably be announced later this summer. Luckily I draw pretty fast!