Editorial: Gifts For The Holidays
By Jonathan Ellis

Well it's holiday time, while this last year hasn't provided as many sequential gems as we may have wanted to see, the holidays tend to get those creative gift giving juices flowing. So today I'm just going to run through a few suggestions of my own for those of you having trouble finding gifts for friends and loved ones.

Gifts for the Harry Potter, Buffy and Lemony Snicket fan:

Like you even have to guess right? Courtney Crumrin by Ted Naifeh from Oni Press. A perfect all ages title that is just an all around interesting read with lovely artwork. I think I was especially impressed with these books because Ted tends to push things further then I expected. Because when you read a book with an audience that includes young readers you tend to expect something suited for that younger audience but CC doesn't have those failings. I was impressed, not just because he pushes the darkness of the books, which is to be expected, but also the level of emotion and intelligence making it enjoyable whether you're 13 or 30.

The series follows Courtney, a young girl who's been dragged to a new home when her parents move in with Uncle Aloysius, a creepy old man who lives in a spooky mansion on a hill. Courtney not only has to deal with being the new kid in a school full of snobs but also discovers that there really are creatures who go bump in the night. There are currently three collections, 1: The Night Things, 2: The Coven Of Mystics and 3: The Twilight Kingdom.

Gifts for the brats:

What oh what to get for the young'ens? Scott Robins can do a far better job of recommending reading material for younger audiences then I can, though some titles may be obvious, books like Bone or Owly are natural choices for those kids who like to read. Tokyopop Cine-Manga titles are good as well but I'm going to go ahead and recommend something I've actually read myself, that being Michael Brennan's Electric Girl, currently available in trade format from AiT/PlanetLar Press. Electric Girl follows the character through different stages of her life, from childhood to teenager, dealing with life while trying to keep her powers under control, which proves difficult when your best friend is a trouble-making invisible gremlin named Oogleeoog. She is also joined by her adorable dog, Blammo. It really is an enjoyable read that was just waiting to turned into an animated series and best of all comes with a low cover price. So if you're buying a book for a young reader I'd pick this up before going with something featuring whichever current popular singer/actress/slut they may be into.

As for the Marvel Age digests... meh. Runaways I didn't find to be very inticing, as for the other titles I get the feeling they're trying to write specifically for a young audience and in doing so create the effect of writing down to the audience. Whereas the Justice League Adventures digest trades over at DC have more of an all ages audience appeal while remaining appropriate for children thus are more enjoyable and again, good pricing on the digests so you're certainly getting your value worth.

Gifts for your cute semi-goth girlfriend or the cute semi-goth girl you're just friends with but would like to become more then just her friend:

Assuming you've already got the standard Vasquez and Dirge books out of the way, and you've taken care of the Invader Zim DVD front, what's left? Well, you can't go wrong with a plush Gir toy. There are a lot of toys out there trying to commercialize on the goth market, but you need to mindful of the audience, for instance, many people would rather have a nicely sculpted Crow figure then a living dead doll - but you go with the Gir toy and you're covered on both the cool and cute front.

Speaking of commercializing, the amount of goth gear available can tend to get pretty ridiculous; purses, shot glasses, jewellery, etc. So what makes a good gift when you've got all these products to choose from? Sexy, original clothing. First up I recommend checking out the Sin Garden Store. Sin Garden is the erotic photography site brought to you by artist Chad Michael Ward and features gorgeous women paired with incredibly talented artists for the purpose of creating dark erotica.

Secondly, a little more intimate in the clothing department, I also recommend Heavy Red, who have a full range of gear from corsets to stockings to shirts and skirts for both women and men. Just a lot of great beautifully crafted outfits and an easy to use and helpful site with currency converters, sizing charts and if you catch them during the right hours, online assistance. Even gift certificates. An all around nice mix of the sexy and suggestive and the not-too-suggestive while still remaining sexy. Take a tour through their catalogue, you'll certainly find something interesting, like the corset tie.

Gifts for the politically minded who feel their beliefs aren't accurately defined by either the left or right wing:

Anything from the good people of Disinfo.com and you can't go wrong. Informative books and DVD's sure to enlighten even the most media savvy pundits. Personally I recommend the Disinformation Interviews book, which features just some of the most outrageously brilliant creative minds of today. Consuming all of these personalities under one cover is a certified mind fuck you're sure to enjoy.

On the graphic novel front, Channel Zero by Brian Wood remains an important work in the field. CZ features Jennie 2.5, media slut turned info-terrorist battling censorship and tyranny in an attempt to restore free will and self-expression. It's an excellent read and would make a nice gift for readers in the mid to late teenage years, mind you it's great for all mature audiences, but better they read it sooner rather then later.

For more action, we turn to Losers: Ante Up, the first trade collecting the series by Andy Diggle and Jock from Vertigo. Take away the political element and you've still got a hell of an action piece, take away the action and you've still got a mindful and well researched political piece. Together you get a bloody good read. The Losers follows a Black Ops military/espionage team thought dead by the world at large. Truth is they saw too much and someone wanted to take them out of the picture, they survived and moved underground, now they're back to clear their names and too get a little bit of payback. An enjoyable read and another book with a low cover price.

Gifts for the intelligent South Park viewer:

Thanks to magic man James H for turning me onto this series, Penn & Teller's Showtime series, Bullshit! You know how South Park tackles certain issues and public figures with satire and parody? Penn & Teller tackle many of the same issues but with investigative journalism, in essence, they call bullshit on much of the crap plaguing the world today and show the proof to back it up, including bottled water, alternative medicine, talking to the dead, Feng Shui and more. A brilliant series, worth owning. Coming in February will be season 2 and I tell you the entire set will be worth getting for the PETA show alone.

Gifts for the comic reader fairly new to the medium but who would prefer to experience more of what the medium has to offer:

So you have to buy for someone fairly new to comics, they haven't read a lot but they like what they've read and want to read more. Meaning you can buy them almost anything. Classics like Watchmen and Maus. Just about any book by Neil Gaiman from outside of comics. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. Introductory trades into whichever series you feel they might enjoy, usually something from Vertigo of course. Graphic novel gems like Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks or Same Difference and Other Stories by Derek Kirk Kim. Absolute collections or Marvel hardcovers. But if you really want a gem of a read try and get a hold of Cages by Dave McKean for a truly great gift and I stand by my position that I should never have to explain why 500 pages of Dave McKean is a good thing.

For those who can't afford to give original art as gifts but would like to give the next best thing:

Original art makes a great gift but can prove to be very expensive and you need to allow time for shipping so the sooner you get your order in the better. Luckily there are dealers like Splash Page Art who have special deals from time to time, for the month of December Splash Page Art is taking 20% OFF all interiors & 10% OFF all covers and painted pieces on art by Sean Phillips, Duncan Fegredo and Michael Lark. No, really. Makes you want to buy some for yourself doesn't it?

But if buying original art is still too expensive I suggest picking up the Sandman: Dust Covers collection, collecting the artwork from the covers of the entire 75 issues of Sandman, plus trades and other extras. It's just an absolutely beautiful collection of art. It'll have you engrossed for quite a while. Now if your potential gift receiver is an animation student there's plenty of books but I couldn't really tell you where to begin, though I suggest looking for foreign books rather then the North American commercial stuff. But if you're buying for someone with more art history leanings then I suggest picking up a collection of the works of Salvador Dali.

For those who usually give mix CD's as gifts but want to do something different:

Instead of making a mix CD this year, how about a custom made tee shirt. All you need is 1: A T-Shirt, 2: A Decent Printer, 3: Your Desired Image, 4: Iron On transfer paper and 5: An Iron. I recommend browsing the Retro Longue for desired images, any and everything your heart could desire. Or, another alternative to a mix CD, a mix DVD of some of your favourite programs. I recommend Samurai Champloo episodes.

Gifts that aren't really gifts but if you're like me you don't show up to a party empty handed:

Booze. I for one like to browse the vintages but I think the Watermelon Vodka is just begging to be bought.

Gifts for those with lovers who are considerate enough to shave or trim body hair in the appropriate places:

Mirror Of Love by Alan Moore and Jose Villarrubia, I'm just going to cut and paste the description from Top Shelf rather then explain it in a sentence:

"This masterpiece, an epic poem in prose, is a passionate love letter that beautifully recounts the history of same-sex love. Author Alan Moore takes us on a fascinating journey, from prehistory to the present, that reveals the hidden side of Western culture through the lives of its greatest creators. Sappho, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Oscar Wilde, and many others are woven into this rich, visceral piece described by The Comics Journal as a "vital, affecting piece of work ... exquisitely moving -- not because it's a testament to same-sex love, but because it's a testament to love, period." This edition presents the poem fully illustrated by José Villarrubia, who has previously collaborated with Moore on his award-winning series Promethea and his novel Voice of the Fire. It also features a foreword by novelist Robert Rodi and an introduction by OBIE Award-winning playwright David Drake, as well as an index of historical characters, a selection of classic poems quoted in the text, and a bibliography. The result is a truly arresting volume that captures the spirit of Moore's poem while redefining the concept of a picture book for adults."

BTW folks the $ 10 Top Shelf Holiday Season Gift Certificate expires Dec 12 so be sure to get your orders in. To redeem the gift certificate all you have to do is order $29.95 or more in merchandise at the Top Shelf Comix.com by December 12th (2004), and place the following line in the "Comments Section" when you're checking out:

$10 TOP SHELF GIFT CERTIFICATE (X10$121204X)

Be sure to browse the Top Shelf website for a full catalogue of available titles.

Gifts for the stereotypical 'Comic Book Guy':

Whores.

Jonathan Ellis is Co-Editor in Chief of PopImage


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