The
Fanboy Planet Gift Guide For 2006
Part 1: The Books
You're
here because you either are a fanboy or you know one. Quite
possibly you want to try and convert someone to your cause.
Whatever the case, we're committed here to steering you
towards some nifty items this holiday season that will achieve
your ends, nefarious or not.
Today
we start with the books, because for most of us, that's
where it started. Plus I'm organizing this by alphabetical
categories. Some of these items are big ticket things that
we know people really, really want and some are things that
you should know about because they just might be a big hit.
 Absolute
Sandman v. 1
On one level, this feels like you're buying the
third tricked out edition of a DVD, this time with all the
special features we really meant to put in before. What
the Absolute Editions offer, however, is the art at a much
larger size, a much finer paper and yes, a lot of special
features that DC really meant to put in before except no,
they didn't, because sometimes you need a little perspective.
The first twenty issues of Neil Gaiman's breakthrough into
comics gather together in one sleek dark volume that people
are going nuts over. This includes the arc known as "A
Doll's House," which really made people realize Gaiman
was up to something cool, and the story "A Midsummer
Night's Dream" which DC really should be making available
to high school English classes all across the country. Parents
disturbed by the cover should take heart. Inside is much
beauty. The book lists for $100, but Amazon (and other places,
certainly) will cut you a better deal than that.
The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1
 Are
We Feeling Safer Yet?
A (Th)ink Anthology by Keith Knight
I am so glad to live in a world with the wit of Keith Knight,
and a little sad that I live in a world that so desperately
needs him. No, he's not a superhero. He's a talented cartoonist
that uses his skills to skewer American culture to the right
and left whenever it's being stupid. Perhaps best known
for his strip on Salon.com, The K Chronicles, Keith
also syndicates (Th)ink to several weekly papers.
Each is a single panel that's razor sharp, whether he's
mocking our government or seeking (a personal favorite)
raparations. Full disclosure: I've met him at conventions
and he seems to be a heck of a good human being, too. This
is a great book for that workplace gift exchange, or just
for that thinking person in your life (you must have some)
who could use a good, if sometimes rueful, laugh. You can
buy it from Amazon or give Keith as much of the profits
as possible and go to his site, www.kchronicles.com.
Are
We Feeling Safer Yet? A (Th) Ink Anthology
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall
We've
talked about it on our podcast on more than one occasion,
and gotten the name of it wrong every time. Yeah, that doesn't
sound like we love it, does it? But we do. Aside from Fables
being the guaranteed trade paperback to get someone hooked
on comics, this beautiful hardcover from Vertigo could stand
alone as just a cool story with some skewed visions of how
your favorite fairy tale really happened. But it's
also a great way to fill in some blanks for those that have
been reading Fables all along. Snow White serves
as envoy to the Middle Eastern fable worlds and accidentally
gets put in Scherezade's place. In order to stay alive,
she tells the origins of several of Fabletown's residents,
each illustrated by a different giant in comicdom, and each
perfectly matched with that giant. It's a must have, and
if the fan in your life balked at the $20 price, put this
under his or her tree.
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Fables)
Infinite Crisis
Why?
Because DC did not have this quite as well-planned as they
wanted us to think, and even if you bought the original
issues, you don't really have the story the way it was meant
to be. Or maybe Superboy Prime sent a continuity wave through
our reality, and the collected edition just makes more sense
than the individual issues. This is one of those books that
has fans torn. On the one hand, we don't want to support
this kind of blatant re-writing so soon after a company
bobbled it in the first place. On the other hand, we want
to know how they fixed it. Be kind. Reach out and help the
fan in your life through this quandary and just give it
to him for Christmas. It's not going to help him sort through
"One Year Later," but it may give him a modicum
of geek peace.
Infinite
Crisis (DC Comics)
 The
Little Book of Hindu Deities
For the
person in your life that might want to explore other cultures
this Christmas, Plume Books releases this neat little volume
that they shockingly co-categorize as "Religion/Pop
Culture." Despite its poppiness, this book by Sanjay
Patel does a clean job of explaining various deities and
mythological touchstones in Hindu theology, all while making
it cuter than it has a right to be. So what makes it Pop
Culture? Patel also works for Pixar, and if you've ever
picked up one of those great Pixar art books from Chronicle
Books, then you've seen his pre-production art. This doesn't
mean we're going to see an animated Ramayana any
time soon, but that might not be out of the question up
there in Emeryville. It's informative, reasonably priced,
and just a fun thing to have on the bookshelf. It also makes
you seem so much more worldly. Let that be a good thing
for 2007.
The
Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth
to the Sacred Cow
 Spider-Man
Human Torch: I'm With Stupid
I had to throw in this little Marvel gem, because
it's perfect for kids between 9 and 12. Not only does it
chronicle the friendship of two popular characters, it's
done so with a great balance of humor and adventure. Dan
Slott and Ty Templeton delivered this cool mini-series that
pays homage to the comics you may remember reading as a
kid without talking down to the kids of today. It's also
digest-sized, so you might slip it into an unsuspecting
manga fan's hands and get them hooked.
Hey,
we do whatever we have to.
Seriously,
though, this collection really was one of our favorites
from 2005, and it's a shame that in the midst of Civil Wars
and World War Hulks that there doesn't seem room for Slott
and Templeton to reunite for some more.
Spider-Man/Human
Torch: I'm With Stupid (Spider-Man Digest Size (Graphic
Novels))
|
