If you’re a comic book fan, the modern era has something for nearly everyone. Contrary to popular misconceptions, comic books are about more than just superheroes. Marvel and DC still dominate in that category, but the other publishers offer several different genres. For example, Image Comics is publishing several original titles that defy categorization by some of the biggest creators in the industry. And Dark Horse Comics has offered a mixture of creator owned titles and licensed properties for over two decades. If there’s a TV show or a movie that you love, chances are good that there’s a comic book adaptation that tells the further adventures of your favorite characters.
For anyone new to comics, diving into the medium can be a daunting experience. Sometimes it’s hard to find a good place to start. The terminology may also be off-putting. People who don’t like using the word “comics” tend to embrace “graphic novels” as an alternate name. Comic books are periodicals, and they can’t accurately be called “novels.” Reprinted collections of comic books are called trade paperbacks. As for graphic novels, that term was originally applied to stories that used comic book sequential storytelling that were published as a single book.
The reality is that they’re all comics. Even manga is just another iteration of the comic book format. And despite decades of predictions that the comic book medium would fade away, it’s still here and ready to be discovered by new readers.
This year’s Comics & Graphic Novel Gift Guide was assembled from the newly released and upcoming titles from several different publishers. We’ve picked ten trade paperbacks and graphic novels that we feel rank among the best in the medium. All opinions are subjective and your taste may vary. But feel free to share your comic picks in the comment section below!
Featured Photo Credit: Touchstone
2015 Comics & Graphic Novel Gift Guide
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The Sandman: Overture Deluxe Edition
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman is a perennial bestseller and it helped DC launch Vertigo Comics, its mature readers imprint that continues to the present day. In 2013, Gaiman returned to his signature creation with The Sandman: Overture, a lavishly illustrated miniseries by artist JH Williams III that serves as a prequel to the original Sandman series.
DC/Vertigo recently put out a hardcover collection of The Sandman: Overture just in time for the holidays, and it is a truly gorgeous book to behold.
Photo Credit: DC Comics/Vertigo
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Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir
Stan Lee is one of the last living legends in the comic book industry. He co-created Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and so many other iconic creations during his time at Marvel. Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir is Lee’s biography, which has naturally been adapted into the graphic novel format!
Lee’s co-writer on the project is long time comic scribe, Peter David, while Colleen Doran provided the art. Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir offers a very revealing glimpse of Lee’s life, and if you ever loved his creations, it’s well worth reading.
Photo Credit: Touchstone
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Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1
There are hundreds of Batman stories available in print, but Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus is a newly released oversized reproduction of Batman’s earliest adventures by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, and Gardner Fox. In addition to reprinting Batman’s first appearance, the omnibus also covers the introductions of Robin, The Joker, Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon, and more.
Everything you love about Batman started here. This omnibus is over 800 pages long, so this is one Batman gift that should keep on giving for a while.
Photo Credit: DC Comics
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The Goon Library Volume 1
The Goon is Eric Powell’s signature comic book creation and it's not the easiest thing to explain!
The title character is a criminal enforcer who ends up fighting supernatural threats, aliens, mutants, zombies, robots, and other bizarre creations. And yet that doesn’t fully convey the humor that Powell brings to the book as both the writer and the artist. There is truly nothing else like The Goon in comics.
For The Goon Library Volume 1, the first four trade paperbacks have been reproduced in an oversized hardcover format. It’s the perfect way to pour over the art by Powell and colorist Dave Stewart.
Photo Credit: Dark Horse Comics
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Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Volumes 1 and 2
If you caught the first trailer for Captain America: Civil War last night, then you caught a glimpse of Black Panther, the first African superhero in the Marvel Universe. Marvel Studios is releasing the Black Panther movie in 2018, but if you want to know more about the character, Marvel Comics is reprinting the seminal run by writer Christopher Priest.
Under Priest, Black Panther was essentially Marvel’s answer to Batman. He was the hero who was almost always several steps ahead of his enemies and his allies, but not without his flaws. Priest also injected a great deal of humor into his Black Panther run, which actually seems to be a natural fit for Marvel’s approach to its live-action films.
The first two volumes of Priest’s Black Panther are currently out, and the third volume will follow in 2016.
Buy it now!
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics
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Andre The Giant: Closer To Heaven
Last year, Box Brown released an Andre the Giant biographical graphic novel called Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, which we highly recommend. The late WWF/WWE legend is also the focus of IDW’s Andre The Giant: Closer To Heaven, a new graphic novel by writers Brandon Easton and Denis M. Medri, with artist Denis Medri.
Like the earlier graphic novel, Andre The Giant: Closer To Heaven will also explore the life of Andre Roussimoff based on interviews with Andre’s friends and his daughter.
Photo Credit: IDW/Lion Forge Comics
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Dead@17: The Complete Collection
Earlier this year, writer/artist Josh Howard brought his long running Dead@17 comic to a close. Now, the complete series is available in a single book.
At first glance, Dead@17 may appear to be a riff on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as 17-year old Nara Kilday was resurrected to fight evil after her own brutal murder.
However, Howard has his own take on the genre and his evolution as an artist and a writer has been truly impressive.
Photo Credit: Image Comics
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Archie vs Predator
That’s right. Archie Comics and Dark Horse Comics teamed up earlier this year to create one of the wildest crossovers yet: Archie vs. Predator! Except in this tale, Betty and Veronica find themselves as the latest prey of a Predator, and not even a fast retreat to Riverdale is going to keep this alien invader away.
The Archie vs. Predator miniseries has been collected in a hardcover edition by the creative team of Alex De Campi and Fernando Ruiz.
Photo Credit: Archie Comics & Dark Horse Comics
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Fatale Vol. 1 & 2: Deluxe Edition
The second and final hardcover edition of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Fatale has arrived, and we highly recommend that you pick up both volumes. Brubaker and Phillips are one of the best creative teams in comics, and Fatale is among their greatest collaborations.
Fatale is a Lovecraftian horror and noir comic book that takes place over several decades. The story follows Josephine, a woman cursed with youth, immortality, and a nearly uncontrollable power over any man that looks at her. And not even Josephine can remain unscathed from the darkness that follows her across the decades.
Buy it now!
Photo Credit: Image Comics
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The Walking Dead Omnibus Volume 6 Hardcover
There are five omnibus editions of The Walking Dead comic book series currently out that collect 24 issues per volume. But the sixth Walking Dead Omnibus is coming out next month, and it’s a unique opportunity for fans of The Walking Dead TV series to get far ahead of the current TV storylines in one volume.
Fair warning, The Walking Dead Omnibus editions retail for $100, but you can find better deals online. The creative team for the series includes Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Dave Stewart, and Stefano Gaudiano.
Photo Credit: Image Comics
