Not to sound too much like a pandemic-themed commercial, but the holidays do look different this year. Many of us are foregoing our usual traditions and travel plans to keep our loved ones and strangers safe. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get something special for the pop culture aficionado in your life! (Or, you know — add it to your wishlist, hint hint.)
And so, we’ve gathered a wide selection of gifts at different price points that might bring a little cheer to your winter. If you’ve got a comic book reader in your life, someone who devours the classics and new indie imprints, who wears their love of comics on their shelves, this is the guide for you.
Shopping for a different kind of nerd? Check out our other gift guides here.
The award-winning author of The Broken Earth trilogy, N.K. Jemisin, makes her comic book debut with artist Jamal Campbell: A Green Lantern murder mystery. Buy it for $3.99 here.
“Reimena Yee’s gorgeous graphic novel might be aimed at young readers but will speak to anyone who’s ever felt afraid of growing up. Séance Tea Party tells the moving story of a girl who befriends the ghost that haunts her house, but has to come to terms with learning to let go.” Buy it for $12.99 here.
“From creators Maggie Stiefvater and Morgan Beem, this new YA title looks at the origin of Alec Holland through a new lens. Here he’s a quiet teen with a popular twin brother and, of course, a love for botany. That love will put him and everything he cares about at risk as he loses himself in a new experiment which, as fans of Swamp Thing, we can assume might end badly.” Buy it for $13.00 here.
“For this ragtag band of space gays, liberation means beating the patriarchy at its own game.” Yes, Hannah Templer’s Cosmoknights has it all: Space knights! Gorgeous artwork! Inclusive characters and story! Buy it for $14.99 here.
“What do you get when you mix grindhouse horror and ’70s noir with the oldest vampire story ever told? Dracula Motherf**ker, from Eisner Award winners Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson. The timeless Dracula story, at its core, has always been about one man turning many women into his mindless ‘puppets.’ In Dracula Motherf**ker, however, his Brides are reclaiming their power…” Buy it for $16.99 here.
Finally, Trick ‘r Treat fans are getting their due. For the 10th anniversary of Mike Dougherty’s creepy cult classic, Legendary Comics has released “the definitive Trick ‘r Treat comic book collection.” This special omnibus features 8 twisted tales told by Sam, our favorite lil Halloween demon. Buy it for $29.99 here.
Nearly a century later, when most of us think of Dracula we still think of actor Bela Lugosi. But the 1931 Universal version of the infamous vampire was very different from Bram Stoker’s original novel. Legendary Comics’ Robert Napton reimagines the iconic story with Bela Lugosi, in this sumptuous graphic novel adaptation of two classics. Buy it for $29.99 here.
Author and artist Allie Brosh is back with a brilliant follow up to the bestselling Hyperbole and a Half. Solutions and Other Problems is a new collection of illustrated essays, finding the dark humor in depression, grief, and just existing. Buy it for $30.00 here.
X-Men: The Art and Making of The Animated Series
Did you hear the theme song in your head? We did, too. Pull back the curtain on this classic 90s cartoon with interviews from the writers, artists, producers, and executives, plus a ton of never-bef0re-seen concept art, animation cels, sketches, and more. Buy it for $50.00 here.