Holy Crap, has it really been 10 years since we did one of these? Wow!
For several years around the turn of the 2010s, Panel Patter (well, me, mostly) would put together a gift guide to help people who wanted to buy comics for others, but weren't sure what to buy.
Well, if anything, the sheer volume of comics has just grown even larger than it was back in 2014 and comics remain an awesome thing to buy for your friends, neighbors, and loved ones.
Now the fun part here is that I don't read nearly as many comics as I used to, which makes this a bit more challenging. But let's see how this goes!
Oh man, it's almost impossible to oversell this one. Ross is one of the all-time greatest comic artists, though he mostly sticks to doing spectacular covers (including on the current FF run). Last year, Ross took the time to write and draw a Fantastic Four story that incorporated pieces of the classic Lee-Kirby run while still making references to more modern concepts. He perfectly captures the voice of the characters, comes up with some wild ideas that drive the plot, and proves that Marvel's First Family, when done right, can indeed be The World's Greatest Comic Book. There's a new expanded edition, out this year, that provides tons of back material that shows just how detailed Ross is when he sets his mind to a project like this, right down to panel homages.
While I loved the show as a kid and had several of the toys, which was rare for me back then, I never got into the comics version from Marvel, despite an insatiable love of comics. And with rare exceptions like the recent Paul Allor and various artist's version at IDW, I still could not for some reason. So color me surprised when I was delighted by Destro, Duke, Scarlett, Cobra Commander, and the first issue of the new series. The creative teams on all four of the lead-ins to the new series are spectacular and each has their own strengths. Because I've always loved the character, I'll say Destro is the best one by a hair and most likely headed to my final favorites list, with writer Dan Watters really getting inside what makes him so cool and the primary art team of Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas just killing it. But then there's Williamson showing Duke's drive fighting with his loyalty alongside Tom Reilly and Jordie Bellaire, along with a rather surprising turn of events for long-time fans. Anyway, the point is these are not just good licensed comics, they're good comics. If you've got a Joe fan in the house, give them one of these trades, or even a few singles. The latter fit nicely in a stocking, just saying...
Cullen Bunn is one of the most prolific comics writers and I probably could have picked any number of his books this year to put on this list, but I opted for this one because it's just so much fun and a total love letter to those who enjoy B-Movie horror fare. A legendary horror movie long thought lost turns up at a film festival to prove that it's reputation for being cursed is - entirely true! Soon a small group of (mostly) horror flick fans must band together to try and prevent a monster mash of epic proportions. It's every classic horror creator for himself in an attempt at total control, culminating in multiple monster murder mashes and a really cool twist that makes sense but still comes as a surprise. Hurtt does a lovely job making the creatures feel familiar but still gives them his own take while Crabtree really colors the hell out of this book and Campbell provides awesome lettering, as always. Just a fun romp, which is why I've enjoyed Bunn's work for basically the entire time I've been running Panel Patter.
I wrote a lengthy piece about this one earlier this year, so I'll summarize here: Jay Jackson took a moribund comedic character in Bungleton Green, teamed him with some kids, and sent him into a historical sci-fi adventure, giving readers the chance to think about current events without getting censored. Plus Jackson is an amazing artist whose work is at par or superior to his peers. It's a chance to learn a forgotten part of comics history while becoming engrossed in epic sci-fi/fantasy adventure. I wrote then and I'll say it again now - we need someone like Fantagraphics to do a complete run of this man's comics. For now though, grab this book an enjoy it from cover to cover.
Jeffrey Brown is one of the all-time best auto-bio comics people, but he's also great at doing all-ages books with licensed characters like Darth Vader and Batman, so I honestly didn't think we'd ever get another one of these. Here's Brown the Dad ready to provide the good and the bad from his life as a father. I'm completely here for it and you should be, too.
There's been some great vampire books out this year, but I'm putting this one on the list because I think it has the most crossover appeal. While recovering from illness, Williams III started doing illustrations based on Bram Stoker's novel. This collection features a Williams III Illustration matched with a summary of the portion of the text that matches the drawing. What was originally therapy for him has turned into something far more and it's absolutely beautiful, which is no surprise given how good Williams III is as an artist. He captures the moments so very well and his text selections do justice to the original despite their brevity. This is one I'd gift to my Mom, and I mean that a very high complement.
The FF have kinda been pushed aside a bit because of the movie issues, but were fortunate to be handed to Ryan North, who stated he's a huge fan of the characters. I say fortunate because the best writers of the quartet are those who are willing to be as out there as possible with what the team encounters. And that's North to a T (fourth letter in his last name - coincidence? I think not!), who gleefully does everything from having Johnny Storm try his hand at a secret identity to pulling out an old 50s Atlas Monster to dinosaurs. He'll just as easily add Nicholas Scratch as he will integrating the Grimm's adopted children. Teamed with Coello, Fioreli, Gomez, and other creators who can match North step for step on the visual side, this run has just been a sheer joy from start to what I expect will soon be its finish, as it's far too weird for when the movie shows up. This is my favorite run on any series in a long time.
Okay, that's it for this year's edition! I'm just so happy to be doing this again. May the traditional start of this holiday season find you well, and I hope one or more of these selections is the perfect gift for someone you know - or maybe just yourself!
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