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Geek Gift Guide, Part 2
More holiday treasures for that special geek
Books. Remember them? You can hold them in your hand and flip the pages, and
sometimes the pages have a cool texture or smell to them, and sometimes there
are pictures inside. Yes, Kindles and Nooks and all that are great, practical,
hip, whatever -- we still love the look, feel and heft of a real book. And there
are some cool ones out there to stuff in someone's stocking this Christmas.
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More Holiday Geeking
'Star Trek' Beams Up Robocop
Our favorite new book that we got this year -- even though it came out in
late 2010 -- was "75 Years of DC Comics," a massive, incredibly heavy
illustrated history of the legendary comic book publisher from Taschen Books,
who specialize in this kind of elaborate coffee-table spectacular on everything
from film to art to architecture to the female anatomy (seriously). "DC Comics"
is so huge you have to put it on a table to read it, but it's worth it, because
this is a beautiful, eye-popping extravaganza of art and lore from the home of
Batman, Superman and many others. Best of all, it's written by Paul Levitz, who
spent 38 years as an exec at DC and knows what he's talking about. It doesn't
get more definitive than this.
Speaking of DC, one of the company's most iconic villains, the Joker, got his
very own book -- a first for a comic book nemesis. Simply titled "The Joker,"
the big hardcover gives an overview of the Clown Prince of Crime's career in the
funnies, on TV and film, all with lavish illustrations and photos throughout. A
fitting tribute to one of the greatest bad guys of all time.
Want to explore outside the DC universe? May we suggest "1001 Comics You Must
Read Before You Die," which does exactly what the title says: It devotes one
page each to every single essential comic and graphic novel one should delve
into, from Herge's "Tintin" to the works of R. Crumb to manga to all the classic
superhero stories. Each title is given a short summary, commentary on its
importance and highlights, and most are illustrated as well. More concise and
comprehensive than in-depth, this is a great starting place for beginners or a
reference guide for longtime readers.
We never get tired of big books about horror movies, and one of the latest to
hit is "Monsters in the Movies," written by famed "An American Werewolf in
London" director and all-around film nut John Landis. Packed with photos, poster
art and interviews with other horror/sci-fi greats, the book is permeated with
Landis' love for monsters and genre movies. If you're looking for something a
little more analytical, check out "Shock Value," in which author Jason Zinoman
chronicles the birth of the modern horror film in the '70s. Another must for not
just horror lovers, but cinephiles in general.
On the fiction side, there's so much to choose from, but of course you've got
the latest epic from Stephen King, "11/22/63," which involves time travel, the
1960s and JFK's assassination. Also finding its way onto our shelf was "Vortex"
by one of our favorite sci-fi writers, Robert Charles Wilson. It completes the
cosmos-spanning story he started in "Spin" and "Axis." Speaking of completing
trilogies, Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
have completed their vampires-meet-science threesome with "The Night Eternal."
There's also "Robopocalypse" by Daniel H. Wilson, soon to be a Steven Spielberg movie, in which our
machines turn on us; Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One," described by some as the
ultimate video game novel; and a new book we've been hearing a lot about, Drew
Magary's "The Postmortal," in which dying of old age becomes obsolete. There are
so many more out there, but even if you have an e-reader, you can't get to them
all.
Want graphic novels and comics collections? You got 'em! At the top of our
list is Lee Bermejo's "Batman: Noel," a riff on "A Christmas Carol" starring the
Dark Knight. The artwork is glorious (Bermejo did the also excellent "Joker"
graphic novel from a couple of years back) and the story looks captivating.
Back to Stephen King for "The Dark Tower Omnibus," a massive collection in
hardcover of all the comics published over the last few years by Marvel, based
on King's seven-novel cycle. These comics gave me a whole new visual sense of
the "Dark Tower" world that proved mesmerizing. Also from Marvel, omnibus
collections of "Fantastic Four" and "Thor" (the great Walter Simonson era) should be on
the shelf of any fans of both books.
We haven't read "Bone," but people love Jeff Smith's long-running comic, and
if you have $300, then you might want to get "Bone: 20th Anniversary
Collection," a massive box set that includes all the comics, a companion book, a
DVD, figurines and more. Also on the shelves now (and a more reasonable $40) is
Terry Moore's "The Complete Echo," about a young girl who might be the
instigator of the world's ending.
We're not big gamers, but we can tell you that one of the hottest games out
there right now is "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," which takes epic fantasy
role-playing to new heights (at least that's what our friends are telling us).
Fortune hunter Nathan Drake is also back in "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception,"
which sold nearly 4 million copies on its first day in stores last month.
"Batman: Arkham City" follows up the mega-hit "Arkham Asylum," while "Halo:
Combat Evolved Anniversary" celebrates 10 years of the legendary game with
hi-def and 3-D remastering.
Also out imminently is "Star Wars: The Old Republic," while sci-fi fans who
are into gaming will also surely enjoy staples like "Gears of War 3," "Crysis
2," "Resistance 3" and "Dead Space 2."
We're going to refer you here for a comprehensive list of toys, statues and
other collectibles, as we're just too exhausted from everything else we just
wrote about. Do some exploring on your own, check out other gift guides, but
feel free to refer to this for a quick overview. Happy shopping and happy
holidays!
Send us your thoughts on all things sci-fi, horror, etc. Write us at
heymsn@microsoft.com
Don Kaye covers film, TV and entertainment for
MSN.com
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