Word Balloons: Gift ideas for comics fans

29 Nov 2019, 10:00

https://cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/large960_blur-f7a870c3acdc5dde73edf6dbb6342d55.jpg — **A spacecraft must attempt to raise the children in her care after the adult space colonists aboard are killed. [TKO Studios]**

As the weather turns colder and the days grow shorter, holiday shopping is on many people’s minds. The day after Thanksgiving, often called “Black Friday,” has long been considered a day to potentially kick off shopping for the December holiday season. If you're shopping for comic-book and genre fans this holiday season, here are some suggestions:

• DC Comics: The Art of Jim Lee Vol. 1: Jim Lee has been one of comics’ most popular artists since breaking into the field in the late 1980s. Now DC Comics’ co-publisher, Lee has his work for DC celebrated in a new art book, including covers and behind-the-scenes artwork that retails for $39.99

• DC Designer Series: Batman by Frank Miller Statue: Bringing Batman to life as seen in the pages of “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns,” this 8-inch display piece retails for $150.

• Saga Compendium Vol. 1: Writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples are the creators of this Image Comics space epic that mixes “Star Wars” with “Romeo and Juliet” as we learn the story of Hazel and her star-crossed parents from different worlds. All 1,300-plus pages of the mature-readers story so far are collected in this $59.99 compendium.

• Arcade1Up: Marvel Super-Heroes Edition: Arcade1Up has released the Marvel Super Heroes Arcade with riser; the limited edition Marvel Super Heroes fighting game from 1995 lets gamers favorite superheroes from the Marvel Universe, battle villains for Infinity Gems, and try to save the universe from Thanos. The 3-in-1 release also includes the 1990s games “The Punisher” and “X-Men: Children of the Atom.” Retail is $399; a version without the riser for additional height is $299.

• TKO Studios’ Sentient: Two Eisner Award-winners have teamed up for this sci-fi tale about a sentient colony spaceship that must raise the children in its care after the adults on board are killed. Writer Jeff Lemire (“Black Hammer”) and Gabriel Walta (“Vision”) are the creative team for this story, available in trade paperback form ($17.99) or in a boxed set of comic-book issues ($29.99).

Matthew Price, matthew@matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.