iFanboy - Episode #101 - The Gift of Comics
The season of giving is here, and iFanboy would be remiss if they didn't share some of the best comic book and graphic novels gifts you can give (or just buy for yourself) this holiday season.
Sure, everyone knows about the Watchmen movie coming out, but the best version of the comic that spawned it is Absolute Watchmen, as well as the companion piece Watching the Watchmen.
You want straight up superhero action from the best of DC? Check out Grant Morrison's JLA Vol. 1, the Deluxe Edition.
A gorgeous version of Howard Chaykin's classic American Flagg is now available from Image Comics. This is comics history, and deserves to be read.
You can't appreciate modern comics without appreciating all that Jack Kirby did, and Kirby: King of Comics is a great way to do it.
If you know iFanboy, you know we love Queen and Country, and the the Definitive Editions are the best way to read them.
You want to give a good cry this Christmas? Try the Essex County books from Jeff Lemire.
A whole lot of people in their 20's who are trying to learn about themselves and the world will appreciate this beautiful collection of Local.
If you know anyone into World War II history, you could do a lot worse than this box set of Bill Mauldin's WWII work, Willie & Joe: The WWII Years
If you can't find some gifts in there, then there's just nothing we can do for you. Happy Holidays nevertheless!
For Direct Download
Head over to iFanboy at Revision 3
Doing the podcast is fun and all, but let's be honest, listening to the 3 of us talk to each other can get repetitive, so we look to you, the iFanboy listeners to participate in the podcast! "How can I get in on the fun?" you may ask yourself, well here's how:
• E-Mail us at contact@ifanboy.com with any questions, comments or anything that may be on your mind.
• Call us at 1-888-FANBOYS (326-2697) and leave a voicemail
Please don't forget to leave your name and where you're writing/calling from and each week, we'll pick the best e-mails and voicemails to include on the podcast!
Comments
Wow, I can't wait to read Local. (Lost guy in his 20's)
Oh and I couldn't stop laughing at "the holidays are coming upon us." Seriously, I'm still laughing.
Posted by cman12 on 12/17/08 at 04:18 PMYou guys look like three little birds waiting to get their food :)
All great ideas, and I love that Willie and Joe book...I'm not a huge WWII guy, but you had me with that beautiful case for the books. That's the best of the bunch, its a great idea for X-Mas.
Kirby: King of Comics was a great book as well, that is a must buy. Cant wait for your Kirby show later 'next' year.
Posted by TheNextChampion on 12/17/08 at 04:20 PMI'm reading David Michaelis's Charles Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography right now (thank you, Chicago Public Library), and it's a fantastic read. Note that I'm someone who typically can't stand non-fiction, and am not a particularly big fan of "Peanuts", and I still can't put the book down. I'm learning so much about Schulz's complicated upbringing and how it is directly reflected in his strips. A real eye-opener.
Posted by BigE on 12/17/08 at 04:22 PMI love shamwow, but despise ordering from tv. *sigh*
Yay, your gonna talk about Kirby! I am one of those modern readers that doesnt know as much about Kirby as I would like. Can't wait for that show and will most likely pick up that book you mentione.
Fun show guys, some great ideas for gifts for sures
Posted by drakedangerz on 12/17/08 at 04:22 PMJust for the record, and obviously much to my dismay, shamwow has named themselves sort of unfortunately with that first syllable. Search for it on youtube, and you'll see what I mean.
Posted by josh on 12/17/08 at 05:11 PMI just sent my mom a copy of Ultra--as a gift for someone who may or may not ever have read a comic before and may or may not ever again, you can't go wrong with a finite story set in a closed universe!
Posted by bansidhewail on 12/17/08 at 05:45 PM@Josh-That guy is a better salesmen than the Orange Clean guy!
Posted by drakedangerz on 12/17/08 at 05:49 PMUnderstanding Comics makes a good gift.
Posted by JumpingJupiter on 12/17/08 at 05:52 PM
Best intro yet. Wille and Joe is a must. Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Posted by DaveCarr on 12/17/08 at 06:59 PMMy Amazon wishlist is now larger. Thanks iFanboy!
Posted by s1lentslayer on 12/17/08 at 07:34 PMThat absolute is a land mine - HCs are risky gifts. Someone might see the shape and weight and think it's a laptop.
Posted by chlop on 12/17/08 at 07:40 PMI feel bad for the regular hardcover edition of Watchmen. Not as treasured as the Absolute. Not as convenient as the paperback.
Posted by PaulMontgomery on 12/17/08 at 07:48 PMGreat show guys! I really am interested in that Local HC. That shot of the Union Station train station is way accurate. I live right behind that building and use that clock all the time. I was stunned when I saw that. Nice.
Keep up the great work fellas.
Posted by brattyben on 12/17/08 at 07:55 PM@PaulMontgomery I could not agree more. The book store at my university is constantly sold out of the paperback yet there is just one lonely hardcover version that no one seems to want to buy, its been there for at least a month.
Also I have wanted that Kirby book for a long time now and you guys sure do make it hard to say no to it. Hopefully I will get it for Christmas.
Posted by DDevil1964 on 12/17/08 at 08:48 PMIn the show you guys said that all of queen and country was contained in the three volumes but according to Amazon there is a fourth and final yet to be released volume. Just fyi.
Posted by cman12 on 12/17/08 at 09:34 PMStill four softcovers for that price to get a series that I've heard great things about is a wonderful deal. Queen and country definitely made it to the top of my "What to Spend X-Mas Money On" list.
Posted by cman12 on 12/17/08 at 09:37 PMI just got the Dark Knight bluray for my birthday. Great gift! Be warned: not everything looks great in HD.*
*Maggie Gyllenhaal
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/17/08 at 09:41 PM@cman12 - The guys do mention that volume 4 of the definitive edition contains material that is not part of the regular series.
@ultimatehoratio - Happy birthday.
Posted by PaulMontgomery on 12/17/08 at 09:43 PM@Paul - Thanks! I was going to have a Super Sweet 37 but Rihanna was already booked.
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/17/08 at 09:47 PMJosh,
Can I repost this on my CCL Homepage? You read my mind completely.
Excellent picks!!!
Chris Posted by ChrisCCL on 12/17/08 at 09:48 PMSure you can. You can get the embed code from the Revision3 show page if you want.
Posted by josh on 12/17/08 at 09:59 PM
I love that JLA hardcover. My favorite JLA story ever (the first three issues). Howard Porter's art has a strange appeal for me. Maybe it's the odd poses.
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/17/08 at 10:10 PMWhy cant Morrison do an Aquaman title? I would totally buy it if it's just like the Aquaman from his JLA run.
Posted by TheNextChampion on 12/17/08 at 10:16 PMI willl never buy an Aquaman title where he's wearing that stupid orange shirt. I bought the mini with the camo suit and the Peter David run with the gladiator thing, but I want nothing to do with that orange shirt.
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/17/08 at 10:22 PMThe orange shirt is awesome. Looks good in the absolutely bizarre Aquaman story in this week's DCU Holiday Special.
Posted by PaulMontgomery on 12/17/08 at 10:28 PMPeople don't make fun of Aquaman because he talks to fish; it's because of the shirt. It's kept him from being taken seriously. Black Vulcan makes fun of Aquaman's shirt. And, no, making the belt buckle larger doesn't help.
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/17/08 at 10:30 PM@Paul My mistake, I missed that part. Cool, that means I have to buy one less book.
Posted by cman12 on 12/17/08 at 10:31 PMThe orange shirt is the ONLY way Aquaman should be. It rules.
Posted by conor on 12/17/08 at 10:44 PMOrange shirt in a Banana Republic catalog? Fine.
Orange shirt on a superhero? Gets you made fun of by the Cartoon Network. The Cartoon Network!
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/17/08 at 10:48 PMLet me do a little equation here. Aquaman = Awesome. Aquaman + Orange Shirt = Extremely Awesome.
Posted by WinTheWonderboy on 12/18/08 at 01:05 AMYou got it.
Posted by conor on 12/18/08 at 01:07 AMIfanboy was going to an orange t-shirt, but now I dont know with this negative reaction :)
Posted by TheNextChampion on 12/18/08 at 01:37 AMIt should be noted that all my favorite shirts are orange.
This is not a joke.
Posted by josh on 12/18/08 at 01:57 AMI choose what college to attend specifically because their colors were black and orange. Needless to say, I have a plethora of orange shirts. Hell, even an orange tie.
Posted by drakedangerz on 12/18/08 at 02:21 AMAs I stated earlier, orange shirts in a Banana Republic are fine. I have lots of orange shirts, but that's okay because I don't fight crime. I like Aquaman. Really. His wardrobe not so much.
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/18/08 at 08:56 AMLemme guess, when you were a kid, Aquaman was your favorite character, and one day you were wearing your favorite form fitting orange chain mail shirt, and giant A belt, and you got beaten up. That's it, isn't it?
Posted by josh on 12/18/08 at 09:36 AMGoldfish didn't decide to be orange until Aquaman donned that shirt. They used to be beige.
That tale is included in most editions of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories.
Posted by PaulMontgomery on 12/18/08 at 09:41 AMI doubt it but now it makes sense - camouflage. He wanted to blend with the fishies. He's a fish man that wants to belong.
Posted by chlop on 12/18/08 at 09:51 AMGod, if I had a form-fitting orange shirt and a giant A belt, I'd pimp that shit.
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/18/08 at 10:05 AM@ultimatehoratio: and you think Aquaman doesn't pimp his suit? Don Magic Juan trembles at the feet of Aquaman, no other superheroes pimp-hand is mightier(except Batman)!!!
Posted by WinTheWonderboy on 12/18/08 at 10:28 AMI'm not a superhero. Even Namor in with his speedo makes fun of Aquaman's costume. I like Aquaman as a character. I've read lots of Aquaman comics. I just think he needs a wardrobe change.
Posted by ultimatehoratio on 12/18/08 at 11:08 AM@horatio: Considering how terrible DC has let Aquaman go, a costume change is the least of his problems.
Posted by TheNextChampion on 12/18/08 at 11:12 AMBecause Namor thinks walking around with perky nipples is the norm since he grew up in the ocean. Aquaman tryes to blend in with both sea creatures and humans.
Posted by chlop on 12/18/08 at 11:15 AMHey guys, just an FYI. I went to purchase the 3 Essex County books today and saw that Chapters was taking pre-orders for both hard and softcover collected editions. I guess I can wait a few more months for it (June). http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/search?keywords=the%20complete%20essex%20county&pageSize=10
I don't see it on Amazon.
Posted by Crippler on 12/18/08 at 11:19 AM@chlop-Namor doesn't have perky nips. He is totally used to the fridgid waters of the deepest ocean, so no way it gets cold enough on land for his nips to stand at attention.
@ultimatehoratio-The orange shirt makes him stand apart from the other DC characters. He cool like dat. Real men wear pink? well, real superheros wear orange.
Posted by drakedangerz on 12/18/08 at 12:55 PMDidnt Namor say in Dark Reign one-shot: 'My nipples explode with delight!' :)
Posted by TheNextChampion on 12/18/08 at 01:01 PMI actually gave Marvel Knights Inhumans TPB as a gift this year. Josh will you please do a mini mocking the Shamwow commerical it would be hilarious. PLEASE!!!!!
Posted by lantern4life on 12/19/08 at 10:06 AMIf Josh shaved, rocked the fauxhawk, drank 5 cups of coffee, and didn't sleep for 2 days...he could totally look like the Shamwow guy.
Posted by drakedangerz on 12/19/08 at 12:14 PM@drakedangerz - a van and duct tape is cheaper and faster.
Posted by chlop on 12/19/08 at 05:03 PMGreat show, guys. I just ordered Willie and Joe for my military buddy.
@drakedangerz - the useless headset is key.
Posted by JFernandes on 12/19/08 at 08:46 PM@chlop-there is something really wrong with you
Posted by drakedangerz on 12/21/08 at 02:49 AM@drakedangerz - yes.
Posted by chlop on 12/21/08 at 09:14 AMFor the fan of Clockwork Orange: The Boys
Fan of War Stories (WWII): War Stories
Fan of Horror: Ennis Hellblazer
Fan of Storys of Storys: Fables, Sandman
Posted by UncleBob on 12/21/08 at 02:30 PMFor people that enjoy constant warfare and somewhat racist depictions of people: Asterix and Obelix - the more recent ones.
Posted by chlop on 12/21/08 at 05:10 PM


Last year, I gave my mom the Persepolis graphic novel. She liked it, but was really excited when she heard about the animated movie. She was able to sound hip and cool at all the holiday parties.
Posted by Neb on 12/17/08 at 03:43 PM