Holiday Buyer's Guide: Books, Graphic Novels, Movies And Gear

[JessHorsley]

Cool Collection Of Non-Toy Stuff For Every Fan and Collector You Know...

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Every year, we at Figures.com enjoy sharing a few of our favorite non-toy and collectibles - including books, graphic novels, movies and gear - from the past year with our readers in order that we might help fellow collectors and fans make a list of the coolest stuff out there. We hope you take the time to look over the list below; we know you'll find something you'll enjoy or something you can show and share with your family, friends and fellow collectors this holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving and blessings from all of us to all of you!

BOOKS

An updated and expanded edition of the always enjoyable DC Comics: A Visual History from DK Publishing includes everything a DC Comics fan could want to know about the home of fan favorites Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow and the Justice League! Providing a detailed history - from the very start in 1934 as National Allied Publications to the most recent updates to characters and the DCU in the New 52 - this massive 376 page book has it all!

For those die-hard Batman fans celebrating the Caped Crusader's 75th anniversary, DK Publishing has also released Batman: A Visual History. Follow The Dark Knight from his inception in 1939 as a crime-fighting vigilante to the world-wide film and cultural icon he is today in this monstrous 352-page book which lays out the historical and cultural impression Gotham’s protector has made on the modern world!

For fans of Marvel's House of Ideas DK Publishing once again delivers with the beautifully compiled Marvel Comics: 75 Years of Covers. Featuring some of the most memorable, shocking and impressive comic cover artwork from the last seventy years, this 320-page monster includes spreads featuring blown up artwork of fan-favorite Marvel characters like Spider-man, Iron Man and The Avengers and more as well as words and info from the creators who gave these characters life - including Jack Kirby and Stan Lee! A beautiful book for any and every Marvel Comics lover!

For fans of LEGO, there's nothing better than No Starch Publishing's updated version of everyone's favorite The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya. Renown for beautiful, surreal and incredibly detailed work in LEGO bricks, Sawaya's work is featured here in a beautiful 248-page hardbound tabletop book that'll impress fans and non-fans alike.

For those brick fans looking for something more sci-fi industrialized alt-history, No Starch Publishing has Guy Himber's Steampunk LEGO ready to meet your needs! Comprised of 200 pages of impressive steampunk creations, this book will blow your mind with unique designs available nowhere else!

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Comic publishers continue to release engaging trades and hardback collections featuring some of the most enthralling stories with some amazing characters – both new and old – in a variety of genres, including sci-fi, horror, western and super hero.

Image Comics' Saga Deluxe Edition Vol 1, including issues #1 - 18 of the award winning comic by comic writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples. A tragic sci-fi tale of love and tragedy gorgeously drawn and brought to life on the page, Saga featuring the maturest of themes - bigotry and inter-racial marriage, war, the use of mass media and even child sex slavery. Fans of Vaughn's previous work - Y: The Last Man - won't be disappointed! Saga is one of the most profoundly engaging and entertaining books on the shelf today and this beautiful hardback collection delivers!

Sci-fi fans will also enjoy Image Comics' Black Science Vol 1. Including issues #1 - 5 of Rick Remender's (Fear Agent) latest sci-fi extravaganza and featuring art by the super talented Matteo Scalera and Dean White, this hi-octane adventure finds a team of scientists lost in space, speeding their way through alternate galaxies and encountering the bizarre, unimaginable chaos of the unbelievable and unexplainable. A sure bet for fans of Remender's work!

For fans of horror, writer Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez conclude their epic, fan-favorite, critically-acclaimed series with Locke & Key: Alpha & Omega. The long-awaited conclusion to the Locke family’s secrets frightens and excites and is sure to impress with a shocking ending not to be missed! If you've yet to pick up any of this brilliant series yet, all six collected editions are available now; you won't be disappointed!

Harper Collins' and author P. Craig Russell bring to life Neil Gaiman's thrilling story of a boy raised by ghostly spirits in The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel Vol 1 & Vol 2. Collecting the entire story of Nobody "Bod" Owens, whose family was hunted and killed when he was but a baby, these two volumes bring Gaiman's award-winning novel to life for fans of the graphic novel, relaying all of the worry, heartbreak, laughs and beauty of a graveyard and its ghostly inhabitants as they seek to protect a young boy as he grows, learns and becomes a man with a mission.

Fans of the apocalypse and old west continue to love Image Comics' East of West (Vol 1, 2 & 3 available now). Written by Jonathan Hickman with art duties by the super clean Nick Dragotta, this tale of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at war with one another in a fractured and broken post-Civil War America is both enthralling, fun and (so far) anti-cliché -- something that's sorely lacking in too many post-apocalyptic comics these days.

Fans of the mightiest Avenger have no further to look than Marvel Comic's Thor: God of Thunder Deluxe Edition Vol 1. Collecting issues #1 - 11 of this awesome comic by writer Jason Aaron and featuring the gorgeous artwork of Esad Ribic, this brilliant book find three different Thors from three different eras fighting an alien warlord - Gorr, the God Slayer - as he seeks to create a bomb that will end all gods for all time. One of the best Thor tales to hit the comic page in decades, this is one no true Thor fan can miss!

Everyone’s favorite gun for hire finds his way back to the center stage in two massive bindings – Deadpool: The Joe Kelly Omnibus and Deadpool and Cable Omnibus. Both feature tales of Marvel’s Merc with a Mouth, collecting over 35 comics worth of material in each, these beautifully bound and compiled monstrosity finds Wade Wilson seeking to fulfill his dreams of being a hero – with a nagging for gun-fun and tacos!

DC Comics continues to impress with Scott Snyder’s tales of the Dark Knight’s origin as we’ve never seen before. Batman Vol 4: Zero Year – Secret City and Batman Vol 5: Zero Year – Dark City reveal a gritty vigilante Bruce Wayne as he struggled to become the Batman and what his becoming The Bat means for Gotham. This new epic origin story will resonate with both new and classic fans alike and is an overall excellent read.

Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang's critically-acclaimed run on Wonder Woman continues as it reintroduces The New Gods and puts Diana in a place she’s never been! In Wonder Woman Vol 4: War, Diana’s eldest brother, the First Born, is freed from his long sleep and only Orion and the New Gods can help. Then, in Wonder Woman Vol 5: Flesh, Diana is asked to take War’s place on Olympus…but what is she supposed to do when her family attacks Olympus? Azzarello’s story spins Wonder Woman in a new direction with new dynamics which continue to impress!

MOVIES

Sci-fi fans won’t want to miss Tom Cruise’s latest action film, Edge of Tomorrow. Retitled Live.Die.Repeat. for home video release, this intense and hilarious film finds Cruise as an officer in a future military force fighting – and dying – over and over and over again against an invading alien army. Based on a Japanese short story and co-starring Emily Blunt as the most dangerous woman since Ellen Ripley to wear an exo-suit and battle aliens, Live.Die.Repeat. is a great film to get or give this holiday season!

Post-apocalyptic fans won’t want to miss Chris Evans in Snowpiercer, a Korean sci-fi extravaganza based on a 30-year old French graphic novel. When the world’s climate shifts, the only place to beat the cold is aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that circumvents the entire world and contains the entire world’s population. But what happens when the “have nots” have had enough? Rage boils over and the rich and powerful soon find themselves facing revolt and anarchy.

Fans of robot films will enjoy Antonio Banderas’ latest, Automata. When robots created to service humankind begin to break primary protocols, harming humans and repairing themselves and one another, it’s up to a discouraged insurance agent to discover a revelation that’ll change history – and the future. A slow-burner with enough Isaac Asimov to keep more traditional fans engaged, Automata is sure to entertain.

For those looking for a laugh, look no further than 22 Jump Street, the sequel to the 2012 film starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. When these two go undercover to fight crime, they all too often cause mayhem and chaos – and movie goers would have it no other way!

Laughs follow when another strange duo – Seth Rogen and Zac Efron - team up in Neighbors. When a young couple find out their new next door neighbors are a fraternity who like to party, they take matters into their own hands in order to ensure the frat will break every law and get kicked out of school! Co-starring the beautiful Rose Byrne as Rogen’s wife, Neighbors delivers a hilarious look at college life!

Action fans need look no further than The Expendables 3 to get their fix. Starring a virtual “who’s who” of action stars from the past three decades – including Stallone, Gibson, Schwarzenegger, Statham, Li, Banderas, Snipes, Crews, Lundgren, Ford and more – the film blows away any and all convention in exchange for a gratuitous amount of bullets, bombs and back kicks!

Fans of Transformers can pick up the latest in Michael Bay’s exploration of the classic cartoon series-turned-live action film in Transformers 4: Age of Extinction. When Optimus Prime loses his optimism and a Texas engineer discovered him hiding in the Lone Star state, the duo must face off against a new threat – Gavlatron – and a brutal alien bounty hunter seeking to end the partnership between humanity and the Autobots.

For those looking for sci-fi action with plenty of laughs, Marvel Studio’s latest Guardians of the Galaxy delivers on all fronts. Orphaned human Peter Quill - aka Star-lord – finds himself stuck in a galactic prison and must join forces with some of the galaxy’s most awesome, and awkward, warriors - including the tree-like Groot, a talking raccoon named Rocket and two deadly alien assassins – in order to save all of existence. Watching a motley crew of space pirates has never been this fun, funny or action-packed!

GEAR

For those who enjoy monthly subscriptions and building LEGOs, look no further than Brickloot. The latest in a line of sub services meeting the needs of specific collector communities, Brickloot can – for a variety of prices – keep you or someone you know busy building each and every month!

New Era, the makers of fan-favorite sports snapback caps and fitted hats has released a number of pop culture caps this year, including Guardians of the Galaxy 59Fifty and Captain America: The Winter Soldier 59Fifty fitted hats. The perfect way to show your love of all things comic and film in a stylish street wear way, pick one up to cover your head!

For fans looking to show their love of Marvel and DC Comics without wearing it, SkinIt now has your favorite super heroes available on your favorite skins and cases for a variety of phones, gaming systems and computers. From Captain America and The Avengers to Superman and Batman, SkinIt provides a subtle yet impressionable way in which to show and share your love for comics and your favorite heroes!

For men and women, boys and girls looking to spend time lounging and sleeping in their favorite hero’s duds, look no further than WebUndies. Should you want to go to sleep looking like Wolverine, Captain America, Batman, Catwoman Wonder Woman or others, WebUndies has you covered – literally. Pajamas, body suits, underwear, robes, baby onesies - you name it, they've got it!

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There’s plenty of other great books, graphic novels, movies and gear out there too! Share some of your favorites in the forum below and add your own favorites to this year's guide!

Have a blessed, safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday!

Jess C. Horsley
Managing Editor, Figures.com