It's just two weeks until Santa Claus commits a felony and slides down your chimney, or in the case of those of us in apartments, comes in through the front door or fire escape, and leaves us all of our goodies to attack with furver and unwrap like a 6 year old. Come on...we all do it. Each year, without a doubt, people always ask "What's on your list this year?" or "What is Santa bringing you?" So I thought I would make it a bit easier for everyone and just post my list on line; and in doing so, I'm hoping I can get some suggestions out to all of you who are looking for that certain geek toy, or book or what ever it may be. I don't know about you, but I'm fairly certain that if I get one more pair of socks, I may go Griswold on someone. Below, I've listed some of the items that are on my list and I'm pretty sure my wife hasn't bought any of them for me, so feel free to step up to the plate and buy them for me. If not that, then I hope you can find something you enjoy and pass it on to the Santa Claus down at the mall and maybe, JUST MAYBE, he can fullfill your wishes for you! PS- I've included links to each of the items, so purchasing them should be very easy!
First up, I'm a huge fan of comic book art. Not just the books themselves, but I appreciate original pieces based on our beloved comic book characters. I've got a couple different artists listed below, all of which have been featured here on CBM in the past, but they are all so amazing that they are worth a second look.
"Comic Book Travel Poster"
This series of posters are the city skylines of some of the most iconic cities featured in comic books and graphic novels. These are all limited edition posters, so once they are sold out, and some of them already are, they will no longer be sold. The posters, which include Gotham, Metropolis, and New York city, hearken back to the original, golden age of comics, with their simplistic, yet effect designs. These can be purchased for $35.00 each.
Art-Deco Prints by Greg Guillemin
Guillemin's works have actually been featured on CBM multilpe times, for varius different projects and series, all of which have been very different and eye-catching, but there is one series that was recently released that was truly stunning, and that's his Art-Deco series, where he took several popular comic book characters, and Cyclops, and placed them in a classic art-deco style. The series features both DC and Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Cyclops, Spider-Man, Batman and Hellboy, among many others. Each of these prints can be purchased for around $18.00.
Alter Ego Art by Danny Haas
This is a collection that I recently featured here on CBM and it shows of the different sides of our favorite heroes, so to speak. Each of the pieces displays the hero on one side, and their alternate selves, the non-heroes on the other. Artist Danny Haas includes characters from both DC and Marvel, such as Batman, Superman, Hulk, Wolverine and more. You will also find a few Star Wars prints that are pretty wicked as well. This series is cool because of the many options you vae for printing. Want a shirt? you can get that. How about a cell phone cover? Yeah, that's an option. But for me...I was thinking a nice framed print. This group can run from around $18.00 for the small prints to about $155.00 for the larger, framed pieces.
One thing that I have always wanted to start collectin are character statues and busts. With companies like Bowen and Kotobukiya producing some incredible pieces, there are many options out there that are sure to impress. I could honestly track down and post links to hundreds of these things, but I know times are tight and I'd hate for you to blow your entire gift budget on just these, so here are a few of them that stood out to me.
Magneto Fine Scale Statue by Kotobukiya
So, we all know that Magneto is a bad ass, right? What better way to worship that bad-assery than with a statue like this one? This piece, sculpted by Erick Sosa stands at 14 inches, which is a 1/6th scale piece. From the looks of things, Ol' Mags just decimated the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters and it looks like he's having fun doing it to. A lot of deatil in this piece and it would look great on my shelf...just sayin'.
Life Size Venom Bust by Sideshow Collectables
I'm not going to lie here, but if I were to walk into my living room in the middle of the night on my way to eat a midnight snack of cheese cake and a Pepsi, and saw this thing staring back at me, I'd probably lay a brick wall in my shorts. However, that won't hinder me from wanting this incredible piece. Extremely detailed an hand painted, this Venom bust will surely be the highlight of my collection...make this one happen people!
Faux Bronze Thanos Statue by Bowen Designs
So, what's better a Thanos statue? A Thanos statue covered in bronze (ish), that's what! This statue is not available until 2012, but it is already a tough one to track down. The piece stands at just over 15 inches high and shows off this bad ass in all his awesome glory. It is covered in a faux bronze finish that gives the piece a very unique look, compared to the tradtional colorings we are used to seeing. Naturally, with any Bowen Designs piece, this is nothing but details and quality. Do you think Thanos will be all bronzey when he makes his appearance in the
Avengers flick next year? Yeah, I don't think so either.
As some of you may already know, I'm a relative new-comer to reading comics and I have a lot of catching up to do. I know my wife...er Santa has purchased some for me already (I peeked at the check book ledger), so I had to find a few that weren't on that list. As with most of you, this is a list that could go on forever if we let it, but here are just a couple you can track down for me.
X-Men Schism (Hard cover, please)
As my name suggests, I'm a fan of the X-Men Universe. So I think it quite appropriate that a title like this be on my list. I've heard bad, I've heard good, but a story that pits Cyclops and Wolverine against one another is a must-have, if for no other reason than to harrass
nuck about Cyclops getting beaten once again.
Batman: The Black Mirror (Yeah, hard cover on this one too, please)
This one comes was added because my fellow
CBMTrolls member,
ScootiePuff, suggested it. I can honestly say, I'd never heard of it, but it looks to be an incredible story. And who doesn't love a kick-ass Batman comic?! Am I right?
DC's
'The New 52" Collection
OK, so I am a little behind on this revamped and rebooted stuff, so be gentle. Feel free to pick and choose from this entire collection, but just no Aquaman. Obviously, this was a huge moment in the comic book world when DC opted to start anew with their properties and from what I gather, they've done a great job.
And finally, here are a few accessories that I might enjoy. Feel free to pick one up for yourselves if you'd like, as I think they are pretty cool. We all need a little geekiness in our lives and these are a great way for that to happen.
Comic Book Cell Phone Cover
Here is a plethora of phone covers for you to choose from, featuring some of comics greatest characters, as well as a few pop-culture icons we have all come to love and enjoy, including Star Wars, Mario and the always hilarious Sheldon Cooper. Being that I have an iPhone, that's what I have suggested, go figure. This is a simple way for any geek to show off their favorite characters, as it is fun and fairly inexpensive to add.
"
These Dumbasses Put my Cape on Backwards" Bib
I know that some of you have kids out that, and I'm looking to add a litter to my house hold soon as well and of course we'd like for our kids to be as passionate about comic books as we are. I figure I should get an early start and put one of these bib on my kids as often as possible. Yeah, you/we may get some funny looks, but I would have thought that the Captain America t-shirt I was wearing would draw the attention away from the kid.
Vintage Design Batman Tin Lunch Box
Like most of you (not you
Jazzy), I am a working man. And in times like these, we are doing every thing we can to save a few dollars (except for when I ask for a $500 Venom Bust). So, I bring my lunch to work with me and frankly, I'm tired of the drab brown paper bags and the crusty tupperware bowls. A nice, vintage style lunch box would salve that problem quite well, don't you think? I'm guessing that as soon as the boss sees me pull this bad boy out at lunch, the raises are inevitable.
Well, there you have it. I hope this gives you all something to work with, but if you need more suggestions, I'm happy to oblige. You'll need to get these shipped soon if they are to reach me before Christmas hits, so get crackin'! All joking aside, I hope that you all have an awesome holiday season, no matter how you celebrate. This has been an incredible year for CBM and we all look forward to another great year in 2012.
Happy Holidays!