Indy Comics Writer

I find Christmas to be a bit unfair. Me? I’m easy to buy for. Get me a few books and I’m happy. My wife? That’s more of a challenge. When I go off Christmas shopping for her, I feel like a man lost in the jungle without a map. Everything that looks good is too expensive (especially this year, when we’ve put ourselves on a strict budget). Everything that’s affordable looks like junk.

I’m quite creative, I think. Last year, I paid to have a poster from the play my wife created the costumes for professionally framed. Pretty good, don’t you think? She thought so, too. Problem is, how do you match that year after year? Ah, I prefer the Christmases of my youth, when I’d simply sit back and wait for my presents to arrive.

Anyway, comics make a great Christmas gift for most anyone on your list who knows how to read. Here are some suggestions:

For the teens in your home: Get them some hardcover trades of Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man. This, by far, the best mainstream comic going these days. It perfectly captures the joys and struggles of being a teen. It has some nifty art and cool fight scenes, too.

For your 8-, 9- and 10-year-old: Get Knights of the Lunch Table by Frank Cammuso. It’s a funny retelling of the King Arthur story, set in a typical school with a hero named Artie.

For the fan of serious literature, you can’t go wrong with some Alan Moore tales. Try the obvious ones like Watchmen, but don’t forget gems such as Top 10: The Forty-Niners. This is a fun tale and, for my money, is a better read than most of Moore’s better-known graphic novels.

Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse is a wonderful gift for anyone in your family who’s ever struggled to fit in. The graphic novel tells the story of a young man trying to come to terms with his homosexuality. At the same time, he finds himself involved, rather unwillingly, in the burgeoning Civil Rights movement in the Deep South. This is a moving tale.