Christmas is just two weeks away, but there is still time to find a gift for the comic book enthusiast in your life.
The market is flooded with paperbacks, however you might want to consider some of the hardcovers. Their durability is a definite plus.
One of the highlights this season is DC’s new Wonder Woman hardcover, “Love and Murder.“ The collection covers the six-issue tenure of Jodi Picoult as writer for Wonder Woman. Picoult, a New York Times best-selling author best known for her novels “Nineteen Minutes” and “The Tenth Circle,” is the second woman to write for Wonder Woman during the character’s long history.
Terry Dodson handles the art duties and does it beautifully.
In the story, Wonder Woman’s alter ego, Diana Prince, is assigned to find and capture Wonder Woman. Over the course of the book it is revealed her nemisis Circe is manipulating the U.S. government and the Amazons, led by WW’s recently resurrected mother Hippolyta, into a war.
The true objective goes beyond just causing a war.
Be warned, if you pick up this $19.99 title you’ll feel compelled to pick up the follow-up sometime soon.
If you’re looking for a gift for a younger comic book reader, Jeff Smith’s “Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil” is a good option.
Smith did a fantastic job of hard-edged storytelling set in a kid-friendly style with his self-published comic book “Bone.” He described the book as “The Lord of the Rings” meets “Scrooge McDuck.”
His ability to tell a complex story in a simplified and enjoyable manner definitely comes through in this work. The book is a retelling of an old Captain Marvel story, and it’s done fantastically.
The introduction of multiple Captain Marvel staples, including Mr. Mind, Dr. Silvana, Talky Tawny and kid sister Mary Marvel, are all juggled while maintaining a brisk pace and easygoing storytelling.
For $29.99 you get the book with its dust jacket that unfolds into an oversized poster with a heap of extras.
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Shawn Munguia does graphics and layout for the Valley Morning Star. He also maintains a blog about cartoons and comics at http://toontalk.freedomblogging.com/. Munguia can be reached at 956-421-9870 or you can e-mail him at shawnm@valleystar.com.
