Has it been a year already? It hardly seems possible. Nevertheless, pull up a chair by the fire, pour yourself a cup of your chosen nog-based beverage, and take some notes as we offer a few of our favorite gift-recommendations for the geek or geek-adjacent on your shopping list this holiday season.
IMAGINATION ILLUSTRATED: THE JIM HENSON JOURNAL
This beautiful hardcover collection of the late Jim Henson’s production diaries incudes not only rare photos and anecdotes from the Muppet creator’s career, but also hundreds of pieces of little-seen artwork by Henson from all stages of his legendary body of work. No Muppet fan should be without it.
KING CANDY’S SUGAR RUSH RACER
Did you love WRECK-IT RALPH? Me too. And one of the film’s highlights was without question the “Sugar Rush” racing-game sequence, along with the ruler of that particular game land, King Candy, with FIREFLY’s Alan Tudyk expertly channeling the voice of the late Ed Wynn in a hilarious performance. Head on over to the Disney Store to pick up this sweet (pun intended) replica of King Candy’s white-chocolate racer.
AVENGERS MOVIE ACTION-FIGURE 8-PACK
It’s pretty hard to resist walking out of the store with a full team of a Avengers in a single box, and this exclusive offering from Target also includes Nick Fury and Loki to boot. A very nice package, but I gotta ask: where’s Phil Coulson?
HOT TOYS MOVIE MASTERPIECE HAWKEYE
Speaking of action figures and Hawkeye, if you have a little more money to spend, this sixth-scare reproduction of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye from Hong Kong toymakers Hot Toys is simply astounding. Even the arrowhead carousels at the base of the quiver spin.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION SEASON 2 BLU-RAY
The second season of Next Gen gets a very bad rap, if you ask me. Even while saddled with the black hole of charisma that was new medical officer Dr. Pulaski, some of the best episodes in the series could be found here, including the mind-bending “Time Squared,” “Q Who,” which introduced the Borg, and “Measure of a Man,” the tale of Data’s struggle to be officially recognized as a person, which is on my short list of favorite TREK episodes ever. Add in the introduction of Guinan, one of the strongest supporting characters in the mythos and the best thing Whoopi Goldberg has ever done in my book. And all in breathtaking new HD quality.
IMAGINEXT DC SUPERHEROES PENGUIN SUBMARINE
Got little ones just getting into the world of Batman? How can you go wrong with this Penguin submarine, which looks straight out of the 1966 Adam West movie, complete with the paddling back feet.
IDW’S ARTIST’S EDITIONS
Whether you’re a fan of Golden Age work like Wally Wood’s EC Sci-fi comics, John Romita’s Silver Age Spidey or David Mazzuchelli’s awesome ’80s DAREDEVIL work, these oversized collected editions reproducing the original art at full size give you an insight into the creative process like no other, and allow you to enjoy the work of these artists like never before.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION/DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMILATION
SQUARED, VOLUME 1
Yes, it’s a touch self-serving, but cut me a little slack: I’ve got books to sell. Even if you’re not a fan of my meager scribbling, the beautiful painted art by JK Woodward makes this a must-buy for any Trekkie or Whovian.
Scott Tipton loves his Hot Toys Hawkeye. If you’ve got questions about comics, send them here.
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