Last minute Christmas shopping for a Comic Book Fan
Here’s the new update to this old list, which dates all the way back to 2010.
It’s often very difficult to buy comic books for a collector or (if you are the collector) to suggest to a friend or relative what you’d like. Marching around Tampa’s Comic Shops (or the town near you) or parading through the aisles of Border’s and Barnes & Noble can leave a novice lost or confused.
Here’s some suggestions:
1. Forget single bagged & boarded issues
Greenshift (like the local comic book shop near you) is the last mainstay of the comic shops in Tampa who survived the comic boom of the 1990s. Wander around, grab the wrong issue, get a comic in poor quality or simply pay too much: all errors buying these single issues.
Suggestion: leave these to the collectors. If you feel compelled to follow through, see if the retailer can offer a gift certificate of some sort.
2. Amazon.com
If you have a nuggest of specific information you can find the item on Amazon. For example, enter a character such as “Green Lantern” and you will have a plethora of items from toys to shirts to books to action figures to decide from.
Suggestion: if you still fell overwhelmed, go to the route of an Amazon gift card.
From The Avengers to Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy, there are tons of options to pick from, enjoy the hunt. For the TV fans, The Flash, Green Arrow, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow have all joined Walking Dead as big favorites.
3. Graphic Novels (Softcover or Hardcover)
Need a tangle gift or hate gift certifcates? Try a graphic novel.
Peruse any Borders or Barnes & Noble shop in Tampa and you will find multiple shelves full of these collected stories. There are softcover and hardcover variations expanding the price range from $10 to $50 (and up in some cases.)
The hardcover graphic novels are relished in the comic collecting communities because they offer a great way to enjoy the story, the art without the risk of damage or accident to their prized collectible.
It will still take a bit of reconnaissance, but with a list of characters or titles you can put a nice present under the tree.