Gift ideas for comic-book fans

DVDs, comic-book collections and more are available for holiday season

When it comes to holiday gift-giving and receiving, it’s a great time to be a comic-book fan. If you have a comics fan in your life, there’s a wide array of gift possibilities on shelves at comic-book stores and other retail outlets. Most comic stores should have staples including comic-book collecting supplies, graphic novels and gift certificates. Here are some suggestions for the comics fans on your list.

It was a big year for comic-book heroes in the cineplexes this year, with “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” all now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

“Marvel’s The Avengers” is available in a variety of formats; the four-disc version including a Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, digital copy and digital music download retails for $49.99.

“The Amazing Spider-Man” is available in multiple formats as well; the three-disc combo with Blu-ray, DVD and UltraViolet digital copy retails for $40.99.

“The Dark Knight Rises” Blu-ray/DVD Combo plus UltraViolet Digital Copy hits shelves on Tuesday with a suggested retail price of $35.99; the box set of the “Dark Knight Trilogy” on Blu-ray retails at $52.99.  In addition, the film is available for DVD and for download. For even more Bat-action, the animated feature “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1” is available on Blu-ray ($24.98) and DVD ($19.98), as the first part of the adaptation of Frank Miller’s acclaimed graphic novel features Batman returning from retirement to again face a crime-filled Gotham City.

And that’s just the start of possible gift ideas for comic-book fans this year.

“Avengers vs. X-Men” from Marvel Comics retails for $75. The biggest crossover of the year is collected in

an oversized hardcover edition from Marvel Comics. The Avengers, including Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, face off against the X-Men, including Cyclops and Emma Frost, in this storyline that topped the sales charts this summer. The hardcover collects “Avengers vs. X-Men” 0-12; the AVX Point One story; “AVX: VS” 1-6 and “Avengers vs. X-Men: Infinite” 1, 6 and 10.

Ed Brubaker’s crime drama “Scene of the Crime,” originally published by Vertigo, is back in a sharp hardcover edition from Image Comics. Extras include the original proposal for the series from Brubaker, and additional art from series artists Michael Lark and Sean Phillips. The book retails for $24.99.

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