Comicon Holiday Gift Guide 2025: Books & DVDs

Greetings and happy holidays, no matter what seasonal holiday you celebrate! Welcome to Comicon.com’s annual holiday gift guide. Whether you’re here looking for ideas for a geeky family member, for a few ideas for your personal wish list, or just to do a little shopping for yourself, you’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to our third entry for physical media, specifically books and movies! So let’s just jump in!

Marvel’s Daredevil: The Illustrated History By Alex Segura

Writer Alex Segura — a crime novelist in addition to being a comic writer, with a Daredevil novel of his own coming out in March — gives us the definitive history of Daredevil in a volume featuring lavish reproductions of classic Daredevil art. From the origins of the character to the banana Mike Murdock plotline, from his time on the West Coast to the coming (and coming again) of Frank Miller, Segura covers the highs and the lows of the character’s decades-long narrative. Perfect new fans and diehards looking for a refresher/recontextualization alike.  (Austin Gorton)

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Novelization Deluxe Edition By Matthew Stover

To celebrate the 20th anniversary (what is time?) of the best of the Star Wars Prequels, LucasFilm and Penguin Random House released a special deluxe edition of the original novelization. Stover’s book was already one of the best of all the Star Wars novelizations, adding a ton of depth and nuance missing from the film that makes for both a compelling read and a more rewarding viewing experience when rewatching the film. This new edition is packed with extras, from full annotations by Stover, new illustrated endpapers, and a slick design, complete with a red satin ribbon bookmark. (Austin Gorton)

The Beastmaster 4K Collectors Edition

While probably not the best of the various sword-and-sorcery knock offs which sprung up in the wake of the success of Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s Conan films, it is my personal favorite (and a favorite of my dad’s). It’s also arguably a better Masters of the Universe adaptation than the actual Masters of the Universe movie, with Marc Singer‘s animal-talking Beastmaster Dar being roughly akin to He-Man, John Amos as his Man-At-Arms and Tanya Roberts as his Teela. Physical releases of this movie through the years have been spotty and sold out quickly, so grab it while you can.  (Austin Gorton)

Drome (23rd Street Books) by Jesse Lonergan

There are many great graphic novels that came out this year, but one has burned itself into my brain more than any other. Drome is an avant garde creation myth but it’s so much more than that. It’s a masterclass in sequential art formalism, an adventure, a tragedy, and a spiritual meditation.

Drome weaves together a mix of high and lowbrow influences including: The Odyssey, Gilgamesh, Grimm’s Fairy tales, Invisible Cities, Rollerball, the works of Ovid, Franz Kafka, and Jorge Luis Borges, and even Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Lonergan has creatively  substituted the dragons and monsters of medieval epics for colossal crabs, snakes, and sharks. The result is a primordial world that feels analogous to a Ray Harryhausen film.

The work excels in its use of creative paneling, silent decompressed storytelling, sparse dialogue, and delivers lots of action! With Drome, Lonergan has boiled down epic narratives about human nature to their essential core and created a myth for modern times. Drome is the best graphic novel to gift someone who has never read a comic before. It’s accessible, engaging, thought-provoking and sure to create a life-long love of reading comics — which is the greatest gift of all. (Tito James)

Chainsaw Man Season 1 Blu-ray Limited Edition from Crunchyroll

Chainsaw Man: Rez Arc continued the animated story following a down on his luck teen named Denji, who gains the ability to turn any part of his body into a chainsaw to hunt down Devils. But you can relive the moments prior with Chainsaw Man Season 1 Blu-ray Limited Edition from Crunchyroll. The two-disc set contains all 12 episodes from the first season. In addition, it includes special features such as art galleries featuring character artwork, copyrighted artwork, publicity artwork, and episodic storyboard artwork. Specific to the limited edition is a 72-page booklet. (Gary Catig)

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Harper Collins)

Everywhere I go this year, I can’t help see the Grinch merchandise, the vivid greens are everywhere, attempting to sell the classic Dr Seuss character to you through Christmas trees, ornaments, plushies, novelty hoodies, Funko Pops, jigsaws, crackers, rubber ducks, baking goods, candles – pretty much anything the marketers could imagine slapping the Grinch on, they have done.

But why not spread a little Grinch love this year via the original, the delightful, heartwarming, seriously silly book by Dr. Seuss? 

The original is so often the best. Ignore the merchandise and go back to the source – everyone you read it with will fall in love with this timeless tale of silliness and love. (Richard Bruton)

Star Wars: Someone Who Loves You By Beth Revis & Sophie Li (Disney/Random House)

Look, most of us geeks are into Star Wars for various reasons — the Jedi stuff, the starfighter battles, the shootouts, Darth Vader, I dunno. But there’s no denying that romance is at the heart of the franchise (even if it has at times some of the most cringe-worthy moments in Star Wars). That’s why this sweet picture book from The Princess & The Scoundrel author Beth Revis and acclaimed concept artist, storyboarder and illustrator Sophie Li is extremely giftable. This isn’t a suggestion for you, this is a suggestion for you to purchase for that special person in your life. I’m not going to spoil any of it, outside of saying pick it up, and then give it to the person you love most in your life. It’s better than any “I love you, I know” novelty out there. (Tony Thornley)

The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (Warner Brothers/Ketchup Entertainment)

When I say no movie this year caught me more by surprise this year (complementary), I mean it. The Day The Earth Blew Up is a return to Looney Tunes form, particularly after the bloated mess and back-patting exercise that was Space Jam: A New Legacy. In the first full length animated Looney Tunes movie, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig are adoptive brothers that need to save the world from an alien invasion in the form of mind-control bubble gum. It’s one Bugs Bunny cameo short of perfect, but trust me, it’s an absolute riot that too many people missed. (Tony Thornley)