You can’t swing a Christmas tree without hitting something comic book-themed these days. But if you’ve got a discriminating fan on your shopping list, they may prove difficult to buy for. So, in the spirit holiday helping, The Wire offers its picks for perfect comic gifts this season.

for the die-hard fan:
Watchmen: The Absolute Edition
DC Comics, $75
Alan Moore’s seminal super-hero work (named by Time Magazine as one of the 20th century’s top 100 works of fiction) gets the full-boat deluxe treatment in this massive edition. Moore and artist Dave Gibbons reinvented the super-hero genre with this dark, hyper-realistic look at a world where cape-clad vigilantes are real—and bring with them dire consequences for the rest of humanity. Moore’s multi-layered narrative is still relevant and enjoyable two decades later. Any serious comics fan probably already owns a copy of “Watchmen,” but this new edition includes a host of extras, including some of Moore’s original scripts, the original “Watchmen” proposal and Gibbons’ initial character designs. 

for zombie-lovers
The Walking Dead Omnibus
Image Comics, $100
“The Walking Dead” is one of the finest zombie comics out there. Writer Robert Kirkman gives a complex, humanistic portrayal of life among a small band of survivors in zombie-ravaged America. There’s plenty of goopy gore, courtesy of artists Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore, but the real focus here is on a former sheriff who now leads a ragtag group in a search for safety not only from the zombies, but from each other. The massive omnibus reprints the first 24 issues of the series in a sharp looking hardcover, which can double as bludgeon against hungry zombies.

for historians:
Men Of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book
by Gerard Jones
Basic Books, $15
The sordid secret origins of comics are revealed in Jones’ exhaustively researched chronicle of the medium’s early days. See how a couple of geeky Jewish immigrants and some shifty bootleggers developed the modern comic book and changed the face of pop culture. Jones interviews the family and friends of luminaries like Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster (the creators of Superman), Harry Donenfeld (the founder of DC Comics), Jack Kirby, Julius Schwartz and more. “Men of Tomorrow” pulls together the disparate threads of early 20th-century pop culture and shows how they came together to form comics as we know them today. Tightly written and compelling, Jones fleshes out the lives of the creators who, until only recently, took a back seat to their famous creations. Even fans well versed in comics history will find out some interesting facts, such as hints that Siegel’s father may have been murdered.

for underground aficionados:
The R. Crumb Handbook
MQ Publications, $25
Enter the twisted, subversive world of legendary underground comics artist Robert Crumb in this densely packed retrospective. With collaborator Pete Poplaski, Crumb presents an overview of his life’s work, from comics he created with his brother while growing up to the unwanted fame that made him, as he says, “(the) greeting card artist for the counter-culture.” Included are reprints of the adventures of Crumb’s famous creations like Projunior and Mr. Natural, as well as the curmudgeonly cartoonist’s thoughts on pop culture, cartooning and mental health. The inside back cover serves as an “R. Crumb Depression Graph,” which chronicles Crumb’s various ups and downs and includes an arrow that points “Onward to death!” As a bonus, you also get a CD of Crumb’s banjo music that includes “My Girl’s Pussy,” Crumb’s classic ode to felines.

for Sunday funnies fans:
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
Andrews McMeel Publishing, $150
or
The Complete Peanuts 1950-1954 Boxed Set
Fantagraphics, $50
“Calvin and Hobbes” and “Peanuts” are two of the finest comic strips ever published. Except for brief reprint stints, however, they’ve been absent from funny pages for several years—which Andrews McMeel and Fantagraphics more than make up for with these two boxed sets. The three-book “Calvin” set repackages every comic produced by Bill Watterson between 1985 and 1995, when he ended the series. Watterson also provides a 14-page introduction, chronicling his relationship with the characters and his struggles with the cartoon syndicates. The spiritual heir to George Herriman’s “Krazy Kat” comics, “Calvin” excelled in its art, endearing characters and broad range of humor, a blend of sharp satire and wry observations on childhood and imagination. Watterson’s heroes include comic strip pioneer Charles Schulz, whose “Peanuts” was a funnies mainstay for almost 50 years. Fantagraphics will undertake the monumental task of reprinting all of Schulz’s “Peanuts” strips in chronological order over the next 12 years. This boxed set includes the first four years of Charlie Brown and Snoopy’s adventures.

for indie readers
Blankets
by Craig Thompson
Top Shelf Comix, $29.95
or
Smoke and Guns
by Kristen Baldock and Fabio Moon
AiT/Planet Lar, $12.95
Craig Thompson’s “Blankets,” the break-out hit of 2004, is back in print this year, just in time for holiday giving. “Blankets” is a richly illustrated, almost lyrical tale of love, heartbreak and faith. It’s the perfect gift for everyone—from snobs who think comics are nothing but capes and tights to sentimental romantics in search of a complex love story. Meanwhile, “Smoke and Guns” is a smart, witty shoot-’em-up with killer action sequences. When Scarlett, a cocky cigarette girl, starts selling smokes outside her appointed district, rival cigarette girl gangs come after her with a vengeance. It’s tailor-made for old-school action movie fans and anyone who likes cuties packing heat. After all, nothing says Christmas like nicotine and a 9mm gun.