The holidays are approaching at warp speed. Are your phasers set to stun the ones you love — with joy? Each week through December, we’ll give you a few ideas for the nerd who has everything. Think of it like an advent calendar of geekiness. Only less chocolatey and not as punctual.
COMICS: Watchmen
The film adaptation of Watchmen is easily the most anticipated event of early 2009 after the inauguration. That is, provided an 11th-hour legal challenge from Fox over the motion picture rights doesn’t derail the whole thing.
Wanting to see what all the fuss is about, I recently read Watchmen for the first time and I wasn’t disappointed. The groundbreaking late ’80s graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons belongs on any self-respecting geek’s bookshelf. A new softcover copy will set you back $20, while the hardcover “Absolute Edition” retails for $75.
GAMES: Monty Python Fluxx
And now for something completely different. This product — a Python-flavored version of Fluxx, the long-running card game where every card changes the rules — is jam-packed with references to Monty Python and the Holy Grail and a healthy smattering of material from the British comedy troupe’s other movies and the television show Monty Python’s Flying Circus. It’s all there, from the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch to the Spanish Inquisition. The game, for 2-6 players ages 8 and older, takes 10-40 minutes to play and goes for $20.
DVDs: Star Wars trilogies (yes, again)
The entire Star Wars saga has been repackaged in separate boxed sets containing the prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith) and the classics (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi). For $50 each, there’s nothing here that hasn’t been released on DVD in the last few years, but it’s the first time the prequels have had a box of their own, and it’s the new slim packaging. You know how collectors can be — they have to have it all. (Sorry, no Blu-ray yet. Next Christmas, Uncle George?)
That’s all for the first installment. Chime in below and share your shopping list — and your wish list! And stay tuned for our next set of recommendations.
