The city calm, and the night is dark, but there’s a gloom on the horizon of the newly fallen snow. It’s with this that you realize that there are very few shopping days left until the holidays are over. Well, chances are you’ve got a Batman fan in your life on some level whether they be hardcore fans, new comers or simply a casual gent or lady that enjoys the movies. Well, have I got some last minute, easy as pecan pie solutions for you! Below are several gift ideas that can be presented to your loved ones. One thing that should be mentioned about the below list is that pretty much nothing needs deep understanding of the character’s history. These are pretty safe gifts for any Batfan that you may know, no matter how hardcore. Anyway, let’s get on with this gift guide, shall we?

ABSOLUTE EDITIONS

The thing about Absolute Editions is that, even if I personally don’t like the story, I want the Absolute Edition. Does that make sense? Let me explain. Absolute Editions are presented in the giant hardcover that basically is the same size as the original art, but it’s completely colored and printed on extremely high quality paper. So, any imaginable detail in the art can be experienced, and usually only the most high profile stories with incredibly talented creative teams get the Absolute treatment. Plus, in these editions, there are loads of bonus features that liken them to the most ultimate editions of movie releases. So, with that, let’s move on to the two Batman specific ones on this list.

As you all know, this week is the one we’ve been waiting so impatiently for, the Watchmen Week of Geek!

In celebration of this momentous occasion, I have a collection of great books to tell you about. But before I get into the movie tie-in books, I should mention that if you haven’t read the original Watchmen graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, be sure to get your hands on that! Ok, now that that’s out of the way, we’ll start this entry up with a review of the grand daddy of the Watchmen tie-in books: Watching the Watchmen. After that, we will have more brief looks at Watchmen: The Art of the Film, Watchmen: The Official Film Companion (Hardcover Edition), Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series), and Watchmen: Portraits.

We Geeks of Doom, in conjunction with the phenomenal folks over at Titan Books, are giving our readers the opportunity to win four (4) copies of the hardcover edition of Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel.

“I’ve had a great time, re-visiting the very beginnings of Watchmen and unearthing material I haven’t set eyes on for many years. As a fan myself, this is the kind of stuff I eat up and I’m sure the many devotees of the graphic novel will do the same!” — author and Watchmen illustrator Dave Gibbons

Four (4) winners will receive:

• One (1) copy of the Watching the Watchmen Hardcover Edition

TO ENTER: Fill out the form below and submit.

Entry form is here after the jump.

RULES: One entry per person. All entries must be in by Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 9pm EST. This contest is only open to residents of the United States. No international entries will be accepted. Void where prohibited. Winners will be chosen randomly from valid entries and will be notified by email. NOTE: We will not sell your contact info into spam slavery. Enter with confidence.