It’s Christmastime for the comic book fan in your life and as always, there is a wealth of titles out there to give as gifts this year. Below is what we like to think is a good list of comics and graphic novels for a variety of readers, be they art lovers, new readers, or people just looking for something new. So dive in, take a look and get ready to make someone happy when they unwrap their gift.

See here below for our Holiday Geek Gift Guide 2016 for Comic Books and Graphic Novels.

King Conan: Wolves Beyond The Border
Created by Robert E. Howard
Written by Timothy Truman
Art by Tomas Giorello
Colors by Jose Villarrubia
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Cover by Tomas Giorello
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: July 27, 2016
Cover Price: $17.99

It used to be that every time I saw there was a new Conan release, I would hang my head and sigh deeply before laying my money down on the counter. It was a crapshoot, to say the least. But in the past few years in general, and this month in particular, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. This trade paperback, King Conan: Wolves Beyond The Border, is a prime example of masterful storytelling and sequential art working in perfect harmony.

Read on for more information as to why I loved it so much!

Conan The Slayer #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Sergio Davila
Colors by Michael Atiyeh
Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Covers by Lee Bermejo, Mark Schultz with Dave Stewart (30th Anniversary Variant)
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: July 13, 2016
Cover Price: $3.99

Cullen Bunn is writing Conan! Okay, now that I got that out of the way, allow me to introduce you to Conan The Slayer #1. Being a life-long fan of everyone’s favorite Cimmerian, I always try to keep my eyes open for anything Conan. To be fair, I’ll read anything involving this character. But when it reads and feels just like something Robert E. Howard himself would have appreciated, then it’s really time to celebrate!

Keep on reading for more fanboy gushing and witty remarks!

Everyone is in the Star Wars spirit right now…maybe even more so than those who are in the holiday season spirit. That’s thanks in part to unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of snow for some, but it says a whole lot about how big a new movie in the franchise is.

Among the masses currently enjoying Star Wars fever with the release of The Force Awakens and out seeing the movie once or twice or ten times this weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to share a video of his Conan the Barbarian character testing out his own lightsaber. And it is a big ol’ ‘saber, fitting for Conan.

The video is actually oddly soothing to watch as Conan swings his glowing blade to familiar music, and you can check it out below.

Red Sonja/Conan #1
Written by Victor Gischler
Art by Roberto Castro
Colors by Alex Guimaraes
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Alex Ross, Ed Benes and Dinei Ribeiro, Roberto Castro and Dinei Ribeiro
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 5, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

I love all things Conan. This is an indisputable fact, my friends will testify to it. That is, until this particular comic was delivered to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the Dark Horse led Conan/Red Sonja miniseries that preceded this Dynamite attempt. But Red Sonja/Conan #1 seemed…unnatural, for lack of a better word. Or maybe I’m critiquing it overmuch.

Conan/Red Sonja #4
Written by Gail Simone & Jim Zub
Pencils by Randy Green
Inks by Rick Ketcham
Colors by Dave Stewart
Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Cover art by Dan Panosian
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: April 29, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

Conan/Red Sonja #4 is the perfect ending to what, in my opinion, was the perfect example of a inter-company crossover. For the past three issues, two of fantasy’s most popular characters have fought, loved, and been comrades in arms. Now, with the fate of the entire universe at stake, can even they protect it?

Writers Gail Simone and Jim Zub continue their excellent tale of Conan and Red Sonja. What I’ve loved most about this series, and this issue in particular, is that it was more of a team-up than a crossover, and that both characters get equal billing and “page-time.” Each has their share of story to carry and each has their own weight to pull when it comes to the overall adventure. This issue is a fitting end to the series. I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s perfect.

Conan Red/Sonja #3
Written by Gail Simone & Jim Zub
Pencils by Randy Green
Inks by Rick Ketcham
Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colors by Dave Stewart
Cover art by Dan Panosian
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 25, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

Conan/Red Sonja #3 takes a big swerve from the first two issues of this series, and it’s a total surprise for the reader. We’re used to the past two issues that skipped around during different times of the lives of Conan and Red Sonja, and it was great and fun, but now that the narrative has changed, is it still good? Let me tell you what I think…

Conan/Red Sonja #2
Written by Gail Simone & Jim Zub
Art by Dan Panosian
Colors by Dave Stewart
Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Cover art by Dan Panosian
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 11, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99
Kindle Edition: $3.19

Conan/Red Sonja #2 is the second installment in this way too long in the making crossover. We get a follow-up on the first issue’s first meeting between the two most recognizable characters in the fantasy comics genre, but in many ways, it’s also a first issue. Confused? Let me straighten things out for you.

Conan the Avenger #2
Written by Fred Van Lente
Art by Brian Ching
Colors by Michael Atiyeh
Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Cover art by Killian Plunkett
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 28, 2014
Cover Price: $3.50

WOW!!!! Comics don’t get much better than Conan the Avenger #2!!! It’s got EVERYTHING you could want or hope for in a Conan comic book.

I’ve enjoyed Fred Van Lente’s books in the past a great deal, but I had no idea he had such great ideas and stories for Conan in him. This is a Conan that we don’t get to see that often. Usually he’s fighting off other barbarians, pirates, or monsters, but here we get to see him tackle the spirit world. How can he kill something that’s all ready dead? The answer will surprise you! Beyond all this awesomeness, there’s a really great story, with just enough hopelessness for the character the reader believes that this might be the adventure he doesn’t walk away from, even though we know better. The villains are believable, and that’s what made me actually get nervous for Conan a couple of times. And, Van Lente throws in some pretty great “classic Conan” moments.

Every year, the Cannes Film Festival screens the latest features from some of the world’s most prestigious directors amidst a sea of glitz and glamor, and by a jury of celebrated filmmakers and artisans select titles are handed awards for various achievements their financiers and distributors will make great use of when they begin to mount the inevitable Oscar campaigns several months later.

Cannes is also the place where producers and filmmakers come to peddle their latest movies and raise funds for future projects with little more than hastily-assembled posters and trailers to show potential investors. The posters that emerge from every Cannes Film Festival are some of the craziest, retina-scouring images a human being could ever gaze upon. But on occasion you might find something amazing hiding among the dreck, such as this sales poster for the long-in-gestation The Legend of Conan.

You can check it out here below.