Wednesday 4 December 2013

Proud Lion's Christmas Gift Guide, part one - The Walking Dead & other scares

So here it is, Merry Christmas, everybody's having fun… until they go into the town centre to do some shopping, then it becomes a bit of a nightmare. Some of us now do it all online, which is great until some lamentable error with the courier sees your carefully chosen items failing to arrive, or turning up damaged.

Have no fear though, your friendly neighbourhood comic shop is here with a more personal touch to shopping. Pop in and we'll do whatever we can to find the perfect gift for your comic-book-reading, action-figure-covetting, fantasy-daydreaming, sci-fi swashbuckling loved ones!

Over the next few weeks, I'll be serving up a few great gift ideas from the carefully selected items we have in stock. To start off with - and to celebrate the mid-season finale airing this week - we have various Walking Dead merchandise, along with other horror genre gift ideas.


THE WALKING DEAD MONOPOLY BOARD GAME - £35
It's the classic family board game, themed to fit Robert Kirkman's zombie apocalypse with some amazing playing pieces including Michonne's katana, Rick's hat and Dale's RV. Currency has been replaced with supplies. Houses are walls and hotels are guard towers. Chance cards become Scavenge cards, and the Community Chest cards are Supply Chest cards. Income Tax has been replaced with Herd, the Luxury Tax has been replaced with Protection. A fun spin on an old favourite!


THE WALKING DEAD THE BEST DEFENSE BOARD GAME- £33
(with free limited edition promo cards while stocks last!)
In this survival board game, players must cooperate in order to defend their locations from Walkers and other, more-human horrors. Playing as key characters from The Walking Dead, one acts as the leader, making decisions in order to maintain supplies and protect resources - but those decisions can be ignored, at a price, particularly if they prove to be detrimental to your character's ulterior motive. The ultimate goal is to survive; how you manage that is up to you. Featuring superior production values to Cryptozoic's previous Walking Dead games, this looks like the zombie apocalypse's answer to the fabulous Battlestar Galactica co-op board game.


THE WALKING DEAD TV SERIES
MERLE & DARYL DIXON ACTION FIGURES 2 PACK - £35
Everyone's favourite zombie-killing rednecks are back, in tiny posable plastic form! Featuring Daryl's trademark crossbow and capturing his older brother's inimitable bad attitude, McFarlane Toys bring you the ultimate family reunion for Christmas Day! Daryl sold out in record time when he was released on his own a while back and now goes for silly money on eBay, so this a great and affordable way to own your very own Norman Reedus.  


THE LAST OF US AMERICAN DREAMS TP - £13
Any fans of the hit Playstation 3 game should definitely get their hands on this. American Dreams, co-written by the game's creative director Neil Druckmann, is a charming, if bleak, insight into Ellie's past, introducing new characters as well as drawing in a few familiar faces. The story gives a taste of her military school days and her initial encounter with the Fireflies and their leader Marlene. Of particular interest to players will be Ellie's first meeting with her friend Riley and their first adventure sneaking out of the school looking for freedom, beginning a pattern of thrill-seeking that presumably leads to the horrific encounter Ellie describes in a couple of memorable scenes in the game. All of this graphic novel takes place before the forthcoming DLC (with the players assuming the role of Ellie and accompanied by Riley) currently expected to be released during the holiday season. This is the perfect accompaniment to the Naughty Dog triumph.


MARVEL ZOMBIES ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOL 01 TP - £26
Ah, Marvel Zombies! A few years ago, this was one of those eureka comics book moments, where an idea emerges that is so captivating it makes you wonder why it hadn't been done before. First introduced in Mark Millar's run on Ultimate Fantastic Four, the initial reveal of the undead versions of classic Marvel characters was a jaw-dropping piece of misdirection. The subsequent Marvel Zombies miniseries capitalised on the concept, with The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman at the helm, ensuring a certain shambling authenticity to the whole undertaking. Sadly, later volumes went off the rails a bit, but this newly released Ultimate Collection contains the initial offerings and none of the later nonsense making this a must-have volume for anyone who has yet to experience the magnificent Marvel Zombies. Highly recommended!


ALIENS GENOCIDE 7" ACTION FIGURES 2 PACK - £37
In the years between the excellent Aliens film and the appalling Prometheus train wreck, Dark Horse Comics published a series of wonderful Aliens comics including the wonderful Genocide miniseries. This four issue comic story, featured a human expedition funded by a billionaire with dubious motives travelling to a xenomorph world to capture a live Queen, only come face-to-face with a planet torn apart by two warring tribes of berserk xenomorphs - one breed of black aliens and the others a vibrant red. A truly memorable Aliens story that is now celebrated in these two excellent NECA action figures.


Watch this space with more wonderful Christmas gift ideas!

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