by Naomi Klein
720 pages, paperback, Picador, $16
A veteran journalist for The Guardian, Harper’s Magazine, and The Nation, Naomi Klein has long been a critic of globalization. With The Shock Doctrine, her latest book and thesis, Klein takes aim at noted free-market advocate Milton Friedman, asserting that these policies have robbed citizens at the behest of corporations — and that many of them have been implemented during times of extreme national/international distress.
by Rob Schrab
786 pages, paperback, Image, $30
With four new comics to cap this 20-issue series from the mid-’90s, the story of a self-aware robot assassin and his love interest was finally given a proper ending this year.
The story beings when Scud, the protagonist, is purchased from a vending machine to assassinate Jeff, a Frankenstein’s monster of sorts with a gigantic electrical plug for a head and mouths on her knees. In a mirror, Scud sees the warning on his back that he will self-destruct upon the death of his target, so he spends much of the series figuring out ways to keep Jeff alive.
Series creator Rob Schrab left #20 with a cliffhanger, and due to the dissolution of his publishing company as well as his Hollywood career (he directs The Sarah Silverman Program), ten years lapsed before it was completed. When it resurfaced this year, it came with guest cover art for #21-24, including work from Ashley Wood (Zombies vs. Robots, Popbot) and Doug TenNapel (Iron West, Earthworm Jim).
Thankfully, now you can pick up the whole series, which was a bargain at $30. Grab it for $20 at Amazon.
by Katie West
80 pages, hardcover, self-published, $50
Canadian photo blogger Katie West has released this collection of self-portraits, many of which are nudes, shot in high-contrast color, sepia, and black and white. Many of the images have a voyeuristic feel and many others are legitimately arty; it should satisfy brows high and low as a holiday gift.
To get a feel for her photography or to read about her interest in Star Trek, check out her blog.
by the editors of Phaidon Press
812 pages, hardcover, Phaidon Press, $195
This is one for someone that really loves modern or futuristic architecture, but it can be just as applicable to art lovers and geography buffs. The architecture and photography are both incredible, depicting the world’s most forward-thinking structural designs in stunning clarity.
It also comes in a big-ass lime-green plastic carrying case and weighs 20 pounds, so it might not surprise you that it retails for $195. But you can get it for $123 right now at Amazon, so pounce on that deal if you know someone who would appreciate it.
by the bloggers at FreeDarko.com
224 pages, hardcover, Bloomsbury, $23
Designed for hoops fans with a sense of humor, The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac is an irreverent look at the game by the bloggers at freedarko.com, named after Memphis Grizzlies center Darko Milicic, a substantial draft bust. (Milicic was drafted second overall by the Pistons in 2003, one pick behind LeBron James — and ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Chris Kaman, David West, and a score of other decent-to-good NBA players.)
One of the bloggers also writes for The Sporting News, a major sports publication and radio syndication, so the crew knows its stuff. That translates into the book, but it’s also lighthearted and humorous at most junctures, profiling star players with nicknames, themes, spirit animals, and more — Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is depicted as the classic perfectionist, chasing the shadows of Michael Jordan, that fans either love or hate. “To his detractors,” his chapter reads, “Kobe Bryant is Dracula: a spooky, inhuman being that gets shit done.”
In addition to sidebar profiles, each chapter diagrams a trademark play or move from the stars, using box-head robots as visual aids. For the moves of Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, his styles are compared to a falcon, a short-string yo-yo, a bottle rocket, a bull…and a sand dollar (“irrelevant, though not unpleasant”). This hardcover is only $14 at Amazon.