December is the time of year when gift-giving is on our minds as we hunt for the perfect presents for friends and family. If you are seeking gifts for the comic book lovers in your life, the Gemstone staff would like to offer some interesting suggestions of trades and graphic novels that they might enjoy. This week’s selections come courtesy of our Assistant Editor, Carrie Wood.

Revolutionary Girl Utena Deluxe Hardcover Box Set
By Chiho Saito
Viz Media; $49.99

Revolutionary Girl Utena saw a significant resurgence in 2017, thanks to how the 20th anniversary of the influential anime series has brought forth a slew of new merchandise and updated editions of old material. One such case of the latter is this absolutely stunning box set, which includes the entire manga storyline as well as the manga adaptation of Adolescence of Utena in two deluxe hardcover volumes. These books feature gorgeous full-color pages and the box set also comes with a poster.

The story follows Utena Tenjou, a student who came to Ohtori Academy seeking the prince from her childhood. She quickly gets wrapped up in the school’s mysterious “dueling game” that all members of the student council participate in; the current champion of the duels is automatically engaged to the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya, who is said to possess the power to revolutionize the world. But Utena soon discovers the truth behind the duels, and must face the truth of who her prince really is.

The manga of Revolutionary Girl Utena is notably different from the anime, though they do reach a similar conclusion. Chiho Saito’s artwork is honestly some of the best that the shoujo genre has ever seen. With how Revolutionary Girl Utena had been out of print for more than a decade before Viz brought it back with this set, now’s a great time to catch up with this hugely influential series.

Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Captain Phasma
By Kelly Thompson and Marco Checchetto
Marvel Comics; $16.99

Is there actually anyone on the planet who somehow isn’t excited for The Last Jedi to come out? Captain Phasma, despite a severe lack of screen time in The Force Awakens, proved to be a pretty popular character thanks to her chrome-infused design and the fact that she was played by the stunning Gwendoline Christie. Her comic book story helps to bridge the gap between when we last saw her in The Force Awakens and whatever she happens to be doing in The Last Jedi.

Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Captain Phasma follows the titular captain as she escapes from the doomed Starkiller Base and attempts to exact her revenge for what happened to her – namely, being tossed into a garbage chute after being forced to work against the First Order. Alongside a TIE Fighter pilot, Phasma finds her way to a mysterious planet that’s experiencing strife of its own. The story helps to give more insight to Phasma’s background and her personality, fleshing out a character that very quickly became a fan favorite. This trade paperback collects all four issues of the miniseries and is out just in time for the holidays.

The Legend of Zelda: Art and Artifacts
Dark Horse; $39.99

With Breath of the Wild arriving to universal critical acclaim (and likely picking up a slew of Game of the Year awards) this year, the series has been in the spotlight for much of 2017.

The Art and Artifacts book sheds some light on how far the legendary video game franchise has come in the last 30-plus years, with a particular focus on the art of the series.

Clocking in at more than 400 pages, this hardcover book is a great gift for any fan of The Legend of Zelda regardless of how long they’ve been playing the games.

It’s a follow-up to the Hyrule Historia book from a few years ago, and Dark Horse and Nintendo will be releasing The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia in early 2018, making for an honestly excellent trio of Zelda literature.

Giant Days: Not on the Test Edition
By John Allison and Lissa Treiman
BOOM! Studios; $34.99

The continuing misadventures of Susan, Esther, and Daisy have made for a spectacular comic book from the folks at BOOM! over the last few years. For those who haven’t had the chance to start on Giant Days, this might be the best place to possibly start. The Not on the Test Edition collects the first two volumes of the Eisner-nominated series, and also manages to sneak in the first issue of the original webcomic in a deluxe hardcover format.

Giant Days perfectly captures the feeling of what college is like – high-stress testing situations, dysfunctional relationships, microwave mishaps, unfortunate part-time jobs, and more. The situations that the three leading ladies manage to find themselves in may be somewhat hyperbolic, but they’re relatable to anyone who suffered their way through college.

-Carrie Wood

Stay tuned for more holiday gift suggestions from Gemstone’s comic-loving staff.

Editor’s note: And of course we hope you’ll consider our books for your holiday gift-giving needs as well, including The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #47, The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Horror, The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Concert Posters, The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Video Games, The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Movie Posters, The Overstreet Guide To Cosplay, The Overstreet Guide To Grading Comics, The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comic & Animation Art, and The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comics.