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It's that time again. November is here and for those of us in the States, that means that the fourth Thursday is Thanksgiving and then on to the Christmas rush. Unfortunately, we are in the midst of an economic downturn and money and jobs are a bit tight right now. For this month's Random Crap, I'm going to look at presents that are good for the average nerd and under $40.
First off there are action figures. Having written the collectables column for many years here on the Collector Times web site, I'm finding that there are a lot of them out there. For the younger ones there is the Toy Story line to play off the recent success of the 3-D re-release of Toy Story I & II. For those comic fans there is the DC and Marvel line of 3.75" figures which are a touch on the expensive side depending on where you find them. For the fan who likes their figures a bit on the larger side there's always the DC Universe Classics. For those of you who have a Star Wars fan on your list there's the Star Wars Clone Wars, Star Wars Legacy and Star Wars Legacy Build a Droid Collections of figures. The Build a Droid collection is kind of like the DC Universe Classics where each figure comes with a part to build another droid figure. Just be sure to look on the back of the figure and see which parts you are getting that build which droid. There's nothing more embarrassing than getting three quarters of an Astromech droid and then having the left arm of another different droid entirely. There's also the Clone Wars collection that has figures from this past season as well as this season of the Clone Wars Cartoon that is airing on Cartoon Network. The final line for that special someone is the GI Joe rise of Cobra line based on this past summer's blockbuster movie. These are probably your best deal because at Target stores they have been dropped in price from about $7.88 to a whopping $5.99.
Next off are comics. What good nerd would not love to have a collection of comics to put on their shelf? The best buys for your money are either the Marvel Essential editions of some of their more sought after titles from the 1960's and 1970's or the DC Showcase Presents of some of DC Comics more popular titles from the same decades as the Marvel ones. Both the Essentials and the Showcase Presents are bare bones on the printing side; they are black and white colored as well as being printed on newsprint. This may seem like kind of a rip off, but you get somewhere on the order of twenty issues of the comics in the book and only pay somewhere around $17.00 (or less if you get a deal on an online site). The Marvel books you can get cover everything from the Avengers, Howard the Duck, Godzilla or even the Uncanny X-Men. The DC books you can get are Justice League, Batman, Superman and Flash as well as older titles that cost a lot on the open market. Just about every major title you can think of that has come out over the past forty-five to fifty years is available as a reprint.
Video games are next on the list and they are split into one of two categories; computer and console. Most of your console games are the ones that most of us have grown up with. Most of them that are hot are not marked down big time yet, so that would rule them out. Instead if your loved one owns an X-Box 360 or a Nintendo Wii, you can buy a card with points for them to buy games that they can save to their system. If you feel that you must purchase a game, try to purchase one that is used. I say this because most of the games that you buy marked down at most stores are really lousy. If they are marked down and not lousy then they are probably owned by the loved one. Then there are computer games which are more of the Real-Time Strategy or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG). Most of these run just near the $40 line I have imposed on myself, if you want to buy the game itself or one of the expansions for the game. Then there are game cards if you want to play an MMORPG and do not have a credit card or do not want to have your credit card information out there on some web site. For a flat rate (generally about the price of two months worth of gaming) you can buy a card and give it to that loved one who plays the game so they can play non-stop for about two months before having to pay or get a new card to continue playing.
Last up, I want to discuss paper and pencil Role Playing Games (RPG's). Granted at retail most games go over the limit, but with some looking on the internet at Amazon.com or E-bay you can find something to whet that nerd in your life's palate. Amazon I know has most of their Wizards of the Coast Role Playing Games marked down about 30% off cover price and that most other game systems that are available now are marked down, but mostly in the 10-20% range.
There you have it, some helpful ideas from me for you all to use this holiday season.
Next month, I'll be back to my usual news and notes format.
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