Holiday Gift Guide: The Art of Archie: The Covers

When it comes to the holiday gift-giving season, comic book readers are notoriously difficult to shop for. I mean, most of us are down at the shop buying our favorite stuff every single week, so when the time comes for people who like us to get us something we want, well, a lot of times we already have it. That’s why we’re stepping in with a public service, bringing you comics-related items sure to make the season brighter, whether you’re browsing for a gift or just looking for something to drop hints about so that you don’t get stuck with a random assortment of back issues again.

For the Archie fan in your life, there's a brand new book that makes a dandy gift this year: The Art of Archie: The Covers, collecting some of the best covers of Archie's long history, from the early days right up to now.

ITEM: The Art of Archie: The Covers

CLASSIFICATION: Art book

AVAILABILITY: $18.71 on Amazon

The way I see it, there has never been a better time to be a fan of Archie comics.  Whether you're reading the main line of humor stories, the adult-oriented books like Afterlife With Archie, or even the licensed video game tie-ins like Mega Man, those books are better than they've ever been. More than that, though, they're doing some incredible collections celebrating the history of the characters.

Last year, Archie editor Victor Gorelick and comic archivist Craig Yoe did one of my favorite art books, The Art of Betty & Veronica, and while that still makes a dandy gift, they've followed it up this year with one that's just as good, looking back on the best covers in Archie history. It's really well constructed, organized not just by creators like Dan Parent and Dan DeCarlo, who get spotlight sections, but by theme. If you want to see all the best covers with celebrity guest appearances, there's a section for that. First cover appearances of all the Archie characters? They're in here, organized chronologically. There's even a section focused on Betty and Veronica's romantic rivalry, featuring one of the single most brutal Veronica moments of all time:

Needless to say, that's a personal favorite. It's a great look back at some great art, curated by people who genuinely care enough to make it more interesting than just a gallery you could find online, printed with some beautiful production values, too. Plus, it's heavy and rectangular, which makes it easy peasy to wrap.