Paul Levitz - 75 Years of DC Comics: Having read about this on Neil Gaiman's Facebook page. I was fortunate enough to receive it as a gift this Christmas. For an old-school comics fan like myself, this book is an absolute marvel. Paul Levitz, a fan turned pro who has been one of DC's great unsung heroes for decades, does a marvelous job of tracing DC's characters, creators and the events around them that does these iconic characters proud.In addition to this well-written account of the company's history, this tome's visual presentation, combining not just excerpts from finished comics but also uncolored pencil art, makes it a joy to browse.
David Bowie - Stationtostation (reissue): The combination of the album itself and the legendary Nassau Coliseum concert makes a strong case that 1976 represented the peak of the many artistic peaks of Bowie's career. Many critics feel that Stationtostation was the nexus point between Bowie's interest in the rock/soul styles that had brought him fame and the experimental music that fired his imagination, and this comes through in both the studio and live recordings. The way the new songs blend perfectly with earlier classics like Life on Mars? shows that whatever personal demons Bowie was facing at the time, his artistry never suffered.
Michael Chabon - Gentlemen of the Road: I'm a couple years behind the curve on this one, released in 2007, but I got it as a Christmas gift in 2009. Telling the story of the two most philosophical 10th century con-men you'll ever encounter in print, as they get caught up in the affairs of the Khazar Empire, the book is a unique take on the historical epic. By the standards of Chabon's masterpiece The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Gentlemen of the Road may seem a bit lightweight, but the world and characters he portrays here are no less colorful.
Doctor Who - Various Iterations: David Tennant's final episode, The End of Time, was a major disappointment, but the brief glimpse of new Doctor Matt Smith at the end was encouraging. Smith's first full episode, The Eleventh Hour put some nice wrinkles into a fairly standard alien invasion plot, but the truly remarkable thing was how quickly Smith established himself as the Doctor in an early scene where he displays a piece of deduction worthy of Sherlock Holmes. The rest of the season was a bit uneven, especially the Dalek/Churchill story, but there were far more pleasures than mis-steps - more than enough to have this fan looking forward to 2011's season (and Neil Gaiman's episode). From Doctor Who's future to its past, Big Finish Productions has made some outstanding audio dramas featuring pre-2005 Doctors. Among their recent "Lost Stories" productions is an adaptation of an un-produced script written for the first Doctor by a novelist named Moris Farhi called The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance. Brought to life by original series actors Carole Ann Ford (Susan) and William Russell (Ian), this tale of a world where the bonds of love are far beyond the emotional has a poetic feel whose only equivalent was some of Russell T. Davies' dialogue flourishes in Christopher Eccleston's all-too-brief tenure as the Doctor.
The Pearlfishers - Snowboardin': As with the Chabon book above, this song is a couple years old but my introduction to it really came this year. Sounding like the love-child of the Beach Boys and Todd Rundgren, this song from the Scottish band's Christmas album A Sunflower at Christmas is the single best piece of pop music I heard all year. I can't wait for next Christmas to pull it out again.
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