You can brighten the holidays for the comics fan in your life with gifts for the bookshelf and the toy box. Here are some suggestions:

"Marvel: The Expanding Universe Wall Chart" is a unique coffee-table book without a spine. Open it one way and it offers a history of Marvel Comics and some short, fun features on Marvel. Open it the other way and it expands into a 12-by-3 1/2-foot poster featuring more than 300 Marvel characters against an atomic design pattern reflecting connections between the characters. (Universe, $45)

"Peter & Max: A Fables Novel," by Bill Willingham, tells an enchanting story spun out of Willingham's ongoing "Fables" series from DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. The novel follows two brothers destined to be enemies — Peter Piper and brother Max, who becomes the dastardly Pied Piper. (hardcover, $22.99)

If you're new to "Fables," about a group of characters from fairy tales and nursery rhymes living among the normal "mundane" citizens of modern-day New York, you can start at the beginning with "Fables Deluxe Book 1," an oversize hardcover collecting the first 10 issues of the series. (Vertigo, $29.99)

"Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" written by New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman provides an intriguing and epic vision of Batman and his many incarnations over the decades. The two-part story has been collected in a hardcover, deluxe edition. (DC Comics, $24.99)

"Star Trek: Countdown," the official comic book prequel to this year's popular "Star Trek" movie, is collected in a hardcover. (IDW Publishing, $21.99)

DC Comics characters took to the small screen this year in a trio of direct-to-DVD animated features released by Warner Home Video, including "Wonder Woman," "Green Lantern: First Flight" and "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies." Available in different formats, beginning at $19.98. Also out on DVD: This year's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," with Hugh Jackman returning to the role. (20th Century Fox, $29.99)

"Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2" (PSP, PS2, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360) is a role-playing game that asks you to choose sides in a superhero struggle that borrows elements from Marvel Comics' "Civil War." (Activision, $29.99-$59.99)

Captain America is back from the dead. Celebrate his return with a "Captain America Reborn" T-shirt exclusive to www.MarvelShop.com. ($18)

DC Comics' iconic Sgt. Rock returns in "Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion," a hardcover collecting the six-issue miniseries written and lushly illustrated by Billy Tucci. Tucci's story, which reaches from the bloody beaches of Normandy to the Vosges Mountains, spins out of true events. (DC, $24.99)

For a mere $349.49, you can get a full-size, wearable replica of the first Iron Man helmet created by Tony Stark back in "Tales of Suspense" No. 39. Hand-crafted in steel, it comes with a full-metal display stand, including a name plaque. (www.MarvelShop.com) Or how about a 1:24 scale replica of the Owl Ship from the "Watchmen" movie? It's only $325. (www.dccomics.com/dcdirect)