By ANDREW A. SMITH, Scripps Howard News Service

Shalom!

While comic-book-industry news is usually all about characters, creators and circulation, sometimes the real world intrudes -- for good or ill. This week we have an example of each.

Heroes Against Hunger

On Jan. 23, DC Entertainment unleashed its superheroes on a real-world crisis: hunger in the Horn of Africa.

If you thought Hollywood strip-mined comic books for movie ideas in 2011, you ain't seen nuttin' yet.

The Golden Age of radio is a nearly forgotten era, which makes it all the cooler that writer/artist Ernie Colon has brought it back in graphic-novel form.

My introduction to Lee Falk's "The Phantom" was in comic books, not the syndicated comic strip. Thanks to Hermes Press, you can experience both at the same time.

Ever since Neil Gaiman's astonishingly literate "Sandman" series ran from 1989 to 1996, I've wanted someone to point out the cool stuff I missed. And now, with DC/Vertigo's lavish "The Annotated Sandman Volume One" ($49.99), that project has begun.

As we look back on 2011, there is little doubt about the year's No. 1 comic-book story: DC's September relaunch of its entire superhero universe.

Still looking for the perfect gift for the geek in your life? Here's our third and last round of suggestions:

"Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human," by Grant Morrison (Spiegel and Grau, $28) is a book that's as hard to categorize as its author.

We're entering the home stretch on the holiday season, and I've yet to scratch the surface on potential gifts for the beloved geeks among us. Here are some more:

We're entering the home stretch on the holiday season, and I've yet to scratch the surface on potential gifts for the beloved geeks among us. Here are some more: