CHRISTMAS IN THE BRONZE AGE!
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Spider-Man and Kingpin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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UNWRAPPING YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY COMICS FROM THE ’70s, ’80s, AND EARLY ’90s!
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Volume 1, Number 85 December 2015 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!
PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTISTS Marie Severin and Mike Esposito (from the collection of John Bamber) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg
SPECIAL THANKS Arthur Adams Mark Arnold John Bamber Mike W. Barr Eliot R. Brown Jonathan R. Brown John Cimino Chris Claremont Mark Clegg Tom DeFalco J. M. DeMatteis Leonardo De Sà Chris Franklin Mike Friedrich Stephan Friedt Dave Gibbons Keith GIffen Grand Comics Database Jason Harris Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Heritage Comics Auctions Sid Jacobson Rob Kelly Barbara Kesel Kris Kringle Paul Kupperberg Christopher Larochelle
Chris Marshall Marvel Comics Steve Mitchell Ann Nocenti Luigi Novi Dennis O’Neil Jerry Ordway Tom Palmer Tom Powers Joe Pruett Steve Purcell Shannon E. Riley Bob Rozakis Bob Schreck Diana Schutz Mitchell Senft Eric Shanower Robin Snyder Roger Stern Romeo Tanghal Roy Thomas Steven Thompson Rick Veitch Mark Waid Greg Weisman Doug Wheeler Marv Wolfman Doug Wheeler Craig Yoe
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FLASHBACK: Merry Christmas from Gotham City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 It’s the most wonderful time of the year for Batman FLASHBACK: Christmas with the Superheroes…………..………………….. . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 A creator-crammed cascade of comments about DC Christmas classics PRO2PRO: A Christmas Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 DC writers and artists share holiday recollections PRINCE STREET NEWS: Four-Color Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Yuletide nostalgia courtesy of Karl Heitmueller, Jr. BACK IN PRINT: Christmas Re-Presents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Faithful tales that are dear to us gather near to us once more—in treasuries and other formats FLASHBACK: Marvel Holiday Grab-Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Sweet Christmas! From Luke Cage to She-Hulk, Season’s Greetings from Marvel FLASHBACK: Merry Christmas, X-Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 X-mas stories featuring Marvel’s mutants FLASHBACK: The Superhero Merchandise Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 The comic promos that drove fans wild THE TOY BOX: It’s a Power Records Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Superheroes take a vinyl spin to the North Pole BEYOND CAPES: Archie Christmas Love-In and Harvey Holidays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Season’s greetings from Riverdale and the Harvey toons FLASHBACK: Santa Claus: The Movie Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 You’ll believe a jolly fat man can fly! BEYOND CAPES: Have Yourself a Comico Little Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Looking back at 1988’s Comico Christmas Special and Gumby’s Winter Fun Special FLASHBACK: The Giffen Who Stole Christmas! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 How Keith Giffen’s Ambush Bug and Lobo sabotaged the 25th of December BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Reader reactions
BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 118 Edgewood Avenue NE, Concord, NC 28025. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Six-issue subscriptions: $60 Standard US, $85 Canada, $107 Surface International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Marie Severin and Mike Esposito. Spider-Man and Kingpin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2015 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing, except Prince Street News TM & © Karl Heitmueller, Jr. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING. Christmas in the Bronze Age Issue
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In the background: From the 1975 Mighty Marvel Calendar. Art by Sal Buscema. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
PROOFREADER Rob Smentek
“The day before Christmas, and a smooth, white sheet of snow blankets the rooftops and streets of Gotham City.” Under the pen of his uncredited co-creator, Bill Finger, so begins Batman’s first Christmas tale in Batman #9, cover-dated Feb.–Mar. 1942, and released around December 10th, 1941. This simple but evocative paragraph could be the opening for any Batman holiday story, and despite the character’s notoriously solemn nature, there have been many. They have spanned his storied career, appearing in not only comics, but in the other mediums he has conquered. Not surprisingly, they have also provided snapshots of the character’s evolution over his 76-year history.
HAPPY GOLDEN DAYS OF YORE The first Batman Christmas tales were of a kind … mostly the Dickensian variety. In that very first tale mentioned earlier, Batman and Robin reunite little Timmy Cratchit with his father Bob, who was wrongly framed for murder. Batman coerces a confession from the real killer by posing as the Ghost of Christmas Past, or, more correctly, the murder victim in question. In Batman #27 (Feb.–Mar. 1945), the Dynamic Duo teaches a familiar lesson concerning goodwill toward man to a young miser named Scranton in “A Christmas Peril.” These special stories were a nearly annual tradition, running in the Batman title (but surprisingly, not Detective Comics) through February–March 1948, only missing the 1944-dated issue. By the time these seasonal adventures began, Batman had, of course, acquired a crimefighting partner in Robin and had softened from the ruthless avenger of his earliest stories, even becoming an ally of the police. When the cycle finished, the status quo was relatively the same, although Batman stepped further and further from the shadows as those years progressed.
by
Chris Franklin
SILVER AND BRONZE, SILVER AND BRONZE Christmas snow finally fell once again in Gotham, when Batman #219 (Feb. 1970) hit the stands in late 1969. The Batman titles were in a state of flux, struggling in the fallout from the phenomenal (if short-lived) success of the 1966–1968 Batman television series. In one episode of that series, Adam West and Burt Ward’s Batman and Robin ran into Santa Claus himself (played by cowboy comedian Andy Devine) during one of their routine “Bat-Climb” segments, providing their only holiday encounter in decades. As he had done in 1964 when he inherited the titles, editor Julius Schwartz was once again shaking up the Batman comics to insure their survival. Just two issues earlier, Batman had sent Robin off to college and sealed up the Batcave, moving into downtown Gotham to keep his finger on the pulse of the city‘s crime. Batman #219’s hidden Christmas gift, “The Silent Night of the Batman,” was penciled in his revolutionary illustrative style by comics’ newest renaissance man, Neal Adams. Dick Giordano, who had earlier arrived at DC from Charlton, provided the inks. The story was conceived and written by young comic writer Mike Friedrich.
Caroling Caped Crusader Our hero and Gotham’s finest sing the night away in Batman #219 (Feb. 1970). (inset) 1945’s Batman #27, cover-featuring one of the hero’s Golden Age holiday tales. TM & © DC Comics.
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“In the late ’60s I had a near-complete collection of the Golden Age Batman comics and was a big fan of the early-’40s version of the character,” says Friedrich. “The roughness of the early stories had been filled in and fleshed out and the creative teams really hit their stride. It didn’t last long, maybe just a couple of years, before the war took its toll. So, I was totally aware of the Golden Age Christmas stories and considered them some of my favorites from that period. At that time, the Batman comic was big enough (64 pages) that each issue contained four rather packed stories (each story easily as dense as a single issue today). One of them would be a costumevillain story (Joker, Penguin, Scarecrow, etc.) with an outlandish fantastic crime scenario and one of them would be a ‘small,’ human-interest story. The Christmas stories fit into this latter category.” Friedrich continues, “When I got a chance to write for DC editor Julie Schwartz, a Batman Christmas story was one of the early ideas I pitched. He didn’t agree until I’d gotten a couple of years’ experience. We spent a full summer month going back and forth on the story. Financially, writing this story was a disaster (back then, as now, eight pages of script money does not pay the rent), but the final quality of the story has over time made up for it. I think it’s been reprinted more than any other story I’ve done.” In the tale, it’s Christmas Eve, and the Batman is ever-vigilant. He answers the Bat-Signal summons, but finds Commissioner Gordon has no crime or emergency for him to solve. Despite the Darknight Detective’s protests, Gordon is sure there will be no need for Batman this night. He even convinces the Masked Manhunter to join the boys in blue for a round of Christmas carols. A slightly embarrassed Batman agrees, but only until trouble rears its ugly head. As the police and their special guest sing the songs of the season, we see vignettes of life in Gotham City: lives all touched in some way by the Batman. A young group of thieves return a stolen package to a shopper when they unwrap a Batman action figure inside; across town a gunman throws away his pistol when he bumps into a blind man dressed in Santa beard and Batman costume, collecting money for charity; and a distraught woman sees the shadow of a bridge become the visage of a bat reflected on the waters below, as she throws a rose and a letter she received into the harbor. That letter told her that her solider husband was missing in action, or perhaps presumed deceased. As she turns around, her world, a fictional character) is a given returning husband leaps from a now, but it was new territory in 1969, personnel truck. one that for Friedrich was important After finishing up “Silent Night,” to explore. “As part of the first wave Batman realizes he has been singing of comics fans hired to write and draw all night long, and it is now 6 a.m., comics, I was aware of how important Christmas morning. Amazingly, a symbol my favorite characters were Gordon was right, and no calls for to developing my ethical and moral mike friedrich him have come in. As he wonders if life,” Friedrich explains. “For me, the Christmas Spirit really took hold of Batman was a great symbol for how the city, he seems to see that spirit, in a shimmering form light/goodness can exist (and actually thrive) in a world of Commissioner Gordon, who asks, “But what is the of shadow and gray. I was really glad to be able to show Christmas Spirit, Batman—might it not be you … or I?” this in ‘Silent Night of the Batman.’ ” After he comes back to his senses, the Caped Friedrich reveals that artist Adams contributed more Crusader swings off into the sunrise, pondering the than just his deft pencils: “Neal Adams was also involved connections between himself and that elusive in how that story evolved. He fed me scene ideas as I Christmas Spirit. submitted drafts to Julie and once the script was written Friedrich’s tale is a tour de force of good cheer. and approved, his interpretation took it to another level.” While Batman takes the night off, his image influences Amongst fans and scholars, the scene with the the people of Gotham in positive ways, helping to prevent soldier’s wife has been interpreted in various ways. crime and heartache. The notion of a superhero as a Friedrich reveals, “The script as written has the soldier’s symbol, something more than just a man (or in the real wife contemplating suicide. Today I think this a horrible Christmas in the Bronze Age Issue
Silent Night, Dark Night Title page to Batman #219’s holiday classic. Story by Mike Friedrich, art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano. TM & © DC Comics.
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Gaudy colors. Outlandish costumes and regalia. Joyful and inspiring adventures. Christmas and superheroes have always been a natural fit for each other. At this special time of year, let’s take a moment to look at tales of Christmases Past from the hallowed halls of DC Comics.
UNITED FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE
by
Shannon E. Riley
“The Year Without a Christmas!” from Shazam #11 (Mar. 1974) kicks off our survey of superhero holiday tales, as the Marvel Family (Billy, Freddy, and Mary) attempts to stop the Sivanas from trying to shorten Christmas Day so it would be only ten minutes long. The breezy seven-page story, written by Elliot S! Maggin and illustrated by Kurt Schaffenberger, would later be reprinted in the squarebound Showcase Presents: Shazam! (2006) collection. Long before he became a fan-favorite in the animated Justice League series, Green Lantern John Stewart made his first appearance with the team in Justice League of America #110 (Mar.–Apr. 1974). Written by Len Wein and illustrated by Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano, “The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!” saw the heroes face off with the Key after the murder of a department store Santa. A few years later, Gerry Conway’s “2,000 Light-Years to Christmas!” in JLA #152 (Mar. 1978) introduced Red Tornado’s adopted daughter Traya in a holiday tale about three galactic travelers (the Three Kings, anyone?). The next holiday season brought an injured Hal Jordan struggling to prevent a volcano from wiping out fellow Justice Leaguers Black Canary and Green Arrow, as well as a young woman about to give birth on Christmas Eve in Green Lantern #113 (Feb. 1979). [Author’s note: For an in-depth look at the JLA’s “Satellite Years,” check out my article in BACK ISSUE #58.] Uncle Sam and team face off against the evil villain Elf and his deadly toys, as well as miniature replicas of the Justice League, in Freedom Fighters #7 (Apr. 1977). Speaking of replicas, “The Emperor of the North Pole” also introduces the Crusaders—Barracuda, Americommando, Rusty, Fireball, and Sparky—all obvious homages to Marvel’s Invaders. Writer Bob Rozakis recalls, “We’d had some readers asking why the FFers didn’t battle the JLA, so this story, with the JLA ‘action figures,’ was a fun way to deal with it. The appearance of the Crusaders was an inside joke that Roy Thomas and I shared; at the same time, he had pastiches of the Freedom Fighters— also named the Crusaders—in The Invaders. I came up with the idea and either Tony Isabella or Jack Harris broached it to Roy.” The book was ably penciled by Dick Ayers, of whom Rozakis notes, “No matter how many characters I put into the stories—and there were plenty— he did a great job.” While outside of regular DC continuity, Super Friends #42 (Mar. 1981) features a six-page Wonder Twins backup story entitled “A Christmas with Everything.” In the Romeo Tanghal-penciled tale, the alien siblings learn the true meaning of Christmas as they witness a man performing multiple good deeds for those in need, with no expectation of receiving anything in return.
Stars of Wonder The star-studded DC Special Series #21 (Apr. 1980). Cover by José Luis García-López. TM & © DC Comics.
Christmas in the Bronze Age Issue
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Super-Team Family Christmas (right) St. Nick no more. Splash page to Justice League of America #110’s lead story, which also includes Green Lantern John Stewart’s first JLA appearance. (left) DC’s FF vs. action figures on the Rich Buckler/Jack Abel cover of Freedom Fighters #7 (Mar.–Apr. 1977). TM & © DC Comics.
Sometime-Justice Leaguer and former Charlton hero Captain Atom has his own Christmas-themed storyline in Captain Atom #13 (Mar. 1988). Written by Cary Bates and Greg Weisman, “We Three Kings…” sees Captain Atom lamenting his troubles, feeling completely alone and disconnected. However, at tale’s end Nathaniel Adam rediscovers his inner strength and passion for helping others (much in the same way that George Bailey does in It’s a Wonderful Life). There’s also a great subplot involving Wade Eiling, which introduces his father Harris and supporting character Chester King, the introduction of Eve Eden (Nightshade), and a cameo by Enemy Ace. While many holiday tales tend to be self-contained, oneand-done stories, “We Three Kings…” is essential to the series and really moves things forward. Weisman and I connected via email, and he offers his take on the tale’s objective: “The point was to contrast Cap’s story with General Wade Eiling’s and with the story of Chester King, a normal, average guy. All three were men with compromised morals, but the holidays can be a time of self-reflection and reevaluation. Cap reevaluates and likes what he sees, so he walks off happy. Chester reevaluates and doesn’t like what he sees, so he walks off quite unhappy but on a better path. Wade refuses to reevaluate and thus can’t even see what
he’s missing.” Of the story’s various players, Weisman recalls, “[Nightshade] and Captain Atom had been partners in the old Charlton days, so she was a good fit, particularly since—like Cap—she had a government affiliation in her DC incarnation, thanks to the Suicide Squad. But I believe using Enemy Ace was Cary’s idea. Initially, I wasn’t that familiar with the character, but I quickly did my research. It’s odd, I know, throwing a World War I story into the middle of a modern-day Christmas story, but it allowed us to introduce Harris Eiling (a character I liked so much I put a version of him as a cameo in my first novel, Rain of the Ghosts) with a pretty dynamic story of his own—one that set an example for Wade that Wade rejects.”
Gift of the Magi(c Word) (opposite page) Original art page by Kurt Schaffenberger from Shazam! #11 (Mar. 1974). Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).
ANOTHER LONELY CHRISTMAS The Man of Steel has had a long history with Christmas, going all the way back to Superman’s Christmas Adventure in 1940 and “The Man Who Hated Christmas” from 1946’s Action Comics #105. In the Bronze Age, we’d see DC’s first costumed hero travel to “A World Without Christmas” in The New Adventures of Superboy #39 (Mar. 1983) and then team up with Santa Claus to battle the Toyman in DC Comics Presents #67 (Mar. 1984). Christmas in the Bronze Age Issue
TM & © DC Comics.
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by
Shannon E. Riley
While interviewing writers and artists for the preceding article, I had the chance to ask, “What is your favorite comics-related holiday memory?” From stories of a $4 Charlie Brown Christmas tree to office pranks and first published scripts, their responses truly capture the fun and magic of the holiday season.
riter/editor/ BOB ROZAKIS, wdirector production y ristmas memor
mics-related Ch oks. When I was “My favorite co rather than the bo s we dealt with ff sta nd involves the DC ber of the ve or her things n director, a num tio uc od pr of goodies, and ot sc I ci ndy, wine, baskets ther all the ca “In 1990, mily in the San Fran ge nd to se ing uld br , I wo y fa gather them all ile there h uld w wo I giveaway. d ts. nt gif gia an I visited m a ay as holid ents, and have mastime, at rtm st pa o ri h de h t of y w C m , in g d er n wi duri Brubak e bottle of ne ou folks who worke er with Ed of d. t short so I took th ns gif e ca on of s le wa up I co ar, got togeth li v e d in O a kl a n a One ye placed it with re e d e th an x m on ed bo ti en ss cy m th a t ad discu this really fan One of the wo Ed and I h o different gifts. tually ac tw g e d m n an t ri ing gif u giv st d , Although be soda d the p re vi o u sl y, with the fancy box ha PAUL KUPPERBERG, cks so she th e id e a staff figured that e up in the order of pi m t lis ca e th e up w t de write ened it tra a r/ed op itor d e o te sh d tia en that visi go wh to ne k on her face ete plan loo cr e “My was n favor Th ke ite Chris it. co Co tmast relate et ge e n d th could two cans of Di s st o ry ‘A memories go back a ways, to the but red she’d gotten ar, ve ye co dis ing th e co m ic d ,’ low an th fol a e De l e same thing th early 1960s and DC’s Rudolph the A cc id e n ta priceless. I did th fancy box. When ains one m re one avoided the Red ery h Nose ev d ic Reind e h eer tim Annu w is als th and te ne way down ri eo o m fa v n by so the giant -sized Denn is the Mena ce of my ere it was finally take thrilled to find th Chris tmas and Holid ay Speci als from projects.” the list, he was ” it! in ate fic rti Fawcett. And I have a bit of sentimental was a $25 gift ce attac hmen t to one of my own very few Christmas stories, ‘The Stranger’—it’s kind of a ‘Christmas on Krypton’ tale—which appe ared in Superman Family #182 in 1975. It’s not that it’s very good or very notable, other than that it was an early pencil job by Marshall Rogers … and the first story I sold to DC as a newbie writer.”
ter/artist OWER, writhe East Coast. N A H S IC ER on o Bay Area was living
ROMEO TA
riter CARY BATES, wto be Christmas ve uld ha
wo “One of them college. When I freshman year of y m k g rin du k ea br letter and a chec rents gave me a went home my pa who informed me he was buying er, veral weeks from Mort Weising sent in on spec se d ha I t rip sc book t es a World’s Fin g of my comiced the beginnin ark m is Th . re fo be writing career.” 28 • BACK ISSUE • Christmas in the Bronze Age Issue
NGHAL, artist “M y fir st Ba tm an as sig nm en t Mystery of Chris wa s ‘T he tmas Lost’ by David V. Reed. Joe Orlando wa nted me to try doing superheroe and he suggeste s d to Julie Schwar tz [that he] give that Christmas me issue. Julie was so was doing Super hesitant becaus e I Friends, which wa s a little cartoon like this Batman y (not ). But Joe persu ad how I got my fir ed him and th at’s st break on Batm an—and very tim for Christmas.” ely
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DC Comics got into the treasury-sized comics business during the Christmas season of 1972 with its publication of its first Limited Collectors’ Edition, #C-20, starring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. That now-rare super-sized comic and its follow-ups were explored in BACK ISSUE #61, our “Tabloids and Treasuries” edition, so we invite you to unstuff that stocking to learn more about the Red-Nosed Reindeer (as well as the other great tabloids of the 1970s, 1980s, and beyond). Two years after Rudolph #C-20, the tabloid format was proving popular for superhero reprints, and both DC and Marvel celebrated the yuletide season with Christmas collections featuring some of their most colorful costumed crimefighters.
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TABLOIDS DC’s Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-34 (Feb.–Mar. 1975), Christmas with the Super-Heroes, was first to slide down the chimney, arriving on November 7, 1974. Following shortly thereafter, going on sale November 26, 1974, was the House of Ideas’ Marvel Treasury Special (cover-dated simply “1974”), Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag (#nn). These may seem like compatible volumes, but they’re very different in editorial tone, as evidenced by their titles. DC’s Christmas with the Super-Heroes is just that: a collection of Christmas-themed stories starring the superheroic Batman, Captain Marvel, Teen Titans, and Superman (with the curious, but appreciated, inclusion of Angel and the Ape, appearing in a previously unpublished story). Marvel’s Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag also delivers what its title promises: a random selection of superhero stories, from holiday-themed adventures (a Spider-Man/Human Torch team-up and a Black Widow solo tale) to superhero conflicts headlined by Daredevil and the Fantastic Four. For those wishing to curl up by a warm fire with a cup of eggnog and the
Deck the Hall of Justice Nick Cardy’s charming cover to Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-34 (Feb.–Mar. 1975), better known as Christmas with the Super-Heroes. Notice how three of these characters are wearing shorts at the North Pole? (opposite page) Put on a happy face! (top left) John Buscema’s Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag cover featured a mostly scowling cast. (top right) John Romita cheered ’em up with minor art alterations. (bottom left) The Grab-Bags’ back covers viewed their cover scenes from behind, like this one by Buscema from 1974. (bottom right) Inside back cover to the first Grab-Bag. TM & © DC Comics. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
32 • BACK ISSUE • Christmas in the Bronze Age Issue
by
Michael Eury
Swingin’ Season (top) DC house ad for its second Christmas with the Super-Heroes tabloid, as well as another Rudolph edition. (bottom right) The second Holiday GrabBag, as promoted in a Marvel UK advert. (bottom left) The back cover to the 1975 Holiday Grab-Bag. DC ad TM & © DC Comics. Marvel ad and art TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
joyful refrains of Nat King Cole, tales like DC’s Teen Titans in “A Swingin’ Christmas Carol!” in Christmas with the Super-Heroes feel more appropriate to the spirit of the season than non-yuletide classics like Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag’s Daredevil reprint, “In Mortal Combat with … Sub-Mariner!” Yet this in itself offers a subtle lesson in comic-book history: DC’s catalog of characters was at the time larger than Marvel’s, by this point also including characters acquired from other companies, such as Fawcett’s Captain Marvel (packaged for DC readers as Shazam!). Also, a handful of DC stalwarts remained in continuous publication during the bleak transitional years between the Golden and Silver Ages of Comics, giving DC a deeper inventory of Christmas stories from which selections could be made. Another difference between these volumes is DC’s inclusion of activity pages (see index). One thing these volumes do share in common, however, is artistic alterations. Christmas with the e. nelson Super-Heroes’ “Christmastown, U.S.A.!”, a Golden Age Superman story written by Alvin Schwartz © DC Comics. and drawn by Win Mortimer, featured Vince Colletta’s heavy alterations to some of the figures, particularly Superman, to contemporize its look. While this was characteristic of early- to mid-1970s DC, where Superman art by artists from Jack Kirby to Alex Toth was altered to adhere to the house style, the result here is uneven. Across town at Marvel, some surmised that 34 • BACK ISSUE • Christmas in the Bronze Age Issue
the Grinch assisted Big John Buscema when he drew the cover art for Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag—its characters’ facial expressions mirrored their personalities, particularly the snarling Incredible Hulk. Conversely, DC’s Christmas with the Super-Heroes cover by Nick Cardy featured its stars smiling ear to ear (even the Darknight Detective himself, Batman), flanking an unusually elfin Santa Claus. Jazzy Johnny Romita softened Buscema’s meaner depictions by redrawing the faces of most of the Marvel heroes on the Grab-Bag cover, turning their frowns upside-down and allowing them to express the expected holiday cheer … even the evergrinnin’ Hulk.
THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR The following year, both DC and Marvel released another pair of yuletide specials. Once again DC’s Christmas with the Super-Heroes was released first, bridwell on November 6, 1975, in the form of Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-43. Santa Claus returned on its cover—and returned to his normal height—with a Curt Swan/Bob Oksner-drawn illo of Superman hoisting a sleigh packed with the issue’s stars (including another non-superhero, Cain, caretaker of The House of Mystery, representing the HOM reprint included therein). This edition was edited by DC’s “walking encyclopedia” E. Nelson
Christmas came to the Marvel Universe in the Bronze Age, and with it came thoughtful commentary on the meaning of the season. In these works we saw villains regain their humanity, heroes lost and alone, imagery from famous Christmas stories, and so much more. In this article we will look at how the Marvel Universe celebrated the holidays in the Bronze Age. We will also check in with a few creators to see how they crafted these holiday tales.
SPIDEY AND TORCH TEAM UP
by
Jonathan Rikard Brown
The holidays roared into the Marvel Universe during the Bronze Age with the first issue of the legendary series Marvel Team-Up. Issue #1 (Mar. 1972) starred Spider-Man teaming up with Fantastic Four’s Human Torch in “Have Yourself a Sandman Little Christmas,” written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Ross Andru, and inked by Mike Esposito. Our tale opens with Peter Parker snapping photos of the Polar Bear Clan’s plunge into frosty waters off the Jersey boardwalk. All of sudden one of the swimmers is frightened by something brushing her leg. It is revealed to be the Sandman, making his return! After a scuffle with Spider-Man and the authorities, the Sandman escapes, noting that it is Christmas Eve, and he has somewhere he needs to be. After Sandman’s escape, Peter decides his date with Gwen Stacy is what is really important, and that the Sandman is more of a Fantastic Four problem anyway. He decides to alert them before he heads out for his evening with his beloved. It is here we find Johnny Storm, saddened by a breakup, deciding to spend the holidays in misery and let the other FF members go about their merry way. Web-Head and Flame-Head debate whose problem the Sandman really is before they realize they each have a piece of the puzzle and reluctantly team up. After assisting with some good deeds, they find the Sandman. A battle occurs, and Sandman wins, locking them up and tying them in a water tower, but not without giving them a clue for their escape. After making it out of the water tower, they catch up to the Sandman breaking into a house and switching into civilian garb. He makes a deal to come along with them peacefully if they will let him see his elderly mother, who doesn’t know he is a supervillain. They agree, and Spider-Man even hands over the present he got for Gwen Stacy so Sandy can give his mom a gift. However, after giving the Sandman time with his mother, the duo return to find that Sandman has left them high and dry by escaping down a drain. It is here we share a holiday spoiler: Spider-Man and Human Torch decide to let him go. It is Christmas, after all. The episode has brightened the spirits of both, and they part as friends. The Human Torch lights the sky with flame letters that read, “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men.” Roy Thomas tells BACK ISSUE about this first issue and about how he came to be involved with the series: “I had always liked Christmas stories in comics, including Batman and the like. So when Stan [Lee] ‘asked’ me to write at least
Sweet Christmas! Trouble for Luke Cage—and the Marvel Universe—on the Billy Graham-drawn cover of Hero for Hire #7 (Mar. 1973). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
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Sandman is Coming to Town (top) Spidey and the Torch pair off in the Christmas-set Marvel Team-Up #1 (Mar. 1972). Cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia. (bottom) Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com), original Ross Andru/Mike Esposito art to page 9 of MTU #1. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
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the first issue of Marvel Team-Up to get it started, and I realized the issue would be out around December, I used that as an excuse to humanize Sandman, one of my favorite Spidey villains. And since Ross Andru was the penciler, I think it came off fairly well.”
MY FAVORITE THINGS The Human Torch was not the only Fantastic Four member to celebrate the holidays with a team-up. In the Bronze Age, the Thing’s series Marvel Two-in-One hosted two holiday-themed stories. The first of these paired the Thing with a different flame-head, Ghost Rider, in a story entitled “Silent Night … Deadly Night,” appearing in MTIO #8 (Mar. 1975). It was written by Steve Gerber, with artistic duties handled by Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito. The cover boasted that it was “Easily the most off-beat holiday extravaganza of all!” The story begins with Ghost Rider cruising down a long stretch of highway and encountering three travelers atop camels, eerily reminding the dark hero of a certain yuletide tale. He meets with the travelers, who seem to be only a little alarmed by the individual with a flaming skull head. They tell him they are following yonder star, bringing gifts for a newborn baby. Meanwhile, Reed Richards and the Thing are arguing about how proper it is to work during a Christmas party. Reed is amazed by a new star appearing in the sky and is convinced he must study it no matter the cost. The Thing thinks it would be fantastic for Reed to be with his family, who are downstairs, during the holidays. This back and forth leads to Mr. Fantastic going to the party and the Thing jetting off to the Konohoti Indian Reservation where the star appeared. There is a theme here of European religious roy thomas heritage trampling Native-American culture. (We will see this theme progress even further Luigi Novi / when we discuss Captain America #292.) Wikimedia Commons. In the meantime, Ghost Rider has arrived in what appears to be an ancient near-east city where he has found a local inn with a grumpy innkeeper and a family with a newborn baby lying in a manager. His investigation is cut short by a mysterious figure throwing him out of the town in a tornado. After he has recovered from the fall he meets the Thing, who has just landed. They decide to team up to learn more. They learn that the town is a part of a plot by the villainous Miracle Man, seeking to take his revenge on the Native-American spiritual elders who trained him but later imprisoned him after he turned to misdeeds. He has converted the town in a new Bethlehem, and created a child through immaculate means. This was done so that he will be heralded as a new god, and his spiritual captors’ ways would be destroyed. It is interesting to note that this story is the only comic surveyed that engages the religious story of Christmas. In issue #74 (Apr. 1981), Christmas returned to Marvel Two-inOne. This time the Thing was paired with the villain the Puppet Master in a story entitled “A Christmas Peril,” written by Mark Gruenwald, penciled by Frank Springer, and inked by Chic Stone. In a nod to the holiday theme, Jim Shooter is credited as “Santa.” In Marvel Team-Up #6 we had learned that the Thing’s love interest, Alicia Masters, was the stepdaughter of the Puppet Master. MTIO #74 opens with Ben Grimm complaining about last-minute Christmas shopping and the addressing of Christmas cards. Alicia convinces him to send a card to her stepfather as a nicety due to the season. We flash forward to find out the Puppet Master is being released from prison. He returns to his lair to realize he no longer has any of his special radioactive clay that he uses to control people’s minds. His timely receipt of the Thing’s Christmas card spurs him to come up with a plan to use the Fantastic Four to obtain new clay from the mountains in a corner of the Balkans. Puppet Master shows up at the Fantastic Four’s Christmas party and uses young Franklin Richards as a patsy to persuade the Thing and Alicia to fly him to what he claims to be the land of his birth. The next
When Professor Charles Xavier put together the first team of X-Men, he forged a group of teenagers into something much greater than merely the latest squad of superheroes. The X-Men were, from the beginning, a family of young people with extraordinary powers striving to make a better world not only for mutants like themselves but oftentimes the humans who hated and feared them. It should come as no surprise that the X-Men have had quite a few adventures framed around the “most wonderful time of the year,” when people around the world celebrate the company of family and friends.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS, X-MEN…” TM
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Christopher Larochelle
The first of these adventures takes place in X-Men #98 (Apr. 1976), before the famous “Uncanny” descriptor was attached to the series title. This comic features a group of X-Men who are still just barely getting to know each other. Everyone begins the snowy evening at Rockefeller Center in New York City, but it is not long before different groups of mutants split off to have their own fun. “For the first time in years, New York’s got itself a real honest-togoodness white Christmas!” says Jean Grey. “Isn’t the snow beautiful, Ororo?” Ororo (better known as Storm), who has only recently relocated to New York from her home country of Kenya, is unimpressed by what she sees: “In its way, Jean … but I can’t help remembering that on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, the snow is … white.” Nightcrawler and Colossus try to get the attention of a couple of women while Banshee and Moira MacTaggert head out to see the sights of the city. Cyclops and Jean Grey get ready for a quiet date at a restaurant, and one mutant in the bunch just doesn’t fit into any of the plans. “What about you, Wolverine?” asks Jean Grey. “What about me, Miss Grey—? I got no use for Christmas,” replies the loner. As Cyclops and Jean Grey walk down the streets of New York, they pass a couple of strangers who should look quite familiar to fans of Marvel history: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby themselves get the chance to brush shoulders with their creations in this story. Writer Chris Claremont took the chance to include this moment in the holiday happiness of X-Men #98’s beginning section. Speaking of the importance of Lee and Kirby, Claremont tells BACK ISSUE that “without them, neither the X-Men—or me writing them—would be here. If anyone deserved to have a scene in our first Christmas issue, it’s the ‘Man’ and the ‘King.’ ” The peaceful moments only last so long before Sentinels show up and the “All-New, All-Different” X-Men are launched into their first adventure in space. By the end of this tale readers would be introduced to a key part of the X-Men mythos in the Phoenix. Chris Claremont has the following to say about this timeframe in the development of the X-Men saga and his collaboration with artist Dave Cockrum: “At that point, the series had been around for all of four issues. We were coming out every other month, remember; we had to let the readers know right from the start that big things were coming. Otherwise, they might wander away to a more enticing title. As well, we had our hundredth looming three issues down the road. That had to be a really big deal, which meant Dave and I had to come up with a seminal story while we were still getting to know our cast. The result was Phoenix—which is still resonating throughout the X-universe today, some 40 years later. That story would have meant nothing if the readers didn’t care about the characters—which meant the issues leading up to it had to use every opportunity to introduce the readers to our characters in terms they could readily relate to and which would help set up a bond between the characters and their audience. Fortunately, with an artist as gifted as Dave Cockrum—both in his ability to tell a superb visual story and
Home Alone It’s a scary Christmas for Kitty Pryde in X-Men #143 (Mar. 1981). Cover by Terry Austin. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
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A CATALOG THAT CAME STRAIGHT OUT OF COMIC-BOOK HEAVEN
John “THE MEGO STRETCH HULK” Cimino by
Although I was a “freak” for comics and cartoons back in the mid-’70s when I was a wee young lad, nothing had captured my imagination with as much power-cosmicfueled intensity as The Superhero Merchandise Catalogs. While comics stimulated my dreams with superheroic tales starring my favorite caped crimefighters, these catalogs (if I was lucky enough to find one) made it possible for me to put those dreams into the palm of my hand in the form of a toy. Yup, these catalogs showcased the perfect Christmas wish list for not only me, but for every comic-reading boy and girl across the USA. And with enough begging, maybe Mom could even order a few Hulk toys for me before Christmas and I’d receive them in the mail. Could anything in life be greater than that??? It seemed to me that Santa’s real workshop was a place where all these catalogs originated, where all those beloved toys, games, and puzzles that I drooled over were stored … a place not located in the North Pole, but in New Jersey—and from there you took a yellow brick road to a magical store called Heroes World. Anyone who was a superhero fan growing up during this time can understand what I’m rambling on about. Today, it’s fairly common for kids to easily access upcoming toys and games that would be coming out by simply clicking onto the Internet and searching the Web. Back in the ’60s and early ’70s, superhero fans only had their random comic-book ads, occasional TV commercials, and trips to the toy aisle with Mom and Dad to know what were the “hip” new superhero toys on the market (it was a horrible feeling when you would find a toy at your friend’s house that you never knew even existed). Yeah, so you could say compared to today, things were pretty primitive. But that all came to a screeching halt in 1975 when the Superhero Merchandise Catalog debuted on the scene and became our personal 24-hour infomercial for marvelously magnificent “Supa Dupa” merchandise anytime we pulled it out from under our pillows. These catalogs were really a big deal back then because they were perfectly designed to capture all our childhood delusions of grandeur. Each item on every fun-filled page was drawn with comic goodness that made us wonder what they looked like in reality (which made me beg my mom more feverishly for them). These catalogs were my personal love letters from Heaven, so I was always on the hunt for more. Sadly, I could never locate them anywhere. Who made them? How many were made? And most importantly, how could I get more? Well, after all the crazed praising and nostalgic banter I’m spewing out stops, we can all gather around and thank a guy by the name of Ivan Snyder. That name might not ring a bell to most, but he’ll go down in comicbook history as a true pioneer of the direct market.
“Does Whatever a Snyder Can” Snyderman and two happy kids hog the cover of 1977’s The Superhero Book of Goodies. Main figures by Joe Kubert. Marvel characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. DC characters TM & © DC Comics.
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TM
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Rob Kelly
Santa’s Super Helpers Yep, that’s Neal Adams art on the album cover for Power (Peter Pan) Records’ Exciting Christmas Stories with Superman/ Wonder Woman/ Batman LP (that’s “Long-Playing” record, whippersnapper!). Characters TM & © DC Comics.
Superman stopping a power-mad scientist from launching the United States’ nuclear weapons at the rest of the world. Batman, the target of a Gotham underworld conspiracy to rub him out. Wonder Woman teaming up with Santa Claus to defeat a rogue Nazi with plans to rule the planet. This sounds like a super-fun issue of World’s Finest, or perhaps a 100-Page Super Spectacular. Where can I get this comic? Actually, these stories cannot be found in any DC Comic—they were audio adventures courtesy of the late, great Power Records, released on an LP in time for the 1977 Christmas season. Sporting a— let’s just say it—jolly front cover by Neal Adams of the Big Three fully embracing the Christmas spirit, Exciting Christmas Stories with Superman/Wonder Woman/Batman (the closest we come to an official title) has our heroes each facing separate holiday-themed threats. In Light Up the Tree, Mr. President, Superman discovers an evil plan hatched by a disgraced, bloodthirsty scientist Thurston Kilgore. Upon lighting the White House Christmas tree, a peace-loving President of the United States will unwittingly blow himself up as well as launch five nuclear missiles. These missiles are aimed at the rest of the world,
which will leave America standing amid the rubble. Kilgore’s plan nearly comes off thanks to Superman being lured into a kryptonite trap via a kidnapped Jimmy Olsen, who was covering the event for GBS-TV. But the Man of Steel prevails by turning on the super-speed, stopping the missiles, and apprehending Kilgore, ensuring that America—and the world—has a Merry Christmas. (Superman later realized Kilgore’s plan wasn’t all bad, and repurposed it in the 1987 anti-nuke documentary Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.) In Christmas Carol Caper, Batman gets a singing telegram, except it’s not filled with holiday cheer—in fact, it comes from local thug Rudy Snow, a.k.a. “Rudy, the Red-Nosed Hitman,” who threatens to kill Batman and Robin in time for Christmas! While on their way to a Christmas party at the Gotham South Side Mission, Rudy tries to rub out the Dynamic Duo, but instead is handed off to the police thanks to a well-aimed Batarang. It turns out that Rudy is just a small part of a larger plot—hatched in secret by crooks who frequent the Mission— to kill Batman once and for all. Luckily, the conspiracy is foiled in time and Batman, Robin, and the South Side Mission have a Merry Christmas. Christmas in the Bronze Age Issue
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TM
The subject of Christmas has been a strong one in the world of comic books, despite the fact that many of comics’ founding fathers had a Jewish background. Archie Comics and Harvey Comics had a lengthy history of devoting stories or issues to the holiday. In fact, the first Archie Christmas story, “Archie Andrews’ Christmas Story” with art by Bob Montana, appeared as early as 1942, in Jackpot Comics #7.
ARCHIE COMICS CHRISTMAS
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Mark Arnold
Archie, in particular, made it a regular habit of devoting an entire issue to Christmas with the debut of Archie’s Christmas Stocking in 1954, a title that eventually developed into the long-running Archie Giant Series Magazine. From 1954–1959, Archie’s Christmas Stocking was the only title in the series with its annual appearance. After that, a variety of titles appeared in the format until its demise with #632 in 1992. By that point, the title was a “Giant” in name only as the series featured standard 32-page issues. By the time period covered in this article (1970–1989), Archie had three rotating books appearing annually in the Giant Series roster: Archie’s Christmas Stocking, Archie’s Christmas Love-In, and Betty and Veronica’s Christmas Spectacular. The three were joined by a fourth and fifth title debuting for Christmas 1971: Li’l Jinx Christmas Bag and Sabrina’s Christmas Magic. The Li’l Jinx Christmas Bag lasted until 1973 and the four other Christmas titles continued annually until Christmas 1981. The term “Love-In” was somewhat dated and Sabrina had lost a lot of her popularity by that point (Sabrina’s popularity was reignited later thanks to the Sabrina TV show starring Melissa Joan Hart and a new animated series; but in 1981, Sabrina was on the verge of comic-book cancellation and was ended in 1983 after 77 issues). After that, Archie’s Christmas Stocking and Betty and Veronica’s Christmas Spectacular continued annually, even beyond 1989. Some of the regular series at Archie also had Christmas covers during this time period. This didn’t always translate into Christmas stories on the interiors as the Giant Series titles had, but Archie Comics Digest Magazine, Little Archie, and the revived version of Katy Keene were the most consistent titles to sport a Christmas cover during this period. Of those, Little Archie was the most likely to have Christmas-themed stories inside. Two unique and very different Christmas-themed issues came out during this period. The first was Christmas with Archie in 1974. It was yet another in an ongoing series by Al Hartley published by Spire Christian Comics. A unique feature of this issue besides the theme was the fact that issue was a 52-page Giant. This makes it one of the more difficult Spire Christian Comics to attain. The other Christmas-themed issue was mentioned before in BACK ISSUE #61, as it was the first Archie treasurysized edition, called Christmas and Archie. It was also the only one until IDW published Archie: Best of Dan DeCarlo Treasury Edition in 2011. While DC had its Limited Collectors’
Archie’s Christmas Drop-In This Christmas card appeared in Archie Giant Series Magazine #203: Archie’s Christmas Stocking (Dec. 1972). TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.
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by
Michael Eury
I had lots to celebrate during Christmas 1988: I was winding down my first year as a comic-book editor, at Comico (that’s “Ko-mee-ko,” by the way) the Comic Company in Norristown, Pennsylvania. It was the perfect job for me. The atmosphere was relaxed (well, except during rare deadline crises, when voices would elevate and dry walling would crumble). I was a man-child barely in my 30s who was allowed to wear T-shirts and jeans to the office (which was a creaky old house, my work station being on the third, and top, floor, in a former teen’s bedroom plastered with polka-dotted wallpaper). Every day was a learning experience under the tutelage of editor-in-chief Diana Schutz, one of comics’ best editors—ever. And I was collaborating with some heavy-hitters like Bill Willingham, Mike Leeke, Mike W. Barr, Adam Hughes, Mike Gustovich, Len Wein, Adam Kubert, and Gene Colan. Wow! But my yuletide was made even brighter by my work on two fun holiday one-shots that I had the joy of co-editing or editing: Comico Christmas Special and Gumby’s Winter Fun Special.
COMICO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL This 40-page one-shot was graced by a Dave Stevens cover. Now, those words have probably conjured an image of a shapely “Santa’s helper” as rendered by one of the medium’s best good-girl artists, but instead Dave’s cover featured a gift exchange between big-eyed, gray-skinned aliens, a scene from the Special’s final tale. There’s a story behind that cover, according to Legendary Comics editorin-chief Bob Schreck, who was Comico’s administrative director at the time. Bob’s relationship with Dave predated Stevens’ creation of the Rocketeer, which the artist had recently brought from Eclipse to Comico in the form of The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine. “This was at a time when a Dave Stevens cover would move the sales of a book up bob schreck 10 to 15 percent,” Schreck tells BACK ISSUE. He was certain a © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. Stevens cover would give a boost to a commercially iffy project like a Christmas anthology. “Dave didn’t agree,” Bob continues. “He felt that due to the material in the Special, nothing gave him the opportunity to draw what he was known for— which was good-girl art. Or bad-girl art.” However, Schreck persisted. “Dave kept saying, ‘No, I’m not going to bring any numbers to this,’ ‘You’ve got the wrong guy.’” Bob paraded the laudable list of talent inside the book (keep reading!) as an incentive to woo Stevens to draw the cover, and finally the artist consented.
Chill Out, Santa Comico house ad from late 1987. Art by Bernie Mireault. © 1987 Bernie Mireault.
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by
To m P o w e r s
With the characters of Ambush Bug and Lobo, both Keith Giffen creations, the writer-artist respectively provides a postmodern vision of a hapless hero and an unrepentant villain that undermine and challenge readers’ expectations. Appropriately enough, Giffen chose the formerly safe festive theme of Christmas to present double-sized exploits of these characters. In Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer (Feb. 1986), Giffen and scripter Robert Loren Fleming utilize Ambush Bug to break the fourth wall in offering commentary on two juggernauts of capitalism: the DC superhero/ comics and the commercialized version of Christmas in general. Several years later, with the Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special (Dec. 1991), Giffen, scripter Alan Grant, and artist Simon Bisley commit one of the most subversive and perhaps underappreciated acts in comics history: they not only present Santa Claus as a cutthroat, deplorable character but have Lobo carrying out a hit on the iconic figure as well! Consequently, if any Christmas-loving fanboy or fangirl wishes to argue that Keith Giffen represents a latter-day Grinch, these two comics would help that individual to successfully plead his or her case. Certainly, Giffen himself, a curmudgeonly unapologetic critic of Christmas—as this article will show—would strongly support any such comparisons to Dr. Seuss’ bitter green villain—before his cloying redemption, of course!
COAL IN DISGUISE? AMBUSH BUG STOCKING STUFFER Debuting in DC Comics Presents #52 (Dec. 1982), Ambush Bug, who is familiar to both longtime and newer DC readers as a comedic character, actually started out as a villain for the Man of Steel. Giffen comments, “Ambush was just a villain of the month I came up with when we needed a bad guy for a Superman/Doom Patrol team-up. I just … tossed him out there then figured we could have some fun with him. He was never meant to go past one-shot status. Shows how much I know.” After making another villainous turn in DC Comics Presents #59 (July 1983), Ambush Bug became a hero in Supergirl #16 (Feb. 1984). keith giffen Then he appeared in several issues © Luigi Novi / of Action Comics (#560, Oct. 1984; Wikimedia Commons. 563, Jan. 1985; and 565, Mar. 1985), and DC Comics Presents #81 (May 1985), before landing his first four-issue miniseries titled—of course—Ambush Bug (June–Sept. 1985). Several months later, just in time to wreak comedic havoc for the 1985 holiday season, Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer debuted. Edited by the legendary Julius Schwartz, whom Giffen describes as “a real, honest-to-God editor,” this comic’s cover features a cheerfully smiling Santa
Yuletide’s New Main Man Simon Bisley’s cover to The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special (Dec. 1991). TM & © DC Comics.
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Jingle Bug (right) Irwin Schwab rings in the holiday in Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer (1986), which contained (left) this metahuman Santa. Lunacy and pencils by Keith Giffen, words by Robert Loren Fleming, and inks by Bob Oksner.. TM & © DC Comics.
Claus-costumed Ambush Bug sitting in a giant stocking and singing a version of “Happy Birthday” in which he wishes a “Merr y Christmas” to a “little swaddling infant.” Unfortunately, for any readers expecting the interior pages to match this festive tone, they will be greeted with an ironic surprise. In fact, regarding Giffen’s feelings toward this massive American tradition, the man comments, “I have always felt that Christmas is the most wretched holiday everr. But that’s just me.” A comic that defies traditional expectations for stor ytelling and plot, Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer opens with a short titled “I Knew I Shoulda Taken That Left Toyn Back in Albakoyky koykyy..”” Ambush Bug joyfully enters the scene, ready for a day on Pismo Beach, but he finds himself in Dien Bien, believing he is back in time during the Vietnam War, when he encounters Hukka, from the canceled Atari Forrce c series. The strange little orange creature from that comic then finds himself finally talking in complete sentences before being given a deep-space background, where he expands and becomes a planet that is popped by an
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IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW,
American astronCLICK aut. InTHE theLINK next TO onORDER e-page THIS short, “ 1 , 0 0 1 U s e s ISSUE f o r a IN D ePRINT a d H uOR k k a ,DIGITAL ” the im age of FORMAT! Ambush Bug using the dead creature’s corpse to kill flies fills the top panel of page 7, which illustrates use #837 for a deceased Hukka: “Attracts flies & kills ’em.” On the note of incorporating Hukka into this comic, Giffen says, “I think I had a stor y hanging around with Hukka, and since it got squelched, I figured, ‘What the hell.’ ” The following page subsequently reveals that Ambush Bug is the artist of the preceding pages, thus once more proving himself to be a self-aware character whose apparent role as illustrator of his own comic brings up ontological questions involving the nature of reality that reflect back upon the comic’s readers themselves. However, when asked if postmodern, fourth-wall-breaking stor ytelling influences how he writes and draws the charBACK acter, GISSUE iffen re#85 plies, “Not a in the Bronze Go behindthe the scenes of comics’ lot, reallyy. If the “Christmas fourth wall gag works, sureAge!” I’ll break best holiday tales of the 1970s through the early 1990s! And we re… if not, then it’ s Superhero business as usual.” visit Merchandise Catalogs of the late ‘70s! Featuring with the At this point,work forbyreaders unfamiliar SIMON BISLEY, CHRIS CLAREMONT, JOSÉconcept LUIS GARof Ambush BuCÍA-LÓPEZ, f StoSTUDIO, cking DENNY StuffO’NEIL, er’s g, this KEITH synGIFFEN, opsistheoKUBERT STEVE PURCELL, JOHN ROMITA, JR., and more. Cover by MARIE first eight pagSEVERIN es maand y MIKE souESPOSITO! nd a bit phantasmagoric. Then again, that’s just w(84 haFULL-COLOR t this com ic r$8.95 epresents— pages) a crazy book that keeps s(Digital hiftinEdition) g ge$3.95 ars. From this point, a distrauhttp://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1221 ght Ambush Bug, who calls himself “a real sucker for Christmas,” goes looking for his missing living doll, Cheeks. For readers who have always y e a r n e d t o k n o w m o r e a b o u t C h e e k s — t h e To y Wonder—in regard to how he functions in this issue and what type of commentar y he provides on the meaning of the superheroic sidekick, Giffen reveals, “He’s just a doll based on my son. We’d throw him in whenever we needed to fill a page and had no idea where we were going … a pretty regular condition on the A. Bug stuff.” Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer also presents a dark lesson on how to write comic books on pages 14–15;