MIsshapen Presents: Three Weird Christmas Comic Book Stories: Comic Book Hinterlands, #3

By David Macpherson

What makes a good Christmas comic book? 

 

Scratch that. What makes a messed up Christmas comic book story? That might be more fun. Submitted to you are three weird Christmas comics to dissect. We discuss a Mad Magazine type of satire about modern Christmas. We have Howard the Duck in the second story contemplate suicide on Christmas, only to be visited by an angel. And then there is the last story where a child killer dressed as Santa crosses paths with the real Santa. 

 

Oh you bet. These are heartwarming Christmas tales suitable for basic cable. We look into why these were made and how they reflect the times they were created in. We look at memory and how we keep certain stories with us, even if they are horrific.  

 

Join us for a strange stop in the forgotten parts of comic book history, here in the Comic Book Hinterlands. Everything here smells of old paper and gingerbread.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Macpherson
• Release date: Dec 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201043926

Book preview

1

I have a complicated history with Christmas. I like it a lot. But it is not mine. My mother is Jewish and I was raised Jewish. Even with the last name of Macpherson, we were Jews. Still are. But we celebrated Christmas along with Hanukkah and Passover. Why did we include Christmas on list? Because Christmas is fun. It has cool characters. It has myth for days. Well, so does Hanukkah with Macabee and the revolutionaries. But there are no Christmas specials about that. You have a whole month of songs and cartoons that revel in Christmas. Everyone wishes you Merry Christmas. Every street corner is adorned with a guy in a red fat suit and a bell. Let’s be fair, we were soaking in it.

We celebrated Christmas in honor of my father. When he passed on, we still did Christmas. I mean, do you want to tell your kids that Christmas is done for us from now on, but don’t worry, we have eight candles to light?

Christmas was everywhere. Turn on the radio and you hear Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Turn on the television and you might get lucky to see Rudolph once more. But this ain’t no song. It is an epic stop motion adventure.  And in your comics we have Santa showing up to help out Superman or Spider-Man. And if you had a dollar, you could pick up a gian sized treasury edition of the comic adventures of (you guessed it) Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. That guy is everywhere.

Let’s just say that being a Jewish Kid in December was kind of tough. You wanted to be part of the fun. You wanted to sing carols and get candy canes. Let’s not worry about anything being kosher. Let’s just eat the food and watch the cartoon specials. And read the comics. Oh. There were always Christmas comics.

In the 1970s, Comics were struggling. They were fighting to get their books on the stands and in the hands of the paying customers. They would never miss a chance to boost sales. And if people were expecting stories of the season, then they were going to do it. It was easy to put Santa in a superhero comic. I mean, isn’t Santa just another version of the costume crime fighter? He is not putting Joker away in jail, but he is saving children with toys and treats.

He has a red suit (like Daredevil.) He has a secret lair in the frozen wilderness (like Superman.) He analyzes if there are bad people or good people (like Batman with his Bat Cave Crime Computer. I’m sure that was included in the Batman playset.) He is round and plump like a bowl full of jelly (which must be Herbie the Fat Fury.) Yes. Santa is one of the gang, no doubt.

It makes sense to have a holiday theme to the comic. Comics were perfect to fill in a stocking. Having a harried relative see a Christmas themed comic was great for an impulse buy. I got a lot of Christmas comics from distant relatives who didn’t know what to get me. David loves comics. He’s mad for them. A comic or two would be a perfect present for him. Yes, it was my Jewish relatives who were more likely to get the Santa themed comics. We all were blinded by the Holiday cheer I suppose.

The best mode for Christmas comics is the short story. There is a big push away from short eight page comics. Everything has been elongated to go for five or six issues and be republished as a trade paperback. No one wants the short pithy comic.

But Christmas does. Christmas is just one day. In and out. Of