Holiday2012

Bizarro Back Issues: Donald Duck In ‘A Christmas For Shacktown’ (1952)
Bizarro Back Issues: Donald Duck In ‘A Christmas For Shacktown’ (1952)
Bizarro Back Issues: Donald Duck In ‘A Christmas For Shacktown’ (1952)
If you're a regular ComicsAlliance reader, then you already know that I'm pretty fascinated by the weirder comics of the past, but at Christmastime, my thoughts turn to more heartwarming tales. As soon as that calendar flips over to December, 'tis the season for Santa Claus, presents, the occasional talking Christmas tree that Wonder Woman rescued from the Nazis by holding a door shut and talking about how it felt like being spanked. I mean, yeah, they're still pretty weird, but they've got that Christmas spirit! Case in point: "A Christmas For Shacktown," the title story in the latest Fantagraphics collection of Disney Duck tales by the legendary Carl Barks. At 32 pages, it's a sprawling epic (By Barks' standards, anyway) that hits those beautiful Holiday themes of altruism and the spirit of giving. Although to be fair, it does get a little closer to cannibalism than most other Christmas comics.Our story begins as Donald Duck's three nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, are taking a shortcut home from school through Shacktown, the hard-luck side of Duckburg where Calisota's poor gather together in sub-Dickensian poverty. Now, you'd think that a city built around the most successful businessman in the history of the world would be prosperous enough that even the bad neighborhoods would be doing all right, but apparently McDuck industries isn't the proven job creator that you might expect. If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably because its owner keeps three cubic acres of cash in a gigantic bin on top of a nearby hill, but I'm no economist. That's a different Chris Sims.
Bizarro Back Issues: Boxing Day With Captain Marvel! (1944)
Bizarro Back Issues: Boxing Day With Captain Marvel! (1944)
Bizarro Back Issues: Boxing Day With Captain Marvel! (1944)
Christmas has once again come and gone, but before the holidays are over, there's one last celebration we all have to get through before New Year's rolls around and puts a cap on it: Boxing Day! The only problem is that the True Meaning of Boxing Day has been explored in roughly zero movies (as opposed to the True Meaning of Christmas, which has been pretty thoroughly dealt with in about 4,926), so I always just tend to think of it as a wintry celebration of people punching each other in the face. I always try to celebrate with the most pugilistic comic I can find, and this year, that led me to 1944's Captain Marvel Adventures #35, which promised a boxing match between Billy Batson's alter ego and a soldier, and then went on to become one of the all-time craziest comic books I have ever read.
Comics Alliance Reviews The ‘Wonder Woman’ Christmas Episode (1977)
Comics Alliance Reviews The ‘Wonder Woman’ Christmas Episode (1977)
Comics Alliance Reviews The ‘Wonder Woman’ Christmas Episode (1977)
Chris Sims: Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series of in-depth reviews of movies based on comics. This week, though, we're doing something a little different! With Christmas just around the corner, we wanted to hit something holiday-themed, and while we debated checking out the Star Wars Holiday Special or one of the three - three! - Christmas episodes of Lois and Clark, we eventually found something that interested us a little more. Matt Wilson: Our choice came down to continuing our '90s trend with the Christmas episode of The Mask cartoon or the Christmas episode of the 1970s Wonder Woman TV show. Only one of these choices, Wonder Woman, had Frank Gorshin in a guest-starring role, so we went with that one.
Ask Chris #132: ‘Christmas With The Joker’
Ask Chris #132: ‘Christmas With The Joker’
Ask Chris #132: ‘Christmas With The Joker’
Q: Why does everyone hate the "Christmas with the Joker" episode of Batman: The Animated Series? -- @tekende A: You know, I'm not sure everyone does hate "Christmas with the Joker." I certainly don't, but then again, I can't really say that I like it a whole lot either. It's definitely one of those episodes that pops into mind whenever I start thinking of the worst episodes of the series, although it misses out on being the actual worst by a long shot. But that said, I don't quite know the reason why. Clearly, a rewatch is in order.
Marvel’s Christmas-Themed House Ads From The ’80s Are Bizarrely Jolly
Marvel’s Christmas-Themed House Ads From The ’80s Are Bizarrely Jolly
Marvel’s Christmas-Themed House Ads From The ’80s Are Bizarrely Jolly
It's not often that I run across a piece of comic book Christmas ephemera that I've never heard of, but a conversation with my cowriter, Chad Bowers, included five magical words that blew my mind: Iron Man's Santa Claus Armor. Sadly, this didn't actually appear in a story, but it did point me in the direction of a pretty weird (and pretty awesome) bit of Yuletide cheer...
Christmas With The Punisher Is Not Exactly Jolly (1995)
Christmas With The Punisher Is Not Exactly Jolly (1995)
Christmas With The Punisher Is Not Exactly Jolly (1995)
When it comes to Christmas comics, you can't really get around the fact that some characters lend themselves to holiday stories a little easier than others. Superman is essentially built around peace on Earth and goodwill to men anyway, Batman's themes of family and sacrifice are perfectly suited for a bittersweet Christmas tale, and Spider-Man shopping for presents is almost always a good recipe for seasonal comedy. And then there are the characters that don't quite fit. Like, say, the Punisher, whose tendency to run around brutally slaughtering murderers and other criminals doesn't exactly fit well with good cheer and eggnog.
Holiday Gift Guide: The Instant Gratification of Digital Comics
Holiday Gift Guide: The Instant Gratification of Digital Comics
Holiday Gift Guide: The Instant Gratification of Digital Comics
Digital Comics From Comixology Available From: Comixology Price: (See below) The window for buying Christmas gifts is rapidly closing, and we're finally at the point where a lot of shopping is out of the question. Most physical stores have regressed into miniature Bartertowns where ownership of that new LEGO set is determined in the Thunderdome, and unless you're willing to pay an exorbitant fee
Best Art Ever (This Week) – Holiday Edition 2012
Best Art Ever (This Week) – Holiday Edition 2012
Best Art Ever (This Week) – Holiday Edition 2012
We make a regular practice at ComicsAlliance of spotlighting particular artists or specific bodies of work, but because cartoonists, illustrators and their fans share countless numbers of great images on sites like Flickr, Tumblr, DeviantArt and seemingly infinite art blogs that we've created Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the pieces of especially compelling artwor
Holiday Gift Guide: ‘Regular Show’ Wrestling Buddies
Holiday Gift Guide: ‘Regular Show’ Wrestling Buddies
Holiday Gift Guide: ‘Regular Show’ Wrestling Buddies
Regular Show Wrestling Buddies Available From: Toys R Us Price: $27.99 each If you need to buy a gift for someone who is very difficult to buy presents for, but also happens to be a 30 year-old small child who is super into Regular Show and pro wrestling, there is an elegant solution to your problem: an awesome set of oversized plush wrestling buddies...

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