by Joshua H. Stulman

Christmas is a huge part of Americana and has been such a big part of comics from its inception. Although usually cheerful and sometimes humorous, the portrayal of Christmas in comics has grown along with its audience. This has made for some fun and sometimes edgier covers.

Christmas has always been a popular theme in comics. All the major comic companies produced annual celebration comics, with many creating numerous Christmas themed comics each year. (Above is an Original Art page from Betty & Veronica # 222 featuring Santa Claus and Sugar Plum.) There are literally hundreds of Christmas covers and stories to cover, below are just a sample of ten that show Christmas throughout the 80 year history of Comics.

10) Comic Cavalcade # 9 (Winter 1944)

Comic Cavalcade was a quarterly DC Comics publication that contained the adventures of Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern in separate stories. Super hero stories were published from 1942 to 1948 while cartoon stories carried the title until its cancellation in 1954. Because of its seasonal publication, the winter issue usually featured a Christmas themed cover. Like many of the early Golden Age Super Hero Comics, Christmas themed covers were used to celebrate the season but the interior stories usually had no Christmas theme.

9) Action Comics # 105 (February 1947)

Action Comics was Superman’s original comic series and was the first Super-Hero comic book. The series debuted in 1938. There are many great Christmas Superman covers throughout its early years, however the first Christmas Cover in Action Comics appears in 1946. During the 1950’s, Christmas themed Super-Hero comics dwindled as the genre shifted to science fiction themes. Christmas retained its prominence in the cartoon character oriented comics of Walt Disney, Merrie Melodies, and Walter Lantz.

8) Walt Disney Comics # 105 (January 1951)

Walt Disney Comics as well as Looney Tunes and much of the cartoon character genre loved to celebrate Christmas. The audience was younger and the artists had a great time devising comical situations for the holidays. Some of the best covers are by Carl Barks, whose whit and humor comes through in this excellent cover from 1951.

7) The Witching Hour # 28 (February 1973)

During the early 1970’s, the Comic Code Authority amended its restrictions on violence and horror in comics. This allowed for a major revival of the Horror genre. Here DC artist, Nick Cardy, puts his horror twist on Santa Claus. With the maturing audience of comics, artists/writers pushed the content of their comics along with their depictions of Christmas stories. Here Santa Claus begins to be used as an ironic figure of the holidays, often commenting on the commercialism of the season.

6) Spectacular Spider-Man # 112 (March 1986)

A fantastic cover by Kyle Baker, Santa depictions with weapons had already occurred many times since the 1970’s. This cover from 1986 certainly is a change in attitude from traditional Santa stories. The interior story is a Christmas themed Spider-Man story. Yes, its Santa – a mall Santa crook that uses children to find out what valuables are in each family’s houses. Here Spider-Man confronts the crook at the scene of the crime but the crook escapes. Spider-Man later finds the thief completely reformed after encountering the real Santa Claus.

5) Daredevil # 229 (April 1986)

Half way through Frank Miller’s iconic Daredevil “Born Again” storyline features a fun (and dark) Christmas theme. Here, Kingpin long time thug, Turk, steals a Santa costume to con the good will of Christmas shoppers on the upper west side. A beat and homeless Matt Murdock encounters Santa Turk, who initially offers Murdock some money mistaking him for an alley bum. Turk eventually stabs Murdock when Murdock threatens him to take off the Santa costume.

4) Amazing Spider-Man # 314 (April 1989)

Although not exactly a Christmas themed story, Peter and Mary Jane are evicted by their jealous landlord after Mary Jane rebuffs the landlord’s continued advances. Meanwhile, Spider-Man foils an armed robbery heist and frees the Santa Claus hostage.

3) Incredible Hulk # 378 (February 1991)

Hulk versus Santa, what more can be said! One of the best “evil” Santa covers in comics by Dale Keown. Here Hulk actually goes up against the Rhino disguised as a mall Santa Claus. Rhino swiped the Santa costume to help him get away after a foiled robbery plot but instead gets roped into a mall Santa gig. His cover is eventually blown when a kid recognizes him. The Hulk overhears and a battle ensues.

2) Spawn # 39 (December 1995)

It’s Christmas time in Bum Alley, home of Spawn! Financial woes force single mother Phyllis to work on Christmas Eve. Her daughter Nadine sneaks out, leaving little Greggy alone to await Santa. Spawn, scuffling on the roof with robbers, sounds like Santa to Greggy. A thug drops a fat wad of cash down the fire escape. The windfall allows the family to forget about day to day worries and appreciate their many blessings.

1) Fantastic Four (Vol. 2) # 4 (February 1997)

A wonderful and rare Marvel Christmas cover from the late 1990’s. This Christmas cover is actually a variant cover by Whilce Portacio that connects with his Iron Man # 4 cover. There’s no Christmas story here, just a fun cover with an incredibly sexy looking Invisible Woman.

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Joshua H. Stulman

Owner, Brooklyn Comic Shop