Happy Horror Days One-Shot

I've been learning over the years how the holidays are filled with creepy characters and horrible stories from around the world. So who better than Archie's horror imprint to provide some festive frights? From 2022, Happy Horror Days offers 3 tales designed to bring holiday fear instead of cheer.

Frank Tieri returns to the Jughead: The Hunger universe he created with a story that answers the question: What would happen if Krampus ran across the path of a hungry werewolf? 

Then Veronica makes an Icelandic immigrant's first Christmas in Riverdale hell by berating their fashion sense. Little does Ms. Lodge know about the legend of the deadly Yule Cat.

Finally, under pressure from his parents, Reggie wishes for a girl he can take to Christmas dinner with. Little does he know that his prayers have been answered by a pair of devilish imps.

The opening story was more black comedy than horror. Lots of funny banter that if the main Jughead: The Hunger books are anything like this Krampus caper, then I most certainly wanna get my hands on them. The other two stories were like most classic horror comic tales. It's the twist endings that elicits the scares. The closing panels to both stories were absolutely creepy. But I think it's that last panel of the Reggie story that is really going to stick with me for a while.

I loved this anthology. The annual Archie Christmas specials are the books I look forward to the most each holiday season. They bring forth a magic of the holidays and this special is no different. Except that it's black magic instead of Christmas magic. I'm kicking myself for not having read this one sooner because I feel like if I had given praise to this one-shot sooner, we could have had 2 more years of scary Archie Christmas comics.

Well, there's always next year.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Adventures in Advent, Advent 2024, Day 23

If you've been a regular reader of my blog, then you'll know that I support endeavors that encourage children to read. You probably have also gathered that I love comic books and superheroes. One of my all-time favorite quotes about the importance of reading and how comic books can be used as such a tool for kids is by LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation Fame.

I feel like today's Advent really plays into the importance of reading and how the interest in subjects is vital if you want children to enjoy reading. It's the Marvel Storybook Collection Advent from Autumn Publishing. The calendar features 24 miniature storybooks recommended for readers 5-8 years of age. Each book is 24 pages long and features characters such as Spider-Man, The Guardians of the Galaxy and Fin Fang Foom! 

I recognize some of these titles from being listed in the past on the Midtown Comics website for sale in regular storybook size. Those titles retail for about $10 a piece. As this advent sells for $16.99, that's a tremendous value if you don't mind that these are smaller books. I know if I was a kid, I sure as heck wouldn't. They remind me of the tiny Little Golden Books that were readable complete tinier versions of the regular sized classics. And they had a gold string in order to hang on your tree as an ornament. 

I would have liked if these books were also ornaments. With a trusty hot glue gun and some ribbon, you could make that a DIY project with your child, if you like. What I'd really would have liked is for all 24 books to have been holiday themed. Alas, none of them are. Still, if your child is obsessed with the Marvel Universe don't let my opinion stop you from using this as a reading tool and a Countdown to Christmas 2025. Buy it now and be ready for when December 1st rolls back around next year!

Holiday Tales to Astonish #1

I must have been really good this year. Or Marvel must have gotten tired of me complaining. Because this year, the House of Ideas released not one, not two, but 3 Christmas specials!  

Holiday Tales to Astonish #1 was the first one that I read. It's regular cover by Luciano Maher elicits memories of that pair of tabloid sized holiday specials from the 1970s. It really got me right in the holiday feels. Thankfully unlike those classics, of which I'm still on the hunt for one of them, there's no reprints here. Instead, we get 3 great all-new seasonal stories that represent Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's.

The Fantastic Four star in the Christmas themed story. Don't worry, Ben Grimm is still a member of the Tribe and his faith is represented at the beginning. However, the Festival of Lights is saved for story #2. In the opener, Reed Richards is getting reports of traces of plutonium popping up in Manhattan. Investigating a possible nuclear weapon being armed, the FF instead run into Doctor Doom, dressed as Santa Claus and playing the role of the Grinch by stealing toys from the boys and girls of the Big Apple.

The middle story goes back in time to the Chris Claremont/John Byrne era of the Uncanny X-Men. It shows Kitty Pryde's first Hanukkah at the Xavier School. Don't worry, classic Hanukkah issue Uncanny X-Men #143 is still canon. We just catch a glimpse of what transpired during the other 7 days of Hanukkah. 

The final story occurs on New Year's Eve. When his girlfriend comes under the weather, Miles Morales gets invited to a different countdown to the New Year party by folks he didn't realize considered him a friend. When the Peter Parker Spidey and Hydro-Man interrupt the festivities, Miles learns an important lesson about the personal sacrifices a superhero has to make. 

All three stories were exceptionally written. The art varied. Pat Olliffe is definitely a graduate of the John Byrne school of uncanny art. It felt like an lost tale from one of the greatest partnerships in Marvel history. Dylan Burnett's work on the Spider-Men story was fair. It has more of that teen graphic novel look to it. Not as detailed but still pleasant on the eyes. But what in the world happened on that Fantastic Four story?

Phil Noto was the artist. Normally, his work is amazing. Noto does stunning work on the various Star Wars titles he contributes too. Especially his covers. Maybe that is more of his forte, because the art for the opener was a hot mess. Look, I know that I don't read that much modern Fantastic Four. But what is up with Johnny Storm's porn star mustache? Just because Mr. Fantastic can assume very fluid shapes, that doesn't mean that he should always be drawn like that. And I know that Wolverine is short. But he's not a midget. A lot of long-established Marvel fans criticize the current offerings of art as really bad. I tend to be more forgiving. However, with the first story, along with some of ads for upcoming 2025 projects, I could see what they're talking about.

Speaking of 2025, I cannot wait for the 5 What If... Galactus one-shots coming up in January. They look epic!

Great reading. Varying art. 100% holiday themed. Thank you Marvel for putting out an honest to goodness holiday special! It was a great gift for the fans and I hope it's a tradition that continues for years to come!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 22

I've been complaining throughout this Advent how I hate it when the packaging ruins the surprises in store. Well I've finally discovered an Advent that not only do you not know what's inside, you don't even know which calendar door to open next!

Exit: The Game is a series of escape room themed board games. This year, game manufacturer Thames & Kosmos released a 24 Day long escape room adventure. Subtitled 'The Missing Hollywood Star', participants must solve a daily riddle. Only when you solve the puzzle, you only then discover which Advent calendar door you open the following day. Presumably, when you make it to Day 24, you'll locate the missing starlet. Though I reality, you should know where she is on Day 23, because the December 24th door will be the only one left unopened.

Best of luck that you get all of the puzzles correct. It would stink if you made a miscalculation and found the actress on Day 6

Another thing you'll need is time. The Amazon posting for this Advent recommends about 15 minutes per day to solve the daily enigma. This isn't an Advent that you'll be able to just rush through 

Sleigher: The Heavy Metal Santa Claus

When Santa Claus is unexpectedly killed, his son is called to take over the family business. Forging his own way as a heavy metal rocker, the man known as Sleigher, does his new job with a musical flair. On Christmas, Sleigher delivers gifts to all the good little boys and girls of the world. The other 364 days out of the year, this new Santa battles the forces of evil that seek to pervert the spirit of Christmas. Those Sleigher defeats are held captive within the confines of Santa's sack, which obviously have magical properties.

When an ancient race of Christmas mischief makers called the Yule Lads assault Santa's workshop, they steal the bag, releasing countless holiday villains, along with their mama, back into the world. With their escape, the Christmas spirit of the world's populace is replaced with a selfish hedonism.  With the help of Sleigher's grandfather, the Coca-Cola style Santa Claus, and his Elves with an attitude, the Heavy Metal Santa will face a foe so vile, that if allowed to roam the world, there definitely won't be a Christmas next year.

This 2016 volume opens with a lecherous priest trying to put the 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' moves on an innocent choir boy. Thankfully, Sleigher intervenes. However, with this kicking off the story and this version of Santa Claus being heavy metal, which is traditionally a very anti-church genre of music, I was afraid that this was going to be a book that really skewers Christianity. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Does Sleigher talk about raising hell and gestures with devil horns and stuff? Absolutely. But does he love Christmas and take pride in being the new Father Christmas? He sure as hell does!

If the blurb on the last page of this story is true, Sleigher was supposed to be an annual miniseries in which the hero would seek to return one of the escaped yule time prisoners back into his magic pack. Krampus was to the the antagonist for the sequel. Yet, for reasons I've not been able to uncover, Action Lab never returned to this property.

I suspect it might have something to do with the name of the series. Sleigher is of course, a great name for a Christmas heavy metal themed series. However, there's already has been a band named Slayer since the early 80s. I'm wondering if the band's lawyers sent Action Lab a cease and desist over name similarities. Or maybe sales weren't that great. Comic book history is full of promises of forthcoming issues, specials and sequels that never materialized because of poor sales. I just wish I could uncover the reason there never was another season of this irreverent but hilarious holiday comic.

By the way, this comic marks the 4th time this holiday season alone in which Vladimir Putin is a character! I didn't know he was so affiliated with Christmas. Strange. A very strange coincidence, if you ask me...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 21

If you follow my Advents annually, you'll know that I devote one of my days to the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. My wife is half Jewish and we celebrate the festival of lights by putting up a fire safe menorah (because we have cats) and decorate one of the trees in our yard with blue and white lights and decorations.

But 2024 is a bit of an anomaly. Hanukkah begins on December 25th and I always make sure to focus on the birth of Christ on my Christmas Day Advents. I also partially plan out my Advents weeks in advance and I've got my next 4 days set. Thankfully I didn't have a calendar selected for today and I'm able to continue my annual look at Hanukkah.

You might think that they don't make Hanukkah Advent calendars. Well, you'd be wrong. Instead of being 12, 24 or 25 days long, Hanukkah Advent calendars are only 8 nights- NOT DAYS- long. That's because of the miracle of the Temple in which God stretched out the oil for the lamps to last slightly over a week. Plus as with all Jewish days, they start a new at sundown- not midnight.

#1- Astor Chocolate sells a Hanukkah Chocolate Calendar. Filled with chocolate coins, called gelts,  made of dark chocolate and milk chocolate which is the currency of choice for the most serious of dreidel players. 

#2 on Etsy, seller Ohhappydayconfection offers a Hanukkah Countdown comprised of cookies and gummy candy. 

3. With seller Cubinizer on Amazon, you can make your own Hanukkah Countdown. You receive 8 small linen sacks that are numbered and bear classic Hanukkah images. Fill them with treats and goodies. Reuse yearly. 

4. Poshmark and other online sellers has felt  and fabric calendars similar to the one I had as a kid and reviewed for Day 1. It's a multicolored felt countdown equipped with 8 numbered candles. Each night you add a flame until you have the whole octet blazing.

5. Why should the humans have all the fun? Middle sells a Chanukah Countdown Calendar for cats! This countdown features 8 boxes being Hanukkah images filled with an assortment of balls, stuffed mice and more. Made of sturdy material, the boxes can be refilled and reused every year.

6. Make all 8 nights of Hanukkah a movie night (or TV marathon) with the Pop 'N Dulge Movie Night Popcorn Set. You receive 5 bags of corn for popping including a blue and ruby variety as well as 5 seasoning packs. I know that this adds up to 10. But 3 bags of popcorn are of the classic golden variety, so I think for 2 nights you're supposed to highlight the flavor packs and not the popcorn. Anyone for an Adam Sandler film festival?

7. Knitting your thing? Teeny Button Studio from Louisiana has an Advent where for 7 nights, you get a mini skein (length of yarn) of certain colors and for night #8 you receive a full sized speckled skein for a festive project.

8. Celebrate Hanukkah in luxury with Budhagirl's Hanukkah Advent calendar. Over the course of 8 days, you receive a variety of metallic all weather bangles from the noted French jewelry maker. A combined value of $350, the Advent is a bargain at $250 retail.

And there you have 8 Hanukkah Advent calendars. With 4 days until the double holiday, there's still time to get in on the action if you act now. And just so you know, I'm not a paid endorser for any of these companies. I just happened to be looking for Hanukkah gifts for my bride and this is what I came across. Best of luck and Shalom!

The Smurfs Christmas (Family Comic Friday)

The Smurfs Christmas is a festive collection of several shorts. 3 directly involved Christmas. One mentions writing letters to Santa and is set during wintertime. Another involves snowmen, which are holiday icons. And then we've got that one story that involves a very hungry ogre.

Story #1 sees Santa down with a case of the flu. Knowing Gargamel is a sorcerer, Claus seeks a potion to help him complete his rounds. The dastardly medicine man finds opportunity to kidnap Santa and become the Jolly Old Fatman in hopes of infiltrating the Smurf village and stealing some for his Christmas dinner. 

Story #2 finds Gargamel captured by a hungry ogre. Thinking quickly, the fiend convinces the ogre that Smurfs make better tasting meals. There's quite a bit of tension as the Ogre with Gargamel still in his clutches, inch closer to Smurf village!

Story #3 starts off with a the Smurfs building snowmen. With warmer weather in the forecast, the snowmen come alive, trying to make it to the safety of the frigid Northern lands. But an encounter with Gargamel results in the snowmen betraying their Smurf creators.

Story #4 has the Smurfs exploring their nearby territory. Things are awfully quiet with all the woodland creatures taking warm refuge from the winter weather. All this quiet results in Sleepy Smurf cuddling up in a dormouse hutch. As the rest of the Smurfs write their letters to Santa, Sleepy Smurf and friend find themselves unknowingly the target of a hungry poacher- because they're sleeping through their entire predicament!!!

Story #5 stars Lumberjack Smurf who while looking for the perfect Christmas tree, almost chops down a talking pine. Turns out that the verbose tree is actually a little girl who was turned into a conifer by a witch. 

The final tale is a reunion between Gargamel and Santa. Faced with being on the naughty list again, the wizard can earn a gift for Christmas if he delivers gifts to all the Smurfs. But should he fall into temptation, Gargamel will be turned into an earthworm!

When I grew up, religious groups proclaimed the Smurfs to be agents of the devil. There's a little bit of magic in the book. It's mostly Gargamel's doing. Papa Smurf does refer to a book of prophecy in the Orge story. But by the end of it, he burns the book wanting to make his own destiny. There is some Looney Tunes level slapstick. That's mostly at the hands of Jokey Smurf and his love of those exploding gift boxes. 

What got on my nerves was the progressive use of the word 'Smurf'. It's gently sprinkled into the vocabulary in the first couple of tales. By the end of this book, it literally peppered it to the point of overuse. I mean, it smurfingly smurfed getting on my smurfing smurfs! (Hopefully, you get my drift...) It's a Christmas tree! Not a Christmas smurf!!! I don't care what the back panel on the book says...

This was a great assortment of holiday and winter time Smurfs stories by their legendary Belgian creator, Peyo. But why was that ogre story thrown in? I would have been with just those 5 other stories alone in order to make this a more cohesive collection. The only reason I can figure out for addition of the ogre oddity is that this book is about 55 pages long. Without the 8 pages of 'The Ogre and the Smurfs ', this 2013 offering from Papercutz would barely clock in at 47 pages. I have the paperback edition which at $5.99 is a steal. But I bet the smaller page count just wouldn't have been feasible for Papercutz', hardcover edition.Lots of seasonal fun with a small detour in the middle. Sure to delight generations of Smurfs fans.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.