The 2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge is HERE!!!

Keeping the Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge from getting stale, I've made a new adjustment. Last year, I cut the number of books to read from 50 to 40. The lessened number of reads was a smart move. Battling a mystery aliment, that still has yet to be determined, there were many nights I was too exhausted mentally or physically to read before I went to bed. It was a blessing to not feel rushed, nor guilty, because my body and mind wouldn't let me relax the way I like and make continual progress towards my reading goals. 

This year, I am exploring the progression of characters, superhero teams and genres over the decades. I still kept some criteria that have been on my list since I started this challenge 4 years ago. There are a few returning favorites, like #4: About food, whereas I dropped the criteria about having to read a manga book for the first time ever. Maybe it will be back next year. 

Here are the rules, which have undergone their first change since I began my annual reading challenge. The rule that has changed is rule #1

THE RULES- 

1. I must read 40 graphic novels or comic books. The only exception is #40, which does involve reading a prose work of non-fiction about comic book history. Only certain criteria can be completed in any order. I do not have to start at #1 and work my way down to 40, unless they are progression criteria books. Those criteria are listed in numbers 6-26. For Example, I must read the Fantastic Four comic from the 1980s before I begin the FF comic from the 1990s. I then must complete that work before finishing with the team with a comic from the decade of the 2000s. However, I can read my 3 progression books about Superman (criteria #15-17) before choosing to read the Fantastic Four books from 3 different decades. Progression books can include one-shots, annuals, graphic novels or miniseries.

2. I might read a book that fits multiple criteria. But I can only use 1 criteria per book. For example from an older challenge, I might read Star Wars #1 which from the year I was born (1977). As that book was also published during the Bronze Age, I could select that one instead. It's up to me to choose which criteria I mark off.

3. Once a criteria is selected, it's off the board. I cannot go back and switch criteria. For example, if I marked off Star Wars #1 as being a book more than 20 years old from my list, I can't go back and switch it to the book that was when I was born just because I am having trouble finding other comics/graphic novels from the greatest year ever!

4. I must write a review of the book in order to receive full credit. Those reviews will be listed as being part of the reading challenge. Every month I will post the challenge list to show my progress. 

5. Finally, I have until midnight, December 31st to complete my readings. That final review must be posted by January 4th, 2027 since life could get in the way. In a year that has seen power outages, cancelled flights and unexpected illnesses, a couple days grace to complete the last review is probably not such a bad idea.

Star Wars: Life Day Treasury - Holiday Stories From a Galaxy Far, Far Away by George Mann & Cavan Scott

George Mann and Cavan Scott present Star Wars stories set during the Wookiee holiday known as Life Day. Other than Boba Fett, Life Day has become the most enduring contribution to the Star Wars universe to come from the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. This treasury of tales show how different cultures and solar systems celebrate Life Day in regards to the winter solstice. As each populated planet has their winter solstice begin at different times, potentially you could celebrate the holidays every day. Coruscant, Tattioone, Alderaan, even the forest moon of Endor celebrate the beginning of winter and the New hope of warm, fertile days ahead.

I like that this book is set during different periods of time. The story on Coruscant occurs during the days of the Old Republic. My favorite story, 'The Song of Winter's Heart' takes place during the early days of the rebellion, showing how a pair of best friends can grow apart on different sides of the political spectrum, with one becoming a storm trooper and the other a rebel, and yet, the shared cultural heritage of the holidays can make even the worst of enemies brothers once more.

I also like that a majority of these stories star established characters. While my favorite tale had all-new characters, whom I hope to one day encounter again, other stories feature some of the most beloved characters across all 3 trilogies. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Wicket and the rest of his tribe are amongst those who appear. You won't get Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia. But as you could probably guess, Chewbacca and his family, including son Lumpy, star in the Life Day story set on Kashyyyk that closes out this collection. Yup! Han Solo is there too!

Some characters from before Episode I, who have been established in the pages of either Dark Horse or Marvel comics publications appear here too. One such character is Jedi Knight Stellan Gios, who appears on the cover. I only know that Stellan is an established character thanks to a Google search. I'm wondering if he was meant to be based on actor David Tennant. Because that's who he looks like in profile in the beautifully painted cover image by Grant Griffin. All of the artist's paintings were fantastic and added greatly to the intended theme of each story which range from humorous and heartfelt to suspenseful and scary. 

I wouldn't mind a second volume of Life Day stories. Maybe we could see what Life Day festivities are like on Cloud City or when observed by the Hutts. But I would also like to see some sequels. I really would like to know what happened to the opposing main characters of my favorite tale. Did both survive? Did they reconcile? I really want to know more about their story. If that's not reason to believe that is a great read, I don't know what is! And there are several characters, who are not Han or Chewie, in this book that I wanted to know more about.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars 

Bill & Teds Excellent Holiday Adventure #1

Bill and Ted reunite with old friends So-Crates, Billy the Kid and the rest of the time displaced crew from the first movie. 

A renegade from the future seeks to rewrite history. Not happy with the age of peace and prosperity ushered in by the music of Bill and Ted, this villain goes back in time and prevents Beethoven from creating his opus: Ode to Joy. Just as Bill and Ted are about to play the classical tune as the closer to a Christmas Eve concert that is key to the boys becoming founders of the golden age of humanity, the song is wiped from history and Bill and Ted are booed off stage. 

When the boys learn that their friends are being eliminated from the history books, it becomes a literal race against time to put the timeline back in place. Expect paradoxes, rewritten historical events and slapstick as 2 sets of time travelers play chess with important historical figures. It's enough to make time close in on itself!

In the backup tale, take a look at Little Bill and Little Ted. Not yet teenagers, the boys are at the mall hoping to buy their best buds the perfect Christmas present. But in order to do that, they need money. Taking a page out of the works of O. Henry, Bill and Ted unknowingly sell off their prized possessions for cash. Add a few bullies and some Christmas magic in the form of a mysterious dude with a ponytail and this will become a Christmas to remember. 

Both stories were great. Though I think I liked The Gift of the Magi tribute best as that is one of my favorite Christmas stories and tropes. Both stories captured the spirit of Bill and Ted perfectly. Writer John Barber bends time so perfectly that you'd think Doc Brown would have needed his trusty chalkboard to keep everything straight.

As for the artwork. I again liked that of the backup feature better. Juan Samu must have had some childhood photos of Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves on hand because this is how I expect Bill and Ted to look when they were in middle school. Butch Mapa did a great job in the first story. But Samu went above and beyond in the amazing childlike likenesses of the heroes.

A really enjoyable read from 2022. But did we ever get whatever at the end of the book is promised to come in 2023? It just says 'Next Year' with an image of Rufus and the Princesses on it. From what I can tell, this holiday special is currently the last time the dudes appear in comics. It appears that publisher Opus went belly up the following year. But really, no one else has picked up this franchise since then? Surely, the comic adventures of Bill and Ted aren't history. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC's I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus #1

I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus. Great pun title. Adorable cover. As for the overall book itself, it had highs and lows. This 2025 holiday special has got some of my all-time favorite characters. It's got some obscure ones, that are fan favs. And it's got at least one character that I didn't know who in the heck they were.

Supergirl stars in my favorite story. She's spending Christmas in Smallville this year and Clark set her up on a blind date. I'm still not as much of a fan when she's all sad and depressed. I prefer my Maid of Might all bright and chipper. But the ending just melted my heart. It was perfect!

Harley Quinn has a Christmas getaway with Poison Ivy. I don't mind this relationship. It was strongly hinted upon in Batman: The Animated Series- by Paul Dini, who created her. So if he says she's bisexual, then Harley Quinn is bisexual. What I don't like is DC currently claiming that they're presenting the definitive story of how these two become a couple because Paul Dini already did that in 1993's 'Harley and Ivy'!

The parody of It's a Wonderful Life starring Animal Man and the Phantom Stranger was hilarious! 

The JSA story that does indeed star Ma Hunkel, the original Red Tornado was festive fun and very nostalgic. But where was Scribbly? He needed to at least have a cameo in this flashback story!

I liked the twist on the trope where a guy finds himself with 2 dates at the same time. Here we find Billy Batson and Captain Marvel at a high school Christmas dance dating Billy's dream girl... and her mom! Well, the Captain is dating the mom. Now that I think about it, this was a subplot of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, while both Clark and Superman attended the same dinner date with 2 different women. Okay. So its not an original twist...

The Doctor Light story was good as well. It features the Kimiyo Hoshi Doctor Light, Ray Palmer and a holiday prank played on blowhard Guy Gardner.

The Martian Manhunter story was fair. I loved that it involves Krampus. But too much of the story took place inside of J'onn J'onnz' consciousness and was a bit too metaphysical for my tastes.

And then we've got the Hanukkah story, which is sadly the worst story. It stays the gender fluid character known as Galaxy. This character apparently debuted in a young adult graphic novel that I have no memory of ever seeing any sort of advertising for. I don't even recall seeing the so-called origin story being listed in Previews nor the coming attractions section of Midtown Comics. Galaxy has been putting their girlfriend on the back burner during the first 7 nights of Hanukkah. With one evening to go, Galaxy is determined to to spend it with true love. Unfortunately, a figure from Galaxy's past, has other ideas.

DC has the right to fill their holiday specials with whatever they like. Galaxy would not have been a character that I would have selected. But there are readers out there who would say the same about selecting Animal Man or Ma Hunkel. I just find it surprising that Batman, the Flash or Wonder Woman don't even appear anywhere here. They're some of the company's most lucrative properties and yet they are nowhere to be found. 

This wasn't the worst DC holiday special. There really was more good than bad. I just could've done without the Galaxy story. The artwork was not good. What is wrong with Galaxy's ears? Is the character wearing headphones? The plot was good. The dialogue was not. Is this is how DC thinks teens and young adults talk? Being a high school teacher, I am aware of much of the slang and vernacular of this current generation. But they don't communicate this obnoxiously, I think. Like the annoying song that you can't get out of your head, the Galaxy story, especially the way everyone talks, marred my overall enjoyment of this special.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Christmas Fun Facts! From Advent to Xmas, Interesting Trivia and Amazing Fun Facts About Festive Holiday Traditions From Around the World by Marianne Jennings

 Another holiday tradition that I maintain for just myself is to read a holiday 'fact book'. This started when I was very young when my mom would buy me these really cool books that explains Christmas traditions around the world. There would be recipes and activities and games. But above all, there would be knowledge.

I've read several over the years. A couple of years ago, it was a magazine devoted entirely to the life and times of Santa Claus. Before that, I read a holiday Uncle John's Bathroom Reader and countless others. Realizing that I was without such a work this year, I immediately went to Amazon and found this book. 

By Marianne Jennings, it was a good read in which I did learn more about many festive subjects that I knew about before while still managing to discover some new aspects about one of my favorite holidays! New information came to me about holiday foods from other countries. I got a more clear understanding of Solstice and some other pagan customs that became canonized. I never even thought to wonder how the International Space Station celebrates the holidays in orbit! The author's look at Christmas in Australia, where it's hot and sunny, was fascinating. She covers so much about the land down under, that instead of peppering this book with Aussie Christmas customs, she could have made an entire chapter. 

Amazon lists this 2023 book as being 212 pages long. However, it's actually about a dozen or so pages shorter than that. That's because there are some pages that are left half blank. I come from the school of writing and design that empty space is wasted space. I understand that all that blank space is a formatting issue, because you only seem to have these issues right before encountering a photo on the next page. But couldn't Jennings either make the pictures smaller or still figure out a way to add more material to those empty parts?

The author likes to include 'fun facts'. Surely, she had some more factoids somewhere in that Santa's sack of information of her's! Jennings writes in the back that she hopes to make a second volume and I would like that very much. She requests readers to include traditions from her readings and I've got quite a few not covered in this edition. I bet there's one New Year's tradition that my grandmama perfected that Jennings had never even heard of!

I just hope that if a second volume is forthcoming that the writing is a bit more polished. I noticed that the first third of the book had every other paragraph ending with an exclamation point. Just about every tip about staying Earth friendly during the holidays in the sustainability chapter felt repetitive and I get it. I find myself using similar phrases and Ideals as I write nearly 365 reviews, mostly about comics and graphic novels a year. It is one reason why I will drop a mystery writer in a heartbeat if they basically follow the same manuscript with only the murderer and their weapon being the only thing different during each book.

I don't think that will be a problem if Marianne Jennings does in fact publish a companion. There are a ton of holiday movies that weren't even hinted at! Songs too! What about the national gingerbread competition in Asheville, NC? Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus? The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade? And what's the deal with egg nog? There's enough out there to do 2 more volumes of Christmas Fun Facts!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Dell Giants #39 'Walt Disney's Merry Christmas'

I found this 1960 Dell Giants over the summer at a used book store. The cover was hanging by a thread and prayer. But otherwise, it was in really good condition. None of the holiday activities were scribbled in and all of the pages were intact. That alone was a Christmas miracle considering how many crafts and games juvenile readers were encouraged to partake in.

This special opens with Donald and his nephews pondering what to get Uncle Scrooge for Christmas. They instead get tricked by their rich relative to board a rocket ship bound for the moon. Only Scrooge forgot to set the ship's coordinates and they wind up stuck on the North Pole!

Then Mickey Mouse plans an ice skating event to raise money for Christmas presents for the local orphanage. The star athlete has refused to go on, leaving Mickey scrambling for a replacement. It comes in the form of Goofy, who turns out to be a real pro; as long as he skates in his sleep. Now too afraid to go back to sleep, Mickey hires a hypnotist to break Goofy's subconscious hang ups.

Brer Rabbit goes around the countryside asking for items to decorate his Christmas tree and winds up becoming an ornament himself in a trap set by Brer Fox. Gyro Gearloose teams with the Three Little Pigs when the Big Bad Wolf creates some gadgets, based on Gyro's blueprints, to kidnap the piggies for a Christmas dinner to remember. Dale becomes a private investigator in hopes of raising money to buy a Christmas present from Chip. He ends up becoming his own client when his deer slayer hat goes missing.

My favorite story was a Disney crossover. True, a couple of the other stories I mentioned had some unlikely pairings that I consider unexpected. But it wasn't as massive as my personal fav. It's got Dumbo and Daisy Duck's nieces helping Gephetto and Pinocchio solve the mystery of the missing dolls. Every time Gephetto completes a toy, it immediately disappears. With time running out before Christmas, the girls become bait to get to the bottom of all this and discovered that the person swiping all the presents is the Witch from Snow White! 4 different franchises all coming together in 1 tale. I loved it!

A couple of the stories in this book could have been set at different times of year. Christmas might have just been added as a place holder for the action. But the final story was absolutely not set anywhere near the holidays. Minnie Mouse and Clarabelle the Cow are reporters for the local paper, sent overseas to cover the birthday party of a princess. Only when the girls get to the palace, they learn that the princess has gone missing! It's a charming mystery. I just don't understand what it's doing inside a Disney Christmas special.

Lots of fun. Festive... mostly. All of the stories were entertaining. But half of them could've been more at place in a winter special which was something Dell did put out from time to time. Very Disney and it's something that I very much welcome into my holiday comics collection.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

ALF #13

I found my first Scrooge of the season. This 1989 issue of ALF has a holiday cover with the furry alien covered in Christmas wrapping and that's just about it for holiday cheer. 

There are 2 stories inside. First, ALF soups up his space ship into a rad race car in order to challenge a drag racer and claim a large cash prize. Then ALF activates his old cleaning droid to repair some of the damage he made in the previous story. Only the robot goes a little crazy and places the entire house into lockdown until it can determine if the Tanner family are a threat to ALF's comfort and safety.

There is a special insert. It's a holiday card from ALF and his human family. This is the only Christmas themed material in the entire book. This also includes ads! I suspect that most copies of this issue is missing that centerpiece as this was a book geared towards children. 

This issue was published right around when Marvel was shuttering their all-ages imprint, Star Comics. Though this issue says Marvel on the top left corner, there are still subscription ads for the few remaining kids books being published by the House of Ideas as Star Comics. There's also a coming attractions page that bears the Star Comics moniker. 

In my opinion, Star Comics was one of Jim Shooter's best ideas. I loved these books and despite being in my very late 40s, I am trying to collect the entire imprint run without having to take on a major loan to do it. I would have been perfectly happy with this book if it had a cover that reflected one of the 2 non-holiday stories contained within. I've read that towards the end of the Star imprint, Marvel was trying to use up all of the artwork that they had paid artists for. That could explain why this issue had a Christmas cover despite not being a Christmas comic. Unfortunately, it got my hopes up for a festive read and for that, I must rate this book accordingly.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.