A Christmas Bestiary by Benni Bodker

A field guide and protection manual in defense of the monsters, ghosts and terrifying magical beings that occupy Europe and Russia during the holidays. I could have finished this book in a couple of nights of reading. However, I learned pretty quickly that this illustrated work by Danish illustrator and filmmaker John Kenn Mortensen and author Benni Bodker, was framed as an Advent. Each day, a different Yuletide terror is featured. I would have thought Krampus would have been selected as the final character of the Advent, considering how popular he's gotten. However, he was fittingly selected for December 5th, as that is Krampusnacht in his native Germany. A few other characters are appropriately highlighted on the days or nights that they are believed to cause their mischief and mayhem.

The beings are rated on a scale of 1-5 pine cones. 1 pine cone means the creature isn't all that dangerous. A 5 pine cone rating means that this is a being not to be trifled with. The level of terror didn't always match how frightening the artwork based on the characters were. However, that splash page of the Yule Goat looking directly into your soul was truly unsettling.

For an Advent, this book only has 24 entries, culminating on Christmas Eve. For many, that might seem weird. But having an Advent calendar at the end on December 25th is actually an American thing. In Europe, where Advent calendars began, most have only 24 days. (As Advent season changes with the calendar, some Advent calendars might be as few as 12 days or they might grow to as many as 28 maximum, depending on the year.)  

A Christmas Bestiary was a fun read. The colder the evening I read these entries, the creepier they felt and that was all the better. One major disappointment I had was that the cover image is nowhere to be found inside. I was really looking forward to find out what this demented, drooling Santa's story was. Alas, it's absent from the book. But maybe his story will soon be told! This book only covers a small fraction of the world. Could a sequel covering the rest of the world be in the works? I know that I wouldn't mind such a follow up. 

Lastly, I don't really know how to classify this book. This English language version was published by Fantagraphics; which is known for releasing a number of comics and graphic novels. Fantagraphics does also publish a small number of regular books of fiction and non-fiction. Technically, this is an Advent calendar in book format. But I bought it from my favorite comic book store which doesn't carry collectible merch. Honestly, if I didn't know about this book from my favorite shop, I wouldn't have picked it up and I have seen it listed on Previews and for sale at other comic book stores. Only, there's no sequential artwork here whatsoever. This book is surely a keeper. I just don't know where I'm going to keep it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.