Archie Christmas Spectacular 2023 #1( Family Comic Friday)

It took a few extra days, but the holiday comic book that I look forward to the most every year finally arrived! This year's Archie Christmas Spectacular introduces a trio of new characters to the Archie universe. Jangles and Sourplum are the antithesis of the good magical Christmas characters Jingles the Elf and Sugarplum the Fairy. When their boss Grumpus kidnaps the good sprites, he orders Jangles and Sourplum to destroy the Christmas festivities being organized by Archie and the gang at Riverdale High.

I'm actually friends on Facebook with the writer of this all-new holiday story, Tom DeFalco. I actually claim this friendship instead of marking it as just following a celebrity because in the past we've both gifted each prizes on Candy Crush. Recently he shared an early glimpse of the new characters on his FB page. I thought that Jingles and Sugarplum were being redesigned and I hated it. Once I realized that artist Holly G! was creating their polar opposites, I actually began to dig what the artist and DeFalco were attempting to pull off.

That opening story was just too short. At only 5 pages, it's just not enough room to really dive into the motivation of the Grumpus character. He claims to have a past beef with Archie and his pals and I recognize the villain's lair from previous Halloween stories. I feel like the story of the Grumpus is far from over. Sadly, I also feel like I'll have to wait a whole year for next year's Christmas annual for the conclusion.

The artwork was inconsistent if you ask me. The Archie's are drawn in their traditional style with dark thick lines. However, Jingles and Sugarplum are illustrated in very thin lines, lacking definition. Plus the new villains are really pointy to the point of being Gothic Manga and their poses are too stiff. I used to wonder why all the characters in a comic book were always crafted in a similar art style whereas in real life everyone is different. Well, thanks to this story, I understand now that an uneven art style just doesn't look right.

This spectacular has 2 additional stories. Two of them are classics starring Jingles, Sugarplum as well as Santa's only daughter, Noelle. Another tale has Jingles assisting a Riverdale youth with a reputation of being a jinx. The final adventure has Archie and Jughead getting into trouble when they take Jellybean and friends to the mall to see Santa. Not sure why that last story is devoid of one of those magical Christmas characters. It too makes the total read of this special a bit uneven.

For the past dozen or so years, these annuals have been priced at the bargain price of $2.99. Well apparently Scrooge is in charge of marketing and pricing with this edition now priced at $3.99. I understand inflation happens. But for that extra fee, I expect the all-new opener to be longer than it was or for there to be 2 new holiday romps instead of so many reprints. Especially since 2 of those older stories were just featured in the Archie's Christmas Wonderland treasury that dropped earlier this year.

I had a lot of fun with this annual. It just lacked consistency in the art and I was shocked by the new sticker price. Grumpus might be a cranky version of Krampus, but nowhere near as evil. This should be a Christmas present that all ages will enjoy. It just lacks some of the quality and charm of editions past.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.