Saturday, December 2, 2023

Quantum Leap #3

Thanks to printing delays beyond the publisher's control, fans of the original Quantum Leap TV series got a Christmas comic book. Well, they got half of one. 

Sam leaps into the body of a department store Santa during Christmas of 1963. The nation is reeling from the assassination of JFK and the families of this small town USA in which Sam Beckett has arrived at, could use a little holiday magic in their lives. According to Ziggy, the Project Quantum Leap super computer which calculates the probabilities of why Dr. Beckett has leapt where he did, believes that Sam must restore the relationship between a workaholic father and his teenaged daughter who lost her faith in Christmas after the tragic death of her mother. However, Sam's mission has gotten a little bit tougher as the dad has just been arrested for embezzling from the department store. 

The second story isn't set during the holidays. It's the early 1970s at MIT, Sam's old Alma Mater. He leapt into the body of the boyfriend of the scientist whose doctoral thesis will inspire Sam to create Project Quantum Leap. Unfortunately, Sam's recent actions have led to the couple breaking up. Al, the holographic observer for the project, informs Sam that he must thread lightly at his next steps. For if Sam can't get the two lovebirds to reunite, their rift threatens to create a paradox in which the research that inspired Quantum Leap never takes place; leaving Sam trapped in the past forever!

Not 100% Christmas. But there was a huge amount of holiday cheer in that first story to make up for that. Plus an amazing painted cover of poor Santa Sam having to deal with some unhappy tykes waiting to visit him. Also, the whole idea that the man whom Sam leaps into might actually be Santa was so adorable. The story ends before we find out for sure if he really is St. Nick. However, it's probably best that that plot point is left ambiguous lest the magical element of this story be ruined.

For a Quantum Leap fan wanting a holiday comic book, this 1992 offering shouldn't disappoint. I just wish that the second story was also set at Christmas. The creators should have kept the story as it was. Just set it during the month of December in order to make this a complete Christmas comic. Well, it's too late to change anything now.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

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