Our great friend Elaine offered a suggestion in the comments section of our previous post, and I like it, so I'll hand it over to her...
"Speaking of eye-catching covers...maybe you could do a Christmas post where you just ask us to nominate our favorite Christmas covers. I realize you can't currently access your own favorites to post images, so this might have to wait till next year to satisfy your blogging standards...but I'd enjoy finding out everyone's favorites. I myself use some comics with Christmas covers for Christmas décor--I set them up around the living room!"
Since, as I said in response, "Oh, and MY “Christmas décor around the living room” this year is plaster and drop cloths… and they’re not even festively colored. (Sigh!)"
I think we should give it a try... but with one additional wrinkle...
Since, under these construction-hampered circumstances, I can't (as Elaine says) "access [my] own favorites to post images", I would suggest that anyone offering an example PROVIDE A GCD LINK (OR INDUCKS, IF YOU PREFER) to the particular comic in question!
That way we can all see the Christmas images you hold special!
You can access GCD here! And INDUCKS here!
Have at it, and have the happiest of holidays!
25 comments:
Yay! A great way to procrastinate from grading papers (hey, the grades aren't due until January 7th!).
First, my non-Disney cover: Little Lulu 90
https://www.comics.org/issue/223052/
with Lulu having decorated herself as a Christmas tree.
One non-Duck Disney cover: Little Mermaid 6
https://inducks.org/issue.php?c=us/TLM%20%20%206
This issue also has one of the handful of non-Duck Christmas comics stories that I re-read every Christmastime, Trina Robbins' "Room at the Palace."
And the Ducks:
my childhood favorite: Dell's Christmas Parade 7
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=W+CP++++7-00
What can I say? I was a little girl, and I loved the dollhouse vibe of this cover.
One with female Ducks:
Katrien 2020-13
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=HC+KA2020-13
This one will soon be on its way to me, among a stack of other Dutch Donald Ducks and Katriens! It will be great to have female Duck representation in my Christmas décor.
Three featuring Donald and Chip & Dale:
Andres Ond 1996-49
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+13140
Donald and C&D are both cutting down the same Christmas tree.
I was lucky to have a friend visiting Iceland this fall find me copies of this one and the next. See how nice and clean the Icelandic covers are, compared to most of the European editions? Only the Finns kept their cover art as uncluttered as the Icelandic publisher.
Andres Ond 1997-50
https://inducks.org/issue.php?c=is/AO1997-50
C&D are stealing Donald's gingerbread men. I would have *loved* this cover as a child!
Donald Duck 375C (IDW 8), RI cover
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=XUC+DD++375C
C&D are tangling the lights Donald is putting up on a streetlamp. This one I had to buy on eBay, as a Christmas gift to myself, since I hadn't been able to get it at the time through a store.
And another IDW Duck cover:
Uncle Scrooge 425B
https://inducks.org/issue.php?c=us/US%20%20425B
Click on the cover in Inducks and you can see how much more glorious this is in the IDW coloring!!
Backtracking to Gladstone, there's the great Barks/O'Neill/Daigle-Leach Bear Mountain cover on WDC 608:
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=ARC+WDC+608
And to round it out with a Rosa $crooge:
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=GC+WEIH+1
Scrooge is handing out epically cheap presents. I liked this cover so much that I bought the German Weihnachtsalbum, mostly to use as Christmas décor! I wanted a version free of the "Uncle Scrooge & Donald Duck" title and the dratted UPC. I have never regretted this purchase.
There's my Top Ten! And, as a bonus, here's another one that will be coming my way soon from the Netherlands:
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=HC+DD2017-52
Kinda reminiscent of a certain Christmas Flintstone episode/comic, n'est-ce pas? Not the plane, but the gifts on little parachutes.
Wow! Did I say a LITTLE Christmas? I'll have to get back to properly setting those links in a while. Meanwhile, just copy and paste them into your browser for the time being. Enjoy!
OK, sounds good! I'm ready with my gallery of covers. Since it's for Christmas, I figured 12 is appropriate. I don't know. Just somehow I have some vague notion of the number 12 as being associated with Christmas. I ain't very tech savvy, so my descriptions will have to do. But I've got the correct numbers if anyone wants to look them up. These shouldn't considered as first to least, because there is no "least" on this list! I like 'em all!
1. Gold Key Christmas Parade #6. I love this depiction of the Disney characters in Santa's sleigh, all done in air brush technique. My grandmother loved the expressions on HDL's faces (called them "dear"). This was an issue my mother surprised me with. I got home from a grueling day of 3rd grade and found this delightful 25-cent giant-sized special waiting for me. Maybe that's the reason it's my favorite of all.
2. Gold Key Christmas Parade #7. This shows Chip, Dale, Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Ferdie, and Morty all popping their faces out from behind a Christmas tree. This like its predecessor came at a whopping 25 cent cover price, but instead of extra story content as before, it had a (non-Christmas) poster inside of a giant Mickey surrounded by miniature versions of the famous Disney characters. I loved the back cover picture of ice skating in front of the castle, not knowing that it came from the next on my list, an issue which I did not encounter in its original form until until many years later. This cover, already a reprint from the Dell era, was repeated on the final Western issue of Christmas Parade, a 200-page extravaganza from the late 70's.
3. Dell Giant Christmas in Disneyland. Love this cover picture of Mickey, Donald, HDL, Scrooge, and Chip 'n' Dale surrounding a photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle lit up with a Christmas tree in front. Back cover is the afore-mentioned ice-skating picture.
4. I also love the cover of Walt Disney Comics Digest #38 featuring Goofy, Minnie, Daisy, Donald and HDL enjoying a ride in Santa's sleigh while Tinker Bell waves her greeting as they approach Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Matterhorn. A reprint of "Christmas in Disneyland."
5. Gold Key Flintstones #31. You can't beat this Christmas in Bedrock cover. I re-purposed it as a CD cover for my collection of Flintstones Christmas music. Its featured notation "With Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm" works for the CD because several of the Christmas pieces are sung by voices supposedly of the Bedrock toddlers.
6. Marvel Flintstones Christmas Party #1--any HB characters not depicted here in Santa's sleigh ain't worth mentioning. It's got the whole gallery of notables with the exception of the Scooby Doo gang and the Jonny Quest characters. (Well, there are other HB characters not here, but it's a decent sampling all the same!)
To be Continued....
OK, now here goes the rest of my list.
7. Gold Key Christmas Parade #1--this shows Daisy, Donald, Mickey, Scrooge, Ludwig Von Drake, Grandma Duck, and Morty & Ferdie framed in Christmas wreaths. I like this issue because it was all original material in the new in-house Gold Key style--a harbinger of what might have been but for someone's editorial decision that from here on out, the Gold Key issues of CP would consist exclusively of Dell reprints. Also this is a Giant-Sized issue! I liked the posters, don't get me wrong, but I would have preferred to spend the extra 12 or so cents on 80 pages of Christmas stories. Not every story in here is Christmas, but it definitely gave readers their money's worth. (On a side note: To this day I can't figure out the reference of "Gluey Woods". I don't know what original name this is parodying. The closest I can come to is Muir Woods which is not far from where I live, but "Muir" and "Gluey" don't really sound all that much alike.)
8. Gold Key Christmas Parade #3: This cover shows Goofy towering like a living Christmas tree over Mickey, Donald, and Uncle Scrooge as they are singing Christmas carols. I liked this issue because I bought it one summer (!) at the Mammoth Mart in Waterville, Maine. They had older, unsold comic books marked down to 7 cents apiece. I also bought several others, including an older Walt Disney Comics & Stories and a Huckleberry Hound. When I brought it to my grandmother's house in Clinton, Maine where we were staying, I remember reading "Christmas on Bear Mountain" and "Santa Claus Land" for the first time and loving them both. (SCL had the edge over COBM to my younger mind--today I lean more toward Bear Mountain. But they are both vital components of that issue.) These were, of course, reprints from the Dell comics.
9. Gold Key Donald Duck #99: Christmas Album. The picture shows Donald posing for a snapshot with Daisy and Uncle Scrooge (hand in vest, Napoleon-like) while HDL lap at US's candy cane. This issue, famously reviewed in detail by our friend Geox last Christmas, is an all-time favorite. Not only was it my intro ("duck") tion to Uncle Scrooge and Gladstone Gander, it was one of the first comic books I read by myself once I had learned to read. Personally, I find very few (if any) flaws in it. I still savor it as my first Christmas read of the season. Also this is another Gold Key "original!"
10. Gold Key Woody Woodpecker Christmas Parade #1 the cover shows Woody with Knothead and Splinter carrying wrapped packages. No gag as far as I can tell, but a charming cover nonetheless. This was yet another Gold Key reprint of classic Dell content.
11. Fawcett Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #98 "Mr. Wilson and His Gang at Christmas Around the World" This shows the face of Mr. Wilson as a giant globe while the faces of Dennis, Margaret, Joey, and Tommy are shown floating around him, all in various international costumes. Its "Around the World at Christmas" storyline inspired me to write the Giftbringer series of novels chronicling the life of St. Nicholas (which is now up to Volume 7 and soon Volumes 8, 9, and 10 will be released). I loved the journey that Mr. Wilson took the kids on around the world, and even though this is definitely an "educational" comic book, it was an "education" I was more than ready to receive!
12. Fawcett Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #87 "Christmas Special". This shows Dennis dressed as a shepherd while Margaret is dressed as an angel, with Dennis shooting a basketball through the "hoop" of Margaret's halo! (Don't worry. Dennis would never hurt Margaret any more than Ralph Kramden would hurt Alice, despite his threats of "one of these days...pow!")
So there's my cover gallery. There are others, but I'll stop for now. I will be away from my keyboard for a week or so. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Scarecrow:
So many covers to choose from, so little (Christmas) time!
The “Christmas Flintstone” Gold Key cover is just too iconic to not mention. And Gold Key’s Donald Duck # 99 is indelibly ingrained due to WHEN I got it.
But, oddly - and maybe due to my fondness for “those things less heralded”, THIS ONE is one of my most favorites - along with the permutations that accompany it, and the (perhaps unintentional) gag that I point out.
I feel like an underachiever compared to everyone else, but a few favorites or at least ones that are worthy of highlighting:
-The English title is dumb, and the art of the actual story is pretty bad, but I still like the cover for "A Christmas Quackarol:"
https://inducks.org/issue.php?c=uk%2FLC+14
The cover of IDW's Christmas Parade 4 with presents raining down on Donald and Mickey is kind of appealing:
https://inducks.org/issue.php?c=us%2FMDCP++4
And an old classic: Barks' cover of WDC 232 with the nephews singing as Donald accompanies them playing icicles like a xylophone. That's a lot of fun.
What an excellent idea from Elaine. Christmas covers just so happen to be an important part of my celebration of the holiday, too. One of my favorite pastimes is to post images of comic book covers on Facebook, and view similar posts by others. Although this is fun throughout the year, I especially enjoying sharing and viewing Christmas-themed covers around this time of year. The wondrous magic of comics is magnified tenfold when they are related to Christmas. So, allow me to present my top five Christmas-themed comic book covers.
Apologies for the fact that some of the links are to sites other than GCD. When this is the case, it’s because that particular cover is not available on GCD.
Also, a couple of them are religious in nature. I recognize that this might not be to everyone’s liking. Heck, I’m by no means a particularly religious person myself. But even if one is a non-believer, I think it’s worth acknowledging the reason for the season. For better and for worse, Christianity has profoundly shaped Western culture. And I think I’ll stop right there.
Without further ado, then, here are my top five:
5) “Le Journal de Tintin” #14 (December 26, 1946).
http://lejournaldetintin.free.fr/affiche.php?action=detail&asso=1&annee=1946&numero=14
This cover, like many of the “Tintin” magazine Christmas covers, offers an interesting mix of religious and secular imagery. It’s a charming image of the first Noel, with the traditional three kings and shepherds replaced by Franco-Belgian characters. I particularly like the idea of the cartoon characters bearing gifts for the baby Jesus… gifts that represent the characters. Blake and Mortimer are giving him a model airplane (hey, if the Flintstones can celebrate Christmas, why not?), Captain Haddock gives him a toy boat, and, best of all, Tintin is giving him comic books. A touch of levity is provided by Professor Calculus, who, true to form, is oblivious to Jesus’s presence. He’s focused intently on his pendulum… presumably still searching for Jesus.
4) “Santa Claus Funnies” #2 (December 1943).
https://www.comics.org/issue/298575/cover/4/
You can’t go wrong with this cover by Arthur Jameson. A traditional image of Santa Claus, carrying a bag of toys. A dove (or is it a carrier pigeon?) is delivering a last-minute letter. Not particularly unique, but very nice nonetheless. You can’t help but smile at this cover.
(To be continued)...
Continued...
3) “Four Color” #203 (December 1948).
https://www.comics.org/issue/6477/cover/4/
Cover by Carl Barks, advertising the main story of this issue, Barks’s “The Golden Christmas Tree.” Huey, Dewey, and Louie are about to chop down said tree. Meanwhile, Donald is distracted with his glasses. I like the originality of the idea of a golden Christmas tree. Hmm… come to think of it, I’m surprised Anton York’s wife didn’t go with this decorative motif when she was First Lady, given her husband’s penchant for all things golden. Oh, the media would have had a field day… just look at the GCD synopsis of the story: “The nephews, disappointed in their wish for a golden Christmas tree, are lured into a trap by a witch who plans to use their tears in a magic potion that will destroy all the Christmas trees on earth.” Sounds appropriate, given Mrs. York’s well-known disdain for Christmas decorations… indeed, perhaps too appropriate.
2) “Cavaleiro Andante” special Christmas 1954 issue.
https://ogatoalfarrabista.wordpress.com/2014/12/25/o-presepio-nas-capas-de-natal-5/
The cover of this Portuguese comic book, a product of the pen and the mind of Fernando Bento, is 100% religious in nature. The mascot of “Cavaleiro Andante,” a knight-errant (for that is what the Portuguese phrase “cavaleiro andante” means), kneels in prayer before a majestic stained-glass window depicting the first Christmas. Regardless of one’s religion or lack thereof, this cover is undeniably beautiful. What jumps out at me is how Bento, working in one artistic medium (comics), emulated with precision the look and feel of another artistic medium (stained-glass windows).
1) “Bugs Bunny’s Christmas Funnies” #1 (November 1950).
http://tiahblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/merry-christmas-2017-and-1950-with-bugs.html
The front cover of this book? It’s okay. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing particularly special either. No, it isn’t the front cover that’s number one on my list. It’s the back cover, which is the work of Tony Strobl (as is the front cover). What’s not to love about it? The colors — the green Christmas tree against the red background — create a rich, festive atmosphere. Other nice touches are the holly framing the window and the silhouette of Santa and his reindeer flying outside. Yet the most noteworthy thing about the cover isn’t related to Christmas at all. It’s no secret that Dell liked to depict Bugs with colored gloves on the covers of its comic books. But this penchant didn’t extend to other characters, as the cover clearly shows. Elmer, Cicero, Petunia, and Porky all have white gloves. But Bugs has yellow gloves. I can’t say I understand the reason for this practice. But it works.
I’ve been “horrifically busy” lately, Joe, so I haven’t had a chance to send Christmas correspondence to anyone. Let me take this opportunity then, to wish you, Esther, Avery, and Cici a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Geo:
There are NO “underachievers” here… remember, I put up CHIP ‘N’ DALE as my entry!
…And there’s no way I’m ever gonna dispute your choice of a book where I worked on the lead story! :-)
Sergio:
Wotta list!... sez the guy who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE!
The Tintin cover is truly amazing, and is the standout of a stellar grouping …sez the guy who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE!
“I’m surprised Anton York’s wife didn’t go with this decorative motif when she was First Lady, given her husband’s penchant for all things golden. ”
Yeah, including his COMPLEXION!
Since he is clearly the antithesis of Christmas, let’s try to forget “Anton York” and the real-life individual to whom he bears an uncanny resemblance… regardless of how hard he tries to remain relevant …sez the guy who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE!
As for “Santa Claus Funnies” #2 , you just can’t beat the quality of those 1940s Dell Comics …and, if I may channel our great friend GeoX for a moment…
You can’t beat it! DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU CAN’T BEAT IT SO DON’T EVEN TRY! IT’S FUTILE! YOU HEAR ME?! IT’S FUTILE! FUTILE, I SAY!
Sorry, Geo… you KID that which you LOVE…sez the guy who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE!
Under my present circumstances, try as I might, I was unable to get Christmas or Holiday cards out this year. So, let me piggyback on Sergio and offer the best of Christmas and Holiday wishes to all of you - from Joe, Esther, Averi, and Cici …sez the guy (and his family) who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE!
To everyone:
I will try to get to setting up all of these great links by the end of Christmas Day... the operative word being "try".
I observe that one of GeoX's covers, the Christmas Quackarol one, was drawn by Fabio Pochet, who also did the IDW cover on my list with Donald and Chip 'n' Dale tangled in the Christmas lights! Not an artist I would have expected to turn up twice in four fan-lists of Christmas covers. It's not like he was a prolific cover artist!
Nice to get Sergio's annotation on the gifts brought to the Christ-child by the Tintin characters. And fun to have Strobl turn up by way of a Looney Tunes cover! Though scarecrow contributes at least a couple of Strobl Disney covers, right?
And Joe: when I first read your comment about the C&D cover, the (Gold Key) comic with that very cover was literally sitting on top of a small pile on the side table next to my chair. I am fond of "Topsy-Turvy Tree," a story I remember from my childhood. Though I believe we had it in Dell Giant 26 Christmas Parade, along the Christmas Cha Cha. Now there's a Strobl Christmas cover which is unlikely to make anyone's favorite list!
Elaine:
Let’s just chalk up the CHIP ‘N’ DALE matter (as well as the Fabio Pochet one) to one of those happy Christmas coincidences…sez the guy who only (coincidently) offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE!
Well, I might be a little late to the party, but back where I live, we celebrate Christmas over two days, so I wish you all Merry Christmas, plenty of faith, hope, love and blessings, and lots of health (which seems to be a most precious commodity these days). Also, may the new year 2022 be much better than this one (and full of interesting comics, to boot :) ).
Now, to the covers. First things first, I'd like to thank all previous posters for wonderful pictures! I was especially enchanted by Sergio's covers for “Cavaleiro Andante” (what a gorgeous piece of art!) and for “Le Journal de Tintin” #14. Though I'm a great fan of Tintin, I've never seen this one before, and I like it sooo much! There is an air of solemn adoration here, which somehow does not clash at all with the presence of comic book characters. Gorgeous!
I'm also very grateful for Elaine's cover with Donald, Chip and Dale cutting down their Christmas tree(s). That was the cover of one of Christmas issues of "Kaczor Donald" ("Donald Duck") from my childhood and it brings back lots of memories. I liked the comics from that issue a lot (you can see the list here: https://inducks.org/issue.php?c=pl%2FKD+1998-51-52#a ). Would I still like them so if I read them today? Dunno, but the stories from your childhood always remain special for you, especially if they are connected with your childhood Christmas :) On that note, I'd like to add some other covers of "KD" festive issues from back when I was just a little comics fan. (If you want to see them as I saw them, just scroll down to the Polish scans). I realise that the Tello-Team esthetics may not be to everyone's liking, but that's what I grew up with, so I'll never be able to say a bad word about them :)
1) https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+10614 - an innovative way to transport a Christmas tree (they'd better have some good glue at home!)
2) https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+13137 - it's very telling of voice quality if you observe who IS allowed to sing here, and who is NOT...
3) https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+12973 - and that's a good idea on how to top your Christmas tree (but I hope it won't snow much...)
And, if you've stayed with me all the way, here's a little bonus: two rare Christmas covers from our "Gigant Poleca" digests of three-tier stories (the multi-national printing cycle often prevented any references to specific dates)
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+25540
and my favourite:
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+25007
Have a good cheer, everyone!
‘Twas the Day After Christmas (actually, *still* ‘tis), and all through the (decidedly under construction) house,
All these links have piled up, and I feel like a louse!
The links were all sent here, with such loving care,
In such numbers that “setting them up” was a bear!
But now I must do this, and stop with the poem.
It’s time to get started, so ready, set, “go-em”!
—--------
ELAINE’S LINKS:.
Elaine 1
Elaine 2
Elaine 3
Elaine 4
Elaine 5 …I really like this…sez the guy who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE! Seriously… I *do*! Nice gag!
Elaine 6
Elaine 7... I actually like ALL of these, but the tree-cutting gag is the clear winner…sez the guy who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE!
Elaine 8
Elaine 9
Elaine 10
Elaine 11 Reminiscent of “Christmas Flintstone”, but with a small plane instead of a sled!
SCARECROW’S LINKS:.
Scarecrow 1
Scarecrow 2
Scarecrow 3
Scarecrow 4
Scarecrow 5 This was one of *my* indexing efforts. You can tell by the level of detail! And, of course one of my favorite covers - and stories!
Scarecrow 6
Scarecrow 7
Scarecrow 8
Scarecrow 9 A huge favorite of mine, due to its wonderful simplicity! Nothing overdone… Just perfect!
Scarecrow 10
Scarecrow 11
Scarecrow 12
I should mention that, on these GCD links, click on the cover image to see it in larger size.
SERGIO’S LINKS: (numbered, as he provided them, in reverse order).
Sergio 5 I think this is AMAZING!
Sergio 4 1940s Dell was unparalleled!
Sergio 3
Sergio 2
Sergio 1 I'm honored.
T.’S LINKS:
T. 1 I’ve always liked the Tello stuff - his Mickey reminds me so of Paul Murry!
T. 2
T. 3
T. 4
T. 5
T. 6 Really nice, but WHERE’S THE PHANTOM BLOT DOLL?!
And let’s not forget my own contribution…
Joe 1 …sez the guy who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE!
T.: I like the caroling cover (T. 3 in Joe's list of your links); it would make a great pair with the similar caroling cover I chose of Daisy and AMJ. They both have a lantern, they both include the pet, Bolivar or Dinkie...but all the female characters get to sing! It's quite likely that your caroling cover inspired mine.
I looked at the contents of the KD issue with the cover showing Donald and C&D cutting down their tree. You can't go wrong with a Barks 10-pager (The Hammy Camel). And the Charlie Martin/Vicar "Christmas Spirit" is a story I'd been looking for for some years, couldn't find it for sale in its French or German printings, and then, lo and behold! it turned up in the Icelandic comic with the cover showing C&D stealing Donald's gingerbread men! So I got to read it, in rather laborious fashion, typing every last word into Google Translate. It's quite a good story, I think. That story, like the bonus cover I listed, echoes "Christmas Flintstone" by having Christmas goodies dropped with little parachutes.
As you can tell from my list, I think the Tello Team did a fine job with a number of Christmas covers.
Scarecrow, I just ordered a not-expensive copy of the Dennis the Menace Christmas Special with the halo-as-hoop cover; the stories looked interesting to me. As for the "Christmas around the World" issue...this reminds me of the "Christmas Around the World" 8-page story in the abovementioned Dell Giant 26 Christmas Parade, the one with the "Topsy-Turvy Tree" story and the Strobl cover with the irritated elephant. I don't have that CP anymore, but I have the "Christmas Around the World" story in its reprint in Donald Duck 201. I like the fact that Jose Carioca gets to tell us about Christmas in Mexico (he is appropriately said to be visiting his cousin there, since we know he lives in Brazil). It would have been even better for Panchito to tell us about Mexico, but I suppose he wasn't as well known, and at least this does lay groundwork for Rosa's Caballeros stories by establishing the idea that Jose and Donald are still in touch as friends--Jose has sent Donald a Christmas card. This story was my introduction in childhood to the Dutch St. Nicholas (with the children in archaic caps and wooden shoes) and the Swedish St. Lucy celebrations. I can tell from the cover you posted that Sinterklaas and Santa Lucia made it into Dennis's world tour of Christmas, too!
Joe, I feel kinda sorry for the fact that my brilliant idea for how you could do a Christmas post when you can't access your own comics collection led to your having to slog through all that link-making on the holiday weekend. But at least it wasn't a thankless task, 'cause here I am, thanking you! Happy Boxing Day, and may you be able to dig out from under all the boxes soon!
Elaine:
For the holidays, I prefer to call “all that link-making”, “all that link-MAKING-MERRY”!
It got me to review everyone’s choices even more up-close-and-personal than I would otherwise have - and YES, the idea WAS indeed “brilliant”, as witness the quantity and quality of responses! Take a well-deserved Christmas bow!
It’s not as much a matter of “dig[ging] out from under all the boxes ”, as it is that the boxes (and MANY other things) are presently inaccessible due to their having been moved from their usual locations… with many other items piled on top or in front of them to clear the way for the new construction.
But, in literally the last 35 minutes of Christmas Eve, I managed to squeeze in a hairbreadth viewing of “Christmas Flintstone”, as the Flintstones Complete Series Blu-ray was among the small number of comics and DVDs I put aside (away from the construction zone), for whatever “pleasure time” I might be able to eke out! …None of the other Christmas-Must-Views-or Must-Reads made that cut, alas!
But the reconfigured and expanded upstairs, and (currently being installed) house-wide central air will make it all worthwhile.
I'm a little late here, but wanted to contribute a few different covers, not all Disney, that have caught my eye over the years.
First, my favorite cover has always been the original one from Four Color #367 "A Christmas for Shacktown" which of course is also one of the greatest of all Carl Barks' stories, but the cover really appeals to me with the exaggerated proportions and unrealistic composition. We see a huge Christmas sack topped by a rather small Christmas carried by the nephews (who appear to be quite weary from holding it while watching Unca Donald having the time of his life riding a train). Donald is living it up, riding a train that looks way too small to carry him, joyfully ringing a bell while Shacktown, dark and foreboding, lurks in the background with the dull glow of the windows almost giving the sense of eyes looking on at Donald's merriment. There are so many moods represented here in this rather oddly composed scene.
https://www.comics.org/issue/9522/cover/4/
I have also always enjoyed the clever Walt Kelly cover of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #99 showing donald trying on the Santa Claus suit which appears to have been taken over by moths.
https://www.comics.org/issue/7217/cover/4/
Little Lulu had some fun Christmas covers over the years but the one from Dell issue #30 always caught my eye with Lulu, dressed all in white, placing a welcome mat into a spotlessly clean fireplace with one very tiny stocking hanging from it. Was Lulu the only one with a stocking? Has this fireplace never been used? Why not a trace of black soot as you would expect even in the cleanest fireplace?
https://www.comics.org/issue/222998/cover/4/
Here's one that I like from Our Gang #30 which shows the gang in front of the Christmas tree checking out a stocking which has a live turtle which was probably intended as a special gift from one of the others but unfortunately is not too happy about being cooped up in that stocking. This issue also has the disinction of carrying one of Carl Barks' Barney Bear and Benny Burro stories.
https://www.comics.org/issue/5685/cover/4/
I have always enjoyed the Mel Crawford painted Christmas scenes on Dell Santa Claus Funnies comics such as this delightful one from Four Color #1274. I really love this kind of realistic painted art in comic covers and this one is particularly well done.
https://www.comics.org/issue/202016/cover/4/
But here is another of the Santa Claus Funnies that I picked up just this year with has a nice enough cover, but note the issue number 666, which seems sort of ominious for a Christmas comic and I can just hear some of my conspiracy-minded friends speculating all sorts of apocolyptic theories from that. The stories in this comic are also just a bit strange, kind of traditional, but each with an odd twist.
https://www.comics.org/issue/12160/cover/4/
Finally, I ran across this really delightul Superman cover from 1948 for Action Comics #117 depicting Superman coming down the chimney like Santa Claus and surprising two children but Santa Claus himself is already there standing by the tree. I don't know. It is kind of cute and fun juxtaposing two characters of childhood fantasy, both superheroes in their own way.
https://www.comics.org/issue/6481/cover/4/
Nobody is ever “late” around here, Carl! We’re open 24/7/365 - or 366, depending on the year! WARNING: Does not apply to “horrifically busy” periods, or when Joe is sleeping, eating, reading comics, watching DVDs, loving Esther, or playing with Averi and Cici. Does not include tax, license, and title fees. See your doctor if symptoms persist. Some exclusions apply. And all sorts of other things they say very low and very fast at the end of commercials!
Here are Carl’s (decidedly not late) links…
Carl 1
Carl 2
Carl 3
Carl 4
Carl 5
Carl 6
Carl 7
All great choices and, to that last one, I’ll add another Superman ‘n’ Santa cover that I’ve always enjoyed from the day I bought it brand-new from the comic shop during Christmas Season 1983… HERE in triplicate!
And, like Carl’s contributions to this post, it’s not “late”... sez the guy who only offered CHIP ‘N’ DALE - and now DC COMICS PRESENTS #67!
Hey, can I do CALLBACKS… or can I DO CALLBACKS?!
And here's one more--I just bought the issue for four bucks!
https://www.comics.org/issue/132334/
I enjoy the thought of Dennis encountering all those mini-Dennises: possibly a delight, but almost certainly a comeuppance! But here's what really made me love this cover: the fourth or fifth time I looked at it, I realized that the watch on Dennis's wrist is a Dennis the Menace watch, with a tiny figure of Dennis, his arms as the watch hands! You gotta admire the (sadly anonymous) artist for going the extra mile, there. Or the extra half-inch.
Carl Gray: Nice to see another Little Lulu Christmas cover! But...of course there's only one stocking! Lulu is an only child, and children are the only ones who get stockings! At least that was the case in my extended family, well into my adulthood in the 1980's. Nieces and nephews got stockings, their parents did not. Did any grown-ups have their own Christmas stockings in the 1950's?
Elaine,
Thanks for the new addition to the list of Christmas covers. I love finding old comics at prices like that, just for the joy of holding them and reading them.
Good find on the Dennis the Menace wristwatch. That is pretty clever.
In our family there were always stockings for Mom and Dad from the 1960s to present. This was handy for children to fill the night before with tiny gifts purchased for their parents, especially when the children were too young to wrap and could slip them in the stocking unnoticed sometime before Christmas morning.
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