We here at Multiversity get pretty excited about the holidays, and this year we’re sharing that excitement with the rest of you as we celebrate that wonder of wonders: THE HOLIDAY COMIC!
Each day for the next twenty-five days, and in no particular order, we’ll be featuring one yuletide yarn set to the tune of tidings of comfort and joy, and today we’re dealing with Paul Dini’s bad girl of Christmas herself, Jingle Belle! This upcoming Wednesday, Image Comics is releasing a collection of stories starring Jing, titled Jingle Belle: Gift-Wrapped!
Check after the cut for my thoughts on the hijinks and lessons learned from this delightful little book, and check it out at your local comic book store this Wednesday.
Day #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9
Who Did It?: This fully festive collection of stories come from writer Paul Dini and artist Stephanie Gladden.
What Is It About?: The first story is all about a growing rift between Jingle Belle and her father Santa Claus, as one side says the other is a lying no goodnik and so does the other side. Santa’s opposite number – Pete Krampus (who is basically like a Christmas devil) – comes to lay down judgment to decide who is naughty and who is nice.
In back-up stories, Polly the witch helps (hurts?) a man from getting his wishes, Jing’s hockey team gets some help from some very little teammates, and Santa helps his daughter out in a date with a boy who received his fair share of coal in his day.
How Holiday Friendly Is It: Oh man, Santa is one of the main characters of this story! How much more holiday friendly can you get than that? It has some nice lessons learned that every Christmas should highlight – family should forgive and forget, amongst other things – and it has a lot of joy in there as well.
Besides that, this book is a straight up blast with great, Timm-like art from Gladden. It’s an adorable and fun book, and it makes me want to have a televised Christmas special from Dini and Bruce Timm starring these characters stat!
Plus, this book features robots AND witches. One would be welcome. Both means my cup runneth over with happy. If you’re looking for a 2011 book to bring you some yuletide joy, look no further.
