Fantagraphics’ latest Carl Barks Disney Library volume stars Donald Duck and collects most of Barks’ Donald stories from 1948. For those keeping track, this is Volume 6 of the Library, which Fantagraphics is issuing in random order — so far, alternating with volumes starring Uncle Scrooge.

Like the other Donald Duck volumes in the series, this collects three full-length Donald stories (usually from Dell’s Four Color series), 11 ten-page stories originally from the classic Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories comic book, and a bunch of one-page gags that rounded out the Four Color issues.

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck:
The Old Castle’s Secret

Classics Imprinted

The first story in this volume is the title story. “The Old Castle’s Secret” is a classic featuring the second appearance ever of Barks’ creation Uncle Scrooge McDuck. The McDuck fortune is in bad shape, and thus Scrooge enlists the help of Donald and his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie to travel to Scotland to recover lost fortunes hidden in the old Castle of Dismal Downs. And of course, the castle is haunted.

I’ve read this story before, so I’m not surprised that I recall some things about it. But I’m remembering everything exactly as I read it before — not just dialog word-for-word, but details in the artwork (like the empty extra-large suit of armor that belonged to Sir Roast McDuck, who holds not a sword or a spear but a knife and fork). But here’s the thing — I’ve only read this story twice before. The last time was 30 years ago (when it was collected by Another Rainbow), and the time before that probably another 15 years back, when I read it as a child. Yet I remember clearly every detail about it.

Such is the power of Carl Barks’ work. His storytelling is designed to appeal to youngsters as well as folk who are as old as Scrooge. And it has that way of burrowing into your brain, and staying there forever, once you read it. Which is great for people like me, who can barely remember the comics I read last week!

Magic in Ten Pages

I’m enjoying the Donald Duck volumes just slightly more than the Scrooges, since Donald’s books always contain a generous helping of mostly ten-page, set-in-Duckburg stories staring the hair-trigger duck and his nephews. The kids in these earlier Barks stories are feistier, maybe even a bit bratty occasionally, which is a welcome reminder that they weren’t always the know-it-all Junior Woodchucks that they evolved into as Barks matured. Even so, they’re still much smarter than Donald most of the time!

These shorter stores (almost all first appearing in Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories) offer up all kinds of surprises, mostly because the less epic nature of these stories is not so permanently embedded into my active consciousness. Plus, Barks wrote most of these to be joke-fests — featuring some of his most memorable “throwaway” characters, with always fantastic names. Favorite this time around: Prof. Pulpheart Clabberhead!

I think my favorite of the 10-pagers is the one now called “Donald of the Coast Patrol”. (These were originally untitled stories that Barks scholars have later ascribed titles to for ease of discussion.) Donald is assigned to watch a deserted stretch of coastline that smugglers are apparently using to smuggle in “jewels from the Orient.” Of course, Donald sees no problems in a random hot dog stand that pops up out of nowhere and mysteriously changes hands several times in just 10 pages. (Or does it?) Plus, Donald doesn’t think twice about the walrus that waddles ashore.

Meanwhile, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are rebuffed by Unca’ Donald after wanting to assist, so they climb up into the nearby hills, where they have the perfect vantage point to see that the various hot dog vendors are all the same person (in not-so-clever disguises) and that the walrus is actually a femme fatale in a walrus suit. (In a Barks story?) Another girl, this one with tattoos and wearing a formfitting bathing suit, is rescued by Donald, who is instantly smitten. “I fell off a passing yacht, kind sir!” says the seductress. “Phooey on Unca’ Donald!” say the nephews. Needless to say, the kids save the day — and Unca’ Donald’s job — at least for now, since we never see him in this job again!

Another duck family member makes his first appearance in these short stories. Gladstone Gander debuts in “Wintertime Wager” and appears again in “Links Hijinks”. He’s more annoying than supernaturally lucky in these early stories. Scrooge also appears again in “Foxy Relations”, setting up Donald to be outfoxed by a fox. Daisy Duck also appears briefly in a pair of stories.

But the ten-pagers aren’t all jokes and fun. Barks occasionally offers up some stories with real dire consequences, such as “Rocket Race To The Moon”, where Donald and the boys are stranded in space without enough fuel to get back home. And in “Pearls of Wisdom”, Donald faces actual death when a rare unsafe scheme dreamed up by the nephews actually turns dangerous.

The ten-pagers are amazing, but my absolute favorite story in this volume is one of the one-pagers, about Donald being persnickety about the size of the field the boys are playing baseball in — because he’s scared of broken windows. The joke is all in the last panel, with a portentous newspaper headline and Donald’s perfectly-drawn reaction to it. I laughed so hard that I had to put the book down for a couple of minutes. Sharp-eyed readers should also pay attention to other jokes hidden in what Donald is reading in other stories throughout the book.

Stories Restored to Their Original Form? Check!

Also in this volume are two other feature-length stories: “Sheriff of Bullet Valley” is another classic, while “Darkest Africa” is not as familiar, as it was infrequently reprinted. When it was, it was edited for “politically correct” and other reasons. (The Ducks are none too kind to other animals in this story.) “Darkest Africa” also wasn’t originally one of the Dell Four Color stories — it was first printed in the “giveaway” Dell series March of Comics #20. The original 1948 version of this story has never been reprinted in English — until it was fully restored for this volume. This is explained more fully in the substantial “Story Notes” section in this (and all) volumes, written by Barks scholars from around the world.

My only regret about this series, is that I have to read the volumes pretty fast in order to get the word out quickly to you about how great this series is. When you read them, you should slowly parse them out — perhaps one a night — and maybe share them with somebody else in your house. Carl Barks’ stories were meant to be shared. They are some of the most memorable stories of all literature — not just comics. (The publisher provided a review copy.)

Fun trivia: the case numbers he uses are based around the company’s old New York street addresses. In case you were wondering.

If you’re curious to read another (much lengthier) take on the Legion and what it’s got right and wrong over the years, someone calling himself Astro has posted an essay analyzing series high points and strategies over the decades, with some recommendations for the future. If the series has one.

If you’re old enough to remember what he recalls, then it’ll seem impossible that all that — Death of Superman, Vertigo’s launch, Robin and Catwoman getting their own series, hologram covers, the first Hellboy appearance, much more — was so very long ago.

If you’re younger — perhaps you began reading comics in a year that started with “2″ — then it’ll seem strange that these things weren’t always around.

Either way, it’s a fun time capsule and a reminder both of how much things have changed and how often they repeat.

* DC comics he likes, Batman: Li’l Gotham and Batman ’66

* Why can’t DC movies be as good as Marvel’s? Will this summer’s Man of Steel follow or break the pattern?

The Silver Age of DC Comics

I didn’t write about Previews this month because there were only two things I wanted to recommend: Primates, the story of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas, which I reviewed, and Smut Peddler, the female-friendly porn anthology I helped with. That can be ordered with code APR13 1165 from Iron Circus Comics at $30 for over 300 pages.

But KC did not one but two Westfield columns covering books offered in this catalog. The first one lists collections of classic comic strips (and aren’t we living in a golden age for those?), including a new decade of Archie, another Dick Tracy, and the launch of IDW’s DC strip reprint program with Superman: The Silver Age Newspaper Dailies Volume 1: 1958-1961. That column also looks at some of the great prose books about comics, including the one I’m most anticipating, Taschen’s The Silver Age of DC Comics.

KC’s second column follows up by discussing classic comic book reprints.

I pretty much put this post content in the headline. In his latest Westfield column, KC talks about what he likes and dislikes in several new Marvel Now! titles, including All-New X-Men, Superior Spider-Man, the Avengers books, the Fantastic Four titles, and more.

Life With Archie #21 came out in 1963 and features Archie getting trapped in TV land. It’s a wacky story, and reading about it only made me want to read it. Enjoy this walk down memory lane from a time when people actually tried to repair their TV sets. And find out what KC calls “the scariest panel of art to ever appear in an Archie Comics Code approved book”.

What KC didn’t mention was the issue’s opening panel blurb, which says, “This adventure really happened!! In fact, it could some day happen to YOU!!” Who’s writing this stuff, Criswell, the guy from Ed Wood?

I now hold in my hands an actual copy of the first in the series of American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-1964. I first read and reviewed this book (based on a digital preview copy) way back last August, over at the Westfield blog, and have been waiting patiently while the real thing was obviously on the slowest boat from China ever. It will finally be in comic shops this week, as well as other fine booksellers, and both physically and digitally from the TwoMorrows website. (If you order a physical copy from TwoMorrows, you get a digital copy free.)

Johanna’s asked me to take another look at it, especially since all I’ve talked about lately is this book, and I will be interviewing author John Wells for CWR later this week.

American Comic Book Chronicles:
1960-1964

I stand by my original review, only moreso since I’ve seen the actual, printed book, rather than just text files. Wells and editor Keith Dallas have done an exceptional job of finding great (and often wonderfully obscure) visual material from this era. Old house ads are always fun, as are long-forgotten (but instantly remembered) covers from publishers other than Marvel and DC. They couldn’t have possibly known, but somehow, the graphics folks pulled well over two dozen covers from kids’ comics that I haphazardly bought and read as an actual kid! Graphically, there are also original art reproductions, key comic story panels, behind-the-scenes stuff (like distributor sell sheets), paperback book and LP record covers, and examples of rare fanzines of the era.

While superhero fans may bemoan the lack of their favorite Batman or Spider-Man illos (which are in every other history book about comics), I applaud seeing artwork for The Flintstones, Archie, Dick Tracy, and Batman all sharing the same physical space. It subtly reminds one of what the comic racks of that era actually looked like, and the wide variety of choice in purchasing comic books back then.

I mentioned this in my original review, but I can’t help emphasizing it again: The strength of this book (and hopefully the entire series) lies in covering everything that comic books are about, not just the men in capes. John Wells’ first volume sets a very high bar for not only the rest of this series, but for future comic book histories as well. (Although this is so good, we may not need any more.)

After seeing the bibliography for just this book, it’s obvious that Wells has read pretty much every book, magazine article, interview, and old fanzine about comics that he could put his hands on, in order to bring you everything you need to know about this extremely important period of comic history. That’s an amazing feat in itself! I’m already impatient to read ACBC: 1965-1969 (also by Wells, probably out in spring of 2014) as well as the other volumes in this important series. (Next up: ACBC: The 1980s, written by Keith Dallas, due sometime this spring.)

I do have a couple of extremely minor nit-picks. The text in the yearly timelines is much too tiny to read, at least by old men like me. (The Positive Slant: Man! They crammed those timelines full of great — and obscure — material!) I love the timelines and don’t want them to go away. Maybe they should extend over four pages rather than two. Or run as a “crawl” throughout the whole chapter. As a very minor aesthetic beef, I found it difficult that the text switched back and forth between two and three columns per page. The three-column text is easier to read but more difficult to lay out graphics properly. The two-column text lines aren’t really that much longer to read, compared to the three. (I’m talking nit-picky, design-y, eye-flow stuff here.)

Also, the book’s paper stock is very thin, which unfortunately makes the book look thinner than the amount of actual information crammed into it really is. It’s also dense, so there’s not much bleed-through, so that redeems the thinness somewhat. The book itself gives off an unusual smell, which after a prolonged reading session, either made me wonder if it was toxic, or actually made me high. So, the book may have some “hidden” benefits, beyond the obvious! (The book’s interesting odor apparently wears off after a few days of handling. Bummer. My review copy may have been especially pungent as it was pulled right off the slow boat from China.)

I’ve always thought that to be a real comic book fan, you had to know something of the history of the industry, as well as the stories of the men and women behind the creation of your favorite comic books and strips. American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-1964 is your one-stop shop for all that and more! See for yourself in a preview available at the publisher’s website. (The publisher provided a review copy.)

Solo: The Deluxe Edition

In his latest Westfield column, KC runs down the collected editions available in the latest Previews catalog and recommends DC’s June release of the Solo hardcover collection.

Personally, I think some of the series’ magic will be diminished just a bit by putting all the artists in the same book. It was really nifty seeing entire issues dedicated to the work of one (and his selected collaborators). As we know, it’s rare to see corporate publishers promote creators that much. And maybe the failure of the series speaks to a lack of desire on the part of the audience to see such projects. At least, back then.

Sure, you may be sick to death of overly violent superhero comics or may suddenly loathe everything that an individual publisher may be publishing, but that’s no reason to quit comics altogether. The field is a huge, rewarding place, and in any given month there are always dozens (if not hundreds) of new (and old) things to try.

Maybe we should look at it as “Modifying the Habit”. Don’t stop reading — try something else.

He goes on to suggest some strategies for finding new things.

I’ve been somewhat lax in reviewing these, intending to talk about them earlier in the year. I’ve been incredibly selfish in wanting to find quality time in my impossible schedule to really do them justice. Most months, I’ve only had an hour here or 15 minutes there, and that’s just not enough time to take to really read these quality-packed volumes of classic Carl Barks duck stories. (I’m having similar problems with the massive wave of brilliant comic strip collections lately, especially another childhood fave, Pogo.) So, here at the end of the year, I’m here to tell you what to spend your holiday gift money on, especially when you discover that many of your favorite comics aren’t going to be published (or distributed) over the next couple of weeks.

Not That Scrooge.. The Other One!

Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man

Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man collects basically the first six issues of Uncle Scrooge, despite the fact that the numbering is kind of hinky due to the feature first appearing in Dell’s “try-out” series Four Color. For the record, the first three solo Uncle Scrooge comic books are Four Color #386 (#1, 1952), #456 (#2, 1953), and #495 (#3, 1953). #4 (cover date Dec. 1953) is the first issue of the regular quarterly Uncle Scrooge title. All the stories in this volume were first published between 1952 and 1954.

Although this is the first Fantagraphics-published volume of Uncle Scrooge stories, this book is also Volume 12 of “The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library”, a series title that actually appears nowhere on the covers of the books. To make things even more confusing, Fantagraphics started publishing their series in the middle (with Volume 10: Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes). That was actually a great place to start, as it keeps contemporarily published Scrooge and Donald material reasonably together, while also (arguably) starting the series with Barks’ strongest and most famous material.

The six full-length stories in Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor Old Man are the title story, “Back to the Klondike”, “The Horse-Radish Treasure” (written by a man that hated lawyers), “The Menehune Mystery” (like the first story, showcasing the Beagle Boys as actually fearsome foes, rather than the buffoons they became later), “The Secret of Atlantis” (among other things, the first appearance of the mythical Junior Woodchucks Guidebook), and “Tralla La”, probably the most discussed and analyzed Barks Duck story about bottlecaps ever. The first two stories effectively tell the origin of Scrooge’s fortune, as well as the duck himself. “Klondike” was originally altered, but the restored version is in this volume. One way or another, all of these stories are classics (if not masterpieces) of early comic book storytelling. And not just for kids.

That’s part of the problem with Barks. Most of his work has been so thoroughly studied, analyzed, picked apart, and canonized, that I think that today’s average fan may be leery of even approaching the stories. That’s just silly. As with all truly great comics, it seems like they’re just for kids, but Barks actually wrote to all ages. If you’ve always been afraid to dive in and discover Barks for yourself, wondering where to begin, then follow Fantagraphics’ lead and Start Here. These are many of Barks’ best stories, and yet he finds ways to better himself down the road.

This 240-page, full-color hardcover volume includes all of the usually not anthologized Scrooge short stories and one-pagers from the original issues mentioned above. There is also much information and annotation provided by noted Barks scholars. Also featured is an introduction by George Lucas stating for fanboys (as opposed to academics) just how important these stories are to American culture.

Don’t forget to take your copy to Walt Disney World to get it autographed by Uncle Scrooge.

Darn-Ol’ Duck

Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown similarly collects stories from 1951-1952 from both the Donald Duck series (technically Four Color #367, #408, and #422) and the Barks ten-page Donald stories from Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories (#135-144). Which makes this Volume 11 of “The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library”.

Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown

The Donald volume features three “comic-length” stories: “A Christmas for Shacktown”, “The Golden Helmet”, and “The Guilded Man”, classics all. “Shacktown” features many of the regular Duck cast, including Daisy, Uncle Scrooge, Gladstone Gander, and the Junior Woodchucks. It’s probably one of the least sentimental Christmas stories around (and thus a favorite of many fans). It features an early example of Scrooge’s lack of charity, counterbalanced by his steadfast work ethic. It’s also an early example of just how much Scrooge’s money weighs, leading to an early Money Bin breach when tossing a dime on top causes the floor of the bin to collapse, sending all his money plunging into the earth. Although the Beagle Boys were first introduced around this time (in WDC&S), they don’t appear here, although in the future they would spend plenty of time attempting to drill into Scrooge’s vault from below.

“The Golden Helmet” is another strong Barks tale, when the around-the-world chase for the artifact that will grant ownership of North America brings out the worst tendencies of many of the characters competing for it — making the holder ruthless, greedy, and ambitious. Even young Louie temporally succumbs. A Barks tale so popular that it inspired several sequels.

“The Guilded Man” is another around-the-world chase, this time for a stamp that’s so rare, it’s worth $50,000. And it’s Donald vs. Gladstone Gander, the world’s luckiest duck, so it’s not exactly a fair fight. It’s also an example of Barks’ observed absurd logic of mankind — in this case, a worthless stamp made valuable due to the twisted logic of capitalism.

Also included are ten ten-page Donald stories from Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, including the first (active) appearance of the Beagle Boys attempting (and apparently succeeding!) to break into Scrooge’s Money Bin (“The Big Bin on Killmoter Hill”). In “Spending Money”, Scrooge hires Donald to actually spend his money, something that Donald is very successful at. Other shorts feature screaming cowboys, giant statues, carrier pigeons, flying pies, talking wolves, avalanches, Donald going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, and the first appearance of Gyro Gearloose, Duckberg’s resident inventor.

As with the Scrooge book, this is a 234-page, full-color hardcover, including historical essays and background material, as well as the Barks one-pagers from these issues of WDC&S.

Good Comics for Everybody

I can’t say enough about how much I love these new Fantagraphics collections of this “should always be in print” Carl Barks material. I grew up reading these comics and have continued to re-read them over and over. I already own gorgeously produced volumes of some of this material, yet I enjoy these versions better. First, they’re less pretentious (and less expensive, now that the earlier volumes are out of print). I don’t need to see this material at the original art size. I love the fact that these books are compact and concise and easily packed and enjoyed for vacations and road trips (unlike my big shiny volumes). And I love the idea that when somebody asks “Hey, what’cha reading?”, I can hand it right over to them and say, ”You gotta check this out!”

Too much of comics is narrow-casted. We spend inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out what genre something is, or who it’s appropriate for, or what timeframe it should be lumped into. Basically trying to exclude elements as well as potential audience. In order for comics to survive, we need to be more inclusive. We need to find ways to bring more outside people in. There needs to be Everybody Comics, timeless material that can be read and enjoyed by everybody. Carl Barks’ Duck stories of Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge need to be at the top of that list.

This material is revered and celebrated around the world, constantly inspiring new stories. There are no regular Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comic books in America. What the hell is wrong with us? (The publisher provided review copies.)

Although not as well known as other animation studios like Disney or Warner Brothers or even their contemporaries Hanna-Barbera, Filmation produced a huge number of hit shows and cult classics during the time they were in business, from 1963 to 1989. TwoMorrows’ new book, Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation, tells the origins, history, and secrets of this largely unknown but much beloved animation studio.

Lou Scheimer:
Creating the Filmation Generation

Founded by producers Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott, and with director Hal Sutherland, Filmation would be involved in the production of several early animated projects. Their works include Rod Rocket, Journey Back to Oz, and Pinocchio in Outer Space, while also producing animation for commercials as well as a series of animated films on the life of Christ. This is notable, as Filmation went on to become distinguished for producing many series with strong moral bases or “life lessons” for their young viewers.

Their big break came in 1966, when DC Comics editor Mort Weisinger approached the studio to create a series. The New Adventures of Superman became extremely popular ratings-wise and was influential in creating the Saturday morning superhero “boom” of the late 1960s. Filmation was also responsible for other DC characters’ cartoons, including Aquaman (1968), Batman and Robin (1968), and other DC characters in minor roles including Superboy, Justice League (and many of its members), and the Teen Titans. Filmation also produced the live action Shazam! and Secrets of Isis shows in 1974-75.

In 1968, Filmation had another comic-book-based hit with The Archie Show, based on the never-aging teenagers from Riverdale. This was as successful as Superman, as this show led to many spin-offs, all produced by Filmation:

• The Archie Comedy Hour (1969)
• Archie’s Funhouse (1970)
• Archie TV Funnies (1971)
• The U.S. of Archie (1974)
• and The New Archie and Sabrina Hour (1977).

The latter propelled a once-minor Archie character to stardom, first in Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies (1970), then Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1971–1974). Archie Comics returned the favor by publishing a few comic book stories featuring Scheimer, Prescott, and The Archies music producer Don Kirshner.

Perhaps the most beloved series produced by Filmation was Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972 CBS), which was so popular that it seemed like it ran on Saturday morning for decades. Also popular at that time was Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1974), as it included most of the cast voices from the original live-action show.

In the 1980s, Filmation had huge success with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983–1985) and spin-off She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985–1987). The former series features early work from writers J. Michael Straczynski and Paul Dini.

All in all, Filmation produced over 50 animated series, as well as numerous specials and movies. They did a lot of animated programs based on other media, including

• Journey to the Center of the Earth (1967)
• Fantastic Voyage (1968)
• The Brady Kids (1972–1974)
• Lassie’s Rescue Rangers (1973–1975)
• The New Adventures of Gilligan (1974)
• Gilligan’s Planet (1982)
• Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976)
• The New Adventures of Flash Gordon (1979–1980)
• and The Original Ghostbusters (1986–1988).

Plus, they dabbled in live-action, most notably with the cult SF show Jason of Star Command (1979). Filmation even teamed up with some Warner Brothers greats in Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies (1972).

All of these are examined in depth in Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation, the first book devoted to telling the studio’s history. It’s 288 pages (with a 16-page full-color section), packed with history and secrets. Much is said about the “family” atmosphere of the working studio and the sadness of having to close the studio in 1989, mostly due to corporate indifference and changing tastes in animation.

Scheimer is a great storyteller, and the book is worth getting just for that. But be warned, it’s often a frustrating read, because Scheimer often jumps around from subject to subject, as most people do when being interviewed over a long period of time.

The book often seems like reading one long interview transcription. There are two schools of thought on handling such: one wants to change nothing, other than light grammatical editing, to capture exactly what the interviewee said. The other has an editor helping the interviewee by organizing their thoughts in a more linear (or chronological) manner, moving sections of the narrative to areas where they make more sense or are more conversational. This book features the first method, which is fine for shorter interviews, but with a decade-spanning long history like this one, I think a little tighter editing would have been more appropriate to bring more clarifying elements together. Granted, the jumping around may be part of Scheimer’s charm, but it makes going back to reread about a specific era or show more difficult, knowing there might be different elements on the same subject in other chapters. Given the approach, an index might have been helpful in a book of this size.

Visually, the book is a treat, starting with the cover of Scheimer surrounded by all of his animated stars. There are a huge number of photographs, production drawings, finished artwork, designs, and studio ephemera. I especially enjoyed seeing the infamous “six-fingered Spock” drawing from the Star Trek series, even if it wasn’t identified as such. The color section includes interpretations of popular Filmation characters by current artists including Adam Hughes, Alex Ross, Frank Cho, Bruce Timm, Phil Jimenez, and Gene Ha.

Small misgivings aside, Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation would make an excellent addition to any animation, television, or comic book history bookshelf. There is so much information in this book simply not available anywhere else.

The book is available digitally from the publisher; they’ve also posted a lengthy PDF preview. (The publisher provided a review copy.)

The Power of Shazam!
by Jerry Ordway

KC’s latest Westfield column takes a look at Fantastic Four #511, by Mark Waid, the much-missed Mike Wieringo, and Karl Kesel.

It’s a wonderful tale, about the superhero family meeting the Creator as the conclusion to Reed Richards’ attempts to bring back Ben Grimm. I loved this issue when it came out in 2004, and remembering it after reading KC’s great description made me tear up. You’ll know why, if you’ve read it. If not, you should find a copy.

Over the years, Charles M. Schulz’s classic Peanuts strip had a very close relationship to Christmas. Each December, Schulz always presented Christmas stories, frequently featuring the kids writing to Santa (with mixed results). The very first Peanuts TV special was the instant classic A Charlie Brown Christmas — still shown every Christmas since its debut in 1965. The special is many people’s favorite, largely due to Schulz’s unique combination of cynicism and spirituality. And several generations of children in the 1960s and 1970s found the latest Peanuts strip compilation either under their Christmas tree or in their stocking!

Charlie Brown’s Christmas Stocking

Fantagraphics continues the tradition of combining Peanuts and Christmas with a special holiday release of Charlie Brown’s Christmas Stocking, a new collection of rare Peanuts material from the 1960s. The book contains two stories published in magazines and not since reprinted. “Charlie Brown’s Christmas Stocking” is a set of 15 panels in which all of the then-current Peanuts cast comment on the season. It originally appeared in Good Housekeeping in 1963. The second piece, “The Christmas Story”, features Linus, Lucy, and Snoopy in a short story originally published in Woman’s Day in 1968. In it, Snoopy is overwhelmed by conflicting Christmas information provided by the Van Pelts.

The book also features brief histories of the pieces, as well as a short biography of Schulz. Best of all, the book is a small, 56-page, two-color hardcover in a format similar to the original Happiness Is a Warm Puppy books (6” x 6”), so it will fit comfortably next to them on your bookshelf!

Charlie Brown’s Christmas Stocking is the perfect stocking stuffer for any Peanuts fan — which is probably most of the planet! (The publisher provided a copy for review.)