Thursday, December 18, 2008

Marvel Holiday Special 2004

Writers: Tom Defalco, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artists: Takeshi Miyazawa, Roger Cruz, Duncan Rouleau
Publisher: Marvel
Published: December 2004

Seven days till Christmas! Are ya excited yet?!

Today's comic is another holiday staple from the big mean Marvel folks. It has three tales, the first being J. Jonah Jameson reliving his own version of A Christmas Carol, the second about the X-Men dealing with the holiday blues of one of their students, and the last about Franklin Richards reflecting on the meaning of Christmas, God, and everything.

Of the holiday ish's this one was pretty good. The first tale played up all the elements of A Christmas Carol, but instead of J. Jonah Jameson facing the mortality of his own life, he is faced with the mortality of Spidey and the Avengers, and the future of his son as a derelict. What is it with Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol that captures so well the spirit of Christmas? I mean, in essence it is strictly a cautionary tale, where a life lived without joy, aimless pursuits, and filled with bitterness will lead to a lonely death. Well, I think I just answered my question. Moving on...

The second tale was ok, but the third was pretty deep stuff. It's not often you see God and religion brought up in superhero comics, but this last tale was downright engaging and sincere. Franklin's questions about the meaning of Christmas were thoughtful and open minded; and his dealings with his family exposed a wonderful side of the FF that is not normally depicted. I would go so far as to say that this tale was probably one of the best in the holiday comics I've read thus far.

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