MattBrady
12-22-2005, 06:05 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/quarterbin/MvlHolidaySpc.jpg" width="200" height="306" align="right"><i>by Ryan McLelland</i>
<b>Holiday Special 2004 #1</b>
Marvel Comics
January 2005
While shopping through the buck bins (yes, I don’t do all my shopping in the super cheapie boxes) I came upon <b>Marvel’s Holiday Special 2004</b>. I didn’t remember it being released in stores when it first came out and other then it being a couple weeks away from the holidays I would have never thought to pick it up in the first place. I looked at the cover with good ol’ Spidey doing his webslinging thing in a Santa Hat and thought I just HAD to pick this up.
The first story is written by legend Tom DeFalco and art by Takeshi Miyazawa titled Jonah’s Holiday Carol. Not exactly a title that leads you to believe that this story won’t be about J. Jonah Jameson and a new spin on the overdone classic A Christmas Carol. When The Avengers are attacked on the shipping docs, Jonah decides to go ‘watch the news break on the television’ (read: fall asleep on the couch in a room where the other Daily Buglers won’t bother him). Upon falling asleep Jonah is visited by none other then the Green Goblin who tells him that he’ll be visited by three messengers.
The first messenger is Captain America who brings Jonah back into his past, back when he used to love reading comic books and looking up at costumed idols like Captain America. It all came to a head when Jonah’s first wife was murdered during the holiday season by a masked gunman, which started Jonah’s hatred for masked men, his full on delve into his work, and the hatred of spending the holidays with son John. Jonah knows all this and shrugs off Cap, he just wants to get this over with.
The second messenger is FF’s Thing who decides to show Jonah how the Fantastic Four and Peter Parker’s family spend the holidays. It’s more BAH HAMBUG until Thing brings Jonah to the docks where the Avengers are fighting and Peter Parker is snapping pictures, getting right in the way of the attacking supervillain. Finally Thing brings Jonah to Ralphie’s Bar where Jonah sees John once again…getting his drink on!
Finally Spidey shows up to be the third messenger and shows Jonah the future where the Avengers died protecting the docks, as did photographer Peter Parker. Parker’s family was left in chaos and, without the Avengers, the villains started killing all the superheroes. Even his son John becomes a hobo drunk left begging for quarters in slimy sewers.
It’s too much for ol’ Jonah who wakes up to hear that the Avengers in fact survived the attacks on the docks and John shows up at the Bugle to spend the holidays with his old man. Jonah is ecstatic to see the boy, to see Parker alive, and just happy (for once) in general. Jonah decides to then throw a huge holiday party for the Bugles’ staffers – loving every minute of it until he gets the final bill.
DeFalco’s take on A Christmas Carol was pretty darn good and it was fun to see the superheroes not only incorporated into the story but to see Jonah have the revelation that, perhaps, New York City really did need them. The holiday special continues on for two more stories (an X-Men tale and one featuring Franklin Richards and H.E.R.B.I.E.) and proved to be a very fun read, making this entire comic quite enjoyable. As the Marvel Holiday Special 2005 was released this year, here’s hoping that Marvel continues this great holiday tradition for years to come.
So everyone, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Krazy Kwanza, Tip Top Tet, and a Solemn and Dignified Ramadan while hopefully only paying one crisp Washington bill (or a couple shiny quarters) for a new comic book holiday classic.
<b>Holiday Special 2004 #1</b>
Marvel Comics
January 2005
While shopping through the buck bins (yes, I don’t do all my shopping in the super cheapie boxes) I came upon <b>Marvel’s Holiday Special 2004</b>. I didn’t remember it being released in stores when it first came out and other then it being a couple weeks away from the holidays I would have never thought to pick it up in the first place. I looked at the cover with good ol’ Spidey doing his webslinging thing in a Santa Hat and thought I just HAD to pick this up.
The first story is written by legend Tom DeFalco and art by Takeshi Miyazawa titled Jonah’s Holiday Carol. Not exactly a title that leads you to believe that this story won’t be about J. Jonah Jameson and a new spin on the overdone classic A Christmas Carol. When The Avengers are attacked on the shipping docs, Jonah decides to go ‘watch the news break on the television’ (read: fall asleep on the couch in a room where the other Daily Buglers won’t bother him). Upon falling asleep Jonah is visited by none other then the Green Goblin who tells him that he’ll be visited by three messengers.
The first messenger is Captain America who brings Jonah back into his past, back when he used to love reading comic books and looking up at costumed idols like Captain America. It all came to a head when Jonah’s first wife was murdered during the holiday season by a masked gunman, which started Jonah’s hatred for masked men, his full on delve into his work, and the hatred of spending the holidays with son John. Jonah knows all this and shrugs off Cap, he just wants to get this over with.
The second messenger is FF’s Thing who decides to show Jonah how the Fantastic Four and Peter Parker’s family spend the holidays. It’s more BAH HAMBUG until Thing brings Jonah to the docks where the Avengers are fighting and Peter Parker is snapping pictures, getting right in the way of the attacking supervillain. Finally Thing brings Jonah to Ralphie’s Bar where Jonah sees John once again…getting his drink on!
Finally Spidey shows up to be the third messenger and shows Jonah the future where the Avengers died protecting the docks, as did photographer Peter Parker. Parker’s family was left in chaos and, without the Avengers, the villains started killing all the superheroes. Even his son John becomes a hobo drunk left begging for quarters in slimy sewers.
It’s too much for ol’ Jonah who wakes up to hear that the Avengers in fact survived the attacks on the docks and John shows up at the Bugle to spend the holidays with his old man. Jonah is ecstatic to see the boy, to see Parker alive, and just happy (for once) in general. Jonah decides to then throw a huge holiday party for the Bugles’ staffers – loving every minute of it until he gets the final bill.
DeFalco’s take on A Christmas Carol was pretty darn good and it was fun to see the superheroes not only incorporated into the story but to see Jonah have the revelation that, perhaps, New York City really did need them. The holiday special continues on for two more stories (an X-Men tale and one featuring Franklin Richards and H.E.R.B.I.E.) and proved to be a very fun read, making this entire comic quite enjoyable. As the Marvel Holiday Special 2005 was released this year, here’s hoping that Marvel continues this great holiday tradition for years to come.
So everyone, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Krazy Kwanza, Tip Top Tet, and a Solemn and Dignified Ramadan while hopefully only paying one crisp Washington bill (or a couple shiny quarters) for a new comic book holiday classic.