Bizarre Adventures 34

To be honest, when I pulled this outta the Christmas comic book box I had completely forgotten why I’d picked it up in the first place. Beyond it has a Christmas cover and obviously is a holiday issue. As if the skeleton in the red-union suit on the cover shinnying down the chimney wasn’t enough the cover blurb reads, “Special Hate-The-Holidays Issue!”

I started the first story, “Son of Santa,” a Mark Gruenwald/Alan Kupperberg production. Not the greatest, but passable. As the spoiler title announces, Santa’s long-lost son learns of his legacy, avenges his father’s death and keeps the traditions alive.

By the time I came to the second installment of the anthology book, simply titled “Howard the Duck,” I remembered why I really bought this.

Steve Grant and Paul Smith send the un-merry mallard through a parody of It’s a Wonderful Life. My biggest complaint is how brief the story is. Not Mr. Duck at his best, but I love me some HTD.

“Dr. Deth” by Larry Hama and Bob Camp is fairly incoherent. As is Mike Carlin’s “Slaybells.”

“Santa Bites the Big Apple,” Allen Milgram’s offering, could be an unused Golden Age EC script that didn’t pass muster.

Finally, “Buck Bizarre” is a two-page tale that does little to redeem anything before or after Howard’s story.

An interesting cover with little substance – other than Howard – to follow. Not a bad encapsulation of the decade to come.