Scooby-Doo (1997) 139

Merry Christmas and déjà vu from Jeff and me at Four Color Holiday Comics.

If your memory stretches back long enough, you may remember this cover and review from last Dec. 25. This issue, cover dated February, 2009, is the same book, issue 115, published in 2007. The exception being the cover is now red rather than white.

Inside are the same two stories and Yeti tutorial: “It’s a Wonderful Fright” and Santa’s Evil Elves.”

Hope the holiday was as entertaining and enjoyable as this issue. Keep coming back for more in 2020. There are still a lotta four-color holiday stories to be re-told.

Flash brings home the holidays with a speedy, last-minute gift for party host, Green Arrow.

Justice League Action premiered on Cartoon Network  Dec. 16, 2016 and wrapped up its animated shorts June 3, 2018. Season one consisted of 52 episodes. DC Kids’ YouTube Channel featured 22-episodes premiering June 29, 2017.

Party Animal debuted Dec. 2, 2017.

The Teen Titans add a little holiday fun with some Tannenbaum tropes:

Sergio Aragones, the master of Mad marginals, remembers the wassailers who infused Christmas spirit upon their neighbors by lifting high their voices with Christmas carols.

Carols, or noels, became popular in the 19^th century despite having been around for hundreds of years prior.

Senor Aragones has only been around since 1937, but has made an impact with his gifted quirkiness first displayed in Mad Magazine. His influence spread as National Periodicals hired him in the 1960s to illustrate such titles as The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, Angel and the Ape, Inferior Five and Young Romance. His most famous creation is Groo, the Wanderer, a pastiche of Robert E, Howards’ Hyborian Age-barbarian, Conan.

While there’s no Christmas colored cover, I wanted to start December with a Batman comic book.

Again, comic books and Christmas are synonymous. Batman tops the list of those comic book titles. Mom and Dad bred those habits that have become traditions into me early.

The origins of this Web site lies in the stockings of my youth. Rushing down the stairs to tear open those over-sized, white trimmed footies for the comic books. Those held my attention, kept me sane, while I waited for breakfast to end so as to start the main course of presents.

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For some reason, maybe ‘cuz it doesn’t have a seasonal cover, this book never made its way into any of my stockings. I’m sorry to say. Batman 285 would have been a very welcome addition to my meager collection back then.

By the end of the Bicentennial, when this was published, I was on the tail end of my affair with Mego’s World’s Greatest Super Heroes. How I wish we could rekindle that relationship. I tossed it away so casually, moving on to Kenner’s Star Wars toy line. Even super hero comic books would take a back seat to George Lucas’ opening salvo in the soon-to-be nine-part epic.

Back on task, Batman 285 is a typical Bronze Age tale of excess. “The Mystery of Christmas Lost” is courtesy of villain Dr. Tzin-Tzin who has the power to possess the psyche of any who look into his eyes.

Batman must stop the cruel criminal from stealing Christmas 1976. Holiday imagery abounds as the Dark Knight trails the villain. Maybe the best scene is Batman battling a bear on a Christmas tree.

Of course he is able to halt Tzin-Tzin’s scheme and return Christmas to the people of Gotham.

Scott Niswander offers a history of The Superman Parade Balloon featured in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. For more of Scott’s insightful videos, click the Nerdsync button.

Fan favorite Mark Dos Santos looks at life in Gotham City from Norman Rockwell’s point of view. Santos tips his hat to artist Rockwell who captured American life on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post for five decades. For more information on Santos and his other creations, click here.

The Saturday Evening Post – not