Pink Panther Classics 5

It’s a, what else, “Pink Christmas” for the DePatie-Freleng feline.

Waking to the tinkling of a Salvation Army Santa’s bell and a frigid blanket of snow, Pinkie spends the day trying to survive. With no food or warm clothing – beyond his natural fur coat – the combination of impending starvation and freezing temperatures make it all the harder.

As with most misadventures without his usual foil, the stumpy, mustache wearing “Little Man,” the Panther suffers indignities and bruises at the whim of his writers.

For purists, this is not the mute, slinky Panther of early years, but the Panther sporting the David Niven-styled purr.

Oh, and the book does come with a ho, ho, ho and happy ending for Pinkie who finally gets his belly full and his hide warmed.

Morning was to land Swamp Thing at Calvary during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as the swan song for writer Rich Veitch on the title.

Leading to what has become one of the most controversial stories – both on and off page – in comicdom’s history, Swamp Thing was catapulted through time meeting with various characters in DC’s past era comic books. Included were Sgt. Rock, Enemy Ace and Bat Lash. In issue 87, Swamp Thing met King Arthur in Camelot where he was to make one final leap in time to find the Holy Grail.

The initial script had been approved and artist Michael Zulli had most of the artwork completed when DC’s President Jenette Kahn cancelled the issue. Many reasons abound, most centered on the backlash of Martin Scorsese’s recent Last Temptation of Christ, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses and even Madonna’s much maligned Pepsi ad shilled to the tune of Like a Prayer.

While his audience was small – compared to flagship characters like Batman and Superman – rights had been sold for a Swamp Thing cartoon to air the following year as well as a licensed likeness toy line. Tim Burton’s first Batman movie was also on the horizon and Kahn wanted smooth sailing.

All speculation.

The fact is Veitch was so incensed he left the DC fold. According to interviews during and after the fall out, Veitch’s contract was about to end and he had planned to leave Swamp Thing after the story arc ended. But, he was to continue working for the company on other projects.

Prior to his popular Sandman, Neil Gaiman had been tapped to add a few stories, but in a show of solidarity he declined the title.

While the script has never been officially released, the artwork was on display at the Words and Pictures museum in Boston for a time.

A copy of the script and completed art can be viewed thanks to comics blog 20th Century Danny Boy.

Yogi Bear’s Easter Parade

Cover dated 1978, Yogi Bear’s Easter Parade is the second in a hat trick of issues published by Marvel under the title The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.

Captured in this static time capsule of primary colors and pastels are the kings and queens of Saturday morning cartoon favorites. H-B’s roster of characters reads like a who’s who in the history of animation. Almost all are collected in the 50 pages of this book.

Yogi leads off with his self-titled Easter Parade story. Like a vintage Our Gang short, Yogi musters the colorful inhabitants of the Hanna-Barbera world to save Easter morning from capitalism.

Scooby-Doo and “those meddling kids” team with Blue Falcon and Dynomutt in Phantasma Gloria. The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour debuted in 1976 and by 1978 had run its course and was heading for syndication by the time this book was released.

Robots Bloom in Spring brought the Jetsons out of before- and after-school reruns with a short story centered on housekeeper Rosie who feels she has become obsolete.

Spring Fever is a cautionary tale of love and bank accounts. Top Cat and his band of Manhattan alley cats heavily inspired by the 1940’s East Side Kids save Officer Dibble from financial ruin.

The Flintstones bookend the issue in Spring Training. Barney and Betty’s adopted son, Bamm-Bamm, is signed to a Major League Baseball franchise only to find black gold instead.

Sprinkled between the stories are pages of puzzles sponsored by the Hanna-Barbera gang including Yakky Doodle’s Scrambled Eggs, Captain Caveman: Twin Trouble, Touche Turtle’s Crossword Puzzle, Huckleberry’s Comic Crostic and Magilla Magic.

The Life of Christ: The Easter Story

“We are now on our way to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses. They will sentence him to death and hand him over to foreigners, who will make fun of him and spit on him. They will beat him and kill him. But three days later he will rise to life.”  Mark 10:33-34

Louise Simonson, Mary Wilshire and Bill Anderson flesh out the Easter Story marking the last days of Jesus’s life.

If Marvel had published this earlier in my lifetime, all those Easter Sunday’s sitting on hard pews wondering what confections and presents Peter Rabbit had left for me would’ve gone much faster.

For 33 pages the reader is given the Biblical account of the Son of Man’s final days on Earth. No matter beliefs, the story is a strong and compelling one. It brings the hubris of man to heel, showing the greed and vanity evident in even the most pious of practitioners.

Basically a collection of “good/bad girl” art wrapped in a very non-traditional Easter tale of fornication and cannibalism.

Zombie Tramp crashes a small town’s Easter celebration dressed in something more from the Hugh Hefner collection than the standard department store bunny suit. During her visit she is thrice mesmerized by a Caligulastic cult leader on a mission from (his) God.

There are several gags to make the reader smile. My favorite had children finding Easter eggs in the folds of the fat woman.

Otherwise this fast read allows the heroine to avenge herself and the hypnotized town folk to foil the festivities culminating in a sacrificial bonfire and orgy.

Probably not a good idea to hide this in the hymnal to read during Easter services.

Originally the Joker’s moll for a one off on Batman: the Animated Series, Harley Quinn has exploded in the pop consciousness in the past five years.

No one knew the impact the character would have when she first appeared on B:tAS in 1992. It was – to the month – another year before her first appearance in comic book form, Batman Adventures 12 where she shared the cover with Batgirl and Poison Ivy for “Batgirl Day One.”

Harley wouldn’t receive her own series until 2000 in her self-titled comic book running 38 issues.

By 2014 she was poised for her meteoric rise that had been a slow avalanche at first. Her second series was one of DC’s New 52 titles with a holiday special following that December.

The first of three stories, “Bad Toy,” allows Harley to revert to her psychologist origins to repair a little girl’s and her father’s relationship.

“Get Yer Cheer Outta My Ear” is a short romp in madness caused by a holiday bug and cured by Santa and sweets.

“Killer Time” rings in the New Year with a grey hair as Harley tries to halt Tyme (read the story).

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palimotti pen the three tales with various artists giving life to the written word. Darwyn Cooke pencils and inks the final story.

Sleepwalker Holiday Special

One of only two issues not written by creator Bob Budansky, this 1993 offering serves up two stories, “Tricks of the Trade” and “Insomnia.”

In the first Harold Pruitt deals with the defection of his best girl, unexpected unemployment and mounting bills along with the normal pressures of the holiday season.

Rather than finding a lamp to rub, Pruitt finds a credit card to swipe unleashing a spirit promising to fulfill all his wishes. For a price.

Jyn, the “genie,” sends a minion to do his bidding which runs afoul of the Sleepwalker. As in all Marvel tales a fight ensues causing mayhem enough Pruitt renounces Jyn. The denunciation does not end the evil spirit’s reign on Earth and the Sleepwalker must find another way to dispatch the demon.

In the second story the Sleepwalker must overcome the insomnia – hence the name – of his human host to foil a museum robbery and avenge an attack on the night watchman.

Sleepwalker debuted in 1991 and ran 33 issues reading like a poor man’s Sandman in tights with a dash of DC’s Spectre in evidence. Bundansky has been credited with creating the character in the 1970s, long before it saw print, maybe giving the edge to The Spectre as inspiration, but with the popularity of the Sandman title it could be Marvel was hoping to hop on the DC’s coattails once more.

My Little Pony Equestria Girls (2014)

Sunset appears to be the object of this derivative Aesop fable delivered in December 2014, but is vindicated by book’s end.

As the holidays approach Apple Jack finds Sunset is alone again. A quick text leads to a round robin of slumber parties hosted by the other fillies. However, when one of AJ’s family secrets is reveled to the school population suspicion sets in and when embarrassing photos and disparaging remarks begin after the second sleepover Sunset becomes to be the prime suspect.

By book’s end all is forgiven and the real culprits are revealed allowing for a happy ending and Merry Christmas.

Again, not a Brony, but the story does have a nice moral to it. A good read for the younger audience, filled with bright colors and acts as a nice catalog and manual complimenting Hasbro’s toy line launched the year before.

As explained on the Wiki page, “Equstria Girls follows Princess Twilight Sparkle in the parallel world, which is accessed through the magic mirror. Together, with the counterparts of her pony friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy, along with her assistant Spike, Twilight will have to deal with the various magical happenings in Canterlot High.”

A non-traditional Christmas story solicited during a non-traditional Christmas time, February through August 2006.

The Last Christmas is the brain child of Garry Duggan and Brian Poshen as brought to page by Hilary Barta. Most know Poshen and Duggan’s names from their collaboration on Deadpool and Poshen’s hangdog face from Big Bang Theory in his role as Bert the geologist.

Together the pair crafted a post-apocalyptic world where Christmas, and humanity, is on the verge of extinction. Only the belief of one boy keeps the legend of Santa Claus alive during his self-imposed exile while subsisting on rum, pancakes and suicide attempts.

Not for the squeamish. In total, the five books provide enough death and destruction to keep even the most devout Rob Zombie fan happy.

At a 192 pages this digest weighs in at one big read.

Most of the book consists of Christmas stories, but not all, so be warned.

Included are:

• “The Visit” – A gold button makes Archie wonder if his dream was real or not.
• “Tree Trouble” -Mr. Lodge, Archie and Veronica go back to nature for a Christmas tree.
• “The List Price” – Veronica receives the gift of Christmas from Betty.
• “One Last Gift” – Archie’s dad learns giving comes from the heart.
• “Wisecracker” – Christmas is a time of affection and confection for Archie and Betty.
• “Merry Merchant” – Pops finds Santa has no head for business.
• “Never too Late” – A donation saves Christmas for Archie.
• “Christmas Miss” – The Lodges realize the Christmas spirit.
• “Santa’s Cause” – The Riverdale gang learn there really is a Santa Claus.

C’mon, what red-blooded American male wouldn’t wanna live in Riverdale? Plenty of beautiful women, cheap food and grown-ups who rarely interfere with your personal life. And, this has been going on since 1941.

Okay, it’s a little different now. After the new millennium entered its teens things began to change and Archie Publications diversified with more relevant material. In 2013 Afterlife with Archie joined the zombie apocalypse conga line. A year later the company would delve deeper into the horror genre with The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Jughead the Hunger in 2017.

Still, for almost 70 halcyon years Riverdale was an oasis of teenage dreams in American culture.

And, they weren’t afraid to celebrate Christmas.