This one-and-done Christmas story reads more like any 1960s Marvel team book complete with angst and love triangles.

Amidst unrequited love the Freedom Fighters find a new foe to tangle with known only as the Elf who is in league with the evil Silver Ghost. The plan is to turn the Earth on its axis so New York is the new North Pole.

I kid you not.

There are worse ways to tackle the new millennium than with the Tick.

Always entertaining – sometimes confusing – Tick and Author are especially welcome in every household at Christmas time. Short of the celluloid classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, where else ya gonna find a misplaced alien bent on world domination during the happiest time of the year?

Spoon!

This was a surprise for the 2013 Christmas season. It wasn’t even on my radar, but my friendly local neighborhood comic book pusher hooked me up for this goofy story filled with holiday cheer and imagery.

Thanks, Mike.

Cain and Able extend happy holidays to escaped convict “Killer” Cowan who chooses to wait out the dragnet on Christmas Eve with the caretakers.

Part of the Dollar Comic line of the time, the pair teamed when DC foreclosed on the House of Secrets and moved Able in with his abusive brother. Throughout this issue the duo tag team to entertain Cowan until he finally learns the true meaning of consequences at the behest of Santa’s helpers.

Marvel Holiday Special 2011 TPB

The early days of the Christmas Treasury Editions and their skimpy Santa’s bag of holiday stories were long past when Marvel published this volume.

Each of the offerings is a reprint beginning with “Have Yourself a Sandman Little Christmas” from Marvel Team-Up 1 followed by “Demon” from Uncanny X-Men 143. The remainder of the book pulls from either the 2004 and 2005 Marvel Holiday Specials.

Of course the first two stories are a glimpse of Merry Marvel of old, but the newer offerings provide a look at how far the House of Ideas has come.

The Punisher was a hot commodity in the early 1990s so it was no surprise Marvel used one of its bigger money makers to fill the coffers even more. Taking that same character and putting in a setting as harmonious as Christmas time was a nice dichotomy.

Beyond that, The Punisher Holiday Special is anything but special. The first two stories are unspectacular just putting Frank in a position for blood letting. The third is a three-part act that’s as textless as it is tacktless.

There’s an innocence that’s rekindled as Impulse discovers a childhood he never had. Maybe that’s what helped make the DC Universe fun again. Each issue held a charm that made you wanna be young again.

Especially the Christmas issues.

Toss in guest stars Plastic Man and Mr. Mxyzptlk and, well, there’s Christmas magic again.

Here’s a blueprint for a Christmas comic book. Like the Pixar movies, Impulse is for young and old alike. Not just this issue – “Christmas Impulse” – but all 89.

Taken as a one-and-done readers unfamiliar with Bart Allen’s little Alabama universe may feel some confusion. My recommendation is take issue one, read and repeat until you’ve devoured the run.

Hail to the King, Baby.

Too bad the King isn’t in evidence for the Christmas carnage. Absent is the usual machismo and roguish charm of Bruce Campbell under the direction of Sam Rami. It’s a fast read that seem to be over before it began.