The DCU celebrated Halloween 2019 with a trade paperback of reprint material issued the previous two years entitled A Very DC Halloween.

The first half of the trade is pulled directly from DC House of Horror (2017).

Keith Giffen gives readers Bump in the Night with a retelling of Superman’s arrival on Earth. This time it doesn’t end well.

His next offering is a slasher tale featuring the ghost of Wonder Woman in Man’s World.

Another ghost story, Crazy for You, features Harley Quinn haunting a man into killing his wife.

The Last Laugh is more original as Giffen debates the yin and yang of vigilantism.

Blackest Day is a zombie apocalypse on Earth with plot by Giffen and script by Brian Keene.

Ronald Malfi scripts Giffen’s Stray Arrow with Green Arrow as a vigilante killer.

A Very DC Halloween (2019)

Two-Face is featured in Unmasked, a story by Giffen and Wrath James White.

Uttering Shazam takes the speaker to darker realms in The Possession of Billy Batson.

Swamp Thing stars in The Spread, as taken from Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Giant issue one. This Walmart exclusive was a 100-page special offered in 2018 with an original story followed by reprints from previous Halloween specials.

The remainder of this book is filled with stories from 2018’s Cursed Comics Cavalcade in the order they originally appeared, the first being Gorehound.

Batman saves the final girl who – spoiler – is really the killer.

Siren Song is a tale of myth and mystery starring Wonder Woman.

Alien zombies spoil Guy Gardner’s vacation in Life Sentence.

Demon Etrigan possesses a man a woman hires Jason Blood to find in Yellow Jack.

A ghost from the Phantom Zone haunts Lois and Clark in Strange Visitor.

The Monster in Me pits a doppelganger of Green Arrow against himself on a long, hot night.

Black Lightning and Katana get some love in Mercy Killing as they protect a young girl from a demon.

An unlikely pairing of Solomon Grundy and Robin share top billing in The Devil You Know. Professor Pyg threatens three runaway girls under the protection of Grundy.

Finally, Halloween Hayride is a simpler story showcasing Zatanna. The magic mistress plies her trade to stop an older brother from scaring his sister.

With this many stories to pick and choose from, there are plenty of tricks and treats.

For the music lover today marks the 45^th anniversary of Elvis’ death. For the non-holiday enthusiast, today is National Tell a Joke Day; not to be confused with International Joke Day which is July 1.

It is thought jokes have existed as early as 1900 B.C. Palamedes is often cited as the grandfather of the joke, outsmarting Odysseus in the Trojan War. That’s just a theory, but as good an origin for the joke as any.

If the birth of the joke is a mystery, so is National Tell a Joke Day.

Eighteenth-century Cornish-born Samuel Foote is considered the first stand-up comedian. His troubled early life led him to London, England, where he became a fixture of coffee houses. Using his natural talent for impersonation and quick wit, Foote was dubbed The Coffee House Comedian.

He would die of a stroke in 1777.

The Joker’s Joke Book (1988) Tor

Since then, many have followed in his footsteps.

Our emcee is not so much a joker by profession, but in name.

Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the Joker of the DCU first appeared in Batman issue one, April 25, 1940.

His origin has been told and re-told, created and re-created. Just as his persona.

In the beginning there was a psychopath. The Joker would later be dumbed down to placate an audience that didn’t even read comic books. As mores changed, he would return to his murderous ways, in a chilling full circle.

By the late 1980s word of a major motion picture starring the Dark Knight and featuring his grinning nemesis unleashed a tsunami of merchandise.

Mort Todd, writer, illustrator, filmmaker, editor and publisher, brought The Joker’s Joke Book to the mass market in 1988.

Todd has a pedigree ranging from comic books to the music industry, drawing album covers, directing music videos and producing music. He launched Marvel Music at Marvel Comics, personally working with such artists as Mick Jagger, Gene Simmons, AC/DC and the estates of Elvis Presley and Bob Marley.

The 128-page paperback retailed for $1.95 featuring funnies your father would tell on a Sunday drive to church.

Today the book can be found on most of the primary secondary markets. Finding an audience may be harder.

Anyone who knows me or has read much on the Web site knows Christmas and Batman are symbiotic. For me, at least.

Growing up, Batman was my favorite hero. Not Adam West. Nothing against the dearly departed, but I learned to love Batman from the source material.

Batman as a grinning goof of Golden Age reprints or the soon-to-be christened Dark Knight living in the shadows of the Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams era I grew up with. Toss in some Carmine Infantino with the new look and they were all my Batman.

And, who is the Batman’s greatest villain?

His rogue’s gallery is only rivaled by the Flash’s or Spider-Man’s. This is a fanboy’s dream argument; who has the best rogue’s gallery?

That’s for another time and forum.

For our purposes, let’s talk about the Joker.

Ah, yes, the Joker. That evil clown to scare children. A psychopath to scare the adults.

Plus, he’s Batman’s oldest recurring nemesis.

It just all fits.

So, to give me an omnibus of Batman’s greatest villain during the Bronze age in which I discovered both and it’s one of the best comic related Christmas presents ever.

Thank you, Jeff.

Looking at this, people are gonna ask what the Joker omnibus has to do with Christmas. It’s not a Christmas comic book nor does it contain even one holiday story.

No, it’s a Christmas gift.

Much like the Batman issue 260 I droned on about in 2018, this is a gift that will always be associated with Christmas.

When I first learned of the omnibus, I wasn’t sure if it was worth $99.99 to me. There are so many good stories, but I have all but Justice League of America (1960) 77, Wonder Woman (1942) 280-283 and the unpublished The Joker issue 10.

The unpublished issue was tempting, but I just couldn’t justify a Benjamin for that one comic book.

I do love that series. I bought several when the first hit the stands in the mid-1970s and finished the series sometime in the late 1990s.

Just looking at the other issues, included is Batman 251 with the rebirth of the killing Joker. Detective Comics issues 475 and 476 is the Laughing Fish story. Brave and the Bold (1955) 111 is one of the first Batman/Joker stories I ever read and has one of my favorite Batmobiles.

And, so many, many more stories.

This is a treasure in so many ways. I’ve loved the excuse to re-read these classics. As much as I’ve enjoyed reading the new material. My greatest pleasure, snuggled under the covers, my wife tucked beside me and cats warming my legs; has been the unpublished Joker story. It may be continued and I’ll never know the ending, but to have an unread Bronze Age Joker story is a rare treat that will probably never be repeated.

So, thank you, again Jeff, for this gem of a gift. Amid the year of Covid and lack of guests, it shone as bright as my super hero Christmas tree in 2020.

The Joker takes Robin for a ride during the 2006 Christmas season in Slayride.

Detective Comics (1937) 826

Paul Dini pens a dark comedy with the madman behind the wheel while Don Kramer fleshes out the visuals.

It’s a long night when Robin ducks drug dealers only to find himself captive of the Joker. The clown bids the Boy Wonder welcome as he banters away the evening.

The dialog is a one-sided give-and-take of hate. All the while, the Joker is careening through the streets of Gotham randomly littering acts of lunacy.

By story’s end, the Joker’s fate is undetermined when he pulls a Michael Myers and leaves no body at his death scene.

If you haven’t read this and have some extra Christmas money, find it, buy it and read it. This is an unrealized classic. Dini’s characterization and dialog are seamless.

Dini is best known for his work in the DC Animated Universe and creation of Harley Quinn. His resume includes work on Batman: the Animated Series, Superman: the Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Krypto the Superdog.

He would later work for Marvel on Ultimate Spider-Man and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

Dini began his career penning episodes of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe then moved on to work on the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. He also wrote for the Transformers and G.I. Joe. Later he would author Ewoks episodes. In 2007, Dini worked on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Who better to represent the non-holiday National Smile Power Day than one of comic book’s toothiest characters, the Joker.

No one else in the DCU has made it his mission to make others smile the way the Joker has. Since his first appearance in Batman (1940) issue one, the Harlequin of Hate has set his sights on chaos with a smile.

The Joker began as a psychopath before being toned down for the 1950s and into the ‘60s. The prankster persona was put to rest by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams in Batman 251, ‘The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge.’

Joker (1975) 1

The Clown Prince of Crime would continue down his dark path with The Killing Joke in 1988. In the prestige one shot, Joker would shoot and cripple Barbara Gordon. A year later he would kill Jason Todd, the second Robin, in ‘A Death in the Family.’

In 2011 ‘Death of a Family’ would exam the Joker’s relationship with not only the Dark Knight, but the rest of the Bat family.

The comic book pictured in conjunction with today’s non-holiday is the first issue of Joker’s all-too-short-lived, self-titled book. Joker ran nine issues beginning May-June, 1975 through September-October, 1976.

Each issue featured a one-and-done story, usually guest-starring a hero or villain from the DCU.

Issue 10 was scheduled to be published, the first part of ’99 and 99/100% Dead.’ It did not see print until Aug. 14, 2019.

To celebrate National Smile Power Day, challenge yourself to smile more often.

April Fools from Jeff and I at Four Color Holidays with the help of Grant Morrison and Dave McKean. This disturbing salutation above is from the duo’s Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth published in 1989. This marks Morrison’s first work on any Batman title. He would later take over writing chores on a regular basis. The book is the best-selling, original graphic novel with sales topping 600,000.

Joker (1975) 2

Doesn’t everyone wanna be happy?

Well, today is your day. Today is National I Want to be Happy Day. To commemorate we turn to Joker’s solo-series, specifically issue two, with Willie the Weeper. Or, ‘The Sad Saga of Willie the Weeper’ as it is titled.

Willie has aided the Harlequin of Hate in his latest departure from Arkham. To repay the favor, Joker wishes to help Willie in his criminal endeavors. One thing; the mewling criminal mastermind bungles his burglaries with tears.

The compulsive crier cannot escape without being racked with guilt; hence the tears.

Willie finally finds the misery of others is the antidote to his abnormal behavior.

The Joker ran from May 1975 to September 1976, a total of nine issues. A 10^th and final issue was completed, but didn’t see print until 2019 in The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus and a stand-alone issue later.

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

Often listed in the top-10 best Batman stories, Noel is a lushly illustrated Christmas Carol.

Batman Noel (2011)

Lee Bermejo is a true artist. In every sense of the word. From his staccato narration to the loving brushstrokes that create a yester-world not glimpsed for two centuries. A work Charles Dickens would enjoy himself.

Batman is the Scrooge. Bob is one of the Joker’s henchmen. His son is Tiny Tim and the Joker is, well, the Joker. Catwoman is the Ghost of Christmas Past and Superman the Ghost of Christmas Present. Jacob Marley is represented by a generic Robin.

Fans of the Batman: Arkham Origins video game were offered the Noel Bat-suit as one of the skins available for play.

Dickens’ original novella was first published in 1843 in a London scrutinizing its own traditions. So popular was the story when it was released Dec. 19, it sold out by Christmas Eve. To this day, A Christmas Carol has never been out of print.

Like Dikens’ work, Bermejo has crafted a perennial tradition with this elseworld’s work.

Post-crisis DC was an exciting era. All the old was washed away in the stroke of the 12-issue maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Not much time would pass before creators began bringing back pre-crisis pieces. Or, pulling back the facade to reveal some cracks already forming. Or, simply harken back with an else-worlds type story. The World’s Finest mini under the microscope is more of a return to the Eisenhower era. Batman and Superman were still friends – of sorts. Not the embattled super willpowers gracing the silver screen.

The Joker is as maniacal as ever, with enough murderous undercurrent to make readers nervous. Lex Luthor sports double chins, more comfortable in a three-piece suit rather than a white lab coat.

The four principle players intermingle in an awkward ballet told in three parts. From beginning to conclusion the story unfolds as slickly as the paper it was printed on.

Luthor and Joker trade stomping grounds, as do Batman and Superman in pursuit of their arch nemeses’. Christmas is a storm front that spills into New Year’s as the story reaches a false crescendo in issue two.

Issue three ties up the loose threads with a bit of pranking done on and by various participants.

Dave Gibbons brought back a sliver of the Silver Age with his script while Steve Rude was anything but with his renderings. This is a story that calls to me on a regular basis. Usually I heed.