Update: Spider-Man Kids Julehefte (2009)

Back in June of 2020 I interrupted Summer with a Christmas tradition from Norway. At the time I had very little information on the book. By accident I was able to find out a little more, so here’s an update:

The julehefter, or Christmas booklets, have been a Norwegian tradition for over two centuries. Lately the term julehefte has become a synonym for comic book. The first julehefte was printed in 1817 and was a collection of social and drinking songs. It wasn’t until 1845 juleheftes were geared more for children. Their popularity grew and by the end of the 19th century they included a variety of themes including art, literature, recipes and religion.

2009

The first Christmas comic book was based on the U.S. cartoon The Katzenjammer Kids and published in 1911. Eventually other licenses would join the fold such as Donald Duck, Tom & Jerry, Calvin and Hobbes and, obviously, Marvel titles such as Spider-Man.

Apparently there were three published between 2009 and 2011.

Currently there are around 50 Christmas booklets published each season, some selling as many as 150,000 copies or more.

So, while there’s still snow on the ground and portions of Christmas somewhere undiscovered till the spring clean, here’s a little more information on the tantalizing illustration from a couple years back. To see the original post, click here.