New To You Comics #136: Ringing In ‘The Batman Adventures Holiday Special’ #1

We are now neck-deep in the holiday season – a time for decorations, gift-giving, and passionate arguments around the dinner table. And what could be more contentious than comic books? We all have different opinions about them, which is what New To You Comics is all about. Today, we’re looking at 1994’s The Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1 from DC Comics, of course. 

Tom Smithyman: Tony, I’m glad you recommended this one. I pretty much stopped reading comics in the early 1990s because I felt the quality had fallen off. I picked things up a decade ago or so and caught up on a lot of what I had missed, but I never ended up reading this one. 

It’s a Bat-family anthology featuring five short stories and a one-page introduction all written, at least in part, by the great Paul Dini. Bruce Timm pitches in on two of them and Ronnie Del Carmen contributes to another. The issue came out at the height of Batman: The Animated Series, and the influence on these stories and the art cannot be denied. 

Tony Thornley: This is a beast of a special based on the creative team alone. Absolutely one of the most influential groups of writers and artists on comics today, and I think most people don’t even know their names because they were largely behind the scenes on TAS.

Smithyman: Jolly Ol’ St. Nicholas is probably the funniest of the lot, with cops Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya trying to catch a pickpocket, aided by Batgirl. The best title goes to The Harley and the Ivy, which features the villains kidnapping Bruce Wayne from a Christmas party. The touching White Christmas pits Batman against Mr. Freeze. The Joker tries to ring in a deadly new year in What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? And finally, Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot is a nice coda between Bats and Commissioner Gordon.

Tony, which of these stood out to you? Do you have a favorite?

Tony: So I picked up this annual/special for my annual deep dive into Christmas comics, and it felt ultra-familiar. For any fan of Batman The Animated Series, you’ll realize that this the basis for the four part holiday episode that revived TAS on the KidsWB for another 26 episodes. And yes, Tom, you said this issue is five parts while that episode was four. That means they skipped a story, which was unfortunately the Mr. Freeze story (which frankly could have been adapted into a full episode).

Looking at this again, I don’t think I have a favorite, though the concept of Batman and Gordon meeting for coffee on New Year’s Eve every year is something I can’t let go of. It’s such a simple and straightforward idea that makes sense. It’s one of those things that makes a long-time Bat-fan say “yeah, Gordon knows” among other things.

The Harley and the Ivy sure hinted at what fans finally got confirmed relatively recently. For a 1994 all-ages comic to hint heavily at a same-sex relationship is pretty cool. And uniformly the art is good to great. Timms’ colors on the Bullock-Montoya-Batgirl opening story is really the only bit of the art I was kinda meh about.

Smithyman: I thought the Freeze story would get me, but I ended up liking the Joker story the best. I’m not a New Years person at all – I’m usually in bed well before 10 – but I connected with this tale the most. This is one co-written by Dini and Timm with art by Kevin Altieri and Butch Lake and colors by Glen Murakami. 

Joker promises not to kill anyone in the new year, but to make up for it, he’s planning on unleashing a sonic bomb on Gotham Square (think New York’s Times Square) as the crowds are gathering for the stroke of midnight. The creative team packs a lot into just a few pages, including the countdown and a battle between Batman, Joker, and his goons. The artwork is inspired be The Animated Series but is a bit more cartoonish than Timm’s work. Still, Joker is menacing as ever, and he even manages to wound the Caped Crusader. 

Tony, did any of these stories miss the mark for you?

Thornley: Honestly, until the last page, it was the Freeze story. With some fleshing out, I think it could have been good, even great, especially with Murakami’s art drawing such strong Mignola influence. In the short amount of time/space that the creative teams had, it just wasn’t able to breathe. A full-length story of the same plot, showing Victor and Nora in love around Christmas via flashback though would have been Heart of Ice level good.

Smithyman: Creating stories for this kind of special is difficult given the limited space. You have to be pretty familiar with the characters and their motivations. That’s what the Batgirl piece, while fun and funny, missed the mark a bit for me. When the detectives figure out it’s Clayface behind the shoplifting spree, I felt the story fell flat. I loved Timm’s artwork – it’s absolutely top notch. But why would a criminal who can shapeshift resort to preying on mothers and children at a glorified Macy’s? Maybe I’m thinking about it too much, but I expect that kind of thing from Condiment Man, not Clayface.

What else am I missing, Tony?

Thornley: In the animated adaptation, Clayface was pickpocketing instead of shoplifting, and if I remember correctly, it was Robin AND Batgirl. Going to have to rewatch it tonight now. Both were changes that made it much stronger in my opinion. Otherwise it was a lark that had a few good jokes at Bullock’s expense. But really, I think this is an incredible special. I try to avoid books less than 80 pages for this column, but this 56ish page special is a BEEFY 56 pages. It’s become one of my Christmas traditions.

Smithyman: One thing sure is clear from this special: The influence The Animated Series had on other creators and fans cannot be overstated. It came out when I was in college, so I didn’t see much of it originally. But my friends went crazy over it. And you can understand why.

Thornley: Definitely. I bought a copy of TAS on Blu-Ray last year, and it largely holds up. This special shows how its style and influence will work in any format, especially when it comes to all the elements it introduced to the mythos. I mean, this special not only had Harley in it 6 years before her main universe debut, but clearly in a relationship with Ivy. 

Smithyman: OK Tony, we’re not quite halfway through the month. What other holiday treats do you have planned?

Thornley: We bumped covering this special up a week, so Scott and I are back next week covering Klaus, and then we’ll wrap up the month with something special!