New To You Comics #136: Avoid The Naughty List With ‘Klaus’

Everyone has different tastes in comics. Here at New To You Comics, we explore that as Tony and Scott dive into comics that, well, it’s right there in the column title. This week, we jingle all the bells and dive into an action-packed holiday modern classic. So grab your piping hot drink of choice, bundle up with a favorite blanket, and settle in for a modern holiday classic. 

Grant Morrison has said quite a lot when it comes to superheroes across their pretty prolific comic book career. So it makes sense that they would dive right into a superhero take on Santa Klaus alongside Dan Mora and Ed Dukeshire with the 2015-2016 BOOM! Studios series Klaus. Surprisingly not surprising Old Saint Nick and Fantasy Action are a pretty solid pairing, that has been revisited several times since by the creative team. 

This original miniseries follows Klaus, a wild man of the winter woods, and his pet white wolf Lilli as they try to restore joy to the sacred holiday of Yuletide. Their focus is on the town of Grimsvig, where the fascist Lord Magnus (spurred by a demonic force) has taken totalitarian control of the town and forbidden joy and celebration of the holiday. Good thing for the town Klaus is a real Robin Hood like figure, taking the first steps towards his gift-giving magical destiny. Think of it as Santa Claus: Year One in a way. 

Scott Redmond: You better watch out, you better not lie, you better not be lout cause Santa Claus will kick your ass. 

Well, Tony, we’re finally here. This is another one of those titles that has sat on my must-read list for years. Checked out numerous times digitally from various sites and spaces, but never actually cracked open though. I must say, I’m glad it’s finally happened. Such a simple yet fitting concept, to turn Santa Claus into a rough-and-tumble action figure/superhero. What are your thoughts and history with the series?

Tony Thornley: I covered the sequel once before for the site and I could swear that I also covered this series as well but I can’t find it. I absolutely love these stories though. This volume could be summed up as “high fantasy Santa Claus is Coming To Town.” It’s like one of the Chris’s (not Pratt) is playing Santa instead of Mickey Rooney.

Even without the Santa connections, this would be an exceptional fantasy series. Somehow, the Santa connection elevates it though, which is something you can’t say about many stories like this. Normally “fantasy/sci-fi telling of a well-known legend” is a sign of a groan-inducing story. With Morrison and Mora on it, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Scott: This is a great point. If someone were handed this book without any knowledge, it would easily read as just high-fantasy since the Santa stuff doesn’t drop for quite a bit into the story. I was actually surprised about how long it took to get to some of the bits of the legend, it was crafted so well to build up slowly. Not something every writer can pull off, especially when the real estate of many series is at a premium. 

Tony: One thing I really like about this is that this is absolutely not a story any American writer can write. Though Morrison’s style still feels very American in this story, it’s steeped in the sort of mythology and lived-in world-building that comes from living in a part of the world that’s just so old. This does not feel like anything else they’ve written in their entire career but I absolutely cannot imagine anyone but them writing this successfully.

The level of wonder and magic in this is amazing. It pulls a little Norse, a little Brit, and a bit Scandinavian, and creates this fascinating mythological world and magic system all its own. And just like I said the writing couldn’t have been anyone but Morrison, I can’t imagine anyone but Mora pulling off the design work that led into this gorgeous execution.

Scott: 100% agree. Those little bits fit so smoothly. One thing I appreciated was that the slow build-up that this story did with all the magic and spirits, made the Krampus reveal even better. It didn’t feel out of place at all by the time it happened, because the world felt so fleshed out and natural for this other part of the legend to come into play. I mean of course it was Krampus, but there was also plenty of room given for them to pivot if that was their choice.

Conceptually Morrison is the right type of writer for such a story idea. Just as Mora is the right type of artist. It is interesting to look at this artwork and mentally notice how much Mora has evolved in the years since. It’s hard not to picture his artwork style of today when reading through this. There are some spots that would be considered rougher compared to his present-day work but it’s truly still darn solid work. Mora just has this knack for making any action concept, be it capes/cowls or high fantasy, just seem so much larger. 

Tony: Yeah, he’s definitely one of those artists that grew while keeping their identity. There’s kind of a level of overly polished-ness here, but that isn’t a bad thing. It’s an artifact of the growth he’s had since, especially if you add this to the Klaus specials that followed it.

Scott: One thing that really stood out to me was the overall pacing of this series. It’s seven issues which means there is of course plenty of space to explore. Yet, as well know for many comics that would be too much space. It would lead to a lot of decompression and wheel spinning before wrapping things up. I never felt even a twinge of that with this series. Seven jam-packed purposeful issues, richly building up characters and the world to the inevitable conclusion. 

Really this was one of those can’t put it down, even though I had things I needed to do, because it was that enthralling. I imagine if I were to go back to read it again I’d probably notice things that escaped me the first time. It felt that rich. 

Tony: I really kind of wish that more Klaus was still an annual tradition. This is as close as to a perfect comic as I’ve ever read. 

Scott: Overall I’m so glad we chose this one and I can finally mark it off my list. I’ll for sure be diving into all the one-shots during the holiday season. It makes me appreciate that when Morrison is right, they are right. And this is for sure one of those times. 

What are your final thoughts on this?

Tony: Genuinely I need to sit down and read this every year. It’s just that great. Morrison and Mora on their own are some of my favorites and it’s incredible how they have the sort of creative synergy that you rarely see on this level in comics.

Scott: Fantastic! Next week Tony and I will be joined by Tom Smithyman as we dive into Dark Horse’s Four Gathered On Christmas Eve!