Comicon Advent Calendar Day 24: A Christmas Classic, It’s Time For The Grinch

Welcome one and all to another festive feast of comics as we unveil the latest, and the last for this year, entry in the Comicon Advent Calendar, with a new Christmas comic behind every virtual door…

It’s Christmas Eve, the most wonderful day of the year, full of potential, a day where we all feel just that little bit happier with the world, where everything feels just that little bit better. Yes, it’s my favourite day of the year. Christmas Day, compared to this, is just a bit of a let-down. Christmas Eve is the best bit.

So, to end our seasonal 24 days of Advent comics, I’m going to break with the tradition of Christmas comics and give you something you should have read, something I read to Molly every year when she was a little one, absolutely one of the greatest Christmas tales there is – How The Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss.

Incredibly, there’s never been a comic version of this classic Christmas tale. I know, I couldn’t believe it either when I went looking. But perhaps that’s because there’s something so pure and wonderful and perfect as the book itself?

Yes, it’s a wonderful story, one that has all the magic of Christmas about it. But, it’s often overlooked just how good an artist Dr. Seuss was. The way every page is drawn with that effortless line that you only ever get from a masterful artist…

Well, you more than likely know what the Grinch’s wonderful, awful idea is. It’s time to spoil Christmas for all in Whoville.

But of course, as with all the best Christmas tales, right back to Dickens, and of course, The Grinch really is just a modern retelling of A Christmas Carol with a fantastical, delightful twist, Mr Grinch discovers the true meaning of Christmas in just a few short pages. It truly is a festive tale that’s all about the true spirit of Christmas, just the sort of thing that we could all do with a little more of, as the Grinch goes from villain with a heart of stone to a more perfect person, the whole spirit of Christmas all wrapped up in this tale, all beautifully, perfectly drawn by Dr. Seuss…

So, embrace the sentiment, feel your own hearts grow three sizes, and just fall in love once more with the magic of Dr Seuss, the magic of this season.

It’s a classic for a reason. It’s perfect for everyone, perfect for all your children, perfect for you.

Now, seeing as you may be reading this feeling festive and feeling the love that this time of year gives us, maybe it’s time to think of others?

If you’re lucky enough, this Christmas time, to be safe, housed, fed, and feeling good, maybe take a moment to think of those who aren’t? Because there are too many out there who aren’t safe, aren’t housed, aren’t feeling good. So, do a good thing this Christmas time, if you’re fortunate enough to be able to spread the festive love, go and donate to any of these fine charities….

St Judes
Save The Children
No Kid Hungry
Shelter
There are plenty of others. And there are plenty of people in need this Christmas time. It’s Christmas. Do some good.

Oh, and when I said there weren’t any Grinch comic adaptations, that was true. But there is a rather wonderful graphic novel sequel by Kaeti Vandorn – The Grinch Takes a Vacation.

It’s a delightful thing, where it’s vacation time in Whoville and everyone’s favourite green grump just doesn’t get the whole holiday thing…

As you’d expect, the Grinch doesn’t exactly find holidays simple – the mountains? Too snowy. The beach? Too sandy. And the theme parks? Just too darned loud. Leave it to Max to show the Grinch just what this whole vacation thing is all about.

It’s charming. It’s lovingly done. It’s a perfect little chapter book graphic novel for everyone who loves Dr. Seuss’s famous creation, kids and adults alike.

And finally, there’s that utterly bizarre moment in Thor #444, back in 1991, when the God of Thunder comes up against the Grinch the Gronk in How The Gronk Stole Christmas. Honestly, bizarre doesn’t cover it.

Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Al Milgrom go utterly off the wall here, all in a comic that’s rather the epitome of the 90s. It’s some strange version of Thor that isn’t really Thor, in that way that all the heroes of the 90s seemed to be replaced by someone else. So, Thor’s not really Thor here, new character, new costume, some weird backstory about Thor exiled, and this new Thor being some random called Eric Masterson, who’d eventually become Thunderstrike, and… oh, screw it, it’s too ridiculous to get into.

Anyway, Thor (whoever he is) is off Christmas shopping and ends up in a whole big fighty thing with The Grinch. Well, The Gronk, but I think we all know exactly what Defalco and Frenz were doing here. Okay, the Grinch never shot lasers from his eyes, but… well, the 90s.

It is just this insanely wonderful over the top thing. There’s none of that sentimental stuff, none of the often tapped into melancholy around the festive season. Nope, this is just the God of Thunder having this knock-down scrap with the Grinch.

Christmas, it’s just weird in so many ways. But it’s wonderfully weird.

Have a very merry Christmas, one and all. Take time to stop for a moment and enjoy what you have. Chances are you’re far luckier than so many. Enjoy that, never forget how lucky you are. And spare a thought, this Christmastide, for those less fortunate.

Me, I’m off to celebrate by reading some comics with a large gin & tonic. Comics are just great, aren’t they?