Who Says Santa Isn't Black?

From December 1977: on this cover of the Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids comic book (Issue 22), William H. Crosby Jr.'s plus-sized character pays Santa a visit to give jolly Old St. Nick (who seems more distressed than jolly at this particular moment) his wish list, which undoubtedly includes a good number of sugar plums. Does anyone know who is the artist of this delicious cover? If so please leave your answer (or even an educated guess) in the comments.

A Green Christmas For Uncle Scrooge

What better time than Christmastime to feature some Christmas art from Carl Barks? Here's a classic cover from Uncle Scrooge # 16 December 1956. In creating the character of Scrooge McDuck, Barks of course was inspired by Ebeneezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, using the Dickens character's last name as Donald's uncle's first. The difference between E. Scrooge and Uncle Scrooge is that, as seen in this cover art, Uncle Scrooge enjoys Christmas as long as it's done right. Speaking of Carl Barks, Peter Kylling's extensive Barks website has posted an interview I conducted with the "Good Artist." It's not necessarily Christmastime reading but then again 'tis always the season for the creator of Uncle Scrooge.

Yogi's Jolly Christmas

Yogi Bear's back in the minds of at least a few folks this holiday season as he appears in a new computer-generated movie but many moons ago that smarter-than-the-average bear made Christmas a little merrier by appearing in a holiday-themed comic book. The Christmas-centric Yogi Bear Jellystone Jollies # 11 was cover-dated January 1963 so was on the stands for Christmas 1962. Featuring a festive cover (I like the way the art tells a sequential story rather than just a single gag), this Jellystone jam-packed holiday extravaganza was a incredible 80 pages long (and cost a then pricey 25 cents)! You can read at least one of the interior comic stories at the Magic Carpet Burn blog, so get that Thermos bottle of hot cocoa out from your pic-a-nic basket and have a few sips as you enjoy some more Hanna-BarBEARa Christmas goodness.

Christmas Comic Covers: Dennis vs. Donald's Nephews, Halos For Hoops

Let's kick the month of Christmas off with a holiday-themed comic-book cover showdown between some master mischief-makers. Both Dennis the Menace and Donald Duck (and his nephews) regularly celebrated Christmas in their comic books, so perhaps it was just a matter of time before they ended up sharing a seasonal situation, as in Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Christmas Special #87 1970 (drawn perhaps by Ron Ferdinand) Walt Disney's Comics and Stories # 207 October 1957 (drawn by Paul Murry). Rather than call this a swipe, let's assume that it's a case of great minds thinking alike.

A Gift Or Two From Chip 'n' Dale

Like you, I imagine, Chip and Dale have opened their Christmas gifts, and in this charming cover from Chip 'n' Dale #12 (December 1957), drawn by Chip 'n' Dale master (and king of the cute) Harvey Eisenberg, the two chattering yet cheerful chipmunks have received exactly what they want for each other. A gentle reminder that it's the simple gifts that are best, this delightful Disney art is itself a simple Christmas gift, perfect for this second day of Christmas.

Christmas Fun With Bugs Bunny's Christmas Funnies

It should come as no surprise to fans of Bugs Bunny that the fun-loving critter knows how to throw a party, so there's been many a Bugs comic published over the years overflowing with Yuletide festivities. This cover of the Bugs Bunny Christmas Party comic from 1955 (drawn I believe by Paul Murry) portrays Bugs getting in the spirit of the season by sharing a carrot with Tweety—and the merrymakers also include, you will note, Sylvester, unusually close to his usual prey. The lion shall lay down with the lamb (make that the puddy tat and the baby bird), indeed. For more fun from the annually published (from 1950 through 1958, with only 1955 seeing the publication of Bugs Bunny Christmas Party instead) Bugs Bunny's Christmas Funnies, dance on over here to the excellent Big Blog of Kids' Comics (and I hasten to add these great comics are not for kids only). There, blogmaster Mykal has posted not only this delightful Christmas comic story starring Bugs (from Bugs Bunny's Christmas Funnies No. 7 1956) but also other Christmas comics too.

Current Christmas Comics

Lest we think Christmas comic books are a thing that only the Ghost of Christmas Past would show us, here's a treat from the Ghost of Christmas Present: three 2009 comic books with a Yuletide theme. First of all from DC there's Batman: The Brave and the Bold # 12 featuring "The Fight Before Christmas," the cover of which (drawn by Eric Jones) manages top be festive and all wham-bang-zow at the same time. Also from DC comes DC Universe Holiday Special '09. This super-sized special features all manner of merry Christmas mayhem in stories starring everyone from Superman and Batman to Flash, Captain Marvel and Huntress, and boasts this wintery-fun cover by Dustin Nguyen. Then from the world of Archie, Betty nobly carries on the tradition of holiday-themed comics as Riverdale's girl-next-door braves the Battle of the Bulging department store bag in the cover (signed by Stan Goldberg and Bob Smith) Betty # 183.

Making Merry With Archie And His Pals And Gals

That all-American teen Archie knows how to celebrate Christmas, as evidenced from the vast number of holiday-themed Archie comics published through the decades. From an earlier era, here's a great cover of that evergreen holiday title Archie's Christmas Stocking (#6 from 1959), in which Master Andrews, pal Jughead and gals Veronica and Betty are ready for holiday hilarity decked out in Dickens-style carolers garb—and just look at the typically scampish expression on the face of the conceited and ever-crafty Reggie! Archie still gets up to holiday hijinks every year as seen here in the 2009 issue of the Archie's Holiday Fun Digest (#9). Bets and Ronnie stop sparring over Archie long enough to decorate the Christmas tree, and in a time-honored comic book-cover tradition, the various characters are seen in the surface of the shiny ornaments Archie's gals hang on the evergreen. (Click on the covers for a larger view.)

And A Robin In A Christmas Tree

Robin the Boy Wonder was created in 1940 for a variety of reasons but chief among them was the need for someone Batman could rescue on a regular basis, and as such, Dick Grayson (who, as everyone but the Joker, the Penguin and any enemy of the Caped Crusader knows, is really Robin) tends to get into a lot of tight spots—even when decorating a Christmas tree, as on this classic Batman cover from February-March 1946 (#33), drawn by major Batman artist Dick Sprang. Hopefully Batman raced to the rescue, as usual. (And if you are a Batman fan, be sure and visit Tom's super Batman Bat-Bog—it's a Bat Cave-full of photos, art, collectables and more, with an emphasis on (but not limited to) the classic 1966 TV series).

Haul Out The Holly

It's December, so to get our seasonal celebration off to a good start here at Tulgey Wood, here comes that ducky holiday bird Donald Duck on the cover of Walt Disney's Christmas Parade (September 1989). In this wonderful art—evocative of crisp snow, icy air, a crystal clear sky with sparkling stars—by Disney comic-book and animation master artist Daan Jippes, Donald knows a tree is the perfect way to get in the holiday spirit—even if the tree contains an unexpected guest. This very Christmasy cover is obviously inspired by Carl Barks' 1948 comic book classic "Christmas on Bear Mountain," though that story does not appear in this particular comic book. Stop by Tulgey Wood all through the Christmas season for all kinds of Yuletide treats, and a few seasonal surprises too.

Under The Mistletoe With Archie

In an earlier post I noted the favorite aspect of Christmas for comic-book character and girl-crazy teen Archie Andrews had to be mistletoe— and now here's all the proof you need. It's the Yuletide cover of Archie's Christmas Stocking No. 10 from 1954. During this period Archie was still wearing his traditional wardrobe of bow tie, letter sweater vest ("R" for Riverdale High, of course) plaid pants and saddle shoes— a costume Archie would wear well into the 1960s. Whatever his style, Archie is still lots of fun to look at, especially at Christmastime.