A certain bright star in the sky helps several DC universe characters successfully navigate Christmas Eve adventures. This collection of short tales is pretty solid throughout, with a young Frank Miller’s first-ever outing on Batman being the best present in the pile.
READThe Amazing Spider-Friends thwart a disgruntled ballet-wannabe-turned-supervillain, then take in a production of the Dallas Ballet Nutcracker. This weird promotional comic by Jim Salicrup, Jim Mooney and John Tartaglione is equal parts C-list Spidey story, Classics Illustrated and Fun & Games Magazine.
READBatman teams with a down-on-his-luck Plastic Man to crack a tobacco-smuggling ring and return a Christmas display to Gotham. This holiday outing from Bob Haney, Joe Staton and Jim Aparo is a mixed bag, but ultimately quite enjoyable.
READA disgruntled, WW-II-era veteran goes undercover and finds goodness in Luke Cage – then decides to nuke Manhattan anyway! This oddball, Christmas story from Steve Englehart has a little something for everyone, but the art by George Tuska and Billy Graham isn’t very attractive.
READAttempting to cheer up a classmate who has the seasonal blues, Superboy takes him to a parallel Earth without Christmas. This Christmas tale from Paul Kupperberg and Kurt Schaffenberger leads off a pair of so-so tales.
READPuppet Master crashes the Fantastic Four’s Christmas party in a plot to return to Europe and harvest more radioactive clay. A ho-hum-but-not-completely-humbug holiday outing from the team of Mark Gruenwald, Frank Springer and Chic Stone.
READ’Tis the season for this collection of reprints – and an unpublished Angel & the Ape story – from the DC archives. Creative gift givers include Denny O’Neil, Nick Cardy, Bob Oksner and more.
READTargitt heads to Alaska to foil a plot by an American corporation and Third-World powers to manipulate world oil prices. Gabriel Levy and Ric Meyers’ story might have limited appeal, but the visual storytelling – by 1950s comic-book artist Howard Nostrand – is strong.
READWhen FBI agent John Targitt’s wife and daughter are blown up in a mob hit, the agent seeks bloody revenge. A below-average script from Ric Meyers gets strong storytelling support from veteran artist Howard Nostrand.
READThe X-Men battle the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in an effort to save Senator Kelly – and the future! The legendary X-Men creative team of Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin finish up their last great story together with a near-perfect issue.
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