I posted about Santa Claus in comics the other day (here). In this post, by contrast, I’m going to discuss Christmas comics more generally. some of them have Santa, some don’t; however all of them have memorable Christmas themes and stories exemplifying the holiday spirit. quite a few are also very affordable and would make terrific stocking stuffers for the nerd in your life.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #1 (December 1950) – first appearance of Rudolph in Comics

Although Santa is a symbol for Christmas, what would Jolly St. Nick be without his star reindeer and especially the heroic and most wonderful reindeer of all: Rudolph. The first appearance of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer can be found in this 1950 comic. This was a series of annual comics published by DC. all in all, there would be thirteen issues of Rudolph comics published from 1950 to 1963 with only the last actually titled an ‘Annual’. Sales on this Christmas classic are spotty, only two have been recorded by GoCollect.com. the most recent from November 17, 2018 was a certified 8.0 and it went for $1,680.00. Ho, ho ho, that’s a strong price!

Dell four color #359 (November 1951) – first Frosty the Snowman in Comics

After Rudolph the Reindeer there’s no song replayed more typically at my local super-market than the supernatural ditty of a snowman who comes to life. Yes, I’m talkin’ bout Frosty (He began to dance, la la la). Frosty the Snowman was for Dell Comics what Rudolph was for DC. A yearly comic produced for around a decade starting with #359. The last known sale of the snow golem known as Frosty was in 2014 when a certified 8.0 with Off-white to white pages was sold on a Heritage auction for $113.53.

Teen Titans #13 (January 1968) – A ‘Groovy’ Titans Christmas Tale

The original teen Titans comics aren’t for everyone. For one thing they are definitely a product of the 1960s. For another, they lacked the character development that characterized the Bronze Age Titans run from Wolfman and Perez (currently the basis of the live action show). What the early first volume of teen Titans did have going for it was Nick Cardy artwork and this Christmas tale by Bob Haney based on the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol”. Sales of this Silver Age Christmas issue show that it’s still affordable. A high grade 9.4 certified copy sold in 2015 for only $203.15.

Uncanny X-Men #143 (March 1981) – Kitty pride Celebrates Christmas ‘Alien’ style

There was a definite sci-fi influence on the Claremont era X-Men, and in this 1981 Christmas comic the influence is from the Alien movies. In the issue Kitty spends Christmas in the X-Mansion all alone with a N’Garai demon, because nothing says Christmas like extra-dimensional demons [?!?]. This creature may also have been the inspiration for the Brood story arc in later issues. 9.8 certified sales of this comic currently have a FMV of $140.00. The last sale, on November 19, 2018 was for half of that at $70.00, marking a downward trend in the value of this comic.

The Batman Adventures: holiday special #1 (January 1995) – A tale about Mr. Freeze to melt your heart

Whenever Christmas comes around, you know that at some point Frank Capra’s film: ‘It’s a wonderful Life’ is shown on television. Although I could find no comic book version of Capra’s film, there was a scene in the 1990s TV series ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ (in the season One episode: ‘Christmas with the Joker’) where, Robin and Batman, after an uneventful crime patrol of the streets of Gotham, return home and Dick Grayson suggests they watch ‘It’s a wonderful Life’ together. Bruce Wayne’s reply is classic: “I’ve never seen that. I could never get past the title”. Well, ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ had a comic book companion, and in this comic we find a series of Christmas tales for the ages all featuring Batman universe characters. ‘White Christmas’ by Paul Dini tells the sad story of Mr. Freeze and it’s a standout, but they’re all good. In September of 2018 this comic in 9.8 certified grade sold for $120.00 on eBay. currently trending down in all grades, it can be found raw in high grade for under $50.00.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

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