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• akamuu
• conor
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• josh
• Neb
• Rustyautoparts
• Splashpage

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I am not a person terribly afflicted with Christmas fever. I like the holiday plenty, sure. I like giving and receiving gifts, but I’m not religious and I’m not terribly sentimental, and I’m easily aggravated by crowds of people shopping, and being generally obnoxious. I’d like it to be otherwise, but my most common reaction at hearing a Christmas song coming over the speakers is not to react with a big smile and a singalong. No, this former mall-worker reacts most often by rolling my eyes very slightly, and switching the music, if at all possible.

Yet, I am not a monster, no. There is a way to warm my heart. I love the reaction people have to Christmas and the holidays. While I don’t love Christmas music so much (with some exceptions), I do love the reaction it causes in people, and their love of it. The holidays bring out a wonderful side of people, even if only for a glimmer, and the songs and stories of the season keep that alive.

In that way, Alex Robinson’s new book, A Kidnapped Santa Claus is a wonderful edition to the holiday. It’s a modern, yet classic take on a good old fashioned Santa Claus story. Based on an eleven page prose story written by L. Frank Baum, most well known for being the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this is Robinson’s first attempt at a comic book adaptation. As the original story was fairly stark, and written in 1904, he had a lot of creative latitude to get it to the 72 pages of graphic novella in the finished product. In the end, we get a great little book that’s part classic Christmas story, and part classic Alex Robinson, who is one of my favorite creators in comics.

This is probably a good time to make with the full disclosure. Alex is a friend of mine. He wasn’t always, and I was a fan long before I knew him, but since interviewing him last year, we’ve hung out plenty, and I suppose that could make me biased. But at the end of the day, I’m still a giant fan of his work, and this book is no exception.

Beware though, because if you’re a fan of Box Office Poison, Tricked, or Too Cool to be Forgotten, you’re going to have to prepare yourself for some Robinson comics that you can actually show to children. There is nary a curse word nor genitals to be found anywhere in these pages. Instead we get a great little story that straddles that narrow ground of being appropriate for kids, but also intelligent enough for savvy adults, and that is a ground which is far too rare in modern comics.

The basic story goes like this: Santa is preparing for Christmas, and some (comedic) daemons have it in for him. They try some dirty tricks to get to the fat man, but he’s a good guy, and none of it works. The daemons decide it’s time to up the ante, and kidnap the Claus, thereby ruining Christmas for children all around the world. Santa’s various helpers band together to first deliver the presents, and then rescue Santa, who is undergoing all manner of failed mental torture at the hands of the daemons, who all stand for the worst parts of human nature. Needless to say, this isn’t a plot that’s going to be talked about for ages.

What it is, however, is a platform for Robinson to play around with the various characters and explore the niggling parts of human nature in the daemons, as well as the best parts in Santa’s helpers. There are rings of truth in their silliest statements, and while the message is simple and clear for younger readers, older readers will hear bits of the various people in their lives echoed through the pixies, fairies, knooks (pugs in suits!), and ryls, as well as the daemons, one of whom is obviously the authors most unflattering version of himself. Both the good and bad characters in this book are based on real emotions and choices we all make, and the lesson is that it’s up to us to choose which we’d like to be. If they weren’t portrayed just right, it would be hokey, and fit only for the most vapid of children, but Robinson’s talent for cartooning and truth in character shines through. Even very subtly, he’s able to infuse that wit and verisimilitude in these characters, just as he did in the prior books, which have been so successful. The way that all translates is that the book is just fun to read, and if you’re a parent, you’ll be able to read this to your kids, and even enjoy it yourself. Imagine that! Comics kids and adults will like at the same time. This is no mean feat.

In a work like this, it’s difficult to separate the art from the story too much, because the art and words really work in concert, as they should, with a graphic novelist of Robinson’s skill. The art does exactly what it should do. Robinson’s got a deep bag of tricks, as evidenced in his earlier work, but in this book, he wisely holds back, keeping things simple, but also keeping them clear. The artwork isn’t going to blow you away, but it is going to communicate exactly what the author intended, which is the point. It’s the mark of a mature cartoonist when he only puts on the page what needs to be there. There are pages in Tricked and Box Office Poison that blew me away, but A Kidnapped Santa Claus only contains clear, simple layouts, furthering accessibility, but also keeping things simple, as they should be. That isn’t to say the art isn’t good. It’s incredibly effective, as well as charming, and in just a few lines, we’re always aware of whether Wisk is sheepish or sure of herself. Flipping through the book over and over again, and catching the body language of the various characters, I continually find myself smiling, and that means it’s all working.

A Kidnapped Santa Claus is a great comic book for Christmas. It’s a great Alex Robinson comic book. It’s a great comic book for kids, as well as adults. In short, it’s a great comic book, and this is the perfect time of year to show some unsuspecting readers how much fun comic books can be, which is why it is December’s Book of the Month. Give it a shot, and watch the humbug melt away.

Josh Flanagan
Some well timed Star Wars references never hurt.
josh@ifanboy.com