Christmas Classics presents comics adaptations of both holiday favorites and rarities, featuring Charles Dickens' ''A Christmas Carol''. Also included are an early F. Scott Fitzgerald tale, an O. Henry western, a fairy tale by Willa Cather, and a Christmas horror story by Fitz-James O'Brien. Plus, a seasonal Sherlock Holmes adventure by Arthur Conan Doyle, Clement C. Moore's classic poem ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', and a letter from Santa Claus to Mark Twain's daughter.
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Eight traditional British and American pieces are well interpreted in comics form here. Florence Cestac adds twenty-first-century cartoon figures to Clement C. Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” while Cynthia Martin draws an O. Henry story with expressions and costuming of the original writer’s period. Rick Geary is a spot-on choice to draw Fitz-James O’Brien’s “The Wondersmith,” one of several pieces editor Pomplun himself adapted for this volume. The variety of art styles and solid selection choices make this entry in the Graphic Classics line essential for collections that include holiday books for teens and adults. Grades 7-12. --Francisca Goldsmith
Review
Eight traditional British and American pieces are well interpreted in comics form here. Florence Cestac adds twenty-first-century cartoon figures to Clement C. Moore's poem ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', while Cynthia Martin draws an O. Henry story with expressions and costuming of the original writer's period. Rick Geary is a spot-on choice to draw Fitz-James O Brien's ''The Wondersmith'', one of several pieces editor Pomplun himself adapted for this volume. The variety of art styles and solid selection choices make this entry in the Graphic Classics line essential for collections that include holiday books for teens and adults. --Booklist
Christmas figures little in comics compared with its prominence in the national psyche. Happily, we can warmly welcome this artful and colorful anthology, offering surprises as well as favorites. The two must-haves are here: Charles Dickens's ''A Christmas Carol'' (source of the spooky cover illustration) and Clement Clarke Moore's poem ''A Visit from St. Nicholas.'' Among the surprises are Christmas-themed stories from O. Henry, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Arthur Conan Doyle. (Who remembers that a Sherlock Holmes adventure is, in fact, set during the holidays?) Genres span detective, Western, romance, fantasy, and funny animals, while drawing styles range equally widely with all entirely appealing and appropriate in regard to the selection. I have rarely seen an anthology with equal success for all contributions, and this one meets that standard. My personal favorite: the Cather tale, with a cast of multihued people and animals in modernistic, stylish exuberance. VERDICT: Some may lament the lack of Bible stories here, but there are Bible comics aplenty, and these adaptations break much new ground. This appetizing and many-flavored holiday meal is highly recommended for tweens through adults in all libraries. --Library Journal
As Christmas approaches, what better way is there to get in the holiday mood than by reading some of the classics? If Christmas tends to bring out your darker side, you'll enjoy the stories included in this volume. In the opening letter from Mark Twain to his daughter, she is warned that if George doesn't follow certain specific instructions, ''he will die someday.'' The Dickens classic, ''A Christmas Carol,'' then sets the stage for some of these unusual and sinister seasonal tales. A werewolf dog tries to sabotage Christmas by leading Santa's reindeer astray, a western villain tries to leave ''a Christmas present'' for his love but has second thoughts, and the Wondersmith's plans go very much awry. These seasonal classics are richly illustrated by several talented artists. The use of color is especially unique in ''The Strategy of the Werewolf Dog, and Jacob Marley's ghost is quite scary in ''A Christmas Carol. Enjoy these classics by a fire with a warm cup of cocoa on Christmas Eve. And once you're snug in your bed waiting for Santa to arrive, remember to wish everyone, ''Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!'' --Bergers Book Reviews
Christmas figures little in comics compared with its prominence in the national psyche. Happily, we can warmly welcome this artful and colorful anthology, offering surprises as well as favorites. The two must-haves are here: Charles Dickens's ''A Christmas Carol'' (source of the spooky cover illustration) and Clement Clarke Moore's poem ''A Visit from St. Nicholas.'' Among the surprises are Christmas-themed stories from O. Henry, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Arthur Conan Doyle. (Who remembers that a Sherlock Holmes adventure is, in fact, set during the holidays?) Genres span detective, Western, romance, fantasy, and funny animals, while drawing styles range equally widely with all entirely appealing and appropriate in regard to the selection. I have rarely seen an anthology with equal success for all contributions, and this one meets that standard. My personal favorite: the Cather tale, with a cast of multihued people and animals in modernistic, stylish exuberance. VERDICT: Some may lament the lack of Bible stories here, but there are Bible comics aplenty, and these adaptations break much new ground. This appetizing and many-flavored holiday meal is highly recommended for tweens through adults in all libraries. --Library Journal
As Christmas approaches, what better way is there to get in the holiday mood than by reading some of the classics? If Christmas tends to bring out your darker side, you'll enjoy the stories included in this volume. In the opening letter from Mark Twain to his daughter, she is warned that if George doesn't follow certain specific instructions, ''he will die someday.'' The Dickens classic, ''A Christmas Carol,'' then sets the stage for some of these unusual and sinister seasonal tales. A werewolf dog tries to sabotage Christmas by leading Santa's reindeer astray, a western villain tries to leave ''a Christmas present'' for his love but has second thoughts, and the Wondersmith's plans go very much awry. These seasonal classics are richly illustrated by several talented artists. The use of color is especially unique in ''The Strategy of the Werewolf Dog, and Jacob Marley's ghost is quite scary in ''A Christmas Carol. Enjoy these classics by a fire with a warm cup of cocoa on Christmas Eve. And once you're snug in your bed waiting for Santa to arrive, remember to wish everyone, ''Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!'' --Bergers Book Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Once more, into the fold,
By
This review is from: Christmas Classics: Graphic Classics Volume Nineteen (Graphic Classics (Eureka)) (Graphic Classics (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)
"This is the ghost of Graphic Classics past,...."
"Present" "And future" In unison, they chanted. "You will love this volume." And guess what, after I woke up from my dream, I did. Tom Pomplun has assembled a book that combines the classy Christmas Carol with the timeless "Visit From St Nicholas." In between, the holiday season is interrupted with A Letter From Santa Claus Christmas Carol Visit From St Nicholas Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle Chapparal Christmas Gift Strategy of the Werewolf Dog Luckless Santa Claus Wondersmith One of the best things about this volume is the variety of authors. I did not know that O Henry wrote such a great story, or that F Scott Fitzgerald penned an insightful tale, and had forgotten that the Carbuncle was a yuletide adventure. Forget the fact that the Chapparal is a masterful adaptation and illustrated superbly, this is one gift to readers all over the market. As with all Graphic Classics, there is no shortchanging of quality and this book is all color on high gloss paper. This series is one of the great undiscovered secrets of the industry. May it not be hidden much longer, Pompluns' work begs for kudos and intelligent readers of all ages need to have at least ONE of his books. Tim Lasiuta
4.0 out of 5 stars
Have yourself a Ghostly, Horror, Western, Mysterious, Weird Christmas!,
By
This review is from: Christmas Classics: Graphic Classics Volume Nineteen (Graphic Classics (Eureka)) (Graphic Classics (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)
Reason for Reading: First, I love the Graphic Classics and want to read them all. Second, every December I drop whatever reading I'm supposed to be doing and read a Christmas book. This is my second and final choice this year.
Christmas Classics is another full colour edition and it just wouldn't be Christmas without lots of bright and bold colour. While a couple of the stories are dark ghost stories with colour palettes to match, the rest of the stories have been coloured in bright and festive colour, funny comic or simply outrageous style to offset the darkness and bring a festive atmosphere to the look of the book. What can I say, another job well done by editor Tom Pomplun! Quite an eclectic assortment of selections are presented here starting off with a letter written by Mark Twain to his daughter in 1875 from Santa Claus. The feature of the book is, of course, Dickens' Christmas Carol which simply because it is such a famous story does seem a bit hurried in an adapted version. But all the good bits are there and the artwork by Micah Farritorn is wonderful. It is dark and dreary but there is also an ethereal quality to the squiggly lines in the background and some the faces which all comes together to represent the Victorian era, the poverty and ghostly darkness of the story. Next up is another expected treat, Clement C. Moore's famous poem which has been illustrated in a wildly humorous and bright style bringing us straight out of Dickens's gloom. Then onto lesser known stories that one won't obviously be looking for. A Sherlock Holmes that takes place during Christmas, but really isn't about Christmas. Wonderful caricature depiction of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock. There was a really psychedelic story by Willa Cather entitled "The Strange Case of the Werewolf Dog" which starts off like a kiddy story but is way too weird and creepy and then the bright and weird art style by Evert Geradts matches it perfectly. The book also includes stories by O. Henry (no, not The Gift of the Magi), F. Scott Fitzgerald and Fitz-James O'Brien. Here is where I had a squeal of delight as a favourite of mine, Rick Geary, is back as an illustrator! We haven't seem him in the Graphic Classics series since the initial first few volumes, then he came back for vol. 11 and it's been a long wait for him to show himself again here in vol. 19. If Rick illustrates it, I know I'm going to like and O' Brien's story was no exception. It's a creepy, macabre short story that ends the book on a fine note. I do prefer Geary in his black & white work rather than the colour but that's not a complaint, just sayin'. While none of the stories are what I would call festive and gay, a few do have positive endings and the book is a great collection of Christmas-themed ghost, horror, western, mystery and weird stories based on classic authors. Another fine entry in the Graphic Classics series!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Christmas Present and past,
This review is from: Christmas Classics: Graphic Classics Volume Nineteen (Graphic Classics (Eureka)) (Graphic Classics (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)
This is a graphic Christmas present- eye-catching to read and look at, even to read out loud...but not for the very young. As the stories progress they are darker, they are definitely not for little children, some not even for those who wish a sweet little Christmas story; but these indeed are interesting and different; starting with Mark Twain's letter to his daughter, then A Christmas Carol and A Visit from St Nicholas. Other Christmas stories are from Arthur Conan Doyle, O. Henry, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Fitz-James O'Brien.
The book is done well - the illustrations are bright and pages smooth. Lovers of Christmas stories and graphic books would appreciate this Classic.
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