Once again, a stocking’s worth of stories are stuffed into a single one-shot for DC UNIVERSE HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2008 #1. This edition has 10 stories, roughly 50 percent of which will leave you as pleased as spiked punch. Oddly, it begins with a single-page drawing of Supergirl dressed as Santa Claus, under a headline reading “Season’s Greetings” and the note “From our Superman family to yours!” For some inane reason, this Herculean effort earned someone a writing credit.
The best story is right up front, “The Man in Red.” Anything I’d say about it would spoil it. Oh, you’re bound to guess the twist before it’s through, but it’s fun nonetheless. Following is an Aquaman tale that uses a similar bait-and-switch, and Paul Dini reworks “Good King Wenceslas” into a thinly veiled Batman and Robin poem.
“A Day Without Sirens” finds a Christmas miracle of the highest order: Gotham City falling crimeless for an entire 24 hours, much to Commissioner Gordon’s boredom. It has a nice touch to its end, but the story that follows — Nightwing and Robin in “It’s a Wonderful Night” — is overly sappy.
Three generations of crooks get their asses handed to them by three generation of Blue Beetles in “Christmas with the Beetles,” and the Huntress plays guardian angel in the nice-messaged “An Angel Told Me.” Other stories feature Teen Titans, Doctor Light and various members of the Justice League of America.
As with DC’s other previous Christmas (and Halloween) annual anthologies, you’re bound to get a mix of good and bad tales, and many of these seem rushed, earning it half a “bah, humbug.” We know they can do better. —Rod Lott
Related posts:
- DC Universe: Inheritance
- 6 Holiday Anthologies to Get You in the Christmas Spirit
- DC Universe: Trail of Time
- DC Universe: Last Sons
- Retro Pulp Tales
