Every year, the Christmas tree would be different. One year, it would be the classic red and silver glass spheres. The next, scores of wooden ornaments, lovingly accumulated over decades. The next, dozens and dozens of crystal bells, painstakingly hand-stitched together for months in advance of the big debut. And every year, it would be […]
“…and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!” Charles Dickens, A CHRISTMAS CAROL When I was growing up, ours wasn’t a particularly spiritual house. Morals, yes. Ethics, absolutely. But there […]
A new month means a new banner from our Artist-in-Residence Elena Casagrande, who hits it out of the park this time with one that makes my shriveled heart grow three sizes.
As always, our holiday banner is by our Artist-in-Residence, the irreplaceable Elena Casagrande, who’s been with us from the very start. The perfect way to get into the holiday spirit. Click the image to embiggen.
A comics master who specialized in the Christmas tale was Carl Barks, longtime DONALD DUCK writer/artist and the creator of Uncle Scrooge McDuck. In my favorite Barks Christmas story, “Letter to Santa,” published in CHRISTMAS PARADE 1 (November 1949), Donald and Uncle Scrooge find themselves competing to fill the Christmas wishes of Huey, Dewey and […]
Happy Holidays from Blastoff, with this month’s banner from our Artist-in-Residence Elena Casagrande: “A Christmas Miracle,” featuring Jack Kirby’s Mister Miracle, Big Barda and Oberon. Click the image to see it in glorious full size.
Hey! If you’re reading this, that means everyone is alive, and that whole Mayan calendar doomsday thing was hogwash! If not, well that means that I just spent my last day on Earth writing about cartoons to myself… But hey, that’s fine, I usually talk about cartoons to myself anyway, why should this be any […]
Christmas and comics don’t naturally seem like a match made in heaven, and to prove it, this week we’ll look at some of the oddest mash-ups between superheroes and the holiday season to have ever made their way down the chimney. First up, how about this defiantly geeky Spider-Man rooftop Christmas light rig? Whoever did […]
We stand upon the earth, the gods are above us, the demons are below us. That is pretty much as close as you can get to the common basic theology of humankind. Of course the gods are usually bright and the demons are usually dark, but not always. In comic books, the same rules apply, […]
Batman and Christmas! It’s like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a slice of pineapple in it! No, seriously, that specific combination is fantastically delicious. We’ve been taking a look back at Batman and his holiday-themed misadventures, starting things off with the BTAS episode “Christmas with the Joker.” Together we watched as Joker flew […]
One of my favorite things about watching sitcoms when I was younger was checking out the holiday episodes every year. It was entertaining to see how each show would divert from its regular programming to fit in Thanksgiving turkeys or Christmas trees. Sometimes it was fluid and fit in nicely – sitcoms have the advantage […]
Has it been a year already? It hardly seems possible. Nevertheless, pull up a chair by the fire, pour yourself a cup of your chosen nog-based beverage, and take some notes as we offer a few of our favorite gift-recommendations for the geek or geek-adjacent on your shopping list this holiday season. IMAGINATION ILLUSTRATED: THE […]
When I mention Christmas, you automatically think of snow, candy canes, Die Hard, (as you should), eggnog, that jolly fat guy, and Batman, yes? Not Batman? Well, shame on you! Our hero has a lot more in common with the holiday spirit than you might think. Let us we revisit all the best Christmas-themed tales […]
