An Outsiders Christmas Carol

The Outsiders have been celebrating Christmas for a few years, and Charles Dickens' classic tale has been around for a few years longer....

....so, it only makes sense to mash them together!  

Outsiders 

Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo brought us "A Christmas Carol - 1985" in Outsiders #5 (March, 1986), with the Scrooge like character being Eben Mudge, a man who was forced into being a mob account 40 years ago for Tommy Sinclair, after losing his partner at Christmas time.

The Outsiders try a Christmas Carol operation on him to try to get him to turn state's evidence, with Katana putting a samurai potion in his coffee to make him suggestible.  Mudge is then visited by the ghost of his old partner (Geo-Force), who tells him of the three ghosts who will come next.  

Halo arrives as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Metamorpho as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Black Lightning as the Ghost of Christmas Future.  Mudge not only gives up the evidence to telepathic Looker (who needed the trip down memory lane to probe his mind), but also convinced the man to reconcile with his estranged family.

As a back up tale by Mike W. Barr and Trevor Von Eeden, Black Lightning and Katana help save a department store from thieves who kidnapped the store's Santa's son!

Adventures Of The Outsiders

Now, a year later in Adventures Of The Outsiders #43 (March, 1987), this tale was reprinted for the newsstand (The Outsiders followed in the footsteps of the New Teen Titans and the Legion of Super-Heroes having a Baxter series direct to comic shops, then a year later, reprinted the tales for newsstand distribution).

This experiment didn't last long (only 8 issues in The Outsiders case), but did give us this Kevin Maquire/Bruce Patterson variant cover of Jim Aparo's original cover.   The Outsiders had had a few previous Christmas tales, one meeting with Phantom Stranger, the other with Superman, and A Christmas Carol was also used by the Teen Titans as well!

Marvel Classic Comics A Christmas Carol

For the last issue of Marvel Classic Comics (#36, from 1978), Marvel covered a Christmas classic...that of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.


With a cover by Bob Hall, writer Doug Moench and artists Bob Hall, Al Milgrom, Dave Cockrum and inkers Frank Giacoia, Mike Esposito, Al Milgrom and Joe Rubenstein work together as Diverse Hands to tell the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge being confronted by three spirits, all to help Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, and has not been the first or last time A Christmas Carol has been adapted...

Christmas Carol 1990

In December, 1990, First Comics gave us as part of its Classics Illustrated line as issue #16, an adaptation of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol by writer/artist Joe Staton and a painted cover by Gary Gianni.




A beautiful way to find the meaning of Christmas, sure to warm the heart of any Scrooge!

The Teen Titans Christmas Carol

More accurately, the title of the story was "The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol" for all of you hepcats around when Teen Titans #13 came out back on cover date January-February, 1968 by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy.

This delightful tale, beautifully rendered by artist Nick Cardy, detailing the Titans role in a modern day reenactment of Dickens' classic tale....as Robin was reading in the issue before going to a Batman comic.  The team ends up fighting Jacob Farley and Mr. Scrounge, with the Titans giving junkyard owner Scrounge the Dickens' treatment, with Kid Flash as the Ghost, Aqualad as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Wonder Girl as a swingin' Ghost of Christmas Future, at least until Mr. Big shows up.  They still defeat the villain, get a new wheelchair for Tom, and even better job conditions for Mr. Ratchet!

This story was also reprinted many times, including in Limited Collector's Edition C-34 (February-March, 1975, cover by Nick Cardy) and the Best of DC #22 (March, 1982, cover by Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano), but both of these reprintings are missing the second page...

..how's that for coal in your stocking?

But you can get the complete tale in the Teen Titans: The Silver Age Omnibus with a groovy cover by Darwyn Cooke, and all the original Teen Titans tales from Teen Titans #1 to #24, and their premiere tales from Brave and the Bold and Showcase, featuring Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl and Speedy!