- Recommended for ages 12 to adult
- 144 pages
- Color
- Available rights:
- Print – foreign
- Digital – worldwide
Ghosts, Cowboys & Killer Dolls!
Seven classic stories and poems to make your holiday season brighter, from adapted into comics from the works of legendary writers:
• CHARLES DICKENS’ “A Christmas Carol” adapted by Alex Burrows, illustrated by Micah Farritor
• CLEMENT C. MOORE’S “A Visit from St. Nicholas”
illustrated by Florence Cestac
• ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE’S “The Blue Carbuncle” adapted by Rich Rainey, illustrated by Hunt Emerson
• O. HENRY’S “A Chaparral Christmas Gift” illustrated by Cynthia Martin
• WILLA CATHER’S “The Strategy of the Werewolf Dog” illustrated by Evert Geradts
• F. SCOTT FITZGERALD’S “A Luckless Santa Claus” illustrated by Simon Gane
• FITZ-JAMES O’BRIEN’S “The Wondersmith” illustrated by Rick Geary
“Santa Claus, Scrooge, Sherlock Holmes and a serial killer don’t really sound like they belong together under one cover, but as each one stars in a classic tale of Christmas literature, they go together surprisingly well in this latest edition of illustrated tales from the folks at Graphic Classics… Just in time for the holidays, it should make a nifty stocking stuffer for readers young and old.”
— Marc Mason, Comics Waiting Room
“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.”
“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!'”