Welcome to Day Eleven of my 12 Blogs of Christmas! Today, we’re looking at a comic of more recent vintage: Grant Morrison and Dan Mora’s Klaus! This premiered as a seven-issue miniseries a few years ago (collected into a nice book), followed by two annual Christmas specials the last two years. According to interviews that I’ve read, the plan is to do one more single-issue special next year, because the three will make a nice-sized book. Then, Morrison and Mora plan to follow that up with another longer miniseries. Whatever the plan, I’m on board, because I’ve come to love this series.
I have to admit, I came to the first miniseries with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I had read Morrison state in numerous interviews that he was surprised that nobody had done an origin of Santa Claus before now. Of course, to anyone paying attention, this is a load of reindeer droppings.
There’s a whole list of Santa origin stories. There’s Baum’s Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. There’s Tony Abbott’s Kringle. There’s the Rankin-Bass Santa Claus is Coming to Town. There’s the crappy 1980s Santa Claus movie. There’s William Joyce’s Nicholas St North novel from his Guardians of Childhood series. And that’s just off the top of my head. And that’s leaving aside all the folklore that has developed around the various versions of Santa Claus over the centuries that he has been in the popular consciousness. So it seemed particularly ignorant of Morrison to proclaim that he was breaking new ground here. (And, of course, recently Netflix announced a new animated movie that they are producing, featuring Santa’s origin, which the filmmaker is surprised has never been told before. Whatever.)
In more recent interviews, Morrison has said that others have pointed out all the other Santa origin stories to him, so he has walked that back. Really, it’s a shame that he started out presenting that as the unique feature about his version. Because he really has done something unique and different with the character here: he’s given us Santa Claus as super-hero.
The first series is very much a superhero origin story, except that along with saving the children of a European village from an evil ruler who is trying to resurrect an evil demon, he is also bringing joy to them by sneaking in forbidden toys. This story gives us all the elements we look for in a story about Santa Claus. Morrison and Mora explain why and how Santa began making and delivering toys. They explain his immortality. They explain his powers. In every way, this is a good Santa origin story.
What makes it a unique Santa origin story is that this isn’t a story about how Santa grew up into a jolly fat man who only delivers toys to children, as if that’s all children need. No, this is a strong, virile, two-fisted powerhouse of a Santa, who will make children happy by surprising them with a clockwork bird, or defend them by punching out demons or aliens.
And it’s a great Santa origin story because you read all that, and it works, even though it’s not a traditional Santa image. It’s not someone being cute by drawing a picture of a traditional Santa punching out the Krampus and saying stuff like, “You’re on my naughty list!” This just feels like a Santa Claus, albeit not the Normal Rockwell version.
The two holiday specials are—as Morrison has said in interviews—very much inspired by the tone of the Doctor Who Christmas specials, and work as self-contained pieces connected to a larger mythology (some of which has only been hinted at). To be honest, I don’t remember the details of last year’s special; I haven’t reread it since last year. If memory serves, it involves Klaus returning to Earth after an extended absence on the moon, to fight some sort of evil snow queen.
This year’s story, however, was great. Set in the 1980s, it features Santa versus an evil cola corporation who are selling children to aliens (who smoke them for their imagination) in exchange for weapons and technology to use in their war against Santa. It’s fantastic, and Christmassy and wonderful.
Grant Morrison has a reputation for writing crazy, confusing comics, and it’s not undeserved. However, the Klaus comics, while bursting with ideas and imagination, are told clearly and in a straightforward manner. The art, by Dan Mora, is fantastic, as can be seen in the pages I’ve excerpted here. How fantastic is his art? I’m buying Boom’s Go Go Power Rangers comic because he’s drawing it, even though I have no interest in the Power Rangers at all.
Morrison has said he’s cutting back his comics work in favor of television. But he’s planning on continuing Klaus, which is great news. I look forward to making this comic an annual holiday tradition for years to come.
That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow for the twelfth and final Blog of Christmas!
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