T h i s B o o k i s D e d i cat e d t o t h e M e m o ry o f o u r C ov e r A r t i s t John Stanley

W h o s e C o m i cs a n d F r i e n ds h i p w e r e G r e at G i fts to M e

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ISBN-13: [TK]

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[Month] 2018. First printing. The Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories is © 2018 Gussoni-Yoe Studio, Inc. All Rights Reserved, including the digital remastering of the material not held by copyright owners. Yoe Books is a trademark of Gussoni-Yoe Studio, Inc. Yoe is a registered trademark of Gussoni-Yoe Studio, Inc.

IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Editorial offices: 2765 Truxtun Road, San Diego, CA 92106. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Printed in Korea.

IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork.

Identifying the creators of unsigned comics is an art and a science. I would like to thank the esteemed experts who helped: Mykal Banta; Terry Beatty; David Gerstein; Diana Green; Steven Rowe; Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.; and Hames Ware. The final attributions are my own and any corrections are most welcome.

Cover image from Santa Claus Funnies #361, Dell Publishing © 1951 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. Front endpapers: left from Santa Claus Funnies #128, Dell Publishing © 1946 by Oskar Lebek; right from Santa Claus Funnies #175, Dell Publishing © 1947 by Oskar Lebeck. Back endpapers: from Santa Claus Funnies #91, Dell Publishing © 1945 by Oskar Lebek. Title page, small title page, and contents page images from Sleepy Santa © 1948 Belda Record & Publishing Co. “How Santa Got His Red Suit” from Santa Claus Funnies #61, Dell Publishing © 1944 by Oskar Lebeck. “Blitzen, Jr.” from Ha Ha Comics #49 © 1947 by Creston Publications Corporation. “Santa and the Pirates” © 1953 by Promotional Publishing Co., NYC. “Santa’s Problem” from Santa Claus Funnies #1154, Dell Publishing © 1960 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. “A Christmas Carol” from A Christmas Treasury #1, Dell Publishing © 1954 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. “A Mouse in the House” from Santa Claus Funnies #128, Dell Publishing © 1946 by Oskar Lebek. “The Helpful Snowman” from Here Comes Santa, K. K. Publications © 1960 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. “The Shoemaker and the Elves” from Christmas at the Rotunda © 1955 by Ford Motor Company and Artists and Writers Guild, Inc. “Christmas Comes to the Wood Land” from Santa Claus Funnies #91, Dell Publishing © 1945 by Oskar Lebeck. “Santa’s Return Trip” from Santa Claus Funnies #1274, Dell Publishing © 1961 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co.“A Letter for Santa” from Santa Claus Funnies #1, Dell Publishing © 1962 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. “Ticky Tack, the Littlest Reindeer” from Santa Claus Funnies #205 © 1948 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. “Sooky’s First Christmas” from Santa Claus Funnies #867, Dell Publishing © 1957 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. “Li’l Tomboy, It Was the Day Before Christmas...” from Giant Comics #3, Charlton Comics Group © 1957 by Charlton Comics Group. “The Night Before Christmas” from A Christmas Treasury #1, Dell Publishing © 1954 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. “Atomic Mouse in The Night Before Christmas” from Giant Comics #3, Charlton Comics Group © 1957 by Charlton Comics Group.“The Great Three-Flavored Blizzard” from Santa Claus Funnies #175, Dell Publishing © 1947 by Oskar Lebeck. “Joe and Jennifer in The Wonderful Snowhouse” from Christmas Carnival Vol. 1 #2, St. John Publishing Corp. © 1954 by St. John Publishing Corp.“Teddy Bear in Toyland” from Santa Claus Funnies #302, Dell Publishing © 1950 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co.“The Christmas Story” from A Christmas Treasury #1, Dell Publishing © 1954 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. Contents from Santa’s Bag!

Hey, Kids, Christmas Comics!...... Mel Millar, artist...... 7

How Santa Got His Red Suit...... Walt Kelly, artist & writer...... 11

Blitzen, Jr...... Jack Bradbury, artist; H.R. Karp, writer...... 22

Santa and the Pirates...... Artist unknown...... 30

Santa’s Problem...... John Stanley, artist & writer...... 44

A Christmas Carol...... Mike Sekowsky, artist; Charles Dickens, writer...... 51

A Mouse in the House...... Walt Kelly, artist & writer...... 61

The Helpful Snowman...... John Stanley, artist & writer...... 68

The Shoemaker and the Elves...... Richard Scarry, artist; Elsa Jane Werner, writer...... 75

Christmas Comes to the Woodland...... Walt Kelly, artist & writer...... 78

Santa’s Return Trip...... John Stanley, artist & writer; Irving Tripp, inker...... 87

A Letter for Santa...... John Stanley, writer & storyboarder; Dan Gormley, finished art. ... 94

Ticky Tack, the Littlest Reindeer...... Walt Kelly, artist & writer...... 106

Sooky’s First Christmas...... John Stanley, writer & storyboarder; Dan Gormley, finished art. .. 114

Li’l Tomboy...... Frank Johnson, artist & writer...... 122

The Night Before Christmas...... Dan Gormley, artist; Clement Clark Moore, writer...... 131

Atomic Mouse in The Night Before Christmas... Al Fago, artist & writer...... 136

The Great Three-Flavored Blizzard...... Walt Kelly, artist & writer...... 145

Joe and Jennifer in The Wonderful Snowhouse... Klaus Nordling, artist...... 156

Teddy Bear in Toyland...... Dan Noonan, artist...... 161

The Christmas Story...... Alberto Giolitti, artist; St. Matthew, writer...... 169

front endpapers: Walt Kelly, Mo Gollub; back endpapers: Walt Kelly 11 12 13