These two comics make an interesting comparison. As usual I had to read everything. I responded more to the art than to the stories. What first caught my eye is the extra effort that went into the design of Santa Claus Funnies. The running heads, between-panel decorations, and frequent open borders give everything a storybook look, as does the upper/lower case Leroy lettering. The artwork is strong throughout. I especially like L. Bing's work on "Santa Claus in Trouble" and Arthur Jameson's classic-style drawings for "The First Christmas Tree." Walt Kelly does great cartoon work. He draws mice better than anyone, but his pink octopi are a little scary.The art on "A Christmas Carol" is the weakest in the book. The artist sloughs off important detail and gets sloppier as the story progresses. Robert Graefa's Santa Claus in the final story looks like he's been going to Weight Watchers.
In contrast Adventures in Wonderland seems to have been thrown together at the last moment. The art in each story starts weak and deteriorates by the page. Short deadlines? Elmo the flying elephant is not only "inspired" by Dumbo; the artist also swipes the Disney character design. I wonder why Santa's beard is grey in "Santa's in a Dilemma." There are frequent errors in grammar and spelling, like the troubadour who sings "ballards."
Storywise Santa Claus Funnies presents the familiar American Christmas I grew up with. On the one hand, benign Protestant Christianity; on the other, Santa Claus materialism. As was the case in my youth, Santa gets top billing. The lead story is odd, though. At first the queen is a sympathetic character. But when Mr C acts like a jerk she suddenly is so angry she tries to ruin Christmas for all the kids in the world. The captions are presented "European style," at the bottom of the panel, though they're supposed to be read first. It drives me nuts!
I've never read Andersen's "The Fir Tree," but it's weird enough to be a genuine fairy tale. The tree yearns to be chopped down (i.e. killed). After he is cast out, he is redeemed by being burned so his ashes can look down on the old neighborhood. Ick. Nice mice, though. The adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" does the job but it moves way too fast. It helps to have read the story.
The stories in Adventures in Wonderland are a mess. Paw Broon has pointed out the cruelty toward Dumb--sorry, Elmo--in the first story. The Santa story desperately needs another edit. The elves melt candy to make the missing colors, but they also seem to make toys from the candy, even though real toys have already been made. It doesn't help that some of the dialogue is in rhyme (which doesn't scan) and some isn't. I didn't read the text story, but I liked PAM's cute kid.
The non-adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" is strange, indeed. I picture the editor saying, "Everybody does 'A Christmas Carol.' Change the names and massage the story a little and the kids won't realize we're fobbing another adaptation off on them."
Paw is onto something in his socio-economic critique of this story. The difference between Santa Claus Funnies and Adventures in Wonderland is the difference between the "average Joe" concept of pre-War America and the "build business and kill the Commies" spirit of Cold War days. In Dell's "Carol" Scrooge comes to understand the walls he's built around himself with his money. After his conversion he becomes one of the family. Though he's still the boss, he's abandoned his notions of superiority.
In the Lev Gleason "Carol" rip-off the poor are noble, as they are in Dell's, but Non-Scrooge learns a different lesson. He is brought to his knees (literally) not by facing his shortcomings but by losing all his dough. The only fault he finds in himself is that while he was rich he didn't let his wealth trickle down to the underclass. When his wealth is restored, we know Scrounge will be nicer to folks, but only as a patriarch. He'll share his well-deserved wealth with the average Joes but he'll never be one with them.
The stories echo other post-War concepts. Santa is now a businessman. Faced with a production standstill he calls a meeting of the Board to brainstorm a solution. And consider that Scrounge's neo-Cratchit requests time off not to be with his family, but to do Christmas shopping.
The strangest story in the issue is "A Rebellion in Toyland." Toyland's despotic king selects stocking-stuffers for Santa, a sort of Uber-King who must be obeyed. Everything will be fine if the toys do as they're told, but a grumpy cat doesn't feel like going. He has no reason; he's just an agitator. He gathers other misfits and attempts an armed revolt. A loyal clown bombs the rebels, winning the King's respect and a place in a stocking. It's interesting that a crafty Asian leads the treasonous toys and that one of his henchmen speaks in ghetto dialect. This story is a true Cold War fable. It combines the nasty paradox of the American 50s, that peace and freedom arise from conformity and obedience, with the fear that alien subversives are plotting to destroy the proper order.
All very interesting.
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Topic: Week 101 - Santa Clause Funnies #1 v Adventures in Wonderland #5 (Read 3627 times)
