[MarkWarner]

So we are now knocking on the door for Christmas 2014 and I hope everyone has really cool one. Last week we had Walt Kelly and this week it's another Walt, Walt Scott. As it is Christmas, the "reading rules" (blimey that sounds a bit severe) on this one are exactly like last week. It's a free for all. Read what you like, comment on what you like!
   
Walt Scott's Christmas Stories (AKA Four Color #1062) can be found at https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=26083.

[narfstar]

I can't say that I liked this one as much as last weeks. Scott's dialog was OK but the narratives were kinda stilted. Jeremy Christmas had its moments. I especially liked the rock creating the island. I enjoyed his using psychology on them but did not like the very end. Music Box Trio did not catch my interest so I skipped it. I figured out the third wish right away so I just jumped to the end of Three Wishes to see that I had been right. The art is good but not as bright and cheery as I believe it should have been. While I may read another Walt Kelly holiday comic, I think I have had enough of Scott.

[paw broon]

What a lovely Christmas read.  The stories are a bit obvious, slushy in parts and really charming and I was particularly taken with the magic music box. The art really impressed despite the flow of the panels being a bit clunky in one or two places.  But the quality of the illustration appealed to me.  The characters were lovely little people/animals/whatever and the whole book seemed an obvious but pleasing way to evoke the spirit of Christmas as many in western society see it, or would like to see it.
Great suggestion for the group.
Some of you really have to read the Bestall version of Rupert.  Problem being that it's not pd.

[Mazzucchelli]

Oh the Christmas

[SuperScrounge]

The Songs of Christmas fact pages - These I liked and found interesting.

Jeremy Christmas - Jeremy is a bit of a dick. The story just didn't work for me.

The Music Box Trio - Eh. Kind of a Scrooge rewrite with Packard Rat.

The Three Wishes - Probably the best story in the book, but it was just okay. Boggle's wish granting was odd. Instead of just fixing their roofs and mending their clothes when they mentioned those things, he gave them a new house and clothes.

Well, now I have to go kick some nuns and orphans out for not paying rent. Bah, humbug everyone! ;-)

[crashryan]

This comic is hit and miss, but has more pluses than minuses.

Walt Scott's artwork is quite good and seems to improve as the book progresses. I like his animals better than his cartoony-human characters. I especially like the stars of "The Three Wishes." His backgrounds are also nice. The fact features show that Scott is good at realistic drawing as well as cartooning...a talented fellow. The one thing I find jarring is the design of the Spirit of Christmas. He looks like a sidekick. He's too young. His plain costume and the way he poses make him seem like Jeremy's pal rather than The Big Boss.

The stories are less satisfying than the art. Their pacing is choppy and the dialogue is frequently flat. The biggest problem is that the title characters in the first two stories don't contribute much to their resolution.

In "Jeremy Christmas" Jeremy tells The Spirit that he wants to do things his way. But he really doesn't do much of anything. He starts by pulling some nasty pranks then stands aside as the Four Lazy Men undergo a sudden change of heart and clean up their act. It would have been nice to see which "things" Jeremy did to their shacks to convince them get off their rumps. Despite what The Spirit says, Jeremy doesn't "win." True, he creates the island which saves the day at the end. But all his other plans fail. The Lazy Men find "courage and pride in themselves" on their own.

"The Music Box Trio" holds together better, but again the titular Trio are secondary to the story. The village people and Packard Rat's conscience are the stars. The exchanges between Packard and his alter ego are amusing and well-drawn.

"The Three Wishes" is a very simple story, which allows Scott to play with his characters. I really like Dizzy, Ticker, and Shrew.

The fact features are interesting enough and well-drawn.

I notice that the copyright for this book belongs to the NEA Syndicate. I know Scott did Christmas features for NEA. Was some of this material adapted from daily strips? That might explain the stories' choppiness.

[bowers]

I'm aware of Scott's work from his "Little People" comics, and this one was a pretty fun little read. A bit of a coincidence that our last two Walts both started out working for the other Walt (Disney). Scott's animation training served him well in creating whimsical critters, lil' folks, and fantasy settings for his stories. I googled him and found one of his paintings of a young Zulu warrior- definitely a good artist. On the whole, the stories were pretty good. My favorite was "The Three Wishes"- almost reminiscent of my favorite "Wind in the Willows" characters. A close second was "The Music Box Trio", but I have to say Packard Rat was the real star of this one. Liked last week's book a little better, but this one was also quite good. Happy New Year to all! Cheers, Bowers

[MarkWarner]

Firstly, I hope everyone had a really good Christmas. I am wading straight in on this book.

A two pager tells how Phillip Brooks wrote the lyrics to "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem". Nice, but I am never sure how true stories like this are.

"Jeremy Christmas" was excellent, it really hit the mark. This would certainly be in my Comic Book Christmas Anthology, which I really must make! My only very minor gripe is the way that the Spirit of Christmas is dressed, makes him look like he'd be more at home with Robin in Sherwood Forest.

A nice little line in the next story, "The Music Box Trio".

I'm his conscience, and I've told him and told him  -- But I don't get through to him!

This was also VERY good, and had the feel of a Christmas Classic. Well it should as Packard Ratte is a very good Scrooge clone. I am REALLY impressed with this book.

The last big story "The Three Wishes" keeps the bar high. We finish up with stories about: the writing of Handel's Messiah, the music of  "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" and the origins of Christmas carols.

Verdict: Superb! This comic should be compulsory reading for EVERYONE. I am signing off now, to see if there are any scraps left in the fridge! This is completely futile, as a trio of four-legged freeloaders (with the aid of a female human accomplice) appear to strip the fridge bare on a daily basis.