Marvel Holiday Special
Marvel Holiday Special was an anthology comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring several of its characters in Christmas or holiday-themed stories.
The first Marvel Holiday Special from 1991 is notable for establishing that Santa Claus exists as a mutant character within the Marvel Universe.[1][2] Santa has since made several appearances in other Marvel titles.[3] Other notable stories include a story by Kurt Busiek in the 1994 issue which filled out the details of a solicited but never-published story from the 1960s X-Men series in which Iceman and Beast fought Metoxo and the Lava Men, closing a continuity gap that fans had wondered about for 25 years.[4]
The Marvel Holiday Special has featured several stories that focus on Jewish characters like The Thing and Shadowcat celebrating Hannukah, as well as other Jewish characters whose religion isn't often clearly depicted in stories.[5][6] Notably, Thing creator Stan Lee, which is Jewish, wrote his first story in which Thing discussed his Jewish faith in the 2009 Marvel Holiday Special, 48 years after Thing made his comics debut.[7][5]
Publication History
Marvel Holiday Special was first published in 1991, with additional specials followed annually until 1996, with the 1995 special being a trade paperback reprinting earlier holiday stories. The title was revived in 2004 and published annually until 2007.[8] Additionally, a trade paperback collecting several holiday stories was published under the name Marvel Holiday Special in 2004. From 2008 to 2010, Marvel published a Digital Holiday Special only on its Marvel Unlimited service. In 2011, Marvel once again published a Marvel Holiday Special. In 2021 and 2022, Marvel published a series of holiday-themed "Infinity Comics" on its Marvel Unlimited Service.[9][10]
Stories published in Marvel holiday specials
| Year | A story | B story | C story | D story | E story | F story | G story | H story | I Story |
| 1991 | X-Men
Scott Lobdell and Dave Cockrum Collected in X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda Omnibus |
Fantastic Four Walter Simonson and Art Adams
Collected in Marvel Universe by Arthur Adams Omnibus and Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol 21 |
Punisher
Steven Grant and Klaus Janson |
Thor
Tom DeFalco and Sal Buscema |
Captain America
Len Kaminski and Ron Lim |
Ghost Rider
Howard Mackie and John Hebert
|
Captain Ultra
Scott Lobdell and Dennis Jensen |
Spider-Man
Danny Fingeroth and Ron Garney |
|
| 1992 | Wolverine
Larry Hama and Michael Golden
|
New Warriors
Fabian Nicieza and Darick Robertson
|
Spider-Man
Stan Lee, Richard Howell, and Steve Lightle |
Punisher
Carl Potts and Rick Levins |
Doc Samson/Hulk
Peter David, John Hebert Collected in Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus Vol 2 and Hulk Epic Collection Vol 19 |
Thanos
Jim Starlin and Ron Lim Collected in Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos (1993 printing) |
Iron Man
Sholly Fish and Tom Morgan Collected in Iron Man Epic Collection Vol 17 |
Daredevil
Ann Nocenti and Tom Grindberg Collected in Daredevil Epic Collection Vol 16 |
|
| 1993 | Spider-Man
Steven Grant and Pat Broderick |
Nick Fury
Howard Chaykin |
Marvel Bullpen
Barry Dutter and Marie Severin |
Captain Ultra
Scott Lobdell and Dennis Jensen |
Ghost Rider
Ann Nocenti and Tom Grindberg |
Hulk
Peter David and Ron Lim
|
|||
| 1994 | X-Men
Kurt Busiek and James Fry |
Captain America
John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake |
Thing/FF
Gregory Wright and Mike Manley |
Silver Surfer
JM DeMattias, Mindy Newell, and Rick Leonardi |
Spider-Man
Karl Bollers and Gray Morrow |
X-Men
Karl Bollers and Sal Buscema |
|||
| 1995 | Spider-Man
Danny Fingeroth and Ron Garney Reprinted from Marvel Holiday Special 1991 |
X-Men
Scott Lobdell and Dave Cockrum Reprinted from Marvel Holiday Special 1991 |
Spider-Man
Reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #314 |
Wolverine
Larry Hama and Michael Golden Reprinted from Marvel Holiday Special 1992 |
Spider-Man
Steven Grant and Pat Broderick Reprinted from Marvel Holiday Special 1993 |
Hulk
Peter David and Ron Lim Reprinted from Marvel Holiday Special 1993 |
Spider-Man
Karl Bollers and Gray Morrow Reprinted from Marvel Holiday Special 1994 |
Punisher
Carl Potts and Rick Levins Reprinted from Marvel Holiday Special 1992 |
Spider-Man
Stan Lee, Richard Howell, and Steve Lightle Reprinted from Marvel Holiday Special 1992 |
| 1996 | Spider-Man
Mark Waid and Pat Olliffe |
Shadowcat (Excalibur)
Evan Skolnick and Josh Hood
|
Silver Surfer
George Perez, Stan Lee, and Rick Leonardi |
Rawhide Kid
Karl Kesel and Patrick Zircher |
Wolverine/X-Men
Tom DeFalco and Josh Hood |
||||
| 2004 | JJ Jameson/ Spider-Man
Tom DeFalco and Takeshi Miyazawa |
X-Men
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Roger Cruz |
Franklin Richards/FF
Robert Aguirre-Sacasa and Duncan Rouleau |
||||||
| 2005 | Fantastic Four
Shaenon Garrity and Roger Langridge |
New Avengers
Jeff Parker and Reilly Brown |
Fantastic Four
Mike Carey and Mike Perkins |
||||||
| 2006 | AIM/Hulk
Andrew Farrago, Shaenon Gerrity and Ron Lim |
Fin Fang Foom/Dr. Strange
Scott Gray and Roger Langridge |
Fantastic Four
Mike Carey and Mike Perkins |
Santa Claus
Jeff Christiansen |
|||||
| 2007 | Spider-Man/ Wolverine
Andrew Farrago, Shaenon Gerrity and Lou Kang |
Loners
CB Cebulski and Alin Urusov |
Fantastic Four
Mike Carey and Nelson |
Reprint of Marvel Age #25 (2nd Story) | |||||
| 2008 Digital Holiday Special | X-Men
Jim McCann and Todd Nauck |
Skrull
Ryan Penagos and Juan Doe |
Werewolf by Night
Ben Morse and Stephanie Buscema |
Illuminati
Brian Reed and Val Semekis |
|||||
| 2009 Digital Holiday Special | Black Cat, Hellcat, Firestar, Photon
Abby Densen and Sara Pichelli |
Deadpool
Fred Van Lente and Sanford Greene
|
Fantastic Four
Stan Lee and Nick Dragotta
|
||||||
| 2009 Holiday Spectacular | Illuminati
Reprint of the D story from the 2008 Digital Holiday Special |
X-Men Reprint of the A story from the 2008 Digital Holiday Special | Skrull Reprint of the B story from the 2008 Digital Holiday Special | Werewolf by Night
Reprint of the C story from the 2008 Digital Holiday Special |
Hulk
Doug Roberts and Jack Kirby |
Deadpool
Jess Harold and Reilly Brown |
Wolverine
Reprint of the A story from the 1992 Marvel Holiday Special |
X-Men
Reprint of the A story from the 1994 Marvel Holiday Special |
Reprints of Uncanny X-Men #365; Amazing Spider-Man #166; E story from Franklin Richards: Happy Franksgiving #1 |
| 2010 Digital Holiday Special #1 | Dr. Doom/ Fantastic Four
Victor Carungi and Chris Uminga |
||||||||
| 2010 Digital Holiday Special #2 | Thor
Joelle Sellner and Mike Henderson |
||||||||
| 2010 Digital Holiday Special #3 | Hulk
Randall P. Girdner and Manolo Carot |
||||||||
| 2011 | Spider-Man
Miljenko Horvatic and Andrew Trabbold |
Wolverine and the X-Men
Kurtis J. Wiebe and Patrick Scherberger |
Nick Fury
Aaron Shaps and Sebastian Piriz |
Thing, Shadowcat (X-Men)
Jamie Rich and Paco Diaz |
|||||
| 2018 Season's Beating | Deadpool
Jason Latour and Greg Hinkle |
Spider-Man
Jason Latour and Chris Brunner |
Squirrel Girl and Dr. Doom
Jason Latour and Marco Del Pennino |
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye and Kid Omega)
Jason Latour and Veronica Fish |
Other Holiday Specials Published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics has also published a number of holiday-themed one-shots starring Marvel Comics characters and other licensed characters. These include:
- Power Pack Holiday Special – 1991
- Punisher Holiday Special #1-3 – 1992-94
- Sleepwalker Holiday Special – 1992
- Spider-Man Holiday Special – 1995
- Howard the Duck Holiday Special – 1996
- Generation X Holiday Special -- 1998
- Punisher: Red X-Mas – 2004
- Punisher: Silent Night – 2005
- Franklin Richards: Happy Franksgiving – 2006
- Punisher: X-Mas Special – 2006
- GLX-Mas – 2006
- Wolverine: Flies to a Spider – 2008
- Punisher MAX X-Mas Special – 2008
- Deadpool MAX X-Mas Special – 2011
- Gwenpool Special – 2015
- Gwenpool Holiday Special: Merry Mix Up – 2016
- Power Man & Iron Fist Sweet Christmas Annual – 2016
- Merry X-Men Holiday Special – 2018
Holiday specials featuring licensed characters include:
- ALF Holiday Special #1-2 – 1988-89
- Clive Barker's Hellraiser Dark Holiday Special – 1992
- Star Wars: Life Day – 2021
Digital-only holiday specials include:
- Ghost Rider X-Mas Special Infinite Comic – 2016
- Season’s Beatings (Deadpool) – 2018
- Halloween with the Rhino Infinity Comic – 2021
- Iceman's New Year's Resolutions Infinity Comic – 2021
- Happy Holidays, Mr. Howlett Infinity Comic – 2021
- TEST Kitchen Holiday Special – 2022
- Year of the Wong Infinity Comic – 2022
Marvel characters have also celebrated the holidays in regular issues of their ongoing series. Some notable holiday-themed issues of ongoing Marvel Comics series include:
- Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD #10 (1969)
- Son of Satan #8 (1975)
- Uncanny X-Men #98 (1976)
- Marvel Two-in-One #33 (1977)
- Uncanny X-Men #119 (1978)
- Uncanny X-Men #143 (1980)
- Uncanny X-Men #168 (1982)
- Uncanny X-Men #180 (1983)
- Uncanny X-Men #192-193 (1984)
- Uncanny X-Men #205 (1985)
- New Mutants #38 (1985)
- Vision and the Scarlet Witch #7 (1986)
- Psi-Force #6 (1987)
- The ‘Nam #23 (1988)
- X-Factor #27 (1988)
- Uncanny X-Men #230 (1988)
- Daredevil #253 (1988)
- Marvel Comics Presents #18 (She-Hulk story only) (1988)
- Amazing Spider-Man #314 (1989)
- X-Factor #52 (1989)
- Punisher #43 (1990)
- She-Hulk #36 (1992)
- Generation X #4 (1994)
- Uncanny X-Men #341 (1996)
- Amazing Spider-Man #420 (1997)
- Generation X #24 (1997)
- X-Men Vol 2 #73 (1997)
- Uncanny X-Men #365 (1998)
- Generation X #60-61 (1999)
- Captain Marvel #26 (2002)
- Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #21 (2003)
- X-Men Vol 2 #165 (2004)
- Wolverine #49 (2006)
- Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #46 (2008)
- Fantastic Four #564 (2009)
- Super-Hero Squad #12 (2010)
- Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol #1-5 (2011)
- Deadpool Killustrated #3 (2013)
- Spider-Man/Deadpool #12 (2016)
- Marvel Universe Guardians of the Galaxy #15 (2016)
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #37 (2018)
- Daughters of the Dragon Marvel Digital Original #3 (2019)
- Spider-Bot Infinity Comic #11 (2022)
- Avengers Unlimited Infinity Comic #25 (2022)
- Spider-Man Unlimited Infinity Comic #13-18 (2023)
- Spider-Verse Unlimited Infinity Comic #30 (2022)
- X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #118-120 (2023)
References
- ^ MacReady, Melody (2021-12-16). "10 Marvel Holiday Special Comics To Read This Season". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ Terror, Jude (2018-12-25). "Celebrating the Time the X-Men Met Santa Claus in the 1991 Marvel Holiday Special". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ "Marvel Chronology Project - S". www.chronologyproject.com. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ Cronin, Brian (2021-12-11). "Why the X-Men's Weirdest Villain Debut Took Nearly 30 Years to Complete". CBR. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ a b Writer, Graeme McMillan Staff (2022-12-18). "It's Hanukkah time with the Thing in Day 18 of the Popverse Comics Advent Calendar". Popverse. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ Schultz, Ben (2022-12-22). "How Ben Grimm Became One of Marvel's Most Important Jewish Heroes". CBR. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ Grant, Brigit. "When it came to Judaism, Stan Lee used super-heroes as torch-bearers". www.jewishnews.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ "Marvel Holiday Special". www.comics.org. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
- ^ Newsdesk, Laughing Place Disney (2022-12-21). "Celebrate the Season with Holiday Infinity Comics on Marvel Unlimited". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ "Get Into the Holiday Spirit With Marvel Unlimited's 'Mighty marvel Holiday Special' Comics". 2021-12-30. Retrieved 2023-09-26.