Comics About the Guy Christmas is Named After!

It's the Sunday before Christmas, an appropriate time to look at comic book stories about...

...the birth of Jesus Christ, the one and only!

BTW, your eyes do not deceive you!

Marvel Comics published a one-shot about the origin of Christ!

You can read that long out-of-print story by clicking on these links...

Part 1

Part 2

Conclusion

But there's more!

Here's a shorter, never-reprinted version from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics...

Bible Tales for Young Folks

From a small publisher who did only a half-dozen comics, all based on Christian themes...

Life of Christ Visualized

Fiction House, noted for really-fun series like Planet Comics and Sheena: Queen of the Jungle took a somewhat more sensationalistic approach to telling the story of the Nativity....using 3-D!

Part 1

Conclusion

and Finally...

EC Comics, aka Entertaining Comics, the guys who later gave the world graphic horror in Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, and Haunt of Fear began as Educational Comics, publishing wholesome material like Picture Stories from Science, Picture Stories from American History, Picture Stories from World History, and Picture Stories from the Bible...which ran material based on the Old Testament!
They added a second series of Bible tales, this time from the New Testament, kicking off with Christ's birth!
Suprisingly, as you'll see, the gave very little attention to the actual event, covering the whole thing in only 1 1/2pages!

Picture Stories from the Bible: New Testament Edition

Holiday Reading Room FIRST CHRISTMAS IN NEW SUPER 3DIMENSION Conclusion

When Last We Left the Messiah...

...he had just been born!

So get out those red-blue glasses and let's continue..

This never-reprinted 1953 comic from Fiction House was one of numerous Bible-themed titles put out by various comics publishers to try to counteract the growing tide of anti-comics sentiment created by Fredric (Seduction of the Innocent) Wertham and his ilk, showing comic books could also be wholesome entertainment.

You can see Atlas/Marvel's version of the Nativity HERE, and DC/EC's take on the story HERE.
The writer and artist are unknown, but it's a sure bet they were part of the Iger Studio which "packaged" (provided editorial and art) for Fiction House's comics division.
The cover is by legendary sci-fi pulp and book illustrator Kelly Freas!

Merry

Christmas!!!

Holiday Reading Room FIRST CHRISTMAS IN NEW SUPER 3DIMENSION Part 1

Get out those red-blue 3-D glasses, kiddies...

...because we're about to add a whole new dimension to Christmas comics!

Be here Thursday for the astounding conclusion.

Spoiler: the comic, while chronologically going beyond the usual Christmas narrative, does not cover Jesus Christ's entire life story.

This never-reprinted 1953 comic from Fiction House was one of numerous Bible-themed titles put out by various comics publishers to try to counteract the growing tide of anti-comics sentiment created by Fredric (Seduction of the Innocent) Wertham and his ilk, showing comic books could also be wholesome entertainment.

You can see Atlas/Marvel's version of the Nativity HERE, and DC/EC's take on the story HERE.

For Fiction House, unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the last titles the comics division published, closing up in early 1954.

Fiction's pulp magazine department struggled until early 1955 when it, too, passed into oblivion.

Holiday Reading Room LIFE OF CHRIST: EASTER STORY "Resurrection"

Under this Scott McDaniel cover...

...is one of the most unusual tales Marvel Comics ever told!

(And that's saying a lot!)

Written by Louise Simonson, pencilled by Mary Wilshire and Colleen Doran, and inked by Bill Anderson, this 1993 one-shot, co-published by Thomas Nelson Publishers is a companion volume to The Christmas Story by the same creative team, published earlier that year.

Easter Story tells the tale from Christ's entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to this final chapter, though we're running only the section taking place on Easter here.

If you'd like to buy a copy of the HTF comic, you can find it HERE.

Interestingly, Marvel.wika.com postulates Christmas Story and Easter Story link Jesus Christ into the Marvel Comics Universe!

Holiday Reading Room LIFE OF CHRIST "Christmas Story" Epilogue

Up to this point, you've read what everybody knows about the Birth of Christ...

...now, here's what most presentations in print, TV, movies, etc, don't cover...

Marvel and Nelson Publishing's joint imprint, Nelson Comics, published a sequel issue called Life of Christ "Easter Story", which we'll run around (obviously) Easter!

BTW, the cover shown above was from a special reprint done for the Christian Broadcasting Network! which is now part of ABC's FreeForm network.