DC Comics' finest talents have assembled to bring you a holiday sequel like you've never seen before! Join Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash as they deliver powerful messages of hope as only the World's Greatest Super Heroes can!
Plus: Sgt. Rock fights the Nazis on Hanukkah, the Teen Titans take on the literal Ghost of Christmas Past and Swamp Thing battles that creeping feeling of existential dread! And don't miss the legendary Denny O'Neil's return to comics with a can't-miss Batman story!
Comics creators Tom King, Jeff Lemire, Greg Rucka, Christopher Priest, Benjamin Percy, Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, Joshua Williamson, Phil Hester, Steve Epting, Bilquis Evely, Francesco Francavilla and many more craft the greatest superhero holiday sequel ever!
Collecting:DC Holiday Special 2017 #1, Green Arrow Annual #1, Batgirl #18 and Trinity #16.
Paul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Duck Dodgers. He also developed and scripted Krypto the Superdog and contributed scripts to Animaniacs (he created Minerva Mink), Freakazoid, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. After leaving Warner Bros. In early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the popular ABC adventure series Lost.
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
Ho, ho… no! DC try and fail to be festively entertaining with their utterly dismal book A Very DC Rebirth Holiday Sequel.
Superman and Constantine talk inanely about hope in a pub; Batman stops a burglar haunted by a ghost; Green Arrow and Black Canary save some presents; Flash takes stranded airport passengers back home in time for Christmas; Deathstroke spends some time with his shitty family; Starfire learns the meaning of Christmas. And on and on. They’re such boring, unimaginative and cheeseball stories!
Also included with the holiday special are Green Arrow Annual #1, Batgirl #18 and Trinity #16, all of which reminded me why I’m not reading any of those titles! Ollie fights some guy who causes mean hallucinations; Batgirl goes on a pointless scavenger hunt set up by Harley; Deadshot fights Kobra with a little help from Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Yawn. Not a single one of those issues was worth reading!
Ironically, the one halfway decent story wasn’t Christmas-themed at all: Tom King and Francesco Francavilla’s Sgt Rock short. Set during WW2, a Jewish American soldier guards his hostage, a Nazi officer, in the snowy woods over the course of a week. Except he’s wounded - will he survive long enough for backup to arrive? Now I want to read a Sgt Rock series by these two creators!
A decent eight-page short though isn’t enough to recommend this rubbish - steer well clear of A Very DC Rebirth Holiday Sequel for a jollier holiday season!
Collects DC's Holiday special along with some Holiday related single issues to fill it out to trade size. DC did break out some of its bigger creators for this holiday special.
John Constantine and Clark Kent in The Reminder by Jeff Lemire & Giuseppe Camuncoli Constantine and Clark Kent are both hanging out separately in Bibbo's bar where Superman is feeling a little down.
Batman in Twas the Night Before Christmas by Denny O'Neil & Steve Epting Batman stops a kidnapper haunted by his Grandmother's ghost.
Green Arrow and Black Canary in You Better Think Twice by Mairghread Scott & Phil Hester Green Arrow and Black Canary are getting ready to pop into the local orphanage to play Santa when they witness a robbery. One of the better stories in here.
Sgt. Rock in Going Down Easy by Tom King & Francesco Frankavilla A wounded soldier hold his German prisoner while waiting in the woods for help. Not anything to do with the holidays but a good war story.
Flash in Hope for the Holidays by Joshua Williamson & Neil Googe The Flash fights the Rainbow Raider and helps some people stranded at the airport. Good stuff.
Deathstroke in A Wilson Family Christmas by Priest & Tom Grummett A flashback to one of Slade's Christmases before everything went wrong with his family and he lost an eye. Good stuff.
The Atomic Knights in Silent Knights by Dan DiDio & Matthew Clark The atomic Knights live in some weird alternate universe where a nuclear bomb went off in 1986. This is about some mistrust with tree people that look like the brooms from Fantasia.
Teen Titans in Holiday Spirit by Shea Fontana & Otto Schmidt A spirit that eats sorrow preys upon the people of San Francisco.
Swamp Thing in The Echo of the Abyss by Scott Bryan Wilson & Nic Klein An astronaut goes crazy when there's talk of nuclear war on Earth. Swamp Thing shows up through the mistletoe. It's an all around odd story.
Wonder Woman and Batman in Solstice by Greg Rucka & Bilquis Evely A story about how Batman and Wonder Woman live in the darkness while Superman makes his own light. Not great.
Batman in The Silent Night of the Batman by Mike Friedrich & Neal Adams Batman sings Christmas carols with the police department while criminals change their minds and do the right thing. One of those goofy stories from the seventies.
Green Arrow in Ghosts in the Machine by Benjamin Percy & Eleonora Carlini A story from a Green Arrow annual about people's memories being manipulated. It's crap. So is Carlini's art.
Batgirl in White Elephant by Hope Larson & Sami Basri Batgirl has to help a rich douche bag after Harley Quin poisons him. Meh.
The Trinity in Old Acquaintance by Rob Williams & V. Ken Marion Batman and Deathstroke are trying to find Deathstroke's daughter who has been kidnapped by Kobra. Wonder Woman and Superman show up to help too.
I really liked the introduction of John Constantine and Clark Kent at the bar in The Reminder: 4.5 Batman’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas felt a little odd with a hostile granny ghost: 3 Enjoyed Green Arrow & Black Canary’s banter and view points on this time of year in You Better Think Twice: 4 SGT. Rock in Going Down Easy!: 3.5 at first I didn’t care for the passage of time, but then it revealed that it was a reference to Hanukkah Flash in Hope for the Holidays: I thought Flash carrying the people stranded at the airport was meh, 3 Deathstroke in A Wilson Family Christmas: 3 Atomic Knights in Silent Night: thanks for having me look up trefoils I guess, 3 Teen Titans in Holiday Spirit: love TT, the SF setting, and the play on the word spirit 4.5 Swamp Thing Echo of the Abyss: thought it was an interesting premise, yay space and plants 4 Wonder Woman & Batman in Solstice: 4 ___________ Silent Night of the Batman: a little old fashioned and sentimental, 3 Ghosts in the Machine, a green arrow story: felt predictable, meh 2.5 White Elephant, a Batwoman story: 3, I liked Barbra’s friends and Harley’s antics Old acquaintances, Batman and deadshot: 4, I liked the inclusion of Wonder Woman and Superman on New Year’s Eve
3.5, rounded up No green lantern stories and I missed having something to connect or introduce the stories — I know the first one bookends most of the stories but it didn’t feel like it connected the stories all that well. I did like that there was at least one Hanukkah story, Solstice was represented, and New Year’s.
I'm ignoring everything but the actual holiday special issue. The other issues can probably be read elsewhere, in context with their respective series. But the holiday issue stands on its own. The framing device (Superman having his yearly crisis of faith and being bolstered by assorted stories from around the DCU) is flimsy as heck, but it does the trick. The actual short stories range from merely good to outstanding. The WWII era Sgt. Rock story is the star, in my opinion. Sure, it doesn't have that much to do with any holiday, but it's a stellar piece of work. If you're going to buy, just track down the holiday issue by itself, but it's well worth reading.
New material not as good as the first DC Rebirth Holiday title with very short 8 to 10 page stories featuring many characters from the DC universe. Not much compelling storytelling in the first half. Thankfully the second half features encore tales from the past with longer and more entertaining stories.
A nice little Christmas read. I liked the first volume better--it seemed a little more fun, whereas this one had some darker stories (also, this one featured some characters I either (A) Didn't know, or (B) Didn't really care about)--but still, if you're looking for some nice Christmas stories, this volume definitely delivers. My favorite was probably the last one, featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman helping Deadshot find his kidnapped daughter--and, in the end, having to save their own families as well. I also liked the Batman/Wonder Woman story about light vs. darkness, with a theme that can actually be summarized using a Dumbledore quote: “It is important to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay though never quite eradicated.” I also got a nice little kick out of Constantine coming over to the Kents' for Christmas: a little chuckle and lots of Jon Kent cuteness (which is always a plus for me). So if you're looking for something that will put you in the holiday spirit while also delivering on superhero action--then this is definitely worth picking up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
John Constantine and Clark Kent find themselves in the same bar as snow falls on Metropolis; Green Arrow and Black Canary play Santa at the orphanage; some of this is classic, heartwarming, meaning of Christmas stuff. Other stories go to the darker corners of midwinter, as when a Jewish member of Easy Company is bleeding out with his gun on a Nazi officer. But the talent is generally impressive (Lemire, Camuncoli, Francavilla, Bilquis Evely, Denny O'Neil) and the results effective. This year's entry suggested that DC is losing the knack even of doing these seasonal specials, but here, a few years back, they were catching stardust more often than not – although the Green Arrow and Trinity issues with which this is padded out are very much Boxing Day leftovers, and the Batgirl issue, while a little better, still ends up so cloying and didactic that it feels like Hallmark: The Performatively Progressive Years.
The first DC Rebirth Holiday Special didn't set a particularly high bar, but this sequel failed to clear it. The stories are weirder (but not in a good way) and even less interesting, and further from the Holiday spirit. The art is decent throughout, but nothing special again, and the stories are just out there even by DC standards. Not particularly recommended.
Comics do Holiday Stories the best of any genre. There is something so wonderful about seeing your favorite heroes celebrate the season. These stories cover many of DC comics favorite characters
I literally can't find any other word to describe this comic. From a story about evil Santa fighting a war against sentient trees to ringing in the year with the big three only to end on the most depressing note I have read in a comic to date (a list that includes Watchmen and V for Vendetta)... like wtf?! This was a collective disaster as all stories had different writers.
Bless the artists, man. They are to be commended, especially when the writing was overall very rushed and super hacky. Each story felt like it needed another page (or three!) to feel complete but I guess DC has never heard the phrase to many cooks spoil the broth...The broth (this comic) was spoiled guys!
Just read the first DC Rebirth Holiday collection, save yourself from the confusion and annoyance. Bah Humbug.
The holiday special is actually really good. Every story is well written and well drawn, the Sgt. Rock one being the pinnacle. I didn’t care for the other three specials at all. Maybe that’s because I haven’t read the Rebirth titles they come from, but I still think I wouldn’t have liked them. These issues have some decent art, though.