"The Spectre" #12 (2002) - DC Comics J.M. DeMatteis

"The Spectre of Christmas"
"The Spectre" (Volume 4) #12 (2002)
DC Comics 
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Ryan Sook

Here's another comic book that features the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in a different setting - the world of The Spectre!

The Spectre also meets Charles Dickens in the story and, amusingly, Scrooge is mad at Dickens for doing such a good job of portraying him as a miser that people forget he actually reformed at the end of the story!

In any event, it's interesting, but I admit I don't really have a grasp of the whole thing. Somehow Hal Jordan is now The Spectre and not The Green Lantern!

I must look into this!

The Dark Knight Returns!

 You may recall that Funko released a "Batman as Ebenezer Scrooge" Pop! figure last holiday season.

Well, he's back this year as a little plush figure:

And, in a color variant, as an ornament:

Pretty fun!

Wayne Boring Original Art

So, what's the deal with this piece of art by legendary comic book artist Wayne Boring?

Check it out:

This is another mystery. I've only seen this on the Heritage Auctions website and they don't have any info about it either.

Was it part of some project that went unrealized? When's it from? Looks like the 1960s?

It doesn't really look much like Wayne Boring's work to me, which I'm familiar with from his work on the Superman comic books. He was the Superman artist of the 1950s.

This art has more of a, say, "Mad" magazine Paul Coker, Jr. vibe to me, but you can see Wayne's name on the bottom right.

Here's a few representations of Wayne Boring's Superman, which is instantly recognizable to me:

But the art from "A Christmas Carol" is another mystery. When Nick Carter is done with Otto Kruger and Uncle Toby, we have another case for him!

Funko Pop! Heroes #355 "Batman as Ebenezer Scrooge" (2020)

Batman as Ebenezer Scrooge" (2020)
Funko Pop! Heroes #355

Just got my mitts on this brand-new Funko Pop! figure:

Batman as Ebenezer Scrooge? Brilliant I say!

The above picture is my personal figure, but here's the stock photo, which are always stylish:

My first post with a "2020s" tag!

Fun!

Still More Teen Titans!

 

OK, one more Teen Titans thing!

There are 249 episodes of "Teen Titans Go!" so it's hard to keep track of which episode a certain scene may be from.

As a result, I'm having a hard time tracking down the source of this clip, but it's really fun:

OK, carry on!

Teen Titans Go! - "Black Friday" (November 13, 2013)

"Black Friday" (November 13, 2013)

Teen Titans Go!
Director: Peter Rida Michail
Scrooge Surrogate: Starfire

Before we say goodbye to the Teen Titans, we take a look at an episode of the wonderfully wacky series "Teen Titans Go!" from November 2019 entitled "Black Friday."

This actually a takeoff on "A Christmas Carol" with Starfire needing to be shown the "error" of her ways when she loses her enthusiasm for Black Friday (the nickname for the day following American Thanksgiving, the most notorious shopping day of the whole calendar year)!

These official video clips give you the idea:

Good fun!

I must admit that I prefer the earlier "Teen Titans" show that ran on Cartoon Network from 2003-2006, as it mixed the humor with serious action. "Teen Titans Go!" is a blast, but it's so over-the-top!

And "Teen Titans" has one of the best TV theme songs ever:

More Teen Titans!

So, the Teen Titans wacky take on "A Christmas Carol" as redubbed "The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol" is a lot of fun!

I first came across the story in this collection from 1975:

I loved these ginormously-sized DC Collectors' Editions! I think I may have had them all!

The story popped up again in this regular-sized comic from 1988:

I did not realize that both of those reprints were missing the awesome second page, including this exchange:

I just love Aqualad sort of breaking the fourth wall! That kid is dynamite!

The Teen Titans had their beginnings in issue #54 of "The Brave and the Bold" (July 1964), when that team-up mag featured sidekicks Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash in their own story:

It was well-received enough that they were joined by Wonder Girl and dubbed "Teen Titans" for issue #60 of "The Brave and the Bold" (July 1965):

One more tryout in Showcase #59 (December 1965):

And they were ready for their own comic book with a cover date of January 1966:

The idea of creating a team featuring super-hero sidekicks actually goes back to 1941, when Timely Comics (now Marvel) featured Bucky from Captain America and Toro from the Human Torch in the "Young Allies" series:

Of course, the Teen Titans are still around, as we will see next...

Teen Titans No. 13 (Jan-Feb 1968) - "The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol"

"The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol"
Teen Titans No. 13 (Jan-Feb 1968)
National Periodical Publications (DC Comics)
Script: Bob Haney
Art: Nick Cardy

We're now going to look at some loose comic book adaptations of "A Christmas Carol," starting with this Teen Titans story from Christmas of 1967: "The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol!"

This was presented in the thirteenth issues of the Titans' original comic book and has that wacky 1960s vibe to it!

The splash page as seen above pretty much sets the mood, as the Teen Titans "haunt" a Scrooge-like character.

The page above is a lot of fun, with the others reading their favorite DC comics while Robin reads "A Christmas Carol" - I always did like the cut of Robin's jib! This page, though, is usually edited out when the story is reprinted! What kind of a "Scrounge" would do that?

In any event, the team meets a modern cast of characters who closely resemble the characters from Robin's book:

And, naturally, they have a plan to rehabilitate Ebenezer Scrounge:

That plan, naturally, involves them pretending to be some familiar spirits!

First, Kid Flash acts as the Ghost of Christmas Past, using his speed to vibrate through the wall for an extra special effect!

Then Aqualad subs for the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Finally, Wonder Girl serves as what most be the attractive Ghost of Christmas Future (as she calls herself) ever!

Will the Teen Titans be able to defeat the bad guys and help Mr. Scrounge see the error of his ways. And will Tiny Tom Ratchet get that new wheelchair?

Happy ending ahead:

This is a fun story and you can track down reprints of it easily enough (although some without Page 2) to enjoy the whole story.

I love how it's full of wacky teenage slang that actual teenagers probably never said in their lives!