"A Christmas Carol" All-Star Team - Day 10

As our All-Star Team continues to grow, we have another Cratchit: Martha!

I find Martha Cratchit to be one of the most interesting side characters. We know a little more about her than many of the other minor characters.

She's the eldest of the Cratchit children, but probably still a teenager. She works as a "poor apprentice at a milliner's" and presumably sleeps there (as Ebenezer and Dick Wilkins slept in the back at Fezziwig's) since she was working the night before and that morning.

So, she had to work Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning. And her father thinks he has a tough boss!

There are lots of good Marthas out there, but one that really caught my eye is from the "Knockout Comic" adaptation from 1948.

Here's her sequence:

I think Hugh McNeill's art is outstanding and gives her a ton of personality in just a few panels!

We leave the Cratchit family for a bit, but we'll check in on Bob and Tiny Tim later in our countdown...

Knockout Comic #514 (January 1, 1949)

"Tod and Annie Hear the Story of 'A Christmas Carol'" (Part 5)

Knockout Comic #514 (January 1, 1949) 

Artist: Hugh McNeill

Mr. Print is all set to wrap up the story!

Here we go:

I like everything about this little series. Tight scripting and excellent artwork.

I like the framing story. In case you're wondering, Silas Stiggins catches up with them again and they must hit the road. But they had a Merry Christmas!

Knockout Comic #513 (December 25, 1948)

"Tod and Annie Hear the Story of 'A Christmas Carol'" (Part 4)

Knockout Comic #513 (December 25, 1948) 

Artist: Hugh McNeill

Let's get right to part 4 of the story:

This is an awesome representation of Fred's party!

Interesting that the kids with the Spirit are not Ignorance and Want, per se.

Next: the conclusion!

Knockout Comic #512 (December 18, 1948)

"Tod and Annie Hear the Story of 'A Christmas Carol'" (Part 3)

Knockout Comic #512 (December 18, 1948)

Artist: Hugh McNeill

Are you ready for Part 3? Tod and Annie are!

Let's check it out:

I think this has really nice artwork! Belle and Martha Cratchit are quite attractive!

Part 4 coming up!

Knockout Comic #511 (December 11, 1948)

"Tod and Annie Hear the Story of 'A Christmas Carol'" (Part 2)

Knockout Comic #511 (December 11, 1948) 

Artist: Hugh McNeill

Now Tod and Annie are ready for Mr. Print to tell the second part of "A Christmas Carol."

Let's "listen" in:

The Ghost of Christmas Past is the hardest to depict and I think the decision here to just depict it as a ray of light and a hand works well and doesn't clutter up the panels.

Apprentice Ebenezer and Dick Wilkins look appropriately young, it seems to me.

British kids in 1948 had to wait another week for the next part of the story, but like Tod and Annie, we only have to wait until tomorrow!

Knockout Comic #510 (December 4, 1948)

"Tod and Annie Hear the Story of 'A Christmas Carol'" (Part 1)

Knockout Comic #510 (December 4, 1948) 

Artist: Hugh McNeill

Now that Tod and Annie have met Mr. Print and retrieved his rare first edition of "A Christmas Carol," they (and we) are all set for the story to begin.

It's presented two pages at a time for five weeks, so it's a quick trip through the story, but it's pretty fun.

Let's take a look at that first part:

Scrooge here reminds me of Sir Seymour Hicks, not a stretch for 1940s England!

Next up: the story continues…

Knockout Comic #509 (November 27, 1948)

"Tough Tod and Happy Annie, The Runaway Orphans"

Knockout Comic #509 (November 27, 1948)

Artist: Hugh McNeill

More comic-ness as we drop in on Tod and Annie, two runaways whose adventures were chronicled in the British weekly comic "Knockout" in the late 1940s.

We join them now because this strip is the prologue to a fun little five-part series in which they have "A Christmas Carol" told to them.

Check it out and we'll start the story tomorrow:

Next: Part 1!