Trevor

Holiday Comic Book Challenge

What's a Comic Book Challenge?

- monthly threads to encourage more reading and discussion
- a way to figure out "what do I read next?"
- motivation to try different genres
- motivation to keep reading and make progress on our unread piles
- a place to get recommendations

How does it work?

- we pick a genre (or company, or title, or whatever) for a month
- we post in this thread and talk about what we plan to read and read throughout the month
- you could keep a spoilered list in one post and update it all month, or post as you read
- in theory the lists could be kept in a separate thread to allow for fancier formatting while avoiding clutter

What makes it a "challenge"?

- well, unofficially, the goal is to read 100 comics a month, but that isn't stressed
- the group discussion will challenge and encourage you to read more (the main goal of most participants I imagine)

Who can participate?

- anyone and everyone!
- you don't have to list your reading or even post at all to participate, but what's the fun in that?
- quasi-technically, anyone on the planet who reads a qualifying book for the month is a participant, whether they know it or not

When does it start and end?

- it begins at dusk on the last day of previous month, and ends at dawn on the first day of the next month
- this bonus time allows for possible "double counting" cross-Challenge content
- content eligible for both Challenges has the bonus of being able to be counted for all 24 hours of the last/first days of both Challenges

How does counting work?
- as with every other 'rule', we're pretty liberal and you can count any way you want really
- in general, a comic book counts as one
- for graphic novels and oversize books, feel free to count one for every twenty pages

Who wins?

- there are no losers, the person who reads one page a month is equal to the person who reads 20 books a day

What is the schedule?

January - TV/Movie/Book
February - Eisner/Harvey/Etc Winners
March - Rotating Company
April - TBD (random idea every year)
May - Make-Your-Own
June - Reality
July - Science Fiction
August - Fantasy
September - Outside-Your-Comfort-Zone
October - Horror
November - Comedy
December - Holiday (w/ bonus Thanksgiving and New Year's time)

Want a personal checklist to help you pick stuff to read?

Obviously you'll want to edit the below spoilered example checklist to fit your needs.

Trevor

Public domain links

Comic Book Plus, 1620 hits in 2018
http://comicbookplus.com/search/?cx=...=2371j730179j9

Digital Comics Museum, 63 mostly Dell hits in 2018
http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php?ACT=dosearch


As always, all holidays count, not just these major seasonal ones. Earlier years for ideas:

Year One
https://forum.dvdtalk.com/comic-book...1-02-15-a.html
Year Two
https://forum.dvdtalk.com/comic-book...1-02-16-a.html
Year Three
https://forum.dvdtalk.com/comic-book...1-02-17-a.html
Year Four
https://forum.dvdtalk.com/comic-book...1-02-18-a.html

shadokitty

I think I might be out this month. AFAIK, I don't have any comic books that take place on a holiday.

Trevor

Download the Hoopla app and link your library, lots of free comics. I’m sure The Long Halloween is there, and several Christmas Archies at least.

And remember:

Trevor

Also, if you’re in the mood for golden and silver age books, several sites host free public domain comics. One example, Comicbookplus has 1620 comics with a Christmas tag.

http://comicbookplus.com/search/?cx=...=2371j730179j9

shadokitty

Thanks for the tips, Trevor. I will gladly participate then. I didn't have much time last month, but things are starting to slow down at home now.

shadokitty

I started the challenge by reading The Night Before Christmas, which is available free to read on comic books plus. The artwork was beautiful.

shadokitty

I’m glad I sprung for the subscription to DC Universe. I was just browsing the site, and found the 87 Flash , and issue 73 just happened to be a Christmas issue, that even found a way to include all three Flash’s.

stingo

Read Rebirth Flash #13 - Date Night, which happens to be a holiday tale in the same way as Die Hard is.

Edited to add:
DC Holiday Special 2009
A Very Special DC Rebirth Holiday Sequel - The Flash and Sgt. Rock stories were my favorites in both collections. The darkest one (and a favorite too) was the Deadman story from 2009. Incidentally I believe the 2009 is FREE at Comixology just now.

Further Edited to add:
DC Nuclear Winter Special (2018) - Rather more sober stories than the previous DC holiday collections I've read. Favorites were Rip Hunter, Firestorm, Kamandi and Green Arrow
'Twas the Night Before Krampus - An interesting take (in black and white) on St. Nicholas and his counterpart Krampus.

Last edit:
Harley Quinn #9 Egg Noggin - A good holiday story to wrap up Rebirth Harley Quinn Vol. 2: Joker Loves Harley

davidh777

Reading this right now. The first part is mostly classic stuff from before my time, but still good reading.

PhantomStranger

It looks like fun reading.

Trevor

Motorcycle Samarai is always a fun read, with several free books to give you a taste, including Christmas and Hanukkah specials.
https://www.comixology.com/Motorcycl...N0L09uZVNob3Rz
https://www.comixology.com/The-Motor...l-comic/473526

Trevor

davidh777

Not sure why I never read this story before, but it's a good one. Clearly I need to start going through all the Barks/Rosa Fantagraphics volumes I've been acquiring.

davidh777

I didn't like Christmas on Bear Mountain as much as Shacktown, but I didn't realize it was the first appearance of Scrooge McDuck!

Trevor

That two volume hardcover has been sitting sealed at the foot of my bed for like two years. I so want to read it, but my ‘save the best for last’ keeps kicking in. Looking for some Christmas treasuries for today.

davidh777

Why do I get the feeling you're going to be 95 years old and posting on this forum about still saving the best for last?

Trevor

I’d be cool with that, but I’m not sure DVDTalk will be here in 40+ years.

Finishing off the Challenge with some dual credit binge reading, including some Treasury editions, a Hellboy winter special, and the original Classics Illustrated A Christmas Carol.

davidh777

This was OK--just a batch of throwaway one-offs.



I get nostalgic when I see these covers, but the stories themselves are probably no better.

PhantomStranger

For some reason I love that DC Superstar Holiday Special's cover. Were Jonah Hex and the House of Mystery really ever superstars?