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DC's I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus (2025-) #1
Ah, the holidays. A time for joy and togetherness, presents and carols…and emotions, drama, and chaos galore. Join our merry gang of heroes and villains as they navigate the highs and lows of holiday romance. Supergirl kicks off her winter vacation with a blind date! Galaxy tries (and fails) to clear her superhero-ing schedule to spend Hanukkah with her sweetheart! And so much more! Warm up your winter with this collection of heartwarming and heart-racing tales coming to shelves this holiday season!
Kindle Edition
Published November 26, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 18, 2025
4.8/10
Ok, this isn't a terrible book and it could have been a 3 or even a 4 star book, but i felt like some of the stories are here only to increase the amount of pages and the price. They didn't feel Christmasy at all.
My favourite probably is 'It's a wonderful life'.
Ok, this isn't a terrible book and it could have been a 3 or even a 4 star book, but i felt like some of the stories are here only to increase the amount of pages and the price. They didn't feel Christmasy at all.
My favourite probably is 'It's a wonderful life'.
November 28, 2025
the harlivy story was so cute
December 20, 2025
3.75 stars
Up On the Rooftops - 3.5 stars
Cuffing Season - 4.5 stars
The Holiday Getaway - 4 stars
It’s a Wonderful Life - 4 stars
Shine in the Silence - 4 stars
I’ll Be Home For Hanukkah - 3.5 stars
Holiday Woes - 3.5 stars
A Martian on 34th Street - 3 stars
Up On the Rooftops - 3.5 stars
Cuffing Season - 4.5 stars
The Holiday Getaway - 4 stars
It’s a Wonderful Life - 4 stars
Shine in the Silence - 4 stars
I’ll Be Home For Hanukkah - 3.5 stars
Holiday Woes - 3.5 stars
A Martian on 34th Street - 3 stars
November 27, 2025
I’m not sure I’ve read many specials as consistently good as this. There was some shipping going on through a few of these issues that caught me off guard, but overall each of these stories was a banger, and everyone understood the assignment. Just further proof of the power of promoting lesser known creators in this format, I love it. And consistently the art for each story was really good. So I’ll dive in and give some notes on each story. The first one dives in with a story containing the name sake of the issue, DC’s lesser know first female superhero: Ma Hunkel aka Red Tornado. This story actually takes place at the JSA HQ, Brownstone, in the present day. There a Christmas party is underway and cyclone is happy to see her Aunt Amelia. Seeing all of these heroes together actually reminds her of her favorite Christmas back in ‘42 with her mother, red tornado, and her brother when they were going by the cyclone kids. They lived in NYC and couldn’t afford what Amelia’s classmates described as a “normal,” Christmas, causing her to become quite upset. So her mom dawned her red tornado gear and got Amelia in her super suit and decided to show her something. The pair proceeded to go around tonal their other super hero friends and family. Checking in on doctor fate in the tower of fate, handing out food with Alan Scott in Limbo Town, sneaking up on Hawkman and Hawkwoman sharing a moment of love, handing out toys to kids with Johnny Thunder. And slowly but surely Amelia’s mood changes to one of happiness as her mom showed her a Christmas spent with family, and it ended up being a way better Christmas that ended with helping spectre fight gentleman ghost. As we cut back to the present day we can see once more the family they are surrounded with and a time displaced Ma Hunkel telling stories to all the younger JSA members just in time for diner. I’m not sure who invited the question, lol, but I love seeing all these characters share moments together.
The second story follows Billy Batson as he navigates his life as the captain…and getting invited by a girl to the winter formal. As fate would have it, after saving keystone city from a giant cat, he was asked by a local reporter to swing by the high school dance to help promote the fundraiser. With his dance partner already setup he was hesitant but with it being for charity he couldn’t help but promise to swing by. This of course cascaded into a series of events where it turns out his date’s mom is the reporter, meaning Freddy gets to laugh his ass off about Billy going to the dance with the mom and the daughter while providing backup for covering his constant disappearances throughout the night. As you can imagine Billy’s date got quite fed up they he kept disappearing and she eventually stormed out, only for Billy to catch up to her and apologize and show her something he put together because he was so worried about having the perfect night. Turns out he setup their own private dance with nice lights and music setup in a gondola in the park and it all came out to be quite perfect.
The next story follows Harley and Ivy on a holiday getaway to a cabin in the woods, masked murder not included, as Ivy reveals the real reason she wanted to come out there was to talk about their situation. She isn’t sure if Harley is actually serious about their relationship. She always sees Harley as being too hung up on the past and not wanting to move forward, and even when she recognizes her troubles she begins to bargain as if she is trying to hold onto something she isn’t anymore. But their emotional conversation is disrupted as they hear a thump in the other room. They are surprised to find vines growing sporadically throughout the house and going after them, Ivy can’t feel them at all in the green and Harley has already started smashing to no avail. Until Ivy realizes what is happening, her release of emotions triggered the plants to go after them and Harley immediately realizes what they have to do to get it to stop…so she grabs Ivy and embraces her in a kiss, telling her how sorry she is and how she is going to try to better, not perfect which neither of them expects…but really trying which is something they can both work with. At that point dinner is ruined so they decide to order takeout, who would deliver up there? Maybe they will get lucky and Harley’s dreams of a masked murderer will show up with the food, lol.
The next story is probably my favorite as it follows animal man on a very rough night. To stop a bank robbery he had to ditch his civilian clothes and the toys meant for his kids got smashed in the process. To make it worse the bank was insured anyway, making him wonder what the point of being a hero is. He is thinking all of this as he is about to step off of a bridge, which can seem odd but it fits with the story, as suddenly the phantom stranger comes to him in his time of long g and distress where Buddy believed he serves no purpose and is unwanted and worthless. Well…dude what the hell. Buddy wasn’t saying that at all and that’s way harsher…but then the stranger offers to take him on a vision through a life where he was never born. Buddy has seen this movie before and decides to go along, lol. First they travel to the past to the bank robbery he just dealt with and see the outcome if he wasn’t there…vixen would have stepped in and used her animal powers to save the day instead. HAHAHAHA. Alright that’s strange, nothing really changed and doesn’t make Buddy feel better but let’s go back a few years earlier to some of his earlier exploits. Turns out some of those days saved would have been saved by beast boy instead…another animal powered hero…starting to see the pattern? We aren’t done yet! What about all his time in the Justice league? Turns out freedom beast would have taken that spot instead and would have become a legendary hero! So all Buddy has accomplished in his life is running freedom beast’s life?! HAHAHAHA! But now we get to the real meat, what does he actually impact in his life…his family. Without Buddy his wife would be alone and overworked, but through their devoted relationship they have brought children and family into this world and none of that could have happened without him. Stranger’s point is that it’s not his job as a superhero that gives his life meaning, but his loved ones and how he supports them. Also stranger appends the conversation by mentioning the entire multiverse would have been doomed if he didn’t stop the rot…hahahaha! Also, Buddy wasn’t there to kill himself, but jump in the water and get fish powers to get home!! I honestly thought that was the case but still my favorite story here.
The next story follows the Justice league, but specifically focuses on doctor light. They are in the Vega system fighting the controllers and their deathly light based weapon that threatens the entire galaxy and for some reason Guy was put in charge. His nature of pushing forward and not listening to anyone’s advice really gets under doctor lights scientific skin, she has spent her entire life competing with mindsets like this, so alongside the atom she decides to take a bit of a stand. Taking leadership herself and enacting a plan that flawlessly sneaks them right into the central area with the bomb and allows them to channel the energy of the weapon through her to disarm it or die trying either way. I have to admit I got a little muddy on the details of the tech, but the point is they were successful because of Doctor light’s quick thinking and back on the watchtower no one saw that better than Ray. It seems they are more alike than they know, and compared to a lot of the gods around them, they are able to genuinely see each other and their intellects beyond their powers. I’m not sure who had shipping doctor light and the atom on their bingo card or if this has been a thing teased before, but it’s very new to me but still very sweet as the story ends with Ray sneaking nano bots into Guy’s food and with the flip of a trigger causes him to go running for the bathroom.
The next story follows a character I really haven’t been introduced to: Galaxy. This has to be one of the quickest turn around characters from graphic novel to main comic lines, right?! I jumped in during DC All in, but I see where they showed up in the Hawkgirl series, that’s pretty cool. Galaxy is a purple alien with green following hair that has energy manipulation and a really healthy relationship with their Jewish partner. Which is where the crux of this story lies, as Galaxy is not Jewish themselves but has somewhat been adopted into it and Hanukkah was the first holiday they celebrated on Earth. And seeing the story of lighting a candle to face the darkness after surviving their war torn world left an impact. This is why it makes it much harder that Galaxy keeps running off to JLU missions whenever they can, ending up with them arriving home massively late. Oh also…they have a pet flying corgi that aids them on missions…cool. Trouble really brews this issue Galaxy attempted to head home for the final night of Hanukah, only for her ex girlfriend, who gets more power in galaxy’s presence, to attack her. Hilariously the fight ends because Galaxy’s current partner hits the ex with an apokoliptian battle axe, something Galaxy picked up along the way during their adventures. The issue ends with the two reuniting, and Galaxy’s partner fully expressing that she understands Galaxy’s commitments. But that doesn’t mean Galaxy has to abandon all festivities, as she takes her partner’s hand and flies her above metropolis, Galaxy uses their energy manipulation powers to light up lights across the skyscrapers of the city to look like the candles lit during Hanukkah.
The next story contains a ship I am more aware of and generally neutral to under the right circumstances, and this is one of them as it was done quite well. The story follows Kara heading back to Smallville to celebrate the holidays, except she is the new protector of national city and she is racked with fears about anything bad happening. But not to worry Kara, Clark has an even more stressful thing to dump on your plate…during the Smallville holiday celebrations he set you up with a blind date! His old friend Pete Ross’ son! And to truly keep it a blind date hallmark movie scenario, he isn’t telling her his name or what he looks like! You may see where this is going. As they arrive to the center of town and Clark and Lois head off to standby in case she doesn’t like the guy and needs to retreat, suddenly she is on her own when a guy fully walks into her…because that’s the way to start any conversation. He is a slightly taller gentlemen with glasses and she helps him up, immediately assuming he is Pete’s son and he does nothing to correct her. The two immediately hit it off but in a very platonic way. Both of them agree they are always tied up in work. He is a computer scientist, some would say he is quite brainy. All during their conversation Kara is also zipping off to save national city from meteors, purse snatchers, and even cats stuck in trees. When you try and handle so much, it starts to get to you a bit and it’s definitely showing on Kara’s face. But this guy was also here to tell her that’s okay, and to reminder her the world isn’t totally on her shoulders and she has friends and family willing to help. Which is also something totally okay with focusing on instead of a family. But that doesn’t mean the two can’t be friends and Kara actually asks to get his number and grab some coffee sometime…only to turn around and find out he was gone! Suddenly Clark and Lois walk over with her real blind date, who got a little lost, but Kara really isn’t up for a date right now and has decided she would way rather spend it with family. She did mention the friend she made during all of this, but isn’t sure where he went. As this story comes to an end we see the man walking away and shifting back into his natural state as brainiac 5!! Hahahaha, that time traveling romantic.
And then this collection of stories comes to an end on a fairly high note, as it’s revealed that J’onn J’onzz, in an effort to learn more about the nature of Christmas and humans, has been going around disguised as Santa Clause to listen to what children wish for Christmas. But the. He came to the down aptly named Vanity, and there he found no one willing to talk to him, even further it seemed everyone held disdain for him. All except one little girl who snuck up and talked to him. She revealed that a big storm came through and destroyed all the declarations, but instead of picking them back up everyone grew cold and unhappy and all the little girl wishes now is for Santa to bring joy back to their world. J’onn immediately recognized the signs of an invasive species, and opened his mind out to the town. There he let himself be carried to the epicenter where he found Krampus. On his world they celebrated a specific holiday to fight away creatures like this, things they called frightphages. It used the pain of the storm to ride the fear of the storm and feed on it. But that also means that mars developed a way to drive these creatures away, so J’onn opened his mind and poured out memories of joy to banish the creature and restore the town. As the story comes to an end, J’onn returns to his role as Santa and finds the town fully changed, the season of joy has been brought back to them and that little girl from before came to personally thank him. All of these stories are so sweet and definitely passed the vibe check.
The second story follows Billy Batson as he navigates his life as the captain…and getting invited by a girl to the winter formal. As fate would have it, after saving keystone city from a giant cat, he was asked by a local reporter to swing by the high school dance to help promote the fundraiser. With his dance partner already setup he was hesitant but with it being for charity he couldn’t help but promise to swing by. This of course cascaded into a series of events where it turns out his date’s mom is the reporter, meaning Freddy gets to laugh his ass off about Billy going to the dance with the mom and the daughter while providing backup for covering his constant disappearances throughout the night. As you can imagine Billy’s date got quite fed up they he kept disappearing and she eventually stormed out, only for Billy to catch up to her and apologize and show her something he put together because he was so worried about having the perfect night. Turns out he setup their own private dance with nice lights and music setup in a gondola in the park and it all came out to be quite perfect.
The next story follows Harley and Ivy on a holiday getaway to a cabin in the woods, masked murder not included, as Ivy reveals the real reason she wanted to come out there was to talk about their situation. She isn’t sure if Harley is actually serious about their relationship. She always sees Harley as being too hung up on the past and not wanting to move forward, and even when she recognizes her troubles she begins to bargain as if she is trying to hold onto something she isn’t anymore. But their emotional conversation is disrupted as they hear a thump in the other room. They are surprised to find vines growing sporadically throughout the house and going after them, Ivy can’t feel them at all in the green and Harley has already started smashing to no avail. Until Ivy realizes what is happening, her release of emotions triggered the plants to go after them and Harley immediately realizes what they have to do to get it to stop…so she grabs Ivy and embraces her in a kiss, telling her how sorry she is and how she is going to try to better, not perfect which neither of them expects…but really trying which is something they can both work with. At that point dinner is ruined so they decide to order takeout, who would deliver up there? Maybe they will get lucky and Harley’s dreams of a masked murderer will show up with the food, lol.
The next story is probably my favorite as it follows animal man on a very rough night. To stop a bank robbery he had to ditch his civilian clothes and the toys meant for his kids got smashed in the process. To make it worse the bank was insured anyway, making him wonder what the point of being a hero is. He is thinking all of this as he is about to step off of a bridge, which can seem odd but it fits with the story, as suddenly the phantom stranger comes to him in his time of long g and distress where Buddy believed he serves no purpose and is unwanted and worthless. Well…dude what the hell. Buddy wasn’t saying that at all and that’s way harsher…but then the stranger offers to take him on a vision through a life where he was never born. Buddy has seen this movie before and decides to go along, lol. First they travel to the past to the bank robbery he just dealt with and see the outcome if he wasn’t there…vixen would have stepped in and used her animal powers to save the day instead. HAHAHAHA. Alright that’s strange, nothing really changed and doesn’t make Buddy feel better but let’s go back a few years earlier to some of his earlier exploits. Turns out some of those days saved would have been saved by beast boy instead…another animal powered hero…starting to see the pattern? We aren’t done yet! What about all his time in the Justice league? Turns out freedom beast would have taken that spot instead and would have become a legendary hero! So all Buddy has accomplished in his life is running freedom beast’s life?! HAHAHAHA! But now we get to the real meat, what does he actually impact in his life…his family. Without Buddy his wife would be alone and overworked, but through their devoted relationship they have brought children and family into this world and none of that could have happened without him. Stranger’s point is that it’s not his job as a superhero that gives his life meaning, but his loved ones and how he supports them. Also stranger appends the conversation by mentioning the entire multiverse would have been doomed if he didn’t stop the rot…hahahaha! Also, Buddy wasn’t there to kill himself, but jump in the water and get fish powers to get home!! I honestly thought that was the case but still my favorite story here.
The next story follows the Justice league, but specifically focuses on doctor light. They are in the Vega system fighting the controllers and their deathly light based weapon that threatens the entire galaxy and for some reason Guy was put in charge. His nature of pushing forward and not listening to anyone’s advice really gets under doctor lights scientific skin, she has spent her entire life competing with mindsets like this, so alongside the atom she decides to take a bit of a stand. Taking leadership herself and enacting a plan that flawlessly sneaks them right into the central area with the bomb and allows them to channel the energy of the weapon through her to disarm it or die trying either way. I have to admit I got a little muddy on the details of the tech, but the point is they were successful because of Doctor light’s quick thinking and back on the watchtower no one saw that better than Ray. It seems they are more alike than they know, and compared to a lot of the gods around them, they are able to genuinely see each other and their intellects beyond their powers. I’m not sure who had shipping doctor light and the atom on their bingo card or if this has been a thing teased before, but it’s very new to me but still very sweet as the story ends with Ray sneaking nano bots into Guy’s food and with the flip of a trigger causes him to go running for the bathroom.
The next story follows a character I really haven’t been introduced to: Galaxy. This has to be one of the quickest turn around characters from graphic novel to main comic lines, right?! I jumped in during DC All in, but I see where they showed up in the Hawkgirl series, that’s pretty cool. Galaxy is a purple alien with green following hair that has energy manipulation and a really healthy relationship with their Jewish partner. Which is where the crux of this story lies, as Galaxy is not Jewish themselves but has somewhat been adopted into it and Hanukkah was the first holiday they celebrated on Earth. And seeing the story of lighting a candle to face the darkness after surviving their war torn world left an impact. This is why it makes it much harder that Galaxy keeps running off to JLU missions whenever they can, ending up with them arriving home massively late. Oh also…they have a pet flying corgi that aids them on missions…cool. Trouble really brews this issue Galaxy attempted to head home for the final night of Hanukah, only for her ex girlfriend, who gets more power in galaxy’s presence, to attack her. Hilariously the fight ends because Galaxy’s current partner hits the ex with an apokoliptian battle axe, something Galaxy picked up along the way during their adventures. The issue ends with the two reuniting, and Galaxy’s partner fully expressing that she understands Galaxy’s commitments. But that doesn’t mean Galaxy has to abandon all festivities, as she takes her partner’s hand and flies her above metropolis, Galaxy uses their energy manipulation powers to light up lights across the skyscrapers of the city to look like the candles lit during Hanukkah.
The next story contains a ship I am more aware of and generally neutral to under the right circumstances, and this is one of them as it was done quite well. The story follows Kara heading back to Smallville to celebrate the holidays, except she is the new protector of national city and she is racked with fears about anything bad happening. But not to worry Kara, Clark has an even more stressful thing to dump on your plate…during the Smallville holiday celebrations he set you up with a blind date! His old friend Pete Ross’ son! And to truly keep it a blind date hallmark movie scenario, he isn’t telling her his name or what he looks like! You may see where this is going. As they arrive to the center of town and Clark and Lois head off to standby in case she doesn’t like the guy and needs to retreat, suddenly she is on her own when a guy fully walks into her…because that’s the way to start any conversation. He is a slightly taller gentlemen with glasses and she helps him up, immediately assuming he is Pete’s son and he does nothing to correct her. The two immediately hit it off but in a very platonic way. Both of them agree they are always tied up in work. He is a computer scientist, some would say he is quite brainy. All during their conversation Kara is also zipping off to save national city from meteors, purse snatchers, and even cats stuck in trees. When you try and handle so much, it starts to get to you a bit and it’s definitely showing on Kara’s face. But this guy was also here to tell her that’s okay, and to reminder her the world isn’t totally on her shoulders and she has friends and family willing to help. Which is also something totally okay with focusing on instead of a family. But that doesn’t mean the two can’t be friends and Kara actually asks to get his number and grab some coffee sometime…only to turn around and find out he was gone! Suddenly Clark and Lois walk over with her real blind date, who got a little lost, but Kara really isn’t up for a date right now and has decided she would way rather spend it with family. She did mention the friend she made during all of this, but isn’t sure where he went. As this story comes to an end we see the man walking away and shifting back into his natural state as brainiac 5!! Hahahaha, that time traveling romantic.
And then this collection of stories comes to an end on a fairly high note, as it’s revealed that J’onn J’onzz, in an effort to learn more about the nature of Christmas and humans, has been going around disguised as Santa Clause to listen to what children wish for Christmas. But the. He came to the down aptly named Vanity, and there he found no one willing to talk to him, even further it seemed everyone held disdain for him. All except one little girl who snuck up and talked to him. She revealed that a big storm came through and destroyed all the declarations, but instead of picking them back up everyone grew cold and unhappy and all the little girl wishes now is for Santa to bring joy back to their world. J’onn immediately recognized the signs of an invasive species, and opened his mind out to the town. There he let himself be carried to the epicenter where he found Krampus. On his world they celebrated a specific holiday to fight away creatures like this, things they called frightphages. It used the pain of the storm to ride the fear of the storm and feed on it. But that also means that mars developed a way to drive these creatures away, so J’onn opened his mind and poured out memories of joy to banish the creature and restore the town. As the story comes to an end, J’onn returns to his role as Santa and finds the town fully changed, the season of joy has been brought back to them and that little girl from before came to personally thank him. All of these stories are so sweet and definitely passed the vibe check.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2025
The cover is so fun! Imo this started weak, then got better and better. 3,5 star average
Up on the Rooftops - Sebastian Bader 2☆
Ma Hunkel
Cute enough, but as someone who's relatively new at comics, who doesn't really know anyone in this story, it felt a bit lackluster, unfortunately.
Cuffing Season - Ashley Allen 2☆
The Captain
Silly stor, bit cliché, teen hallmark Christmas movie vibes
The holiday Getaway - Dave Baker 2,5☆☆☆
Harley & Ivy
I liked the serious parts and some of the humor was really good, but I'm kinda sad the ending is Harley getting away without having to be serious again.
It's a wonderful life - Marley Halpern-Graser 3,5☆
Animal Man
Between 3,5 and 4 stars. I like how realistic this was. A fun take on a Christmas Caroll, and actually really funny imo. So far the funniest story I've read. Maybe I should read some animal man sometime.
Shine in the silence - Nathan Cayanan 4☆
Dr. Light.
Guy got on my nerves, but Atom and Doctor Light were great. Would love to read more about them.
I'll be home for Hannukah - Jadzia Axelrod
Galaxy 2,5☆
Cute but also very halmarky. Galaxy too busy with work to celebrate together, the common trope. I absolutely loved the art and coloring of this one though!
Holiday Woes - Ash Padila 4☆
Supergirl
This was very cute, they'd make a good couple, even if I personally don't know who he is xD
A marathon on 34th Street - Steve Orlando 4,5☆
Martian Manhunter
This one was probably the most interesting one out of all of them. The inclusion of Krampus, the lore about Mars, the feelgood Christmas vibes, they all worked together in a great way.
Up on the Rooftops - Sebastian Bader 2☆
Ma Hunkel
Cute enough, but as someone who's relatively new at comics, who doesn't really know anyone in this story, it felt a bit lackluster, unfortunately.
Cuffing Season - Ashley Allen 2☆
The Captain
Silly stor, bit cliché, teen hallmark Christmas movie vibes
The holiday Getaway - Dave Baker 2,5☆☆☆
Harley & Ivy
I liked the serious parts and some of the humor was really good, but I'm kinda sad the ending is Harley getting away without having to be serious again.
It's a wonderful life - Marley Halpern-Graser 3,5☆
Animal Man
Between 3,5 and 4 stars. I like how realistic this was. A fun take on a Christmas Caroll, and actually really funny imo. So far the funniest story I've read. Maybe I should read some animal man sometime.
Shine in the silence - Nathan Cayanan 4☆
Dr. Light.
Guy got on my nerves, but Atom and Doctor Light were great. Would love to read more about them.
I'll be home for Hannukah - Jadzia Axelrod
Galaxy 2,5☆
Cute but also very halmarky. Galaxy too busy with work to celebrate together, the common trope. I absolutely loved the art and coloring of this one though!
Holiday Woes - Ash Padila 4☆
Supergirl
This was very cute, they'd make a good couple, even if I personally don't know who he is xD
A marathon on 34th Street - Steve Orlando 4,5☆
Martian Manhunter
This one was probably the most interesting one out of all of them. The inclusion of Krampus, the lore about Mars, the feelgood Christmas vibes, they all worked together in a great way.
December 22, 2025
DC’s I Saw Ma Hunkle Kissing Santa Claus #1 is a DC Comics issue written by Sebastian Bader, Ashley Allen, Dave Barker, Marley Halpern-Graser, Nathan Cavanan, Jadzia Axelrod, Ash Padilla, and Steve Orlando with art by Scott Kolins, Bruno Abdias, Nicole Goux, Jon Mikel, Michael Shelfer, Hannah Templer, Anthony Marques, and Riley Rossmo.
An anthology and holiday-inspired stories involving Ma Hunkle, Captain Marvel, Poison Ivy & Harley Quinn, Dr. Light & The Atom, The Question & Animal Man, Galaxy, Supergirl, and Martian Manhunter.
I’ll start off with saying DC has been killing it lately with the pun’s naming their holiday and seasonal anthology issues. There are a few stories that stand out but most felt generic or too Hallmark-y. While I appreciate the diverse set of characters presented, it wasn’t the strongest line-up and didn’t contain any stories from DC biggest heroes. These issue are a great chance to get to know lesser known characters, but they still need some core stories to attract new fans. My favorite parts of this book were its connections to the Justice Society and Justice League International eras and legacies.
An anthology and holiday-inspired stories involving Ma Hunkle, Captain Marvel, Poison Ivy & Harley Quinn, Dr. Light & The Atom, The Question & Animal Man, Galaxy, Supergirl, and Martian Manhunter.
I’ll start off with saying DC has been killing it lately with the pun’s naming their holiday and seasonal anthology issues. There are a few stories that stand out but most felt generic or too Hallmark-y. While I appreciate the diverse set of characters presented, it wasn’t the strongest line-up and didn’t contain any stories from DC biggest heroes. These issue are a great chance to get to know lesser known characters, but they still need some core stories to attract new fans. My favorite parts of this book were its connections to the Justice Society and Justice League International eras and legacies.
December 3, 2025
Finally an anthology with more hits than misses.
I was happy to see Ma Hunkel and her family still acknowledged, I love the JSA so this was a nice one, as well as the Supergirl story that had a nod to past continuity when she dated Brainiac 5. Animal Man was a surprising standout, some humour and a nice message.
The rest were more basic but still alright; Martian Manhunter fights Krampus while trying to understand Christmas, Billy Batson switches between himself and Shazam at a party, Dr Light and Ray Palmer bond over being minor leaguers.
The only ones I disliked were about Galaxy, I don't care for the character and it was bland, and Harley and Ivy. For a moment I thought it would finally address the issues in their rushed relationship, especially regarding the way Harley is and was depicted as a character, but the ending disappointed me. I know it's a short story many fans won't read, but it could've been better.
I was happy to see Ma Hunkel and her family still acknowledged, I love the JSA so this was a nice one, as well as the Supergirl story that had a nod to past continuity when she dated Brainiac 5. Animal Man was a surprising standout, some humour and a nice message.
The rest were more basic but still alright; Martian Manhunter fights Krampus while trying to understand Christmas, Billy Batson switches between himself and Shazam at a party, Dr Light and Ray Palmer bond over being minor leaguers.
The only ones I disliked were about Galaxy, I don't care for the character and it was bland, and Harley and Ivy. For a moment I thought it would finally address the issues in their rushed relationship, especially regarding the way Harley is and was depicted as a character, but the ending disappointed me. I know it's a short story many fans won't read, but it could've been better.
January 6, 2026
Please, anthologists, don't lead with the dullest story. When you do, everything that follows needs to be top-tier to dispel the bitter aftertaste. And the switcheroo romance story of green-guy shapeshifter and Kara Zor-El? It's just a chaste version of the 80's ick-flick Revenge of the Nerds.
There are shining moments here. In the lacklustrely titled The Holiday Getaway, Harley and Ivy have a tense-then-violent-then-satisfying canoodle, and in Steve Orlando's A Martian on 34th Street, J'Onn J'Onzz dispels an alien Krampus acolyte and learns the reason for the season. But it's not enough.
There are shining moments here. In the lacklustrely titled The Holiday Getaway, Harley and Ivy have a tense-then-violent-then-satisfying canoodle, and in Steve Orlando's A Martian on 34th Street, J'Onn J'Onzz dispels an alien Krampus acolyte and learns the reason for the season. But it's not enough.
January 2, 2026
This is a cute collection of 8 Holiday thyme stories. A prefect Holiday gift if your not sure who their favorite DC Characters are becaues of the verify. Even if you have a favorite, reading this introduces you to so many more characters.
My favorite is "It's a Wonderful life" which is like the movie of the same name, but Animal Man takes the role as George Bailey.
Other note worthy characters: Shazam, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Dr. Light, Galaxy (in a Hanukkah story), Supergirl, Super Man, Martian Manhunter, and of course Ma Hunkel.
My favorite is "It's a Wonderful life" which is like the movie of the same name, but Animal Man takes the role as George Bailey.
Other note worthy characters: Shazam, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Dr. Light, Galaxy (in a Hanukkah story), Supergirl, Super Man, Martian Manhunter, and of course Ma Hunkel.
December 7, 2025
I always like reading the DC December Holiday specials, as I like seeing the characters put into the holiday context. This year's (2025) is no different. I think It's A Wonderful Life was my favorite, but Holiday Woes and A Marathon On 34th Street were good too.
December 29, 2025
most of the stories were kind of hollow and feel-good but it served its purpose and was nice to get back into reading comics. also the cover variant is really cool but unfortunately misleading bc i wanted more insight into supergirl and brainiac love story.
December 25, 2025
Always in for Harley and Ivy ❤️💚. Galaxy was a nice surprise 💜💖
December 26, 2025
Some stories were better than others. The Billy Batson winter formal story was especially entertaining.
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