10 Must-Read Comic Book Christmas Specials
10. Introducing: Bat-Scrooge - 'Batman Noël'
What better time than Christmas to learn how to become a more caring superhero? This is essentially the message of Batman: Noël, a retelling of Dickens A Christmas Carol through the eyes of a criminal whose situation is so dire, The Dark Knight turns all soppy. The story begins with Batman attacking a hapless courier for the Joker named Bob who also acts as the tale's narrator.
It's an emotional journey of one bats forgiveness after a typical night of Gotham weirdness. As the evening progresses, the Caped Crusader catches pneumonia, gets buried alive by a lunatic clown and worst of all has to listen to police officers say nasty things about him. Of course, the beloved Christmas tale would be incomplete without the three ghosts (well, four - Jason Todd acts as Jacob Marley) who are portrayed by Catwoman (past), Superman (present) and the Joker (future) who all, through no real effort on their part, teach Batman the value of forgiveness.
It's nice to see holiday cheer spreading to even the surliest of heroes, Lee Bermejos Batman: Noël may be a bizarre amalgamation of classic literature and comic book craziness but it sure is festive.