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hollycon REVIEWS ---------------------------------------------------


By Blake M. Petit for EVERTIME REALMS -- 2009

evecoverLet’s start with the 2006 special: Christmas Eve: The First Lady of Yuletide Cheer. In this giant-sized comic (and, in fact, all of the Cool Yule Comics are pretty hefty volumes), we meet Carol, Holly, and Noel. The three sugarplum fairies are told by Santa that the world’s children are suffering from a lack of Christmas spirit this year. Ol’ Tannenbaum, the talking Christmas tree, tells the girls of a magic place where they may be able to save the day. Rushing off, they use their magic to create a new superhero: Christmas Eve! This issue is basically Eve’s origin story, with a battle against Santa’s negative counterpart Black Peter to boot. Surprisingly, Eve herself isn’t the sweetest thing about the book — she doesn’t hold a candle to Carol, Holly, or Noel, who serve an interesting dual role both as Eve’s mentors and sidekicks. This is a cute story and the artwork is absolutely wonderful. There’s something really classic about this character that I enjoyed quite a bit.

evecoverIn 2007, Broderick followed up his first effort with Holly Jolly Christmas Comics, an anthology featuring several stories and several new characters. Of these, the adventures of Andy Claus (Santa’s son) are easily the best. We watch as he teams up with his pals Alf the Elf and Coldpatch the Snowman to take care of Santa’s annual rounds. We also see as Grumpy Peri (a rather sour-tempered little girl) meets Gretta Poinsettia (a Christmas-lover of such annoyingly superior proportions that you find yourself pulling for the curmudgeonly Peri). Super Duper Hooper Cooper is a baby who gets wrapped up in an adventure along with several other new characters (and one holdover from the Christmas Eve comic — Randolph the Green-Nosed Reindeer). The book is wrapped up with some color and activity pages and a short adventure by Mighty Man of Justice, a superhero out to do some Christmas shopping.

Broderick puts a lot of these comics on his website during the year, and this issue is clearly a collection. I don’t have any problem with that, but some of the stories get a little repetitive, especially the Hooper Cooper tale, where the first quarter of each segment is a recap of the previous installment that you just read a few seconds ago. I believe there’s a second edition of Holly Jolly Christmas Comics in the works for 2010. If that’s the case, I hope Broderick does a little reformatting on the webstrips to take out some of the redundancy.

evecoverIn 2008, we got Christmas Eve Winter Carnival, a collection of new short stories with the Eve characters. A battle with the Yuletide monster Elfinstein is interrupted when a familiar-looking old man asks Eve to help him rid himself of a trio of ghosts that have been plaguing him for years. We also meet the Cool Yule equivalent of an eco-terrorist, the Sugarplum Fairies are stuck babysitting Gretta Poinsettia in her triumphantly silly return, and we find out what happens to Christmas Eve a week after her special day, on the eve of the New Year. I’ve really fallen in love with the Eve characters. There’s such a wonderfully classic feel here — it’s silly, it’s sweet, the artwork is wonderful and the joy is definitely there. If Rankin-Bass had been making superhero comics during DC’s Silver Age, the result would have been Christmas Eve and friends.

Suffice it to say, I’m really happy with these comics and as long as Broderick and company continue putting out these annual specials, I’ll keep on coming back every year.


By Tony Isabella for TONY'S ONLINE TIPS -- 2009

evecoverGeorge Broderick, Jr. gave me a copy of last year's holiday comic book, Christmas Eve Winter Carnival [Cool Yule; $7.95]. It's 52 pages of adventure and comedy with the first lady of Yuletide Cheer and her friends: fairies Holly, Noel, and Carol; Ol' Tannebaum, the talking Christmas Tree; philanthropist Eben Geezer, and many other delightful characters. Broderick is a one-man show in this comic book. He wrote it, drew it, inked it, lettered it, colored it, and probably turned the wheels of the printing press, too. It would be nice if all our friendly neighborhood comics shops carried these excellent comic books.

Rating:   [5 of 5 Stars!]


By David Price on Indy Planet

evecoverSo one day I surf into Indyplanet, check out the Comics Shop and popping right out of the screen is "Christmas Eve" aka The First Lady of Yuletide Cheer. WOW!! A book by George Broderick Jr., one of the most beloved characters in American Folklore. And this baby sparkles like a shiny new Christmas ornament.

I was instantly drawn to a character who's name is such a clever one that I slap myself for not thinking of it first. But when the creator is one of America's most loved members of folklore like Babe the Blue Ox and Paul Bunyan, what should I expect? Well I didn't expect the slick professional artwork found in the pages of this soon-to-be 'holiday classic'. The editors and art directors at Disney and Archie Comics must be wearing out the phone lines trying to lure a cartoonist of Broderick Jr.'s talents.

The art in this book sparkles with great layouts, slick inking and brilliant colors. Did someone say color? Thats right this is a full color book! And each page is a visual treat.

The characters are engaging and humorous. The writing is fun and playful. A real comic for all ages. Quiet rare these days yet here it is at Indy Planet for under six bucks and you get a whopping 52 pages of holiday fun.

All I can say is hats off to Mr. Broderick for one of my favorite comics of 2006. And just in time for.....Christmas Eve.

Get one for yourself and a big stack for gift giving.

Rating:   [5 of 5 Stars!]


By Tony Isabella for CBG -- 2006

evecoverChristmas will be several weeks past by the time this review appears, but I’m betting George Broderick,Jr.’s Christmas Eve, the First Lady of Yuletide Cheer retains its charm throughout the year. This is Broderick’s first creator-owned full-color comic and it tells the tale of how three Christmas fairies created a new heroine for the holidays and of Eve’s battle with the diabolical Black Peter. It’s a great-looking comic book, all 52 pages of it.

Rating:   [4 of 5 Stars!]


By Tony Isabella for CBG -- 2007

hollywebEvery Mid-Ohio-Con, my talented pal George Broderick, Jr. has a new Christmas comic to delight readers of all ages. This year, it was Holly Jolly Christmas Comics [Cool Yule Productions; $5.95], 52 full-color pages of festive fun with just the tiniest dollop of good-natured sarcasm added to its heartwarming and often hilarious seasonal cheer.

There are many pages of comics stories featuring Andy Claus (Santa’s rebellious son), Greta Poinsettia, Mighty Man of Justice, Bingo the Wonder Dog, Grumpy Peri, and my new favorite, Super Duper Hooper Cooper. The comic also has a crossword puzzle and other puzzle pages, craft pages, and a keen selection of black-and-white pictures suitable for coloring.

The 18-page “Super Duper Hooper Cooper and the Holly Jolly Christmas Folly,” wherein our infant hero teams with pals Randolph the Green-Nosed Reindeer, Dotty the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Christmas Boy (the kid who loves Christmas more than anyone in the world) to rescue Christmas from Sinister Chad, had me laughing loudly on most every page. Hey, newspaper editors, this would be like the coolest Christmas supplement ever!I love Holly Jolly Christmas Comics more than any Christmas comic in the world.

Rating:   [5 of 5 Stars!]


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