That's why I'm a little disgruntled by WORLD OF ARCHIE CHRISTMAS ANNUAL #53, which just got published the past Wednesday. You would think that Archie Comics would try loading the stories with Halloween tales, but they instead decided to go with a Christmas storyline instead!
The first story feature Little Archie and the Riverdale Gang as they line up at the mall with their Christmas wish-lists. Everyone is excited to see Mall Santa -- who, strangely enough, does NOT want to see these kids. He's been warned about this bunch by other Mall Santa, but I'm still not sure what exactly he's being warned off about. I mean, the kids are quirky, but it's not like they were mean to him!
Anyway, here were three things that I enjoyed about this story:
1. Jughead Loves the Cookies!: Juggie is certainly clever with the lead-ins! He did his calculations and figured out that Santa Claus gets a lot of cookies from all of the children around the world. Juggie isn't terribly interested in toys, but he loves the cookies! So why not help Santa gain control over his BMI and spread out the cookie-lovin' a bit??
2. Reggie Has Three Great Wishes!: Reggie really needs to get himself a genii. He's the master at coming up with three great wishes: 1. Get me a sports car! 2. Make me old enough to drive! 3. Sign me up for a Driver's Ed class! Genius!
3. Even Mall Santa Has Some Magic!: I'm not sure how he did it, but Mall Santa managed to magically transform his hat from bright red to matching green when he got fed up and quit his Mall Santa gig! Ronnie better hope he doesn't have lice!
"All I Want For Christmas" was written by J. Torres, penciled by Fernando Ruiz, inked by Bob Smith, lettered by Jack Morelli, and colored by Digikore Studios.