How Santa Got His Red Suit

Yesterday, I wrote of the wonders of Christmases past - especially the delight of reading classic comic-book stories to our kids on Christmas day. Today ended up especially busy (and I suspect things will not become less busy as December 25 approaches), so there's no time for an extended essay. However, I have a suspicion that this week's "Pop Culture Happy Hour" podcast from National Public Radio (Tweet #PCHH) is going to have a mention (Dec. 10) of one of the stories I referred to yesterday. It's "How Santa Got His Red Suit," written and drawn by Walt Kelly, the lead story in the Dell Four Color comic book #61: Santa Claus Funnies copyright 1944 by Oskar Lebeck. If the PCHH gang chats about it, this is what they're talking about. Just saying.

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Christmas Memories of The Three-Flavored Blizzard and More

When our kids were young, our annual Christmas morning tradition was well-established. While Don, downstairs, turned on tree lights, prepared beverages and cold cuts and other such treats, set up the background music, and so on ... As I say, while he did all that, I'd sit with the kids upstairs, reading any of a number of classic Christmas comic-book stories. These included Walt Kelly's "The Great Three-Flavored Blizzard" from Dell's Four Color: Santa Claus Funnies #175 (copyright 1947 Oskar Lebeck), in which the Easter Bunny is confused by a lack of snow, and he and Fuzzychin (who always helps Santa at Christmas) visit Santa to find out the problem. That problem turns out to be that the machine that regulates the weather is stuck on "Summer." Of course.

It's only one of many delightful Christmas comics stories. Among my favorites are: Kelly's "How Santa Got His Red Suit," "A Mouse in the House," "The Three Blind Mice and a Christmas Deed," and "Hickory and Dickory Help Santa Claus"; Carl Barks' "Christmas on Bear Mountain," "The Golden Christmas Tree," and "Letter to Santa"; and Oskar Lebeck and Morris Gollub's "Santa and the Angel" and "A Letter to Santa."

Mind you, none of these is in print at the moment. Sometimes, people ask me, "Why do you collect comics?" And this is a reason: The only people who can read these stories are the people who (a) bought them and (b) kept them.

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