Wingding: Jingle Belle stories tend to be rebellious, carefree romps, blending the title character's raunchy side with her sweet heritage. This one-shot isn't one of those occasions, though. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for this story, but it came off as obvious and even a little harsh. Furthermore, this main story really lacks direction; it seems more like a number of cute ideas strung together, lacking any core plotting.
Mrs. Claus sets to the task of writing the annual family letter to send out with cards and gifts this year, and she spends much of her time recounting the trouble and hijinks that her outrageous daughter got into... and into which she drew her family and friends. Meanwhile, Jingle Belle is swept up by the Christmas spirit, and sets out to make a nice gift and to help her mother out.
Brandt and Cervone's cartoony style is in keeping with the fun tone of the title character, and they manage to instill a little bit of sultry side in there as well. Mind you, most of the art seems so... empty. The backgrounds are rather lacking, and the characters come off looking a bit inconsistent at times. I really like their rendition of Ida Red, though.
Dini takes aim at the Olympics, The Osbournes and girl bands here... all meterial that merits parody. Well, the Olympics thing is a bit more surreal, unexpected and unexplained, and the other jokes are rather obvious. The purpose of the bourbon balls is painfully clear from the moment they're mentioned, and the Clausbornes gag gets old after only a few panels. I still enjoy these characters, but the story lacks focus and direction.
Santa: Rusty: Jing: This brief backup story -- of Jing's attempt to find an outfit while her impatient father and attention-starved cousin wait for her to get ready -- does a better job of capturing the title character's dichotmous appeal of innocence and naughtiness. The art strikes me as what one might see if Dr. Seuss had illustrated Archie comics.
The creators capture Jing's sexy, exhibitionist streak nicle while maintaining the contrasting innocent tone of a family holiday story. It's a bizarre mix, but it's entertaining. I'm also pleased to see Paul Dini entrusting his creation to other writers and artists whose styles work well with the character.
