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JINGLE BELLE JUBILEE
Recommended (7/10)
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Oni Press
Writer: Paul Dini
Artists: Steve Rolston, Dan DeCarlo & Bill Morrison, J. Bone, Jill Thompson & Sergio Aragones
Letters: Karen Bates (pp.5-10)
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
Santa Claus's raunchy offspring returns in another one-shot special, and once again, it makes for fun, if light, reading. This is really more of an anthology, serving to introduce the reader to a couple of Paul Dini's latest creations. Dan (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) DeCarlo's contribution serves as an excellent tribute to his years at Archie Comics, and spotlights the fact that he can do more than just the overly wholesome teen-comics fare for which he is known.
After arranging for a doppelganger to accompany her parents on the toy-delivery rounds on Dec.25, Jingle Belle throws a sleepover Christmas party for her friends: teenage witch Polly Green, Texan sheriff and mutant Ida Red, and snow-leopard gal Tashi Ounce. Over the course of the night, they party and share the stories of how they met Santa's disobedient daughter.
I was surprised to find Steve Rolston's art in this book. The other properties in which I've seen his work -- Queen & Country and the online Pounded -- have been darker or rougher in tone than this one. He captures the cute and occasionally tantalizing tone of the characters nicely, though. I was particularly entertained by the throngs of lemmings he had to draw (yes, lemmings).
DeCarlo's sequence was a lot of fun as well. It was a treat to see such a variety of styles in the book, but there was also a sense of consistency. Each artist employs a cartoony style, giving the reader some diversity and visual continuity all at the same time. J. Bone still stands out as my favorite Jingle Belle artist so far.
I loved the two new characters, especially Ida Red. The character and her background crosses several genres, and the mish-mash of influences work surprisingly well together. I was also pleased to see the return of Tashi, since I enjoyed her debut in the last one-shot, Jingle Belle: The Mighty Elves. However, she takes a backseat to the two new characters here and doesn't really get to shine.
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