This Is The Best Christmas Comic Ever (And You Probably Haven’t Read It)

For many, the holidays is one of the best times of the year. A season of celebration and joy, the holidays are a time when people come together to enjoy each other’s company and be merry. It’s also a time of great entertainment as there is no shortage of television, movies, music and more to help people get into the Christmas spirit. Comics are also a big part of holiday joy and cheer and there are plenty of fantastic Christmas tales to delight fans of superheroes and more. But there is one Christmas comic that stands out above the rest and it’s one that you probably haven’t read.

Videos by ComicBook.com

No, we’re not talking about the 1991 Marvel Holiday Special that established Santa Claus as the most powerful Omega level mutant in the world (though that one is pretty great). We’re talking about something a little more out of this world, if you will: Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special. Yes, that’s right. A one-shot comic about the greediest Lantern you can imagine is the best Christmas comic and trust me, it really is full of Christmas spirit.

Larfleeze Christmas Special Isn’t a Typical Christmas Story

Written by Geoff Johns with art by Brett Booth, Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special was published in 2011 and sees the one and only Orange Lantern hanging out on Earth after hearing about Santa Clause and Christmas. As the Orange Lantern ring is powered by the emotion of avarice — on the emotional spectrum of greed — the idea of some magical being who gives people everything they want on Christmas was very appealing for Larfleeze. However, when Christmas Morning arrives, there’s nothing under the tree for Larfleeze, which sends him off on a rampage to hunt down Santa where he learns what Christmas really is in the process.

While, on the surface, that sounds like a standard Christmas tale about learning the true meaning of the holiday, the story is actually more nuanced than that. Larfleeze’s initial read on how people celebrate Christmas isn’t entirely wrong. To him, the holiday appears to be all about stuff so much so that we’ve developed a ritual around it that includes an exchange of sorts — specifically the exchange of cookies and milk and the standard things we do to “get ready for Santa” for a plethora of gifts. We even see the focus on gifts when Larfleeze goes on his initial rampage as part of it takes him to a department store where shoppers are. From the outside looking in, with Larfleeze being the representative of the outsider here, Christmas looks like a pretty shallow and materialistic holiday. There’s some commentary there: what would an alien (albeit one predisposed to avarice) take away from the Christmas holiday?

Even when Green Lantern Hal Jordan shows up to intervene after Larfleeze heads to the North Pole to hunt down Santa, the story doesn’t exactly become a cliche. Yes, Hal has to explain that Santa isn’t real and that Christmas isn’t about getting presents, it’s about giving joy to others. That is pretty standard. But he also, in the process, forces Larfleeze to look deeper into himself. The story ends with Hal distributing Larfleeze’s pile of hoarded things to others, spreading joy and thus giving Larfleeze something he craves — Christmas Spirit — because he’s made others happy. However, Hal tells Larfleeze before he leaves that he should look over every single item on his ridiculously long Christmas list and ask himself if he really needs any of it. We close with Larfleeze coming to the part where he asked for his family on his list and then, a sad Larfleeze all alone.

This moment is particularly touching precisely because of how sad it is. You see, Larfleeze doesn’t have a family. He was taken from his when he was very young and forced to work as a slave. This had deep impact on him, messing up his emotional attachments and also causing him to “hear” the belongings of the people he served, all of which fed his need for greed. Larfleeze eventually would become an Orange Lantern after finding the Orange Lantern power battery and all of that was dialed up and fed by the power of greed, Larfleeze has become essentially a serial killer who quite literally claims the souls of those he kills and turns them into his construct army. It’s alluded to at various points that the orange light has corrupted Larfleeze and that deep down, he’s not a monster and that moment at the end of the special further suggests that, deep inside of him he wants what most people really want at the holidays: to be with those he loves.

Larfleeze Christmas Special Is a Beautiful Mix of Funny and Serious for the Holidays

Because Larfleeze Christmas Special does take things to a more emotional place and is a little bit more serious with the story it’s telling while still giving space for it to be completely ridiculous — let’s face it, Larfleeze is a very goofy character — it succeeds at being very unique in the holiday comic space. It takes something of a gimmick character and gives him a great deal of depth that you might not expect. It also takes the idea of understanding the genuine meaning of the holidays and turns it into both commentary about the commercialized nature of the celebration and a reminder that there is sadness in the holidays as well. For readers who themselves may be missing loved ones, seeing one of Larfleeze’s holiday wishes be his family hits home. It’s a nice way to be seen and included in the holidays in a way that is less about tragedy and loss and more simply about reflection.

Ultimately, Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special is easily a fantastic holiday comic. It’s one of those books that deserves to be an annual tradition, just settle in with your own milk and cookies and read the tale of how the greediest Lantern got the one thing he didn’t have for the holidays and realized that there are still more important things than having it all. It will make you appreciate those in your life all the more.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!