Welcome back kids!! Only two volumes left in our snowy journey through Christmasland. But don’t despair! There’s still plenty of madness coming in both this final chapter of the prison break tale and the loop around to Charlie’s arc. YAY!!! In the story at hand, our group has dwindled. We’ve lost the guard Kevin to a “Christmasland Emergency” declared by a bone saw wielding child doctor (YIKES!!). Then, we saw the brutal demise of the disgusting prisoner Dewey Hansom by way of the traditional and insanely creepy game, Scissors for the Drifter. Topped off with a bloody carousel ride. YEAH… that actually happened and I’m still trying to get those images out of my head… LOL!! And last we saw my two favs – Chess Llewellyn and Agnes Claiborne – their escape plans were interrupted by the ever watchful eye of the Manx in the Moon. Finally, the annoying Carny prisoner Denis Sykes, with an escape plan of his own, stood over Charlie’s body as it bled profusely onto the cobblestone streets of Christmasland. A disturbing scene to be sure! What will happen next?? I bet you’re as jolly as an elf to find out… LOL! So, let’s complete this crazy road trip and DRIVE head first into Volume 6 – Chapter 5: Shoot the Moon!

Looking at the black and white recap page, one could hardly see the true evil that lies within. But if you’re following along, it’s a great way to get the gist of where we left off. Conversely, the cover, though the vaguest of all the chapters, gives a bit of insight as to where we’re headed. A simple snowy scene shows a live, yet bloodied snowman, tipping the top hat last seen on Mr. Sykes. From there, the pages waste no time! And if you didn’t heed my advice before, THIS is the comic to finally zoom in to see the evil tidbits throughout!! The first panel shows a very angry Lorrie Manx next to her father’s bleeding… um… corpse? The other children immediately begin to attack Sykes. Gunshots fly as he runs through the gates of Santa’s Claws: Petting Zoo. And nope, Claws ISN’T a typo… LOL!! Inside and seemingly behind cages (YEAH RIGHT!!), we see a woolly mammoth, wolves, a yeti, a giant rat and even a Satyr known in Greek Mythology as a lustful woodland creature (WTF!!). All part of Charlie’s mind remember!

Across town, with Chess and Agnes still in the Ferris Wheel hut, the Manx in the Moon bellows: “ONE IN THE ZOO, TWO IN THE SKY! WHO WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE? COME AND GET ‘EM KIDDIES!” Yeah, that definitely tracks… LOL!! As several children converge at the base of the Ferris Wheel, Chess tells Agnes they’re better off if they jump to the roof of a building and insists the snow and the balloon filled with Delirium-101 will slow their fall. Still, a 20 foot drop at the very least, Agnes thinks Chess is out of his mind. At this point, I agree!! Regardless, he grabs her by the waist and plummets. WHOA… that was quick!! Lo and behold, the balloon works! NICE!! Though, their combined weight makes the landing a bit rough.

Adjacent to the roof are high walls to an ice maze. Spying more Delirium-101 balloons within, Chess and Agnes climb over the wall. ZOOM!! ZOOM!! Is that a Captain America type figure in the ice? Not to mention, there’s ACTUALLY a real Where’s Waldo image. All be it evil as hell… LOL!! What else do you see in this panel of atrocity? Pursued by Manx’s little monsters from every angle, Chess manages to grab a second balloon while Agnes kicks the head off a live snowman. HAHAHA!! Met at the exit by four evil kids wearing black 4H sweaters (LOL, YEP!!), Chess once again grabs Agnes and they're carried away by the force of two balloons. BYE-BYE KIDDIES!! Agnes is still stunned by all this balloon magic (Same Agnes… SAME!!) so Chess explains by saying: “It’s like helium, but so much lighter than air, you just need a little of it to float away.” OOOOO!! I think back to the note from his son at the end of Chapter 3: “Will send balloons” – PLURAL!! Chess continues: “If we had a few more balloons, maybe we could float right out of the park.” YAY!! I can’t wait to see how this all unfolds!!

Perched on another rooftop overlooking the Petting Zoo, our duo discuss finding a distraction for Manx’s soulless fiends so they can try to grab more balloons. At the bottom of the page, a large group of kids barrel out of the Zoo gates as Agnes states: “Look’s like that’s covered.” Then, a full page panel reveals a whirlwind of chaos as Sykes tramples through on the woolly mammoth. WOW!! Bricks, children, pets, metal gates and blood are flying in every direction and it’s FANTASTIC!! The funny, or rather quite evil thing, depending on your point of view, is the fact that the pets are attacking the children too. Huh… cages, eh? In the mean-time Chess and Agnes make their escape as one child says, “That tickles,” in response to the Yeti ripping his hand off. WTF… LOL!!!

In a sea of malicious mayhem, one large panel reveals a peaceful inward view of Christmasland through the clouds. With a static filled cliff below and an angry looking Manx in the Moon gazing in, we see glowing balloons floating everywhere. Huh… things are looking up (*WINK*) for our unlikely pair and for a split second, there’s hope. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Sykes makes his way past and Chess is impaled by a woolly mammoth horn then thrown clear. WHOA! As Agnes tries to help, Sykes jumps free of the mammoth and orders them at gunpoint to give up the keys to the Wraith. Chess hands them over but warns Sykes that: “One of these days something is going to bite back.” And for the time being, that bite comes from my girl Agnes. HECK YA!! Because now that Sykes got what he was after, Agnes asks that he give up his scarf so she can wrap Chess’s shoulder. Needless to say, his cocky response causes her to unleash hell on him for SEVERAL panels. And I LOVED IT!! She even takes his gun… HAHAHA!! And with tears in his eyes (LOL!!) Sykes says: “You’ll have to shoot me before I give you back the keys to the Wraith.” Oh Sykes you idiot. She NEVER wanted the keys back. She simply asked for your damn scarf, you twit! He scurries to the Wraith as Agnes helps Chess limp away. However, always watching, Millie and crew aren’t far behind. YIKES!!

Sykes fires up the Wraith!! Simultaneously, three panels show Manx coming back to life as the pool of blood magically oozes its way back into his blown out head. The pictures are shown upside down in aerial view fashion adding even more of an eerie element to what’s actually happening.

“Schloop… Schloop… Schloop,” (EWWW!) in oversized blood red letters, shrinks along with blood, allowing the reader to HEAR what they’re seeing effortlessly, making these scenes some of my favorites in the whole series. Next, with Sykes poised to take them out, Chess and Agnes struggle to get out of the road. Stopped by Manx who magically takes control of the Wraith, Sykes is dumbfounded. HECK YA!! F-YOU SYKES!! With his angry Lorrie at his side, Charlie says: “Oh, Mr. Sykes. I tried to warn you, but you only heard what you wanted to hear.” The next few pages unfold quickly as a red eyed Manx forces the wraith to spin in circles then suddenly brings it to a quick stop facing the cliff edge of Christmasland. Sykes is ejected through the windshield covered in blood and glass. And as he’s flying off the edge, Manx says: “Eat that.” HAHAHA!! A fitting end for a Carny guy who once bragged about eating glass, NO? Meanwhile, Agnes and Chess are climbing the giant town Christmas tree and collecting balloons along the way. With the child creatures close behind, little Robin Robards, still in his bear suit (LOL!!), grabs hold of Chess’ prison chains/belt. NOOOO!! As the three of them float towards the sky, Agnes grabs her trusty first aid scissors (YES!!) and cuts the belt sending Robin plunging back to Christmasland. And boy does he look pissed… LOL!! Reaching the clouds, the Manx in the Moon shouts: “YOU DON’T BELONG UP HERE! WHY DON’T YOU FALL! WHY DON’T YOU DIE!” And just like that, Agnes shoots him in the eye!! See, I can rhyme too… LOL!! In all the confusion, I completely forgot she lifted that gun from Sykes… LOL! SO YEP, she’s a badass… AGAIN!!

The final pages has our dynamic duo floating away from Christmasland and directly into static. After a bit, Chess decides to let a balloon go so they can drop below. Coming back to the highway they started on (YES… FINALLY!!), Chess sets Agnes down and to both her surprise AND mine, he starts to float back up. Knowing exactly what’s happening, I exhale a deep and long sigh. Chess tells Agnes: “Charlie said you need a special ride to cross the roads of thought. A ride you love. But these things aren’t my ride. I never loved balloons. That’s a thing only a child loves. My child.” Agnes pleads for him not to go, but he continues: “I think I’m gonna see if these balloons will take me back to him.” Then, after some cute and now customary banter, Agnes, obviously referring to his prisoner status, asks: “What do I tell them about you?” Floating into the static, Chess replies: “Tell ‘em the truth. Tell ‘em you had me – and then I slipped away.” THE END!!

WOW, what an impressive ending!! Fitting in so many ways too! Considering this is a prequel, Manx is left in Christmasland to emerge another day. The crass and horrible prisoners Dewey Hansom and Denis Sykes got exactly what they deserved… LOL!! And Agnes, the champ she is, gets to live (YES!!) while Chess moved on to reunite with his son. The way I see it, the guard Kevin was the only true collateral damage, no? Oh, and Moon Boy. But was he so innocent though?? And what about the overall heart of NOS4A2 and Christmasland? Because WOW, I applaud Joe Hill for finding one hell of a unique way to tie-in something as concrete as the Wraith to something as imaginary as Delerium-101 as the Knives one uses to go to and from Inscapes. This means that Chess’ son Adam is a Strong Creative and that even in death – as we know it in our feeble mortal minds (LOL!!) – he found a method to use his Knife, in a way not actually explored in the NOS4A2 world except here. I mean… the mind boggles with possibilities, right!?! And that’s the fun of it. Imagination wrapped in a bloody Christmas bow… LOL!! And there you have it! The 5 chapters of Christmasland. Ohhhh… but we’re not done yet. Come back next week as we take one last look at Charlie’s backstory in Volume 7 – Epilogue: Phantoms. And don’t forget to drop by our NOS4A2 Collections right here. Until then, “SCHLOOP,” along… LOL!!  

‘The Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland’ – ‘Volume 6 – Chapter 5: Shoot the Moon’
IDW Publishing; May 2014 – Author: Joe Hill; Illustrations: Charles Paul Wilson III; Colors: Jay Fotos; Letters: Shawn Lee and Robbie Robbins; Edits: Chris Ryall

Well kids, here we are. Back in Christmasland and ready for more… um… fun!?! Or is it fear? I forget which… LOL! But, before driving back into the heart of this eerie tale, let’s discuss the cover! Because, upon first glance, one may easily overlook some of the deliciously evil nuances. Set up as a Christmas themed playland, we see things like Millie Manx poised to swing a golf club (which actually looks more like a giant bone??) at a severed head while the headless body stands next to her. On a lower level, a game of chase ensues as a child fireman swinging an axe hunts a companion who’s missing limbs. In front of them, two more children are running with said limbs. Throughout, we see evil little spiked teethed creatures laughing and playing as Charlie displays his traditional evil grin at the bottom. It all fits the Christmasland narrative to a tee! No pun intended… LOL!! But what’s really disturbing is that these immortal children fully enjoy dismembering each other for fun as these “games” clearly depict happy participants on either end. Evidenced by the fact that the severed head Millie is about to send flying is actually smiling. I mean, just take a minute to contemplate this because… WOW!!! Christmasland, in all its joy, is basically a loop of soulless bloody child fun and if that’s not a chilling thought, I don’t know what is!! YIKES!! Okay, now that I got that out of the way, let’s “Hip-Hip Snow Ray!” our way through Volume 5 – Chapter 4: Rules of the Game, shall we?  
​
Moving on from the cover, though, mentally, not really (LOL!!), the black and white recap page quickly brings us a bit up to speed with just a few panels. NEAT!! And as noted in my own review, the latter half of Volume 4 left us with two stories: Dewey Hansom, the disgusting rapist and kidnapper, and Llewellyn Chess and Agnes Claiborne, the prisoner and guard duo respectively. ‘Ol Dewey is now walking with little Robin Robards, one of the now ageless (and soulless) children he gave to Manx several years ago. Having been abandoned by Denis Sykes, the creepy Carny prisoner who pretended to help, only to steal Dewey’s sawed off shotgun and disappear, Dewey is led to believe Robin also wants to help him. HAHAHA, yeah right!!! Little does he know; Robin’s brethren are creeping up close behind carrying the main instrument for one of Christmasland’s favorite games – Scissors for the Drifter. YIKES!!

On the flip side, Chess and Agnes, having taken refuge in one of the Ferris Wheel huts, discuss the glowing balloon Chess retrieved at the end of Volume 4. Agnes asks Chess, “Why’d you risk your life to get a balloon? And why is it glowing like that Ace?” Chess goes on to explain that it’s filled with Delirium-101, the made up gas he used in a story to soothe his dying son. Further, Chess now ties this to something Manx said on the journey to Christmasland – the “Special Ride” required to leave. NICE!! He explains that the balloon itself pulls like “A puppy on a leash.” With Agnes still lost on the subject, (because yeah… why wouldn’t she be?), she asks to hold the balloon. Regardless of her surprise by its pull, she makes the point that with Manx having “An army of monster kids and the only wheels in town,” one balloon makes little difference to their dire situation. Welp, she’s not wrong!! However, the final panel on the page brings yet another cool surprise as Chess, holding the keys to the Wraith remarks: “Who says he has the only wheels in town?” HOLY COW… YES!!!  

Checking back in on Dewey, little Robin tells him that the other children are “around here somewhere,” while Dewey, in his weakened and blood loss state, has no idea how close the creatures really are. Robin mentions a name – Francine Flynn – as one of the other children Dewey gave to Manx and says she also wants to help. I think… ”Sure… OKAY!” Dewey admits that he and Francine didn’t “part on such good terms.” From here, the segue is nothing short of satisfyingly scary as Robin states: “Because you tried to do things to her? Like the things you were arrested for doing to some other girl?” WHOA!! After a few more details from Robin, including saying Manx was “Really mad,” about Dewey’s treatment of Francine and that games have “Rules,” he tells Dewey he knows a game that’s “So easy no one messes it up.” I mean… I’ve said it before! This rapist and kidnapper deserves what he gets, but holy hell, what follows is bone chilling!! After Robin retrieves a giant pair of scissors from his bear costume (LOL!) and stabs Dewey, he begins to run. Millie, also with giant scissors in one hand AND her trusty sword in the other yells: “Charge! For Christmasland! CHARGE!” Panel after panel, we see Dewey attacked by scary children with their spiked teethed unhinged jaws each carrying their own pair of scissors. WHOA!!

After several injuries, Dewey shakes free and with scissors still hanging from various parts of his bloody body (WOW!!), he makes his way on to the carousel. As the ride spins, the children poke (*WINK*) even more fun with jokes while Dewey remarks on how cold he is. A blurry panel as seen from Dewey’s moving point of view, shows a smiling Manx dead center flanked by his grinning children as he says: “It is warmer where you are headed Dewey Hansom! Not warm enough, but it will have to suit!” DAMN!! From where I sit, this one shot looks like a blurry psycho family portrait. YIKES!! Yet another crazy creepy surprise lurks on the next page. The carousel animals are alive!! Because, DUH… OF COURSE THEY ARE… LOL!! As the tiger (Yep, that sounds about right!) rips Dewey apart, in another blurry panel, Manx and family turn to leave. The best part? Manx remarks that grown-ups like ‘Ol Dewey here are “Sly and tricksy,” and that he’ll just have to find a man he can trust to be around his children. “Someone who is a bit of a child himself!” And there you have it! A nod to the origins of the coming NOS4A2 character Bing!! YES!! And now, Dewey Hansom is no more, though I’m pretty sure no one will care… LOL!!

Back in the Ferris Wheel hut, Chess and Agnes are planning their escape. And after all the excitement with Dewey, my mind is racing with what’s next. Agnes is set on making their way to the Wraith, but Chess isn’t so sure as he states: “Actually he [Manx] said the only way in and out is a ride you love. I don’t know how this place works, but – I know I don’t love that hearse of his. Do you?” No Chess, NO WE DON’T!! And considering Agnes rode to Christmasland drugged and in the trunk the whole way, she definitely doesn’t… LOL!! With a panel showing the Wraith next to the Christmas tree adorned with severed heads, Chess continues: "I don’t know if we can get out with his ride. Maybe it’s like a faithful dog. It’ll roll over for him, but if we touch it… we’re liable to get a hand bitten off.” Now that’s a perfect analogy I can fully get on board with. Geez… again, no pun intended… LOL!!
​
Waiting for the Ferris Wheel to make its way around so they can exit, Chess and Agnes are abruptly interrupted by an unexpected voice – the Man, or rather, the Manx in the Moon!! And if you’ve been following my other work on NOS4A2, you know that I saw the television series before reading these comics. So seeing this figure go in reverse from screen to panel was a dirty delight I can scarcely describe!! I mean, I’m pretty sure I could hear his thundering voice in my head as a string of text bubbles unfold. “GUESS WHAT I SPY ON THE ARCTIC EYE! THE OLD ONE AND THE YOUNG ONE, GOING ROUND AND ROUND! BUT WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN! HIDE-AND-SEEK IS THE NAME OF THE GAME! KILL THESE TWO AND ONLY ONE REMAINS!” Wow, the rhyming… LOL!! HOLY COW, I love it!! It’s cold and scary, yet childlike and playful. It’s no wonder Manx is later drawn to Bing, am I right!?!

As Manx looks on towards the moon with a smile, we see Denis Sykes with a top hat and a smug look standing behind him pointing the sawed off shotgun he stole from Dewey. WHOA! I definitely didn’t see that one coming!! The banter between the two fills Sykes in on many details that we, the audience, already know. That Manx’s little children are immortal and will do anything to protect him. That the Wraith made them this way. And finally, that Charlie created Christmasland from his mind and the Wraith takes him to and fro. Sykes determines that Manx may not be as immortal as his children and at gunpoint, the greedy little shit that he is, not only demands the keys to the Wraith, but decides he wants Christmasland as well. Oh Denis, I can’t wait to see how this turns out for you!! LOL! Charlie confesses that: “Alas! I lost them [the keys] in our morning snowball fight. I suspect Mr. Llewellyn of making off with them. I guess you’ll just have to shoot me.” Much to my delight, the final full page panel has Sykes standing over a fallen and head blown Manx with the shotgun smoldering as he tips his top hat and says: “I guess so.” HAHAHA! THE END!!

This sure was a devilishly fun chapter!! If you haven’t read it yet, all I can say is what the heck are you waiting for?? The artwork keeps form with the other chapters, but the scare factor turns up quite a bit!! We also get some cute banter between Agnes and Chess up in the Ferris Wheel hut which I loved! So now, there’s only one chapter left in our prison break tale before we hit Volume 7 to close out Charlie’s backstory. This time we lost Dewey Hansom in a game of Scissors for the Drifter that is just as hair raising and bloody as it sounds. Is anyone else next or will Sykes, Agnes and Chess find their way out of Christmasland? Come back next week as we drive straight through Volume 6 – Chapter 5: Shoot the Moon to find out!! And don’t forget to drop by our NOS4A2 Collections page right here. In the meantime, remember what Manx says to Sykes before the headshot: “I would no more give you the Wraith than I would pull out my own heart and hand it to you. They are, anyway, much the same.” *WINK* 

‘The Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland’ – Volume 5 – ‘Chapter 4: Rules of the Game’
IDW Publishing; Mar 2014 – Author: Joe Hill; Illustrations: Charles Paul Wilson III; Colors: Jay Fotos; Letters: Shawn Lee and Robbie Robbins; Edits: Chris Ryall

If you know absolutely nothing about NOS4A2 in print, comics or television, know this… Christmasland is SCARY!! And last we saw our ragtag group of guards and prisoners – having just arrived in the snowy, Holiday light laden realm – they are only just starting to understand how frightening Christmasland truly is. So, before you can say “Mother Mary in the Manger” (LOL), join me on a drive through Volume 4 – Chapter 3: Fastball… won’t you?

Picking up where Volume 3 left off, the first panel shows Charlie Manx kneeling down with open arms to receive love from his children – or from where we sit, what’s left of them – Lorrie and Millie Manx. Transformed in Volume 1, like all the children who arrive in Christmasland, Lorrie and Mille are now sharp teethed vampiric creatures, blood thirsty for prey. And their father is all too happy to comply by bringing them five new human presents to unwrap. YIKES!!

As each new arrival takes stock of their surroundings, reality starts to sink in. The prison guard Agnes, who rode the entire way drugged and in the trunk, turns to Chess (our main protagonist) and says: ”My God. What is this, Llewellyn? Where are all the grown-ups? It can’t be just kids.” Silly Agnes… they’re not really just kids… LOL!! Chess discusses how he’s just as nervous standing there surrounded by “Twelve-year-olds dressed for a costume party,” as he was in the yard at the county lock-up. Trust me Chess, Christmasland is MUCH WORSE… LOL! At the same time, convicts Dewey and Sykes, as depraved as they are (which is A LOT!!), are also starting to realize the weight of their situation. Dewey in particular remarks that he recognizes some of the children as ones he gave to Charlie years ago, yet they haven’t aged. YEP… that sounds about right!! Let me just say, at this point, we’re still only on page ONE and I’m already salivating with fear and excitement… SERIOUSLY – PAGE ONE!! We then see a full-page panel of our group standing outside the Wraith surrounded by spiked teeth children in dirty blood-soaked clothes, all wearing different types of costumes as they close in, with most carrying some sort of weapon. A baseball player with the name WRAITHS (DUH… LOL!!) on his shirt, carries a bat while a surgeon has a bone saw (WTF!!!) and a fireman with an ax. Others have sticks, knives, clubs, cleavers and even a chainsaw sported by a deranged Davey Crocket looking child… complete with the raccoon hat. HOLY COW!!

Kevin, the other prison guard, who actually rode in the front seat, but was drugged and incapacitated the entire time, groggily emerges from the Wraith saying, “Hey… I think I had a dream about this place. That’s weird.” HAHAHA, everyone had that dream Kev… WEIRD is putting it mildly! His injury from the van rollover in Volume 2 is noticed right away by one of the children as they call for the doctor and say, “It’s a Christmasland emergency!” Um… yeah, no one wants this doctor making house calls, that’s for damn sure!! Falling against a lamp pole wrapped in Christmas lights, Kevin is reassured by another child that help is on the way. “Stand clear,” the bone saw toting doctor shouts. Kevin, still a bit groggy, is thankful at first. But as the children gather round and begin to paw at him, he says: “Girls… girls… no stop… look, this is a serious injury, not a game. You understand?” HAHAHA, no Kev… no they don’t!! Things start to move pretty fast at this point. The doctor shouts, “We’re losing him! There’s no time to waste! We have to amputate!” WHOA!!

As you would imagine, chaos ensues. Agnes tries to intervene and is stopped by a Mad Hatteresque (Disney, 1951) child who throws his top hat on her head. “Alley-kazow, alley-oop! Say good-bye, you ugly old poop!” Agnes is then engulfed by the hat until she’s gone. WHAT!! Kevin, with the bone saw still in his bloody leg, lies glassy eyed at the bottom of the street light. Creepy is putting this full-page sequence mildly in my opinion... LOL!! Next, Dewey tries to tell Manx to stop what’s happening and in the process Millie slices off his hand with her sword!! HAHAHA, I knew Charlie’s remarks in Volume 2 about lending a hand would come full circle and naturally Charlie comments as such here… LOL! Dewey fires his sawed-off shotgun sending Millie flying through the air, though she springs up a short time later, unscathed. As Manx grabs Dewey by the throat, Chess intervenes throwing the only weapon he has – a snowball – directly at Charlie. Sykes shoots one of the children (who’s wielding two axes by the way – YIKES!!) in the eye then takes the kid’s scarf and wraps the wound where Dewey’s hand once was. Chess then grabs the bone saw from Kevin’s leg (who we never see again by the way) and saws the top off the hat that… um… swallowed(??) Agnes. A white rabbit comes out. I mean…YEAH, OF COURSE IT DOES!!! Chess angrily shakes the hat. As Agnes starts to come out all she can say is: “S-s-stuh-STATIC….” HOLY COW this Inscape is just nuts!! Sykes open fires on Manx. Millie steps in, but once the smoke clears, emerges unharmed AGAIN! In the meantime, Chess is trying to assess Agnes but is knocked clean out with a spring-loaded boxing glove (SURE… why not?!? LOL!!) by a child cop sporting a patch that says CPD. Christmasland Police Department, I assume… LOL!!! Geez, the chills, laughs and WTFs are constant now!!

As a short reprieve from the madness (WHEW!!), the next couple of pages completes Chess’ backstory by taking us back to 1988 in Doublecross, CA. The medical center parking lot Chess was in with a gun is the very same one that denied his son Adam care. And the foul-mouthed corporate guy at the Christmas party and the doctor who turned Adam away are one in the same. I KNEW IT!! Chess demands the doctor hand over the golf club he got as a Secret Santa gift. Turns out, the club came from Chess as he says to the doctor: “I heard you like the game. I heard you played nine holes after you got off work… the night my Adam died.” HOLY F@$k!! At gunpoint, Chess demands the club then tells the doctor to put his hands on the hood of the car. WOW!! Now we know why Chess was sent to prison. Can you blame him though?? I mean… even though the doctor faults “the rules” (code word for money) on denying Adam care, the man took an oath… WTF!! The first and the last panel of this flashback are the same – a black yet snowy fog – acting as a fade in and out of Christmasland. Or, rather, in terms of Chess passing out and waking up, a fade out… then in. NICE!!!

When we return to the madness, the story splits in two. The first half gives us Dewey seemingly leaving Christmasland on foot through a tall set of candy cane gates flanked by equally large nutcracker men. Geez, I always liked nutcracker men… until now… LOL!! Shivering and talking to himself, Dewey reaches a large mountain wall at the end of the road and realizes he hasn’t left this nightmare at all. Surprised by a bear… or rather, a child in a bear costume (because… yes, of course… LOL!!), Dewey recognizes him as Robin Robards – one of the children Dewey gave to Charlie. Geez, this disgusting rapist and child snatcher deserves whatever he gets, right!?! Robin, the soulless thing he is, tells Dewey how he saved him from his mother… a, “Bad person,” who… ”Did all kinds of bad things,” to Robin. He then asks Dewey if he lost his gun. Turns out, Sykes only helped Dewey during all the chaos so he could steal his sawed-off shotgun and shells and disappear. From what we know about Sykes… YEP, that sounds about right… LOL!! Dewey asks if the gun would even work anyway. Um… NO Dewey… NO IT WON’T!! Apparently, all a gun would do is put holes in the bear suit… LOL!! Helping Dewey to his feet, Robin, appearing rather friendly, tells Dewey that he and some of the other children want to leave Christmasland too and maybe they could help each other. Hmmm, interesting!! I can’t imagine this is going to end well for ‘Ol Dewey Hansom, but OK!! Off they go.

The last five pages gives us our second story and features the only two somewhat normal people in this entire twisted tale – Agnes and Chess. Apparently, during all the confusion, Agnes dragged an unconscious Chess to safety in one of the Ferris wheel’s huts, which, incidentally, is still moving. Agnes frees herself from the handcuffs placed on her way back in Volume 2 with scissors she snagged from the first-aid kit in the trunk of the Wraith. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… I like this chick!! Though, I do find if funny that Charlie would have a first-aid kit in the trunk considering he’d likely take pleasure in coming across someone wounded and in need of first-aid… LOL!!! Regardless, Agnes, a 60-year-old woman, dragged a full-grown man to safety, so yeah… she’s a badass!!

As the Ferris wheel turns and their hut reaches into the clouds, Chess spies something outside. A balloon with a note attached. Wait… huh? Like the ones he and his son let go in the baseball park? No… can’t be!! He climbs onto the Ferris wheel bars attached to their hut while Agnes pleads for him to get down for fear of being seen. I’m with Agnes here Chess… get the f@%k down!! As he grabs the balloon, one of Charlie’s scary little monsters, carrying two large kitchen knives (YIKES!!), spies him on the bars. DAMMIT!! Chess, while holding the balloon, opens and reads the note, but it slips from his hand and is picked up by a bird. The final full-page panel shows a cloud and star filled sky and the bird flying off with the note. It reads: ”Help is coming. You need a special ride to leave. Will send balloons. You were right dad, they glow!” THE END! Huh… balloons, eh!! And I thought those little pieces of the story were just character connection moments between Chess and Adam. Bravo, Joe Hill.

Well kids, another deliciously evil volume is complete!! Make sure to zoom in or get out the magnifying glass because, including the cover, the malicious details are half the fun. The whole thing is a preverbal Where’s Waldo (Little Brown & Co.; 1987) of evil. An example within consists of one child wearing a string of severed fingers around his neck. YIKES! Can you find him? And I should’ve pointed out in my recap of Volume 3 that 3-6 has a single black and white previous volume recap page at the beginning. This is not something I traditionally see when reading a comic lot which is pretty cool and sets the inner chapters apart from the prologue and epilogue of Charlie’s personal arc in Volumes 1 and 7. NEAT!! We only have two chapters left before we come back round to said arc. So far, only Kevin was lost. Who’s next? And will ANY of our crew make it out of Christmasland? You’ll just have to come back next week to find out as we go full speed ahead into Volume 5 – Chapter 4: The Rules of the Game. Until next time, ponder on what little Robin Robards said to Dewey Hansom at the mountain wall dead end: ”You can’t get out of here this way. Not without a special vehicle, like the Wraith. That’s one of the rules.” And be sure to catch up on all things Christmasland with our NOS4A2 Collection right here.

‘The Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland’ – Volume 4 – ‘Chapter 3: Fastball’
IDW Publishing; Feb 2014 – Author: Joe Hill; Illustrations: Charles Paul Wilson III; Colors: Jay Fotos; Letters: Shawn Lee and Robbie Robbins; Edits: Chris Ryall

If you’ve been following along with my recaps of Joe Hill’s Limited Comic Series and the journey into Christmasland, you know that we left Charlie Manx’s origin story and drove straight into a new tale. One that introduces a group of… ahem… colorful (LOL!) prisoners and their guards, now dependent on Manx for transportation. Yeah, I’m sure that will turn out just fine… LOL! If you’re new to our ride, don’t worry, you can always catch up on Volume 1 and 2, and all things Christmasland, via our NOS4A2 Collections page right here. Now, like an excited child on Christmas, let’s unwrap Volume 3 – Chapter 2: Dark Passage… shall we?
​
Beginning with the story within the story, the first two pages gives us another flashback to 1988 for our sympathetic protagonist, Chess Llewellyn. In a backstory that has yet to be fully revealed, the former teacher, is seen holding his sickly son in the hallway of a private hospital in Doublecross, CA as he demands help for his care. Unfortunately, due to his teaching benefits not yet in full swing and a very unsympathetic doctor and nurse, Chess is turned away… and quite rudely, I might add!! As we turn the page to the present (1989) we pick up where Volume 2 left off. Chess, now a prisoner sentenced to seven years, has landed in a botched escape, and along with the two guards, is forced by Denis Sykes (a former Carny turned thief) and Dewey Hansom (a former Actor turned rapist **GROSS!**) to climb into Manx’s Wraith. Seems Dewey has known Manx for a decade and kept him from prosecution by the DA by not ratting him out. He uses this leverage to threaten Manx for help, to which Manx promptly complies. The banter between the two is telling as Manx slyly calls Dewey on his threats then says, “Don’t fret for a moment, Dewey! You are an old friend and you asked if I could give you a hand! Of course, I can… and I trust one day you’ll do the same for me!” Um… yeah… I’m sure Manx has more in mind than just a hand… LOL!! He smooths things over further by giving Dewey his favorite pair of sunglasses – heart shaped, red colored, bejeweled eyesores even worse than his porn-guy ones in Volume 1 – and off they go. But not before drugging the guards and throwing Agnes (my new favorite!!) in the trunk while placing Kevin up front with Manx. Up front in the Wraith right next to Charlie… YIKES!!

On the road, Sykes asks Dewey for the details behind his relationship with Manx. Dewey recounts when he was a big-time screen agent where a meeting with a “Mom, fresh from the green pastures of New Jersey, [that] wanted her six-year-old to be on TV” ended very badly. A one panel flashback shows a distraught Dewey sitting at the end of a bed where a woman wearing some sort of mask lies motionless as her terrified son looks on in the doorway. Dewey says, “Christ, I was high. I was high and she was kinky. I don’t know what happened. It was an accident.” In a panic, he remembered hearing about a man who could make problems disappear. No memory of how he got the calling card, adorned with candy canes (of course!!), Dewey called the number. In exchange for Manx’s help, Dewey gave him the child. WHOA!! Upon hearing this, Chess, the grieving father, pipes up with anger asking what happened to the child. Manx gleefully interrupts to reassure them the boy is alive and well and happier than ever in Christmasland. Visions from Volume 1 of Manx’s sharp toothed offspring come to mind as I ponder on the term “Happy” and shiver just a bit… LOL!! Dewey, surprised that Manx still refers to the boy as a six-year-old says, “You mean he used to be a six-year-old… he must be going on fourteen by now.” NOPE Dewey! He’s still 6 and he’s just aching to play!!

As the journey continues, we see a line of cars being shuffled one-by-one through a police blockade. Geez, for a moment, I completely forgot about the fact these prisoners escaped in a chaotic DOC van rollover, killing one civilian accomplice (R.I.P. Moon Boy… LOL!!) and severely injuring the guard Kevin in the process. Not to mention, they have yet to cross over to Charlie’s Inscape – Christmasland. It’s almost like being in the Wraith with them, I too, a new passenger, am crossing over as well. WHOA… eerie AF, am I right? Nearing the road block, with just a few words, Charlie further explains his relationship with Dewey. Seems ‘Ol Dewey often came across many children in need and Manx was all too delighted to assist. YUK!! Makes complete sense though. Saving children is Charlie’s excuse for what he turns them in to and a man like Dewey will forego asking too many questions if the outcome suits him above all else. The whole thing turns my stomach, which, I conclude, is exactly what Joe Hill was going for when he decided to write about a soul sucking Wraith that’s tied to a psychopathic murderer created by childhood horrors of his own. It’s deliciously evil with every layer and I LOVE IT!!

As the Wraith slows for the impasse, Sykes raises his gun and says, “Buckle up boys. We’ve got law ahead. However, as a lawman approaches, Manx tells them not to worry. Huh??? And in another one panel shot, we see Manx, perched at the wheel, with a sly grin as a police officer waves the Wraith along. All the passengers, including the drugged guard Kevin in the front seat, appear as small children. The whole sequence immediately conjures memories of a previous panel where, in reference to Manx, Dewey says, “No one is better at making people disappear. He’s the fuckin’ Houdini of the highway.” I guess that statement is multifaceted, eh!?! And speaking of multifaceted, as the road continues, the next two pages hit us with another one of Chess’s flashbacks. Teary eyed and frantic, Chess is driving while his son, who we learn is named Adam, is curled up on the back seat in pain. Adam brings up the balloons tied with messages they let go back in Volume 2. He’s asking how many it would take to help him float away. Chess, in an effort to distract Adam, and likely himself, from the pain, tells the boy about Delirium 101 a “Special gas” with “More lifting power than air or helium.” Chess continues to sooth his son with the strength of Delirium 101, but the final panel shows a glassy eyed Adam who’s seemingly passed on mid conversation. Informative yet terribly sad at the same time, I now fully understand Chess’s plight and wanna fight for him amongst these murderers, rapists and thieves. **SIGH**
​
Shaken awake by Sykes, both Chess and myself come back to the present where it’s now snowing in May. Hmmm, have we crossed over to Manx’s Inscape yet?? Just so we’re sure, Sykes shows Chess that reaching towards the front seat places his arms in an invisible void as he states, “Hey Llewellyn, you ever seen anything as amazing as that?” Looking out the window, Chess says, “You bet. Right out there.” A full page panel reveals a snowy road winding through a candy cane forest. Complete with a mountainous starry sky, evil looking prancing deer, moving snowmen and a giant walking teddy bear. Finally, there are 3 huge child letter blocks that spell out DIE. Yep… we’re definitely in the Inscape… LOL!!

As Dewey and the prison guard Kevin sleep, Sykes, Chess and Manx discuss how this all must be a dream. Chess stands up to Manx telling him if he finds missing kids in Christmasland, he’ll “Gladly expose the place.” Oh bless your wittle heart Llewellyn!! You have no idea what’s coming… LOL!! Charlie strikes back telling Chess his son would’ve been better off in Christmasland and that he’d still be alive. WHOA… that’s a low blow!! He also lets them in on the Inscape secret by saying, “You need a special ride to find the roads into Christmasland – The roads in and the roads out. You need a ride that is itself like a dream made real. A ride like the Wraith! And no one drives this car but me!” YIKES!! I absolutely love that we knew this from the beginning, but having Charlie explain it still sends chills down my spine. RIGHT!?! Falling back sleep, Manx wakes them once they’ve reached the heart of Christmasland. Dewey is lost in the realization of a fully functioning amusement park while Chess thinks what he had seen and heard before was a dream all his own. We now find out that Sykes had the same dream. WHOA!! Manx beckons for them to get out of the car. He even lets poor Agnes out of the trunk. All the while, we see shadows moving closer as Charlie, in reference to his children, say, “I just know they can’t wait to show you their favorite games!” With Kevin still asleep in the front seat, we see a smiling Manx and four very confused passengers looking dead ahead at the shadows approaching. The final full page panel reveals a group of bloody spiked teeth child monsters led by, of course, a sword wielding Millie Manx. The huge Christmas tree behind them is adorned with lit candles and severed heads. You know… your average Christmas decorations… LOL. THE END!! WOW…can you envision a game of Scissors for the Drifter?? I sure can!!

Well, that’s it for now kids. I truly hope you enjoy this volume AND my recap. The cover, seen at the top of the page, is my personal favorite of all seven as it gives one of the biggest glimpses into Christmasland. Perched on a cliff with nothing but static below and topped with the very Charliesque Man in the Moon, the illustration is fantastic and disturbing at the same time. Inside, the artwork keeps form with Volume 2 and its predominantly dark landscapes eased with pops of color. Even Chess’ flashbacks are darker than before as his memories have now moved passed simpler times and into a parent’s worst nightmare. For me, there is always more to dissect and though this recap is fairly thorough, not all is discussed – leaving plenty of dialogue and visuals for the reader to discover. And with four more comics to review, we have many more evil surprises ahead before these devilishly delicious prequels come to an end. Next week, Volume 4 – Chapter 3: Fastball. Until then… remember Charlie’s thoughts on youth: ”Nothing keeps a person youthful like happiness. Innocent fun is as good a pickling a fellow.” *Wink*  

‘The Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland’ – Volume 3 – ‘Chapter 2: Dark Passage’
IDW Publishing; Jan 2014 – Author: Joe Hill; Illustrations: Charles Paul Wilson III; Colors: Jay Fotos; Letters: Shawn Lee and Robbie Robbins; Edits: Chris Ryall

Last we saw Charles Talent Manx; he was deep in Christmasland with his newest child companion closing the chapter on his sad and really quite disturbing origin story. In short order, we learned just exactly how he became the weirdest, yet deliciously evil adaptation of a vampire I’ve seen to date. This time, before we circle back around with Volume 7 to close out Manx’s pre-novel and television series arc… as promised, we’ll DRIVE right into a five-chapter tale that brings layers of storytelling and lots of devilish little surprises. Of course, Manx and his Wraith play their parts, but really take a back seat… ahem, no pun intended… to the tale of a group of prisoners and their guards who end up on the wrong road both metaphorically and quite literally. So, before you can say, or rather sing, Jingle Bells, let’s get started… shall we?
​
Opening miles away from Charlie’s stomping grounds of Gunbarrel, Colorado, we see a rooftop Christmas party (I mean…duh!!) in a place called Doublecross, California in 1988. Interesting name, no? Some loud-and foul-mouthed corporate guy is going on about an expensive golf club he received via secret Santa. The name on the building reads Chatham-Pratt Medical. A guy with an RR minor league baseball cap that completely reminds me, as it should, of the Rolls Royce symbol, sits in his car holding a gun. Page one and we’re off to a good start… LOL. Cut to page two and the same guy, who apparently used to be a teacher and goes by the name Chess Llewellyn, is being transported in the back of a prisoner van marked California Department of Corrections (CDOC) with two nefarious looking fellows. As seen on this volume’s cover, one has the card symbols of a red heart and a black spade tattooed around either eye, which looks as weird as it sounds. Not to mention his forked tongue… YIKES!! The other, a fracking child rapist donned in large rose-colored glasses and a creepy mustache that make him look like an 80s porn-star (YUK!!) who goes by the name by Mr. Dewey Hansom (GROSS!!), so really isn’t what his misspelled name implies… LOL! It’s now 1989 and apparently that fun with a gun on page one granted Chess a 7-year sentence. The guards, Agnes and Kevin, are in the cab chatting on the finer points of carnival geeks, which seemingly used to be card face’s (Denis Sykes) gig before he turned to thievery. Looks as if Sykes used to eat odd items for audience entertainment. Ewww! Why am I not surprised that this guy with a forked tongue just gets worse with every page?

As the van barrels down Route 66, we see a man on a Triumph motorcycle pass them by. Remember, these comics are a prequel to Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 novel (William Morrow & Company; 2013) so yep, I’ll take that Triumph as nice nod to one Victoria “Vic” McQueen – HECK YA!! Sykes begins to verbally provoke Kevin with gruesome intent causing him to furiously open the metal gate separating the cab from the prisoners and mace Sykes. He drops to the van floor and vomits which turns out, was the plan all along as he states: “As for being a carny geek, it’s not the eating that’s hard. It’s keeping things down. I’ve had this wire in my stomach six weeks, waiting for today…” – WHOA!! Chaos ensues! And as you would imagine, the van ride gets pretty rocky. Just up ahead, behind a large California road sign marked I-15 2mi/Hesperia 10mi, sits the guy on the motorcycle, looking a bit like a slower and even dumpier Uncle Fester (MGM Television; 1964). LOL. Covered in tattoos, he’s perched on the bike loading a sawed-off shotgun as the van approaches. All part of the plan, I see. Sykes, using his own chains, has Kevin in a strangle hold and he’s yelling at Agnes to pull over. Things get even hairier as Sykes finds Kevin’s gun. At this point, I’ve literally forgotten all about Charlie Manx and Christmasland and am fully on board with this escape plan obviously about to go very, very awry… LOL!!  

The panels seem to be moving as fast as the van and yelling just as loud as Agnes!! Chess and Hansom take a back seat as they seem completely unaware of Sykes plan. “CHAKKK!!” A bullet flies past Agnes’ head and through the windshield. HOLY COW… that escalated quick! As the van swerves then tumbles, the guy on the motorcycle, along with the road sign, are wiped clean. I mean, he was behind the sign and welp… he, nor I, didn’t see that one coming… LOL!! In the midst of the van rolling over, the next couple of pages walk us through a memory of Chess and his son at a baseball game. The color scheme is completely different than the previous pages depicting a simpler and happier time. The boy has a large bouquet of balloons with an idea of letting them go with secret messages tied to them. Aww, that’s almost too cute for this wicked tale, am I right? As they watch the balloons leave, Chess remarks to his son, “Maybe they’ll go all the way to the North Pole. You should’ve written your Christmas list on one of those.” NICE Joe Hill! Keep those nods a-comin! *Wink* The mood is dampened slightly when the boy seems a bit off with “A hiccup trying to get out,” which apparently got stuck then went away. Each balloon floats above a warm blue sky and I’m left with a calm yet inquisitive, “the f@ck was that?” feeling. The layers of storytelling are fantastic. I mean… obviously, Chess’s ride to prison has something to do with his son, but we have yet to know the details. Just some tiny morsels for us to chew on here and there and I LOVE IT! Back to the crash!!

A blurry eyed Chess is helped from the wreckage by Agnes who then suddenly takes a slap to the face with the butt of the sawed-off shotgun – retrieved by Hansom. Dude, she’s handcuffed! I mean… what a dick!! Kevin appears to have a broken ankle and is quite pissed about it… LOL. But seriously fella, you let a letch like Sykes get to you. Though, he did invoke some pretty crass statements about Kevin’s wife and child, so yeah… there’s that!! Speaking of Sykes. The crazy f@&k appears to be mourning the death of the motorcycle guy. A fellow carny named Moon Boy. Yep, that names totally fits his Uncle Fester vibe… LOL! Not to mention his entire bald head was covered in moon tattoos. Man, I love the moon and Joe Hill must as well, considering this is a nice tie-in to Charlie’s Man in the Moon. NEAT! In the story at hand, seems Moon Boy set up the whole escape, including the unfortunate events surrounding Kevin’s wife and the passing of the wire via a kiss to Sykes at their last county lock-up visit. Wait, did I just feel sympathy for these two? Nah, can’t be… can it? Grief stricken and angry, Sykes doesn’t take kindly to Agnes and blames her for Moon Boy’s death. She tells him it was an accident and says she’s sorry, but then sarcastically says, “If I could do it over, I’d try to hit him without rolling the van. My insurance is going to go up.” AHAHA, I like this chick!!

‘Ol Dewey, because somehow, calling him that is better than Hansom (LOL!), pipes up and says they’re not far from where he shot Hellhole 2 and if they can get to the warehouse used on set, he can contact a guy that can help them disappear for good. Wait… Dewey might actually have been a porn star… LOL!?! He says this guy owes him big time for not ratting him out to the DA. Hmm, things are adding up, now aren’t they?? Dewey may not have been part of the escape plan to begin with, but his solution is all they have left. Chess helps Kevin hobble along followed by a handcuffed Agnes and the two idiots holding guns at their backs. They make their way to the old warehouse which is marked with a big red traditional and cartoonish devil face with the words Devil May Care Studios encircling the giant eyesore. As they wait outside, Dewey makes a phone call. He returns with news that their ride is on the way as he states, “He’s coming. Give him time. When he’s done with us, people will think we fell off the edge of the earth.” I find it funny that this disgusting moron has no idea just how right he really is. Because we definitely know who’s coming, don’t we kids??

Dewey tells Chess to keep a look out and as the day fades to night, far off in the distance a lowly crescent moon takes shape. Soon, bright lights appear on the horizon as we see a black car snake its way down the windy road. I love the panel sequence here. Three of them with Chess looking the same – keeping watch. The first, it’s still light. The second the crescent moon appears in a dark and starless sky. The third… headlights. As if day, turned night moon, turned Wraith. Subtle, eerie and AWESOME! The final panel, quite similar to Volume One’s cover – minus the bloody handprints – has a red eyed Manx bearing a slightly evil grin and holding the door of the Wraith open and he simply states, “You called?” THE END! 

Hopefully you can see why it was so easy for me to read all 7 of these comics in one sitting. The artwork is quite descriptive using simple elements like tattoos, blood, windy roads and dark shadows juxtaposed against dusky desert daylight and Joshua trees. While the story within the story surrounding Chess is lighter and softer. The dialogue is just as detailed giving you a hot take on every character’s make-up that complements their drawing relatively nicely. In short. These characters are quite believable and by the end, you WILL want to know more!! So, in that case, come on back next week as we walk through Volume 3 – Chapter 2: Dark Passage and in the mean-time, keep up on all things Christmasland with our NOS4A2 Collections page right here! Until next time… remember Sykes’ words: “I admire a good side show, and this feels like a fun one. Pleasantly diverting.”  

‘The Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland’ – Volume 2 – ‘Chapter 1: The Getaway’
IDW Publishing; Dec 2013 – Author: Joe Hill; Illustrations: Charles Paul Wilson III; Colors: Jay Fotos; Letters: Shawn Lee and Robbie Robbins; Edits: Chris Ryall