Written by Juanita ‘Obi-Juan’ Bonner  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
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