Yuletide: Curse of the Winter Witch by George Northy; Artwork by Rachele Argano 
Yuletide book cover
Author George Northy
Artist Rachele Argano
Many thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for allowing me to
preview an interesting, new graphic novel Yuletide: Curse of the Winter Witch. While I’m not one to read a lot of Christmas-based stories, the idea
of a winter witch who wants to apply a curse appealed to me. I was surprised at
how creatively Northy incorporates the kind of mythological characters and
monsters from other cultures and belief systems in this modern story. Yuletide
is an interesting take the kids versus monsters/evil stories that were a part
of 80s movies. In fact, in an interview at the end of the book, Northy credits Goonies
as a major influence along with movies like Hocus Pocus and shows like Buffy
the Vampire Slayer. He also wrote for the show Charmed, and I can
see how the research into traditional witches in other cultures applies to this
story. Although the story takes a little time to develop, once all of the
mythological creatures are unleased from their boxes and begin wreaking havoc
on the town of Christmas, PA, the story gets much more engaging and exciting.
Yuletide starts with the story of Jake, a jaded teen
who is sick of the corporatization and commercialization of Christmas, even
though he lives in Christmas, PA with his widowed mother and sister. Jake has
some other friends in the town with whom he can commiserate about the impending
holiday gloom, even though his Jewish friend Abe is more obsessed about
Christmas than Chanukah. The friends eventually congregate at one of their
Uncle’s Christmas shops, where, dressed as Santa, Uncle Kris reveals a series
of odd boxes with designs he found under other Christmas antiques and
artifacts. The friends decide to revisit the shop afterhours and open one of
the boxes with a squiggly knife. The boxes unleash several of the mythological monsters
and figures from other winter cultures. Included are the Jólakötturinn, a giant
Icelandic cat that attacks children who don’t receive new clothing for
Christmas; Mari Lwyd, a Welsh horse ghost who is represented as a skull with a
sheet and often speaks in rhymes; Jólasveinar, who are 13 Yule Lads (or trolls)
who wreak havoc by licking bowls and stealing sausages during the holiday
season; the Schnabelperchten, creatures who have a large, bird-like beak, carry
giant scissors, and sweep and clean people’s homes during the new year; and
Perchta, the Yule Withc, who was a beautiful winter goddess, but gradually took
on people’s misery and filled herself up with darkness, becoming a dark goddess
and witch, who goes after children, slicing open their bellies with a crooked
blade, removes their innards and replaces it with trash. It’s a motley
collection of winter monsters and witches, who begin to cause chaos throughout
the Christmas centered town. The story reminded me of those 80s films,
including Gremlins, where the characters know some of the rules, but
also have to figure other weaknesses out to defeat their enemies. Jake and his
friends have to band together and with the help of an elf who was also released
to track down the Yule Witch and her minions, seek to send these winter
warriors back to their hibernal habitats. I loved learning about the different
cultures and creatures. This was probably my favorite part of the book, and
Northy subtly integrates elements of the cultures and traditions that bore
these myths into a modern story. He also takes some creative liberties in
making the creatures behave in a modern setting, but this also helps to create
an engaging pairing of traditional cultural beliefs and modern genre stories
for adolescents like Goonies and Gremlins. Although the story is
action-packed and the teen team has to battle through the winter crew
one-by-one before reaching the head boss, Perchta, the beginning of the story
started a little slow. I also found that the dialogue to be a little long and
abstract for comics and especially for teenagers in comics. Northy presents
some philosophical ideas, especially about Christmas, commercialization, and
corporate interests, but it was a little hard to read these lengthy diatribes
in comic bubbles. Nevertheless, his work to introduce and educate about these
mythological creatures is well done, and I really enjoyed the story once they
were released. Furthermore, this book made me think more about my own ideas and
practices during the winter season, and whether I’m really appreciative of the
changing of the seasons or whether I’m in it more for the presents and commercialization.
Additionally, Argano’s artwork makes the story fun and light. I also enjoyed
some of the other alternative covers as well. Yuletide: The Curse of the
Winter Witch is a fun, wild ride with many interesting creatures incorporated
from other cultures and myths from around Scandinavia and other winter-based
cultures. Recommended!
Many thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for allowing me to
preview an interesting, new graphic novel Yuletide: Curse of the Winter Witch. While I’m not one to read a lot of Christmas-based stories, the idea
of a winter witch who wants to apply a curse appealed to me. I was surprised at
how creatively Northy incorporates the kind of mythological characters and
monsters from other cultures and belief systems in this modern story. Yuletide
is an interesting take the kids versus monsters/evil stories that were a part
of 80s movies. In fact, in an interview at the end of the book, Northy credits Goonies
as a major influence along with movies like Hocus Pocus and shows like Buffy
the Vampire Slayer. He also wrote for the show Charmed, and I can
see how the research into traditional witches in other cultures applies to this
story. Although the story takes a little time to develop, once all of the
mythological creatures are unleased from their boxes and begin wreaking havoc
on the town of Christmas, PA, the story gets much more engaging and exciting.
Yuletide starts with the story of Jake, a jaded teen
who is sick of the corporatization and commercialization of Christmas, even
though he lives in Christmas, PA with his widowed mother and sister. Jake has
some other friends in the town with whom he can commiserate about the impending
holiday gloom, even though his Jewish friend Abe is more obsessed about
Christmas than Chanukah. The friends eventually congregate at one of their
Uncle’s Christmas shops, where, dressed as Santa, Uncle Kris reveals a series
of odd boxes with designs he found under other Christmas antiques and
artifacts. The friends decide to revisit the shop afterhours and open one of
the boxes with a squiggly knife. The boxes unleash several of the mythological monsters
and figures from other winter cultures. Included are the Jólakötturinn, a giant
Icelandic cat that attacks children who don’t receive new clothing for
Christmas; Mari Lwyd, a Welsh horse ghost who is represented as a skull with a
sheet and often speaks in rhymes; Jólasveinar, who are 13 Yule Lads (or trolls)
who wreak havoc by licking bowls and stealing sausages during the holiday
season; the Schnabelperchten, creatures who have a large, bird-like beak, carry
giant scissors, and sweep and clean people’s homes during the new year; and
Perchta, the Yule Withc, who was a beautiful winter goddess, but gradually took
on people’s misery and filled herself up with darkness, becoming a dark goddess
and witch, who goes after children, slicing open their bellies with a crooked
blade, removes their innards and replaces it with trash. It’s a motley
collection of winter monsters and witches, who begin to cause chaos throughout
the Christmas centered town. The story reminded me of those 80s films,
including Gremlins, where the characters know some of the rules, but
also have to figure other weaknesses out to defeat their enemies. Jake and his
friends have to band together and with the help of an elf who was also released
to track down the Yule Witch and her minions, seek to send these winter
warriors back to their hibernal habitats. I loved learning about the different
cultures and creatures. This was probably my favorite part of the book, and
Northy subtly integrates elements of the cultures and traditions that bore
these myths into a modern story. He also takes some creative liberties in
making the creatures behave in a modern setting, but this also helps to create
an engaging pairing of traditional cultural beliefs and modern genre stories
for adolescents like Goonies and Gremlins. Although the story is
action-packed and the teen team has to battle through the winter crew
one-by-one before reaching the head boss, Perchta, the beginning of the story
started a little slow. I also found that the dialogue to be a little long and
abstract for comics and especially for teenagers in comics. Northy presents
some philosophical ideas, especially about Christmas, commercialization, and
corporate interests, but it was a little hard to read these lengthy diatribes
in comic bubbles. Nevertheless, his work to introduce and educate about these
mythological creatures is well done, and I really enjoyed the story once they
were released. Furthermore, this book made me think more about my own ideas and
practices during the winter season, and whether I’m really appreciative of the
changing of the seasons or whether I’m in it more for the presents and commercialization.
Additionally, Argano’s artwork makes the story fun and light. I also enjoyed
some of the other alternative covers as well. Yuletide: The Curse of the
Winter Witch is a fun, wild ride with many interesting creatures incorporated
from other cultures and myths from around Scandinavia and other winter-based
cultures. Recommended!
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