Spending Christmas with those you love is always a joy.
And that goes for fictional characters too like many of the gang from Hanna-Barbera, an animation house founded by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1957, former MGM employees who gifted the world the hilarious manic delights of Tom and Jerry.
They also went to create the likes of Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Magilla Gorilla and the one and only Yogi Bear, all of whom appear in the Cartoon Network Christmas Spectacular, a one-shot comic published by Archie Comics in December 1996.
It features four Christmas-specific stories, starring Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons and Yogi Bear and some anytime of the year brief adventures featuring Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw and Magilla Gorilla.
While “spectacular” might be a little bit of a titular overreach, the comic has an entertaining take on Christmas through its four main stories that are faithful to the characters while having some fun with some classic tales of the season.
Take The Jetsons story for instance, which features George Jetson being told by his ever-cranky and very mean boss Mr. Spacely that he has to work right through Christmas, his only compensation being able to look at photos of his family while he does so.
It’s classic Scrooge territory and right on cue, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future appear, intent as always on reforming and redeeming the coldhearted heart of their latest client.
Amusingly though Mr. Spacely proves to be reform-proof with the ghosts giving up just as we discover that the irredeemable man may not be so heartless after all.
It’s a fun take on the Dickens classic that proves you can still do something new with the much-adapted story if you try hard enough and throw a little extra imagination into the mix.
Keeping with the overall thrust of adapting classic Christmas tales, this time It’s a Wonderful Life, Yogi Bear shows us what would have happened if the ever-faithful, much put-upon Boo-Boo Bear hadn’t ever been born and Yogi Bear has been left to do his thing, unfettered by any sort of conscience.
It’s not pretty, especially for the ursine inhabitants of Jellystone National Park which is looking a good sight more developed that we’re used to seeing it, and certainly not for Yogi who may be amusing with his selfish schemes and plans but who becomes downright unpleasant without Boo-Boo there to set him straight.
The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo are pretty much fun, festive takes on their usual types of storylines, eschewing the classics of the season for stories that showcase why we love the characters so much; they both work, and while they’re limited to 7-8 stories each, they still managed to generate a laugh and some lovely festive warmth and fun.
The fill-in stories are pretty brief and run-of-the-mill but act as nice breakers to the four Christmas-themed main stories, leaving the Cartoon Network Christmas Spectacular feeling like a print version of many of the composite shows that Hanna-Barbera became well known for such as The Huckleberry Hound Show.
Reading it as an adult, the comic passes by pretty quickly but it’s hugely fun to spend some Christmas time with some of your favourite Hanna-Barbera characters and to be reminded why they were so entertaining no matter the time of the year, but especially at Christmas.
