It's the end of the world. Actually, it's after the end of the world. World War III has been fought, natural disasters have ravaged the earth. Roving gangs and mutant zombies roam the earth, seeking out the last of humanity. It's “The Walking Dead” and “Mad Max” rolled into one. The North Pole is attacked by marauders, killing Mrs. Claus and leaving Santa for dead. Depressed, he makes numerous attempts at suicide before realizing he can't die as long as one child still believes in him. So, Santa sets out to correct this...

This is the basic premise for The Last Christmas, a graphic (and gory) novel written by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn, and illustrated by Rick Remender, supposedly conceived while the writers were playing Halo, according to the notes. I believe it. The whole book reads and looks like the thought train of smoking too much pot while staring at a box of Christmas decorations and imagining all their potential violent uses other than for their intended purpose.

The story is quite good and flows like smooth egg nog. Mostly. It can occasionally flows very quickly at times, almost too quickly, which gives it a jerky motion, but not overly so. Most of the time it ramps up appropriately rather than going from zero to sixty in a half second. The plot is also fairly entertaining, with some subtle twists, although it starts out a lot more interesting than it ends. While it starts out quickly with the apocalypse (it's always a good idea to begin with the end of the world) and the rampages and the murder, it turns into a fairly conventional rescue and destroy story. It would have been nice to see some more risks taken as the story went on, but we can't hope for everything. Plus, the very end felt like it was tacked on and unnecessary, and seemed like the creators were just saying “Hey, look what we're doing,” and felt like it served no real purpose and wasn't that funny.

While the characters are generally well drawn (in a literary sense, not artwise; I'll discuss the art in a moment), occasionally motivations seem strange. Santa is clearly depressed over the apocalypse and the death of Mrs. Claus, but somehow the elves seem simplistic. They are supposed to be happy and helpful, so they are happy and helpful, no matter the circumstance. Well, they do become violent a little later, but it felt like they could have used some more fleshing out. Also, the motivations for some of the villains seem lacking. One of the main villains is a mutant who wears a judge's robe, but this is never really explained or even capitalized on. It had a lot of potential that was never brought forth. At the same time, they serve their purpose for the plot, so it's not a huge drag.

The art is quite pleasing to the eye. The drawings are quite beautifully done, and the ink is colorful and vibrant. It's quite an interesting juxtaposition having a much darker story taking place in a bright and colorful world, but it's one that helps maintain the humor. It is supposed to be funny, after all. A lot of the drawings also include subtle details that make you want to take your time and fully enjoy them, rather than just blow through them.

The Last Christmas is a good read, even if it falls far short of perfection. Even taking some time to enjoy the art, it's a very fast read and gives a darkly funny Christmas story full of blood and guts and mutilations, just as Christmas should be.

The Last Christmas earns 3.5 slay bells out of 5.

Note: A review copy of this title was provided to this reviewer without charge through NetGalley. This has in no way affected to content of this review. ( )

Santa fighting zombies at Christmas from the writers who brought me Deadpool? There was no way I could resist.

I liked the comic itself. I liked the art, the way the elves were full of Christmas cheer and yet were also locked and loaded. I liked the story, about Santa being alive as long as one child believes in him. I even liked Santa's (admittedly disturbing) grief after the zombie attack on the North Pole.

The only thing I didn't like was the introduction with all its ableist language. So TW:ABLEISM for that.

This comic is gross. It's offensive. It's from the writers of Deadpool, I knew it would be. And I'm good with that. But I think it's possible to be all those wonderful and hilarious things without resorting to cheap ableist language.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

World War III has ravaged the earth and if you’re not a member of a ruthless street gang, you’re probably a hideously deformed mutant. While carnage has enveloped the majority of the world, it’s business as usual in the North Pole. While Santa is still delivering presents to the few children who believe in him, there’s a plan hatched by The Marauders – a ruthless gang out of San Francisco – to take down Jolly Old Saint Nick once and for all. Can Santa fend off the forces of evil and restore some joy to a hopeless planet?

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

I was browsing Netgalley for something new to read when I spotted a comic written by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn. I’m a big fan of the team’s work on the new Deadpool series so when I saw that they had written a gore-splattered, darkly comedic take on the holiday season, I knew I had to snatch this one up.

Literally conceived over a game of Halo on XBOX Live, the two friends took Santa and injected him into a post-apocalyptic action movie filled with over-the-top violent scenes and fantastic one liners. While it did take a while for the story to pick up, the last quarter of the book kicks ass. There’s one panel near the end – and I absolutely refuse to spoil it – that had me laughing until I cried. If you’re a fan of movies like Army of Darkness or Shoot 'Em Up, this one is for you. ( )

The Last Christmas is a mash-up of a Christmas tale with a zombie apocalypse and how Santa reacts to the destruction left behind by the undead and marauders. Upon seeing this as an offering from Netgalley and Image Comics, I was intrigued: 1. Because it was Christmas related—‘tis the season and all, and 2. Because …um zombies! Duh! You really cannot go wrong with brain craving crazies. The graphic novel is just that: GRAPHIC, there are zombies and death throughout and Santa is not your typical jolly St. Nic. On the contrary, he is a badass.

I should also say that this novel only got three stars out of me, there have been so many amazing artists throughout my time reading that while this book and story were interesting and not the norm, the images were not the very best I have seen, do not get me wrong, the artist was amazing and I am envious of the talent. That being said there was a lot more violence than I expected.

Santa, like I mentioned above, is not jolly, nor even nice most of the time. He is drunk, a bit of a pain, and more or less horrible person – al for good reason, he misses Mrs. Claus, but still. I hate seeing Santa in such a macabre fashion.

I did enjoy the story, Santa is distraught and trying to die, but can’t because there is still a child that believes in him, so he is doomed to magical immortality until the kid stops believing. Santa has to choose between his own life and the lives of the few others that still survive after the zombies take over and that is heartwarming and even interesting.

I LOVED the last few pages of the book and the allusion of more to come in the way of Santa as a zombie-hunting Rambo type. So I leave the decision up to you, if you like a gory, off-kilter, drunken Santa type story, this is for you. If you are more partial to the happy St. Nic checking his list, leave this one be. ( )

It’s always a treat to find a new uplifting Christmas tale full of hope and joy and the true meaning and sprit of the season. Well, boys and girls, if that’s what you’re looking for, you best look elsewhere because this graphic novel definitely ain’t it. What it is, though, is a whole lot of fun.

It’s a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies and marauders and, in a full-out assault on the North Pole, Mrs. Claus is killed. Santa is emotionally destroyed and takes to drink. He tries every conceivable way to kill himself but, as long as even one kid continues to believe, Santa can’t die. When he receives a letter from that last kid, Santa decides to kill the delusional little jerk. However, things don’t go quite like he planned and maybe, just maybe, Santa can be saved by the innocence of a child…well that and some well-armed elves, some kamikaze gingerbread men, and a very violent snowman.

The Last Christmas is sort of Mad Max meets Bad Santa and the result is gory, vulgar, irreverent, and very funny. So if you’re fed up with all the Christmas carols and good cheer starting the day after Halloween and are to the point that you wish that Tiny Tim would be impaled on a sprig of holly, this might be just the thing to get you through the season. ( )