Hello everyone and welcome to the Holiday Specials comics reading guide!
We’ve scoured over 80 years of stories to bring you some of the greatest holiday comics from Marvel, DC, Image, Boom Studios, and more! Covering Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, and general joy, I hope these comics bring a smile to your face this holiday season. If you have more recommendations we should add, let us know!
Quick Holiday Comics Highlights:
Marvel Holiday comics
- Marvel Team-Up (1971) #1
- Uncanny X-Men (1963) #143, 230, 308
- What The–?! (1988) #10
- Incredible Hulk (1962) #378
- Daredevil (1964) #253-254
- Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #109-112
- Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #6
- Power Pack (1984) #19
- Marvel Holiday Special 1991-1994
- Spider-Man Holiday Special (1995) #1
- Ant-Man’s Big Christmas (1999) #1
- Spider-Man’s Tangled Web (2001) #21
- Marvel Holiday Special 2005-2006, 2011
- GLX-Mas Special (2006) #1
- Marvel Digital Holiday Special (2008) #1
- Marvel Holiday Spectacular (2009) #1
- Fantastic Four (1998) #564-565
- Punisher (2011) #5
- Spider-Gwen (2015) #14-15
- Power Man and Iron Fist: Sweet Christmas (2016) Annual #1
- Spider-Man/Deadpool (2016) #12
- Gwenpool Holiday Special: Merry Mix-Up (2016) #1
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2016) #37
- Merry X-Men Holiday Special (2018) #1
DC Holiday comics
- Superman’s Christmas Adventure (1940) #1
- Teen Titans (1966) #13
- Spectre (1968) #6
- Batman (1940) #219, 239
- The Brave and the Bold (1955) #148
- DC Special Series #21 (1979)
- The Best of DC (1979) #22
- Christmas with the Super-Heroes (1988) #2
- Superman (1987) #64
- Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special (1991) #1
- Flash (1987) #73
- Batman Adventures Holiday Special (1994) #1
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) #79
- Batman: The Long Halloween (1996) #1-13
- DCU Holiday Bash (1996) #2-3
- JLA (1997) #60
- JSA (1999) #54-55
- DCU Infinite Holiday Special (2006) #1
- DC Universe Holiday Special (2008) #1
- Batman: Noël (2011)
- Harley Quinn Holiday Special (2014) #1
- DC Rebirth Holiday Special (2016) #1
- DC Holiday Special 2017
Other Publishers Holiday comics
- Hellboy Christmas Special (1997) #1
- Krampus! (2014) #1-5
- Klaus (2015-2019)
- Giant Days 2016 Holiday Special (2016) #1
These stories with universal themes are a great way to meet new characters and explore new genres, so try out a new series today! Each title has its own unique flavor, so there’s no bad place to start. Enjoy reading!
Marvel Holiday Specials
Marvel has a spotty history with holiday special comics, depending on the editors in charge. But readers always love a good holiday story, and so many of Marvel’s best are timeless, making them fun to come back to year after year. Dive into the stories below and see which ones become your new annual favorites!
- Marvel Team-Up (1971) #1
- Uncanny X-Men (1963) #143, 230, 308
- #308 features Thanksgiving!
- What The–?! (1988) #8, 10, 16, 18, 25
- #8 features the Son of Satan Santa!
- #10 features Doom Santa!
- Incredible Hulk (1962) #378
- Features Rhino Santa and Hulk Santa!
- Daredevil (1964) #178, 253-254, 266
- #178 features Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade!
- Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #109-112
- Features Santa Claus and a Santa burglar!
- Returns in Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) #2
- Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #6-9
- #6 features Thanksgiving!
- #7 features Christmas
- #8 features MLK Jr. Day and more of the winter season!
- #9 features Mardi Gras!
- Power Pack (1984) #19
- Features Thanksgiving and the Thanksgiving day parade!
- Sensational She-Hulk (1989) #7-8
- Features Santa and Mrs. Claus!
- Marvel Holiday Special 1991-1996
- 1991 features Ghost Rider Santa!
- 1992 features Punisher Santa!
- Spider-Man Holiday Special (1995) #1
- Ant-Man’s Big Christmas (1999) #1
- Spider-Man’s Tangled Web (2001) #21
- Marvel Holiday Special 2004-2007, 2011
- 2005 features Ultron Santa!
- 2011 features Hanukkah!
- GLX-Mas Special (2006) #1
- Marvel Digital Holiday Special (2008) #1-2
- Fantastic Four (1998) #564-565
- Marvel Holiday Spectacular (2009) #1
- Marvel Digital Holiday Special (2010) #1-3
- Punisher (2011) #5
- Features Thanksgiving!
- Spider-Gwen (2015) #14-15
- #14 features Thanksgiving!
- #15 features Christmas!
- Spider-Man/Deadpool (2016) #12
- Ghost Rider X-Mas Special Infinite Comic (2016) #1
- Features Krampus!
- Power Man and Iron Fist: Sweet Christmas (2016) Annual #1
- Features Krampus!
- Gwenpool Holiday Special: Merry Mix-Up (2016) #1
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2016) #37
- Merry X-Men Holiday Special (2018) #1
- Features Hanukkah!
Video games:
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) (J. Jonah Jameson Santa)
Extra watching:
-
- X-Men: Evolution (2000) S2 E7
- Spectacular Spider-Man (2008) S2 E3
- Marvel Super Heroes: What The–?! (2009) S1 E9-10, E16, E29, E37-38, E45-48, E51, E55; Valentine’s Day Special
- E9 features the Thanksgiving Day Parade!
- E27, 45 feature Halloween!
- E38 features Thanos Santa!
- E48 and Valentine’s Day Special feature Valentine’s Day!
- E51 features the Fourth of July!
- E55 features Father’s Day!
- Ultimate Spider-Man (2012) S3 17; S4 E24
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. (2013) S1 E21, E26
- Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight (2015)
- Features Mrs. Claus, the Avengers, Loki, and the Guardians of the Galaxy!
- Santa Claus is a half-Light Elf, half-Frost Giant being named Jolnir
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) S1 E26
- “Jingle Bell Rock” sometimes referred to as E27
- Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends (2021) S1 E23
- Hawkeye (2021) S1 E1-6
Extra reading:
- Strange Tales (1951) #34
- Journey Into Unknown Worlds (1950) #34
- Strange Tales of the Unusual (1955) #2
- Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1968) #10
- Hero for Hire (1972) #7
- Daredevil (1964) #7, 86, 108, 229-230, 266
- #229-230 feature a Scam Artist Santa!
- Haunt of Horror (1974) #1
- Marvel Treasury Special, Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag (1974) #1
- Reprints Marvel Team-Up #1, Daredevil #7, Amazing Adventures (Vol. 2) #5, Fantastic Four #25-26
- Marvel Treasury Edition (1974) #8
- Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag Year 2!
- Reprints Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #10, Amazing Spider-Man #24, Hero for Hire #7, Incredible Hulk #147, Doctor Strange #180
- Marvel Treasury Edition (1974) #13
- Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag Year 3!
- Original story “Tis the Season”
- Reprints Marvel Team-Up #6, Avengers #58, Tales to Astonish #93, Daredevil #86
- War Is Hell (1973) #15
- X-Men (1963) #98, 119, 205, 341, 365
- Tomb of Dracula (1972) #54
- Marvel Classics Comics Series Featuring A Christmas Carol (1978) #1
- Howard the Duck (1979) #3
- Marvel Two-In-One (1973) #74
- Bizarre Adventures (1981) #34
- Several deranged Santa Claus stories
- Features Mrs. Claus! Her name is Maria
- Spider-Man: Christmas in Dallas (1983) #1 (Kingpin Santa)
- Fantastic Four (1961) #240
- Captain America (1954) #292
- Incredible Hulk (1962) #312
- Misty (1985) #3
- Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham (1986) #7 (Sanity Claws)
- Classic X-Men (1986) #6, 25
- The ‘Nam (1986) #11, 22
- #22 features Thanksgiving!
- X-Factor (1986) #27
- D.P.7 (1986) #30
- Alf Holiday Special (1988) #1-2
- Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #166, 314, 420
- Iron Man (1968) #253-254
- Features Santa Claus and a Spymaster Santa!
- Marvel Age (1983) #85, 109, 132
- Features Santa Claus and a Skrull Spy Santa!
- Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #17-18
- Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #173
- Adventures of Captain America (1991) #1
- Power Pack Holiday Special (1991) #1
- Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Dark Holiday Special (1992) #1
- Sensational She-Hulk (1989) #36
- Mighty Thor (1989) #444
- Punisher War Journal (1988) #39
- Punisher Holiday Special (1992) #1-3
- Sleepwalker Holiday Special (1992) #1
- Sludge: Red X-Mas (1994) #1
- Cage (1992) #11
- Night Man (1993) #15
- Strangers (1993) #19
- Force Works (1994) #8
- War Machine (1994) #11
- Disney Comic Hits (1995) #5
- Howard the Duck Holiday Special (1996) #1
- Daredevil/Shi (1997) #1, Shi/Daredevil: Honor Thy Mother (1997) #1
- Generation X (1994) #24, 60-61
- Man-Thing (1997) #3
- Sensational Spider-Man (1996) #24
- Generation X Holiday Special (1999) #1
- Spectacular Spider-Man (UK) (1995) #68
- Astonishing Spider-Man (1995) #60
- Captain Marvel (1999) #26
- Captain America (1998) #50
- Punisher: Red X-Mas (2004) #1
- Punisher: Silent Night (2005) #1
- Punisher: Bloody Valentine (2006) #1
- Punisher: X-Mas Special (2006) #1
- Punisher MAX: X-Mas Special (2008) #1
- Punisher War Journal (2006) #26
- X-Men (2004) #165
- Wolverine (2003) #49
- Winter Soldier: Winter Kills (2006) #1
- Franklin Richards: Happy Franksgiving (2006) #1
- Features Thanksgiving!
- Blade (2006) #4 (Demon Santa)
- Ultimates 3 (2007) #1
- Spider-Man Family (2007) #6
- Magdalena/Daredevil (2008) #1
- Amazing Spider-Girl (2006) #26
- Moon Knight: Silent Knight (2008) #1
- Deadpool (2008) #1000 (Deadpool Santa)
- Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu (2009) #1 (Black Santas of the Damnation Army)
- Fin Fang Four Return! (2009) #1
- Marvel Super Hero Squad (2010) #12
- Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol (2011) #1-5
- Marvel Holiday Magazine (2010) #1
- Reprints stories from previous holiday specials. One new story: “X-Man”
- Deadpool MAX X-Mas Special (2011) #1
- Features “Santa Claws”!
- Daredevil (2011) #7
- Muppets (2012) #4
- Deadpool: Killustrated (2013) #3
- Avengers (2013) Annual #1
- Deadpool (2012) #37
- Features Thanksgiving!
- Captain Marvel (2014) #10-11
- Hawkeye (2012) #17
- Gwenpool Special (2015) #1
- A Year of Marvels: November Infinite Comic (2016) #1
- Features Thanksgiving!
- Deadpool (2015) #22
- Inhumans: Once and Future Kings (2017) #5
- X-Men: Grand Design – Second Genesis (2018) #1-2
- #2 features Hanukkah!
- Marvel New Year’s Eve Special Infinite Comic (2017) #1
- Deadpool (2018) #7
- Features Santa and Mrs. Claus!
- Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #11-13
- Runaways (2017) #16
- Marvel Super Hero Adventures (2018) Halloween Spooktacular #1, Mealtime Mayhem #1
- Features Halloween and Thanksgiving!
- Season’s Beating (2019) #1
- Incredible Hulk: Last Call (2019) #1
- Marvel’s Voices (2020) #1
- King in Black: Iron Man/Doom (2020) #1 (Symbiote Santa)
- Mighty Marvel Holiday Specials
- Halloween with the Rhino Infinity Comic (2021) #1
- Happy Holidays, Mr. Howlett Infinity Comic (2021) #1
- Iceman’s New Year’s Resolutions Infinity Comic (2021) #1
- Year of the Wong Infinity Comic (2022) #1
- Ghost Rider Infinity Comic (2022) #1
DC Holiday Specials
Across comics, movies, and tv, one of the biggest strengths of the DC universe has always been their holiday comics. Gathered below are some of the highlights from DC’s catalog, covering Christmas, Hanukkah, Halloween, Thanksgiving and more!
Also check out Vic’s breakdown of his Christmas favorite TV episodes from DC!
- Superman’s Christmas Adventure (1940) #1
- Action Comics #81, 93, 105, 117, 141, 306, 417, 469, 517, 762, Special #1
- Batman (1940) #9, 15, 27, 33, 39, 45, 219, 239, 247, 261, 285, 309, 384, 456-457, 598
- Teen Titans (1966) #13
- Spectre (1968) #6
- Features Thanksgiving!
- The Brave and the Bold (1955) #148, 184
- The Best of DC (1979) #4, 22, 58
- DC Special Series #21 (1979)
- Also called the “Super-Star Holiday Special”
- Features Frank Miller’s first Batman story!
- Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer (1985) #1
- Christmas with the Super-Heroes (1988) #1-2
- #1 reprints DC Comics Special Series #21, Justice League #110, Teen Titans #13, DC Comics Presents #67, Batman #219
- #2 has no reprints! All new stories
- Superman (1987) #64
- Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special (1991) #1
- Continued in The Authority/Lobo: Jingle Hell (2003)
- Flash (1987) #73, 87
- Batman Adventures (1992) #28, Holiday Special #1
- Inspired New Batman Adventures (1997) S1 E1!
- Starman (1994) #27
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) #79
- Batman: The Long Halloween (1996) #1-13
- DCU Holiday Bash (1996) #1-3
- Superman: Peace on Earth (1998) #1
- Hitman (1996) #22
- JLA (1997) #60
- Nightwing (1996) #64
- Gotham Central (2002) #12-15
- JSA (1999) #54-55
- #54 features Thanksgiving!
- #55 features Christmas Eve!
- Fables (2002) #56, 80, 112, 137, 142, 150
- DCU Infinite Holiday Special (2006) #1
- Features Hanukkah and Santa Claus!
- 52 (2006) #33
- DC Universe Holiday Special 2008-2010
- Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special #1 (2010)
- Batman: Noël (2011)
- Green Lantern: The Animated Series (2012) #8
- All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2010) #14
- Features Hanukkah!
- Harley Quinn Holiday Special (2014) #1
- DC Rebirth Holiday Special (2016) #1
- Features Hanukkah!
- Batman Annual (2016) #1
- DC Holiday Special 2017
- Features Hanukkah!
Extra reading:
- Captain Marvel Adventures (1941) #19, 69
- Comic Cavalcade (1943) #5, 9, 13, 18-19, 25, 31
- #18 features Thanksgiving!
- Adventure Comics (1938) #82, 113, 125, 185
- Superman’s Christmas Adventure (1944) #1
- Animal Antics (1946) #6
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1950) #1-12, Annual #1
- Sugar and Spike (1956) #6, 13, 38, 44, 50, 56, 62, 68
- House of Mystery (1951) #191
- Limited Collectors’ Edition (1972) #C-20, 24, 33, 34, 42, 50, 53
- #C-34 also called “Christmas with Super-Heroes”
- #C-43 also called “Christmas with Super-Heroes”
- Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion (1972) #15
- Shazam! (1973) #11
- Cancelled Comic Cavalcade (1978) #2
- Sgt. Rock (1977) #350, 378, 414
- Funny Stuff Stocking Stuffer (1984) #1
- Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer (1985) #1
- DC Comics Presents (1978) #67
- Roots of the Swamp Thing (1986) #3
- Elvira’s House of Mystery Special (1987) #1
- Adventures of Superman (1987) #462, 474, 487, 520, 623
- Impact Winter Special (1991) #1
- Swamp Thing (1982) #115
- Lobo (1993) #0, 48
- Animaniacs (1995) #21, A Christmas Special #1
- Pinky and the Brain: A Christmas Special (1995) #1
- Looney Tunes (1994) #73
Impulse (1995) #34, 45, 57 - Vertigo: Winter’s Edge (1997) #1-3
- Gen 13: A Christmas Caper (1999) #1
- DC Universe Christmas (2000) #1
- Reprints 17 classic stories
- Young Justice (1998) #40
- Spectre (2001) #11-12
- The Authority/Lobo: Jingle Hell (2003) #1
- Sequel to the Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special (1991)
- Bizarro World (2006) #1
- Hellblazer (1987) #247
- Detective Comics (1937) #120, 826, 839
- DC Super Friends (2008) #10, 22-23
- Batman: Gotham After Midnight (2008) #8
- Batman: Li’l Gotham (2013) #2, 12
- Harley Quinn (2016) #10, 55
- The Kamandi Challenge Special (2017) #1
- DC Nuclear Winter Special (2018) #1
- Swamp Thing Winter Special (2018) #1
- World’s Greatest Super-Heroes Holiday Special (2018) #1
- New Year’s Evil (2019) #1
- Shazam! (2019) #2
- DC Holiday Nightmares (2019) #1
- Reprints DC Nuclear Winter Special #1, Harley Quinn (2016) #55, Swamp Thing Winter Special #1
- DC’s Very Merry Multiverse (2020) #1
- Tis the Season to Be Freezin’ (2021) #1
- Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #10
Video games:
- Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)
Extra watching:
- Batman (1966) S2 E32
- Wonder Woman (1976) S2 E12; S3 E11
- Batman Returns (1992)
- Batman: The Animated Series (1992) S1 E2; S2 E2
- New Batman Adventures (1997) S1 E1
- Static Shock (2000) S2 E5
- Justice League (2001) S2 E23
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993) S2 E9; S3 E11; S4 E11
- Smallville (2001) S5 E9; S7 E9
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008) S1 E5, 19
- Teen Titans Go! (2013) S1 E35, 40; S2 E23, 51; S3 E13, 19, 27, 47; S4 E2, 6, 8-9, 18, 43
- Teen Titans Go! (2013) S5 E28; S6 E3, 8-9, 17, 29; S7 E28-29, 32; S8 E1
- Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans (2019) features Santa Claus!
- S1 E40; S3 E24 feature Valentine’s Day!
- S2 E23; S4 E43; S7 E28-29 feature Thanksgiving!
- S3 E13; S4 E2, 40; S6 E3, 29 feature Halloween!
- iZombie (2015) S2 E10
- Lucifer (2016) S2 E6; S6 E6
- S2 E6 features Halloween!
- Justice League Action (2016) S1 E46
- Shazam! (2019)
Arrowverse:
- Arrow (2012) S1 E9; S2 E9; S3 E9; S4 E9; S5 E9; S6 E7
- S6 E7 features Thanksgiving!
- Constantine (2014) S1 E6
- Features Halloween!
- The Flash (2014) S1 E9; S2 E9; S3 E9; S4 E9; S5 E7; S6 E4
- Chronicles of Cisco Post 68 features Thanksgiving!
- S5 E7 features Thanksgiving!
- S6 E4 features Halloween!
- Supergirl (2015) S1 E5; S2 E8; S3 E9; S4 E6
- S1 E5; S2 E8; S4 E6 feature Thanksgiving!
- Legends of Tomorrow (2016) S2 E11; S3 E4, 9; S4 E5; S5 E8; S7 E3
- S3 E4; S5 E8 feature Halloween!
- S3 E9 features Hanukkah and Christmas!
- S4 E5 features Thanksgiving!
- S7 E3 features Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!
- Batwoman (2019) S2 E2
- Features Halloween!
- Stargirl (2020) S1 E1
- Features Christmas Eve!
Other Holiday Specials
Here are some other special holiday comics. While not Marvel or DC, many of these universes include supernatural, fantastic, or horror elements that should help you feel right at home!
For Doctor Who fans, check out Sam’s favorite holiday specials and Brian’s review of the Twelve Doctors of Christmas!
- Four Color Comics (1941) #203, 367
- Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade (1949) #7
- The Best of Archie: Christmas Comics (1959-2020)
- Sabrina’s Christmas Magic (1972-1982)
- Jingle Belle (1999-2018)
- The Simpsons: Winter Wingding (2006-2015)
- Krampus! (2014) #1-5
- Flash Gordon Holiday Special (2014) #1
- A Cosplayers Christmas (2016)
- Giant Days 2016 Holiday Special (2016) #1
- Faith’s Winter Wonderland Special (2017) #1
- Rugrats: C is for Chanukah (2018) #1
- Friday (2020) #1-3
- The Nutcracker and the Mouse King: The Graphic Novel (2020)
- The Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero’s Journey (2020)
- The Island of Misfit Toys (2021)
- Stranger Things: Winter Special One-Shot (2021)
- Hellboy:
- Hellboy Christmas Special (1997) #1
- Hellboy Winter Special 2016
- Hellboy Winter Special 2017
- Hellboy: Krampusnacht (2017) #1
- Hellboy Winter Special 2018
- Hellboy Winter Special 2019
- Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Seven Wives Club (2020) #1
- Klaus:
- Klaus (2015) #1-7
- Klaus and the Witch of Winter (2016) #1
- Klaus and the Crisis in Xmasville (2017) #1
- Klaus and the Crying Snowman (2018) #1
- Klaus and the Life and Times Of Joe Christmas (2019) #1
And that’s a nearly complete history of the holiday special comics from Marvel and DC, with special holiday highlights from many other great publishers.
Do you have any favorite holiday comics, movies, or TV episodes? What else should we add to the guide? Let me know on Twitter @vinwriteswords and remember to follow the site @MyCosmicCircus for more cosmic content coming soon!
Continue reading with our other reading guides here! Happy holidays!
All images courtesy of Marvel/Disney, DC, Image Comics, Valiant Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Boom! Studios.
