Archie Christmas Comics
There’s less than 3 weeks to Christmas. If you haven’t found your Christmas spirit yet, here is something that can help. Archie Christmas comic books!
They are the perfect thing to help you get into that Christmas mood.
They are so wholesome, it’s just refreshing to read. Even the love triangle between Archie, Veronica, and Betty feels wholesome, which is impressive. These are an easy, low cost, and enjoyable tradition to have. Every year, you can kick back with some Archie comics and relax. Maybe pair it up with some milk and cookies. 🎅
There’s just one question though, where to begin?
Archie comics have been in a publication for a long time (since 1941). Even if they only did 1 Christmas story per year, we would have 81 stories to ready (they do a lot more than 1 per year). And that’s not including the numerous spinoff comic series that have their own Christmas stories. But thankfully you don’t have to go through the comics year by year and series by series looking for the Christmas ones. They are batched up into books and special issues that make them easy to find.
There are two main types of Archie Christmas comics available.
The first type are the compilation books. These are typically over 100 pages and include a bunch of Christmas stories from over the years.
The second type of the special issues. These are issued yearly and are typically 25 to 30 pages and include four or five Christmas stories.
In my opinion, the Christmas books are more enjoyable that the special issues. The special issues are just too quick of a read. You can finish reading one before the Christmas mood gets a chance to find you.
Archie Christmas Compilation Books
Here are the compilation books that have come out in recent years. I’ve sorted them from most recommended to least recommended.
Archie 80 Years of Christmas (2021)
Published in 2021. 261 pages.
This is the book I recommend the most. It’s a beastly 261 pages. The stories are sorted by decade, starting in the 2020s and going back to all the way to the 1940s. On every story, there is a line indicating the year that it was published. And there is a table of contents which makes it easy if you need to find a particular story.
A Very Archie Christmas (2022)
Published in 2022. 123 pages.
This one features 20 Christmas themed comics from over the years. The oldest story is from 1957 and the most recent is from 2021. At 123 pages it’s a pretty quick read. It was a tough call between ranking this one or The Best of Archie Christmas Comics in 2nd place, so I’m calling it a tie.
It’s neat to see how the way we talk has significantly changed over the 64 years between 1957 and 2021. The art also has changed some over time. The 2021 comic looks a lot more modern. I’m not sure how else to phrase it. I think I prefer the older look better.
Of the 20 stories in the book, only 1 or 2 seemed like duds. The rest were a lot of fun.
The Best of Archie Christmas Comics (2020)
Published in 2020. 260 pages.
This is another beastly book. The stories are sorted by decade. Starting in the 1950s and going into the 2010s with the last story from 2019. Each story indicates original year published which is nice. But this book is missing a table of contents which takes away from it a bit. This one is basically a tie for 2nd place. It’s pretty similar to the the first place book which covers a wider date range.
World of Archie Christmas Annual (2017)
Published in 2017. 185 pages.
No table of contents or year indicators on the stories for this one. And at 185 pages it’s in the middle of the pack for page count. It’s a pretty good book, but the others rank higher as they are more current and/or include more stories.
Archie Christmas Classics (2011)
Published in 2011. 197 pages.
This book includes stories from the 50s through the 80s. So they are definitely classics in the sense that there is nothing from the 90s or 2000s. One minor pet peeve with this book is there’s no table of contents. And the stories don’t tell you what year they are from. Not a big deal, but if you are looking for a particular story, you pretty much need to go through the entire book or dogear/bookmark that page. Overall the shorter date range, a lack of recent stories, and no table of contents pushes this one to the bottom of the ranking.
I hope that’ll help you find the Christmas spirit if it’s lacking.
Stay Rad. 😎🍕