DC Comics has another Walmart exclusive title coming out this week. Dubbed The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes! Holiday Special, the book is much like the other Walmart comics, in that it’s 100 pages, exclusive to Walmart, and set to feature a mix of original and reprinted content. The big difference here is, of course, that this one is holiday-themed.

The aforementioned original content is a story starring The Flash from writer Scott Lobdell, artist Brett Booth, and inker Norm Rapmund. It’s called Twas the Riot Before Christmas, and it’ll see Barry Allen undertaking his annual tradition of giving gifts to kids at Central City Home for Wayward Children (how sweet of him!), before having it interrupted by a riot at Iron Heights prison (no!).

Here’s a preview spread:

The reprinted material in this one is all holiday-themed, and it includes the Eisner-winning Good Boy story by Tom King and David Finch from the 2016 Batman Annual, which tells the heartrending tail (sorry) of how Ace the Bat-hound joined the Bat-family. There’s also a Harley Quinn story, specifically K!llin’ Time by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Darwyn Cooke, which comes from the 2014 Harley Quinn Holiday Special #1, and shows Harley dealing with her first gray hair, which sets her on a mission to kill Father Time.

There are three other stories too, which you can learn more about in the official press release below. The book will sell for $4.99 (as all these Walmart exclusives do) and be available no later than Sunday, Nov. 11. Happy hunting!

Here’s the official press release from DC:

With the holidays rapidly approaching, DC and Walmart are adding to their lineup of 100-page “Giant” comics with a new one-shot to ring in the holiday season! Following the success of their horror-themed SWAMP THING HALLOWEEN HORROR SPECIAL, DC’s WORLD’S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES! HOLIDAY SPECIAL is headed to participating Walmart stores in the U.S. today and should reach stores by Sunday.

The fan-favorite creative trio of THE FLASH—Scott Lobdell (writer), Brett Booth (artist) and Norm Rapmund (inker)—have reunited for an original tale featuring the Scarlet Speedster, “Twas the Riot Before Christmas.” Barry Allen’s holiday tradition of giving gifts to the kids at the Central City Home for Wayward Children gets interrupted by a riot at Iron Heights penitentiary featuring some of the Flash’s deadliest foes. In restoring order, he receives help from an unexpected source, but will it be in time to spend Christmas with the kids at the home?

This Walmart exclusive also reprints a host of holiday-themed stories from throughout DC’s history: Tom King and David Finch’s “Good Boy,” from the 2016 BATMAN ANNUAL tells the painful (certainly for the Dark Knight) story of how Batman and Alfred brought Ace the Bat-Hound into the family.

Originally featured in the 2014 HARLEY QUINN HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1, “K!llin’ Time,” written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Darwyn Cooke, shows how Harley Quinn decides to deal with aging and finding her first gray hair—by killing Father Time!

Written by Joe Kelly with art by Ale Garza, “All I Want for Christmas” from the 2006 DC INFINITE HOLIDAY SPECIAL spotlights Supergirl in a tale of making a little girl’s Christmas wish come true by reuniting her with her father after the Maid of Might shows him the importance of not being an absentee parent and gives him a second chance to be a father to his child.

The anthology also features two stories from the 2016 DC REBIRTH HOLIDAY SPECIAL. In “A Light in the Dark,” Kate Perkins (writer) and Paolo Pantalena (artist) featured Batwoman in a holiday rescue story involving pie and the story of Hanukkah, while Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz are subjected to a series of trials by a mysterious alien race where the prize is not just the fate of the world, but something that Earth will always need: Hope. “The Epiphany” was co-written by Steve Orlando and Vita Ayala, with art by V. Ken Marion.

1992’s SUPERMAN #22 rounds out the lineup with the story “Metropolis Mailbag,” written by Dan Jurgens with art by Jackson “Butch” Guice. As the holidays approach, the Man of Steel finds out that even he has limits when he reads some letters that are addressed to him in the Daily Planet’s “Superman room.”

The WORLD’S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES! HOLIDAY SPECIAL sells for $4.99 and arrives in participating Walmart stores throughout North America by Sunday, November 11. To find your nearest Walmart location, check out the store finder page at www.walmart.com.

7 COMMENTS

  1. Haved the delayed 100 Page Superman #4, Justice League #4, Batman #4 and Teen Titans #4 been released yet?

  2. I remember some classic Batman Christmas stories, ranging from the ’40s to the ’70s. And there were Eisner’s annual “Christmas Spirit” stories. DC should reprint some of them.

  3. I picked up the fourth issues of all the regular series on 10/21 (the date they were said to be on display) and the holiday special yesterday, 11/10 (the day before the date it was to be on display).

  4. I haven’t gotten the holiday special yet, but I liked the Halloween one a lot. I especially appreciated the stories of different lengths in the book. The yearly new-material anthologies seem to be all 8-page stories, and that can result in a sameness of pace; mixing longer stories with shorter ones in the Swamp Thing Giant gave a welcome variety to the reading experience.

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