Klaus: How Santa Claus Began by Grant Morrison, illustrated by Dan Mora

BOOM! Studios, 2019

ISBN-13: 9781684153930

• Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Klaus arrives in the town of Grimsvig during Yuletide to trade furs, and finds it a sad shell of what it once was. Grimsvig is under the control of Baron Magnus, a harsh man who insists his wife is mad and that Jonas, his ill-tempered and self-centered son, is the only child who is permitted toys…all of them. The baron works the men in the town to death in the mines. When the workers hear voices underground, the baron insists they are hearing things and demands they work harder. 

After the guards run Klaus out of town for defending a child merely holding a rock from an armed soldier, he spends time in the forest with his wolf friend Lilli and is visited by spirits. He awakens in the morning with aching hands and finds he is surrounded by small toys. He sneaks through the town, delivering them to the children of Grimsvig.

When the baron discovers this, he does his best to destroy the happiness the children have found in the mysterious gift giver, the Santa. The baron, desperate to keep his power and get rid of the Santa, summons an ancient evil from the belly of the earth, a demon hungry for bad children. What will the baron do when the demon’s first target is young Master Jonas? 

Morrison delivers a great dark fantasy version of the origin of Santa Claus. The characters are great. Klaus is not what we see in other origin stories. He’s both brawn and brains, outwitting the town guards at nearly every turn. Baron Magnus is devious and terrible, keeping his wife, Dagmar, someone from Klaus’ past, away from the townspeople. Jonas is an insufferably spoiled child. Mora’s artwork for Klaus is beautiful. The characters are well drawn, and the winter landscapes are gorgeous.

While not strictly horror, there are horror elements, such as spirits, demons, and humans being horrid to each other. If you are looking for a nontraditional Santa Claus story for the holiday, check this one out. Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker