Legendary comics creator Christmas story. The DC Super-Star Holiday Special from 1980 featured a cheery lineup of Christmas-themed stories revolving around various DC characters including Jonah Hex, The Legion of Super-Heroes, and even the hosts of The House of Mystery. One story in particular gained important significance in the years since its release, a Batman tale called Wanted: Santa Claus - Dead or Alive! featuring the first published Batman work by future superstar writer/artist Frank Miller.
Most comic fans are well aware of Frank Miller's best-selling Batman works. One of the best origin comics ever written, Batman: Year One represented a brand new take on Batman's origins that became the model for Batman's early days for nearly every subsequent Batman writer. Meanwhile, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns showed readers a futuristic world featuring an old Batman coming out of retirement long before Batman Beyond. Miller's characterization of Batman has become intrinsically linked with the character, with some viewing Miller as the creator of the modern Batman.
While only clocking in at 10 pages, Wanted: Santa Claus - Dead or Alive! has some amazing imagery. Santa Claus with a tear running down his cheek, Batman throwing a miniature Christmas tree at some bad guys in lieu of a Batarang and Santa getting gunned down are only some of the crazy moments packed into this Christmas tale (although not nearly as crazy as when the Easter Bunny hired Lobo to kill Santa.) The story follows an ex-con named Boomer who gets released from prison and secures a job as a Mall-Santa in order to help his friends break in and loot the place after hours. Plans fall apart as Boomer has a change of heart - playing Santa has infected him with the Christmas spirit. Boomer's criminal pals aren't happy and they force him to let them into the mall. Boomer tries to escape but is shot down, which Batman hears in time to take out most of the bad guys. One of the criminals gets away with Boomer as a hostage while Batman isn't looking, but the Christmas star shines a beam on them from the sky, alerting Batman to their presence in time for him to save Boomer. Truly a Christmas miracle.
Not only was DC Super-Star Holiday Special Miller's first Batman story, but it would also mark the first time he worked with the late great comic book icon Denny O'Neil, who was instrumental in Miller finding his voice as a creator. When Frank Miller was approached in late 1979 to pencil the Batman story that would appear in the DC Super-Star Holiday Special, he was only 22 years old and was already a penciler on his now-legendary run on Daredevil, but he wasn't writing yet, something that would change due to Miller and O'Neil's working relationship.
Wanted: Santa Claus - Dead or Alive! was written by O'Neil, who would leave DC for Marvel not long after the holiday special was released. O'Neil would work with Miller again on Amazing Spider-Man Annual #14 before taking over editorial duties on Daredevil and giving Miller a shot at writing. The first Daredevil issue written by Miller was Daredevil #168, the first appearance of Elektra. The rest, they say, is history.
While unmistakably an early effort on Frank Miller's part, his partnership with Denny O'Neil in Wanted: Santa Claus - Dead or Alive! marked a turning point for the man who would help define not only Batman, but comic books in general, which is the true Christmas miracle.
