Krampus!
written by Brian Joines; illustrated by Dean Kotz
GCD; Image

This is a 5-issue miniseries originally published from December 2013 to May 2014. I first read it in trade paperback format in December 2021. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, because it's really sort of a mystery story, with Krampus as the reluctant detective. And the journey of trying to discover the villain is full of fun surprises. It really is an amusing and intriguing story, which I'm very glad I've finally had the chance to read.

It begins with the skeleton of St. Nicholas being stolen from its resting place in Bari, Italy, by a gang of sugar plum fairies. With Nicholas's remains gone, the Secret Society of Santa Clauses lose their magical powers. So, to recover the remains and restore their magic, they release the Krampus, who has been locked up at the North Pole since the 1950s. To make sure he doesn't betray them, they attach a "naughty bomb" to his chest, which will detonate if he does anything naughty. Along the way, his investigation leads to encounters with various figures of both myth and history. He eventually finds the villain behind the theft of the remains, who has much greater plans in store for the world. However, he's not the ultimate villain of the story, whose identity isn't revealed until the last page. And... I'm not sure what else to say without spoiling any of the fun or mystery. Just trust me when I say there's plenty of both throughout the story.