Santa Claus gets a gritty reboot.
Santa Claus is a hodgepodge of many different stories, myths and holiday traditions. With this mini-series, writer Grant Morrison and artist Dan Mora aim to cut to the heart of this beloved holiday figure and explore his evolution from ordinary man to enduring myth. In the process, he’s re-imagined as an almost Conan-like barbarian figure with a knack for hunting. Few writers could make the idea of a grim and gritty Santa Claus appealing, but that’s Morrison for you.
Morrison takes a surprisingly straightforward approach to this first issue. Rather than trying to bowl over readers with high-concept storytelling, Morrison opts to merely introduce his hero, Klaus, and the troubled town of Grimsvig. The fact that this series has been billed as “Santa Claus: Year One” seems especially apt when the similarities to Frank Miller and Dave Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One become apparent. Much like Bruce Wayne, Klaus is a man returning from the wilderness to a city he once knew and finding it much changed. Also like Bruce, he’s a man with a desire to make things better but still searching for the means to do so.
Given the brief bursts of violence, Klaus isn’t necessarily an all-ages friendly book. However, there’s a charm and whimsy to the book that prevents it from becoming just a serious tale of medieval bloodshed. The fantasy elements really come into play in the latter half of this issue as Klaus retreats from Grimsvig and his mystical side becomes more apparent. The fusion of light and dark elements makes this book read like a weird fairy tale, and that’s likely just the effect Morrison was aiming for.
It helps that Mora is so adept at blending these elements together. Early on, Mora’s pages are fairly grim and imposing as the noble Klaus butts heads with the cruel guards of Grimsvig. There’s a cold beauty to Mora’s environments, but one that also reinforces how unhappy and oppressed the two has become. The art really begins to impress in the latter half of the book, though. Whether it’s the dynamic scenes of Klaus and his wolf companion hunting, the look inside the stronghold of Grimsvig’s detestable rulers or a surreal, colorful musical sequence in the final pages, Mora very aptly captures the weird blend of dark fantasy and whimsical fairy tale that defines this book.
It’s odd that a story about the origins of Santa Claus would number among Grant Morrison’s most straightforward comics, but that’s Klaus for you. This first issue is very much “Santa Claus: Year One” in its structure. It’s the beautiful art and the unusual blend of grim medieval setting and whimsical fairy tale elements that truly distinguish this tale. Hopefully Klaus will only grow more strange from here.
