MOVE OVER GRINCH, KRAMPUS! IS HERE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
By Staff Reports
(California)– The only thing chillier than a Christmas Day blizzard is a visit from Krampus, the child-punishing demon of holiday lore. But when The Secret Society of Santa Clauses discovers their powers have been stolen, there’s no one else to turn to for help but their worst enemy.
Brian Joines and Dean Kotz team up to add a frosty touch to the festive season with their spin on Old Saint Nick and his demon counterpart, Krampus. In KRAMPUS!, a new monthly ongoing series, Father Christmas, Ded Moroz, Hoteiosho, and the rest of The Secret Society of Santa Clauses must rely on Krampus’ help or risk not being able to deliver gifts on time.
Writer Brian Joines was inspired by the one-on-one relationship that the Krampus figure has always had with Santa. “I liked the idea of the Krampus beholden to an organization greater than he was, something that lent itself to the portrayal of the Krampus as a put-upon protagonist,” Joines explained. “Given that Santa has so many names around the globe, I thought it would be fun to make each name an individual working that particular territory. It shakes the paradigm up a bit.”
Joines puts a dark twist on Christmas and chooses to reimagine a long-forgotten demonic character from traditional tales. “I’ve always had a darker sense of humor and liked the idea that all the stories and legends we knew as kids had darker underbellies… like the Grimm’s Fairy Tales,” said Joines. “When I found out that there was this demonic thing that used to ride around with Santa and punish wicked children… I knew I had to do something with that someday. It took a while to figure out how to use him, but once I did, the Krampus wrote himself.”
KRAMPUS! is a darkly comedic adventure series launching just in time for the holidays and for fans of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It is sure to boost any reader’s Yuletide cheer, all year long.
KRAMPUS! #1 arrives in stores, just in time for holiday window displays and Christmas gift shopping, on 12/11 and is available for $2.99.
Final orders are due from retailers on 11/18. KRAMPUS! can be pre-ordered using Diamond Code OCT130448.
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It really is too bad that Krampus keeps being entwined with Santa. They have nothing to do with each other. Kramus has nothing to do with Christmas. Krampus does precede Saint Nicholas, but the Bishop of Myra is not Santa. Many of the other names by which Santa goes are actually the names of Saint Nicholas; whose day is celebrated on December 6th.
In each of those countries that celebrate Saint Nicholas Day he has a “demonic” companion: Krampus, Schmutzli, Père Fouettard, Knecht Ruprecht, or even Black Peter (getting his share of controversy right now).
I do wish people would dig a little deeper into the folklore that they are using as source material. It would, perhaps, be interesting if Krampus was accompanied by the Saint’s other companions on this mission.
I often find it disappointing that writers heedlessly mingle cultural touchstones because they are new to them, cool of funny. These things live in specific cultures and it just doesn’t make sense to have Krampus and Santa together.