Way back in the 1950s, creator Harvey Kurtzman had a bold idea: to retell the story of A Christmas Carol over a long-form comic book. Unfortunately, Kurtzman was a few decades early for the advent of the graphic novel, and it never came to be. Now, nearly 75 years later, Harvey Kurtzman’s Marley’s Ghost is finally seeing print from ABLAZE and Comixology Originals, thanks to creators Josh O’Neill and Gideon Kendall.
“Seeing Marley’s Ghost in print form now after all these years, and after all the effort and passion that so many people poured into it, is a true joy,” O’Neill told Comic Book Club over email. “We always envisioned this as the perfect Christmas gift, and it’s incredibly gratifying to know it will be wrapped up under a few trees this year.”
The book is now in comic book stores everywhere, and will be hitting bookstores later this month, on Christmas Eve. In order to not get bothered by the chained ghost of our former employees, we discussed the release of the book with O’Neill and Kendall, the enduring appeal of Dickens’s original tale, and much more.
Comic Book Club: It’s been a veeeeery long road to getting this to print, what’s it like to finally have this in book form?
Josh O’Neill: Like sitting down to finally dine on a great Christmas goose that’s been cooking since morning. Seeing Marley’s Ghost in print form now after all these years, and after all the effort and passion that so many people poured into it, is a true joy. We always envisioned this as the perfect Christmas gift, and it’s incredibly gratifying to know it will be wrapped up under a few trees this year.
Gideon Kendall: Agreed. This was my first graphic novel, and I’m not sure I’ve made anything better in the time since. I’m grateful to Ablaze for seeing the value in this project and making it happen.
More importantly, how do you think Harvey Kurtzman would feel, going from one of the original conceptions of the graphic novel to a printed book, decades later?
Josh: Well, we did our damndest to make something we hope he would love, that would honor his vision without making any ersatz version of his style, that he could be proud of. Harvey Kurtzman was a meticulous craftsman, so I think it’s likely he’d take a magnifying glass to the project and scrutinize every choice and surely critique some of them. But he was also the consummate collaborator, and I feel thoroughly convinced he would find a kindred spirit in Gideon’s cartooning style and recognize him as somebody who would have fit right into the Usual Gang of Idiots at MAD Magazine. It’s not for us to say if we did him proud, but I can say we carried his work and its millions of storytelling lessons with us every step of the way on this project.
Gideon: I like to think he would be pleased with the final project, and try not to think about the alternative.
Broad question, but what do you think is the enduring appeal of A Christmas Carol?
Josh: Among countless other reasons (including that Dickens is maybe the most readable and enjoyable author of the 19th century) I think a part of it is that there’s something for all of us in there. It’s a wonderful story for children — it’s vivid and funny and energetic, full of characters who feel incredibly real and recognizable, yet somehow also wonderfully cartoonish and larger than life. It’s also fundamentally a story about aging and regret, about losing that beautiful human spark inside you, and what it takes to get it back. It has a lovely, lyrical take on Christian morality, but it’s also fundamentally secular, existing in its own strange homebrew cosmology full of ghosts and time traveling spectres. It’s something you can revisit throughout your life and find something new every time. There’s a reason it’s one of the most adapted works in human history!
Gideon: Again, what Josh said! Also… Anyone with a conscience who has amassed any degree of comfort or privilege in their life can’t help but be a little haunted by the endless want and suffering of the world at large. Whether you think the solution is occasional individualized charity or systematic government based leveling of the playing field, I think we all wish for a world without hunger and suffering. At least until we have to give up some of our own stuff. A Christmas Carol grapples with this but in the end chickens out, doing what Scrooge rightfully calls out the ghost of Xmas present for doing.
For any crotchety misers reading this, why pick up the printed edition of this book? Why spend your hard earned money, bah humbug?
Josh: If you need to be strong-armed into spending a few bucks on a beautiful comic featuring the voices of Harvey Kurtzman, Charles Dickens, and Gideon Kendall… then you need this book far more urgently than I can possibly express. Buy it immediately, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Gideon: Because, no offense to digital comics or digital art of any kind…it just isn’t real until it’s in print! And yes, I am OLD.
Harvey Kurtzman’s Marley’s Ghost is now in comic book stores, and will hit bookstores on December 24, 2024.
Comic Book Club Live Info:
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.