Thanksgiving with the super-heroes
Word Balloons #1189: Comic characters have celebrated the holiday
Thanksgiving is next Thursday, so in this week’s Word Balloons, I’ll share a few times that comics characters have celebrated the holiday.
Reminder: the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is Local Comic Shop Day, so if you can, share your thanks with them next week!
Uncanny X-Men #308 (January 1994)
Writer Scott Lobdell joins artist John Romita Jr. for this issue, which features the long-awaited proposal of Scott Summers (Cyclops) to Jean Grey. The rest of the issue is largely a character piece, as the X-Men play football and eat Thanksgiving dinner. There's not a huge amount of plot or wild supervillain action -- yet it's a nice example of what these long-running soap operatic style comics used to bring to the table.
JSA #54 (January 2004)
One of the most famous Thanksgiving-related comic-book covers, as the Justice League and Justice Society join up in this Norman Rockwell homage. The story inside is a fun romp, as Geoff Johns and Don Kramer craft a story of the teams meeting for Thanksgiving, and having interpersonal discussions, disagreements and foibles right out of an awkward extended family meeting. There’s even some action!
Power Pack #19 (February 1986)
Several Marvel heroes guest-star in "Power Pack" #19, an issue in which the Power kids celebrate Thanksgiving despite their mom's illness.
"Power Pack" #19, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," has a script by Louise Simonson, pencils by Brent Anderson and Scott Williams and inks by Terry Austin, Scott Williams, and Sam de la Rosa. The issue, with a Feb. 1986 cover date, was likely on newsstands around Thanksgiving 1985.
"Power Pack" featured four pre-teen siblings who gained superpowers: Alex, about 12; Julie, 10; Jack, 8; and Katie, 5. In this issue, the kids prepare for Thanksgiving while their mother is hospitalized following the events of the previous issue. Their father James is frequently at the hospital, leaving the kids to fend for themselves.
Katie decides to invite some of the superheroes they've met over for a Thanksgiving dinner, enraging Alex, who believes Katie doesn't care enough about what's happened to their mother.
Things go wrong, lots of superheroes guest star, and all ends up OK as various super-powered pals Cloak and Dagger, Leech, AnnaLee, Franklin, Beta Ray Bill, Wolverine and Kitty Pryde celebrate Thanksgiving with the kids, who save a plate for their father upon his return from the hospital.
Matthew Price, matthew@matthewlprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, Oklahoma.