Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist: Amy Mebberson

Ah, the Holiday Special. The annual December issue which has been an on-and-off again staple of the holiday season, where publishers would put out a Christmas-or-holiday themed issue. Marvel and DC used to do these on a recurring basis, but I think it’s been awhile since I’ve seen one. Leave it to the up-and-coming publishers and smaller presses to make up for that void. These make great stocking stuffers to distract your kid for a few hours on Christmas morning.

So one of your options this year is IDW’s special issue for its revival of Jem and the Holograms, a television and toy franchise which has resurged due to 80s nostalgia and a film which we’re not going to talk about at all. If you skipped the 80s and/or the revival, the basic premise is that the Holograms are a classic 1980s all-girl glam-rock band headed by Jem, whose secret identity is also the band’s stage manager. (I’m not sure why she needed a secret identity, but it’s essential to the story.) Their concerts and road trips often coincided with various adventures which often brought them into conflict with their rival band, the more punk-oriented Misfits. These were low-threat stories: the Misfits were jerks, but they typically weren’t evil–just jerks who needed to be brought down a peg.

For a book about two rival bands, there isn’t much music in here–and that’s OK, since it’s hard to convey a song in the static form of a comic book anyway. What we do get is a cute story about the rival bands being accidentally paired up for a Secret Santa exchange. What could be an opportunity for further competition between the bands instead turns out well for both sides–the Holograms decide to be charitable to the band that’s always out to get them, while the Misfits refuse to be “beaten” in the quality of gifts that are given. There’s even a touching moment where the Misfit’s leader, Pizzazz, opts to give Jem a pragmatic gift–though she does it under the auspices of being “even” for the presents that she got.

In other words, writer Kelly Thompson takes the opportunity to use the bands’ rivalries to showcase them putting aside their differences and helping each other out while still remaining true to their personalities. Pizzazz and the Misfits are out to “one-up” their rivals, but it works out without conflict and everyone has fun in the end, so who cares? It’s as close to “peace on Earth” as we’ll get between these groups, and that makes for a decent Christmas read.

I’m a little thrown by Amy Mebberson’s art only because it uses a modern style for the characters, as opposed to the version used in the 1980s. This is fine, as I understand that the comic is taking a modern remake approach to the story as opposed to straight 80s revivalism. The art is fine and does a decent job of conveying the story–but readers walking in expecting a recreation of the original may be in for a bit of a shock.

On the other hand, the Jem Holiday Special may serve as a decent introduction to the young reader who’s never been exposed to Jem before, which hopefully means they also didn’t see this summer’s bomb of a film. This is recommended for your young reader wants to get into some girl power comics…or the older reader who wants a new spin on an 80s classic.

Rating: Four legwarmers out of five.