A Christmas Carol #[nn]

Dickens' beloved tale of miserly redemption comes to vivid comic book life in this 2009 IDW adaptation, with Jean-Marc Stalner's cover art setting a wonderfully atmospheric stage — a snow-dusted Victorian street bearing the "Scrooge & Marley" sign in the background, while a top-hatted old miser clutches an armful of colorful gift boxes among a small crowd of townspeople. Looming above the wintry scene are two ghostly presences: a swirling, wide-eyed spirit and a jolly, holly-crowned giant draped in robes, unmistakably evoking the supernatural visitors at the heart of the story. With a writing team that includes Patrice Buendia and Nick Meylaender working from Dickens' source material, and Caroline Romanet's warm colors breathing life into Stalner's linework, this is a handsome graphic novel treatment of one of literature's most enduring Christmas stories.