O je, du fröhliche

Raymond Briggs’s O je, du fröhliche is a single-issue, wordless comic from Diogenes Verlag, first published in 1979. In it, Briggs turns a traditional Christmas carol on its head, using his signature soft, detailed watercolors to depict a bleak, silent night of struggle and survival rather than joy. Though brief, this starkly poignant work stands as a powerful example of Briggs’s ability to tell profound, human stories without a single word.