DC; March 1978 
Cover by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel

Title: “2,000 Light-Years to Christmas!”
Synopsis: Three gift-bearing aliens who are following a distant star crash land on Earth, and the Justice League battles Major Macabre.

Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Dick Dillin
Inker: Frank McLaughlin

Review: After The Christmas Carol and the Biblical Christmas story, there seems to be little other source material inspiring Bronze Age Yuletide offerings. This one starts with an interesting riff on the latter, with gift-bearing aliens following a distant star. Writer Gerry Conway’s story actually feels pretty fresh – at least until the appearance of Major Macabre, a Latin American strongman who is painfully stereotypical (“I am a man of respect – a mucho hombre!”) It recovers, but the story would have been stronger without such a lame villain. As for the art, Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin’s work is solid, as usual.

Grade: B

Cool factor: The gift-bearing aliens could have been cool.
Not-so-cool factor: Major Macabre? Not so much!

Notable: First appearance of Traya, Red Tornado’s adopted daughter. … The “JLA Mail Room Extra” page includes a “JLA Popularity Poll,” which sees Green Lantern taking the top spot. … Wonder Woman appears on the cover of this issue, but not inside.

Character quotable: “Who dealt this mess, anyway?” – The Batman. (Would you want to play poker with the Dark Knight? That just doesn’t seem wise.)

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