Krampus : the Yule lord

Krampus: the Yule lord / Brom

Krampus : the Yule lord is another work by artist turned author Brom. Along the same lines as The child thief, Brom takes a well known story, adds the “lost” pagan version, and infuses it with a degree of moral ambiguity.

So, here’s a Christmas season post that’s actually about “Christmas”. Sort of.

Brief plot summary

Musician Jesse is miserable. After failing to get his daughter the Christmas present she wanted, Jesse witnesses what appears to be a fight between Santa Claus and a small group of mysterious attackers. Discovering that the battle sent Santa’s sack through the roof if his trailer, Jesse soon becomes embroiled in a centuries long conflict between Krampus and Santa Claus over the true meaning of Christmas.

The child thief

The child thief / Brom.

I realize that I’ve kind of been on a contemporary fantasy kick this month, so I figured I’d switch things up by doing another contemporary fantasy review.

In all seriousness, I’ll take a break from the contemporary fantasy after this one. Probably.

It’s not like you can stop me if I choose not to. Pardon me while I let all this power go to my head.

BACK TO THE CHILD THIEF!

The child thief is Brom’s contemporary take on Peter Pan, coupled with a healthy dose of celtic mythology. It’s not-too-dissimilar (in a good way) from Clive Barker’s The thief of always (the subject of a future post. Probably).

Peter Pan is the titular child thief, who travels between the human world and Avalon, kidnapping abused children to use as cannon fodder in a never-ending war against Captain Hook. It’s a dark fairy tale without clear heroes and villains.