No Atom this year, but here's a holiday treat starring Red Tornado!
John Smith had searched fourteen toy stores across three states for Ecko Geckos, and at the latest, he could barely get a clerk off his cell phone long enough to utter the familiar, "We're out." Smith needed the doll as a Christmas present for his adopted daughter Traya, and a little old woman offered him hers-- for just $200. Even at a 345% mark-up, a fellow customer was willing to one up the quoted price and pay $250. "If you really cared about your kid, maybe you would've tried harder. Disturbed by the desperation, avarice and indifference of the jerks in this store, Smith used his tornado powers to trap everyone inside by depositing mounds of snow at all exits. In the face of this turn, some customers began reconsidering whether rampant consumerism reflected the true spirit of Christmas, and Smith suggested everyone sing along with the holiday music piped over the sound system. However, the cell phone obsessed clerk had already called the fire department, so that in short order, everyone would be free to blow off any actual meaning to the holiday. "My fellow shoppers learned nothing from the experience."
The next morning, Smith and his wife were roused by Traya. Though Smith had finally procured an Ecko Gecko, his child wasn't in any particular rush to unwrap it. "--I have all day to find out what I got. Right now, I just want to be thankful for what I have." Ah, orphans of war torn countries lend perspective to us lousy Yankees. "On Christmas, I bought my daughter a present... but she gave me a gift."
"A Night Before Christmas Story" was far better than Red Tornado deserves, as written by David Tischman, with charmingly emotive art by Adam Archer and Sandra Hope.
