A Christmas Saved

TimI hope that the thrilling conclusion to our little Christmas story was enjoyable to all. The part of this comic that’s been floating around in my head for over a year is the idea of Sonic, Link, and Mario all being able to fulfill one of Santa’s mysterious powers (reaching all the children in one night, carrying all those presents, and fitting down a chimney.) I didn’t know it would become an actual story instead of a simple 3-panel gag-type comic, but I’m glad it did. It seems to fit in the spirit of Christmas better this way. The Smash Bros. Brawl theme was a tidy way to bring the characters together in one game as originally I had them coming out of their own games. The addition of Kirby was a late one too, just a fun bit I thought of to fulfill another of Santa’s many talents (that endless belly). Anyway, hope you all have a very merry Christmas this year!

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49 Comments

  1. blaster says:

    Well, well, isn’t this just good?
    Merry Christmas, for all of you.

  2. The Gastronomic Gamer says:

    I’m sure that if at every house they get to, they lose their lunch, then there will be plenty of room for milk and cookies.

  3. ConMan says:

    That was brilliant.

  4. randomperson says:

    that was awesome how link had the gatorade

  5. Kvb says:

    Loved the writing, but the art had too much copy-pasting for my tastes.

    Still a good comic, though. Especially because we usually just get a “Merry Christmas” image this time of year.

  6. pcargill says:

    NCG i love the ending, but where are the other guys from CKCheezboys poem? ray, you were supposed to have, what was it, 56 strips, the whole brawl crew, Jingle, Kirby, Link, Mario, Sonic? while tim was swimming in his pool

  7. Nebula427 says:

    I actually teared up a little at the end. You’re crazy, Ray. That comic was great. So you reused some assets from older comics, big deal. Merry Christmas, guys.

  8. Anon says:

    That was totally awesome!
    I liked especially Kirbys role in the part πŸ˜€
    Very good job, I liked it very much.

  9. Snifit says:

    I think of all the “We won’t have a Christmas” type special this one has the neatest twist. Good comic guys, nice story, cool artAll around nice yuletide gift.

  10. Keja says:

    Wow…

    This is the best Christmas ever! And you didn’t substitute merry Christmas with happy holidays!

  11. yes says:

    So, all the time the heroes were out santa-ing Santa himself just stayed home playing SSBB?

  12. Epic! Well, maybe not as epic as the poem in the last podcast, but this had some fun art. And, most importantly, Smash Bros. was clearly used as ‘Brothers’ in the fourth stanza! Woo-hoo, Waa-haa, Wee-hee!

  13. OMGITSJAD says:

    I actually lol’d at the copypasta since it practically is an inside joke now. Just don’t get it in your head that you can do it for every comic in 2010 now, Ray. πŸ˜›

    Merry Christmas(or any other holiday) to you guys too!

  14. mocliamtoh says:

    Hey guys. I really enjoyed the comic, more than I can say in a comment in my current state of mind. Now that exams are finally over (for the semester) I can take the time to realize *MAJOR EXPLETIVE* IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS.

    I wish the both of you (and your families) a merry Christmas, or if that’s not your thing, a happy non-denominational gift giving holiday.

    See you next year

  15. Ness says:

    Loved the comic. The artwork and story were amazing! Merry Christmas!

  16. steve-ohs says:

    Great story guys!
    You two have a very Merry Christmas!

  17. Pi says:

    Weirdly enough, I preferred the other comic. But both were amazing. The writing, as always, was great, and the artwork was pretty cool, especially given that Ray has to balance work, Christmas, and his Brawl addiction problem habit playing. I love the snow, as well. Is that just a plugin, or did Tim do it himself? The fact that it stays on the bottom of your browser window after it’s fallen is a great touch.

    I must admit that I had a panic-seizure-type-thing when I heard that there’d be no podcast this week. I completely understand that you guys don’t have time (unless one of the creepy commenters wants to kill all your family and friends) but I need my weekly dose of monotone! I guess that I’ll just have to re-listen to every podcast that you guys have done over the course of the holidays to make up for it.

  18. Apkinesis says:

    A very nice twist to the classic save-Christmas story; great job, especially with the writing!

    (Also, some overdue “NCG”s and “NPG”s to the latest comics and Podcasts I haven’t commented upon; been especially enjoying the Black Dooms lately.)

    Merry Christmas guys!

  19. Highwater Trousers says:

    I can now say full-heartily that this two-part comic is one of my favorites. Yes, I know that there’s some recycled art here and there. Do I care? Actually, not really, it’s Christmas and it works. I love the writing and having some of our favorite video games heroes save Christmas is like a dream come true. In fact, it’s almost like one of those super-special television shows where they bring together a bunch of characters to solve some problem. Only in this case, none of the characters are compromised. The only thing that’s bugging me is what the gang got for Christmas. There’s so many things that they could receive that it’s annoying not to know, but actually quite fun to guess what the presents are.

    Enough rambling, Merry Christmas everyone! May everyone and their families enjoy the holiday and the time spent together. Happy New Year also, if next week’s comic and podcast are skipped. Stay safe everyone and thank you Tim and Ray for the great work!

    • Highwater Trousers says:

      Alas, in all of the Christmas excitement, I forgot to mention one thing. Congratulations on comic #150! That leaves just 50 more comics until the big 200! Something tells me the time is just going to fly by…

  20. spudwalt says:

    A heartwarming Christmas tale for all of us nerds out there. Thanks!

  21. MetaRidleyR27 says:

    Great Comic Guys! Everything really came together for Part 2, with some excellent writing and rhyming! I didn’t mind the reused artwork either; it’s fun to figure out which comic each image was taken from. I wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year! πŸ™‚

  22. Gadoink says:

    I see that you have some reused art in “panel”(?) 4… this comic USED to be original…

  23. TomX says:

    Nothing witty to say. Nice comic guys and Merry Christmas!

  24. LittleKyvy says:

    Oh this was wonderful.
    I wonder what is in the last 4 presents….

    And i also hope i never had to ride a sleigh drawn by sonic. Sorry sonic but i donΒ΄t want to loose my lunch also
    πŸ˜›

  25. Chris Hill says:

    Hey Ray,

    That was was very clever and funny! πŸ™‚

    Your Pal,

    Chris

  26. D3vin says:

    Nice one, This was kinda a weird way to spend your 150th, but oh well. All we need now is a few gallons of Egg Nog to guzzle down. Merry Christmas everyone!

  27. Dark_Devin says:

    Merry christmas to you and all of your friends,
    hey look is that Mr. game & watch, in picture 10?

    With another week passing and another comic done
    I’ll have to post all my presents, just for the fun!

    My eggnog sits here by my side
    good luck tim, I hope lilly doesn’t cry.

    Over this year, this site has been fun
    I hope it goes on until 2051.

    So as I part I have to say
    NCG, you made my day.

  28. Mattalorian says:

    Now that was a stellar comic.

  29. Bobipine says:

    Why thank you, and merry Christmas to you guys too. Comic was really good as last week’s kinda promised (for me anyway), enjoyed the numerous references (the presents are in another sleigh, duh-nuh-nuh-nuh to name few, and really FEW)

  30. Cheeseball701 says:

    Good job guys! I like to see that Saint Nick is outsourcing his work to Nintendo, unless Miyamoto is really Santa. Duh-nuh-nuh!

    Addendum:

    So the children delighted at NSMBWii,
    But under trees lied nary an Xbox 360,
    Yet the joy of Christmas may have been muted,
    It seems many homes’ treasure chests were looted.

  31. Kree says:

    NCG, the mock-painting style brought together the “christmas tale” theme well πŸ˜›

  32. Gregjr94 says:

    Merry Christmas to you guys!

  33. Gregjr94 says:

    Merry Christmas to you guys!

  34. Drake says:

    Hilarious. Merry Christmas!

  35. Tacos says:

    I’m pretty sure Sonic smokes way too much in your comics.
    But seriously, fantastic comic. Definitely up there for all time favorites. Have a great holidays and enjoy the break.

  36. Happy Sesquicentennial comic from a grave riser!

    Business first: reading since you guys showed up on Gamer’s Pair of Dice, been listening to/catching up on the podcasts for about a month now. Consistently funny stuff that I never have to feel ashamed of reading (except that time I fell off of my chair laughing over my favorite punchline “KOOPA! GOOMBA! I CHOOSE YOU!”).

    I hesitated to rise from my grave as I combed the forum doing research of how to rise properly only to discover a thread regarding the notion that grave risers should rise to the occasion and do more than shower you with NCG praise. I was tempted not to do it at all with all that pressure but with Christmas (and a more than memorable Christmas comic) at hand I realized I had to rise now or never!

    So how about this for content: Am I the only one who has his heart broken by Nintendo a little more each day? Don’t get me wrong I loved NSMBWii (though it almost poisoned my relationship with my girlfriend) and I could play SSBB until I die but it’s like the Wii is hardly trying. The other day I tried to set up an internet connection for it at my new place that worked on everything else, even the 360 and the DS, but the Wii wouldn’t take. I know the 360 has it’s problems but at least when it breaks it’s like the valedictorian twisting his ankle being awesome. Regardless of games like SMG2 and LoZ Wii on the way it seems to me that when the Wii fails to do something…it’s like it broke it’s hand playing checkers.

    Nay, chinese checkers. It’s just hard to keep up that fanboy love that was so easy only 2 short years ago.

    But what do you guys think?

    Anyways, sorry for the long post and keep up the great…er…LEGENDARY work.

    I hope the forum is happy that I didn’t just praise you and disappear.

    • Talduras says:

      I’m sure Tim & Ray will agree that any grave rise is a good grave rise… well… at least when it’s holding true to the spirit of grave rising.

  37. Rob McKeena says:

    Best almost X-mas ever.

  38. Slider64 says:

    I normally enjoy the 2pstart comics and I do apperciate the sentiment between the last two comics but i feel they were really awful. A lack of humor and wit, personality or the charm I have come to expect. sorry to be such a downer on christmas but these were just terrible comics

  39. Phos says:

    I like the comic, but the first stanza doesn’t make sense because there are definitely no combos in Brawl.

  40. piclemaniscool says:

    Its good, but we all know Sonic could do it alone. He could store hundreds of rings in Hammer space, so presents should work too. I guess kirby could also do it but that means mooching off of Sonic’s power.

    Great comic though. Warm, fuzzy ending, perfect for this time of year. Happy Holidays.

    • aghhdjgdjkfhgtahdugihila; says:

      Sonic could probably do it alone, but if kirby were to do it, we’d probably never thet the presents back.

  41. Talduras says:

    Wahaha! Flaming brilliant! The warp-pipe gag was the best. Overall, well thought-out.

    Granted, the ending lines seemed a bit rushed, but meh. Hard to argue with a comic that puts a smile on my face, and that of my inner child. =)

  42. roadjcat says:

    Good comic to come back from vacation to. A week without 2P Start was pretty bad, but I’m back so yay. I gotta get to the podcast soon.

  43. Slider64 says:

    really I normally love you the comics, but i feel this was a total miss and bore of a comic. It never was funny and was a disapointing run through simple rhymes. I hate to be the debbie downer here but I praise when its great and I jeer when its a miss

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