‘Yuletide’ Review: A Holiday Comic That Embraces the Darkness

I love Christmas. Not in a casual, one-string-of-lights kind of way, I grew up around some of the biggest and most beautiful Christmas markets in the world, and I’ve kept that tradition going everywhere I’ve lived since, decorating early, hitting every market I can find, catching A Christmas Carol on stage when it’s playing, and yes, working through an unreasonable number of Christmas movies every December, Hallmark included, no shame. So when a comic promises to dig into the darker roots hiding underneath all that cheer, I’m exactly the reader it’s aimed at, and I’m also exactly the reader who’ll notice if it gets the holiday spirit wrong. Yuletide didn’t get it wrong. Let’s go back to the Christmas season and talk about this one!

Yuletide comes from writer George Northy and artist Rachele Aragno, a creative duo that feels perfectly matched for this kind of story. Northy actually made his comics debut writing Curse of the Magi for EC Comics’ Shiver SuspenStories #1 back in 2024, then returned the following year with Mistletoe, illustrated by Dan McDaid, for Shiver SuspenStories 2 #1. At this point, holiday horror is clearly his lane, and it shows in how carefully the legends in Yuletide are woven into the narrative instead of feeling like random references. Before this, Northy built a career in film and TV, with credits on the cult comedy G.B.F., MTV’s Faking It, The CW’s Charmed, and Netflix’s XO Kitty, and by his own account he’s already got another horror project in the works with Oni Press. Rachele Aragno, known for Leonide the Vampyr, brings a style that fits the tonal balance this story needs, cozy and inviting one page, unsettling the next.

What Is Yuletide About?

The series opens by digging into the ancient roots of Yuletide, with a long forgotten conflict between forces of light led by the Yulefather and darker powers ruled by the witch queen Perchta. In the present day, the story moves to Christmas, Pennsylvania, a town that lives and breathes Christmas all year long. The main character, Jake, is a kid who hates the holiday, partly because of family loss and partly because of everything the town represents to him. Along with his friends Abe and Wyn, his curiosity about the darker side of Christmas folklore leads them to an old relic tied directly to those ancient legends. Once that relic is opened, long banished creatures begin to return, and the cheerful surface of the town starts to crack as old magic, monsters, and buried truths push their way back into the world.

When Christmas Cheer Hides Something Older

I loved this series way more than I expected. I already love Christmas, and a town that is obsessed with it year round honestly sounds like my dream, but Yuletide made that setting feel fresh by giving it a darker origin. I really enjoyed how the series leans into folklore, mixing something almost magical with just enough horror to keep it unsettling. The idea that Christmas might have a much darker origin beneath all the lights and decorations is what really hooked me. It gives the story a unique mood, like a twisted fairytale that still feels deeply tied to the holiday rather than trying to tear it apart.

Folklore Done Right

The folklore elements are fantastic, especially seeing creatures like Perchta, the Yule Cat, and the Yule Lads (these lil’ guys were my favorite) treated with real respect instead of just being fun Easter eggs. The final issue really sold me emotionally, tying Jake’s personal trauma to the mythology in a way that felt sincere and earned. The series plays with the contrast between forced cheer and what gets pushed aside, and that tension stuck with me long after I finished reading. I also really appreciated the behind the scenes material, explaining that many of these creatures actually come from real myths and their origins, which made the whole reading experience feel even richer.

Final Thoughts

Yuletide is a smart, heartfelt Christmas horror story that understands both the comfort and the shadows hiding inside the holiday. It was truly the gift that kept on giving! The trade paperback will be out in September 2026.

More Christmas Horror and Folklore-Driven Reads

If Yuletide‘s mix of holiday cheer and old, buried mythology worked for you, we’ve got a couple more reads worth checking out. The Deviant is a much bleaker holiday horror pick, a psychological miniseries centered on a killer Santa Claus and an investigation that stretches fifty years into the past. And if it’s the folklore angle that hooked you more than the holiday setting, Whisper of the Woods is a folk-horror graphic novel set in Romania’s most haunted forest, following a student searching for a missing friend.

FAQ

Is Yuletide worth reading? Yes, especially if you like your holiday stories with real folklore roots and a genuine emotional core underneath the horror.

Do you need to read anything before Yuletide? No. It’s a standalone miniseries with no required reading beforehand.

Who is writing and drawing Yuletide? George Northy writes the series, with art by Rachele Aragno, colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith.

Is Yuletide a one-shot, miniseries, or ongoing series? It’s a miniseries, running from October to December 2025.

When is the trade paperback out? The collected edition is set for September 2026.