One of Santa’s reindeer turns into a Were-Deer when the moon is full? A mummy uses his wrapping expertise to wrap Christmas gifts? Frankenstein subs for Santa one Christmas Eve? These and other wacky monster-flavored Christmas stories are the gift of Voice Actor Wally Wingert (Invader Zim, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Family Guy, Bleach), who wrote and narrated the 13 adventures in his short-story series “Donnie Druthers’ Christoween Capers.”
You can find all the info at Christoween.net during The 13 Weeks of Christoween, which started October 2nd and continues through Christmas Day. A new Christoween Caper drops every Saturday at 1:13pm PST (that’s 1313 in military time, folks). They are presented in “visually augmented” form; with visuals, “chill-ustrations” and graphics you can enjoy while you listen. And it’s all presented for free – as a Christoween gift to you!
Wingert’s brainchild began a few years ago when he couldn’t find monster-themed Christmas stockings to buy for an amorous interest. After he “creep-ated” his own line of stockings, an author friend suggested he couple them with stories about their formation. And Donnie Druthers and his Christoween Capers were alive…ALIIIIIIVE!
After consulting with well-known pop culture “chill-ustrator” Patrick Owsley, a well-developed package was created, including a line of Limited Edition Christoween story-based merchandise. And the Christoween lore was off and running! It’s Wingert’s dream to attract strategic partners (like publishers, toy manufacturers and animation studios) to move the Christoween project to the next level.
The stories center around an odd young boy tasked with creating a report for school about his favorite holiday. With an equivalent love of Halloween and Christmas, his fertile young mind produces the hybrid observance of “Christoween.” And Donnie’s adventures with his many monster friends commence.
The stories were created for adult monster kids (like Wingert) in hopes they would share them with their families during the holidays. They’re peppered with “Easter Eggs” that only a monster kid would understand, and are written in a “Seuss-ian” rhyme scheme to capitalize upon that nostalgic Christmas vibe we all enjoyed as kids while listening to the Grinch and “The Night Before Christmas.”
Though the stories are fun and clever on the surface, there’s also a subtle undercurrent of subject matter like bullying, sacrifice, courage, first crush, tolerance, friendship, jealousy, sibling rivalry and more.
Be sure to catch all the stories soon at Christoween.net for FREE! Because after January 1, 2022 – they’ll disappear just like Claude Rains sans bandages! (Until next Christoween season, that is!) |
