Take one of my favorite comic universes, add Santa, and mash it into a brutal horror story and you have the making for a comic that speaks to my heart. Enter I Saw Santa. Writers Chris Killian & Andrew Sanders and artist Thomas Nachlik craft a horrifying Christmas tale placed in the Spawn Universe that will terrifying you just in time for the jolly old man to come down your chimney.
Offended by his lump of coal, he vows to make it his life’s mission to haunt Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick. As the situation escalates, Sam and Twitch stumble upon a series of grim discoveries, but it is ultimately SPAWN who must confront this relentless tormentor and restore peace to the holiday season.
There is something that works so perfectly when horror crosses paths with the holiday season. The juxtaposition of holiday cheer and terrifying horror that make me feel the warmth of the season. Things are supposed to be jolly during Christmas, but when a horror story is placed squarely in this merry season it screams even louder.
Killian and Sanders could’ve crafted a story based in the Spawn Universe that was just Santa, Christmas, and the season of giving with Spawn as the forefront character and I would’ve still be in line on new comic day to grab the book. But what the creative team does with I Saw Santa is so much more. The use of Sam and Twitch to investigate a horrible murder on Christmas Eve to kick things off made so much more sense, both fitting the mold of a Spawn story but also making it accessible to those unfamiliar with the universe.
Spawn is approaching issue 380 with 400 on the horizon, not to mention the many off-shoot series in recent years, so I can be daunting to want to dive into a mini series such as I Saw Santa, knowing it was based in the Spawn Universe. However, Killian and Sanders deliver a tale that grazes the lore of Spawn without making the reader feel lost. This allows us to enjoy this horrifying story without the burden of catching up on 34 years of Spawn comics.
This is a Santa Claus story, one that is unique and fresh, but it is also a gruesome and visceral horror story. Something we don’t see often, but works so well together. While this tale could’ve been placed in its own universe outside of Spawn, the slight connective tissue made it so much more special. The appearance of a few familiar faces and storylines, again…that don’t distract from the accessibility of the story, gave the tale a bit more depth for those who know. Sam and Twitch are fantastic characters and using them to place the story where it is made me smile when opening the very first page.
Nachlik illustrates a story that feels like Spawn, but also brings this dark holiday vibe to it as well. The artist doesn’t shy away from the gruesome and grotesque, making I Saw Santa not for the faint of heart. I do appreciate the moments of verbalizing a particular death without the imagery to go along with it, when you get to that point you’ll understand. The brutality is meaningful and not just for the shock factor, which made the story that much more of an enjoyable reading experience than just disturbing factor. Colors by Dan Kemp are dark and moody which lends itself to both the Spawn Universe and the horrors within.
I Saw Santa is a brutal and terrifyingly fresh Christmas story that is the perfect blend of holidays and horror. Writers Chris Killian & Andrew Sanders and artist Thomas Nachlik deliver an incredibly accessible tale in the Spawn Universe where Santa is pushed to his limits and blood is shed. The only thing that makes I Saw Santa even better is that we get more this holiday season.
The collected edition of I Saw Santa: A Spawn Universe Christmas Story hits local comic shops on October 28, 2026 and bookstores everywhere on November 24 from Image Comics.
I Saw Santa Vol. 1 TP Preview
