Created by Paul Dini and Ronnie Del Carmen as a tie-in to "Batman: The Animated Series" (and later adapted into an episode), this lighthearted romp saw Poison Ivy staving off the yuletide blues and placating her partner-in-crime Harley Quinn by using her hypnotic kiss to enslave Bruce Wayne and use his boundless fortune to fuel a holiday shopping spree. Of course, as tends to happen when Bruce Wayne is endangered, it doesn't take long for Batman to put a stop to their criminal shenanigans, but not before Ivy lets everyone know what her favorite Christmas song is:

4. "Superman's Christmas Adventure" (1940)

The earliest of DC's Christmas specials, "Superman's Christmas Adventure" is also one of the best, full of pure, uncut holiday fun. It's also completely insane, with two misanthropes called Mr. Grouch and Mr. Meaney taking their rocketship (which they have because, y'know, it's the Golden Age) to the North Pole to kidnap Santa's reindeer and tie Lois Lane to a giant bottle rocket.

Even better, after Superman takes the place of reindeer that have been dosed with knockout gas to help deliver toys, Santa still gives Meaney and Grouch their presents! Whatta swell guy!

3. Yes, Tyrone, There Is a Santa Claus - "DC Infinite Holiday Special" (2007)

DC's Christmas offerings over the past few years have been pretty hit-or-miss, but this one is the biggest bright spot of the bunch by far. Clocking in at a slim ten pages, Kelley Puckett and Pete Woods bring you the hilarious story of Superman being so moved by a child's letter asking if Santa exists that he decides to play Santa himself to restore his faith... and then reconsiders once Batman shows up on his jetpack and calls him pathetic.

In most stories, having Batman on a jetpack at all would be enough to make it great, but that's just where the comedy starts here, as Batman and Superman bicker about the true meaning of Christmas and then Batman's true motivation is finally revealed:

2. Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot - "Christmas With the Super-Heroes" #2 (1988)

All told, "Christmas With the Super-Heroes" #2 is a pretty depressing affair. It opens, after all, with Superman talking a man with a painful degenerative muscle disease out of shooting himself, and continues with Flash and Green Lantern trying to help out a homeless man who reminds him that other people have it even worse than he does, because, you know, DC Comics in the '80s.

They're all eclipsed, however, by the Deadman story that closes out the book, and what sets that one apart is that it's actually a pretty poignant commentary on the way comics work. Deadman feels down because he can only be with other people on Christmas by possessing them (and thus by stealing their holiday), which is a pretty poor reward for fighting the unsung fight against evil. This is, admittedly, a pretty raw deal, but he meets someone who has it even worse, a young woman who reminds him that the nature of heroism is to do the right thing even when no one knows. And she'd know: She's Kara Zor-El, the Supergirl who had been wiped out of continuity the previous year, never to be heard from again.

Except, you know, when she eventually (and inevitably) was.

These are all great stories, but our all-time favorite DC Christmas Comic? This one:

1. The Seal Men's War on Santa Claus - "Best of DC Digest" #22 (1981)

Originally slated to run in Sandman #7, "The Seal Men's War on Santa Claus" was shelved for five years, which we can only assume was because DC was afraid to run a story this awesome.

How else would you explain a decision to run a story where the Lord of Dreams traveled to the castle of the Nightmare Wizard to prove that Santa Claus existed and found himself battling against a tribe of Seal Men who were rebelling against Santa Claus because he accidentally brought them gloves and scuba diving equipment instead of the presents they asked for, thus leading to Santa Claus having a fist-fight with Seal People before it all gets resolved.

Crazy? Yes. But what would you expect from a Christmas comic by Jack Kirby?