As fans return to the Nightmare Before Christmas franchise, they’ve been surprised to find that Jack Skellington is nowhere in sight. Instead, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town has been replaced by an adorable new character.

Meet Nightmare Before Christmas’ New Hero – Shiver the Polar Bear

In this week’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Shiver of Christmas Town #1 – from Torunn Grønbekk, Edu Menna and Jeff Eckleberry – fans are introduced to Shiver. And despite being the latest resident of Halloween Town, Shiver is officially “too half-witted to be vicious, too preposterous for cruelty.”

This adorable Frankenstein polar bear is the latest creation of Dr. Finkelstein, who wanted to assemble a terrifying new creature to celebrate Halloween. Sadly, he abjectly failed, and the only thing even halfway scary about this diminutive bear is his appetite.

While Shiver starts out in the care of Sally, he’s quickly stolen by Lock, Shock, and Barrel, and eventually falls into the clutches of the recently reassembled Oogie Boogie.

Set after the events of The Night Before Christmas, the comic sees Jack Skellington busy preparing for the occasion, which now includes sending a delegation to Christmastown to help them celebrate the spooky season.

Nightmare Before Christmas Is Merging Halloween and Christmas In New Ways

What’s so fun about this new installment is seeing Christmastown and Halloween Town mimicking each other. Halloween Town’s latest monstrosity is a cuddly bear who can freeze things with his breath, while the summary for upcoming issues suggests that Christmastown’s take on Halloween will be way too jolly and harmless.

However, fans shouldn’t expect Shiver to stay tiny for long. Dr. Finkelstein asks Sally to keep feeding the bear growing pills so it will become a fearsome monster, and its appetite is a suspicious detail given its apparent potential for growth. If Shiver grows into a full-sized polar bear with freezing breath, Oogie Boogie may end up really regretting his most recent acquisition.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Shiver of Christmas Town perfectly captures the aesthetic of Tim Burton’s original work, this time with the new twist of Halloween Town and Christmastown influencing each other, with new protagonist Shiver as the first result.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Shiver of Christmas Town #1 is available now from Dynamite.

Release Date

October 29, 1993

Runtime

76 minutes

Director

Henry Selick

Writers

Caroline Thompson

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