Back in October, author Daniel Kibblesmith and illustrator A.P. Quach published Santa’s Husband, a children’s book chronicling the life of a black, gay Santa Claus and his partner, Mr. Claus. Kibblesmith came under attack after the book hit store shelves—but folks open to the idea of a more inclusive portrait of Christmas rallied to his defense.
On this episode of Daily VICE, we met up with Kibblesmith to hear how he came up with the idea for his book, and what it took to pull off writing it. He walked us through his process, showed us a few early sketches, and talked through some of the best—and worst—reactions people have had to his holiday opus.