Fans are waiting in anticipation for Thor: Love and Thunder, releasing on July 8, 2022, which will feature both the titular hero and the Guardians of the Galaxy, known for a history of using humor to contrast darker themes. Comic stories have a long history of using humor this way, employing witty banter, puns, and comedic situations to evoke a laugh.
Many comic characters use humor in banter with their enemies, in reaction to their surroundings, or just to make themselves and, in turn, the reader laugh. While not every comic is meant to be comedic, there have been a number of hilarious stories that have made lasting impressions with Redditors.
Bone (Smith)
Jeff Smith’s series, Bone, was a classic from its first publication in 1991 to its final in 2004. Following the titular character Fone Bone through various quests, the graphic novel series was the example presented in Redditor diggitfireball’s original post, saying “Jeff Smith’s masterful use of panels can deliver some hilarious jokes.”
For some, however, Bone was a problem. In 2013, it was placed on the American Library Association’s list of Most Challenged Books, despite Smith’s assertion that the series was never actually meant for children.
Chew (Layman & Guillory)
For a darker style of comedy, John Layman’s Chew, illustrated by Rob Guillory, features an FDA agent with the ability to receive psychic visions from the food, including people, that he eats.
Despite acknowledging the darkness of the comedy, Redditor triggermanx97 still considers Chew “wacky and cartoony.” While Chew originally ran from 2009 until 2016, it made a brief reappearance in 2020, including as one of the 2020s best non-superhero comics, so far.
Nextwave (Ellis & Immonen)
Intermingling violence and comedy, Redditor OrionLinksComic calls Nextwave, a 2006-07 Marvel comic that satirized Marvel’s own superheroes as “absolutely … fun.” While the series is released by Marvel, it isn’t canonic, which is why it even featured an extremely out-of-character Captain America.
The series took the glamour and gore of superhero comics and used it to poke fun at them, with the protagonists being a group of minor Marvel heroes going by H.A.T.E., or the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort.
Quantum And Woody (Priest & Bright)
Written to be Valiant Comic’s version of Power Man and Iron Fist, the superhero pair of Quantum and Woody ran from 1997 until 2000, making a brief reappearance in 2013, with the release making Redditor 2JasonGrayson8, “laugh out loud more then a few times.”
Written by Christopher Priest and illustrated by M. D. Bright, the titular characters function as a sometimes inept superhero duo. The comedic aspects of the series are complete with a goat from the cover that is more than it appears.
Megahex (Hanselmann)
A 200-page collection of Simon Hanselmann’s comics, Megahex featured many of Hanselmann’s stories that were familiar to long-time fans, as well as brand new content filling nearly half the book.
Pushing the boundaries of the genre, the novel finds humor in a number of sensitive, sometimes dark themes. Redditor WhiskeyT acknowledges that it’s funny, but “also not at all funny and very tragic. But hilarious. And so depressing.”
Sex Criminals (Fraction & Zdarsky)
Since its start in 2013, Sex Criminals has been known as one of the best non-superhero comics of the 2010s, receiving critical acclaim, nominations, and awards. Written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky, the series ended in 2020.
Redditor dustycleaner found the contents and jokes in the sex shop as particularly funny. Unfortunately, while a TV adaptation was in development in 2015, Fraction’s deal with Universal TV has yet to reach the screen, if it ever will. Despite the acclaim the series received, it was also placed on the American Library Association’s most banned and challenged books list in 2016.
Dicks (Ennis & McCrea)
Running irregularly from 1997-2005, Redditor carson63000 describes Garth Ennis’s series Dicks, illustrated by John McCrea, as being “about two hapless idiots in Northern Ireland trying to be private detectives.” Like much of Ennis’s other work, including The Punisher, Dicks featured his typically dark, violent comedy.
Each issue of Dicks took Dougie and Ivor, side characters from another of Ennis’s comics Troubled Souls, and followed them as they tried new things, including being private detectives, forming a band, and even going to space.
Superior Foes Of Spider-Man (Spencer & Lieber)
Debuting alongside other Spider-Man titles, Superior Foes of Spider-Man follows Fred Myers, the villain Boomerang, as he orchestrates his schemes. Redditor Mish106 found the series “really funny.”
Spider-Man himself is already a hilarious character, being part of some of Marvel’s funniest friendships, so it’s no wonder his villains are, as well. Filled with backstabbing, elaborate plans, and a plethora of villains, the series ends with Myers sharing his story with a man at a bar. When asked for his name, the man answers “Peter,” wrapping up the series with a funny assumption of the man being Peter Parker.
Strangers In Paradise (Terry Moore)
Blending the genres of drama, comedy, crime, and thriller, Strangers In Paradise is both written and drawn by Terry Moore. Redditor claudeteacher finds it particularly funny because “Terry Moore’s ability to go from drama to thriller to comedy made it that much funnier.”
Primarily following a love triangle, one of the best comic book relationships that aren’t Marvel or DC, the series eventually incorporated aspects of comedy and thriller during its original run from 1993 to 2007, most of it published by Moore’s own Abstract Studio.
Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? (Fraction & Lieber)
Part of a legacy dating back to the 1952 TV series Adventures of Superman, Matt Fraction’s entry into the Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen history is what Redditor inadequatecircle calls “outrageous in every sense of the word, to the point of Jimmy having a prank war with Batman.”
Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? follows the titular character through his own investigation into who wants him dead, delving into the dangerous, weird, and wacky side of DC, making for a fun and exciting read.