# Please recommend some humorous superhero comics. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190 "2003-05-19T05:46:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/1 "2003-05-19T05:46:50Z")
…If there are any. While I do enjoy superhero comics, I’ve always preferred levity to gritty drama. I used to read _Shazam!_ back in elementary school and have recently been introduced to the pleasures of _Plastic Man_ thanks to the book _Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits_. What I’m looking for, I guess, are available series in a similar vein, i.e. whimsical or genuinely humorous as opposed to the standard wisecracking found in any major hero comic. Old and modern titles are welcome, though I don’t have a collector’s budget. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/2 "2003-05-19T06:41:47Z")
The Tick, 'Mazing Man(DC), Boris the Bear(Dark Horse), Damage Control(Marvel), Blue Devil(DC), and Ambush Bug(DC) are the main titles I can think of at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/3 "2003-05-19T06:50:39Z")
Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew (short lived, early 80s, Funny Animal superheroes.) ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/4 "2003-05-19T07:17:21Z")
If you can find it in the quarter bins, I’ve got a fond spot in my heart for Marvel’s four-issue **Slapstick!** series. Premise: Teen kid gets the ability to turn into an indestructible cartoon character and faces off against an assortment of characters, including a way-out \*Punisher-\*wanna-be, an eight-year-old mad scientist, and a pissed-off nuclear-irradiated bum. Heck, _any_ comic that results in Ghost Rider getting a bucket of water dumped on his head gets props in my book! 😃 And I second the vote for **Damage Control,** though I think the last limited series really went downhill. First one was the best. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/5 "2003-05-19T07:31:01Z")
_Groo_ character is as super as they come (even if he is a Conan clone). Then there is the _What The…?_ series spoofing the supers. Also, if you like corn in your meal, try some of the Harley Quinn-focused comics. If only she gets rid of Jokey-poo she would be my favorite character ever in DC. ---
**Author:** ![Skip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@Skip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skip)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/6 "2003-05-19T09:58:02Z")
Kieth Giffen and J.M. De Matteis’s run on the Justice League books in the early 90’s. The perfect blend of humour and mainstream super hero comics. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/7 "2003-05-19T12:30:30Z")
And, if you can find it, Giffen’s “The Heckler.” Very funny and weird (which is probably why there were only six issues). The issue with Bushwack’r was worth it all. Think supervillain as Wile E. Coyote. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/8 "2003-05-19T12:47:42Z")
Phil Foglio’s stuff is pretty good. I loved the four-issue mini-series a decade or so ago that brought back **Angel and the Ape** (along with the Inferior Five). His **Jack Godot – Zap Gun for Hire** books (two books and a 12-issue comic that I know of) are great, too. I didn’t read enough of his take on **Stanley and his Monster** to tell how good it was. His Girl Genius and XXXenophile series don’t quite match the “Superhero” label. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/9 "2003-05-19T12:55:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CalMeacham \* > \*\*His **Jack Godot – Zap Gun for Hire** books (two books and a 12-issue comic that I know of) are great, too. \*\* Nitpick. That’s **_Buck_ Godot.** ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/10 "2003-05-19T19:17:29Z")
Many of Keith Giffen’s comics were pure comedy, like _Ambush Bug_ (his masterpiece!) and _Justice League_. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/11 "2003-05-20T06:24:12Z")
Greetings, everyone. I just wanted to thank you for your suggestions. Payday is tomorrow, so I’m going to set aside a small chunk and head over to Ye Olde Internette Comic Shoppe. Many of the titles are available for reasonable prices, which means I can stock up YAY. It’ll be refreshing. With the exception of Gaiman’s **Sandman** , it’s been manga, manga, manga, for me for the past ten years. Thanks again! I checked out some cover scans of **Slapstick!** , and I’m getting a definite **Freakazoid** vibe from it. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/12 "2003-05-20T12:45:55Z")
The Hulk when it was written by Peter David was fantastic. I personally reccomend the marriage and stag night of rick jones ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/13 "2003-05-20T18:09:29Z")
Welcome to the boards, **Bakhesh**! ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-humorous-superhero-comics/176190/14 "2003-05-20T18:56:09Z")
Another vote for “The Tick.” Howlingly funny.