20 most upbeat superhero stories

Cover of Tag and Bink Are Dead (Image via Marvel)

14. Tag & Bink Are Dead

Perhaps all of this talk of comics runs and ongoing series are making you feel a little overwhelmed. That happens often in the world of comics, where stories can unfold across multiple issues and deep, complicated backstories.

In that case, one-off issues and short runs are your friend. They have all the fun of comics, but without some of the heavy mythos that can really make your head spin.

Let’s say that, in addition to your disinclination towards long comics runs, you’re also just a little sick of classic superhero stories. In that case, you’ll want to check out Tag & Bink Are Dead.

This two-issue arc takes place in the Star Wars universe, so you won’t be encountering superheroes, exactly. You could perhaps make the case that this is a world of heroes of a fantastic variety, what with all of the Wookiees, space travel, and half-robotic villains. Tag Greenley and Bink Otauna, however, are only heroes if you squint a lot and bend the definition of “hero” to a staggering degree.

What they are, however, are a couple of resistance fighters. Alas, they are not the most capable members of the Rebel Alliance. Despite their bumbling and obvious status as background characters, they manage to get onto the Death Star and infiltrate the Empire itself.

As the title hints, Tag & Bink Are Dead is a riff on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the absurdist, tragicomic play by Tom Stoppard. In both tales, the plot follows two seemingly inconsequential characters who manage to come up against the “main” story over and over.