20 funny comics to lighten your mood and make you laugh

The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book (Cover image via Andrews McMeel Publishing)

As much as we love Batman, sometimes comics readers need a break from the grittiness. Read on for 20 of the best funny comic series out there.

Maybe it’s unfair to make fun of Batman. He is a central character in the worlds of comics and superheroes. Right now, if it weren’t for him, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t have DC Comics or Christian Bale doing a silly, gravelly voice for three straight movies as the character.

But does he always have to be so serious?

Though the grimdark trend in comics and culture arguably peaked in the 1990s, we’re still dealing with its effects decades later. You know the drill. Take a well-known character or artistic property, like Superman, and make it edgy. Instead of saving people all the time and hanging out with goofy Bizarro, Superman now broods in his Fortress of Solitude. He grows a mullet. He gets killed by a villain (and then almost immediately returns, because comics companies like to make money and creators aren’t stupid).

Let’s not even talk about Batman. He went from silly 1960s camp to constantly moping around his mansion in what seemed like no time. “Sad Batman” has become so prevalent that it’s become a self-referential meme.

Deep, dark stories aren’t bad all by themselves, though. There’s nothing wrong with taking a look at the more grim side of things, especially if you want to take a deep dive into moral uncertainty. Shakespeare’s tragedies are just as popular as his comedies, after all.

But, what if everything gets grimdark? That’s when we need a change of course. So, let’s set aside our Frank Millers and our Rob Liefelds (maybe those Liefeld volumes can just go into a box, in a set of drawers, in a dark corner of the basement for the next few generations, anyway). Let’s turn our faces to the sunny side of the street.

Now, “funny” doesn’t have to mean “prim and proper”. Some of the comics here are downright gross, which can be either a factor in favor of or against the story, depending on your inclination. That said, I’ve taken care to mix it up, so if God Hates Astronauts sounds like a bit much to handle, hang in there.