20 funny comics to lighten your mood and make you laugh

Cover to Hawkeye vol. 2: Small Hits. (Cover image via Marvel Comics.)

13. Hawkeye

For all of the dark, satirical send-ups of superheroes, there are occasional bouts of humor from the big-name superheroes themselves. Yes, it’s true that Hawkeye (a.k.a. Clint Barton) isn’t exactly a main character in the Avengers films (he does spend most of the first one in a Loki-induced state of hypnosis). Maybe that sense of teetering on the edge between first and second-tier superhero-ship is what makes the recent Hawkeye series so much fun.

Written by Matt Fraction and largely drawn by David Aja, this 2012-2015 Marvel series is one of the most enjoyable in recent superhero history. That’s thanks in large part to Fraction’s script, which is light-hearted and fast-paced — a welcome change from more plodding superhero sagas.

That doesn’t mean Fraction skimps on Hawkeye’s humanity. He’s a well-rounded character who just wants to do good (and quip, of course). He saves people, muses on some of the more troubling aspects of his work and rescues an adorable dog named Lucky (a.k.a., Pizza Dog).

In fact, Lucky gets an entire issue told from his perspective, titled “Pizza Dog In: Pizza is My Business.”  It’s this kind of inventiveness that makes Hawkeye a wonderful, funny and deep read.

However, its humanity is really what drives Hawkeye. Barton is well aware that he’s a regular old human on a team of super-powered beings. You can’t help but notice that when you’re fighting alongside Thor and Captain America, after all. Yet, Hawkeye has just as much of a right to be on the team as anyone else, perhaps even more so because his fragility is paired with a rough-edged sort of bravery.