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Five For Friday #46—Kings of Comedy
posted September 9, 2005
Name Five Characters That Always Make You Laugh
1. Wimpy
2. George Cecil Hamilton III
3. Gorgon
4. Brock
5. Freddie!
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Peter MacDonald
Zonker (
Doonesbury)
The Roach (
Cerebus)
Snoopy
Binky (
Life in Hell)
Dirty Danny
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Fred Hembeck
In no particular order...
Jimmy Olsen in drag, a rather outre situation for the time that occurred with suspicious regularity during the Mort Weisinger era.
J.Jonah Jameson, mainly during the Ditko days, and specifically in Amazing Spider-Man#25, the one in which the Daily Bugle publisher commandeers a robot to attack his long-time nemesis, the funniest--and, for what it's worth, my single favorite standard sized--Marvel Comic of all time.
Mr. McOnion, the beleagured next door neighbor of Sluggo, a man who seemingly spent every spring figuring out just how to ship the hairless--and penniless--orphan off to summer camp with his friend Nancy, during an all too short spell back in the late fifties, early sixties when Ernie Bushmiller's crew found themselves in the capable laugh inducing hands of the great John Stanley.
Henry Mitchell, whose exasperated reactions to the antics of son Dennis were always the funniest things to be found in the old Fred Toole/Al Wiseman comics.
Buddy Bradley, by Peter Bagge--ALWAYS hilarious.
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Dave Knott
I'm including a few pairs of characters here, because sometimes comedy works best with a team, or requires a straight man.
Blue Beetle and Booster Cold
- The best comedic duo ever in superhero comics
Uncle Duke from Doonesbury (especially with side-kick Honey)
- The ultimate parody character from newspaper strips, made even better by the fact that he developed his own personality beyond mere caricature.
Milk & Cheese
- Who would have thought that running rampant on popular culture could be so funny?
Harley Quinn
- The animated version, especially when teamed with Poison Ivy.
Captain Haddock
- The perfect example of a straight character played for comedy by putting him into outrageous situations.
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Jeet Heer
1. Tubby (from
Little Lulu)
2. Wimbledon Green (Tubby grown up, more or less)
3. Fearless Fosdick (Al Capp's greatest creation)
4. Pig Pen (his tenure in
Peanuts was brief but unforgettable)
5. Krazy Kat (amid all the praise form Herriman, people sometimes forget how funny he was.)
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Warren Craghead
Name Five Characters That Always Make You Laugh
1. Captain Haddock from
Tin Tin.
2. Whoever Sam Henderson draws.
3. Any hippie or hillbilly by Ted May (I know I keep name checking Ted, but his hippies and hillbillies really are funny).
4. The hillbillies in Gary Panter's
Jimbo comics.
5. Snoopy when he pretends to be another animal like a vulture.
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Gary Esposito
Snoopy
Bucky (
Get Fuzzy)
Wally (
Dilbert)
Ralph & Leslie (
Liberty Meadows)
Sam & Max (
Freelance Police)
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Benjamin Bayliss
1. Reid Fleming, the World's Angriest Milkman
2. Booster Gold and Blue *sniff* Beetle followed closely by Guy "One Punch!" Gardner
3. Milk and Cheese, Dairy Products Gone Bad.
4. Tick and Authur
5. Frazz
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Rob Vollmar
My votes go to...
1. Jason X-12
2. Everett K. Ross (from Priest's BLACK PANTHER)
3. Assaji (from Tezuka's BUDDHA)
4. Adastra
5. Krazy Kat
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Eric Reynolds
1. Wimpy
2. Homer Simpson
3. Bacon
4. Junior
5. Mr. O'Malley
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Alan David Doane
1. Jason X-12
2. Spandy
3. The guys of Gabagool!
4. Jay from Jay's Days
5. Crumb
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Carol Green
1. Fred Hembeck (the cartoon, not the guy - the guy is WAY too serious)
2. Daffy Duck
3. Smilin' Ed Smiley
4. Superchicken
5. the main character in the Groening "Hell" strips
Poultry, in general, are funny.
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Jeffrey Meyer
The Incredible Hulk
Fat Broad from B. C.
Young Dan Pussey
Joe Matt
Groo
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T Campbell
Hey, hey-- he said "ALWAYS make you laugh." I really liked some of the old Blue Beetle-Booster Gold stuff, but considering what they're up to lately I wouldn't call 'em "comedy kings" any more.
But gee, that's a high standard. I don't think Calvin ought to be disqualified just because he gets misty-eyed and philosophical now and again. So let's say, five who ALMOST always make me laugh:
Yankee Poodle from CAPTAIN CARROT AND HIS AMAZING ZOO CREW. Deliciously selfish and clutching frantically at her fading youth, YP was Roy Thomas' most underrated creation. I didn't learn until years after the series' end that she was based on a real person, which only deepens the joke.
Calvin from CALVIN AND HOBBES. Like I need to explain this one.
The Question from JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (NOT the Question from the comic books). There is more characterization in a single episode starring this character than in every George Lucas movie put together. Sometimes I laugh because he's funny and sometimes I laugh with sheer delight at his kinky worldview-- and how often the things he says actually make sense.
Mell Kelly from NARBONIC. An overcooked tough-talking gunslinger a la Tank Girl, only also interning at a mad scientist's lab, pursuing a legal degree and the future President of the United States. Yes. Yes.
Mike from IT'S WALKY and SHORTPACKED. He's just an asshole, that's pretty much all you need to know.
Seconded: Harley Quinn, Captain Haddock.
Sorta-seconded: Guy Gardner's gone through a couple of vastly unamusing phases, but I really hope they stick with his current incarnation. He's got the utter jerkitude of his old days, but a lot more competence too. If they played the "one punch" scene today, I expect Guy would put down the ring, feint to punch Batman and, at the last second, remote-control the ring to blow Bats through a bulkhead.
A man can dream, anyway.
Seconded: J. Jonah Jameson (especially the movie version).
Oh, hell, one more seconding-- I haven't read too much HATE, but every time I have, Buddy Bradley's made me laugh too.
