Commentary | Shallow Readers

“Humor. Fans are really embracing humor in comics like never before. Fans come for a dramatic story, but they like to laugh along the way. Elliott’s crafting a dramatic story with heart and lots of laughs along the way. I mean, he’s the head writer for “The Daily Show” — how’s he not going to find humor in this situation? Elliott’s a triple-threat in that he writes scripts fast and well, he knows the Marvel Universe like the back of his hand and his day job’s only a few blocks away, which allows him to hash out story ideas with [X-Men Group Editor] Mike Marts and [series editor] Katie Kubert over lunch.”

Humor always seems to be a fundamental part of the Marvel formula.

Alonso: “I think so. A comic book doesn’t need to be pee-your-pants funny, but it should make you laugh or smile. And the darker the story, the more you need to counter-balance with moments of levity.

Take one of my favorite writers, Garth Ennis: He’ll ratchet up a story to maximum tension or sear your eyeballs with an explosion of horrific violence, but then he’ll cut the tension with a memorable line that allows you to exhale.”

And humor is clearly a big reason for why the Marvel movies have succeeded on such a large scale.

Alonso: “Absolutely. Humor reveals humanity better than anything else. Whether it’s Tony Stark asserting his Alpha Male status with his rat-a-tat wit, Steve Rogers leaning waaaaaay into his goody-two-shoes image, or Black Widow yawning her way through an insanely dangerous op — the Avengers are defined by, and loved for, their personalities, not their powers. And no Marvel Studios film proves the power of humor more than“Guardians of the Galaxy.” Is there a more heartwarming bromance than Rocket and Groot?”

So the message? Laughter is good. See DC? Your characters actually can laugh!