Are There Comic Book Characters That Benefit From A More Lighthearted Approach?

[Agent Z]

Do you guys think there are comic book characters whom being more whimsical and lighthearted would be a better approach? If so, which ones? Feel free to list examples of ones that you know to be successful.

[Kusanagi]

While I'm not sure 'whimsical' is the right word, I've always liked She-Hulk when the tone of her book was more lighthearted.

Not sure I would call him successful but the difference between Speedball and hyper grim dark Penance was night and day and imo he was a much better character lighthearted.

Nightcrawler also comes to mind as a character I prefer as a cavalier swashbuckler rather than the brooding character he's been portrayed as sometimes.

There are also characters that I haven't seen really serious that I have no desire to see in the role like Ms. Marvel or Squirrel Girl.

[Paradox]

Capt. Marvel (the Fawcett one), Plastic Man (these first two have absolutely no place in the "super serious" DCU), the whole Justice League during the Giffen/deMatteis run, Shulky (as mentioned above), Blue Devil, Blue Beetle, 'Mazing Man...that's just a handful off the top of my head.

Really, modern comics, it's OK. Super-heroes can be fun instead of dour if you let them.

[Spike-X]

If we're talking superheroes, the answer is, "Most of them".

[dzub]

Spider-Man

[Spike-X]

Capt. Marvel (the Fawcett one), Plastic Man (these first two have absolutely no place in the "super serious" DCU), the whole Justice League during the Giffen/deMatteis run, Shulky (as mentioned above), Blue Devil, Blue Beetle, 'Mazing Man...that's just a handful off the top of my head.

Really, modern comics, it's OK. Super-heroes can be fun instead of dour if you let them.

This quote from Kurt Busiek sums it up nicely:

"Some people think realism is the ideal and don't like anything too unreal in their stories about superpowered people punching each other in the face as they fall off buildings. Some people don't like anything remotely absurd in stories about people from other planets who pass flawlessly for human.

The rest of us can only be sad for them."

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

Well, I'd certainly never want to read the grim dark adventures of Fone Bone.

[mathew101281]

Amanda Conner's take on Powergirl is pretty light hearted for the most part, and to me that's the definitive version of that character.

[the4thpip]

Pretty much all of them.

The supposed "realism" that started with Aquaman's baby being murdered in the Bronze Age has done nothing but suck the fun out of superhero comics.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Pretty much all of them.

The supposed "realism" that started with Aquaman's baby being murdered in the Bronze Age has done nothing but suck the fun out of superhero comics.

Heh! Bravo on that picture! I like it!

[VJ.]

Do you guys think there are comic book characters whom being more whimsical and lighthearted would be a better approach? If so, which ones? Feel free to list examples of ones that you know to be successful.

Not necessarily whimsical (though that can also work), but lighter tones work with most superhero comics - even if you inject an issue or two, maybe even a whole arc of "seriousness" now and then - the current deadpool run blends the two brilliantly. It's had me in both hysterics and on the edge of tears. Shulk should be similar; again the current run has been great for this. The current Captain Marvel was a bit too serious until recently but the current Ms. Marvel is almost pure whimsy but still tackles some dark topics & IMO it's the best superhero comic being published as it doesn't go all grimdark and never takes itself too seriously. As a result it in many ways feels far more realistic than any other comic!

[chongjasmine]

I like comics to have some light-heartedness in it.

[ed2962]

I think Waid's run on Daredevil benefited from moving away from the Miller-lite approach some other writers adopted.

While the new direction for Batgirl is far from perfect, I find it more interesting than the initial nu52 relaunch.

Al Ewing's Mighty Avengers was a breath of fresh air in the world of the big super teams. Solid characterizations and good dose of humor gave it a real "old school" feel.

[C_Miller]

If we're talking superheroes, the answer is, "Most of them".

That's what I came in here to say.

[Fenris]

Impulse worked better as a fun, lighthearted character than anything before or since.

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Dang, now I want to reread that.