Tevun-Krus #21 - Comic SF

Comic Not Comics - an Article by @elveloy

Comic Not Comics

Before starting this piece, I asked my partner what was the first work to pop into his head when I said "Comic Sci-fi", and his answer was "Spiderman."

Lol, this was not the definition of "comic" that I was looking for! Comic sci-fi does not have anything to do with comics, those books full of cartoons.

So what is Comic Sci-Fi? you ask. And a fair enough question it is. This is Comic meaning humorous or funny.

Many sci-fi stories have funny moments in them, but would you call them Comic Sci-Fi? Think of Star Wars for example-there are many humorous one-liners, such as C-3PO "I suggest a new strategy R2-let the wookiee win," but overall, it's Space Opera, not Comic. From what I gather, to be classed as Comic Sci-Fi-the whole story needs to be structured around humour, not merely contain a few of its aspects.

Turning to that great repository of all sub-genre wisdom - Forbidden Planet's (now Ooorah's) SF Sub Genre Definitions, we find:

"Comic Science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that exploits the genre's conventions for comic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirizes standard SF conventions like alien invasion of Earth, interstellar travel or futuristic technology."

Classic examples are-Douglas Adams' The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, (book, radio series, TV series and movie), Grant Naylor's Red Dwarf (also a TV series), and the movie Mars Attacks, to name a few.

Key in "comic sci-fi" in Wattpad's search box and what do you get? 43 stories. A pretty small number when compared to, say, Space Opera or Fantasy Sci-Fi. When you think of Comic Sci-Fi novels (those not on wattpad), only a small number spring to mind. Which is interesting when you look at the huge popularity of Comic Sci-Fi as a genre in movies.

Does anyone else remember the classic, Barbarella? More recently, Back to the Future, Men In Black, Galaxy Quest, and my own favourite, Paul, are all classed as Comic Sci-Fi movies. And I'm sure you can think of heaps more. (I'm still trying to delete the sneeze-inside-the-space-helmet scene in Spaceballs, from my memory.)

Is it down to something as simple as movies being more popular than books? Or is it more complicated? I remember my long suffering high school English teacher saying, "Humour is harder to write well than anything else. Start with tragedy-it's much easier."

And many famous writers and entertainers will tell you that, contrary to popular opinion, writing comedy is both difficult and demanding. Could that be why there are so few Comic Sci-Fi stories on Wattpad? Are these writers the cream of the crop, the adventurous explorers willing to tackle the toughest venture? You decide!

Find new and amazing examples of this challenging genre right here, in this "Don't Panic" edition of Tevun Krus.