Funny / Mister Miracle (2017)

Mister Miracle is a dark, deeply psychological, and Mind Screw-y series... and also full of a bunch of genuinely hilarious moments:

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• Issue #2 begins with Scott engaged in battle across the fields of Apokolips, with several pages depicting in gory detail just how brutal and grotesque the war is. Then it immediately Smash Cuts to Scott and Barda trying to figure out how the shower at New Genesis works so they can wash the blood off.
• The start of issue #4 features Lightray notifying Scott and Barda that Scott is being tried as a perceived traitor to New Genesis, which promptly gets retorted by Barda and her fists. Scott — utterly fed up with the whole war nonsense and probably still concussed from Orion's beatdown the previous issue — just nonchalantly arranges the trial to take place at their apartment, which is just because he's in between a scheduled performance and waiting for a delivered package he expects and doesn't want to leave outside.
• Speaking of which, the trial begins as amusingly offbeat, largely due to it taking place between campy superhero gods in a cramped apartment meant for two. Scott simply resides on a backwards chair, while the audience — Barda included — cram awkwardly onto a couch.
  Lightray: This sofa is inadequate.
  Barda: Oh, shut the %$#@ up, Lightray.
  • The entire gag with the veggie tray — the day before trial, Barda suggested they get one as if they were expecting simple houseguests (and not, y'know, a treason trial), and not only did they get one, Scott snacks on it during the whole charade as Orion appoints himself accuser, defender, and judge.
  • As Orion poses a series of brutal "true or false" questions to assess Scott's beliefs, he poses the question on whether he believed that Forager deserved to die for defying Orion's orders. As Scott struggles to choke out an answer, the doorbell rings as his package finally arrived. Cue 8 panels of Barda getting up to answer the door and get it for him.
  • Once Orion's interrogation finally gets to the nub of Scott's depression, Scott finally snaps and violently slugs Orion in the face in a berserk rage. Orion is so stunned by the moment that he quietly and unflinchingly takes a carrot from the tray, munches on it, then declares Scott guilty and peaces out.
• Issue #5 is a relative Breather Episode consisting of Scott and Barda enjoying what may be Scott's last day alive together, and among the melancholy undercurrent provides some really funny moments:
  • Funky Flashman hitches a limo ride with the two, and — having caught wind that Scott's set to be executed — drums up a plan in front of them to turn it into a media sensation, suggesting that Scott commit suicide again to preserve his honor while keeping his death cinematic. It's awful in context, but Funky's complete sincerity makes it gut-bustingly hilarious.
    Funky: You're dead! Then you escape! Or you don't escape! That's up to you! See, that way, you get executed, and everybody wins!
  • Scott and Barda get stuck in LA traffic, and to pass the time, they decide to play some nostalgic music reminding them when they first met. Given that they met on Apokolips, their choice of soundtrack is the horrified screaming of torture victims. They respond with warm, if not outright delighted smiles.
• Issue #6 consists mostly of Scott and Barda busting through New Genesis to escape Scott's execution and confront Orion, beating up mooks, while all the while having mundane discussion about rearranging their condo.
  • At one point, the two run into a Laser Hallway, with an announcer helpfully informing them "WARNING: YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED HERE. WARNING. LASERS WILL NOW OBLITERATE YOU." Without missing a single beat in their conversation, they also casually toss in the corpse of one of the mooks they just killed to assess the potential damage before hopping in themselves.
  • The announcer continues on as they make their way through the area:
    "WARNING: YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED HERE. WARNING: ACID GAS WILL NOW MELT YOU."
    "WARNING: TIDEDRAGON WILL NOW CONSUME YOU."
    "WARNING: NOTHING CAN CROSS THE FOREVER VOID."
    "WARNING: THE ROOM WILL NOW SHRINK AND CRUSH YOU."
  • The brief Cutaway Gag with two random New Genesis guards lampshading an oft-asked question on the New Gods mythos:
    Guard 1: So if we're in the Fourth World, what were the first three?
    Guard 2: It doesn't work like that.
    Guard 1: If there's a fourth, then there's a first.
    Guard 2: What? Do you know anything about theology?
    Guard 1: Dude, I'm a god. I am theology.
  • During one part of the conversation, Scott mentions that in their guest room, one of their previous guests accidentally got stabbed. By a "Stab-O-Tron".
    Scott: But that won't happen again, I put a sign on the Stab-O-Tron.
    Barda: Did you?
    Scott: I'm GOING to put a sign on the Stab-O-Tron.
  • The punchline to why Barda wants to rearrange the house comes as they fight Lightray: she's pregnant. After landing the final blow onto Lightray, Scott glomps her from behind with the dumbest, most adorable smile in the entire comic.
• Issue #7:
  • The whole hijinks at the start with Scott rushing an in-labor Barda to the hospital, only to be met with an astoundingly unhelpful valet at its parking lot.
    Valet: There's a parking lot on Olympic. It's not very far. Around the corner, make a left.
    Scott: Look, she's about to have the first New God ever born on Earth! No one knows what's going to happen, I have to help her! If you're the valet, can you valet?!?
    (Beat)
    Valet: There's a parking lot around the corner, it's on Olympic.
    (cut to a panel of them getting stuck in traffic on Olympic)
  • Waiting in the room next to Barda are The Furies of all people, agreeing to a peaceful truce as they await the birth. Among them is Mad Harriet, oddly shown speaking in rhyme (also, she scribbled "MAD HARRIET WUZ HERE" on the hospital wall behind her).
    Mad Harriet: (sitting upside-down in her chair) There was an old lady who lived in a shoe! Then she had a poo! Then she was through!
    Stompa: Heh heh. Poo.
  • The names Scott considers naming their newborn son: Ironbreaker (named after his late uncle), Starrazer, Axeblow, Thunderdeath, and Thronekiller.
• Issue #8 provides one of the funniest out-of-context lines of dialogue in the whole thing:
  Scott: Yes. Absolutely. They have studies. Batman kills babies.^note He's specifically talking about Funky leaving a tiny Batman plushie in Jacob's crib — as Scott points out, putting anything in an infant's crib other than a baby is a bad idea for their safety.
• Issue #10 is a mostly melancholy, wistful issue as it consists of Scott and Barda being forced to consider sacrificing Jacob in exchange for ending the war, but there's a shimmer of comedy found when he resorts to asking a dollar store cashier for advice. The fact this stranger actually does manage to offer some insight to Scott is both genuinely heartbreaking and amusingly relieving.
  Scott: There's this war I'm losing. Billions are going to die. I can stop it. Even, like, win it, really. But I have to surrender my only son.
  Cashier: Oh. Okay.
  Scott: I don't know what to do. What should I do?
  Cashier: Yeah that's... tough. Damn.
• Issue #11 has an entire page dedicated to Darkseid munching on a carrot from Scott and Barda's veggie tray. Oh, and he double dips.
  • Jacob grabbing Darkseid's nose.