Adventurous comics that aren't angsty

Comic books are so heavily associated with superheroes and/or angst, that it's hard to find any that I like.

Are there any comic books that are more about adventures (perhaps of a Carl Barks-esque variety) or slice of life, or mystery, or something along those lines? While also being either family-friendly or, if nothing else, at least not angsty?

I'm also not just asking about recommendations (I know there's a thread for that), but I'm up for discussion.

I used to read Amulet for instance, which fits into this description. I was enjoying it until a certain point where the story was starting to lose me. I forget exactly, though.

Edited by BonsaiForest on Sep 20th 2023 at 2:01:26 PM

Two that immediately come to my mind are Jeff Smith’s Bone or Usagi Yojimbo. I would also suggest Tin Tin if you don’t mind some of the more dated aspects. Best place to start would probably be either Cigars of the Pharoh or later in the series. DO NOT read Tin Tin from the very beginning.

Although I do question what you mean by “angsty?” you mean having darker themes and characters? Or just characters having emotional issues?

Edited by Bec66 on Sep 20th 2023 at 3:25:38 PM

Ah, I'd heard of all three of those. I remember seeing bits of a Tin Tin cartoon, but didn't know much about it. I could tell it seemed like an adventure, though.

Usagi Yojimbo is more action-ish, right? And isn't it fairly violent? I don't know that much about it, except it's ancient Japan with cartoon animals.

Bone looked interesting to me, with the way it combines joke-a-day and serious sensibilities. Maybe I should check it out more closely sometime.

By angsty, I mean like really self-serious and dark, basically. I have no issue with serious themes, but I'd like at least at fair amount of light in there. I just don't want the overall tone to be dark and grim.

There are three comics that I read and liked that had a tone and storytelling along the lines of what I'm looking for:

• Zita The Space Girl
• Mighty Jack (by the creator of the above)
• Katie the Catsitter - except I feel there isn't nearly enough adventure in this one, as it's more Slice of Life than anything else, and it does involve superheroes

Bone and Tin Tin may be closer to what you’re looking for then. Although again Tin Tin does have a lot of dated aspects in the earlier volumes.

Usagi is more dark and action oriented with plenty of drama but there are a few comical episodes and moments and the violence is hardly gratuitous. Considering that plenty of stories end on a somber note it may not be what you’re looking for. But I always recommend it because it’s just an excellent comic with a lot to offer.

It looks like Tin Tin made attempts to improve during its time as well, which I can respect. From the page for Values Dissonance:

• When discussing racism in the Tintin comics series one should also mention the fact that Hergé was forced to redraw black characters in "Tintin in America" and "The Crab with the Golden Claws" and change them into Caucasian characters under pressure of American publishers. This happened way in the 1950s!
• Hergé's early albums were mostly drawn for fun, without much documentation. The Blue Lotus was the first story where Hergé actually did a lot of research. He had met a Chinese exchange student who told him a lot about Chinese culture and the Chinese-Japanese war that was going on back in 1934. This motivated Hergé to put more research into all of his stories. "The Blue Lotus" actually has a section where Tintin discusses various racist stereotypes about Chinese people to Chang, who laughs and says "people in your country must be crazy!" Hergé later lost contact with his Chinese friend and wrote arguably the most beautiful and touching album in the entire series, Tintin in Tibet, just to express how much he missed him. They finally met again two years before Hergé's death.

Herge though not perfect does try to become more culturally sensitive later on. I recommend the Unicorn duology for a light-hearted adventure.

They're webcomics, but I'm never gonna miss a chance to rec Girl Genius and Atomic Robo and second Usagi Yojimbo.

@BonsaiForest Hmm... You mentioned Carl Barks, have you tried Don Rosa's stories?

Edited by jouXIII on Sep 23rd 2023 at 2:51:57 PM

Carl Barks and Don Rosa are both the Uncle Scrooge (originator to Duck Tales) storytellers, right? I've seen a little bit of the Uncle Scrooge comics, and they felt like reading Duck Tales (original version), which isn't a bad thing.

doom patrol!

After reading what Doom Patrol is, very amusing. 😆

But anyway, I did happen to stumble upon another comic, Pandora's Legacy, by Boom! Studios. It was standalone, and fun. Basically, descendants of Pandora, the mythological character of the story of Pandora's Box, accidentally leak a bunch of ancient monsters into the real world, and now have to undo it.

It's not a long story, and I wish it had gone on for longer and also taken itself a bit more seriously. But it was a fun little adventure, and I liked it.

Seconding Atomic Robo. It might be a little too close to superhero for your taste but it’s very much cut from the Pulp Hero/Adventure Hero cloth, and it’s very fun so worth giving a shot.

There’s some angst sometimes, but not too overwrought.

> After reading what Doom Patrol is, very amusing. 😆

curses drat,you thwarted my evil schemes!

Darkwing Duck from Dynamite Entertainment is also nice and fun reading. Even with an ongoing story you still get some done in one issues as well.

Might I recommend Jay Faerber's Elsewhere?^note no trope page, I’m technically working on one but I haven’t really touched the sandbox for a while It fits the requirements and it’s one of my personal favourite comics of all time

That looks interesting! I'll go check it out!