Guest Author - Monica Flink
We see him or her sitting in the corner, waiting for the moment to shine. Usually, this shining moment of humanity is one of utter humiliation, and then we understand that the bespectacled, slightly pudgy, perhaps even balding character is not one of our beloved main characters, but the little remembered, quickly laughed at comic relief character. Whether it is Tanaka from Pretear, or one of the many unnamed henchmen that eventually fall to the Joker’s psychotic whims, these characters are the unsung heroes of their genre. The comic relief is generally overlooked, left for a quick chuckle, and positively nobody’s favorite, but they allow a little brevity of joy into a world that can sometimes be too intense or dramatic on its own.
Generally regulated to the realms of the back pages of a manga, or just a quick anecdote before becoming a befuddled excuse for a laugh, dark or not, the comic relief is a little seen character. He or she generally has some inherent flaws, and can be quite simple in personality and mentality alike. Most comic relief characters are also unattractive, both in behavior and physical characteristics. So what makes him or her so important? Why is the comic relief character the unsung hero of manga, comics, and graphic novels? For the simple reason that they are needed more than anyone truly realizes.
Try to picture Sailor Moon without the light-hearted mishaps of Usagi. The drama would be overpowering. Or the criminal activities of any DC or Marvel super-villain without the scads of unnamed, or singly named hench-people that eventually go to jail or meet their demise, but not before amusingly mis-communicating orders, or failing to stop the heroes by some small gesture such as simply looking the wrong way. Looking at our favorite comic books, graphic novels, and manga without the comic relief leave most stories too heavy with deeper emotions, and leave the reader no time to breathe or even digest anything that has happened.
The need for the unsung heroes of the graphic genres even spills over into real life. It would be impossible to read some of the best graphic literature available without the comic relief also provided, if these books are meant to affect the reader as much as the real world. It would be too depressing to read the end of Watchmen without the earlier corny jokes of the characters, and it would be too unbelievable to watch Rune Soldier without seeing Louie mess up a few dozen times before he does something right. We would miss out on so many great series and novels, because we would not be able to read them and still cope with the emotions that overwhelm us as readers.
So the next time you skip over the sections with some nosy butler or a food-loving school girl, remember how hard they work to make the rest of the story so poignant. In the end, the comic relief are truly the unsung heroes of manga, graphic novels, and comic books.
