Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a

subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a Category of being, category of literature, ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy.

Literature

The subgenre rose in the nineteenth century. Elements of fantasy comedy can be found in such nineteenth century works as some of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

's fairy tales,

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' "Christmas Books", and

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's Alice books."Humorous Fantasy" in

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of ''Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whic ...

,ed, ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. The first writer to specialize in the subgenre was "

F. Anstey Thomas Anstey Guthrie (8 August 1856 – 10 March 1934) was an English author (writing as F. Anstey), most noted for his comic novel ''Vice Versa'' about a boarding-school boy and his father exchanging identities. His reputation was confirmed b ...

" in novels such as ''

Vice Versa References

Additional references * * {{Latin phrases Lists of Latin phrases, V ca:Locució llatina#V da:Latinske ord og vendinger#V fr:Liste de locutions latines#V id:Daftar frasa Latin#V it:Locuzioni latine#V nl:Lijst van Latijns ...

'' (1882), where magic disrupts Victorian society with humorous results. Anstey's work was popular enough to inspire several imitations, including

E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist a ...

's light-hearted children's fantasies, ''

The Phoenix and the Carpet ''The Phoenix and the Carpet'' is a fantasy novel for children, written by E. Nesbit and first published in 1904. It is the second in a trilogy of novels that begins with '' Five Children and It'' (1902), and follows the adventures of the sam ...

'' (1904) and ''

The Story of the Amulet ''The Story of the Amulet'' is a children's literature, novel for children, written in 1906 by English author Edith Nesbit. It is the final part of a trilogy of novels that also includes ''Five Children and It'' (1902) and ''The Phoenix and t ...

'' (1906). The United States had several writers of fantasy comedy, including

James Branch Cabell James Branch Cabell (; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and ''belles-lettres''. Cabell was well-regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His works ...

, whose satirical fantasy ''

Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice ''Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice'' is a fantasy novel by American writer James Branch Cabell, which gained fame (or notoriety) shortly after its publication in 1919. It is a humorous romp through a medieval cosmos, including a send-up of Arthurian l ...

'' (1919) was the subject of an unsuccessful prosecution for obscenity. Another American writer in a similar vein was

Thorne Smith James Thorne Smith, Jr. (March 27, 1892 – June 20, 1934) was an American writer of humorous supernatural fantasy fiction under the byline Thorne Smith. He is best known today for the two ''Topper'' novels, comic fantasy fiction involving se ...

, whose works (such as '' Topper'' and ''The Night Life of the Gods'') were popular and influential, and often adapted for film and television. Humorous fantasies narrated in a "gentleman's club" setting are common; they include

John Kendrick Bangs John Kendrick Bangs (May 27, 1862 – January 21, 1922) was an American author, humorist, editor and satirist. Biography He was born in Yonkers, New York. His father Francis N. Bangs was a lawyer in New York City, as was his brother, Francis S ...

' ''A Houseboat on the Styx'' (1895),

Lord Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, M ...

's "

Jorkens Joseph Jorkens (usually referred to simply as Jorkens) is the lead character in over 150 short stories written between 1925 and 1957 by the Irish author Lord Dunsany, noted for his fantasy short stories, fantastic plays, novels and other writin ...

" stories, and

Maurice Richardson Maurice Richardson (1907–1978) was an English journalist and short story writer. Life and career Richardson was born to a wealthy family."Odd Man Out", Mary Manning,''Irish Times'', 4 August 1978 (p.11) Review of ''Fits and Starts''. As a ch ...

's ''The Exploits of Englebrecht'' (1950). According to

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...

, T. H. White's works exemplify fantasy comedy,

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

and

Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp. ...

Harold Shea The "Harold Shea" Stories is a name given to a series of five science fantasy stories by the collaborative team of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt and to its later continuation by de Camp alone, Christopher Stasheff, Holly Lisle, John Mad ...

stories are early exemplars. The overwhelming bulk of de Camp's fantasy was comic.Carter. ''Kingdoms of Sorcery''. Pratt and de Camp were among several contributors to '' Unknown Worlds'', a

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

which emphasized fantasy with a comedic element. The work of

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

also appeared in ''Unknown Worlds'', including his

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by American author Fritz Leiber. They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories. One of his motives in writing them was to have ...

stories, a jocose take on the

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

subgenre. In more modern times,

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

's ''

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat pla ...

'' books,

Piers Anthony Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934) is an American author in the science fiction and Fantasy (genre), fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his :Xanth books, long-running novel series set in ...

's ''

Xanth Xanth ( ) is a series of novels by author Piers Anthony, also known as ''The Magic of Xanth''. Anthony originally intended for Xanth to be a trilogy, but a devoted fan base persuaded the author to continue writing the series, which is now open-en ...

'' books,

Robert Asprin Robert Lynn Asprin (June 28, 1946 – May 22, 2008) was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, known best for his humorous series '' MythAdventures'' and '' Phule's Company''. Background Robert Asprin was born in St. J ...

's ''

MythAdventures ''MythAdventures'' or ''Myth Adventures'' is a fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin. After twelve novels by Asprin, published 1978 to 2002, he and Jody Lynn Nye continued the series with seven more books. After his death in May 2008, she ...

'' of Skeeve and Aahz books, and

Tom Holt Thomas Charles Louis Holt (born 13 September 1961) is a British novelist. In addition to fiction published under his own name, he writes fantasy under the pseudonym K. J. Parker. Biography Holt was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel H ...

's books provide good examples, as do many of the works by Christopher Moore. There are also comic-strips/graphic novels in the humorous fantasy genre, including Chuck Whelon's Pewfell series and the webcomics ''

8-Bit Theater ''8-Bit Theater'' is a sprite comic created by Brian Clevinger that ran from 2001 to 2010 and consisting of 1,225 pages. It is a sprite comic, meaning the art is mainly taken from pre-existing video game assets. The webcomic was at times one o ...

'' and '' The Order of the Stick''. Other recent authors in the genre include Toby Frost, Stuart Sharp, Nicholas Andrews, and DC Farmer, and the writing team of John P. Logsdon and Christopher P. Young.

Other media

The subgenre has also been represented in

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, such as in the television series ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually marrie ...

'', '' Kröd Mändoon''. Examples on radio are the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Literature

Other media

References

External links