Editing Fantasy comedy

{{Short description|Comedic subgenre of fantasy}}
{{redirect|Comic fantasy|comics in the fantasy genre|Fantasy comics}}
{{Fantasy}}
'''Fantasy comedy''' or '''comic fantasy''' is a [[subgenre]] of [[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]]'s fairy tales, [[Charles Dickens]]' "Christmas Books", and [[Lewis Carroll]]'s [[Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|Alice]] books.<ref name="pringle">"Humorous Fantasy" in [[David Pringle]],ed, ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. {{ISBN|1-84442-110-4}}</ref> The first writer to specialize in the subgenre was "[[Thomas Anstey Guthrie|F. Anstey]]" in novels such as ''[[Vice Versa (novel)|Vice Versa]]'' (1882), where magic disrupts Victorian society with humorous results.<ref name="pringle" /> Anstey's work was popular enough to inspire several imitations, including [[E. Nesbit]]'s light-hearted children's fantasies, ''[[The Phoenix and the Carpet]]'' (1904) and ''[[The Story of the Amulet]]'' (1906).<ref name="pringle" /> The United States had several writers of fantasy comedy, including [[James Branch Cabell]], whose satirical fantasy ''[[Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice]]'' (1919) was the subject of an unsuccessful prosecution for obscenity.<ref>Edgar MacDonald, "James Branch Cabell" in [[E. F. Bleiler]], ed.''Supernatural Fiction Writers'' (pp. .789-796). New York: Scribner's, 1985.  {{ISBN|0-684-17808-7}}</ref> Another American writer in a similar vein was [[Thorne Smith]], whose works (such as ''[[Topper (novel series)|Topper]]'' and ''The Night Life of the Gods'') were popular and influential, and often adapted for film and television.<ref>Keith Neilson, "Thorne Smith" in Bleiler, ed.''Supernatural Fiction Writers''. (pp. 805–812), 1985.</ref> Humorous fantasies narrated in a "gentleman's club" setting are common; they include [[John Kendrick Bangs]]' ''[[A House-Boat on the Styx]]'' (1895), [[Lord Dunsany]]'s "[[Joseph Jorkens|Jorkens]]" stories, and [[Maurice Richardson]]'s 
''The Exploits of Englebrecht'' (1950).<ref>[[David Langford]], "Humor", in 
''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005
{{ISBN|0313329516}},  (p.401-404).</ref>

According to [[Lin Carter]], [[T. H. White]]'s works exemplify fantasy comedy,<ref>Lin Carter, ed. ''Kingdoms of Sorcery'', p 121–2. Doubleday and Company Garden City, NY, 1976.</ref> [[L. Sprague de Camp]] and [[Fletcher Pratt]]'s [[Harold Shea]] stories are early exemplars.  The overwhelming bulk of de Camp's fantasy was comic.<ref>{{cite book|date=January 1976|editor-last=Carter |editor-first=Lin|editor-link=Lin Carter|title=[[Kingdoms of Sorcery]] anthology|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |isbn=978-0-385-09975-2|oclc=1733365 }}</ref> Pratt and de Camp were among several contributors to ''[[Unknown (magazine)|Unknown Worlds]]'', a [[pulp magazine]] which emphasized fantasy with a comedic element. The work of [[Fritz Leiber]] also appeared in ''Unknown Worlds'', including his [[Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser]] stories, a jocose take on the [[sword and sorcery]] subgenre.<ref name="pringle" />

In more modern times, [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' books, [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''[[Xanth]]'' books, [[Robert Asprin]]'s ''[[MythAdventures]]'' of Skeeve and Aahz books, and [[Tom Holt]]'s books provide good examples,<ref name="pringle" /> as do many of the works by [[Christopher Moore (author)|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]]'' and ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''. Other authors of the genre in modern times include [[Caimh McDonnell|C.K. McDonnell]], [[Jasper Fforde]], [[Neil Gaiman]], [[Robert Rankin]], [[John Brosnan]], [[Craig Shaw Gardner]], [[David Lee Stone]] and [[Esther Freisner]], as well as countless independent authors.

==Other media==
The subgenre has also been represented in [[Fantasy television|television]], such as in the television series ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]'', ''[[Kröd Mändoon]]''. Examples on radio are the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Hordes of the Things (radio series)|Hordes of the Things]]'' and ''[[ElvenQuest]]''. Fantasy comedy films can either be parodies (''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''), comedies with fantastical elements (''[[Being John Malkovich]], [[Barbie (film)|Barbie]]'') or animated (''[[Shrek]]''). It has also been used with fantasy as the primary genre and comedy as the secondary, as in the case of ''[[Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle]]'' and its [[Jumanji: The Next Level|2019 sequel]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.dcfarmer.com/about-us/ Who is DC Farmer?]
* [http://www.ononokin.com/ Tales from Land of Ononokin?]

{{Comedy footer}}
{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Film genres}}

[[Category:Comedy genres|Fantasy]]
[[Category:Fantasy genres]]
[[Category:Fantasy parodies|*]]
[[Category:Film genres]]