Comic fantasy

Comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Usually set in imaginary worlds, comic fantasy often includes puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. It is sometimes known as low fantasy in contrast to high fantasy, which is primarily serious in intent and tone. The term "low fantasy" is used to represent other types of fantasy, however, so while comic fantasies may also correctly be classified as low fantasy, many examples of low fantasy are not comic in nature.

History

The subgenre rose in the nineteenth century. Elements of comic fantasy 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 books. The first writer to specialize in the subgenre was "F. Anstey" in novels such as Vice Versa (1882), where magic disrupts Victorian society with humorous results. 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). The United States had several writers of comic fantasy, including James Branch Cabell, whose satirical fantasy Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice (1919) was the subject of an unsuccessful prosecution for obscenity. Another American writer in a similar vein was Thorne Smith, 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' A Houseboat on the Styx (1895), Lord Dunsany's "Jorkens" stories, and Maurice Richardson's The Exploits of Englebrecht (1950).