Start of Darkness may be Darker and Edgier than the rest of the series, but the funny moments stand out because they're in line with the more serious parts. Such as Xykon after he beats Dorukan...
Xykon: Ding dong, the wizard's dead! We'll have to be careful disabling his magical toys in the castle, but I think we can— (Xykon comes upon the MitD, a sombrero on its box, a taco in hand/claw/whatever) Xykon:(Wide-eyed) ... MitD: Fiesta? Xykon: Ooooookay.
The Monster in the Darkness IS crowning moment incarnate. From his very first appearance, when he's at least trying to be the beast of untold horror Xykon wants him to be, he proves to be an endless source of comic gold. Gold such as...
Xykon: One for all and all for one, right? Redcloak: I can't help but notice that your sense of team spirit is inversely proportional to your number of functioning appendages, sir. Xykon: Cute. Did you actually grow a spine there, Redcloak? Redcloak: Perhaps I just got hit with a piece of yours when you exploded, sir.
Thog attempts to explain the situation to the jailer. After he gives that unbearably awesome homophones speech, he crowns it with "What is offal?" Just hair-pullingly brilliant. "Oh my god!" you say, pulling your hair. "That's brilliant!"
The jailer refers to Thog as human offal at the start of that strip. Thog replies, "thog only HALF-human offal."
At the end of that strip, as Elan is crying for help:
Elan: Can anyone hear me?! Thog:thog hears you. Elan: Can anyone ELSE hear me?!
"While singing the complete score to 'Meet Me in St. Louis'." Okay, maybe just for the musical-theatre geeks. The best part? According to the limitations of the Charm Person spell, singing showtunes while killing people is something that's perfectly compatible with Belkar's nature.
The penultimate "prison break", especially the last lines:
Thog: thog wonders how thog will cope with life outside jailhouse walls. prison changed thog. Elan: We were only in there for forty minutes. Thog: prison changed thog quickly.
Roy's reaction, after sleeping through an entire battle with the Linear Guild.
"YAHTZEE!" I don't know why; maybe it's the timing, maybe it was just the culmination of the many, many Crowning Moments of Funny in the Archive Binge. But when I read that one word, it was just too much. I literally collapsed in laughter and was unable to get up for several minutes. It was that funny.
Belkar: I sense a great disturbance... as if a thousand double entendres cried out, and were suddenly silenced...
Belkar and the two devils on his shoulder; "the angel... doesn't work here anymore". Then the scene cuts to an angel in a straitjacket crying (paraphrased slightly): "[halflings are] supposed to be jolly, but he just kept stabbing them... WHY ISN'T HE JOLLY?!"
Most of Belkar's stuff on this page, but the wights in the second panel deserve a mention:
Wight 1: Did-did that halfling just hit me in the face with a pineapple?? Wight 2: I think he did. Also, I think no one has ever asked that exact question in the history of civilization, so bonus points there.
In this strip, Vaarsuvius shows us his/her various takes on the classic Dungeons And Dragons "Bigby's Hand" spells, culminating in Bugsby's Expressive Single Digit.
The choir of pedophiles.
Haley acquires the necessary diamond to resurrect Roy by stealing it from the cast page. After that, the cast page is revised so that Haley is now holding a card saying "I.O.Me One big-ass diamond" instead.
Gannji: Get your blue ass up. Enor: But the elf said to sit on my hands. Gannji: You don't have hands, you moron! You have claws! Enor: Oh yeah. Gannji: For the record, you'll also be safe if it tells you to sit on your brain.
Elan's Imagine Spot when he really wants Roy to meet his Dad.
Tarquin: Since Roy's father is dead, I've decided to legally adopt him! Now you're for-real brothers! Roy and Elan: Hooray! Tarquin:Also you both get puppies."
The Empress of Blood flying despite an enormous round and bloated body, and disproportionately small wings.
Empress: I am here! I am your ruler! Look at me! I am cool, but I am also very warm! Woooo! Elan: She can FLY??? Tarquin: Quite the stumper, isn't it? Vaarsuvius: I should avoid casting any spells tonight, if only to give the laws of physics time to cry alone in the corner. Empress: If anyone needs me, I will be up here on my throne, being awesome!
There's a certain sadistic hilarity to Tarquin's irritation when his plan to impress Elan goes wrong. Said plan involved Elan's name being set up in gigantic flaming letters on the mountainside, which does impress Elan until Tarquin reveals that the letters are made of escaped slaves being burned at the stake. While Elan continues to stare in horror, Tarquin grumbles to himself, "Crap, the three prisoners at the bottom of the E burned out early. Now it looks like I just really like custard."
After a few comics building up the gladiatorial champion of the Empire of Blood, we finally get to see who it is. It's the Queen reference that really sells it.
And Roy's reaction is priceless. He goes from not wanting to even fight to this:
Elan: Uh, Dad? Haley and I need to go... uh... have sex. Tarquin: Well, you'll miss the big fight, but you do what you need to do. Haley: Come on, V. And bring the cat, just in case. Tarquin: ...Huh.
Durkon, noticing Elan being dropped a considerable height by Sabine, prepares to cast "Cleric's Feather Fall", more commonly known as "Heal".
Not to mention how he can't cast a spell because his god and his helpers can't make out his accent.
Three ingredients: One Dangerously Genre Savvy dictator, one egotistical, invisible idiot, and a Ring of True Seeing, and you have the recipe for a pointed "Gotcha" glare and a massive and hilarious Oh Crap.
And two strips later, Nale complaining that his dad's Genre Savvy didn't work in regards to Elan:
Nale: Sure. You're the one who taught me that bards are underpowered. Tarquin: They are! With their mastery of the narrative structure, they should be ruling the entire cosmos by now!
Another example of Black Comedy from our favorite goblin, there's his nonchalant admission to killing Tsukiko. What really sells it is how confused he looks at everyone else's shocked reactions.
That whole page is a good example of the classic Team Evil comedy we've come to love (especially the Demon-Roach comments in panels 4 and 8).
Xykon: Hmmm, don't think this change of heart means I'm letting you grow your eye back. Redcloak: It never crossed my mind. Xykon: Good! I like you this way. It's like we have a grumpy pirate on the team. Demon-Roach: And thus began the Legend of Arrrghcloak!
Roy: So, let's see... divinations aren't working and flight is being blocked by the wind, which we can't fix in any way. do any of you have any magic that will actually HELP us find Girard at all? (next panel) Elan:(singing) Search, search, search, search the canyon for Girard's Gate!
The conversation between Roy and Haley in the last three panels. Now, bear in mind the fact that this page's title is "Either Way, Really" while reading that.
There's also V and Durkon's list of the ways human senses are inferior to the other player races.
In Comic #840, the Order needs to search for traps, but Haley convinces Roy to make the Charmed Yukyuk do it.
*ffft! ffft! ffft!* Roy: That's a interesting technique. It's almost like he's— *ZZZZAPP!* Roy: —just walking up— *BOOM!* Roy: —the stairs.
The Order is trying to find Girard's gate, but the Draketooths are dead and unwilling to be resurrected. So they try to use Speak With Dead on one of the Draketooths to find out where the gate is. The problem is, the spell allows the use of Literal Genie for answers.
Roy: Where in Windy canyon is Girard's gate? Corpse: Around... the rift... Roy: OK, then, where is Girard's rift? Corpse: It lay... between... Girard's... buttcheeks. Elan: The tragic loss to the field of ass comedy diminishes us all.
In response to the above, Roy has Haley 'check' that statue of Girard.
Haley: I just want it on the record that I think you're taking this too literally.
Roy: Duly noted. Keep looking.
(Later, after they find Girard's crypt...)
Haley: You're going to make me search that skeleton's dry, crumbly assbone, aren't you?
Roy: Yep.
This exchange from the fight between the Order and Tarquin disguised as Thog:
Durkon: Hold person! (spell doesn't work) Tarquin: Okay. (grabs Durkon by the beard and tosses him aside)
Also this moment:
(Tarquin turns to Elan) (Beat Panel) Tarquin: Aren't you going to do any— Elan:Try, try, try, try not to get too much in anyone's way! (cue Roy and Belkar successfully tackling Tarquin) Elan: Hooray! I did it!
Roy figures out that the Thog they're fighting isn't Thog and tries to take off the enemy's helmet; only to find a person wearing a mask with the wordNOPE!printed on it.
Tarquin: Totally worth wearing a mask under my helmet for two days.
