History FunnyBackgroundEvent / Comics

** When ''Comicbook/{{Darkseid}}'' kidnaps Supergirl in ''Comicbook/SupermanBatman'' storyline ''The Supergirl from Krypton'' to brainwash her into one of his [[AmazonBrigade Female Furies]], Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman visit the civilian home of Mr. Miracle and Big Barda in the hopes that Barda will help them get to Apokolips so they can rescue her. While she's discussing this with Superman and WW, Batman can be seen wandering around the room observing furniture and decorations, [[GreatDetective until a panel or so later he discovers a secret switch that reveals a false wall hiding Mr. Miracle's costume.]] Barda is not amused.

* ''Franchise/ArchieComics'' sometimes have funny background events, like a man is chased by a dog or a child is swept away into a tree by his kite. The same artist usually is the one who does this.
** That artist's name is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samm_Schwartz Samm Schwartz]]

* Ibañez, author of the Spanish ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon comic books series, absolutely loves to do this. It is not a rare occurrence to spot a random pedestrian with his nose coming out the back of his head, pigeons with horse-like faces, the bare feet of someone sleeping in an unorthodox place like a folder cabinet or a trash bin, mouses chasing cats chasing dogs, anthropomorphic buildings, cars parked upside down... The list goes on.
** One in 1993 [[FunnyAneurysmMoment was a plane hitting the World Trade Center]] while in the foreground, the Statue of Liberty is accompanied by a second statue roasting a weenie on her torch.

* ''{{Archie}}'' comics sometimes have funny background events, like a man is chased by a dog or a child is swept away into a tree by his kite. The same artist usually is the one who does this.

* In a ''Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}'' issue from the 1990s, the League has just dealt with an attack on a city by evil versions of themselves. After the villains are taken care of, an [[UngratefulBastard angry citizen]] chastises them for not stopping them sooner, never mind that the League was missing several key members during the battle and that given the power levels of the villains, the casualties could have been far worse. Green Lantern starts to argue with the man until Superman says that he'll handle it. The focus then shifts to the rest of the League discussing the threat, but Superman and the man are still seen in the background. In the first panel, the man is shouting at Superman. In the second, Superman is calmly speaking to the man. In the third, Superman and the man are respectfully shaking hands.

* When Doomsday kidnaps Supergirl to brainwash her into one of his [[AmazonBrigade Female Furies]], Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman visit the civilian home of Mr. Miracle and Big Barda in the hopes that Barda will help them get to Apokolips so they can rescue her. While she's discussing this with Superman and WW, Batman can be seen wandering around the room observing furniture and decorations, [[GreatDetective until a panel or so later he discovers a secret switch that reveals a false wall hiding Mr. Miracle's costume.]] Barda is not amused.

* In a number of her earliest appearances in ''Comicbook/UncannyXMen'', Comicbook/{{X 23}} can be seen aping Comicbook/{{Psylocke}}'s mannerisms and postures in the background, including one scene where Betsy is lounging sexily, and Laura mimics her with an exaggerated kissy-face. Doubles as EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as such behavior is eventually established as quite OOC for the much more stoic and reserved Laura most fans are accustomed to.

* Used frequently by the comic artist George Herriman, often as [[RunningGag Running Gags]]. A recurring Funny Background Event in his comic ''The Dingbat Family'' [[BreakoutCharacter eventually led to]] his most famous creation, ''KrazyKat''.

* ''FoxTrot'' often has small, easily missed gags in strips where the characters talk in front of paintings, posters, or photographs. A recurring gag is the object in question changing between panels (such as a person on a magazine cover being in a different pose). Likewise, whenever a character is reading a newspaper there will usually be a joke about a [[HerCodeNameWasMarySue cartoonist]] in the headline.

* Allison Bechdel's DykesToWatchOutFor contains lots of background goodies, such as a sign reading "Try our gluten-free, lactose-free, low-fat white pizza!"

* In [[http://www.gocomics.com/candorville/2012/06/10 this]] ''{{Candorville}}'' strip, the diploma on the wall changes from "M.A." to "Ph.D" to [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar "WTF"]].

* The UK comic artist Tom Paterson (''Calamity James'' in ''TheBeano''; ''Sweeney Toddler'' in ''Whizzer And Chips'') is extremely fond of this, to the extent that sometimes the main action of the strip almost gets crowded out of the panels. (His "little squelchy thingies" in ''Calamity James'' eventually got their own [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Jm70Jx1fU-Y/SosgS_FSA3I/AAAAAAAAABk/qke7kgqKR2U/s1600-h/CCalamityjamessquecheys.jpg full page spotters' guide]]).

** PowerGirl and Terra duck into an alley to change into their costumes, with Power Girl lecturing Terra on how she should have DressedInLayers. A bum in the alley enjoys the free fan service.

* Ibañez, author of the Spanish MortadeloYFilemon comic books series, absolutely loves to do this. It is not a rare occurrence to spot a random pedestrian with his nose coming out the back of his head, pigeons with horse-like faces, the bare feet of someone sleeping in an unorthodox place like a folder cabinet or a trash bin, mouses chasing cats chasing dogs, anthropomorphic buildings, cars parked upside down... The list goes on.

** While everyone else is enjoying a party, Hawkeye and Green Arrow have an archery contest. At one point they nearly hit Elongated Man.

* Chilean comic book ''{{Condorito}}'' is famous for this, with a crocodile slowly crawling inside someone's house, a sleepwalker about to fall down a open manhole or a soccer player's picture kicking it's ball out of the frame and then trying to recover it being the most famous ones.

* A regular occurrence in the comic series ''AmeliaRules''; often accessible only to [[ParentalBonus an older audience]]. Example: Amelia and friends attend Joe [=McCarthy=] Elementary School (motto: Weeding Out the Wrong Element Since 1952).

* There's a scene in the original ''ElfQuest'' storyline where Cutter is planning to go off on his own and is telling the other Wolfriders he needs them to stay safe at home. He doesn't notice that behind his back Leetah is whispering something to Skywise (ie [[spoiler:she's persuading him to accompany Cutter]]).

** During the League and Avengers first fight, we see Batman doing a flying kick straight through Vision. The look on his face is priceless◊.

* In a JusticeLeague issue from the 1990s, the League has just dealt with an attack on a city by evil versions of themselves. After the villains are taken care of, an [[UngratefulBastard angry citizen]] chastises them for not stopping them sooner, never mind that the League was missing several key members during the battle and that given the power levels of the villains, the casualties could have been far worse. Green Lantern starts to argue with the man until Superman says that he'll handle it. The focus then shifts to the rest of the League discussing the threat, but Superman and the man are still seen in the background. In the first panel, the man is shouting at Superman. In the second, Superman is calmly speaking to the man. In the third, Superman and the man are respectfully shaking hands.

* Used in ''[[PhilFoglio What's New? With Phil And Dixie]]'', with things like people in dice costumes walking behind the title characters, or little gag scenes going on in the back ranks of crowds.

* In ''ComicStrip/LeonardLeGenie'', the cat and the mouse are usually engaged in their own activities when not commenting on the actions of the main characters. Especially in the older albums, these are small stories by themselves.

* The comic book writer and illustrator DonRosa does it all the time: It's part of the appeal. There's hardly a panel without something funny happening in the background. If a painting (or any image of a character) is on-screen for more than one panel, it will invariably begin expressing emotion and reacting to what's going on in the foreground as if it were alive.
** Not strange, since Rosa taught himself to draw so he could emulate CarlBarks, who did the same thing.

* In ''LeonardLeGenie'', the cat and the mouse are usually engaged in their own activities when not commenting on the actions of the main characters. Especially in the older albums, these are small stories by themselves.

* One time, PowerGirl and Terra duck into an alley to change into their costumes, with Power Girl lecturing Terra on how she should have DressedInLayers. A bum in the alley enjoys the free fan service.