10 Comics That Mocked The Reader

10. Animal Man

For the most part, Animal Man is not a series that mocks the reader at all, instead focusing on showing us the life and struggles of its protagonist Bernhard 'Buddy' Baker, and his rise to becoming a legitimate superhero. This is subverted in a single issue of the series - that of issue #26, Grant Morrison's last hurrah on the comic.

And because of this, Grant decides to appear in person, speaking to Buddy and discussing his retiring from the series in detail. While this is all well and meta, the conversation is peppered with Morrison's references to the reader, and how he needs to keep them entertained with inane moments of action and fight scenes.

For almost any other creator, it could seem in bad taste - but for a writer as accomplished as Morrison was (and continues to be), it's clear that this is a mixture of some affectionate ribbing to his audience, and a spot of self-deprecation at the way he constructs comics.