Released between 2012 and 2014, The Hobbit series created quite the buzz around fandom communities and fantasy book buffs. First of all, they took the word “series” to heart, even though they were working off one single book.
The Hobbit was written before Lord of the Rings, as Tolkien wrote the story for his young children. It’s a pretty simple story about bravery, greed, and adventure. Bilbo is employed by a bunch of greedy dwarves whose greed and desire for gold is many of their undoing by the end.
However, the movie, I felt... was arguably better. The dwarves were far more humanized and people could easily tell the differences between their looks and personalities. Instead of just fighting for gold, they were fighting for home. The movie gave us much more complex characters. For me, that is a huge aspect that made the story better.
Though there was a lot of content put in that wasn’t needed either, like the romance side-plot or Legolas being there. That’s just me though. I think a lot of people got attached to the elves and it’s something they like and have fun making fun of. Also, the whole side plot with the orc, Azog, got pretty ridiculous at times. The movie made an antagonist who wasn’t even needed in the book! Whatever your opinion is, there are some pretty cool comics out there fans have made in celebration of the movie series. Let’s take a look.
25 Hello Again
Legolas was incredibly rude to the dwarves in The Hobbit, which did make for some funny banter and satire. At one point, he picks up a locket of Gloin and picks at the pictures of family that are in his locket. He asks if one is Gloin’s brother, and Gloin says, “That’s my wife!” Legolas then called the other photo “a goblin mutant” to which Gloin says, “That’s my wee lad, Gimli!”
Oh, the irony. Oh, Legolas, if only knew this “goblin mutant” would be your best friend in the future.
With Legolas not making an appearance in the book, this scene did make up for some of my fan-grief. Elves probably live so long that they all are extreme hypocrites in everything. If I were Gimli’s dad, I would be very concerned about how Legolas changed and decided to be best friends with my son. I’d be like “Hey, that guy was a jerk and I don’t want him here.” But Legolas is a ridiculous fighter, so I would also recognize that he is needed for the quest. Since The Hobbit book was made before Lord of the Rings, and in movie-form, it was made opposite, the crew did a good job in giving little hints like this one from their earlier movies.
Comic by IDahlrillion.
24 Erebor Supermarket
Erebor is also known as the Lonely Mountain. You know, the place with the dragon and the gold and the tragic part of the story. Dwarves used to live there until they were kicked out by Smaug. According to The Atlas of Middle Earth, the Lonely Mountain is about possibly 3,500 meters tall and full to the brim with jewels. In this comic, though, Erebor is a supermarket. I sort of see it as a joke towards dwarven greed, since they are charging in it during a sale. If Erebor is a Supermarket, is Smaug the manager? I have so many questions.
Did the supermarket belong to Thorin and company like the actual Erebor? Are they going to cart themselves in, kick Smaug out, and then trap themselves in there in a fit of greed and anger? Is the Arkenstone, also known as “The Heart of the Mountain,” now just “The Heart of the Supermarket?” Supermarkets don’t sell jewels the size of fists, so I guess the Arkenstone would be more like a really big gaudy keychain. Instead of the humans and elves gathering outside the gate to talk to Thorin, would they be cars gathered in the parking lot honking? Thorin crafted a “Closed Forever” sign.
Artist unknown.
23 “I’m Fine”
Me too, Biblo, me too. Bilbo is a very entertaining character. His love of comfort, home, and familiarity is something I think anyone can relate to. His hatred for change, danger, and risk is something that makes him a very fun protagonist to watch. The films and book made a perfect balance because too much of either thing could have made Bilbo annoying and unlikable.
The actor choice of Martin Freeman to play Bilbo was a perfect choice.
His facial expressions and little movements as Bilbo matched the home-body hero perfectly. As we know, the adventures he goes on in The Hobbit gives him extreme anxiety. Who can blame him? However, he was also the sort to get all anxious about little things, like having house guests, an empty pantry, and not being on schedule.
This comic is funny because I think Bilbo is screaming on the inside throughout the whole story like this. I feel like this would be good for when he’s keeping the Arkenstone from Thorin and Thorin just talked to him about trust. That’s a good time for prime screaming. I’d be screaming. Honestly, out of dragons, orcs, and everything, that was the scariest part of the film series.
Comic by SleepyDogge.
22 Dwarf Love
If I had to guess the most popular shipping of characters in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series, it would be between two different ones: Thorin and Bilbo, and Legolas and Gimli. Putting Legolas in The Hobbit and showing him off as a dwarf-hater had a lot of Legolas and Gimli shippers giggling in the theaters. It just felt like it rained irony any time Legolas said something rude about dwarves.
If I were Tauriel in this comic, I’d be angry at Legolas.
Mostly because my love interest passed away and now Legolas is not just showing off his, but also being a hypocrite while doing it! Tauriel was not a popular character (maybe even the least popular character) in The Hobbit. I have to agree with the many fans that she felt a little forced, especially in her romance with Kili. When Kili passed away, even her grief felt forced to me. Maybe I’m just a romance-hater. I mean, comparing her relationship and banter with Kili compared to the moments Thorin and Bilbo or Legolas and Gimli really shows how weak the writing was with the romance. The other ships are just headcanons, and the canon romance feels far less meaningful!
Comic was made by Talhí.
21 The Smaug Bank
This comic gets a ten out of ten for being adorable. The Hobbit marketing team should invest in little Smaug piggy banks. Maybe ones like that cat that peeks out of a box and takes a coin any time you put a coin in front of it? Except that it's Smaug? Best idea. They would sell!
Tolkien was infamous for his love of dragons. There are even books about his love for dragons such as the children’s book John Ronald’s Dragons by Caroline McAlister. She learned a lot about the writer through her trips to Oxford. In her book, which contains real facts about him, is a list of dragons from Tolkien’s life. He was inspired by dragons such as Fafnir from “The Story of Sigurd” in Andrew Lang’s The Red Fairy Book. He was also inspired by The Beowulf Dragon since he was an Anglo-Saxon scholar and studied and wrote about Beowulf.
In one of Tolkien’s scholarly writings, he wrote, “I desired dragons with a profound desire. Of course, I in my timid body did not wish to have them in the neighborhood, intruding into my relatively safe world, in which it was, for instance, possible to read stories in peace of mind, free from fear. But the world that contained even the imagination of Fafnir was richer and more beautiful, whatever cost or peril.” – From his essay “On Fairy-Stories.”
Comic by Emy.
20 Little Potato
Baby dwarves are probably the size of little potatoes. How adorable! Protect them at all costs. I wonder who the mother is? Did you know that in all of Tolkien’s works, only one female dwarf has been named? Dís was her name and she gave birth to her first son Fíli at the age of 99. Yeah, I sometimes forget they live a very long time. She was the only named dwarf because Middle-earth dwarf women are known to be rarely seen in the outside world. I guess if they have tiny potato-sized children, that makes some sense.
I bet Thorin would be the best in parental instincts. He’s someone worth following but still has room to learn and grow himself. He’s the sort who would do anything to protect the weak and small. And what about mixed races? If Kili and Tauriel worked out, could they have had kids? It probably could in Peter Jackson’s world, but in Tolkien’s world, probably not. There are only two kinds of "interspecies" babies we ever hear about: men and orcs, and men and elves. They are explained by the members being "branches of the same race." According to Tolkien’s lore, dwarves and elves were made by two different deities, putting them in different branches.
Comic by MJoyArt.
19 Cold Uncle
Fili and Kili are the babies of Thorin’s company. In Tolkien’s book, they were also one of the more active characters (a lot of the dwarves were referred to their actions as a group). Thorin was the elder brother of their mother. To be honest, I have no idea what happened to their mom. She’s the only named female dwarf, but that doesn’t mean we get any other juicy details. If she’s gone, then I guess Thorin really did raise them?
The bond between the uncle and his nephews showed itself as a significant one in the movies and book.
This put salt in the wounds when all three characters don’t make it to the story’s end. Some people have theorized Tolkien’s reasoning in ending these characters. One particular reason was that with Thorin gone, Kili would have been the new King. Can’t have that, I guess?
Fili and Kili were probably a handful to raise. Like any literary twins, they are portrayed as the playful, daring, and more trickster-like out of Thorin’s group. In modern day regular Earth, I bet some families would put little Fili and Kili on those child leashes. They probably got into all sorts of trouble that Thorin had to fix.
Comic by MJoyArt.
18 Deus Ex Machina
Funny and sad. This comic is referencing the eagles as deus ex machina due to their role in the third Lord of the Rings movie and book. Just when all seems doomed for the protagonists, the eagles appear and totally flip the battle. They save Frodo and Sam from lava and drive the orcs back as well.
A lot of fans have run into the issue as to... why didn’t they fly the eagles to Mordor in the beginning? So many people wondered that hardcore fans have answered the question. Various reasons are that the eagles do what they please, Gandalf can’t just ask them to help all the time, and of course, they would clearly alert the orcs and everyone else what is happening since they are the size of trucks. Remember the quest was supposed to be somewhat sneaky?
But this is about their role in The Hobbit. They actually played a larger role in The Hobbit book. Unlike in the movies, the eagles are more of an intelligent race of their own rather than just some big eagles. In fact, just showing them as eagles that beckon to Gandalf in the movies rather than their full capabilities and willpower shown in the books is a big reason they are seen as a plot hole.
Comic by Wheeloffortune-design.
17 Dwarf Legolas
Oh no, this little Legolas is precious! What a stick-in-the-mud father. For those who are curious why dwarves and elves even hate each other in the first place, you’ve come to the right place! They actually didn’t hate each other in the First Age of Middle-earth. The two races even collaborated on different projects like the fortress of Menegroth in Doriath.
This whole dwarf and elf mutual hate began with an elf king, Thingol, was ended.
As you can imagine, it was dwarves who took his life. They did so because he hired them to build and make different accessories and buildings. The dwarves wanted one of the necklaces, claiming since it was made by dwarves, it belonged to dwarves. Of course, the king disagreed and thus they ended him. Then the dwarves were ended. Then no one was happy and they hated each other.
Dwarves and elves have probably nurtured and sculpted the hate through their bloodlines. Poor Legolas probably never heard the end of it from his father. This sort of makes the relationship between Gimli and Legolas all the more touching and powerful. It takes a lot to undo learned prejudices. Our world can learn a lot from them.
Comic by Katniss-Everdeen16.
16 Hissing Thorin
The artist described this comic to be inspired by the fact that they think Thorin is like a needy pet to Bilbo. I can see that; Thorin does seem like the jealous type, especially when Bilbo interacts with non-dwarves. I suppose his sense of self-importance and high rank only makes the hissing a little louder.
I’d say a big difference that the movie did better than the book was in humanizing Thorin as someone who valued friendship. In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we have that scene where Thorin recognizes Bilbo as a precious friend. That scene did not happen in the book. The nicest line Thorin gives Bilbo in the book is probably the one he says when he leaves his mortal coil.
He says, “There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” But in the film, the quotation is a little altered. Instead, Thorin says, “If more of us valued home above gold, it would be a merrier world.” I think both quotes are lovely.
Comic by ClosetShipping.
15 Greed
This comic makes a good summary of the third movie! I mean, at the heart of the story, The Hobbit serves as a lesson against greed. The big bad Smaug is the primary antagonist and is so greedy that he can tell when a single piece of treasure is missing from his enormous hoard. The dragon gets furious at the loss of an object he never uses.
No wonder we call Thorin’s greed “dragon sickness.” When he claims his home, he becomes obsessed with the treasure rather than the home. It’s not just the dwarves though; the elves show themselves as greedy too. They fight because they believe they have claim to some of the treasure. Something the story does right is to never reveal one side to be right. The truth is, they are all flawed by their greed.
Despite being the protagonist and shown as more innocent than others, even Bilbo has some greed.
We see that when he steals Gollum’s ring. He also takes the Arkenstone due to a suspicion that the dwarves won’t keep their part of the bargain. So, the key to the story isn’t to purge yourself of greed, as to want something is natural. The story is one about self-control and reason. This comic is hilarious but it does touch some on the deeper meaning behind The Hobbit.
Comic by Knight.
14 Santa Balin
If anyone from Thorin’s company had to be Santa for a day, it definitely would be Balin. Also, of course Bilbo gets a pink chiffon handkerchief. These little gifts really show off the different personalities of Thorin’s company.
A big difference between the book and movie Balin lies in the age. In Peter Jackon’s films, Balin is the oldest dwarf in the company. In the book, however, Balin is twenty years younger than Thorin! Though, since dwarves live so long, maybe twenty years is not so big a difference to have in age. Balin being the eldest of the company goes make him more stereotypical of what’s expected as a wise character to counsel with the leader and someone who used to be a dwarven noble.
These gifts, though. Is Thorin’s just a book that says “Majestic?” I think he has the whole majestic aesthetic down. He needs a book on diplomacy and reasoning instead. I’m sure Balin would encourage that as well. Of course, Bombur just wants food. He’s probably the most shallow-written character out of all the dwarves. He’s just the fat one who likes food. And Bifur... what exactly does Bifur want? We don’t really know much about Bifur, do we?
Comic by Harmonia3784.
13 I Am Fire
Smaug’s lines are either seen as really awesome or really cheesy depending on the viewer. I suppose the whole “I am fire, I am [redacted],” didn’t really do it for some. But the lines are loyal to The Hobbit book!
Oh, but this comic can get me back to talking about Tolkien and his relationship with dragons again! Smaug was not the only dragon he wrote. He wrote a short book, Farmer Giles of Ham, and made a dragon named Chrysophylax. In another of Tolkien’s works, The Children of Hurin, there is the dragon Glaurung who was known as the father of dragons. There is also Ancalagon the Black from Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. This dragon was briefly mentioned in the second chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring as well.
Tolkien had a ton of thoughts and opinions about dragons.
According to John Ronald’s Dragons, this is what he said at a lecture on dragons to children at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford in 1938: “A serpent creature, but with four legs and claws; his neck varied in length but had a hideous head with long jaws and teeth or snake tongue. He was usually heavily armored, especially on his head and back and flanks. Nonetheless, he was pretty bendable and could even tie himself in knots on occasion, and had a long powerful tail... some had wings... A respectable dragon should be twenty feet long or more.”
Comic by Josiah.
12 Second Breakfast
One thing hobbits and dwarves have in common is a great love of food. How many meals to hobbits eat? The answer is six meals a day, at least by the Tolkien book standards. In the movies, it’s seven. Small difference. There is breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper mentioned by Pippin in The Fellowship of the Ring.
While I had a good laugh about second breakfast, I later found out it’s a real deal for some people. Some even consider second breakfast to be the most important meal of the day. That sounds like a joke, but it isn’t! So what do hobbits like to eat anyway? We actually see and discover a lot from Bilbo’s pantry! Items served to the dwarves at the unexpected party included chicken, cheese, eggs, pickles, raspberry jam, cakes, ale, coffee, tarts, mince-pies, pork pie, seed cakes, buttered scones, and salad. That’s a feast, alright!
Check the web and you’ll actually find a ton of Middle-earth and hobbit recipes. I suppose the food in the fantasy looks extra good when they are in a cozy hobbit hole preparing for an adventure. Tolkien does invite food as part of the happier scenes in his books as well.
Artist unknown.
11 The Hobbit Chaos
This is a culmination of subplot and character chaos from the Peter Jackson movies, notably the last one. I think most of us fans were sitting in Thorin’s “angst club” or attempting to strangle each other like Fili and Kili are doing. Galadriel was not in The Hobbit book, and her role was completely invented for Peter Jackon’s movies. Yet another elf who was like, “Surprise, bet you thought you’ve seen the last of me!” She is a beautiful and mysterious character, but I think should’ve been used more sparingly since she’s so powerful.
To be honest, everything with Galadriel in The Hobbit movie felt like a weird dream.
When I watched it, I didn’t even know so much what was happening in her and Gandalf’s subplot. I suppose she may have been an attempt to include more women in the series. Unfortunately, I think it came across as very unnecessary and confusing for the fans. I do like how the women are centered on this comic. They’re sparkling and fighting and that inspires me. I think a gender-bent The Hobbit story would be interesting too. I’ve seen some pretty cool genderbent cosplays of Thorin and Bilbo (maybe we’ll call them Thorina and Bilba).
Comic by Euryadice.
10 A Wink
A lot of The Hobbit fans are Fili in this comic. The romantic subplot between Kili and Tauriel was seen as badly written and forced to many fans. Kili probably did not have the opportunity to fall in love until Tauriel. He’s young for a dwarf, and since female dwarves aren’t seen and hidden away, he’s probably been with other men for most of his life.
I remember when the dwarves are at Rivendell, Kili hilariously is unable to distinguish between the male and female elves. I guess he could tell the difference with Tauriel though! I think Peter Jackson aimed for them to be sort of like Romeo and Juliet since the elves and dwarves hated each other.
Though there was sort of a love triangle with Legolas, wasn’t there? I think it was pretty clear that Legolas was interested in Tauriel. I bet some fans ship Legolas with Tauriel. They would’ve been able to fit into a Romeo and Juliet since Legolas’ father sees Tauriel as lower class and doesn’t like Legolas even hanging out with her. With Tauriel likely being Kili’s first love, it deepens the tragedy that young people perish in war before they really get the chance to experience more of life.
Artist unknown.
9 Give Me Gandalf
The Hobbit films hinted that Gandalf and Galadriel have an intimate history. What’s up with that? Based on what fans know from all the information from the books, it’s possible that they could’ve been more than friends at one point. They are both super old and have fought against the same evil for a long time. Galadriel was the first to summon the White Council, which is a meeting we see in The Hobbit movie, and she seems to trust Gandalf before the others at the meeting.
From the books we know, she’s also the one who sent the eagles to Gandalf after his fight with the Balrog in Lord of the Rings.
She’s the one who dressed him in white after his return too. They are also both ring-bearers, having one of the three Elven rings each. Galadriel has the ring of water and Gandalf has the ring of fire. They are benevolent rings, very different from the One Ring and they don’t corrupt the user. Fire and water rings give Gandalf and Galadriel this parallelism with each other. They are also arguably the wisest being of Middle-earth, at least during the times of the books and movies. In the end, though, I suppose the level of intimacy of their relationship is left to our imaginations.
Artist unknown.
8 Gandalf’s Role
This little comic is a joke that relates to Jurassic World when Chris Pratt is training his velociraptors. Now, instead of Chris Pratt, it’s Gandalf. And instead of velociraptors, it’s the three key heads for the battle of five armies: Thorin, Bard, and Thranduil. Despite Gandalf’s magic and wisdom, I suppose men’s hearts are the most difficult things to control. His wisdom is mostly warmly received by Bilbo while people like Bard, Thorin, and Thranduil... as Thorin says, “Do what I want!”
Gandalf definitely can't see the future, but he can see a lot more than all the other characters in the novel, and he seems to know everything that's in Bilbo before Bilbo knows it himself. In the movies, he even makes this sweet speech about how it’s the ordinary people who have the power to change things, rather than people like Thorin or Thranduil (Bard is a little more ordinary compared to them).
As his primary role is to guide characters on their adventure, I suppose Gandalf’s greatest enemy is stubborn characters who won’t let him guide them. Too bad, though. I know a ton of people who would see someone like Gandalf, cry with joy, and immediately pack their bags to follow him.
Comic by Monkey's Comics.
7 The Bombur Wagon
Here we go again with Bombur and his food. So is that really is only character trait that defines him from the rest of Thorin’s group? Um, he also likes to sleep in the Hobbit book? He falls under a spell that makes him sleep for days by the Mirkwood River and (he is also very fat in the book) burdens the group by having them carry his weight as they continue their journey.
He also sleeps while on the lookout in the Lonely Mountain, which is how Bilbo is able to sneak the Arkenstone out of the mountain in the first place.
He was also sleeping when they opened his barrel after escaping the Mirkwood elves and when Bilbo discovered the secret entrance to the Lonely Mountain. This character has like no dialogue in the movie either other than occasional grunts. He served mostly as comic relief due to his love of food and sleep and his size. It was pretty hilarious when he was able to run past his fellow dwarves despite his size and when he was able to break a table with his weight only when an ounce of food was added to his hand. He’s also a great fighter despite it all.
Comic by Jingster.
6 No Elves
Hm, what else is there to say about elf and dwarf romance or their hatred for each other Every fantasy world has its own problems. Something so flawed in our world often rears its ugly head in fantasy worlds as well. A huge example is Tolkien’s elves versus dwarves. It’s a huge trope now. Based on the wonderful TV Tropes website, they don’t even have to be dwarves and elves but they still have the same aspects to them: between a beautiful, highly advanced race or civilization, and a much grittier, industrial, technological force.
For example, the fight between aristocrats and barbarians, snobs and slobs, cowboys versus Indians, and marketers versus engineers. That’s all a re-telling of elves versus dwarves. Mind blown yet? This can be seen in films like Avatar or Thor: The Dark World. Other examples can lie in television series like Star Trek and Doctor Who.
Do we thank Tolkien for this? No, this trope pattern traces all the way back to Norse mythology between gods of war and gods of nature. Tolkien was inspired a lot by Norse mythos though. So we maybe can thank Norse mythology, but I’m sure there may be more stories even further back that follow this dwarf-elf pattern that are yet to be recognized.
Comic by HattedHedgehog.