Humor in WotW?

[Deleted]

While I was away I met a WotW fan who thought that the early chapters in the novel (after the opening and before the invasion begins) may have been intended as darkly humorous scenes. They stated that Ogilvy and Henderson in particular do seem to function at least partially as comic relief in that chapter, especially considering their reaction to the cylinder and Ogilvy's exaggerated behaviour. They noted that after the two "comic relief" characters were killed, the book became much darker very fast.

I wasn't sure about their argument, but I do see the general point. Any comments on that theory? What scenes in WotW or its adaptations could be looked at as dark humor or parody?

[Relyt]

When the narrator is at the fifth cylinder's crater, he's discussing the martians' biology. As he does this, the narrator alludes to Wells' earlier article, "The Man of the Year Million." What's funny is that Wells is speaking about the article as if he had not written it, and he even makes fun of it.