2010-08-06
Explanation
This comic takes the famous Serenity Prayer and adds an unexpected coda. A man kneels in bed praying: "Dear God... Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, and also a ten inch dick." The caption below reads: "Look, the first three things aren't gonna happen either."
The humor works on two levels. First, there is the absurd juxtaposition of a deeply earnest spiritual prayer with a crude anatomical request tacked on at the end, as though the man considers both equally important petitions to the Almighty. Second, the caption delivers a cynical punchline suggesting that serenity, courage, and wisdom are just as unlikely to be granted as the physical request -- a darkly funny commentary on either the futility of prayer or the hopelessness of the human condition.
The votey panel shows a couple in bed, with one person asking, "Whatcha got tonight? Science joke? Math joke? Philosophy jo--" and the other responding with "WEEEEEEEE!!!NER," suggesting the comic's author (Zach Weinersmith) is self-aware about his tendency toward dirty jokes and is gleefully diving into one here -- a meta-joke about the comic itself being a "weiner" joke from a cartoonist named Weiner.