2012-06-26
Explanation
This wordless comic plays on the concept of Cupid, the Roman god of love who shoots arrows to make people fall in love. In the first panel, a cheerful boy is whistling as he walks along. In the second panel, an arrow flies toward him. In the third panel, we see the aftermath: the boy has been struck by the arrow but instead of falling in love, he's broken out in acne and looks horrified. The final panel reveals the archer: not Cupid, but "Pubid" -- a cherub-like figure labeled with a banner reading "PUBID."
The joke is a portmanteau of "puberty" and "Cupid." While Cupid's arrows bring romantic love, Pubid's arrows bring puberty -- complete with acne and all the awkward physical changes that come with adolescence. The humor comes from reimagining the mythological mechanism of Cupid's arrow as a delivery system for the decidedly less romantic experience of hitting puberty, which is often the actual context in which young people first start experiencing attraction -- alongside pimples, voice changes, and general awkwardness.