2012-07-11
Explanation
The comic depicts a person seeking out a wise master figure (an old bearded man in robes, resembling a wizard or guru) with an urgent request: he has had an amazing idea but fears someone else will think of it first. The master solemnly instructs him to write it down, then burn money, bring the ashes, and have a crescent drawn upon them inscribed within a circle. The seeker thanks the "wise master" and departs. The final panel reveals the idea written on the paper: "Spray-on headbands (c)."
The joke works through a bait-and-switch structure. The elaborate mystical ritual -- burning money, drawing arcane symbols on ashes -- parodies both the idea of seeking wisdom from ancient sages and the modern obsession with intellectual property protection. The reader is led to expect that the idea must be truly brilliant to warrant such urgency and ceremony. The punchline reveals the idea is completely absurd and worthless: "spray-on headbands," a product nobody would ever need. The crescent inscribed within a circle is likely meant to be a copyright symbol, making the "mystical ritual" just a ridiculous, over-complicated version of filing for a copyright. The comic satirizes people who are fiercely protective of ideas that aren't actually worth protecting -- a common phenomenon in entrepreneurial and creative circles where the fear of having an idea "stolen" often far exceeds the idea's actual value.