2012-08-06
Explanation
This comic takes the classic parent-child game of "got your nose" and escalates it to absurd, villainous extremes. An adult playfully pretends to steal a baby'''s nose, but instead of giving it back, he launches into an elaborate monologue about how the nose is being sent to an undisclosed bunker in Mongolia, guarded by spies, protected by a maze designed by ex-Soviet masterminds, and encased in a sphere of hyperdiamond coated in nitrogen triiodide and mutated smallpox. The baby, of course, can only respond with "Goo?"
The humor comes from the contrast between the innocent children'''s game and the over-the-top supervillain speech. The adult treats the silly nose-stealing gesture with the seriousness of a Bond villain explaining his doomsday plan. When he finally asks the baby what it has to say for itself, it responds "It gew back" ("It grew back"), prompting a dramatic "NOOOOOOOO!" and maniacal laughter from the adults. A bystander comments "You guys are weird," only to be told their nose is trapped in an "undersea electro-vortex."
The votey panel jumps ahead 20 years, showing the now-grown child being asked by someone why they always cup their nose. The child, now an adult, says "I... don'''t know," implying the traumatic nose-stealing incident left a lasting subconscious habit, even though they have no memory of why they do it.