2012-08-11
Explanation
This comic presents a poetic meditation on love that builds to an unexpected punchline. It begins with the statement "My love for you is small" shown alongside a tiny heart in darkness. The narration continues: "I hope that doesn'''t worry you." It then explains why smallness is actually a virtue: "The smallest things are the least breakable" (showing subatomic particles), "The smallest things are everywhere and everywhen" (showing a field of stars or particles), "Big things are temporary" (showing a crumbling marble statue), and "Beautiful, but made to crumble." The conclusion is: "My love for you is like a small thing, because it is always" -- shown with a woman tenderly holding a glowing heart.
The comic works as a genuine and surprisingly moving piece of romantic philosophy, arguing that something small and fundamental (like a subatomic particle or a physical constant) is more enduring and universal than something large and grand (like a statue that will eventually decay). It draws on concepts from physics to make an emotional point about the permanence of love.
Then the punchline undercuts the entire thing: a woman asks, "So, that'''s why you only got me a five dollar gift certificate for my birthday?" and the man responds, "My love for you is also frugal." The tonal whiplash from cosmic romanticism to cheap gift-giving is the core joke -- the beautiful philosophical framework was really just an elaborate justification for being stingy.
The votey panel pushes this even further into uncomfortable territory with the man saying, "Anyway, enjoy your 3/5ths of that gift certificate!" The reference to the three-fifths compromise adds a darkly absurd racial dimension, suggesting that the man is not only cheap but is somehow further reducing the already meager gift, referencing one of the most shameful provisions in American constitutional history.