2012-10-22
Explanation
This wordless comic tells a story entirely through images, depicting two soldiers on opposite sides of a conflict -- identifiable by their different uniforms and helmets (one appears to be a British-style soldier, the other possibly German or from another army). The comic opens with them shooting at each other in battle. After exchanging gunfire, their bullets collide mid-air in a dramatic flash. Both soldiers notice this remarkable coincidence and cautiously approach each other across no-man's-land.
Moved by the improbability of the moment, they embrace, apparently finding common humanity in the midst of war. They then face each other solemnly, shake hands, and appear to form a bond of mutual respect and shared experience. The scene seems to be building toward a heartwarming anti-war message about enemies recognizing each other's humanity -- reminiscent of the famous World War I Christmas truce stories.
However, the comic subverts this expectation in its final panels. After their handshake and apparent reconciliation, the two soldiers turn and walk away from each other -- only to resume shooting. The last panel shows them firing at each other again, exactly as in the opening, suggesting that their moment of connection changed nothing. The comic darkly satirizes the naive hope that individual moments of empathy between enemies can overcome the structural forces that drive war. The votey panel reads: "The moral is war should be fought with lasers," offering an absurd non-sequitur that deflects from the comic's bleak message with a joke -- since laser beams presumably could not collide mid-air and trigger the same chain of events.