2012-11-13
Explanation
In the first panel, an angel appears and tells a woman "For your sins, you will die one year from today." The woman responds with excitement: "Wow, really?" In the next panels, the woman is shown happily engulfed in flames, holding what appears to be a lighter, exclaiming "This is awesome! I can''t die for a whole year! Thanks!" The angel looks on with concern. In the final panel, the woman -- still on fire -- is threatening an old man, shouting "Gimme all yer money! I''m made of fire!" while the angel mutters "This isn''t the reaction I--"
The joke is a clever logical inversion of a divine punishment. The angel intended the pronouncement of death in one year to be a terrifying curse, but the woman immediately realizes it comes with an unintended guarantee: if she is destined to die in exactly one year, she cannot die before then. This effectively gives her one year of invincibility, which she immediately exploits by setting herself on fire and using her flaming, unkillable body to rob people. The angel''s well-meaning punishment has backfired spectacularly, turning a sinner into a literally invulnerable, fire-covered criminal.
The votey panel shows the woman on fire, saying "Dammit" -- suggesting that her year of invincibility has perhaps run out, or that being perpetually on fire has its own downsides, providing a final dark comedic beat.