2013-06-17
Explanation
In this comic, Zach Weinersmith reimagines the Garden of Eden story from the Book of Genesis with a darkly comedic twist. In the first panel, labeled "EDEN," God tells Eve that there is only one rule: "Don'''t eat Adam." He also mentions that tomorrow, he will teach her the knowledge of good and evil. The joke here is that God has changed the forbidden fruit rule to a different prohibition -- cannibalism -- but has not yet imparted the moral understanding that would make Eve grasp why eating another person is wrong.
The second panel, labeled "LATER," shows the predictable result: Eve has attacked and is eating Adam, blood everywhere, yelling defiantly, "You don'''t tell me what to do! Nobody tells humans what to do! Nobody!" This mirrors the original Genesis narrative where Eve ate the forbidden fruit despite God'''s instructions, but with a far more gruesome outcome since the prohibition was against cannibalism rather than fruit consumption.
The final panel, labeled "EDEN v2," shows God rethinking his approach. He nervously tells Eve, "Eve, I have only one rule. Don'''t eat from... uh... that tree." The implication is that God learned from his mistake and revised the rules to something much less dangerous if broken. The comic suggests the familiar Genesis story is actually God'''s second draft, revised after learning that if you give humans a rule, they will inevitably break it -- so you had better make the consequences of disobedience less catastrophic.
The votey panel shows God (represented by the SMBC yellow circle/button face) saying "Man, do I hate humans," expressing his exasperation at dealing with the stubbornly defiant creatures he created.