2013-11-20
Explanation
This comic is a long-form joke about the Salem witch trials and puritanical hypocrisy. A Puritan-era character accuses someone of being a witch, then launches into an elaborate prosecution. However, as the scene progresses, the accuser becomes increasingly flustered and seems to be projecting his own anxieties and desires, revealing that the real "witchcraft" he's concerned about has more to do with his own repressed feelings.
The comic satirizes how historical witch hunts were often driven not by genuine belief in witchcraft but by personal vendettas, sexual repression, and social control. The accusers' obsessive focus on the supposed sins of the accused frequently revealed more about their own psychological hangups than about any actual wrongdoing. The final panel suggests the accuser ends up alone, undone by his own contradictions -- a fitting commentary on how moral panics tend to consume those who start them.