2014-07-06
Explanation
The Joke
A couple is leaving a movie theater. One person (with a beard) enthusiastically says the movie about Thor was so cool that he wants to read "real Norse mythology." His partner agrees and offers to buy him a book. The next panel reads "Soon..." and we see the bearded man reading the book with a disturbed expression. He then reports that the Norse god Loki "does a lot more things" than in the movie -- specifically "tying his balls to a goat's beard and playing tug-of-war" -- which is far from the sanitized Hollywood version.
The Humor
The joke plays on the gap between the sanitized, crowd-pleasing versions of mythology presented in Hollywood blockbusters (clearly referencing the Marvel Thor films) and the actual content of Norse mythology, which includes many bizarre, bawdy, and disturbing stories. The specific incident referenced -- Loki tying his testicles to a goat's beard -- is a real episode from the Prose Edda (the Skaldskaparmal), where Loki does exactly this to make the giantess Skadi laugh. The partner's deadpan response, "Well, that's Hollywood for you," perfectly undercuts the shock by treating the bowdlerization of ancient mythology as just standard movie business.
References
The comic references the story from Norse mythology found in the Prose Edda, where Loki ties a cord between his testicles and the beard of a goat as part of an effort to make the giantess Skadi laugh after the gods killed her father Thjazi. This is likely also a commentary on the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Thor films, which take significant creative liberties with the source material.