2014-09-24
Explanation
The Joke
A couple is in a graveyard at night. The woman says "This sure is spooky, Johnnie!" and the man responds "Hold tight, Sally." She mentions hearing that "sometimes the dead rise," and the man makes a sexual innuendo: "The only thing rising... is my wiener." A zombie hand then bursts from a grave. In the final panel, both humans have fled screaming, and the zombie -- just a green hand sticking out of the ground -- sadly asks "No high five?"
The Humor
The comic works as a three-layer subversion. First, it sets up a classic horror movie scenario with a couple in a graveyard. Then it subverts the horror with the man's crude sexual joke about something "rising." The third subversion comes when the dead actually do rise, but instead of being scary, the zombie just wanted a high five -- its hand gesture being friendly rather than threatening. The final panel is both funny and oddly sympathetic, as the zombie seems genuinely disappointed that no one wants to interact with it. The humor plays on the gap between horror expectations and mundane social desires -- even the undead just want a little acknowledgment.