God is Dead
Explanation
The Joke
A Nietzsche-like character with a large mustache declares "God is dead — all is permitted." Another person asks "What do you mean, 'permitted'?" The philosopher responds "You know, war, murder and stuff." The other person points out "Murder's not permitted. It's against the law." The philosopher says "What?" — clearly caught off guard. In the final panel, set "later," the philosopher is seen reading a book titled "The Law" with a look of surprised discovery, saying "Huh, okay."
The Humor
The comic deflates one of philosophy's most famous proclamations — Nietzsche's "God is dead" and Dostoevsky's related idea that "without God, everything is permitted" — by pointing out that secular legal systems exist independently of divine authority. The philosopher's dramatic existential crisis about morality without God is undercut by the mundane observation that society already has laws prohibiting murder, no deity required. The final panel, showing the philosopher discovering "The Law" as if it were a revelation, satirizes the tendency of some philosophers to make sweeping claims about morality and society while ignoring the practical legal and social structures that already function without theological grounding.