Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

grim

2017-11-09 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
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grim
Votey panel for grim
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Explanation

The Joke

The Grim Reaper appears at a woman's office, doing his usual schtick — looming ominously with his scythe. But instead of being terrified, the woman at the desk seems annoyed and unfazed. The Reaper tries to escalate by performing increasingly theatrical displays of death imagery, including conjuring ghostly visions. The woman remains unimpressed. When the Reaper finally asks why she is not afraid, she calmly explains that he should see the people she has to deal with at work — implying her coworkers or clients are far more terrifying than Death himself.

The votey shows Death looking dejected, having been thoroughly out-grimmed by the banality of office life.

The Humor

The joke plays on the well-worn comedy trope of Death being upstaged, but gives it a workplace-humor twist. The Grim Reaper is supposed to be the ultimate source of existential dread, but the comic argues that mundane workplace misery — difficult coworkers, soul-crushing meetings, office politics — can make even literal Death seem like a welcome relief. The humor works because it validates the common hyperbolic complaint that work is "killing me" by showing someone who genuinely finds Death less intimidating than her job. The Reaper's bruised ego in the votey completes the reversal — now Death is the one having a bad day at work.

View History (1) Original Comic