job-interview
Explanation
The Joke
A job candidate is being interviewed and is asked why she wants to work for the company. She responds with an impressively thorough answer citing statistics, analysis of Atlantic and Pacific market data, and advanced demographic projections, concluding that the company offers the best "earnings-to-misery ratio" she can imagine. In the next panel, the interviewer warns her that her "whole body will become one giant gorgeous erogenous zone," to which she replies she supposes she'll probably get used to it.
The comic satirizes the absurd disconnect in job interviews. The candidate gives an honest, data-driven answer that implicitly acknowledges work is miserable -- she's just optimizing for the least misery per dollar earned. The interviewer, rather than appreciating her candor and analytical rigor, pivots to an obviously fake and creepy selling point about the job, suggesting the corporate recruitment process is built on mutual dishonesty.
The Humor
The humor lies in the collision between radical honesty and corporate theater. The phrase "earnings-to-misery ratio" is funny because it says the quiet part loud -- everyone evaluates jobs this way, but you're never supposed to admit it. The interviewer's absurd counter-promise about erogenous zones parodies the way companies oversell their culture with increasingly unbelievable perks. The candidate's flat, resigned acceptance ("I guess I'll probably get used to it") completes the joke by showing that workers will swallow any nonsense if the pay is right.