2009-10-04
Explanation
This comic is titled "Literary Myths: Editors Ruin Great Novels." It shows an editor speaking to a bearded author (who appears to be Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick). The editor says: "I'm going to add this motif of a white whale to your book. It's about the futility of vengeance on--" But the author interrupts angrily: "WHAT?! That does it! I'm taking out all the fart jokes and the space-gorilla!"
The joke inverts the common literary myth that editors ruin great novels by interfering with the author's vision. Instead of the editor ruining the book, the comic suggests that Melville's original manuscript was full of lowbrow content like fart jokes and a space-gorilla, and it was actually the editor who elevated it into a literary masterpiece by introducing the white whale symbolism. The author's petulant reaction to having "serious" literary themes imposed on his work flips the narrative -- editors don't ruin great novels, they save terrible ones from their authors' worst impulses.
The votey panel shows the Melville-like author saying "Call me Pissed" -- a play on the famous opening line of Moby-Dick, "Call me Ishmael." This reinforces the joke by showing the author grudgingly accepting the editor's changes (the book will still have its iconic opening structure) while expressing his displeasure about losing his preferred content.