2009-10-05
Explanation
This multi-panel comic tells a story about a child's homework assignment gone wrong. In the first panel, a red-haired girl hands a paper to her teacher, Ms. Becker, who asks "And how'd the interview with your Daddy go?" The girl cheerfully responds "Great, Ms. Becker!"
The comic then flashes back to "EARLIER..." where the girl approaches her father saying "Daddy! For homework I need--" but the father, who is putting on his coat and heading out the door, dismissively says "F**k it!" and leaves. The next panel shows Ms. Becker reading the paper with a concerned expression. The final panel reveals what the girl turned in: she has filled out the homework assignment herself, and the page shows questions like "What would you do with this puppy dog?" -- implying the girl had to fabricate answers to an interview assignment because her father refused to participate.
The joke centers on the contrast between the girl's cheerful "Great!" and the reality that her father completely blew off the assignment. The humor comes from the dark implication that the child has either made up the answers or interpreted her father's dismissal in her own innocent way.
The votey panel shows the girl explaining "That's how daddies say I'll be back in six months" -- adding a darker layer suggesting this is not just a one-time incident but that the father is largely absent from the child's life, and the girl has normalized his neglect with innocent rationalizations.