2009-10-22
Explanation
This single-panel comic shows an older professor-type character (identified in the caption as Professor Henderson) sitting at what appears to be a bar or cafe, speaking to a younger red-haired person. The professor says: "The book goes on so long nobody finishes it, but since nobody finishes it, nobody can claim it goes on so long." The caption below reads: "Professor Henderson explains the idea of Catch-22."
The humor here is a multi-layered literary joke. On the surface, Professor Henderson is describing Joseph Heller's famous novel "Catch-22" -- but instead of explaining the logical paradox that gives the book its name (the circular bureaucratic trap where you can only be grounded from flying if you're insane, but asking to be grounded proves you're sane), he is describing the book itself as a Catch-22. The complaint that the novel is excessively long is a common one, and the comic turns this into its own paradox: the book's length is simultaneously its most criticized feature and its own defense, since no one finishes it to confirm the criticism.
The votey panel shows someone holding Joseph Heller down and shoving pages at him, saying "No, Joseph Heller, no!" while another voice says "Yes! You need more dry wit!" This extends the joke by imagining Heller's editors trying to wrestle the book into a shorter form while Heller keeps adding more material.