The universal punchline?

April 17, 2010 4:49 AM

Can it be that all cartoons resolve to one common sentiment?
posted by pjern (39 comments total)

an asshole christ, what.
posted by Henry C. Mabuse at 5:00 AM on April 17, 2010

i'm getting a mostly blank white page with just the "submitted by" text
posted by infini at 5:01 AM on April 17, 2010

I posted the New Yorker version to my Facebook profile. I got an irate message from a fundie friend. This is even better.
posted by fixedgear at 5:03 AM on April 17, 2010 [3 favorites]

It's too bad we already killed the link.
posted by availablelight at 5:04 AM on April 17, 2010

Was looking at this last night and wondering when it would show up here. Coral cache version seems to work too if people are having problems with the link.
posted by reptile at 5:09 AM on April 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's too bad we already killed the link.

Christ, what assholes.
posted by krilli at 5:09 AM on April 17, 2010 [4 favorites]

The link is alive and well for me. Thanks, pjern!

Still, it must be said: No B. Kliban?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:23 AM on April 17, 2010

It speaks to the genius of Gary Larson that the Far Side comics don't really work with this trick.
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 5:31 AM on April 17, 2010 [27 favorites]

thanks reptile that was fun, those comic strips sure put a smile on my face :)
posted by infini at 5:34 AM on April 17, 2010

It also works well with goatse.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:37 AM on April 17, 2010 [16 favorites]

(that'd come across as a bit of a nonsequitur)
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:38 AM on April 17, 2010

It speaks to the genius of Gary Larson that the Far Side comics don't really work with this trick.

+++
The goat in the clouds is still one of my all time fave gags of all time, by anyone.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:39 AM on April 17, 2010

It's dead, Jim.
posted by zardoz at 5:44 AM on April 17, 2010

The link works fine for me. Too bad. I found it neither clever nor interesting.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:53 AM on April 17, 2010

Universal punchline to unfunny jokes.
posted by pompomtom at 6:10 AM on April 17, 2010

This trick totally saves Family Circus. Without that last line, it's not funny at all, but with it? Perfection!
posted by Hildegarde at 6:28 AM on April 17, 2010 [4 favorites]

I said this every single time I saw a photo of George Bush.
posted by bwg at 6:36 AM on April 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

Christ, what a relevant previous post.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:38 AM on April 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

Christ, what an Error 999.
posted by slater at 6:42 AM on April 17, 2010

Can it be that all cartoons resolve to one common sentiment?

Yes, and every single face to face human interaction, from my experience.

"We get beer?"

"Yes, we get beer."
posted by adamdschneider at 8:03 AM on April 17, 2010

The Elfquest panels at the end made my day.
posted by Toothless Willy at 8:05 AM on April 17, 2010

The Family Circus one is great.
posted by brundlefly at 8:26 AM on April 17, 2010

This tired cliche is always better in bed.
posted by about_time at 9:59 AM on April 17, 2010

I got bored halfway down the page.

Christ, I'm an asshole.
posted by digsrus at 10:11 AM on April 17, 2010

I LOLed at the one with the Joker, appropriately enough.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:32 AM on April 17, 2010

I feel like instead of a universal punchline, this is a universal deflation-line. Except for a couple examples (like the Elfquest or family circus, just because it's unexpected for those characters) it basically drains the cartoon of humor. It may be coherent, but it isn't funny. And as above, it isn't even coherent for the far side.
posted by mdn at 10:35 AM on April 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the compliments, I noticed the page was broken again today and I figured it was you people. Just added a few more submissions.
posted by robbie01 at 10:57 AM on April 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

I thought we did this on Metafilter ages and ages ago, to the point where it became one of our very own memes. Or did I dream the last five years?
posted by evilcolonel at 11:41 AM on April 17, 2010

its possible. i just deleted five years of work the other day and that's the beauty of the internet.. transitory yet permanent, fleeting yet forever, in your face but global

do I contradict myself? (said the interwebz) i contain multitudes
posted by infini at 11:52 AM on April 17, 2010

Some were funny, and some were not. So, in fact the theory was disproven!
posted by delmoi at 12:26 PM on April 17, 2010

As mentioned in that previous post, a workable alternative to the universal punchline is "Who farted."

And the other day Jon Stewart showed David Remnick (editor of the New Yorker) that "Well, Obama did promise us change" works pretty well as well - Stewart claimed he had submitted it for the previous 52 weeks in the New Yorker's cartoon caption contest.
posted by beagle at 1:04 PM on April 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

I never saw this meme until now, so I thought it was funny. It's not tired if you haven't been on MeFi for years, I guess.
posted by Toothless Willy at 1:55 PM on April 17, 2010

Also, I bet it would work perfectly for every "For Better Or For Worse" ever.
posted by Toothless Willy at 1:57 PM on April 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

I thought we did this on Metafilter ages and ages ago, to the point where it became one of our very own memes.

That was back when it was just New Yorker Cartoons. But yea, you weren't dreaming. The magic is real.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 1:58 PM on April 17, 2010

Perfect for that FBofW. Excellent.
posted by Neofelis at 3:54 PM on April 17, 2010

Christ, what an asshole
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist at 4:19 PM on April 17, 2010

Needs more Mary Worth.
posted by brundlefly at 4:58 PM on April 17, 2010 [3 favorites]

Also, I bet it would work perfectly for every "For Better Or For Worse" ever.

No, that'd be "Christ, I hate my husband."
posted by flatluigi at 5:38 PM on April 17, 2010

I liked it.
posted by shelleycat at 9:38 PM on April 17, 2010