Comics I Don’t Understand

More Returns

Cidu Bill on Jan 15th 2009

Filed in Bill Bickel, CIDU, Francesco Marciuliano, Jesus Christ, Medium Large, comic strips, comics, humor | 29 responses so far

29 Responses to “More Returns”

John DiFool Jan 15th 2009 at 12:16 am 1

It might be fun to guess what the questions were:

1. What did you do after you lectured the church elders in the temple as a kid?

2. Did you ever have any children?

3. What is your favorite musical recording?

4. Why don’t you look like Willem Dafoe? [James Caviezel is a closer match]
Adam! Jan 15th 2009 at 01:18 am 2

The thing that bugs me is that there are four questions, but only three people asking. Unless there’s some hidden joke I’m missing, I think the comic would be snappier if it observed the comedy Rule Of Three and edited out one of the first questions… as it is it’s kind of muddled.

Still got a chuckle out of me, in that SMBC sort of way.
Singapore Bill Jan 15th 2009 at 02:56 am 3

Adam, there are only three questions, thought he answer to the first one is very long.

I think the true comedy here comes from the look on the faces of these people. They’re all thinking “What were we thinking, worshipping this filthy terrorist!” They’re looking uncomfortable because they’re just trying to make small talk while waiting for The Department of Patriotism and Torture to show up and take him away.
Adam! Jan 15th 2009 at 05:06 am 4

Singapore Bill, I’m not going to let you do my taxes.
Singapore Bill Jan 15th 2009 at 05:09 am 5

Adam! Somebody slipped a fourth question into the comic after I posted my comment.
BlueRaja Jan 15th 2009 at 09:38 am 6

What’s not to get? Jesus returned, and people are asking the questions they’ve always wanted to ask him. Only, they’re not getting the answers they expected.
Miss Appropriate Jan 15th 2009 at 09:42 am 7

John Prine answered the first question in his song, “The Missing Years”: http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/J/johnprinelyrics/johnprinejesusthemissingyearslyrics.htm
Rebecca Jan 15th 2009 at 11:49 am 8

It is true that the Bible tells us exactly squat of what Jesus did between infancy and age about 12, and then after the brief teaching-elders-in-the-temple episode, from 12 to 30, when he began his ministry. Quite funny, this comic.
Nicole Jan 15th 2009 at 01:24 pm 9

It seems to me that if the ’son of god’ appeared, I would ask him more important questions — like what is the meaning of life (42)
Rasheed Jan 15th 2009 at 01:37 pm 10

Why ask the question if you already know the answer? No point if he’s not even carrying a towel.
Nicole Jan 15th 2009 at 01:46 pm 11

So are you saying a robe is a poor substitute for a towel ?
Usual John Jan 15th 2009 at 02:30 pm 12

I thought the strip would have been funnier if it had tried for at least some level of plausibility in terms of what Jesus might say in answer to these questions (which I assume to be those identified by John DiFool). There were no VA hospitals or orthodontia in first-century Palestine. Also, we know that Jesus enjoyed his wine - it was his first miracle, after all - so he was not “clean and sober” at the age of 30, though this is not as fundamental a problem with the strip, since not everyone would think of that.
Charlene Jan 15th 2009 at 02:41 pm 13

Of course, it would have been funnier if the writer had been more realistic and made Jesus unable to understand modern English..
Keera Jan 15th 2009 at 03:51 pm 14

LOL! “Clean and sober by 30.” I always thought Jesus looked like a hippie based on some paintings I saw as a kid.

Usual John, Jesus protested against having to turn the water into wine. However, I hope he enjoyed his last drink at his last supper.
Nicole Jan 15th 2009 at 04:06 pm 15

Keera — was that last drink before or after the wine was consecrated ?
Cidu Bill Jan 15th 2009 at 04:39 pm 16

Charlene, I have to assume that the son of an omniscient God would at least know a couple foreign languages.
Jack Jan 15th 2009 at 08:54 pm 17

It takes less faith to believe that Jesus was the Son of God than to believe that the Son of a Jewish peasant girl and a carpenter was able to join the Roman Army.
Charles Jan 15th 2009 at 10:11 pm 18

As long as we’re doing lyrics, let’s not forget The Arrogant Worms, “Jesus’ Brother Bob”: http://tinyurl.com/23wqvn
Keera Jan 16th 2009 at 05:10 pm 19

Nicole, all I really know about that last drink is that Jesus left his cup lying around for Indiana Jones to find later.
Lord Jubjub Jan 16th 2009 at 07:01 pm 20

As the the fourth answer, I don’t think it was in response to a question. It was just something he was peeved about.
Jeff S. Jan 19th 2009 at 04:37 pm 21

The first question was NOT - “What did you do after you lectured the church elders in the temple as a kid?”
It was — After your return, what did you do up until now?
Usual John Jan 19th 2009 at 05:03 pm 22

Jeff S. - The reason that your answer is unlikely is that the New Testament (Gospel of John, I believe) tells us that Jesus began his ministry when he was about 30, which meshes with the “clean and sober by 30″ in the strip.
Lorraine Jan 20th 2009 at 12:11 am 23

Right. Question #1 was clearly, “So what WERE you doing between the ages of twelve and thirty?”
Hunt Jan 21st 2009 at 09:45 am 24

This strip is titled “Jesus returns,” so it seems to suggest that he has returned as an infant again–and as an American–so why, exactly, is he a Middle Eastern man?
Nicole Jan 21st 2009 at 09:47 am 25

Because there are Middle Eastern men in America who are American
Ian Osmond Jan 21st 2009 at 07:03 pm 26

Jack — actually, there were Jewish military units in the Roman empire. Israel/Judea was part of the Empire, and, while there WAS a militant independence movement, there were also plenty of people who didn’t have a problem with the Romans, and plenty of young men who were happy to join up.
Jeff S. Jan 26th 2009 at 10:24 am 27

Usual John, so let me get this straight… you meet someone who calls himself The Christ Returned, who looks to be 30, and your first question is “What did you do after you lectured the church elders in the temple _as a kid_?”, when as you say, it’s already been well documented? Maybe it’s just me, but I think I would be more interested as to what he had been doing with himself since his _return_ to Earth.
Usual John Jan 26th 2009 at 11:10 am 28

Jeff S. - It isn’t a crazy question. The Bible has two detailed (though radically different and thoroughly inconsistent) accounts of Jesus’ birth. Then, zip, except for a brief reference of a trip to the temple when he was 12, until he started his ministry, at which point he was about 30. So it’s an entirely reasonable question to ask what he was doing from 12 to 30 (maybe not the first question some of us would ask, but then, his favorite music wouldn’t have been first on my list, either). More to the point, it’s a question that fits his answer, which takes him up to when he turned 30. The answer doesn’t make sense if he’s talking about later events, when he was older than 30.
Scott Jan 29th 2009 at 05:15 pm 29

I think that the 8 kids thing may be related to the old question of how many brothers and sisters did the bible say Jesus had.