Is it ironic that I’m posting this on a Saturday morning?
Cidu Bill on Mar 20th 2010
I don’t believe the extra panel adds anything to this.
Filed in Bill Bickel, CIDU, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Zach Weiner, comic strips, comics, humor, irony | 27 responses so far
John Small Berries Mar 20th 2010 at 12:15 am 1
It’s ironic that the ironic punishment isn’t ironic.
I guess.
The Devil Tesla Mar 20th 2010 at 12:39 am 2
Oh god, thank you john. This is one of the few times where having a comic explained to me made it funny.
David N Mar 20th 2010 at 02:08 am 3
John shoots, John scores!
(sorry, too much March Madness today)
Marshal Mar 20th 2010 at 02:13 am 4
Is it ironic that the mime is talking?
That devil’s expression in the third panel makes me think he did not know the
punishment until that moment.
.
MarkH Mar 20th 2010 at 04:25 am 5
I just assumed it was something that was going to make him make a noise…. Until the last two panels. Then I didn’t get it any more.
I think John has it though!
Mark
mdt48302 Mar 20th 2010 at 09:15 am 6
Maybe this shows that I still don’t understand – but why a mime? Just for the “trapped in a box” line?
Mark M Mar 20th 2010 at 10:18 am 7
One thing I do know - if I was told my punishment would be an acid enema, my first reaction would certainly not be to question how it is ironic. Yikes!
Cindi Mar 20th 2010 at 10:22 am 8
Of course John has the answer. That being said - I almost felt like I was trapped in one of those endless knock-knock jokes that a 5 year-old world tell ” KK! Who’s there? Apple!……. KK! Who’s there? Apple! KK! WHO’S THERE? ( I am getting annoyed now) KK! WHO’S THERE! (very annoyed) - 5 y-o giggling wildly)
KK! WHO’S THERE for the love of God! ….. Orange! *sigh* Orange Who? Aren’t you glad I didn’t say Apple again? ” Now that is a punishment especially when you know you will be subjected to that same joke again in the very near future.
The 3rd panel was a LOL for me - the devil’s look of surprise/dismay just cracked me up.
mitch4 Mar 20th 2010 at 10:30 am 9
I kind of like this, even though I tend to be an enemy of what seems tome randomly expanded uses of “irony” and “ironic” [or I should say evil expanded uses, such as a cover for nastiness and sarcasm]. Or maybe it’s a case of “because” not “even though”?
It’s clever in the way Weiner so often is — taking what would be a somewhat flatfooted instance of some kind of wit (or irony!) and taking it to another level, twisting it. Here, we can all imagine another cartoon where a mime in an Inferno is subjected to some particularly fitting punishment (like being trapped in an invisible box), and that’s the entirety of the gag. Which would be pretty lame. So this SMBC takes on the next level, how to escape the lameness of that. I’m not sure the end result still needs to be called irony, but it’s at least a wittier step of some kind.
tdcjames Mar 20th 2010 at 11:31 am 10
Cindy, it’s “Orange you glad I didn’t say apple?” Dunno if that makes it any funnier.
turquoise cow Mar 20th 2010 at 11:56 am 11
Any body ever seen the Futurama episode where Bender goes to Robot Hell and the devil sings about all the punishments he will receive, which will be “agonizing AND ironic,” and will also rhyme? That’s what this reminds me of.
“We know all your sins, Bender, and for each one we’ve prepared an agonizing AND ironic punishment.”
Then later: “You’ll suffer till the end of time, enduring tortures, most of which rhyme.”
mitch4 Mar 20th 2010 at 12:02 pm 12
Oh, and to address Bill’s title question: No, of course it’s not ironic! It’s appropriate, maybe even strikingly appropriate, but that’s different.
Rainey Mar 20th 2010 at 12:04 pm 13
It’s ironic that the ironic punishment isn’t ironic. It’s also paradoxical. This comic allows me to continue the trend of my recently earned reputation for finding irony in the comics. I may or may not continue to continue the trend.
Heather D Mar 20th 2010 at 01:00 pm 14
This comic was a ROFL for me, and I was actually scratching my head of how to explain it when I saw it come up here… but yeah, John did it perfectly.
The bonus panel just points out how nearly ANY punishment would suit the parameters of being ironically non-ironic. Then even the actual ironic punishment is ironic (though not non-ironically so), so every punishment is ironic. Which is paradoxical. Which is mind-twistingly hilarious.
Paul G Mar 20th 2010 at 02:47 pm 15
I kinda just thought that the joke was that it is another layer of hellish punishment to deal with someone saying things are ironic when they are not.
Mark in Boston Mar 20th 2010 at 04:18 pm 16
So I got this magazine today, and on the back is an add for snuff, and it says “Ironically, individuality is not a trait shared by everyone.”
I think it is not ironic that some people have no individuality. It would be ironic if all people were the same because they were all different.
BTW, Samuel Johnson in his dictionary defines irony merely as saying something that is obviously not true. His example is “Bolingbroke was a holy man.”
Prefacing something with “ironically” is kind of weird anyway. It’s like saying “Sarcastically, you are the best driver of all time” or “Insinuatingly, you might want to find out where she was last night” or “Hopefully, do you come here often?”.
PeterW Mar 20th 2010 at 04:19 pm 17
Irony is “the opposite of what you expected.” If you tell someone to expect irony, and then it’s not irony, then it’s ironic.
mitch4 Mar 20th 2010 at 04:23 pm 18
And my parents were into irony and stealth … she ironed and he stole.
Hey waitaminute! That can’t be how it goes!
turquoise cow Mar 20th 2010 at 05:06 pm 19
Mark in Boston, I’m thinking I’m going to preface many of my sarcastic statements with “Sarcastically…,” from now on, given how often people fail to see that I’m being sarcastic and simply don’t understand or are horrified at my statement.
“How would you like to have an acid enema?”
“Sarcastically sure, that sounds great.”
Rasheed Mar 20th 2010 at 05:36 pm 20
Maybe it’s sulfuric acid, derived from iron sulfide. I’d have to look up if this would in fact be ironic or ironous (fine, ferric or ferrous but that’s even less funny).
The Bad Seed Mar 21st 2010 at 07:56 am 21
This particular strip reminded me of the Monty Python Argument Sketch.
mitch4 Mar 21st 2010 at 08:53 am 22
No it didn’t!
David A. Rooney Mar 21st 2010 at 10:25 am 23
mitch4 - ah, but if it didn’t, then why are you arguing ironically? Hah! got you!
The Bad Seed Mar 21st 2010 at 07:50 pm 24
mitch4 - Yes it did!
Bill Clay Mar 22nd 2010 at 10:19 am 25
I get the feeling this comic is a statement about the Alanis Morissette song.
Totz the Plaid Mar 25th 2010 at 03:31 am 26
That’s not a mime. It’s just some random bald guy.
Marion Delgado Jul 17th 2010 at 01:23 pm 27
The punchline to this one got omitted. In the next panel there is a devil tour guide showing off Hell, and he says “No, in that room we’re not punishing the mime, we’re punishing >Alanis Morissette.
It’s an homage to the joke about the room in Hell where Leonid Brezhnev is having sex with Bridget Bardot.
It’s not a perfect homage, because first of all the mime really is being punished, which in context is somewhat ironic.
Hope this helps.