2006-10-04

Main comic (single panel): A blond child seen from behind in the foreground looks back with a sad, dawning expression. Behind the child stand two worried parents. The father, hand pressed to his mouth, says, “Whuh oh! Did we leave emancipation paperwork under your pillow instead of tooth fairy money?” The mother adds, “We are awful, AWFUL parents.” A caption beneath the panel reads: “The… the tooth fairy isn't real?” The joke: the kid has just discovered legal emancipation papers under the pillow, and is more crushed to learn the tooth fairy is fake. Votey: A simple line drawing of a girl's slightly downcast face with a speech bubble reading, “As 'real' as love.” — a bleak punchline equating the tooth fairy's nonexistence with the reality of love.