2015-02-16

A tall SMBC comic that traces a swear word back to its source. Panel 1: a little boy named Bobby says "Shit!"; his mother demands "Bobby! Who told you that word?" while his father, labeled "Charlie Thompkins, Dad," says "I see." Each following panel is the same interrogation passed up a chain: the dad asks Bobby, who answers "My dad"; then a man confronts Mr. Thompkins, who names "Sally Barrow in Toronto." An airplane flies and a "Welcome to Toronto!" sign appears as the trail is followed across the world. A woman in Dublin names "Pat McCartle," who points to "Fu Li out in Hong Kong," then "Pyotr Petrovich in Harbin," then "Erasyl, far away in the icy wastes of Kazakhstan." The seeker climbs a snowy mountain to a doorway, where a bearded man (Erasyl), the supposed origin of all swear words, growls "Come the fuck in." She declares "You're the one! You're where all the swear-words come from!" and he replies "Hell-tity yeah!" (with an inset "Shit dicks!"). One week later, having seemingly slain the source, she proclaims "I have killed the seed of all wicked words. Now, they shall perish from the Earth!" but Bobby flatly replies "That's not how it works mother fucker," and the mother exclaims "Ah hell-tits!", showing the swearing spread anyway. The votey is a separate panel containing only the word "Butts." rendered in fancy ornate blackletter gothic lettering.