regression
Original: regression on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Man (red hair): You get more beautiful every day.
Woman: What?!
Panel 2:
Woman: By how much? Is it a lot?
Panel 3:
Woman: We've been together for 20 years! How ugly was I on day one!?
Panel 4:
Woman: Am I a pity wife? Is that the point you're making?!
Panel 5:
Man: No! No! That's not it at all!
Panel 6 (caption at top: 20 YEARS AGO):
[The man, younger, stands at a chalkboard with a graph. The y-axis is labeled "estimated attractiveness" and the x-axis is labeled "age," with a line sloping upward from lower-left to upper-right.]
Man: This is a good investment.
Votey:
Man (thought/speech bubble): I should change my shirt someday.
Man (red hair): You get more beautiful every day.
Woman: What?!
Panel 2:
Woman: By how much? Is it a lot?
Panel 3:
Woman: We've been together for 20 years! How ugly was I on day one!?
Panel 4:
Woman: Am I a pity wife? Is that the point you're making?!
Panel 5:
Man: No! No! That's not it at all!
Panel 6 (caption at top: 20 YEARS AGO):
[The man, younger, stands at a chalkboard with a graph. The y-axis is labeled "estimated attractiveness" and the x-axis is labeled "age," with a line sloping upward from lower-left to upper-right.]
Man: This is a good investment.
Votey:
Man (thought/speech bubble): I should change my shirt someday.
Alt text
A six-panel comic. A red-haired man tells a woman, "You get more beautiful every day." She reacts with alarm rather than gratitude: "What?!" "By how much? Is it a lot?" "We've been together for 20 years! How ugly was I on day one!?" "Am I a pity wife? Is that the point you're making?!" The man protests, "No! No! That's not it at all!" The final panel, captioned "20 YEARS AGO," shows the man as a younger version standing at a chalkboard. On the board is a graph with "estimated attractiveness" on the vertical axis and "age" on the horizontal axis, showing a line steadily rising over time. He says, "This is a good investment" — revealing he chose her based on a projection that she'd grow more attractive with age, which is exactly the implication she feared. Votey (bonus panel): a close-up of the man saying to himself, "I should change my shirt someday."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.