cult-2

An eight-panel SMBC comic. A dark-haired man earnestly confronts an auburn-haired woman named Mary. He says, "Mary, Mary, I'm trying to reach out. Think about how it looks from the outside." As Mary starts to protest ("I don't--"), he lectures her: "The clearest sign that you're in a cult is that members gain status by taking the most absurd views possible, justifying the unjustifiable all in pursuit of an identity." Intercut close-ups show his serious face and Mary looking increasingly anxious. Mary finally bursts out, "But I like black licorice! It tastes good!" The man, looking heartbroken, declares, "The Mary I knew is dead." The joke: he treats her fondness for black licorice as if she'd been lost to a cult. Votey (the bonus aftercomic, in loose black-and-white sketch style): Mary, now off-panel, adds, "It's good with salt," and the man, gazing mournfully into the distance, mutters, "Poor, poor Mary" -- referencing salted black licorice (a Nordic delicacy) as a further sign of how far gone she is.