Comic #2565: 2012-05-25
Description
Here’s a detailed transcription of the comic:
Panel 1
- Child: "Daddy, what'd you get me for Christmas?"
- Father: "Son, come on now. You're better than that. Christmas isn't about gifts."
Panel 2
- Father: "Gifts are just a medium people use to express feelings."
- Child appears thoughtful.
Panel 3
- Father: "Like this year I got Mommy's mommy a holiday emblem that isn’t compatible with her religious views. It's not just a gift—it's a sign of contempt and an expression of the fact that I and Mommy will run this family however we damn well please."
Panel 4
- Father: "I also got my boss a sixty dollar gift certificate. I don’t care if she enjoys it. I just want her to think I like her so she doesn’t see me as a career threat until it’s too late."
Panel 5
- Father: "Oh! And I’m getting you an expensive video game set, even though it’ll hurt your grades. I want other kids to see it and tell their parents how wealthy I am, thus increasing my status in the community."
Panel 6
- Father: "Bobby, Christmas shouldn’t be about materialism. It should be about status consciousness and money-shame."
Panel 7
- Caption: "LATER…"
- Father: "A fire truck. What did your mother want from me?"
- Mother: "What did your father say to you?"
- Child is sitting with a toy, and the scene suggests an ongoing conversation.
This transcription captures the dialogue and context from the comic panels. Let me know if you need anything else!