Is that cartoon as crap as I think, or am I missing something? If the watch-face had had “Crucifixion” on it, and the last frame was some long-haired geezer on a cross, would that be the same ‘joke’?
AFAIK, Zeppelin is a brand of watch. So it’s “Zeppelin time”? Not exactly a knee-slapper.
-
I laughed at that one. Again.
-
The mouse-over text says it’s “A tribute to Buttercup Festival”. So maybe you should check out that other comic’s archives and come back to this to have a greater appreciation of it.
Not exactly. A crucifixion is grisly. This was whimsical.
Well, it says that it’s a tribute to Buttercup Festival, which was another webcomic. Here’s what wikipedia has to say:
Now most of us geeks know how non-geeks feel whenever they read XKCD… 
Out of curiousity, what do you think the cartoonist is implying? And what point do you think the cartoonist is trying to make?
And did you do the mouseover? I find that it’s imperative to read the mouseover when xkcd isn’t quite making sense to me. Sometimes, even after that, I’m still lost…
I actually remember seeing at least a couple of other xkcd strips that also had a Monster of the Purple Twilight in 'em, in similarly whimsical settings, though I can’t seem to find the exact ones in the archive.
I chalked it up to an in-joke or a running gag, myself, much like said author’s occasional velociraptor references.
Note that the drawing in question is one of the cartoonist’s earliest. His humor - as well as his draftsmanship - has grown sharper and more coherent with time.
I’d like to add that often XKCD isn’t supposed to be funny. The author often uses it to point out interesting observations or simply be absurd. This nakedness makes the comic more appealing and interesting. I appreciate that the comic is unpredictable and willing to go out on a tangent. It might not work for the individual strip, but as a whole the emergent properties are purely delightful.
My only association with blimps is the Hindenberg, so I thought the time on the watch may have been related to the time it blew up, the joke being ‘wrong time, wrong place’, or something? Obviously, like a zeppelin, the joke went right over my head.
I don’t like imperatives. I’m a rebel at heart. 
I thought it was a reference for Led Zeppelin, because it’s always time for Led Zeppelin.
My criticism is that according to the watch, it is clearly ten past Zeppelin.
-FrL-
I just thought he was being weird.
It was just inane and kinda random.
Hmm. This comic make me laugh out loud. For the life of me I can’t figure out why. There’s no real “joke” here, or if there is, I don’t get it. And yet I’m still giggling as I type this.
I agree with the folks who say he was just being absurd and a bit surreal. I think it would be essentially the same comic if the watch said “llama” and they looked up to see a llama standing next to them. Actually that image makes me laugh even harder. I think maybe I just have a weird sense of humor.
Zeppelins are also a running theme in xkcd
xkcd: Secretary: Part 4 (OK, so it’s a blimp…)
And as for Led Zeppelin
I agree with Arglefraster, especially the “llama” example.
Also, when perusing old xkcd, it’s helpful to read his “About” page, where he explains that the early strips are old sketchbok pages he just scanned. It turned into a real comic strip further in.
Stephen Wright has a very similar joke in one of his stand-up routines: he steps into an elevator, and, wanting to go to the third floor, he presses “3.” A man gets on after him and Stephen asks him where he wants to go. The man says “Phoenix.” So Stephen presses “Phoenix.” Two hours later, the elevator doors open, and they’re in downtown Phoenix.
Zeppelin saving time.
I too agree with arglefraster - a llama would have been funny. Or even the Dalai Lama!
I wonder if it’s a Freudian thing with the zeppelin? < wanders off confused >
Indeed. I love xkcd now and I went through the whole archive when I discovered it, and those early ones are just bizarre.