Ref: Originally appearing here

John Troutman asked for fanart at one point, and I decided to oblige. Lit Brick, for those of you who are unaware, is Troutman’s comics sullying the Norton Anthology in a glorious way. Occasionally he deviates from the core “brick”, hence why I made this strip about The Selfish Gene.  I use said book when teaching my Modern Biology class as it is fantastic about introducing several topics of evolution.  However, I will admit that Dawkins is a cocky jerk.  I attempted to replicate Troutman’s drawing style; I think we can agree that this idea was a mistake.

There are many jokes hidden in the panels. Here is a breakdown of them:

Panel 1: Dawkins and E. O. Wilson have been known to be at odds with each other’s theories. Dawkins does present A LOT of research (which is why I use him).

Panel 2: Selfish Gene Theory: Dawkins is applying it to his own genes by marrying a Time Lady. In real life, Dawkins married Lalla Ward after being introduced by Douglas Adams. Ward played the second regeneration of Romana in Doctor Who.

Panel 3: Dawkins tries to explain that his theories prove the lack of deities, but as with any attempt to blend science and religion, it is impossible to provide substantial evidence.  The Fourth Doctor is in the background; Tom Baker had married Ward previously.  Also, cameos by my characters!

Panel 4: Dawkins just opts to rage about She-Jesus instead of providing evidence. While this was unintentional, I realized the irony of this statement as She-Jesus is established as a Time Lady in Lit Brick Canon after I had sent it to Troutman.

I suppose She-Jesus deserves a bit of explanation. She originally appeared as a joke in Lit Brick and has become one of the most iconic characters of Lit Brick. And speaking of which, Troutman will be starting a new comic soon that is kind of a spinoff of this concept, called The Gospel of Carol.