In case it wasn’t clear, Roark is referring to the Pearl Harbor attacks in Panel 1. The Fountainhead came out in 1943. I was going to make the connection clearer, but this strip is wordy enough as it is. Anyway, yes, this explains the significance of the splash page (adapted from a Fountainhead cover). While I am writing this so that even if you haven’t read The Fountainhead you can follow along, there will be a few references. Mainly it is the presence of Roark, Ayn Rand’s hero in The Fountainhead. The tl;dr version of The Fountainhead is that Roark is what American values should be and is everything Communism isn’t.
I love Roark’s comeback in Panel 3. The encounter with the bunny is a reference to Sluggy Freelance’s ghost of Ayn Rand arc.
And yes, I abused copy/paste in this arc. I was fighting off a cold for most of last week and got behind in grading as I was trying new teaching styles (you know, my REAL job), so I had to push this one out faster than I would normally do. Back to the usual quality next week, though!
Stop laughing.
