He’s a corporate headhunter, come to offer the Mr. Orkle a new job. Or, possibly, he is going offer Mr. Orkle his services, as he may have some hunted heads to offer him. The more traditional portrayal of the headhunter, the dark-skinned savage with a spear and bone through the nose is no longer an acceptable image, so the cartoonist has used a Viking. Vikings are known for their savagery but are white, so it’s okay to stereotype them.
Oh, and am I the only one to think the secretary looks like a stoned muppet?
She just likes to lick the phone.
In a drawing that is unusually good (for “Close to Home” standards, the detail that puzzles me is not the secretary’s unshaded oral cavity, but that fact that the front edge of the viking’s battleaxe looks amazingly sharp, whereas the other end looks like a blunt banana.
For a while, there was a man that companies hired when they wanted to downsize. He came in, figured out who could be fired, and fired them. He was known (unofficially) as the traveling executioner.
The most famous real-world white headhunters were the pre-Norman invasion Irish, not the Northmen themselves.
I love this place.
@ Singapore Bill – I assume that’s because we’re so conscientious and always stick to the subject at hand, right?
Hmmm, I hadn’t thought of the double meaning of headhunter when I saw this. I thought maybe Mr. Orkle fired the wrong disgruntled employee and was soon to be in a world of hurt.
“And may I tell him what this is concerning?”
I think we all would like to know what this is concerning.
Just pandering to HR folks — every one of them will have this on their wall by the end of today!
@carlfink- Large swaths of pre-Norman Invasion Ireland were originally Viking settlements. Are talking about the Vikings or the Celts?
Blinky – The Celts all over Europe were know for their headhunting. Long before the Vikings the Romans commented on the Gauls and their interesting hobby.
Now, back on point. I think the joke is a headhunter coming to talk to human resources. And he is really a headhunter. Ha, ha, ha.
It works on two levels: 1) it really is a headhunter 2) the meta joke “I’m sure theres a good explaination” in the face of the inexplicable.
But I’m voting for 1). If it were 2) he should have been a giant squid.
One of my favorite “someone odd to see the boss” comics:
I guess we should give McPherson credit for not going with the more traditional headhunter look.
I think he’s an Axe-Man – I’ve known companies to hire one when it’s time to clean house. They come in, fire everyone, and out they go! So it works for me that the head of HR would have the axe-man coming.
Singapore Bill – Me too! I will tell Robert about some discussion going on and he will ask “what does that have to do with comics?” I tell people that my favorite group online is CIDU as it has the most intelligent and nicest group of people I have met online. And I can “say” things like shlep and kvetch and people understand what I mean – not like my the embroidery groups I am on where everyone seems to be from the midwest (although I know they are not all same).
Comics I Don't Understand 
He’s a corporate headhunter, come to offer the Mr. Orkle a new job. Or, possibly, he is going offer Mr. Orkle his services, as he may have some hunted heads to offer him. The more traditional portrayal of the headhunter, the dark-skinned savage with a spear and bone through the nose is no longer an acceptable image, so the cartoonist has used a Viking. Vikings are known for their savagery but are white, so it’s okay to stereotype them.
Oh, and am I the only one to think the secretary looks like a stoned muppet?
She just likes to lick the phone.
In a drawing that is unusually good (for “Close to Home” standards, the detail that puzzles me is not the secretary’s unshaded oral cavity, but that fact that the front edge of the viking’s battleaxe looks amazingly sharp, whereas the other end looks like a blunt banana.
For a while, there was a man that companies hired when they wanted to downsize. He came in, figured out who could be fired, and fired them. He was known (unofficially) as the traveling executioner.
The most famous real-world white headhunters were the pre-Norman invasion Irish, not the Northmen themselves.
I love this place.
@ Singapore Bill – I assume that’s because we’re so conscientious and always stick to the subject at hand, right?
Hmmm, I hadn’t thought of the double meaning of headhunter when I saw this. I thought maybe Mr. Orkle fired the wrong disgruntled employee and was soon to be in a world of hurt.
“And may I tell him what this is concerning?”
I think we all would like to know what this is concerning.
Just pandering to HR folks — every one of them will have this on their wall by the end of today!
@carlfink- Large swaths of pre-Norman Invasion Ireland were originally Viking settlements. Are talking about the Vikings or the Celts?
Blinky – The Celts all over Europe were know for their headhunting. Long before the Vikings the Romans commented on the Gauls and their interesting hobby.
Now, back on point. I think the joke is a headhunter coming to talk to human resources. And he is really a headhunter. Ha, ha, ha.
It works on two levels: 1) it really is a headhunter 2) the meta joke “I’m sure theres a good explaination” in the face of the inexplicable.
But I’m voting for 1). If it were 2) he should have been a giant squid.
One of my favorite “someone odd to see the boss” comics:
I guess we should give McPherson credit for not going with the more traditional headhunter look.
I think he’s an Axe-Man – I’ve known companies to hire one when it’s time to clean house. They come in, fire everyone, and out they go! So it works for me that the head of HR would have the axe-man coming.
Singapore Bill – Me too! I will tell Robert about some discussion going on and he will ask “what does that have to do with comics?” I tell people that my favorite group online is CIDU as it has the most intelligent and nicest group of people I have met online. And I can “say” things like shlep and kvetch and people understand what I mean – not like my the embroidery groups I am on where everyone seems to be from the midwest (although I know they are not all same).