The comic "Dustin" by Steve Kelley is about the North Korean communist regime. It presents its meaning in a humorous manor in order to make it entertaining. This comic's meaning is that American companies can have communist philosophies such as North Korea's government. The writer gets this point across through the character's dialogue, actions and positioning in each frame. The character's dialogue is what tells the comic is about communism and American companies, while the character's actions explain what the dialogue means. The positioning of the characters in each frame further explains the meaning of the comic. 

The dialogue between the characters plays a very large role in getting the author's point across. This comic uses the line "someone willing to forgo individual recognition and pursue the group's shared goal" as a definition for communism (Kelley). The author then uses the female's response of, "so, you're applying to become a North Korean?" as a sarcastic comment to the previous comment of the male character (Kelley). That response is what ties North Korea's communist government and American companies. It does take some previous knowledge from the reader to realize what communism is in order to recognize that connection, but that is what makes it an intelligent joke. These comments from the characters are the most important indicators as to what the author is talking about in this comic, however they do not offer any reason as to why they are included in the comic. In order to understand what the author wants the reader to take away from this comic, one must look at how the characters react to those comments.  

The way in which the characters react to the comments made show that the male did not think about how the company he was applying for had a philosophy just like North Korea's communist philosophy. In the beginning of the comic, the male seems oblivious to anything the female is thinking. He simply answers the questions he is asked and does not think a lot about his responses until the end when the female makes the final comment. When she makes the comment, which is the punch line of the comic, he seems very uptight, almost offended. That is when the reader realizes the company has a communist philosophy. It is implied that the male, the female, or anyone else does not want to be a North Korean specifically because of the fact that it is communist. This can be further understood by analyzing the different roles each character takes on. 

As previously mentioned, the male applying for the job online seems oblivious during the comic. His oblivious nature and the seemingly wise character of the female also help show how communism in North Korea is viewed. The female proves to be wise and smart by the way she comes up with the punch line of the joke. She is sarcastic, which is a form of wit, but her joke has an element of truth to it since the definition given is North Korea's form of government. Also, judging from the reaction of the male character to her response, the wise, female character realizes the company's philosophy is communist. When she says, "so, you're applying to become a North Korean?" she knows the male will understand what she is implying about the company; that it is very similar to North Korea. 

Positioning of the characters is also important in understanding the meaning of this comic. In three of the four frames, the female is positioned in the background while the male is hunched over his lap top. This positioning contributes to the wise part of the female's character. The female is at distance as though she can see the situation clearly while the male is hunched over so he cannot see the situation or process what is happening as clearly. It also looks as though the female is in a more powerful spot than the male because she is moving around at her own will and even getting herself something to drink. Meanwhile, the male is at the mercy of his computer and has to remain sitting wherever his computer is. It is important the female is the powerful one because that shows that she not only is smart and represents smart people, but that she is powerful and represents that type of person also. So, since she is the character who makes the implied negative comment about North Korea's form of government, it can be understood that smart and powerful people feel the same way she does. Also, the positioning of the female in the background is a symbol of the nature of North Korea's government. "Big brother is watching" is a saying that is commonly linked with communist governments like North Korea's, which means that the government is always watching their citizens. The female character in the comic is representing this as she is usually seen in the background watching on. 

There are a few different methods the author of this comic uses to convey his message that American companies have similar philosophies to North Korean's communist one. With some background knowledge, the actual words said help the reader understand what the author is talking about, but they do offer further analyzation into why they are said. The reader can look at the reaction of the characters to the comments, the roles each character represents, and also how the characters are positioned in each frame to understand how American companies' philosophies are linked with North Korea's. 

