[edited later on 2/25, to move the Batman theme from a comment (by Dave Kathman) to the body of the posting]
From Victor Steinbok, who found it on George Takei’s site, this cartoon:
A festival of pop-cutural allusions in the speech balloons, plus some language play.
(Before I go on, a complaint, addressed to Takei and many others who have distributed other versions of this strip — in particular, a lego version and several t-shirt versions: nobody cites a source for the image, though there certainly was an original creator, who ought to get credit. Instead Takei and others find such things on the net and pass them on without attribution. In fact, Takei has posted a number of images of linguistic interest that I have chosen not to pass on, because they are unsourced. This one happens to be so culturally rich that I’ve made an exception. But I’m uncomfortable.)
So what do you need to understand this: three separate pop-cultural facts, plus the phonological relationship between Darth and Garth.
Fact 1: Wayne’s World. From Wikipedia:
“Wayne’s World” was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series Saturday Night Live. It evolved from a segment titled “Wayne’s Power Minute” (1987) on the CBC Television series It’s Only Rock & Roll, as the main character first appeared in that show.The Saturday Night Live sketch spawned two films, and several catchphrases which have since entered the pop-culture lexicon.
The sketch centered on a local public-access television program in Aurora, Illinois, hosted by Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers, the same actor from “Wayne’s Power Minute”), an enthusiastic and sardonic long-haired metalhead, and his timid and sometimes high-strung, yet equally metal-loving sidekick and best friend, Garth Algar (Dana Carvey).
… The two would introduce themselves (Garth: “Party on, Wayne.” Wayne: “Party on, Garth.”) and then proceed to go into their various exploits
That gives us the formula “Party on, X / Party on, Y” and the name Garth.
Fact 2: Star Wars. Again from Wikipedia:
Darth Vader, born Anakin Skywalker, is the central character of the Star Wars [movie] saga, appearing as the main antagonist of the original trilogy and the main protagonist of the prequel trilogy.
And that gives us the name Darth.
Fact 3: Batman. Then there’s the fact that the Wayne character is obviously Batman — who’s Bruce Wayne in real life (well, in real life in the comics).
(Another cartoon that I’m sure my almost-10-year-old grand-daughter wouldn’t get.)
