Joke Decoder (panel 1)

Vert as a teen.

This is Vert as a teenager.  We all remember high school picture day, and how the world would come to an end if we were displaying a jumbo zit for everyone to see.  Well, our friend Vert has just this problem — only for a spine, the zit-equivalent would be a herniation of the intervertebral disc.  And to make matters worse, it’s anterior [in the front]!