The unnamed woman in “The Hickey” is a glamorous redhead with a huge ponytail, long eyelashes, red lipstick, and an exceptionally long, thin neck—the deliberate visual opposite of Joe. The short uses their romantic encounter for another simple joke about Joe being physically unable to participate normally because he has no neck.

No Neck Joe is a series of extremely short, absurd gag cartoons Craig McCracken began making as a CalArts student around 1990 and which later appeared in Spike & Mike animation festivals. McCracken subsequently created The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, and Joe already displays his distinctive simplified shapes, bold outlines, and exaggerated character designs.