Many of these comics when they have a fantastical element to them are best read as a metaphor. Naturally we don’t get wishes in real life, but imagine how depression gets you so bad that you can’t see any point in any kind of joy. You just want existence to end. I’ve been in this place, and if I thought I could magically change my life for the better I wouldn’t have been able to comprehend being able to do so. At that point in my life, ”giving up” wouldn’t have meant death, “giving up” would have meant living. It’s quite a place, depression.
We have yet to feel the full consequences of living in a modern world. We are beginning to feel them. The comic is not about what era is best to live in.