Why the down votes? I remember this and it definitely isn't that cute (besides some people might not know about how it works, I didn't know the first time too, I would explain it but I forgot most of it)
What annoys me is that they easily could have adapted this comment to make it accurate. The mechanism is called a "catapult", but they have NEVER been a trebuchet or onager, as pictured in the comic. Rather, it consists of a track built into the deck of the carrier, on which a shuttle slides back and forth. The front landing gear of the aircraft is attached to the shuttle, and then the shuttle is then propelled forwards by steam, hydraulics, electromagnets, or even gunpowder. The shuttle carries the plane to the end of the runway, where the plane disengages, allowing the plane to take off.
Sources: Wikipedia, my Dad (served on the Kitty Hawk and USS Enterprise)
Sources: Wikipedia, my Dad (served on the Kitty Hawk and USS Enterprise)