Our final Choose Your own Carl panel -- or something very like it -- was suggested by:

  • Ivy
  • Marcus Morgan
  • Greg Lam
  • Joe
  • R David Francis
  • Rob Schaeffer
  • John Savard
  • Aaron Hertzmann
  • Sara Rosenbaum
  • Amy Dolcourt
  • Tom Smith
  • Jeff "Jeffool" Bridges, Jr.
  • Greg Basore
  • Lukas
  • James Riley
    and
  • Doug Waldron

Honorable Mentions to the many who suggested variants on the Carl-Grows-Old motif, especially the equally popular "deathbed" scene.

And the Touching-But-Innacurate Award goes to the many posters who suggested an "R.I.P. Daisy" tombstone (she's only Daisy in one direction, remember?)

Finally, our suggestion page title was inspired by a comment in Craig J. Clark's suggestion. Thanks, Craig!

And...



Thank you, Everyone, for participating in one of the strangest, funniest, hardest, most complicated, most pointless and yet most rewarding creative challenges I've ever taken on. It was a blast!

--SCOTT

Sunday 02/25/2001



THE SUGGESTIONS

Listed in the order they were received.


NatGertler

    Usually, I send a list of suggestions (and about half the time it doesn't get to you, sigh), but for this one, I'm pitching just one panel:

  • Caption: "Seventy-two years later". Tombstone reads "R.I.P. Daisy"

    And, of course, now it's time to hype the next Carl concept, One-Armed Carl, at http://AAUGH.com/carl !


[That's right, Carl fans -- Run, don't walk, to Nat's wonderful authorized new Carl invention at the above url. It's way cool! --Scott.]

Sky (age 7)

    Why does Carl always have to be killed?

  • Daisy says "Yes" and then have a knife and then stab him!
  • Daisy says "Sooner than that!"

    Message to Carl: "I want to be like you, because you have lots of lives!!"


Winter (age 5)

  • He should get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and then after that write "funny."
  • He drives over the Easter Bunny.
  • And then he should cry "Wah! Wah!" and then his Mother said "Don't cry, I'll eat you!."
  • Funny. That is real. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.
  • He said, "Mmmmmmm."
  • Walk Carl.
  • i luve you (Winter typed that herself!)
  • Sharp Pen.

    Carl likes me.


Ivy (agelessly beautiful)

  • Carl and Daisy, old and in reclining chairs Carl: what a good life, want to go for a drive?
  • Carl and Daisy old in chairs and Carl looks sleepy carl: Wow, I just had the strangest dream...

    Wow, it's all over, eh? What will we ever find to do with Scott on Sundays??!!


Markus Gerwinski

  • The obvious one first: After his marriage, Carl is looking for a job to feed his young family. He finds it as a truck driver for a quite suspicious company selling ballpens. When delivering a charge of ballpens, Carl is raided by a gang of masked men pretending to be the true heirs of Atlantis. Luckily, the ballpens turn out to be little missiles from an ancient defense system from Mu, automatically attacking the Atlantides. By accident, one of the ballpens takes Carl to Mars, where he is initiated in the arts of superheroes (Flying, crushing rocks with his bare hands etc.). After getting back to Earth, when cutting an onion to prepare lunch, he accidentally carves his thumb and dies of blood poisoning. Daisy's not really pleased.
  • A bone finger tips on Carl's shoulder from behind, and a voice says: EXCUSE ME. (Optionally: In the background, we see the shadow of a scythe.)
  • A very old Carl with a long white beard is standing in front of a tombstone: "R.I.P. Daisy". Very old Carl: "We'll meet again soon, honey."
  • A mid-aged Carl (e.g. with grey temples) is kissing a young black-haired beauty, while a mid-aged Daisy (see panel x13y03) is approaching with a knife.
  • Daisy hugs Carl tightly enough to strangle him.
  • Caption: "And they lived a normal life together and died a normal death..." We see Carl and Daisy in front of a firing squad, shouting: "Viva el comic!"
  • Carl and Daisy are walking through the mall. In front of a comic store, Daisy points at the shop window: "Hey, look! What's that?" The window presents a comic cover with a tombstone. (See next panel)
  • Background: Seven screaming children and a perpetually nagging mid-aged Daisy. Foreground: Mid-aged Carl, pointing a gun at his head.
  • The horde of Daisy's admirers charges in on Carl, shouting: "YOU won't get her, Dude!" One of them is keeping ready a noose.
  • Enter: Scott with the "closure example" axe from UC.

    I don't know if there'll be a last "suggestions" form to comment on the last panel or the whole of CYOC, so I already use this opportunity to say a warm goodbye to the Carl community. Scott, playing Carl was a great experience, and I hope we'll meet in another interactive comic. As for CYOC, I can just say what I say about your whole website, your efforts for comics in the new media and your fight for comics as an art form: Go on the good work! -- Markus


Mike Yi

    Man, the last panel. And I was only around for section 6. heh.

  • 20 years later... Carl and Carl Jr. in the car. Carl looks toward Carl Jr. and says, "So that's how I married your mom." Carl Jr, with a worried look: "Hey dad, look out for that TREE!" Bam. Carl Dead.
  • Shot of the outside of the jail/home. Speech bubble from the jail/home "I wish we could be like this forever." Meanwhile, a huge semi-truck comes speeding toward the residence... Bam. Carl Dead.
  • Death (in classic black robe and with scythe) surprises the couple and says, "OK." Bam. Carl Dead.
  • Caption: "Insert Carl Death Here". Bam. Carl Dead.
  • Classic Crash Panel (don't ask). Bam. Carl Dead.
  • McCloud at his drawing tablet... "I'll mysteriously kill him off, and now nobody will know the true ending!" Bam. Carl Dead.

    Man, I couldn't think of any ways to make him live. Oh well, at least 24 of the 273 potential deaths result in a living Carl!


Kevin Pease

    Such a silly one I am. I missed the previous week, then read it right before it was updated on Sunday and assumed it was current. So I made some suggestions that were very much like the winner (In fact, back in section 2, I was going to suggest _exactly_ that, but events steered away too soon), and Scott was so considerate as to e-mail to tell me what I had just done. Thanks, Scott! Now, then:

  • Very old Carl, on his deathbed, whose last words to his loved ones are: "My only regret...is that I never found out...Bill's last name."
  • Carl and Daisy in their wedding clothes, only a split second after the previous panel. BANG! A bullet hole suddenly and gorily appears in Carl's forehead.
  • A big ol' piano falls on them.
  • Carl says, "Then again, maybe not." Daisy doesn't like that. (Did they live happily ever after anyway? Did she kill him? Or is the gravestone panel symbolic, as in, "You are so dead for saying that, Carl"? It's all in the gutter.)
  • The car crash, but with cans tied to the bumper.
  • Hey, this one still works, actually! Daisy: "Now we'll always have each other...and booze...for the rest of our lives!"

    It's been a blast. We'll all be waiting for whatever you come up with next.


M@tthi@§

    Woo! The big one... Nothing forbidden, eh? Please don't pick Thor!!!

  • An elderly Carl lays in bed, arm outstretched towards the black monolith that sits at the end...
  • C'mon, it's obvious. She's an insect, mandibles waving menacingly at Carl's tender round head. "Click-click-cl-clickety-click-click" chirrups Daisy.
  • Daisy - "I'll drink to that", they both swig Buds, arms interlocked...
  • Carl realizes he shares a hairstyle with krautrock band Kraftwerk and commits suicide
  • Carl - "y'know, when I die, I wanna be buried in the same plot as my uncle Rip..."
  • The air was cold and the night tucked itself in like a blanket around the suburban terraced houses of the village. The smell of coal fires, the area, after all, being one of the last mining towns in Yorkshire, filled the air and mixed like a working man's cocktail with the chilly aroma of expectant snow. It was hard enough getting up the steep hills in the good weather, but the ice made the journey to the top twice as hard and twice as long. Karl staggered, slipping and sliding to the brow of the hill, and looked over into the valley. The road sparkled with a frosty glitter and Karl, having spent the night drinking bottled american lager down his local, the Mason's Arms, decided to rest and admire the view. He slid across the street and huddled in the bus shelter wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm. The night had been hard for Karl; Ever since that morning, something had been replaying itself in his brain, over and over again. Like a name on the tip of his tongue, though, he couldn't for the life of himself remember quite what it was, maybe a dream, or a film he'd seen. Every so often, something would remind him of this half-memory, and it'd get a little clearer, but then sink back into his consciousness. All he knew was that never before had he had a craving for bottled American lager, uncharacteristic for the confirmed bitter drinker. Karl decided to walk a little further, the cold becoming too severe within the bus shelter. Also, the confined space was beginning to remind him of a prison cell for some bizarre reason. He decided, as he slid along, to try and catalogue what had been triggering these odd experiences. First was the pink elephant drinks cooler he'd found in the back of the kitchen drawer. Right. Elephant. Next was a distinct Deja Vu at losing his keys... Then the deja deja vu of losing his keys again - what was this, Groundhog Day? Then the novelty bottle opener in the pub had somehow persuaded him to start drinking bottled beer at £2.50 a bottle. It had been a rather odd day. At the bottom of the hill stood Karl's trusty Ford Fiesta. Being of a rather undistinguished vintage, making it "old" rather than "desirable", the hatchback had stubbornly refused to climb the hill in the ice and had decided to force Karl into trekking the extra half mile to the Mason's Arms. Normally Karl would have left the car in it's place, but the strange feelings of foreboding all day had left him in no mood for walking. His mother had warned him not to drink and drive but, what the hell, you only live once... * * * * * As Carl looked into Daisy's eyes, he knew that with his newfound happiness, something else had had entered his life - or rather left. He felt a weight he had never before noticed lift from his shoulders, like a jinx had left him. "Y'know Daisy, I think this time it might be all OK..."
  • It's a dream!!! - wait though - here's the catch - Carl fell asleep at the wheel and we last see our alcoholic antihero in the front of the car, blissfully unaware of his fate as he dreams of his beloved.
  • Carl's mom hold's a snowstorm up to her cracked, wisened face, in which a miniature Daisy and Carl stare into each other's eyes... "BWA HA HA HA"
  • The Pink Elephant lands on their heads.
  • Right then, um... dream... long answer (C'mon, just tell me there's been a longer one)... Oh yeah... Thor??

    Goodbye Carl. May you be re-used in a fully interactive way in the near-future!


Louie of 5Ex

    Hey, I haven't been able to send in any suggestions for a while. But I heard this was Carl's final panel so I had to come back. By the way, I'm in a band and our website is at http://hot5ex.tripod.com Since nothing is forbidden this time, I thought I'd just throw in a shameless plug. See ya. :-)

  • Just leave the panel blank and piss everyone off.
  • Carl and his wife are both very elderly, he is in a hospital bed. His wife is crying and holding his hand. And John Elway is eating Rice-a-Roni.
  • Just then a train hits carl and his wife.
  • And then suddenly carl dies.


the Marvelous Patric

  • ibeks.
  • the year: 2080. Carl and Daisy are old. Carl is on his deathbed...
    Carl: "I've had a good long life. I've had a good family, some good times, some interesting adventures, and.. choke... i can honestly say, I die happy."

    so this is it. wow. i can't believe it. i was just a freshman at mcad when i first found this. for about 2 years i've been watching and participating in the adventures of carl. it's been a lot of fun and i am really going to miss this. thank you scott. it's been fun and i can hardly wait for the next step in carl!


Jeff

    Since my lawsuit with Microsoft was settled...I'm back to Carl.

  • See Carl and Daisy getting into a limo...with a drunk limo driver finishing a beer off to the side.
  • Daisy becomes a monster and screams "I'm already dead!"
  • Carl and Daisy burst into flames screaming "Oh, I burst into flames!".
  • Carl's mother comes up weilding a knife and says "I told you not to drink and drive!" with a group of MADD women in the background.
  • Carl's Dad floats down from Heaven and says "It's time for us to be reunited Carl."
  • Carl's Dad rises up from Hell and says "It's time for us to be reunited Carl."
  • Daisy: "Carl, now that we are married, you are my servant!"
  • Daisy: "Carl, I'm really a man!"
  • Daisy: (pulling out a knife) "Since I get your fortune if you die..."
  • Carl: "I'm Taki's son you know." Daisy: (pulling out a knife) "I write for The Triangle. You must die!" ~ Thanks Killer ~


Jack

  • Show a picture of Scott getting into a car accident.
  • Carl's mother walks up behind him screaming "I never trusted you!", and stabbs poor Carl
  • Daisy: "I don't like you that way, but I'll date your friend J.A." Carl - dies in shock
  • Daisy: "Carl you are too nice for me. We should break up." Carl - dies in shock
  • Daisy: "Since we are married, will you buy me tampons?" Carl: "I'd rather kill myself."


Marcus Morgan

  • They get old and we see them elderly having lived their lives happily ever after.


Adam Noble

  • The Grim Reaper is standing behind Carl, with its hand on his shoulder. CARL; WHICH WOULD BE RIGHT ABOUT... NOW.

    Or maybe Carl could be killed by the Norse god of thunder... hmm...


Tom Scudder

    Last one, huh? I have a feeling a lot of these will be duplicated elsewhere...

  • Cut to: Grim Reaper. "Ahem. I say, Ahem!"
  • Pan back a bit. Grim Reaper, standing to Carl's left, taps him on the shoulder. Carl, annoyed: "What?"
  • 16-Ton weight.
  • Carl looks straight out at the audience. "Hey, the comic's over. Go home."
  • Text-only box: And they lived happily ever after, dying at an advanced age surrounded by their grandchildren.
  • "Scott McCloud" (from UC) looks straight out at the audience. "Hey, the comic's over. Go home."
  • Grim-faced, George lifted his lollipop.
  • Carl, looking nervously toward the tombstone panel. "Gee, look at the time. Well, gotta go."
  • Caption: SUDDENLY... picture is a close-up of Carl, face screwed up in terror, screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
  • Caption: 50 years later... Old Carl is in hospital bed. "Daisy?" Ethereal/Angelic Daisy says, "And maybe even after"

    I'm really rooting for "Grim-faced, George lifted his lollipop."


Greg Lam

    C'mon Scott. It's the last panel ever! You have to give the poor guy a happy ending for once!

  • Carl and Daisy, old and gray, on matching rockers and holding hands. Meanwhile, their grandchildren, lil' Carl and Daisy, run around.


Tristan Davis

  • The gravestone is in the ground. A thought bubble comes from it saying "Huh. Sooner than I thought."


Glen Seymour

    Yes! I finally made it in the winner's circle. I'm psyched! I'm jumping up and down! (Well, not literally.)

  • Gravestone, exactly like Carl's except it says "RIP Daisy."
  • Enter Thor causing a Nuclear war of one hundred thousand words - well, someone had to say it.
  • Daisy bares her fangs and readies for a bite.
  • Scott McCloud sits drawing a Carl, "Man this has to end!"

    By the time the general public reads this, it will be over! I made a jpg from the Giant Sized View, then I started typing in the author's name next to their entry. I got half way done when I realized I should get back to work that people are paying me for, and that the winning suggestions for panel 6 weren't available to me. (Sorry, I forgot to save each week's answer). I discovered that Kinkos will print JPGs of "any size" so I figured I'd have some neat wall art soon. If you plan on providing a simpler way to do this, I'll take your way instead, otherwise I'll send you a link to my huge JPG when I'm done.


dan wheeler

  • same shot as before (carl holding daisy) but a little pulled back so we see the grim reaper standing behind carl. the grim reaper taps carl on the shoulder & says "you're CARL, right?"
  • carl: ... or until I meet someone younger or prettier.


Jason A. Fliess

  • Dare I say it . . . DAISY IS A VAMPIRE AND SHE KILLS CARL!!


Erik Hallberg

    Scott, I'm sort of emotional... if you're bored enough to check, I was in there with suggestions during the early days of Part One... I hope you don't mind if I horn in on some of the sentimentality. Our Carl is so grown up now... sniff... and he still hasn't learned a thing. Viva Carl!

  • Essentially a continuation of the previous, but a wider shot. Daisy is proclaiming her love to Carl. They're standing side by side. And the huge pink elephant from Part 1 is crashing through the ceiling of the jail cell, about to crush them both to death. Carl is ju-uuuust beginning to look upward, as a shadow begins to fall over the two of them. Little chunks of plaster are falling. The elephant's hind end and back legs are clearly visible in the top of the frame. DAISY: 'Til Death do us p--' SFX: Crrrr-unnnnn-cccchhhhh!
  • Daisy and Carl in their embrace, viewed from slightly behind Daisy. She is holding a huge kitchen knife... DAISY: Sounds like a plan to me...
  • Carl and Daisy, sitting together as before. Carl clutches at his chest. Daisy looks horrified. CARL: Ack! Urrrgh! DAISY: Oh, that is SO unfair...!
  • (It must be done. It simply must. It would be wrong not to. Surely you understand.) Carl has burst into flames. Daisy is looking off-panel to one side. CARL: Help! I've burst into flames! DAISY: Hey, is that Thor...? CARL: Aaaaah! Help! DAISY: Oh, on second thought, maybe not. What was that, honey?


Mr. ?

    Finally, a chance for a happy ending!

  • Carl is in a family photo with his wife, Daisy. They are both Old, but also still in love with one another. Also in the picture, are their kids and grandkids. (And one of the kids who bears a striking resemblance to the original Carl seems to be drunk. There could even be a little 'hic'.) There could be a caption under the photo that says: 'To Carl, thanks for all the memories!'
  • Well now for the unhappy endings. Daisy stares in shock as a giant meteor seems to have crushed Carl!
  • Daisy says: "Yes, till death!" as she opens her mouth revealing a set of vampire fangs!
  • Above a canopy bed, there is a big 'CENSORED' tilted black rectangle and little red hearts and cupids all around!
  • Same as above except there's also a word baloon (from Carl) that reads: "ARGHH! My heart!"
  • And me last caption which don't make no sense: Enter 'Hillbilly Space Patrol'!

    Thanks for all the memories!


Jon Plante

  • The most fitting ending would show Carl's tombstone - but next to it Daisy's tombstone as well. This would show that indeed they married 'till death did they part'.


David Welsh

  • We see just Carl's feet with toe tag. A doctor says to the grieving mother or girlfriend: "Alcohol poisoning."


Michael Patrick

    Well, it's been fun. I can't wait to see how this wraps up.

  • Sort of simple and obvious, but it's all I can come up with: Camera pans back and we see a full shot of Carl and Daisy in a suicide machine (maybe Mr. Miracle-esque). I imagine lots of guns and knives and nooses and rusty pointy thinggees.

    The end?


Joe

    Well, here's my last chance at fame...

  • We zoom out to see that Carl and Daisy are in... the Electric Chair!(dun-dun-DUM!)
  • Carl and Daisy- AA! We've suddenly and mysteriously burst into flame!
  • Nuclear War!
  • The Hulk- Hulk SMASH! (Picks up Carl and Daisy)
  • Scott- Hmmm... how do I end THIS one?
  • Scene of Daisy and Carl only REALLY old...
  • Carl- Augh! My heart! Daisy looks on, bewildered
  • Carl- (Holding a gun to his head) Well, I gotta get out of this somehow...

    Well, Carl's temporary existence of Death and Alcohol has ended... for now. BWA HA HA HA HA!


R David Francis

    It's never too late to toss in a horrid pun:

  • Daisy says: "I've decided to get a perm"

    Get it? Til death do us *part*? Like hair? Oh, well


R David Francis

    A couple more, maybe better than the last:

  • The Honeymoon: Carl and Daisy boarding the Titanic II....
  • Sweet: Carl and Diasy's hundredth anniversary
  • Tacky: Caption: five years later Daisy seething, in a kerchief and apron; Carl, seated on the couch. Carl: "Jeez, maybe I should have said 'Til NAG do we part'!"
  • The Classic: Daisy as Mom: "Promise me you won't drink and drive, Carl" Carl: "I promise" Admittedly, just did that w/ Carl Jr. ...


Antonio Jacobs

    This is fun! I can't wait for the next installment!

  • The obvious: Death parts them. Carl on the left, Daisy on the right. Death in between them.
  • The second obvious:
    Caption: And they lived happily ever after... until Carl dies, um, somehow. Show the newlyweds walking into the sunset.
  • More of the obvious:
    Carl is a vampire... like his father before him! The sun rises, and Carl bursts into flame!
  • Why not?
    Daisy is a vampire and bites into Carl!
  • I know everbody is gonna do this one... The car crashes into the tree.
  • Daisy is a man! Daisy (in the voice of the Lady Chablis): This is my coming-out par-tay! Carl has an aneurysm and dies.
  • Caption: Is there any way of saving Carl's life? Can he avoid the inevitable? What would Brian Boitano do? Ah, to hell with it...
  • Daisy blows a large hole in Carl's chest with an Elmer Fudd elephant gun. Daisy: Damn straight! Boom!
  • As Carl and Daisy walk away, he looks back and says..."At least I don't die this time!"
  • Daisy rips Carl to shreds with her talons; Carl has a look of surprise. Daisy:How about 'til Daisy parts you?!?

    Whoa. I ran out of space. Don't wanna be a hog, though.


Thomas White

  • Death -- the classic, with long scythe and dark cloak -- stands behind old Carl, gently pulling him from Daisy's side, with the line "parting is such sweet sorrow..."
  • The standard Carl's-car-crashes-into-tree, but with "Just Married" and tin cans on the back.
  • Split panel: 1. Indignant (or hopeful) Carl cries out "Hey, McCloud, how about a HAPPY ending this time?!?" 2. Devilish Scott at drawing board, thinking "This time I get to kill him for good!"
  • Carl, standing next to "RIP Daisy" tombstone, thinks "Well, that didn't last" with a surprised doubletake "what?" as a meteor zooms in from above.
  • Carl rushes the newlyweds, shouting "Daisy! No! That's my evil twin, Larc!" and shoots Larc dead. Daisy, with hearts, sighs "My hero".
  • ...or Larc shoots Carl dead.

    Yeah, I know the evil twin should be "Lrac", but that sounds awful, so I made it "Larc". I'm out of ideas. Well done, Scott. Maybe I'll see you at SXSW.


Jen

    Wow, I can't believe this is the last one, how the time does fly.

  • Have the last panel be another tombstone panel only with RIP DAISY on it.
  • Carl and Daisy, still in their wedding outfits, are in a car that has crashed into a tree. Beer bottles everywhere, x's for their eyes and a Just Married sign on the car.

    Thanks for doing this, it was really fun to watch and participate in.


Morgan Doninger

    I think you're gonna love and hate this one. Here goes.

  • Close up on Carl's face with the caption "Is this the end of Carl?!?". Carl's nose the map of the next segment of CYOC and if one clicks one it... it goes to the next six sections!

    You're torn right? You want to put Carl to bed for good, but this is a good example of the flexability of a web comic. It's so temptin to continue Carl. Continue Carl... Connntinuuuue Carrrrrl... Seriously, I will miss CYOC more than somewhat, and I just wanted to thank you for this wonderful experiment. I look forward to future Carl-like thingies.


Maya

    I figured I had to get in ONE suggestion before it was all over.

  • An anvil (or pink elephant, or beer truck, or tombstone, or even the Insincere Promise Fairy) falls on Carl and crushes him. Daisy says, "Well, that was unexpected."

    Thanks for the fun!


PJM

    Wow the last one (sniff). We'd better make this a good one...

  • Carl and Daisy spontaneously combust.
  • An ibex runs into shot and mauls Carl and Daisy.
  • CARL: "Maybe seeing as this is the last ever panel, Scott'll let us live...!"
  • DAISY (sniffing): "Carl, can I smell gas...?"
  • Scott McCloud walks into view with a revolver. SCOTT: "Hi, Carl. Thought I'd do it personally this time..."
  • DAISY (whips off mask to reveal she is vampire bert). "That can be arranged, Carl!!!!!!"
  • Carl and Daisy kill each other in a suicide pact.

    Sundays will never be the same again. It's been great fun, Scott. Look forward to future projects.


Evil Sprout

  • Enter Thor! THOR: "I will wreak sweet revenge for not being allowed in this online comic!"


Nana Yaw Ofori

    Oh, well, guess it's the last chance...

  • Carl: "Oh my God, I've burst into flame!" (Yeah, I know, you probably got dozens of suggestions for this one.)
  • An elderly carl, lying on his deathbed, with a similarly -aged daisy holding his hand and smiling sadly, surrounded by friends and family. (After all, he deserves at least /one/ happy ending...)
  • Carl chokes on a piece of wedding cake.
  • Daisy: "Carl...I'm Pregnant.". Carl clutches his chest and has a heart attack.
  • Daisy: "Carl...I'm immortal". Carl clutches his chest and has a heart attack.
  • Daisy: "Carl...I'm your sister." Carl clutches his chest and has a heat attack.
  • Daisy "Silly Carl, you're already dead!" And the apparently-spectral form is pulled down into the grave.
  • Scott steps into the frame and shoots Carl. Scott: "I'm sorry Carl, but you have to die now. Nothing personal."


Dan Pollard

    Last call Huh?

  • REESE (Or is it HICKS? I can never remember which is in Terminator and which is in Aliens.) from `The Terminator` appears, REESE(OR IS IT HICKS?): Come with me, if you want to live. CARL: Naah, I need a drink.
  • SCOTT MCCLOUD (Remember him?) appears in front of the entire assembled cast of CYOC brandishing some kind of machine gun, SCOTT MCCLOUD: Do you have ANY idea how much stress you people have caused me?
  • I was going to do Enter: Thor, but you've spoilt my fun now... (Nothing is forbidden in deed.)
  • Aaah screw it, here we go...
  • CARL and DAISY get busy on the floor, Carl "$"£%^$^%'s DAISY up the ^%$&$&, DAISY &^%&^'s CARL 'til he %$&%^s all over 5%$£%$^ CARL JR &^*& CARLS MOM(ETHEL?) who &^%$^%*'s them all with a %^$& and a ten foot ^&%&^4. A HORSE walks in and proceeds to &^$&^£ the &%*&^%%*& then *&%*&^$*^$ and £"^^. Then %&^$* ^&%(& &^$^*$ %(^) (&^%&(V %^^%(%. THE CHAMBERMAID walks in, THE CHAMBERMAID: Oh a party, can I join?

    Well you did say nothing is forbidden.


Tim Mallos

  • Medium shot of Daisy on the left, Carl on the right, both looking in surprise as the grim reaper moves (between them) to "part" them.
  • Carl pulls out a (lit?) round black cartoon bomb, and says " Give me liberty or give me death!"
  • Carls sits bolt upright in bed and says "What a night! Every dream ended with..."
  • Carl pulls daisy into a warm embrace and responds "Yes, together until..."
  • Carl, embracing Daisy, turns to the reader and says "How exciting, I wonder how this will end!"


Douglass Barre (Age 30)

    Well, Scott, even though I've been AWOL on Carl for at least two big panelworths, I couldn't miss the grand finale! Congrats on such a successful interactive experiment! Any teasers on how you might do it differently next time (if you're ca-razy enough to have a "next time," natch!)?

  • Carl is an old man, dying, perhaps looking a little delerious. He thinks: "Most people don't have such a confusing time when their life flashes before their eyes..." If there's space, maybe an overlay of the Big Picture.

    One last time, thanks for the years of fun and opportunity to work with you!
    Love to Ivy, Sky and Winter!


Jason Fowler

  • Carl's mom runs carl and Daisy over in the car


Mark Krukar

    I submitted suggestions for the first panel, many moons ago, so I might as well submit one for the last.

  • The car hits the tree in the classic manner, and Carl in a tux, is seen flying out the window. Daisy is also visible behind the wheel of the car, in her wedding dress. She is drunk, passed out, I suppose, holding a champagne bottle.
  • Car hits tree, Daisy is driving, sober, Carl is drunk. But he had a DD. The ultimate irony!
  • The couple kiss at the altar and Carl bursts into flames!

    I can't wait to see what the future holds. Thanks for all the amusement!


Rob Schaeffer

  • Old age. They (whoever they are) live to a ripe old age, and then die.


John Savard

  • Show Carl and Daisy as very old people

    There should be one path through this comic that has a happy ending!


Chris Jay

    I just wanted to thank you for all of the wonderful time I have spent absorbed in your website. Carl will be missed. I loved to watch that guy die after a hard day...and plus, i mean, Choose Your Own carl, I think, taught a lot of us about what exactly happens between the panels of a comic book. And your piece (ahem) on chess made me cry. You're the man. Thank you for carl.


Piers Knight

  • Daisy says "If you insist." and shoots Carl.


yakov chodosh

  • Upside-down Nancy, with lightning bolt! "WARNING!"


Jason Fliegel

    Well ... this is it. I think I speak for everyone when I say thanks, Scott. It's been a fun ride, and web surfing won't be the same without a new Carl panel to visit every week. Thanks for two and a half years (!) of Carl fun.

  • A little miniature Choose Your own Carl takes up the whole panel, for betweem Carl's wedding and his death, there are a myriad of paths his life can take.
  • No picture -- just text, saying something along the lines of "And so Carl and his new bride embarked on a long life together, full of adventure and excitement. They had many happy years together until, finally, Carl met his maker in --- ah, but that's a tale for another day." Bonus points if you make the text scroll to a vanishing point, a la Star Wars.
  • Carl bursts into flame. He and Daisy/bartender chick simultaneously scream "Ah! Spontaneous human combustion."
  • Carl with a gun to his head. Carl thinks. "What's the point of living when there are people in this world who still have not read Reinventing Comics." HTML-link the words "Reinventing Comics" to your favorite e-tailer's Reinventing Comics page. After all, it's the last panel of Carl -- why not be shamelessly commercial?
  • A big question mark. Superimposed over it, text that says "What will happen now? Tune in next time -- same Carl time, same Carl URL!"
  • The entire cast of Carl -- Carl, Daisy, Mom, Dad, Flying Carl, Old Drawing Board Carl, the hunter, the angel, the devil, Mutant Space Alien Mom, the Pink Elephant, and a herd of stampeding Ibex -- all come out to take a curtain call.
  • Daisy/bartender points to the panel to her right, a shocked look on her face, as she says "Wait! If you're Carl, then whose grave is that!?!"
  • The pink elephant from section one squishes Carl and his bride. Alternately, they are trampled by the herd of stampeding ibex.
  • John Wilkes Booth pops up to shoot Carl, shouting "Sic Semper Tyrannis!" and giving this strip (and my list of suggestions) an appropriately absurd end.

    Again Scott, thanks. Most weeks, I didn't have a suggestion, but I always had fun reading Carl. I'm looking forward to your next project.


Sam Wilson

    Just a way to bring it together

  • Wedding scene in front of alter, giant pink eleplant landed/is sitting on the couple (Priest in background) On the side, southpark kids saying "Oh my god, you killed Carl, you bastard!"

    An apology for the bastard comment (or giant pink elephant, if that doesn't float your boat)


Jacob Sager Weinstein

  • A coffin sits in a room. A much older Daisy walks away, cheerfully saying, "Bye, Carl!" over her shoulder.


Alex Pascover

  • The traditional planet-blowing-up shot. (View of earth with mushroom cloud sprouting from top and fallout clouds circling it in a ring.)

    Yes, I understand that if the planet blows up there's nowhere for Carl/Carl Jr.'s tombstone, but we can just assume it's a **metaphoric** tombstone.


Golden Lion

    Carl and Daisy still look very much in love, but with the suggestion I have, the look in their eyes could range from serious to silly to psychotic.

  • Carl and Daisy hold pistols to each other's heads as Carl says "Good night, ladies and gentlemen, it's been a ball...!"

    But is he talking to the audience, or to the voices in his head?


Julianne

    I'm the long time fan who stood up at your talk in San Antonio (HT00) and said, "Oh...my...god...tell...them...about...Carl!" So I'm just submitting for nostalgia's sake...to register my gratitude for a great interactive concept, as it takes a much-deserved break...

  • A close-up of Carl's heart *exploding* with happiness/joy...
  • ...or loneliness...or both. ("Irony.")


Aaron Hertzmann

  • 50 years later, Carl and Daisy are holding hands, sitting in rocking chairs, watching the sunset. A happy-ending would be nice for a change; it make the whole thing akin to a choose-your-own-adventure or an adventure game where you only avoid a grisly demise by choosing the exact sequence of moves.
  • More fatalistic: 10 years later, Carl chokes on a bone at a restaurant. (Portrayed, for example, by him turning red, making frantic noises, everyone watching him in alarm.)
  • Jump cut: zoom out, they are sitting side-by-side in electric chairs. (Or standing at a gallows, firing line, etc.)
  • Pessimistic: 15 years later, Carl and Daisy are shown watching TV with glazed, blank expressions on their faces. TV: "...I'm Bob Sagat III, and you're watching When Animals Attack XXXV on MSNBCBS..."


Nathan Alderman

    I decided to go for the literal approach:

  • The Grim Reaper appears behind Daisy and Carl. Tapping Carl on the shoulder with a skeletal hand, he says, "Ahem. Excuse me..."

    Congratulations on the end of a really great experiment.


Sara Rosenbaum

    This was fun, Scott. Thanks for the ride. Once, just once, Carl should die of natural causes after a long and happy life. So I suggest:

  • Carl and Daisy(/barmaid), aged and happy, sitting on rockers on a front porch watching the sun go down.

    Note: this suggestion was written while on deadline for a daily newspaper. The power of Carl! Thanks again Scott.


Dan Condon-Jones

    It'd be nice to go out on a happy ending

  • Cut 70 years forward - A ninety-year old Carl on his deathbed surrounded by dozens of children and grandchildren saying "... and that was when I knew Daisy was the only woman for me"


Chris Basken

  • On that last panel, in the jailhouse -- and Alien chestburster pops up through Carl and runs off through the bars...


Phil Doyle

  • Carl and Daisy in foreground, Death looming over them.   Death: *ahem*   Carl: Ah, crap.   THE END


Ross Lawhead

  • The giant foot from Monty Pyhton comes down from the heavens and dispenses divine retribution on our hapless hero.


Robin Lionheart

  • My first thought for the last panel: Carl [Jr.] gushes, "I feel so happy I could die!"

    With that, we (and Carl) get to end with at least one happy ending, sort of.
    :-)


Robin Lionheart (again)

    It's far too obvious, but what the heck: pile on the irony.

  • "To think drinking brought us together...", says Carl, walking his bride across the street to a waiting limo with the obligatory JUST MARRIED sign. However, coming up the street behind them is a car with a drunk driver, beer in hand.
  • If that's too much to squeeze into one little panel, it could be simplified to a drunk wedding guest pulling out of the chapel/courthouse driveway, champagne in hand, as Carl and bride cross the street to a waiting limo.

    A predictable twist, I know. Still, it could be fitting for the end of the Carl cycle to reinforce both of CYOC's underlying morals: 1) "Don't drink and drive", and 2) "$#!+ happens".


Amy Dolcourt

  • Old Carl and Old Daisy enjoying a sunset. CARL: The best thing about the past 70 years was you.
  • Triple split panel. Top -- Carl's face. CARL: Don't drink and drive, Carla. Middle -- Carla's face. CARLA: Don't drink and drive, Carlito. Bottom -- "Etc, etc, etc."


lauren katzive

  • Carl asks daisy, do you believe in reincarnation? The situation could be carl on his deathbed, or they are still behind bars. or he can come back as a beatle or spider

    The essence is the question. this allows carl to loop endlessly through all the sequences, never ending. or he can come back as a beatle or spider


J. Scott Raglin

  • The Pink Elephant from section one comes crashing through the ceiling to land on our happy couple.
  • Daisy/Bartender: "Promise me you won't drink and Drive, Carl"
  • Mom/Whomever from first panel, brandishing machine gun: "All right, if you insist"


J. Scott Raglin

    One more I came up with at the last minute:

  • Carl(/Carl Jr) with shocked look, Daisy/Barkeep off panel or sillouetted. Carl: "Gasp...you're a MAN!?!"


Santiago Casares

    It's a shame this is the last panel. But thanks Scott, it's been a fun ride!

  • Death (you know, a hooded skull) takes off her Daisy mask, and says to Carl: "You've been a pain in the bones, now this journey will end"
  • Death (you know, a hooded skull) takes off her Daisy mask, and says to Carl: "But I'm Death. So now you will come with me"
  • Carl looks to the reader with a can of beer in his hand, and Daisy grabing his arm and says: "You would think I should know better by now, but..."
  • Carl looks to the skies and cries: "Hey Scott, have I died enough times for you?!" Scott answers (off panel): "No."
  • Caption: "And they lived happily ever after..." Carl kissing Daisy. 2nd Caption. "...Not!"


Michael Jones

  • Carl's new bride leaps at him, intent upon strangling him, screaming, "You lousy son of a... I never wanted this!" Or something to that effect.


Michael Jones

  • Suddenly, a huge scary guy shows up, grinning. "Fight ya for her," he growls.
  • We see a madman driving a fertilizer-laden truck towards the outside of the jail. Voice bubble: "This will show them they can't kill McVeigh!"
  • ID4-style saucer over the jail, unleashing its death beam, a la White House.
  • Judge: "Due to the new 'One Strike Law', I'm afraid we'll have to make an example of you."
  • Picture of the scene from Dr Strangelove, with the guy riding the bomb, poised to drop right on the jail.
  • Death shows up, scythe and hood and all. "I'm here to part you."
  • Them speeding away in a car, with just married on the side or back, and the tin cans. And of course, Carl's drinking and driving.
  • Carl stares at the reader. "Enough of this! I QUIT!"
  • Carl putting MI-2 style latex mask of his face on his bribe, holding one of her in his hand.
  • Bride: Oh Carl, how could you marry your long- lost twin sister, Carlita?


Erik Amaya

    Not at this time.

  • She stabs him in the back with an ice pick

    Not at this time.


Dan Abraham

    Hmm...needs something final, humble, abd uplifting. Perhaps a Candide "Make our garden grow" kind of moment.

  • Far right: "RIP Daisy". Far left: Extending to middle, crossing the tombstone, a hand adorned with an engagement ring, placing a flower on the graves.


Tom Smith

  • Gravestone "RIP Daisy" to rest next to RIP Carl.
  • Same scene as before (the wedding), but from behind. Grim Reaper appears there, tapping Carl/Daisy/BarGirl/CarlJr on the shoulder "Excuse me?"
  • Carl, carrying Daisy (as if over the threshold), running into a tree (as a parody of the standard "car running into tree" panel).
  • Daisy/BarGirl: "I did tell you about the family curse, right?" Behind her, a giant Cthulhoid tentacled monster is lurking, ready to eat Carl. Since "Nothing is forbidden", the monster is is full-color, with extended "tentacle waving" animations and glowing eye-pods.
  • Scott McCloud at the drawing table (photo preferred, iconic version from Understanding Comics OK, tiny but identifiable version of "CYOC" strip on the table being worked on): "Hmm, maybe I should change my name to 'Carl'" in word bubble over his head, with a linked sound file of Scott McCloud saying that line.
  • With nothing forbidden: The panel cycles through separate drawings for each idea submitted by everyone. You're not busy, are you?
  • Nothing forbidden: Carl having sex with a goat while wearing a Mickey Mouse mask, and screaming "Fuck you, God!" while the goat eats an American flag.
  • "50 years later": Carl and Daisy sitting on a swing on their front porch, old and decrepit. Two skull'n'crossbones erupt simulatenously from them both.
  • A fish that looks suspiciously like author Samuel Clemens (close-up): "...and that's how I founded Italy"
  • They kiss. With a puff of magic smoke, she turns into the woman from the start panel (normally considered Carl's mom; I have my own theories). Carl screams "Ahh!"


Jeff "Jeffool" Bridges, Jr.

    I'm down with the poster idea. Or at least .pdf or somethin'. We could all carry the disk to our local Kinkos or something and let them print them on larger posters.

  • The obvious suggeston of: Carl and the woman sitting together at their home. VERY old. They're smiling. The woman says "Till death do us part." Carl replies "Till death do us part."
  • The woman says "If you insist" and stabs Carl in the heart. Hey, love hurts.
  • Carl asks the woman "Do YOU know Bill's last name?"
  • Carl wakes up at his drawing table yawning. "Wow, I must've fell asleep."
  • Carl, driving, thinks "Man, I gotta stop day dreami-".
  • The OTHER woman shows up pregnant and shouts "Carl! What about ME?!" "Oh no!" He cries as he kills himself.
  • A giant pink elephant foot STOMPS down on them.
  • Scott McCloud, (as seen in UC & RC) at your computer drawing. "Okay, that's it. End of story. You ain't gotta go home, but you can't stay here."
  • Carl, suprised. "That's it?! You're gonna let me live?! I LOVE YOU GUYS!"
  • Carl in a snipers crosshairs. "I'm so glad we have each other. I felt like my life was going nowhere!"

    Y'know. If you let CBLDF or ACTOR print the poster as a charitable item or fund raiser or something. Wouldn't that be cool?


Eduardo Llagaria

  • A wedding cake half eaten, and Carl with a face of pain. He has eaten too much, and he has now stomach ache...


Dani

    Hello! Soon to be Goodbye! I finally get some good ideas (okay, "good" is a relative term), and there's just one panel left. My timing sucks, doesn't it?

  • Obvious one: Daisy murders Carl in a fit of post-nuptial homicidal rage. Maybe she could strangle him with her veil or bludgeon him to death with her bouquet or something.
  • Another obvious one: Carl is sitting in the electric chair shortly before the switch is thrown. Daisy, still in wedding garb, is weeping nearby, or alternatively, flirting with a gaurd. Carl (thinks): Aw, crud.
  • Enter a tall cloaked scythe wielding character. He beckons to Carl. Carl: Aw, crud.
  • Tombstone panel. Thought balloon: Nuts! Should have known that relationship wouldn't last.
  • Carl is behind the wheel of a limo trailing streamers and tin cans with a "JUST MARRIED" sign and he is... drinking (natch!).
  • Tombstone panel. Thought balloon: What the Hell?!?!
  • Tombstone panel again. Thought balloon: Hey, YOU figure out how this happened. This IS "Choose your OWN Carl," after all.
  • Tombstone! Thought balloon: Stupid destiny...
  • Variation. Tombstone. Thought balloon: Stupid inscrutable workings of fate...
  • 'nother variation. Tombstone. Thought balloon: Stupid sadistic death obsessed readers...

    Please don't take TOO long a vacation before the next experiment. I mean sure, you deserve it, but we're addicted! And bloodthirsty! What are we going to do if we can't vent our homicidal urges by thinking up clever ways to kill Carl? I shudder to think. Anyway, I'm probably the seven hundedth reader to ask this, but what ARE you going to do next? Yeah, it's gonna be interactive, and Carl's gonna be in it, because he's so good at that sort of thing, but how's it gonna work? Do you know yet? Oh, and is Zot online ever going to come back? That's it for now. Thanks for a really fun reading experience.


[There will indeed be more interactive comics in my future, and I suspect Cart will show up in more than one of them. Among the possible candidates are "Tear-Away Carl," "24-Hour Carl," "Infinite Carl," and "Carl Jam." Also don't miss Nat Gertler's One Armed Carl (see top!). I definitely need to take some time off for some of my other Online Comics projects that had to take a back seat when I created the ravenous Sunday-Eater that was CYOC, but keep checking at scottmccloud.com for news of future projects. Whatever I do, wherever I do it, this is the place to find out. Oh yeah, and we'll definitely do a new Zot! Online sooner or later too. --Scott]

bryan young

  • the return of the vampire motif. The woman is a vampire and is biting carl on the neck, saying "My thoughts exactly!"


Marc Moskowitz

  • caption: 90 years later Old Carl in bed surrounded by generations of loving family Carl: "Well, it was a good life."


Tom Harris

    This may seem excruciatingly obvious and sappy..but...

  • Silhouette of old and bent Carl and equally old and bent Daisy, canes in hand. walking arm and arm off into the sunset with red hearts floating over their heads.

    Enter Thor?


TimmyC

    Wow. The last panel. What an event. I used to make suggestions frequently, way back in the day. Then the internet gradually sucked my creativity away and now I'm just a mindless drone. DAMMIT! I'd smash my computer right now but then I wouldn't be able to make suggestions.

  • The 'camera' zooms out and we see Carl and Daisy, in their wedding duds, locked in that romantic pose. But now we can see that Carl's back is engulfed in flames. Carl says, "Is it hot in here or is it just me?"
  • Carl says, "Then again, maybe not." A look of fury is in Daisy's shocked eyes.

    That's all I can think of right now. Oh well.


James Moore

  • You can make it a happy ending with daisy's and carls graves right beside each other. (happy is car must die)
  • Or it can be a crazy ending where daisy says "... and you WILL die" for no apparent reason.

    Crazy Daisy


Greg Basore

    Damn the end is near! The end is near and it's my final chance to get picked. Well off I go.

  • Caption: Many years later. Carl/Jr. and Daisy/bar gal having grown old and wrinkled. Carl/Jr.:Honey you've made me the happiest man I ever coulda been. Daisy/bar gal:Cupcake I couldn't have picked a better man to grow old with. (Then perhaps add a panel next to the RIP Carl tombstone with a RIP Daisy tombstone. If we wanna get really trick we could have tombstones under those sayin RIP Carl Jr. [under Carls] and Rip Trixie the barmiad [or something like that under Daisys tombstone]. that way the story line with Jr. getting in a wreck has a grave for Carl and his equally ill fated son and things get tied together really neatly. Does any of that make sense?)
  • Caption: En Route to the honeymoon. Carl/jr. and Daisy/Trixie (c'mon she looks like a Trixie) in the car. Carl/Jr. is driving and Daisy/Tixie is holding a beer. Daisy/Trixie: Wanna beer honey. Carl/Jr.: Sure why not. (again the Tombstones idea could work here.)
  • Carl/Jr. and Daisy/Trixie walking down the street. Out of the air comes Thor swooping down looking very angry. Thor: Foolish Mortal you dare wed the daughter of Odins mightiest son with out asking my consent! You have incurred the wrath of a God this day! Carl: Eeep. The caption of course would read ENTER THOR!
  • Caption: Meanwhile on the astral plane. We see an interior office with the Grim Reaper sitting behind a desk. There a speaker phone on the desk. Voice coming from speaker: Mr. D don't forget your 3 o'clock appointment at Carls honeymoon. Death: [thinking perhaps] I really hope this is the last time I have to track this guy down.
  • Same set up as above except that death says: Boy am I ever sick of this routine.
  • Caption: En route to the honeymoon. Our newly wed couple (yeah I'm getting tired of all those names) are driving to their honeymoon. It's an exterior shot of the car and in the sky a missle is falling. Daisy/Trixie: Carl what's that! Carl/Jr.: Holy Crap it's a nuclear warhead! Armeggedon is here and now! Next to the RIP Carl panel could be another tombstone that says 'And everybody else for that matter'.
  • Split panel like Jr. and the car. Mini Panel 1 Caption: Later in the honeymoon suite. Daisy/Trixie: Honey it's time to consumate that marriage. Carl/Jr.: Oh boy oh boy. Mini Panel 2 Carl/Jr.:Aaaaah I've burst into flames! Daisy?Trixie:And at the worst possible moment to boot.
  • Caption: 20 years later. Carl/Jr. is talking to his son (that'd be Carl Jr./ Carl the 3rd I guess). Carl/Jr.: Son I want you to promise me you won't drive drunk. Jr./The 3rd: Sure thing dad.
  • Or do the above as a split panel with the above as mini panel #1 and #2 being Jr/3rd in his car holding a beer thinking: What the hell does that silly old man know about stuff like this anyway?
  • You Scott McCloud sitting at your art desk shouting "ALL THESE SUGGESTIONS ARE REALLY REALLY GOOD. I KEEP TRYING TO THINK WHICH ONE IS THE BEST AND I CAN'T STOP THINKING"

    Wow so we're finally at the end of the long winding road. I know I only got here for the last few panels but it's been fun. Anyhow see ya here on the 25th.


Allan Olley

  • Daisy's rustic father with a shotgun, confronting Carl and Daisy, saying "What are you doing with my daughter?"
  • The grim reaper standing ominously behind the unsuspecting couple.

    Yours Truly, Allan Olley


Rhys Tuck

  • Double suicide.   They both think, "this way we'll always be together" while drinking poison.   By the way, I tried using the submission form, but it wouldn't work, I kept gettting error messages.


Greg Basore

    The first suggestion in this round comes from my friend who's incidentally named Karl

  • Carl and Daisy step out into the sunlight married. In fron of them is a man in a trench coat with a Katana sowrd. He says: "Carl I am Conner McCloud of the Clan McCloud and there can be only one.
  • Here's one I suggested last week or so as a joke, but since nothing is forbidden I figure it might be cool to go with all the previously verbotten stuff at once. Thor Swoops down from the Skay as Carl and Daisy are walking out into the day, and shouts "Nuclear War is coming nuclear War is coming!" Carl responds by saying: "Help I've Burst into flame!" A caption at the top reads "Enter Thor!" while on at the bottom states "Then again maybe not, well just say that Carl dies somehow."
  • Carl and his bride walk out into the open air. Carl: "WOw this has got to be the best day of my life!" Daisy thinking: As soon as we get to the honey moon suite I'll kill him then that life insurance is all mine."
  • The grim reaper walks up to Carl and looks at him with a look of irritation. "all right kid this better be the last time for me to meet you."
  • Caption: 3 months later. Daisy/bar gal is walking towards a door. Carl: Baby if you leave me I'll die of a broken heart. Daisy: Yeah right Carl your so melodramatic

    Well that's all for now, I'll be tuning in a bit late on the 25th as I have an SCA event to go to. See ya then.


Damian

  • Death (the grim reaper, a skeleton guy) dressed in authentic 1970's pimp wear (bell bottoms, platform shoes, a hat with a long feather in it lots of gold chains, etc.) strolling over to Carl and Daisy. Death: "Hey baby. How 'bout I get ridda this guy so we can go party!" Daisy(with bigger hearts around her head, looking at Death with a giant grin on her face): "Oooo...O-Kay!" Carl: "Aw crud."

    yeah, it's dumb. but, in your heart of hearts, haven't you always wanted to see the Grim Reaper dressed like a 70's pimp?


Alex

    So Carl Jr. married his mom!?

  • ...and they lived happily ever after, until, many years from now...
  • Carl immediatley suffers a massive, and, unfortunately, fatal, heart attack.
  • Carl shows up and shoots Carl Jr. for marrying his mom/wife, "Daisy is your MOM!" [bang]. OK, Carl's supposed to be dead, but NOTHING IS FORBIDDEN!
  • As they come down the steps of the church/courthouse/Vegas Wedding Chapel a beer truck/herd of pink elephants/alien craft runs down/stampedes/crashes into Carl (and, perhaps Daisy).
  • And then Carl wakes up in the asylumn with little Dekko swirls in his eyes, "and we lived happily ever after, hee hee hee"
  • The thought bubble with the heart floats away above Carl's head as he says "Too bad it didn't work out that way" and holds his beer in one hand and the steering wheel in the other...
  • Daisy visits Carl in prison, Carl sez, "I've only got 20 more years on the vehicular manslaughter..."
  • Then, it happened (anyone remember _The Tregan Empire_?) Armageddon (when is Patrick Farley going to get that Apocomon thing up?) the world is _over_.
  • ..and Daisy's a vampire too - she puts the bite on Carl - then there can be a panel past the RIP CARL END panel.
  • Enter: Thorr, who says, "That wedding dress looks good on you, Loki." and carts "Daisy" off, after swatting Carl with Mjollnir.

    Carl reaches out of the colord swirls and grabs Scott McCloud, stting at his drafting table, by the throat, saying, "You won't kill me again!" Shouldn't that read FOR THE LAST "CHOSE YOUR OWN CARL" PANEL.... instead of ...CARL PANEL"...?


Lee K. Seitz

    I still like my suggestion from last week best!

  • Caption: "100 years later:". In a cemetary, a Carl descendent is telling his children "...and that's how your great-grandparents began their life together."
  • Same as the above, but add, "If only they'd only known what they were getting into!"
  • Carl wakes up as he dreams he spontaneously burst into flame. At the same time, Thor enters. Carl dies, uh, somehow.

    Aaah, it felt good to get that last suggestion off my chest! 8)


Michael Patrick

    Here is another suggestion---also painfully obvious

  • Nar: Ten years later... Carl is about 50 pounds heavier and sitting on a couch with about ten little Carls and Daisy's running around him crying and screaming and genarlly being brats. Daisy herself may or may not be in the picture. Carl: I can't cope with my life, I'm going to kill myself!


the Marvelous Patric

  • Similar to the infamous gaiman panel, only this time with a bunch of crying kids surrounding carl.. maybe some bills to pay... daisy with a rolling pin... "I can't cope with the stress! I'm going to kill myself!!"
  • and... just thot i'd mention the beta version of my website is up! http://cerebro.xu.edu/~patric/patrichome.html this is where i'm building it for the next few months and working to get the bugs out. around june i'm hoping to move it to a .com of some sort. right now, not everything works, but 2 episodes of my web comic are up, as well as a few other older projects. it gets updated often, so check often!


Miles

    Um...How about the simple approach?

  • A tombstone that reads "RIP Daisy" with a sad Carl looking on...drinking if possible, and thinking, "What a long, strange trip its been."


David Goldfarb

    OK, I'll recreate my suggestions as best I can.

  • Daisy smiles, revealing vampire fangs. "That's right, Carl. Yours,"
    She says. "Your dad sends his regards."
  • Carl smiles, revealing vampire fangs. "But then, I'm dead already."
  • Hey, I just noticed the bit about nothing being forbidden this panel!
    In that case, let's have Carl suddenly burst into flames, as Daisy looks
    on in horror!
  • We pull back to see that Carl and Daisy are standing in a gas chamber,
    both about to be executed.
  • We abandon the storyline for this last panel, in favor of a group
    shot of Bert, Carl, Daisy, and Ethel all waving goodbye. (Optional:
    a meteor is falling out of the sky, straight at Carl's head.)
  • caption: "Fifty years later". Carl is on his deathbed, an aged Daisy
    by his side. They are surrounded by children and grandchildren. "Goodbye,
    love," says Daisy. "It's been fun." (<-- This is the one I *really*
    want to see.)

    It has been fun. Let's do something like this again sometime!


Patrick A Reid

  • A fork.


Althea K.

  • The building collapses.
  • The wedding-mobile (or whatever the helk you call the car once it's got all those cans tied to it and stuff scribbled all over it) crashes.. perhaps those demn cans got tangled up with the wheels.
  • Carl/Carl Jr. suffers a fatal seizure from watching those weird little hearts around his head beating (ok, so it's unlikely... so are a lot of his deaths, anyway. it's part of what makes it all so much fun.)
  • Liver failure.


Daniel Carnero

  • The girl becomes Death (she keeps the wedding dress but has a skull for face and carries a scythe) and screaming" I am Death itself, you fool!" cuts Carl in half with the scythe (it is a bad joke for the "do us PART" line, but I am not Groucho Marx, anyway). ALTERNATIVELY, if instead of having Carl cut in half, he only appears surprised, this panel might be a good continuing point for a new branch of the story following in the panel below this one.


Alf "Z.tiger"

    "...till death do us part."

  • "Or a Sub-Orbital Meteor!" *whoosh!*

    "RIP Carl"


Sean Barrett

    96 ways to this panel from the top left corner alone, by my quick count.

  • Daisy/bartender, handing him a glass, "But this slammer will kill you"
  • Carl: "Don't leave me, I can't survive in solitary..."
  • [really reaching here] Ambiguous background, Carl (drunk or unhappy) just starting to walk away from "Daisy" in the same scene, she pleads "Stay, don't take the long walk to the chair!"
  • Car, "just married" and etc., speech balloon from passenger side: "Want some champagne?"
  • Scythe-wielding Death: "I hate to ruin the moment, but..."


[Only 96? --Scott]

Sarah Baiocchi

  • Carl looks up to see three huge, ugly and very evil-looking men smiling sadistically at him and pounding their knuckles into their palms.


Craig J. Clark

    As this is the last panel, I figure I'll keep this simple...

  • CARL holds a gun to his head. CARL: And I guess it's time for us to part.
  • DAISY holds a gun to CARL's head. DAISY: In that case, it's time for us to part.
  • [FILL IN THE BLANK] holds a gun to CARL's head. [FILL IN THE BLANK]: Well, then. It's time for you to part.

    Goodbye, Carl. We hardly chose ye.


Craig J. Clark

    Ooh, thought of one more.

  • The GRIM REAPER is about to tap CARL on the shoulder. DAISY looks up in apprehension. DAISY: Umm, Carl?

    There. Done. Really.


Jon Delorey

    I missed Ground Hog Day!!!!! arrrgh!!!!

  • Daisy and Carl sitting in a movie theatre watching the credits roll.....(names of each and every contributor, of course) (tombstone is background behind credits)

    The alternative to a 24 hour comic? A several Ground Hog days comic....


Lukas

    Maan, no more carl? so what're we gonna do now? I'll have no excuse to avoid doing work now...

  • Shot of Carl & Daisy at the alter, with the entire cast (in CYOC), group shot of everybody.
  • Shot of a Tombstone, which reads: RIP Daisy. Panel has "THE" in the bottom right corner.
  • Carl & Daisy in wedding garb, with somebody tapping Carl's shoulder, saying "Excuse me." who is it? it's the GRIM REAPER!!!
  • Almost same panel as last, with Carl saying "...which Daisy are you again?"
  • Shot of Scott (yes, Scott! a la Understanding & reinventing Comics) with his hand on Carl, saying "Prepared to meet your maker?" To which Carl replies "What th-"
  • Same shot of Carl & Daisy, only they're OLD FOLKS (yep they lived their happy life together). Carl: "You made me so happy..."

    SO... here's to the next interactive web-comic. Cheers!


Addison Godel

    Hard to believe this little baby is finally almost over..I remember back when the first panels appeared; I did a few mental calculations at the time and came up with an extremely lengthy completion time, and that was even *without* all the inadvertent delays and such that came up along the way. Congratulations on an experiment well-executed, and here's hoping for a giant CYOC poster available within due time. ;) Anyway, my suggestions for the last Carl panel:

  • The long-delayed mystery death. Carl: <looking in terror at something offscreen as Daisy screams> "Hey! What's that?!"
  • The ironic ending - this particular line of reading lets Carl retire happily, and the final panel is him in comfortable old age, remarking "It just goes to show you that life always turns out just fine in the end!" or some more concise version of the same.
  • And I was going to have a third idea, but oh well. The last intersection of plots is really quite confusing, but hey. It's been a wild ride. Cheers.

    Addison Godel
    http://www.ummagurau.com - Writing, Art, and other Ummagurau
    UGA Allies & Friends: http://www.uga.edu/af/
    It's time to take the counterculture back from the establishment.


Ted Stevko

  • Carl says "Wait! I bet this is all a dream! Let me pinch myself and see if I wake up!"


Catt Jan Roxxanne

    I thought, and I really did, this would not end. Now that it is, I feel kind of sad.... gosh this is depressing. Therefore, I move for a happy ending, whatever it may be.

  • Divide the space up into four panels- depict Carl and Daisy (or whomever the hell that is) getting just a little bit older as each panel passes, during which they each take turns saying "'till Death-" "Do" "Us" Together: "Part"


Patrick A Reid

    Three final suggestions (unless I think of more later): One silly, one ambiguous, one ultimate.

  • The Grim Reaper appears between Daisy and Carl, pushing them apart with an "Okay, you two, break it up." (Get it!? Ha! Seriously, though, I like this suggestion. It makes me laugh when I picture it in the empty panel.)
  • A totally blacked-out panel, with only two things visible: a sound effect, "CLICK!" and a scream, "AAARGH!!" Then, the gravestone in the panel following. It leaves the ending open to interpretation, you see.
  • Cut to a view from space of the Earth suddenly exploding. Nya ha ha haaa.

    Scott, thank you. I arrived a bit late, but Choosing Carl has been great fun. Many thanks also to my fellow contributors, who are all geniuses. Here's to the next Carl project and the health of the Carl community. God bless you all, and goodnight. http://members.nbci.com/picklenet.


Joel Shempert

    Well, looks like my first and last chance to play with the life of Carl! Why, oh why, didn't I discover this site sooner?!

  • Cut to courtroom scene; Judge declares "Carl (last name?), you are hereby sentenced to death by lethal injection for theft of a tuxedo and marriage license."
  • Daisy is a vampire and kills him.
  • Carl is a vampire and kills Daisy (thus rendering the RIP Carl panel incomprehensible).
  • The floating red hearts explode (dialogue: Ah! exploding hearts!) or alternately multiply and bury them.
  • Carl Jr. Interrupts Carl and Daisy at the altar brandishing a gun/knife/holy water/ibex. Carl Jr: "I've come from the future. . .to KILL YOU!!"
  • Cut to Carl and Daisy (perhaps still in wedding regalia) in a pair of hospital beds. Sign: "City General Alcohol Poisoning Ward"
  • Daisy draws a knife and advances Carl. Daisy: "Ok, it's a deal!"
  • Daisy draws a knife and advances on Carl. Daisy: "I'm sorry, Carl, I must! I've--I've SEEN THE NEXT PANEL!"
  • An Inexplicable Anvil falls on Carl. Daisy: "Ain't I a stinker?" Carl (weak voice:) "You're Dethpicable."
  • An Inexplicable Cow falls on Carl. Daisy: "Run away!"

    Well! That should do it! Thanks for the chance to play! I can die now, content that I shall at least be immortalized in the "other suggestions" box beneath the final panel! You've. . .>sniff<. . .you've made my life complete! Thank you, Scott McCloud!


jay calhoun

  • Zoom out, show carl with dynamite strapped to his chest and some kind of triggering device in his hand.I think that a murder suicide is the only fitting end to the confusing drama of carls life.after all,he wanted to kill himself way back in part one. I think he's been plotting this ever since.


Grant Schreiber

    It appears that the god of the phone company have given me back my computer access! I suspect to wake up one day without my liver, but in the meantime...

  • Carl turning away from Daisy, (who is very very angry), to oogle a pretty girl: "Hold that thought!"
  • Carl clutches his heart: "I'm so happy I could DIE!!"
  • Caption: The Next Day Carl looking at obit page: "Oh nuts! That's me!"
  • Carl looking at Daisy: "I can't believe you wore white..."
  • Caption: Much Later Old Man Carl on deathbed: "And after that, it was pretty much a straight line here!"

    Mercy! I've enjoyed myself, Scott. Thanks. Take a break and be back here in a week with something NEW!


Paul Bird

  • The marriage celebrant (Brian Boitano) pulls a gun and yells "Sooner than you think, pal!"
  • Carl's mother and father return from the grave riding a flying pink elephant, leading a herd of stampeding ibex, trucks and helicopters which crush the newlyweds. The problem of how to fit all this into 111 x 104 pixels is left as an exercise for Scott and keen readers.
  • The red love hearts are revealed to be flesh eating parasites from outer space which devour our loving couple.
  • The red love hearts are revealed to be the Sobriety Fairy & the Insincere Promise Fairy on a killing spree.
  • One word: BOOM
  • A gravestone reading: RIP Daisy
  • Carl's mother appears, exclaiming "Let's have a drink to celebrate!"
  • The obligatory nasty ending: The wedding car (complete with hood ribbons & cans tied on the back) crashes into an all-to-familiar tree.
  • The obligatory nice ending: An very very old & happy Carl & Daisy are drinking to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. A photograph of a smiling Ethel adorns the wall. (and perhaps in a break from tradition the last panel is changed to read RIP Carl & Daisy? :-)
  • In a startling departure from all that he has espoused in web comics so far, Scott creates a very long GIF animation that does a long reverse zoom out from the happy couple to reveal their surroundings, their country, their world, their galaxy and finally their universe; which we discover to be just a speck of dust on the front of a car. The car could, like, crash into a tree or something! Links to "groovy Flash version".

    Thanks to Scott and everyone involved for a wonderful comic, a fascinating experiment and most importantly lots of fun. May Carl, his mother, his father, Daisy and all their progeny now rest in peace (until next time...) I'm sure that's what Brian Boitano would do.


Carl Muckenhoupt

  • Daisy tightens a garotte around Carl's neck. Daisy: "What a romantic notion!" Carl: "GACK!"


James Riley

  • Death (classic figure with the cloak and scythe) pulls Daisy and Carl apart from behind them, saying, "That can be arranged..."
  • Scott Mccloud accidently stabs Carl on the page with his ink pen, saying, "Whoops!"
  • Carl looks sick, and says, "Geez, you know I think I may be ALLERGIC to these heart things?!"
  • Carl, looking surprised, screams "HOLY BEJEZZUS!"
  • Scott McCloud sits with his face in his hands on his drawing board, saying, "How to end it, how to end it?" while a voice from off panel suggests "Oh, just kill him again..."
  • Daisy devours Carl. Mating ritual and all....Or alternatively, Carl and Daisy are in a bedroom, and Carl says, "You mean if we mate, you have to kill me afterwards?"
  • Carl yells to the world, "Finally! A happy ending!"
  • Carl says to Daisy, "Sure, I'll have a drink of your Crazy Uncle Albert's moonshine..."
  • Carl and Daisy watch a sunset go down, as they grow old together.
  • An old Carl stands over Daisy's gravesite, saying, "Soon, I'll join you, my love..."


Terminus

    and thanks for all the fish!

  • Scott turned to face us from his drawing board, "Nah, it will never fly. Oh well, back to work."

    Thanks Scott!


Travis Pelkie

    Nothing Forbidden! wow!

  • I say, a giant comb comes and kills them (til death do we part, get it? hahahahahaha)

    I'm gonna post again this week, don't worry, I don't want that to be my Carl swan song. Still considering a 12000 some word response, maybe a Carl retrospective, and biography of Carl. Man, I have too much time on my hands. But anyone viewing this can still contact me at bg18629@binghamton.edu about any 24 hour comics you've done. This is for both a surrealist class project and my online comics museum site -- no url on that one yet, but I'll email Scott with it as soon as I get one, and maybe he'll post it. How about Thor bursts into flames, but it's all a dream?


David Strom

  • Carl and Daisy are old, still smiling, still heart next to each head. She says: "About time to part." He says, "Yep."


Matt Ryan

    (Matt Ryan, who first pointed out how long CYOC would take to comeplete...)

  • Heading: "CYOC was made possible by:"
    2x2 grid of minipanels:
    • pic of a BUD, text beneath: "(not really)"
    • pic of The Grim Reaper, grinning & waving.
    • pic of The Artist, leaning back from his desk.
    • pic of crowd. Text: "YOU"
  • A teacher and students are seen from behind in a graveyard. Teacher says, "...how Reader-Written Comics got started. Any questions?" One little one says "I hafta pee."
    (Alternately, replace "Reader-Written" with "Multiple-Path".)
  • A shot of The Artist from behind, putting down his pencil, thinking "Whew". Current panel is visible on his drawing board. (Optional: wife is rubbing his shoulders.)
  • Previous panel is visible in a thought baloon above Very Old Carl, in a hospital bed, smiling. A nearby machine goes "BEEP BEEEEEE".
  • Carl and Daisy walk hand-in-hand OUT OF THE COMIC STRIP. Preferrably in a way that it's clear they're taking one last path-choice that misses the gravestone.
  • A huge can of BUD falls onto them with a big "CRASH!" Carl and Daisy fall away to different sides. (Instant literal on previous panel.)
  • Suddenly, the Earth explodes.
  • Addendum: in the normal panel-space, a can of BUD is arcing into a trash
    can. :-)


Mac

    I heard a rumor that past winners are allowed a link. If so, I'd like to invite everyone to the world premiere of my very own www.newintowncomics.com on March 4, 2001. If not, then forget I said anything.

  • Carl: "Ow! I have an ingrown toenail!" Daisy: "Careful. In some rare cases, those have been known to kill."
  • Daisy says, "Death it is!" She then pulls out a knife and slices Carl's throat open.
  • Those red hearts suddenly sprout little cartoon hands holding guns. They fill Carl and Daisy with lead. With his dying breath, Carl says, "Love kills!"
  • (Note to Scott: Whatever you choose, please avoid the temptation to have yourself appear in your RC/UC form. It would be weak.)
  • Want to drive everyone crazy? Do an all-text panel with big words that say, "YEARS GO BY, UNTIL FINALLY..."
  • An eraser (or, if you prefer, the "eraser" on the end of the Wacom pen) comes into view and begins erasing Carl's head. Carl says, "Hey, cut it out!"
  • Carl pulls out a gun and says to Daisy: "Let's play the William Burroughs game!"
  • With a glass of lemonade in his hand, an elderly Carl sits on a rocking chair on the front porch of his lavish home, watching the sunset. With a content smile, he says, "It's been a good life."

    Thanks so much for CYOC, Scott. It's been great fun.


Matt Mantsch

    boy, seat of your pants, this posting without reading the other suggestions first!

  • A new drunk driver hits Carl and Daisy in their hotel room.

    Ironic I think, and a bittersweet way to end the whole thing.


David Carpenter

  • Image: An older, wearier Carl ironing in a complete pig-sty of an apartment while Daisy slouches on the couch behind him, her best years obviously behind her. Carl's thoughts: Oh, please...just let me die!


James "DexX" Dominguez

    Updates were coming so erratically, I got out of the habit of coming by and making suggestions.... *sigh* Oh well, at least I am here for the last one. Now, about those suggestions...

  • Nothing is forbidden, eh? Well in that case, the last panel should obviously feature Thor waking up in bed, saying, "It was all a dream!"
  • But seriously... How about the two lovebirds gazing happily into each other's eyes, oblivious to the fact that the Grim Reaper is standing behind them.
  • As above, but the Reaper is saying clearing his throat: "Ahem..."
  • As above, but the Reaper is saying, "Sorry I'm late..."
  • Along the same lines... A talk balloon from out of frame says, "If anyone knows why these two should not be married..." and the Grim Reaper is sitting in the front pew with his bony hand raised.
  • Got it! I think this one is perfect... You should have the standard Carl's-car-hitting-tree frame, but with "Just Married!" written on the side, and cans dangling from the back. I like this one!
  • Carl and Daisy are strapped into side-by-side electric chairs. A talk balloon from out-of-frame says, "For the causing many deaths through dangerous driving..."

    Well, they're the best I can think of. Thanks for running such an intriguing and entertaining project, Scott. You are a legend in your field.


Mark Boszko

    Wow! I discovered you just in time to suggest for the very last panel! Keen! I suggest:

  • A parody of the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald, with Carl as Oswald, and his Mom as Jack Ruby.

    And I totally give you permission to use that idea in any way you see fit, with no compensation to me. :)


Patrick A Reid

    Very well, one more.

  • A title-panel, reading: SEVENTY YEARS LATER...

    Ambiguously happy. I like it. All your base are belong to us.


cuthbert the lesser

    Darn! This time MY suggestions got lost in limbo. Bad, naughty suggestion software! 'Sokay, though... Glen's idea was brilliant.

  • Death with a scythe leaning between Carl & Daisy, over their shoulders. "Uh, 'scuze me..." or "Yeah, well, about that..."
  • Zombies, ibexes, vampires, etc. all come for Carl together. "We will not be denied!" (My husband's name is Karl, and he made lots of nervous noises after finding this on a sticky note on my monitor... :-)
  • Carl & Daisy holding handsful of "Wedding bills": "The only way out of this will be for one of us to fake his own death."
  • Well, of COURSE the wedding car could crash, streamers & tin cans trailing in the wind... Perhaps show Carl & Daisy driving away from the wedding party, waving beer cans out the window as they go...

    This was really fun. Great party, dude! Looking forward to Carl's next plight...


Shawn Dante Mitchell

  • Carl slips on bile near toilet, breaks neck.

    sound fx: Slippp!! KA-Crack!!


Shawn Dante Mitchell

  • Carl slips and drowns in toilet.
  • Carl slips and slams head on bars.
  • Mom smashes through near-by wall, trying to break the couple out. Loose brick smacks Carl's head.
  • Couple is let out of jail, later stopped by police on road. Carl is Rodney Kinged (beated with nightstick).


Tristan

  • A tombstone reading "RIP DAISY", so that it apears that this panel and the final panel are the same point in time being seperated only by the gutter.


Allan G Reilly

  • Carl and Daisy are run over by their own wedding limo - the driver of which is drunk. The right edge of the panel should extend to show Daisy's tombstone next to Carl's.


Pete Johnson

  • Both look to their left to see Death(i.e. the Grim Reaper) standing there waiting for them. Carl: "...oh."
  • Death is there, but he only wants Carl. Carl: "...oh." More tragic that way, and thus funnier, don't you think?
  • The usual car crash except from the back with "Just Married" sign on it.

    I really thought I was going to have more suggestions than that, but for so many reasons I took multiple "death penalty" ones out. They were good, but didn't work with the Carl Jr. line. Oh well.


Travis Pelkie

    Apologies to Mark Rosenfelder.

  • The Insincere Promise Fairy finally appears, sez "So much for vows! They divorced and then died!"

    I had to get that one in. It just seems right, to end where we almost began. Well, I wasn't here at the beginning, but that's beside the point. I'll probably post one more time, tomorrow, and then cross my fingers and hope one of mine gets picked.


Drew Melbourne

  • Carl smiles at his new bride. "Now let's go get a drink."


Michael Rubinstein

  • They kiss, and Carl thinks: "Well, I can die happy now."


Glen Seymour

    Oo! One more suggestion!

  • Carl & Daisy walk past a sign that says "Discount Gravestones" Carl points at it and says "Hey look"

    I've found a way to keep Carl alive!


Paul Bird (shmee)

    Expansion on one of my previous suggestions, fleshing it out a little :-) Hope that's allowed.

  • The panel in question has a very old looking Carl & Daisy celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. A photo of Carl's mother is on the wall. The last gravestone panel is left as is, fully drawn...but has been crossed out, like the artist has decided at the last minute to redo it. The cross would have to look like it was added by a pencil afterwards, roughly drawn and extending past the edges of the panel. Next to the final crossed out panel is a not perfectly straight hand-drawn panel, like a sketch for a revision. It has TWO gravestones, one for Carl & one for Daisy. Thus we see that Carl has finally been able to change his own destiny & live happily ever after. (I'm wiping away a tear here for everyone's favourite throw-away non-entity ;-)

    You said nothing was forbidden! Look forward to reading all the other suggestions. Bet there will be a stack of 'em this time!


Ian MacLeod

    Probably already been suggested but:

  • Death taps Carl on shoulder and makes throat clearing noise.
    Carl: *sigh* Again?
  • Pulls back and previous frame is a dream bubble from hospital bed. Carl has alcohol poisoning.


Craig Schiavone

    the Monty Python ending

  • a 16-ton weight drops from the ceiling for absolutely no reason


Robin Lionheart

    Another suggestion for the final panel between "...'til death do us part." and RIP CARL:

  • The Grim Reaper is standing behind tuxedo-wearing Carl [Jr.] as he says his vows. Death's bony finger taps his shoulder. Time to go, Carl.


Travis Pelkie (age 21, 22 as of July 24)

    Oh no, my last Carl post. And I don't even have any good suggestions!

  • I still like my comb one and my insincere promise fairy one.
  • But I like this one -- Jenny and Zot!, Jenny sez, "Oh no, Carl and Daisy died" and Zot! sez "who?"
  • The League of Extraordinary Travii swoop down, chaos ensues.
  • God appears, scolds the two for their drunken spree.
  • Scott comes in, sez a goodbye for now.
  • Carl reinvents comics.
  • Carl and Daisy are sold like the bits they are (that one made no sense).
  • Ethel and Bert and the angel and the elephant (this fall on CBS) all show up, say "BYE"! A group picture, like that Zot! print where I first saw about him.
  • The two become like Macbeth and Lady M. I dunno how, but they do.
  • I'll end how I began -- make some reference to McCay's Rarebit Fiends (the jail cell bed explodes, giant monkeys appear, who knows). My first post is 12/6/98 for all you collector types, I believe it's the first bungee cord panel.

    I tried looking through all the past suggestions for ideas, but it's hard to read that much. But I did see something about the Carl movie -- not that it'll ever happen, but Keanu would be great (I think that'd make 15 movies he's said "Whoa" in) And for a Zot! movie, since he's almost old enough, that Sixth Sense kid. Hey, it'll never happen, so I can say it. I do hope, even though I've used and abused this forum for the past 2+ years, that you'll have something like this on your site in the future -- maybe you'll even make money at it! Also, are you a big fan of dada and surrealists? You've used a lot of those type of examples in UC and I think RC, plus 5 Card Nancy, 24 Hour Comics and CYOC are all kind of surrealistic. Where'd the interest first come from? And on that note, bg18629@binghamton.edu if you've ever done a 24 hour comic and would like me to do a surrealist presentation on it, and feature it on my own website. My own site is not up yet (next month or two), but email me for info, or go to www.geminiweb.net cuz that's probably where it'll be served from. As a caution, that site does feature some material that may be offensive, so watch out. But if you're not easily offended, go to the Ted standee site from that site, and you can see an online fumetti(photo comic) that's quite funny, despite it's outrageousness. And my site will at least be linked off there, if not part of the geminiweb.net family. One more thing, in RC you mention clip art comics. While it's not totally clip art (they add their own word balloons), the guys at www.timmybighands.com do clip art comics. Plus, since it's the guys from MST3K, you know it's gotta be good :) On that note, Carl Jam, mmm tasty. Hopefully I haven't annoyed you or anyone else too much over the past 2 years (ie, the Tomorrow Stories stuff), and I hope we can do this again in the future. Carl posters through the CBLDF! I still say it's a good idea!


[Hi, Travis. Yeah the CBLDF poster idea isn't bad at all, but 72dpi looks pretty chunky in print, I might want to redraw it (and get Bob Lappan to letter it naturally). As for surrealists, yeah, that interest goes all the way back to junior high school, though their predecessors, the Dadaists would more properly be the forefathers of 5-Card Nancy! --Scott]

Nat Gertler

  • The narrator of Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics shoots Carl, saying "Dammit, let's get this thing over with already!"

    Let's not forget to tell people about One-Armed Carl, at http://AAUGH.com/carl


Indigo Wombat

  • We pull back to see Daisy's dad pointing a shotgun at Carl, saying, "You got THAT right."


Nathan Kuruna

  • Daisy stabs Carl.
  • Zoom out to see that they are strapped with explosives.
  • They are crushed by a giant Monty Python-like foot.



Doug Waldron

  • A safe falls on them.
  • A nuclear mushroom cloud.
  • Aliens attack the earth.
  • Carl's head falls off.
  • Carl and Daisy grow old together.
  • Carl and Daisy are sitting in his-n-hers electric chairs.
  • A big explosion.
  • And my favorite: A gravestone reading "RIP Daisy" positioned so it is sitting next to the one in the last panel. (Optional "THE" in the bottom right hand corner.)


jesse rimler

    wow. dont take too long a break, scott, lets get whatever carl incarnation (incarlnation?) you have in mind off the ground as soon as possible! its been fun!

  • a mysterious hand is now on carl's shoulder, who is still at the alter. >From above: "It's time." Carl: accepting his fate and looking at daisy with wide eyed, "Ok."


jesse rimler

    oops i meant to write "wide-eyes"


Jordan D. White

    Why does it have to end? WHY?!?! Oh can't there be another one?

  • Make the entire CYOC map fit in the last panel and make it a link, back to itself all over again. So it's an infinite cycle! BWA HA HA HA HA!
  • Make it a link to a NEW CYOC map! So we can start a new CYOC! YAY!!!!! (Yeah Right)
  • A big red dot that says '(You Are Here) Next?'
  • A big red dot that says "Carl is here."
  • A big red dot that says "Carl is here," then an animation where a bomb falls towards the dot and blows up
  • An animation that flips through all the panels of choose your own carl
  • The earth blows up
  • Carl says "I can't wait!" and kills himself on the spot
  • The panel is a big caption of, maybe, "Suddenly!" and then a lot of very small text which you can't read, but links to a prose form story which quickly links together every suggestion anyone made for this, end with "and..."
  • Carl being killed in a recreation of the JFK shooting.


Andrea Nutt

    Daisy appears some ten minutes later holding a knife to his neck

  • Saying: You said till death do us part so, I wanna breakup!


greg basore

    Let's see if I can squeeze in one last suggestion

  • Caption: Decades later A funeral scene with some adults and grand childern standing around. A priest is intoning the eulogy "...these two love birds that spent over 50 years of their lives together to rest..." And again I think a tombstone for daisy next to carl works well.

    Well, so long CYOC.





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