This week's panel suggested by Nat "The Factor" Gertler
Only Five Weeks to Halloween.
At Least the fangs don't look like Gopher's teeth this time.
As always, suggestions are listed in the order they were received. Thanks for playing and please join us again next Sunday!
--Scott
Sunday 09/26/1999
Michael Avolio
Ah, my weekly Scott McCloud fix...
- I still like this one: in Carl's hand, the cross turns into a snkae, or perhaps turns to sand and falls through his fingers.
- CARL: B-but... you're Daisy's MOM! (Hey, they Do look a lot alike...)
- CARL: What's it for?
- He takes it. There's a ticking sound coming from it. CARL: ??
- One option is, of course, to reuse the "Oh! Here's some kind of bottle opener" panel.
- Carl clutches his head, screaming. CARL: TOO MUCH COLOR!! TOO MUCH!!!
- CARL: Who're you?
- CARL: It's not my time yet? When IS my time?
- Carl wakes up in a hospital bed.
- ANGEL: Oh, and your Dad's a vampire. CARL: What?!?
Next week should be easier. Hey, I can't remember if we've ever done this, but if we haven't I suggest we do at some point: how about working backwards from the gravestone panel to the "promise" panel? Just a thought.
[That's a good idea! --Scott]
Nat "The Factor" Gertler
Carl makes a very poor role model.
- "No!" says Carl, grabbing the angel's halo. "I want this!YOINKS!"
- Carl grabs the cross... but it burns, it burns!
- Oh, I know I already suggested this and had it rejected earlier, but I still like the thought of him tossing the cross over his shoulder and thinking "Oy, would they laugh if I brought that to the synagogue!"
- Close up on the cross, as the angel explains "It's got a built in can opener, compass, corkscrew, and it can be used as a tire iron!"
- Carl, hanging the cross up on the wall next to a bunch of others. "Now my set is almost complete!"
- Angel says "And have these other swell parting gifts" (Toaster oven, weed whacker, holy grail, etc.)
- Carl stands on earth, glowing cross held over his head, people kneeling before him. "Oh! Carl must be the second coming!"
- "I know you! You're one of the Blue Angels Flight Team!"
Remember, folks. Carls don't last forever, so enjoy them while you can.
Piers Beckley
- Carl standing in front of a church, cross in hand. Carl: This must be the place!
Markus Gerwinski
Well, let's see... Here we are in a thread, where Dad hasn't yet turned out to be a vampire, nor will it unify with a thread, where he already is one. After that interludium in heaven, Dad needn't even be there any more. On the other hand, there is a helicopter with Daisy coming from the left, and we have to prepare Carl's possible death within two panels. Tricky...
- Carl: "Oh, bite me! This is all a dream, I know it!" He turns away, his next step getting off the cloud.
- Carl: "Uh... where's the way down, now?"
- Carl on the stairway from heaven, on his way back to Earth. Suddenly, he sees a helicopter headed straight for him. Carl: "Uh-Oh...!"
- Carl, back on Earth, standing in the middle of a highway: "Well, that second chance was quite a gift!" In the background, we see a car approaching.
- Carl, back on Earth, stands on a romantic meadow full of flowers, butterflies and all that stuff. Carl: "Well, NOW everything's gonna be okay!" In the background, we see the momster approaching.
- Carl looks down from the cloud, on his face an eager smile, in one Hand still holding the bungee cord: "Figure this is the highest bungee jumping ever done!"
Travis W. Howard
Travis P: Carl B/Carl A.. I'll be B. But watch out for that tombstone panel :) Soon us Travises (Travisi?!) shall take over the world, but first.. And yes, that Father/Son/HolySpirits joke was mine. :) Anyways.. onto yet another tough week..
- [Carl in thought] Wow. I've been touched by an angel.
- [Carl's Mom] Promise me you won't Drink and Preach, Carl. [Carl] *hic* I promishhh..
- [Close Up of Cross] MS Holy Cross v1.34 - In Gates We Trust
- [Carl has fashioned the cross into the frame of a kite] [Panel reads June 1752] Carl: Wanna beer, Ben? Ben Franklin: Sure. ("Not Your Time Carl.." get it? ugh.)
- [Carl is watching a hologram of the angel] Help me Carl-Wan Kenobi.. you're my only hope!
- [Carl swamped underneath a pile of objects] Angel: And this, and this, and...
- [Carl looks offpanel towards the Carl/Daisy Proposal panel with a shocked, heartbroken look] D-D..aisy?!?
- Enter: Indiana Jones. Indy: Quick kid! I need the Cross of Coranado, now!! Carl: ????
- Close up of cross reads: "Get Out of Tombstone panel FREE" (ala Monopoly card)
- [Carl looks offpanel towards the Carl/Daisy Proposal panel with an angry look, holding cross in a threatening, daggerlike way] Just wait til he gets here, grr..
Picked up another sketchbook, and I'm in the process of onlining my 24 hr comic. I'll send a link as soon as it's done :) Btw, excellent work on the FAQ, etc..
Taylor
- Carl's face appears in a pizza to a suprised daisy. "It's a Miracle!" she shouts
Dark Artist
This is hard to say; how do we explain the previous segments with Dad and the bungee cord and tie them together somehow?
- "Oh, man... who am I? What am I doing here?" Carl has a bungee cord around his neck, carries a golden cross, and is face to face with his Dad the vampire, who is hissing at the sight of the cross.
Well, let's see YOU do any better!
[Personally, I'm amazed that anyone can follow this thread. --Scott]
Douglass Barre (Age 29)
Yay! We're in a vampire-free string once again!
- CARL is sitting at a bar next to DAISY. The crucifix is in one hand, a beer in the other. CARL: "So then they sent me back with this... yellow thing." DAISY: "Huh. What's 'yellow'?"
Strange how only the strange and supernatural gets colored here. I wondered if they'd notice.
Matt Latterell
Hey I'm just in that kinda mood that I just want to wang chung tonight. But I must take a time out for Carl.
- Carl: Cool, I bet I could pawn this for some guns!
- Carl: Oh my god! They put me in Judge Judy's body!!! well...at least I got a cross.
- Carl: Maybe I could trade this cross for some Genisis CD's or something.
- Carl: Yes!!! I've always wanted a boomerang!...mate!
- Carl: I just had a near death experience! man...and I was so close...
- Carl: Wait, does that mean I'm invincible now!? (Truck approaches from behind)
- Carl: Nine Inch Nails Rule!!! (okay, not much for the story...but they do, and thats that)
- Carl: Wow I can feel the power surging through me...i need beer....................
- Carl: No don't read this panel!
- Carl: I've been reincarnated as a chick! Sweet!
Hey, I got a new site up now so if I win I better plug it. http://members.xoom.com/littletower/comic.html Whoo! Free plug...maybe...well, cya!
Doug Waldron
I like how last week's panel says "Pop!" as it sprays water all over Carl's pop.
- Carl appears at home. Carl's mom: "What is this. You're thinking of converting? And so soon after your bar mitzvah. Oy."
- Angel grabs back crucifix. "Oh, wait. I thought you were someone else."
- Carl sits on the sofa scratching his back with the crucifix.
- Carl: "What am I supposed to do with this?" (Or just "??") Unbeknownst to him, he is surrounded by hungry vampires.
The little "click here to make a suggestion" boxes at the bottom don't work. Are you really thinking about putting together an e-mail list? Will there be a chapter in Reinventing Comics about why comics dialogue uses all capital letters?
[Whoops. Fixed those boxes, thanks. Eventually, I do hope to put together a simple email list for updates and such, but time, as always, is mercilessly short. And no, R.C. won't have a chapter on why comics dialogue uses all capital letters but you might be interested to know that the book itself uses both upper and lowercase! --Scott]
Robert W. Armstrong
- Carl says "Yet? Wait! When is my time??" The Angel, fading away, replies "About 2 to 5 panels..."
LittleRobot
I would like to say that I'm back. Back for ever, yet with a strange Norwegian charm.
- Karl looks at the cross and says "Holy Shit!" The angel(standing behind Karl) smiles and holds up his pointer finger saying "No, holy cross"
- Karls falls down.
The last suggestion is PURE 100% GENIUS.
Ian Etra
Patric Lewandowski
no comment... not witty enough right now.
- Carl in bar with cross talking to some new character. Carl: "And that's how I got this cross.." New Character: "No Carl, that's how you got your destiny!"
- Carl lands back on "earth" Carl: "This gold cross inspires me... I shall devote my life to....DRINKING!!!!"
man, these suck. I'm sorry. I really am.
Scott Miller
Wow, to know that Roger Stern's still doing Ithacons...now I know (as a transplanted New Yorker) that all is right with the world. :) (Yes, I know he lives there. I'd just be surprised if he WASN'T at one.)
- Carl reappears in the liquor store, holding a toothbrush (if someone can use the Brian Boitano song from the South Park movie, than I can suggest a toothbrush, can't I?) Carl: "Wow, I thought I was really dead." Meanwhile, the Dadpire is already biting him, which will probably kill Carl (again) unless he can save himself with the toothbrush....
Carl kind of reminds me of Fry from Futurama. As a first-timer, I have no doubts about my chance of winning (small) especially considering that my entry was conceived of great mental desperation. Great job, Scott. Maybe someday you'll be able to republish the Earth Stories (I hope so anyway)!
[I hope so too! (BTW, Futurama is great, as is it's creator Matt Groening, a really nice guy.)]
James Dominguez
Hey, I got one! Third time lucky... :)
- Since he is "returning to Earth"... the angel pulls a lever, and Carl plunges screaming down a trapdoor.
- Or... we find Carl standing on a rather mundane looking downward escalator, thinking to himself "I always imagined something more upmarket."
- Or... we find Carl standing in Hell. A thought balloon says "I think I went a bit too far..."
- A different version of the first one, to make it more easy to lead into from the left would simply be Carl plunging, screaming of course, through the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
- Or... a variation of the above, he might not be screaming at all, but instead looking quite entertained by the sights around him... "Wow, what a view!"
- Or... with a puff of smoke, Carl simply pops into existence... but where? It would have to be somewhere that the cross has relevance, such as... inside the Pope's private chambers?
- As above, but he appears inside a mosque!
- As above but he appears inside the cage of a dangerous animal in a zoo. No relevance for the cross, I just thought it would be fun.
- As above, but Carl finds himself in a swamp full of dinosaurs. He thinks, "Huh? Where... WHEN am I?" Again, no point to the cross, unless he wants to be the first ever missionary. ;)
- I couldn't pass up the chance to fill in all of the spaces, but I am one short... OK, here's one: Carl appears in a church... and sees his own funeral!
Wow, that's a long list of suggestions. One of them MUST be good... ...well, I can hope.
Zack Adgie
- seeing as carl could possibly die in the frame after this, I believe the best thing would be for carl to simply fall from heaven, and the frame afterwards could have him landing, which would also fit in with the other end with daisy in the helicopter... daisy could say no and kick him out of the helicopter, or something along those lines.
Thom Marrion
- The weight of the Big Yellow Cross drags Carl back down to Earth where he lands on the Mom/ Nightmare. Splat!
- Kyle Raynor (or Hal Jordan) shows up with a Big Green Cross and says,"I've got you now, Sinestro!"
- The cross merges into Carl as he turns bright yellow. "This can't be good."
- The angel turns into a bright red demon. "Ha, I was just messing with you. It really is your time to go!"
- The Big Yellow Cross becomes a Huge Yellow Smiley Face. "What am I going to do with this?" thinks Carl
- Carl looks at the Yellow Wet Dripping Cross and says,"If the Republicans see this cross, the NEA wil never get any more money."
- Carl squeezes the Yellow Cross and it makes a squeeky noise.
- Both the Cross and Carl start changing colors. "I don't know how much more of this I can take!" pleads Carl.
- Carl takes a bite out of the Cross. "Mmmmmm. Lemony!"
- The Cross lifts Carl up into the sky like Mary Poppins as the Angel says," BUT REMEMBER, WHAtever you do...don't...mumrmer murmer murmer"
Ross Horowitz
Kean Soo
- POP! Carl returns to earth. Carl: "I don't have any time to lose! I have to live life to its fullest!" (Carl is conveniently standing outside a bar...)
- Carl, back on earth, looks around. He's still holding the cross. Carl: "Great, now what the heck am I supposed to do with this thing?"
- A large group of people gather as they watch Carl being lowered from heaven by the angel (Kingdom Come-style).
- Angel: "Now get outta here kid!" The angel shoves Carl through the bottom of the cloud. Carl: "Yaaaaaa!"
- Carl: "Well... I don't really want to go yet. Can't I just take a look around first?"
Jimmy
- Carl becomes a born again. We see Carl in Bishop robes preaching with the cross around his neck.
- Carl on TV talking about his near-death experience: ... and then I saw this bright light...
- Carl founds a church.
- Carl pawns gold cross to buy beer. We see him coming out of pawn-shop, holding a fat stack of bills, cross is in the window with price tag: now I can buy all the beer I want! Thank you God!
- Carl bashes dad over the head with cross. Carl (visibly psychotic after such an intense religious experience): I'm invincible Hahahah!
Bill Schlimme
- Carl (Refusing the cross): "My mother told me never to taks crosses from strangers, and you're about as strange as they get!"
- Carl: "Waitaminute -- I'm JEWISH!!" Spirit looks dubious/confused.
- Carl recoils in horror, hissing uncontrollably at the Spirit, who says either: "Like father, like son," or, "Oops, guess I'm too late."
- Carl: "Are you real, or is the acid finally kicking in?"
Michael Patrick
- Carl is hopping off of a cloud while riding the cross like a little golden pogo-stick. Carl: Weeeeee!!!!!
- Carl is holding out his watch to the angel. Carl: Who the HELL do you think you are to tell ME it's not time yet? I'm dead I tell ya!
- Angel looks at some notes on a clipboard. Angel: Oh wait...are you Carl with a "C" or a "K"?
- Carl says to Angel: Thanks, but I'll just take the escalator. (am I having daja-vu, or did someone already make that suggestion?)
- Flying Carl from previous section appears and swipes cross. FC: I'll take that!
- Heavy Gusts of wind blow away clouds. There is a convience store in background. Carl: Hey thsi isn't Heaven- it's Seven-Eleven!
- Carl is standing in Hell with flames and pitchforks and demons and everything. Carl (looking at cross): Damn- I went TOO far south!
Nora Simon
Carl is "born again" and led to altar by Daisy.
- To tune of " Little Chapel of Love" Carl and Daisy stand before altar.
Carl has second thoughts on entering marriage. Takes to bottle.
jim steensen
- Carl holding the cross and saying "there's no place like home. there's no place like home. there's no place like home
zoom out
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