This week's panel suggested by Jon Delorey

An Embarrassment of Riches

There were so many good ideas for this panel! I'm glad we get to do this one over and over because there were several on this list I still hope to use when the "promise" panel comes around again. Remember: Don't be shy about re-posting, you just might make it next time!

As always, suggestions are listed in the order they were received. Thanks for playing and please join us again next Sunday!

--Scott
Sunday 01/10/1999

Matthew Beermann

• Cut to Carl slumped over the wheel of his car, bloody and unconscious (though not dead) (yet).

Elan Trinidad

• Zoom out: The PREVIOUS PANEL is actually a POP ART PAINTING in a gallery. Carl and a potential buyer stand looking at it. In the background there are a couple of other paintings.
  Carl: This is my best work, so far.
  Buyer: I'll buy it for $600.
  Carl: SOLD!

Douglass Barre (Age 28)

• CAPTION: "Later..." The panel shows Carl driving past another car, in which his mom is drinking and driving.
  CARL: "What the--?" (Okay, he doesn't have to say "What the--?", I've just always wanted to write someone saying that. Have you ever known anyone to actually verbalize "What the--?"?)

Jesse Rimler

• Top Left of panel reads "Later that day..." Carl, looking obviously drunk, says "I gesh I'll jes call a cab"

  Thats what I got. But hey, I'm just a lonely cartoonist. I can't compete with the likes of Neil Gaiman!

Stéphane Lussier

• Mom moves towards a closet door (now opening) and says : "It's okay Charles, You can come out now! Carl is gone!"

David Goldfarb (age 30)

Hi, Scott. You've done my name in green the last couple of weeks, so can I request red this week? Thanks. Anyway, on to suggestions.

• To re-use one from before, have Carl be really an actor on a TV set filming a public-service spot. The director shouts, "Cut! Cut! C'mon, Jerry -- more emotion!" (The director should be a woman, btw.)
• Have Carl stalk off, darkly muttering, "Interfering old hag! I'll kill her!"
• We could re-use, "She didn't say anything about DRUGS." This would help dovetail with the nightmare story...
• We could re-use, "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

  That's all I can think of now...more later, maybe.

[On the matter of name color, I'm afraid that it has to remain pot luck, because of the way I paste these pages up and my obsessive-compulsive need to keep the order strictly chronological. Still, if anyone is as obsessive-compulsive as I am and covets red you can lurk on Sundays until I post the new panel (don't forget to reload frequently) and then try to be the very first new poster. The first one is always red! --Scott]

Joseph Caouette

• Carl is sitting in the passenger seat of a car. In the driver's seat is a little girl(around 6 years old). Carl seems a little tipsy and says, "I'm too drunk to drive. You'll have to."
• On an entirely different tangent, the woman says, "Oh, by the way, you're adopted." Carl is on his knees, weeping.
• Carl is repelling down the side of a building, saying, "Oh well. Guess I'll have to do some covert government operations instead."

Morgan Doninger

Happy New Year!!! Let's keep it simple this time.

• The panel is a close up of Carl's hand behind his back. He has his fingers crossed.

Ladies Man

• It is time my soul brother Carl got himself a little action, dig? So I says the brother holds his sweet flower Daisy in his arms and purrs " I love you baby, thanks". The shot would be of them hugge'n ready for some sweet looove. Dawg.

Lamont

• Carl calls his friend (Daisy? Randy? Frank?) and says " (friend) can you drive tonight?" Carl is being responsible and finds himself a designated driver. Good lad, that Carl.

Guy Nelson

this was suggested by someone else way back in section one, but it still cracks me up every time I think about it:

• a picture of Carl looking very sinister, muttering to himself: "foolish woman, do you think my plans involve a mere 'drink and drive'?" to prepare for the up-comming "daisy in the helecopter" crossroads:
• Carl: "besides, Daisy said SHE would drink and drive tonight!"

Thomas Dougherty III

• Carl in car with bottle marked with an X. Says, "I love lying!"
• Same panel as before minus the word balloons.
• Same panel as before only Carl replies with: "You said that yesterday!"
• Carl is swimming with dolphins.
• Carl is drinking while in a helecopter... "Jeepers, I sure do like Helicopters!"
• Same panel as before only Carl's eyes have gone into that "crazy twirl" (I think it would look better if only one was twirling) a pair of red horns have also begun to grow (hard to see, only dots at this point). Mom: "Carl, you don't look well." Carl: "I'm not Carl. I'm Lucifer!"

  I think this one would be interesting once the Momster gets there. :)

dan wheeler

• carl on a pony ride at the circus drinking a 40.
• carl drinking a 40 and operating heavy machinery capable of doing grevious harm to any and everyone nearby.

  now for a suggestion i didn't make the last time we had this panel.

• carl's mom "good! then have a beer."

Doug Waldron

• Carl's Mom: "Hey, who the heck ARE you anyway?!"
• Carl dons cowboy hat, climbs on horse, and yells: "Yippee-ki-yay, Mom!"
• Carl gets in car: "A nice day at the Millard Fillmore Presidential museum would be an interesting diversion."
• Carl in fast-food restaurant: "I'll have two extra- greasy burgers, please." Ominous Stranger in line next to him: "Those things will kill you, you know."
• Carl: "Besides, I'll need my wits about me when I attack the President!"
• Carl at computer. Screen shows opening page from scottmccloud.com: "I probably shouldn't play on the Internet at work, but..."

  [Douglass Barre is down to 13 from 28? Buy! Buy! Must be fluctuation due to the introduction of the Euro.]

colin roald

Something like Mark Krukar's suggestion from Section 1 panel 1 seems like it would work here:

• "Daisy's picking me up," Carl calls out as he walks out to a waiting car.

Pete White

• Shot of Daisy and Carl in a vehicle (it could be something other than a helicopter, coming from a different angle)

  Daisy: Have you seen Bill?

Pascal Lavoie

• Super-Carl, cape on his back, and a bottle in his hand, flies off in the sky.

  Carl: "She said nothing about drinking and flying!"

taylor

• "Are you sassing me young man!" Accuses Carl's mother. Carl looks shocked.

Michael Avolio

• Carl clutches his chest and screams. ("Heart attack!" or "Arrgh!" or something to that affect?)
• Carl's mom whips out a ! (Shoots him?)
• Carl whips out a pistol! (Shoots her?)
• Something falls from the sky and hits Carl on the head.
• Carl whips out a and puts it to his head. ("Good-bye cruel world!", perhaps?)
• Carl puts a noose around his neck (like in the other two panels at the top right)
• There's a ticking sound. Carl is puzzled. His mom says, "Oh, and deliver this to Aunt Harriet."
• Carl's car crashes into a tree.
• We see Carl, in his car, drinking.
• Carl just sorta stands there.
• Carl looks at his watch and says, "Well, it's getting late!"
• "She didn't say anything about drinking and __" (flying? digging? mime-ing? drinking some more?)
• We see Carl's finger's crossed behind his back.
• Carl's mom grabs the "I promise" word balloon and looks at it -- what's this?
• The panel is black, except for their eyes. "The power went out!"
• Carl and his mom look at us. "Who are they?"
• Scott McCloud walks into frame. (Come on, Scott, you've gotta make an appearance at least once!)

  Sorry about the length here. I hope you use one of my ideas... (Pretty please?) :)

[All good things come to those who wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. --Scott]

George Broderick, Jr.

• Carl sits astride a backhoe chugging a beer, saying "She didn't say anything about drinking and operating heavy machinery!"

Drew Hart-Shea

I think it's time Mom took the spotlight for a while, so:

• The front door slams behind Mom as carl exits. She says: "Ha! with that moron out of the way, I can get back to my evil plan. Nyuk! Nyuk!"
• door slams behind Mom. She says: "Drink and Drive? Pah! He'll wish he was drunk when realises he's missing THESE" She is holding the BRAKE CABLES (gasp!) from Carl's car.
• door slams... Mom:(looking tired out) "hmmm... dirty dishes ...dirty laundery...what the hey, I think *I'll* take a drive too.."

Jeff

• "I know, I'll go hang-gliding"
• Carl goes for a hotair balloon ride. "If I can't drink and drive, I'll drink and fly"
• Carl goes out back and begins jumping on a trampoline. "I sure can bounce high."
• Carl goes to bed, and in the background, you see his closet slightly open and a few eyes peering out.
• "I'll stand on my head and act like a walrus!" Carl says as he sticks pencils in his mouth to look like tusks and tries to stand on his head.
• Carl, dressed in a tux, picks up the beautiful Daisy and they head to their prom (or winter formal). "Daisy, you look great. Are you ready to go?"
• Carl heads toward a dock saying, "I want to go sea diving."

frank episale

• zoom out to see a girl standing next to carl. she whispers "but CARL...."
  he replies "daisy, shhh. do you want her to give me the keys or not?"
  "bye mom! thanks!"

Charles Sumner

• Carl hops into the cab of a beer truck while an old trucker says, "Good luck as our new driver."

Doug Waldron (again)

• Zoom out to show Carl and Mom both holding automatic weapons. In unison: "Now let's get 'em!!"

casey ontiveros

• next panel have carl say "OK then you drive and I get tanked up!"

Howard Ian Schiller

Enough of Carl obeying his mom!

• Carl chugging down a beer while driving while yelling out the window "Screw you Mom!" (or the tamer... "Yeah right...")

Mike Branch

• Carl walking down the road (worn clothing): "I sure am thirsty!"

Allen B Moore

• Carl sits in the passenger seat of a car, a bottle in hand and a cat at the wheel. He says "But if I drink, Fluffy can drive!"

Catt Jan Roxxanne

• carl says "um- why?"
• show carl in a super hero outfit with Daisy behind him and have him say "-and thank you, for CARLMAN always listens to his mother!"

Brad Gregg

• Carl is driving behind a VERY leaky beer truck that inexplicably sprouts a whale like blowhole of beer through the roof a Carl's convertible

Eric Carpenter

• Another obviously intoxicated guy leaves a bar and enters his car.
• "Now I can practice my stunt driving!"
• Carl winds down the perilous snowy road from his mother's house.
• Carl thinks "Geez, how many times is she going to tell me that?" as he drives away.

Addison Godel

WOO! Finally made it! Time to follow up my victory with a series of extremely nerve-wracked, unlikely to succeed suggestions....got little energy left for "She didn't say anything about drinking and -dredging-!" sort of ones, so let's see...

• She didn't say anything about bursting into flame!
• Carl's "Mom": "Congratulations! You're now a certified drag racer!" Carl: "Oh boy!"
• Carl's Mom: (apparently losing it) "And watch out for pink elephants...and blue people..." Carl: "Huh?"
• Carl: "But that means you'll have to drive me to the big keg party!"
• Scraggly-bearded pirate: (bursting in): "That's the least of your worries!" Carl: "PIRATE JOE!!"
• Carl: "OH MY GOD! I'M IN THE WRONG HOUSE!"

  Quick question: Why is the 'original' Carl strip up on the site and not the one with variable pathways a la CYOC? I always preffered the choose-your-own route one, although they both certainly illustrated their points rather nicely.

  ---Addison, collapsing around our ears

[I'd like to do that at some point, but time has been tight lately. Part of the problem is that I don't want to just scan it and put it up cold. Meanwhile, though if anyone wants to take a peek, you can find the original multi-directional Carl strip in Understanding Comics, page 105 (with a little refrain on page 206). --Scott]

Luke Zentner

• Carl: Will you give me money for a taxi?

Piers Beckley

I think it's time that Carl's Mom got her turn in the spotlight. Therefore...

• Mum is sitting at the wheel of her car, driving along with a beer in her hand.

  Carl's Mom: More beer for me that way.

  (Mum/Mom/potayto/potahto)

Jon Delorey

• Carl says - Yeah, I promise all right... "I am a free man!"
• Carl says - What is this? Ground Hog Day?

Linda Delorey

• Carl sits in lotus position and goes into a deep meditative state and says "Let me think about that."

John Pacheco

• Carl in his car with a gigantic meteor about to smite him.
• Carl getting into a moonrover.
• Carl leaving a large austere building with sign. Sign: Asylum
  Carl: I don't really think that place is good for Mom. It gives me the creeps!
• Carl drinking in his car, and monstrous tentacles beginning to protrude from himself! Beer label: Hellbrew
• Carl and Mom continue talking, but the shot is larger to reveal both people are floating in the midst of the astral plane. Carl: Thank you for this knowledge with which you have illumined my being. Mom: Now return to your body, and continue your training.

Winter (age 3)

• Then his mother turns into a monster. And then Carl runs and gets a cookie and he eats it.

Sky (age 5)

• Carl drives. And drinks.

Ivy (38 and proud of it)

• Carl passes a mirror and we see his reflection is that of the Devil.

Paul Hanna

• Carl's mother decks him.
• Carl experiences a dizzying psychic episode wherein he gets a distinct feeling that he WILL die if he goes out. Call it ESP.
• Carl says "OK, Mom, I'll see you later, ."
• Carl discovers that his car only works in reverse.

Adam Glassman

• As he heads to his room, depressed, Carl reassures the woman, "I don't want to end up like Dave just did."

Kenneth Applebaum (age 22 312/365) [how's that for precision?]

• Shot of Carl's hands behind his back, one clutching a flask (marked "XXX") and the other with fingers crossed. "Or may God strike me down," he says.
• Caption reads, "Two weeks later." Carl behind the wheel looking dessicated. "I'm so thirsty," he rasps. "How long until I reach Ft. Lauderdale?"
• Variation on literalist ignorism trend: Daisy's hair and arm just visible above dashboard; Carl, with beads of sweat on his forehead, maybe with a bra hanging off his head, holding onto the wheel with one hand and leaning over the passenger seat with a deliriously happy expression on his simple face, saying, "She never said anything about getting laid and driving! This is just like that movie 'Crash'!"

  OK, so I get off from cartoons getting lucky. Go ahead, report me to Tipper Gore, see if I care.

Stephen Mellor

• She never said anything about drugs, though!