This week's panel suggested by Red Samael and Howard Ian Schiller.
And BOY, was that hard to fit into that tiny panel!

[Note: I mistakenly credited Red's idea to Addison Godel earlier this week. Apologies to both players.]



Two's a crowd?

Neil's suggestion of last week left us the alternative of dumping the extra Carl and despite some great ideas that kept him, I thought Red and Howard's return to solo status was a good idea (and delightfully hokey which is, of course, Carl's middle name.) This was a hard choice. Overall, this was one of our best sets of ideas yet. Maybe one of the suggestions below will make it into Section 3!.

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

--Scott
Sunday 11/29/1998




James Riley

  • Carl has a woman under each arm, and a smile on his face. He says, "Kill myself with love!"


Jeff

  • Carl is walking on a bridge wondering how he is going to live, or at the ledge, wondering whether he should jump.
  • Carl is at a therapist's office, trying to talk.
  • He says, "Maybe I'll go for a drive to relax," and he gets into his car.
  • Carl realizes he needs to get his life in order and joins the military.
  • Carl decides to run away...maybe by hitchhiking...or you just see him walking with his back to us with a little bag, wondering where to go.


frank episale

  • zoom out to reveal that carl is holding a bottle of whiskey. dialogue bubble: "a little at a time..."


HARRISON!

  • One winged Carl says to the other: "you really can't blame yourself, you know. come on, let's get a beer." other carl: "sniff"


David Goldfarb (age 30)

  • Caption: "Carl prepares to meet his maker." We see Carl with a gun, as from off-panel enters -- Scott McCloud!
  • Another idea: since we're heading downward, we should be continuing from the version with two Carls. So perhaps one of them is telling the other, "No! You can't! Mom would have wanted you to live!"
  • Then again, perhaps the other Carl would go along with that, since they are after all the same man. So we can have him saying, "Yes! Come, I'll drive us to the bridge!"

    (It occurs to me that I'm assuming that we're continuing on from the previous stories; Neil's panel could also be good taken purely as a starting point. What's the intent here?)

    [I figured I'd leave that up to you guys! --Scott]


dan wheeler

  • carl 1&2 standing in front of their mom's gravesite point at yet another carl (the one who spoke) "who are YOU?"
  • the hunter who tried to shoot carl steps out of the shadows "No boys, it's my fault" The two carls say in unison "Dad?!"


Aldo Alvarez

  • Illustration: Carl, driving car, simultaneously swigging from XXX bottle and throwing pills into his mouth :
    Dialogue possibilities:

    Carl: "I wonder what I do that's so *wrong*!!."

    Carl: "I'll go out for a drive until I feel lots better."

    Carl: "I should get back to work!"

    Carl: "I should just admit that I have a driving problem!!"

  • Carl's doppelganger turns on guilty Carl -- with a gun and an angry sneer.
    Possible dialogue:

    Carl2:"Lucky for you that I mean to kill *you*!"

    Carl: "Over my dead body!"

    Carl2: "But you have *so* much to *live* for!"

    Carl2: "Need help?"

    Carl2: "Not if *I* kill you *first*!"


Morgan Doninger

  • A movie director replete with floppy hat and megaphone walks into the panel and yells "Cut, cut, cut! Carl, that was too much. Tone it down, babe."


Aaron Cumming

  • Carl visits the local "Guns n' Beer" shop to buy a pistol.


Mark Oakley

  • But first, I suppose I really should return this stuff I borrowed.

  • I thought of another one: "But first, I'm kind of hungry"

    I like the idea of potential suicides getting distracted by last meals and whatnot and once entangled in the complexities of those distractions, forgetting that they were planning to kill themselves.

    Rash decisions based on moments of high emotion constantly cause people to do remarkable things which, given enough time, we would probably have chosen against. (I'm often guilty of this.) It illustrates one of the elements of human bahaviour I find most endearing, funny and terrifying all at the same time. Without it, we probably wouldn't have done half the neat things we've done as a race, or have committed half of the horrors.

    Although, I like my first suggestion more. The thought of somebody trying to return C.D.s and stuff before killing themselves seems both amusing and thoughtful. I can almost see it done in a 'Whinnie the Pooh' story.

    Hm. Now I want to draw it.


Scott Sorkin

  • We see Carl behind the wheel of a school bus, happily swigging from a bottle, leading the school children in a rousing chorus of "Ninety Nine Bottles of Beer".


Howard Ian Schiller

    I'll work on the idea that we're starting fresh (no wings, no twins)... So with that in mind comes the classic scene...

  • Carl standing on the edge of a bridge with the water below yelling out "Goodbye cruel world"

    BTW: I'm so glad that Carl has returned. Its a highlight of my week! I was at a loss without it.


Catt Jan Roxxanne

  • Carl is walking down a stair case with a saddend, guilty look and saying to himself "Mom always looked out for me. I really owe her...(sigh)."
  • OR carl is looking at a mirror but his facial reflection is a skull instead. He'd have one of those "-gasp-!" expressions on his face.

    Whatevah works for you!


CyberCat

  • Since we have a spare Carl no matter how we got to this panel, having Carl "kill himself" can be open to a slightly different interpretation. Maybe have Flying/Falling Carl with an insane look in his eye, lunging for Driving Carl's throat...


Brian Cubbage

  • Carl #1 pulls out a gun and kills Carl #2. He says something like, "Oh, that feels MUCH better."
  • Carl (#1 or #2) stands in front of a mirror adjusting the bow tie of his tuxedo. He says, "I can at least die in style!"
  • The ghost of Carl's mother appears, saying something like "Avenge my death, sonny!"


Piers Beckley

  • Carl looks over at the wall of his house, on which are hanging an axe, a gun, a noose and a bottle marked with a skull and cross-bones.

    Carl: But how?


Jon Delorey

  • Carl, not knowing how to arrange his demise, consults his collection of comics for ideas.
  • Carl decides that his mother would not approve of drinking so decides to investigate over eating as a means of suicide.
  • Carl is so overcome with guilt that he starts a religion where guilt does not exist. (Guru Carl has a ring to it and provides the possibility of martyrdom)
  • Carl joins a convent.....


Fish

  • Carl attempts suicide by crucifiction-but he just can't get that last nail in!
  • Carl gets himself assigned to the USS Enterprise and dons a red shirt.
  • Carl attacks his other self (Kill myself--not kill me!)


Horselover Fat

  • Carl: "How should I do it?" Behind him, a shadowy figure with a knife looms!
  • Carl: I might as well DRINK and DRIVE!!
  • Carl (pensive): But wait... do I really want to die a virgin?
  • There's Mom, tapping Carl on the shoulder! Carl: GAAAH!!


Kenneth Applebaum

  • Winged Carl flies over the lion preserve at the zoo, hoping one of the big cats has watched a Sylvester & Tweety short. "Heeere, kitty kitty kitty," he calls mournfully (though how you'd represent suicidal depression here is left up to the artist's unique skills, kiss kiss).


Jenny Jo Reinhart

    Wow, beaten out by Neil! That's almost cooler than winning! :-) Anyway, my ideas:

  • Mom's spirit appears in a thought-bubble. She says, "I didn't raise you to be a quitter! Get on with your life!"
  • Alternatively, she says "That's what happens when you drink and drive!
  • A perky goth-girl appears next to Carl and says, "Come now! Are you sure that's a good idea?"
  • Change of scene to Carl standing under a spreading oak tree with a rope dangling from one of the branches. Carl is standing on a box fiddling with the end of the rope, thinking, "I wish I'd paid more attention in Boy Scouts."


mike jozic

  • Carl is standing outside of an Industrial Explosive store with a caption reading..."This should do the trick."
  • Carl is standing on a beach, his mother floating away on a viking longship in flames with a caption reading..."But not before I give mom the burial she deserves."


Doug

  • Carl on phone: "Hello? ACME mail order? I'd like to buy a small bomb..."


Christopher Ekman

  • The winged Carl should pull an "It's A Wonderful Life" on the earthbound Carl, by showing him how the world would have been different had he not lived.

    But this should only prove that Carl I is, in fact, miserably inconsequential, so Carl II ought to toss him over a cliff.


tony brandl

  • carl taking excessive amounts of sleeping pills with BEER which he claims is to blame for his horrible life, and so the perfect tool in his own demise.


Harry Lagoussis

  • "So..." Carl attacks himself (that is, the other Carl) and starts to strangle him (alternatively, he could stab him or whatever you see fit). Having to deal with two Carls has been giving me a headache anyway.


Matthew Damien

  • Other Carl says sarcastically well then why don't you just drink & drive. Would Mom want that? Carl2 replies, what are you so upset about, that was MY mother.


Douglass Barre (Age 28)

  • Carl lights up with an idea... "Perhaps I can... drink and drive! That should do it!"


Michael Avolio

  • Carl looks at someone off panel, who says something like, "You don't want to do that."
  • Carl says something like, "Well, I'm off to buy some poison!" or "Anybody got a ?"


Bill Randall

  • Image: Carl, eyes shut with grief, pulls out a cat. Word balloon: This razor blade should do the trick.


Jason Brice

  • Carl still distraught, picks up the phone and starts to dial. "I'll kill myself by eating so many delivery pizzas I explode!"


MOJO

  • CARL'S MOM: -HIC- *BURRRP!!*


Darrin Wood

  • Carl will be in his car and say: "Hmmm, I wonder what this button does?"

Addison Godel

  • Carl 1 attacks Carl 2 with knife ("Bwaha!"). Carl 2 cries out "Hey, that doesn't mean kill -me-!" Or some pithier version of same.


Red Samael

  • Carl is standing on the edge of a bridge, with a long drop below. He has a rope noose around his neck. He's about to jump...
    He says: Goodbye cruel world!


Tom Dougherty

  • Mom appears as an angel and tries to talk Carl out of killing himself.


Felipe Ferreira

  • After Carl decides to kill himself, another (older version of) Carl comes from a time-vortex-portal-whatever and says: old carl:"Don't even dare thinking of doing it!"
  • On the other panel Carl asks: carl:"who..." old carl: " I did not spend all this time learning time-traveling with the x-dudes and the turtles just to see you die!"
  • or he could die, go to hell just to discover that they are closed for lunch!


Winter (age 3)

  • Keep Kennan out in the party.


Sky (age 5)

  • Carl sees the other Carl.


Ivy

  • A hand from above comes in, ala Monty Python : word balloon from above (not so fast little man)



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