2009-10-20
Original: 2009-10-20 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: Two aliens stand at a console aboard a spaceship, looking out a window at a field of asteroid debris in space.
Alien 1: WHAT WAS HERE?
Alien 2: A PLANET CALLED "EARTH." IT WAS DESTROYED BY AN ASTEROID.
Alien 1: WAS THERE A CIVILIZATION?
Alien 2: YES, BUT ONLY ONE ARTIFACT WAS EVER RECOVERED.
The recovered artifact (shown as a photo-booth strip labeled "PHOTO-MATIC"):
Frame 1: A man and a woman sit close together, both smiling at the camera.
Frame 2: The man leans in and kisses the woman on the cheek; she looks surprised/pleased.
Frame 3: The woman turns and they embrace, gazing at each other.
Frame 4: A bright explosion/burst fills the frame (the asteroid impact).
Votey:
Text caption: THOUGHT BUBBLE BETWEEN PANELS 3 & 4:
Thought bubble: I'VE GOT TO PROTECT THE ONE I LOVE!
Alien 1: WHAT WAS HERE?
Alien 2: A PLANET CALLED "EARTH." IT WAS DESTROYED BY AN ASTEROID.
Alien 1: WAS THERE A CIVILIZATION?
Alien 2: YES, BUT ONLY ONE ARTIFACT WAS EVER RECOVERED.
The recovered artifact (shown as a photo-booth strip labeled "PHOTO-MATIC"):
Frame 1: A man and a woman sit close together, both smiling at the camera.
Frame 2: The man leans in and kisses the woman on the cheek; she looks surprised/pleased.
Frame 3: The woman turns and they embrace, gazing at each other.
Frame 4: A bright explosion/burst fills the frame (the asteroid impact).
Votey:
Text caption: THOUGHT BUBBLE BETWEEN PANELS 3 & 4:
Thought bubble: I'VE GOT TO PROTECT THE ONE I LOVE!
Alt text
A four-panel SMBC comic. Top: two green aliens stand at the console of a spaceship, gazing out at a field of broken asteroid rubble drifting in space. One asks, "What was here?" The other answers, "A planet called 'Earth.' It was destroyed by an asteroid." The first asks, "Was there a civilization?" The reply: "Yes, but only one artifact was ever recovered." Below floats that artifact: a vertical PHOTO-MATIC photo-booth strip of four sepia frames. Frame 1, a man and woman sit smiling side by side. Frame 2, the man kisses her cheek. Frame 3, the two embrace and gaze at each other. Frame 4, a blinding starburst explosion fills the panel. The joke: the sole surviving record of humanity is a romantic photo-booth strip whose final frame happens to capture the asteroid that wiped out the planet. Votey (aftercomic): a hand-lettered note reads "THOUGHT BUBBLE BETWEEN PANELS 3 & 4:" above a thought balloon saying "I've got to protect the one I love!" — implying the man saw the asteroid coming and shielded his partner in the moment before impact.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.