death-5
Original: death-5 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: A blonde employee in a store aisle greets a bearded man in a red shirt.
Employee: Can I help you find anything, sir?
Panel 2 (close-up on the bearded man's weary face):
Bearded man: Purpose.
Panel 3: The employee, smiling, holds out a small potted plant to the bearded man.
Employee: You could tend this dying orchid to remind yourself that the inevitability of death is not without beauty.
Panel 4: The bearded man sits alone at a table with the potted plant.
Bearded man: Nothing remains, but nothing is lost.
Panel 5 (wide bottom panel): The bearded man, beaming, gives two thumbs up in front of a giant Walmart logo and sunburst.
Bearded man: Thanks, Walmart!
Votey:
The bearded man's face in extreme close-up, eyes welling with tears, as a speech bubble points to him.
Bearded man: You and I are mortal, sweet flower. Walmart is forever.
Employee: Can I help you find anything, sir?
Panel 2 (close-up on the bearded man's weary face):
Bearded man: Purpose.
Panel 3: The employee, smiling, holds out a small potted plant to the bearded man.
Employee: You could tend this dying orchid to remind yourself that the inevitability of death is not without beauty.
Panel 4: The bearded man sits alone at a table with the potted plant.
Bearded man: Nothing remains, but nothing is lost.
Panel 5 (wide bottom panel): The bearded man, beaming, gives two thumbs up in front of a giant Walmart logo and sunburst.
Bearded man: Thanks, Walmart!
Votey:
The bearded man's face in extreme close-up, eyes welling with tears, as a speech bubble points to him.
Bearded man: You and I are mortal, sweet flower. Walmart is forever.
Alt text
A five-panel SMBC comic. In panel one, a blonde store employee greets a weary bearded man in a red shirt: "Can I help you find anything, sir?" In a close-up panel two, the man answers flatly, "Purpose." In panel three, the employee hands him a small potted plant, saying, "You could tend this dying orchid to remind yourself that the inevitability of death is not without beauty." Panel four shows the man sitting alone at a table with the plant, musing, "Nothing remains, but nothing is lost." The wide bottom panel shows the man beaming and giving two thumbs up in front of a giant blue Walmart logo and yellow sunburst, exclaiming, "Thanks, Walmart!" The joke: a man seeking existential purpose finds it through a clerk's poetic upsell, crediting the corporate retailer for his enlightenment. Votey (aftercomic): an extreme close-up of the bearded man's face, eyes brimming with tears, telling the little plant, "You and I are mortal, sweet flower. Walmart is forever."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.