Editing 25: Barrel - Part 4

{{comic
| number    = 25
| date      = October 31, 2005
| title     = Barrel - Part 4
| ognumber  = 26
| ogtitle   = Monday's Drawing
| oglink    = https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063505/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=20#:~:text=2%3A42%20pm-,Monday%27s%20Drawing,-(11%20Comments
| ogprev    = 37
| ognext    = 26
| image     = barrel_part_4.jpg
| titletext = <wbr>:(<br><br>''<div class="plainlinks">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063505/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=20#:~:text=2%3A42%20pm-,Monday%27s%20Drawing,-(11%20Comments Original caption]:'' By the way, here are all the barrel comics on a single (easily linked) page:<br>http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html<br>I cheated, and went back and lightened the gridlines in #2. It was just bothering me. I'll try not to do that much. But as I'm not destroying anyone's childhood, I don't feel like I'm really pulling a George Lucas.<br>I mean, I'm not destroying more than one childhood.<br>Oops.</div>
}}

This was the twenty-sixth comic [[LiveJournal|originally posted to LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[37: Hyphen]], and the next one was [[26: Fourier]].

==Explanation==
In the first three comics of the [[:Category:The Boy and his Barrel|The Boy and his Barrel series]], [[Barrel Boy]] explored the ocean in a barrel and then encountered a whirlpool, all with a reaction of innocent wonder. Here, the empty barrel floating adrift, the title text, and a previous announcement by Randall that this would be the conclusion of the series, imply that the boy's encounter with the whirlpool separated him from the barrel, and he may have died.

This is the fifth in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features [[Barrel Boy]], a character that is different from what would quickly become the xkcd [[stick figure]] style. The full series can be found [[:Category:The Boy and his Barrel|here]]. After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on the site, it became clear that the original comic [[20: Ferret]] was also part of the series. The comics are listed in the order chosen by Randall:

* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

There was no original caption on LiveJournal for this comic. However, just three hours and four minutes after posting it, Randall made a new post, titled [https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063505/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=20#:~:text=5%3A46%20pm-,Barrel%20series,-By%20the%20way Barrel series], which is available above the Explanation on this page. In the first part of the post, he advertises the new page he created for "all the barrel comics", implying this was supposed to be the end of the The Boy and his Barrel series (the link is now defunct, but there's an [https://web.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html archived version]). In the [[37: Hyphen|caption of the previous comic]], he also said "Tune in Monday for the conclusion to the story of the boy and his barrel". However, this would turn out to not be the last comic in the series, as [[31: Barrel - Part 5]] and [[20: Ferret]] would be included later likely to give an unplanned good ending to the story.

In the second part of the post, he jokingly implies that Barrel Boy passed away, which will be found to be incorrect in the actual last comic in the series. It's possible he changed his mind in the meantime and wanted to give the series a happy ending. The reference to George Lucas is in response to the {{w|changes in Star Wars re-releases}} that were not widely liked by long-term fans of the original movies, as they covered a general revamping and upgrading of the visuals, [https://nofilmschool.com/Jabba-The-Hutt-Returned-to-Star-Wars additional scenes], and even reinterpretations of {{w|Han shot first|existing scenes}}. In his post, he says he believes the change he made to [[11: Barrel - Part 2]] aren't as controversial.

== Transcript ==
:[A barrel is shown on a grid paper background, floating sideways and empty in a choppy sea.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal| 26]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd.com]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:The Boy and his Barrel|05]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 05]]