Barrel - Part 3
Barrel - Part 3
[A large and deep vortex is in the center; spinning water covers the whole panel. A boy in a floating barrel is near the edge, apparently about to be sucked in.] Boy: wow!

In the first two comics in the Barrel series, the boy is floating in the ocean in a barrel, making fairly innocent points about life's uncertainty. In this comic, the view has zoomed out considerably, and the boy is seen to be on the edge of a gigantic whirlpool . Thus, there is now a palpably heightened sense of danger, though the boy's reaction continues to be innocent wonder.
The comic's visual composition is reminiscent of a classic 1919 illustration by Harry Clarke , made for Edgar Allan Poe 's 1841 short story " A Descent into the Maelström ." In the short story, the main character escapes from drowning by using a barrel to escape The Maelström.
This is the third in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a character who is not consistent with what would quickly become the xkcd stick figure style. The character is in a barrel.
After Randall released the full The Boy and his Barrel story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original Ferret story should also be included as part of the barrel series.
The full series can be found here . But below they are listed in the order Randall has put them in his collection linked to above:
[A large and deep vortex is in the center; spinning water covers the whole panel. A boy in a floating barrel is near the edge, apparently about to be sucked in.] Boy: wow!
