Do you suppose they finally understood... that a man who can inspire laughter... and joy... is the holiest man of all? 
Appearing in "And When I Died...!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- ⏴ Clown (Darrel Daniel) (Ghost, soul or spirit) (Name revealed)
- ⏴ Ayla Prentiss ⏵
- ⏴ Richard Rory ⏵
- ⏴ Ruth Hart ⏵
- ⏴ Tragg
- ⏴ Garvey
Antagonists:
- Critics (First appearance)
- Agent of Heaven (First appearance)
- Agent of the Realm Between (First appearance)
- Agent of Hell (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Darrel's Bully (First appearance) (Construct worn by Tragg)
- Betty Jo (First appearance) (Construct worn by Ayla Prentiss)
- Zoe Daniel (First appearance) (Construct worn by Ruth Hart)
- Milo Daniel (First appearance) (Construct worn by Garvey)
- Wall Street Journal (Mentioned)
- Dr. Laslo Schact (First appearance) (Construct worn by Tragg)
- Robert F. Kennedy (Mentioned in narration) (Topical Reference)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earthspace
- Heaven (Mentioned)
- Hell (Mentioned)
- Realm Between (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "And When I Died...!"
Story continued from Man-Thing #5... Richard Rory, Ruth Hart, Ayla Prentiss, Traag, Garvey and the Man-Thing have all been selected to become actors in a play being put on by the spirit of Darrel Daniel for the Critics: Creatures representing Heaven, Hell and the Realm Between. The play is on the life of Darrel Daniel, this is for that the Critics can determine where Darrel's soul belongs.
The first act of his play takes place during his childhood in the year 1944, transforming all the actors into his parents, the local bully, young Darrel, and the young girl whom he was friends with as a child. He then presents how his parents ruled over his life, and the spineless Darrel was unable to defend himself against the local bully.
Continuing at the Critics behest, he then reenacts the events of his sixteenth year: How the teenage Darrel found his fathers funeral the height of comedy, and his subsequent visit to a psychiatrist who diagnosed him with Culteral Mileu.
The final act is his time as a clown for Garvey's Carnival, how he found his voice as a clown and developing a relationship with Ayla. However, his act would take on a more macabre bent when he suspects that Ayla is only with him for his vast wealth, this would eventually lead him to committing suicide.
The Critics decide that Darrel made a failure of his life and blamed others, and are about to destroy his soul (deeming it has no place it is welcome) however, the Man-Thing intervenes and fights the Critics. When Ayla finally vocalizes her inner guilt, feeling responsible for Darrel's death and her genuine love of Darrel, the Critics overturn their decision and allow Darrel to enter paradise before leaving themselves. All witnessing are surprised to find that Darrel's corpse now has a smile on it's face, and the Man-Thing -- as always -- indifferently returns to the swamp once all the action is over.