This was a momentary CIDU, for want of a comma. Sent by Boise Ed. Ed did some research on our behalf and reports “If you look in the [GoComics] comments, you’ll see that it caught Mark Parisi by surprise.”
And a longer-puzzling CIDU-oy: I still can’t figure out the intended real-life musical pair being referred to. (Searching got me to an article mentioning opera director Robert Carsen and “superstar soprano Renée Fleming” — but the characters in the cartoon are not doing opera.)
Comics I Don't Understand 
A lemming follows. Hence Carsen & Lemming, rather than Carsen and Flemming.
But, Bob Brenner, that sounds like you are familiar with performers known as Carsen and Flemming. Is there such an act? Are they well-known?
Carsen seems a bit younger than this picture
The pun on draw as “make a picture” versus “pull out a weapon” is something I’m sure we’ve seen here several times before. Does it survive getting mixed up with the inter-comic banter?
The pun on draw as “make a picture” versus “pull out a weapon” is something I’m sure we’ve seen here several times before. Does it survive getting mixed up with the inter-comic banter?
Robert Carsen and Renée Fleming are director and singer with the Metropolitan Opera.
Thanks, SteverB. They came up in the CIDU editorial intro blurb for this cartoon, above, as the closest to a musical “Carsen & Lemming” that a very shallow internet search finds. But it seems unlikely that they are really meant as the models underlying the duo playing in the cartoon. Just as it seems unlikely that the contemporary young singer Carsen that Downpuppy linked to is being represented by the somewhat grizzled human half of the duo in the cartoon.
So it remains possible the mental or computer resources of the collective CIDUers will find a more convincing realworld model. Or we may be left with the probability that there is no particular model intended and the joke does not turn on there being one; but just on the name Lemming and the idea of following.
Who knows what cartoonists intend these here days, but Carsen and Flemming certainly can’t be well-known enough nor a musical duet for such a joke.
If one is to make a joke about lemmings (“you start and I’ll follow” is a valid and fine joke) it seems to obvious (perhaps too obvious) would be a joke on Lennon or Lemon. Lemming and Garfunkel would be too much of a stretch.
I’m going with no particularly model but… why Carsen? that’s such an particular name. And why not the Lemming Sisters? or McCartney and Lemming? I suppose Carsen is no more particular than say Harris and Lemming but when one makes a joke of X and Y one assumes there’s a pun involved… a joke about a lemming alone just doesn’t seem enough, does it? But I can’t google anything.
Equally confusing comment’s on the Go Comics site:
“Is that Cliff Carsen?”
—“Who?”
–“If it’s “Splash” Lemming then it MUST be Cliff Carson…”
Although google searches on “Cliff Carsen”, “Cliff Carson”, “Splash Lemming” all reveal nothing.
…. Although maybe the commentator is making a joke that if you had to make up a first name of a partner of a Lemming that “Cliff” would be a good first name… and (stretching it) if the lemming had to have a stage name an appropriate one would be “Splash”.
….. in my book this is still a CIDU.
Obligatory note that lemmings do follow, but not off cliffs except in Disney documentaries. And lemmings are not unusual in migrating in a large group. Many animals and birds do that.
Imagine being a lemming and having to live with that unfair prejudice. It’s almost as bad as being Nimrod, the “mighty hunter” of the Bible, if he were to be with us today.
” It’s almost as bad as being Nimrod, the “mighty hunter” of the Bible, if he were to be with us today.”
He is, but changed his name to “Elmer Fudd” for some reason.
If instead of being inept at hunting, Elmer Fudd were inept at saving little forest creatures, or saving mankind for that matter, would Bugs have called him a “little Jesus” instead of a “little Nimrod”? And if so, would “Jesus” become a name for a stupid person?
As someone who (prior the epidemic) used to frequent folk music open mics, the “you proceed, I’ll follow” theme of the comic struck a chord with me. I’m not sure the guy’s name has real meaning here. Should the comic artist have gone with Jones or Smith?
Late to the comments, but I recall Yosemite Sam telling Bugs Bunny, “Draw, ya varmint!” only to have Bugs draw a cartoon and Sam trying to compete.