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Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
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There's ghosts at your heels and fairy tale worlds ahead. What do you do? Jump down the rabbit hole!
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It’s entirely possible she’s never been on a date in her life. There are real-world fundamentalist Christian groups that are just that grim and joyless. Of course, if her parents belonged to such a group, they’d probably be encouraging her to marry a boy from her church and start a family, rather than sending her off to college to earn her MRS, so it’s kind of a toss-up. Whatever the reason, it certainly isn’t shyness.
There are some of us, even who are not fundamentalists, who haven’t dated just because no one non-creepy has asked us out and our crushes have gone nowhere. Oh, and I’m 28. Christian, yes, fundy, no. Admittedly, I have been on two dates, once as a college freshman, and once this year, but that’s about it. And it’s nothing to do with grimness or joylessness.
It’s not just the Jesus thing. Her approach to romance, her approach to the people around her…She needs to get smacked down by reality, hard.
…And yet, she’s still better adjusted than Rommis!Joyce.
Oddly enough in retrospect, I had a (very shortlived) relationship just like that in high school, and actually enjoyed answering questions like this. It probably helps that I was mildly uncomfortable about her age and had no interest whatsoever in joeing her.
I have to say, I gave Mike more credit than this. Punching your employer in the face, regardless of prior arrangements, isn’t a smart way to stay employed. Even if he’s not doing it for the money, it’s clear he only punches people when paid to, so by giving up his employment he’d also be forgoing potential future punching opportunities.
Having said that…forget peeking Mike, Joe’s eyebrows in panel two give me the jibblies. I feel dirty just looking at him.
Mike’s payment is he gets to punch people in the face; it’s its own reward. Fear the day he figures out the power of punching people in the face was always his, and decides he doesn’t need an employer…
Hrmm I disagree. He was hired to prevent hanky panky and make sure everything stays above the table. Therefore preventing even HER from crossing the line. So if he has to punch her to prevent her from losing control then it is fully within his job description to do so and with as little hesitation as possible.
I see where this is going now. Conquest will appear and “out-sex” Joe on campus. With his penis. Mike and Sal will have a ruthless competition, which will break Joyce and cause her to become the new bad girl. Ruth and Billie will end up in some hot angry girl-on-girl action, Ethan will discover that Amazi-girl is Ninja Rick (or Faz) and other black-hole-consuming-the-universe hilarity. Whee!
And by list of potential conversation topics, she actually means a list of ways she can try and convert him in accepting her faith over his own, so she can bully him into marriage, when all he really wants is sexy-fun-time…
Subtle Joyce.
I honestly have to respect Joe’s commitment to this date. I’m pretty sure that if most people were on a date where the other person was either trying to convert them or force them to talk about topics I don’t feel comfortable discussing with someone they hardly even know… well, the date would be over rather quickly.
Or they would have let Mike punch her as a distraction to escape out the bathroom window.
You know, I would say this is strike two as far as the religion thing goes. Surely Joyce must know that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
So is anyone else wondering if DOA!Mike is gonna grow beyond being a joke character, and if so, how? My current theory/hope is that DOA will serve as almost an origin story for IW/SP! Mike.
See, in SP!, Mike tends to do/say horrible things that force people to face the worst parts of themselves and grow. He also has an art and subtlety in the way he works – see his relationship with Amber. DOA!Mike has, so far, pretty much acted like a thug whose greatest act has been dragging Amber away from her computer. My hope is we see Mike go through some event that changes his perspective and makes him into the Mike we know and love.
Maybe we’re involved in a bit of time travel that explains why Mike is still around in Shortpacked! considering that resurrection wasn’t supposed to be possible for him.
Uhm… have you read It’s Walky? The Mike/Dina relationship was HUGE character growth for Mike, and some of Willis’s best work, in my opinion. I definitely recommend going back to read that series, not only because it’s great but because it helped make Mike as beloved as he is today.
A. This effectively destroys the possibility of a kinder gentler Mike, oh well. I guess hauling amber away from the computer is about as kinder gentler as we’ll get.
B. Wow, Joe didn’t jump all over that “lust” line, nice restraint.
Joe is still making a serious effort to get into her pants – which requires more subtlety than jumping on the lust line.
Which of course raises the question of exactly *why* he’s still making a serious effort on such an obvious lost cause/train wreck. At first I thought it was just optomism/overconfidence, but I think we’re far beyond that. Even contractual character stupidity isn’t plausible any more. I actually now think it’s *pride* – Joe can get into any girl’s pants, dammit, and so he can’t admit that this one is impervious to his advances and has ‘beaten’ him.
I can see some harassed, overworked pastor, after about a dozen too many “couples counseling” sessions with married couples who’d nothing in common, in a really bad month, advising the young adults in his flock to “get to know them before you ‘know’ them,” maybe even going so far as to mention written checklists. And Joyce taking it WAY too far.
TIP: If you’re going to have date talking points, keep it on paper. I’ve been to a presentation where someone DID have their bullet points written on their arm….
Joyce’s pastor would tell her to say ten miles away fro Joe. She’s only supposed to date faithful, who she already knows, because aside from the religion everything else is irrelevant. As long as you agree on religion that refusal to get a divorce will take care of the rest.
I didn’t mean to sound bitter – I was just laying down the facts (with some snark): There are in fact religious factions where the religion is not just the main factor; it’s the ONLY factor. (From the perspective of the leadership, not necessarily the hormone-crazed young adult membership.) And Joyce’s sect seems quite likely to me to have such priorities – note the wide variety of subjects she’s focusing on.
GALASSO’S PIZZAS (and subs) FEATURES HIGH-HANGING LAMPS AND TALL BOOTH DIVIDERS. IN TIME THE ATMOSPHERE WILL CHANGE, SO THAT THE ARCHITECTURE WILL APPEAR MORE LIKE A MILITARY BUNKER. THE CHANGES WILL BE SUBTLE ENOUGH THAT LONG-TIME PATRONS WILL FAIL TO NOTICE SUCH CHANGES, BUT THEY WILL BE USED TO THE MILITARISTIC SETTING, AND COME TO CONSIDER SUCH AESTHETICS HOMELIKE. THUS THEY WILL BE MORE COMFORTABLE WHEN THEY JOIN GALASSO’S DARK ARMIES TO CONQUER THE MULTIVERSE.
Regardless of what people think of Joyce and her methods, so far I think she’s been good for Joe. Ridiculous as her overzealous attitude has been, she’s already caused Joe to open up socially and emotionally as a character. We’ve learned more about Joe’s human side in the last few strips alone than we have in the entire comic so far. And I think Joyce’s earnestness has been a major catalyst for this, so I appreciate that.
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Woo Animaniacs reference!
maybe
/me doesn’t get it
I can’t believe I never thought of coming up with a list of questions before hand. Would have saved me a lot of awkward silence…
How much does a polar bear weigh?
Because your ass is outta this world?
Mike, she only said one lust. Easy there, yellow bear.
Second panel Mike is punching me…in the soul.
It’s like his stare is fucking my mom for a nickel as we speak…
I did not see that the first time. Catching it the second time was creepy.
When you see it, you’ll shit brix.
I saw it, and I shit a brix wall
OMG Mike why
i heard the jaws theme when i saw that panel
LOL I totally didnt see him the first time I looked. xD
Faster Mike, KILL KILL!!!!!
You can tell she doesn’t date much. Even I am not that clumsy.
It’s entirely possible she’s never been on a date in her life. There are real-world fundamentalist Christian groups that are just that grim and joyless. Of course, if her parents belonged to such a group, they’d probably be encouraging her to marry a boy from her church and start a family, rather than sending her off to college to earn her MRS, so it’s kind of a toss-up. Whatever the reason, it certainly isn’t shyness.
There are some of us, even who are not fundamentalists, who haven’t dated just because no one non-creepy has asked us out and our crushes have gone nowhere. Oh, and I’m 28. Christian, yes, fundy, no. Admittedly, I have been on two dates, once as a college freshman, and once this year, but that’s about it. And it’s nothing to do with grimness or joylessness.
Just… you know, sayin’.
She was just about to list all seven of the Homunculi– err.. I mean Deadly Sins!
thank you. now im not the only one who thought that first.
Oh yes the humonculous of jealousy, he was a tough bastard to take down especially with that one power he had.
. . . Wait, what?
I do believe Jealousy’s original name was known as Envy.
Well that’s what was said in the film ‘Seven’ anyway…
Envy could shapeshift.
The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man.
SHAZAM!
That had Intolerance in place of Lust, though (classic version, anyway).
YES!!!
Adorable as this Joyce may be, I look forward to seeing her crash and burn.
I concur. It’s just painful watching her think she can brainwash people into a relationship where it’s a threesome with Jesus.
It’s not just the Jesus thing. Her approach to romance, her approach to the people around her…She needs to get smacked down by reality, hard.
…And yet, she’s still better adjusted than Rommis!Joyce.
I know it’s wrong, but I got a good giggle out of the thought of a threesome with Jesus.
Don’t feel bad. Jesus got a good giggle out of it too.
Oddly enough in retrospect, I had a (very shortlived) relationship just like that in high school, and actually enjoyed answering questions like this. It probably helps that I was mildly uncomfortable about her age and had no interest whatsoever in joeing her.
This date is starting to approach terminal velocity.
Terminal velocity is the BEST velocity.
Down Mikey down! Heel!
2nd panel Mike is my favorite thing ever.
So much so that it is now my new gravatar for the time being.
Awesome. On first impression everything is all good and smiley — and then there are Mike’s Eyes of Doom!!!
Dooooooooom!!!!!
Second Panel Mike is watching you lust.
And that is awesome.
GO JOE!! (did anyone else just have a childhood flashback?)
I’d like to take this moment to say that I really like Dumbing of Age, and strips like this are why.
/fanboy
/seconded
/thirded
Mike has powers.
Second panel I hear a Remix of the Jaws theme playing in my head for strange reason….must admit though, mike in panel two does give me the chills.
I have to say, I gave Mike more credit than this. Punching your employer in the face, regardless of prior arrangements, isn’t a smart way to stay employed. Even if he’s not doing it for the money, it’s clear he only punches people when paid to, so by giving up his employment he’d also be forgoing potential future punching opportunities.
Having said that…forget peeking Mike, Joe’s eyebrows in panel two give me the jibblies. I feel dirty just looking at him.
He also earned himself +1 Worst Chaperone Ever Points.
(I don’t know how much actually punching the person you’re chaperoning is worth, but it’s certainly more than +1 Worst Chaperone Ever Points.)
Mike’s payment is he gets to punch people in the face; it’s its own reward. Fear the day he figures out the power of punching people in the face was always his, and decides he doesn’t need an employer…
Hrmm I disagree. He was hired to prevent hanky panky and make sure everything stays above the table. Therefore preventing even HER from crossing the line. So if he has to punch her to prevent her from losing control then it is fully within his job description to do so and with as little hesitation as possible.
Mike is an equal opportunity puncher. Of FAAAAAAACE.
Joyce hired him to keep the date pure. I suspect she did so out of fear that she would be the one to initiate something just as much as Joe might.
I didn’t even notice Soul Piercing Mike in the second panel until everyone else pointed him out. Those eyes will haunt my dreams.
In the meantime though, I’m proud of Joe for acting like a gentleman and preventing the chaperone from punching out his date.
Ahh! New avatar!
me 2!!!! i again have no idea who i am…
You’re the head alien! Congrats!
Joe has more restraint than I would in that situation. I’d either start making lewd Jesus jokes or just let Mike punch her.
I can see it now, joe says date’s over, disperse, he runs into her passion + bad choices = chaos.
Galasso really should have sat Mike in the booth behind Joyce. Soulgaze Mike likely doesn’t have an effect on her Sunny rays of Sunny Sunnyness.
I see where this is going now. Conquest will appear and “out-sex” Joe on campus. With his penis. Mike and Sal will have a ruthless competition, which will break Joyce and cause her to become the new bad girl. Ruth and Billie will end up in some hot angry girl-on-girl action, Ethan will discover that Amazi-girl is Ninja Rick (or Faz) and other black-hole-consuming-the-universe hilarity. Whee!
My god… It’s full of foils.
Believe it or not, this is not the first universe where Mike has had a hankering to punch Joyce: http://www.itswalky.com/d/20001116.html
Sal avatar! Hell yeah!
In what universe does Mike not want to punch someone…probably in the soul, if not physically?
Mike at his absolute most vicious. Love it!
Does anyone else (not so secretly) want to see Joe and Mike fight?
Someone needs to edit Shaggy staring from behind Joe in panel two, just to take me back to the days where he was the one staring from the background.
nice galasso.
and this should be a fun project.
I <3 Mike soooo much!
And by list of potential conversation topics, she actually means a list of ways she can try and convert him in accepting her faith over his own, so she can bully him into marriage, when all he really wants is sexy-fun-time…
Subtle Joyce.
I honestly have to respect Joe’s commitment to this date. I’m pretty sure that if most people were on a date where the other person was either trying to convert them or force them to talk about topics I don’t feel comfortable discussing with someone they hardly even know… well, the date would be over rather quickly.
Or they would have let Mike punch her as a distraction to escape out the bathroom window.
You know, I would say this is strike two as far as the religion thing goes. Surely Joyce must know that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Good work, Einstein
So is anyone else wondering if DOA!Mike is gonna grow beyond being a joke character, and if so, how? My current theory/hope is that DOA will serve as almost an origin story for IW/SP! Mike.
See, in SP!, Mike tends to do/say horrible things that force people to face the worst parts of themselves and grow. He also has an art and subtlety in the way he works – see his relationship with Amber. DOA!Mike has, so far, pretty much acted like a thug whose greatest act has been dragging Amber away from her computer. My hope is we see Mike go through some event that changes his perspective and makes him into the Mike we know and love.
Wow, that was more longwinded than I thought.
Maybe we’re involved in a bit of time travel that explains why Mike is still around in Shortpacked! considering that resurrection wasn’t supposed to be possible for him.
So I support you’re above post.
Uhm… have you read It’s Walky? The Mike/Dina relationship was HUGE character growth for Mike, and some of Willis’s best work, in my opinion. I definitely recommend going back to read that series, not only because it’s great but because it helped make Mike as beloved as he is today.
I have to be honest, I never got that far. To put it gently, Willis has improved greatly as a writer and artist.
And I wasn’t saying Walkyverse!Mike was a joke character, I’m saying DOA!Mike is, and I’m wondering what direction he’ll go in.
Why didn’t you just bang her at church? Seems to me like the obvious solution.
Because it would make the angels weep.
And ANYONE who’s even slightly nerdy can tell you why that would be a bad idea.
Yeah… it’ll make them weep… with their penises!
Filthy Angel perverts. You know they like to watch.
They might like to watch, but the thing is, then you have to watch them. And don’t blink.
A. This effectively destroys the possibility of a kinder gentler Mike, oh well. I guess hauling amber away from the computer is about as kinder gentler as we’ll get.
B. Wow, Joe didn’t jump all over that “lust” line, nice restraint.
Joe is still making a serious effort to get into her pants – which requires more subtlety than jumping on the lust line.
Which of course raises the question of exactly *why* he’s still making a serious effort on such an obvious lost cause/train wreck. At first I thought it was just optomism/overconfidence, but I think we’re far beyond that. Even contractual character stupidity isn’t plausible any more. I actually now think it’s *pride* – Joe can get into any girl’s pants, dammit, and so he can’t admit that this one is impervious to his advances and has ‘beaten’ him.
I actually wonder if he’s not a virgin in this universe. Sure, he can talk a good talk, but that doesn’t mean it’s no more than a smokescreen.
Ooh! I like this idea!
Drunk Mike is weird enough, a kinder gentler Mike boggles the mind.
Maybe they should just give Mike some beer. You know… for the nerves.
Yes.
They’re freshman.
It’s Glasso’s restaurant. Do you honestly think he cares for the inane drinking laws, when he will one day take over with is pizza armies?
But he can’t risk bringing the authorities down on his head, not when his plans are so close to fruition!
I really want to see Jerry “The King” Lawler vs Mike in a Punching match.
I can see some harassed, overworked pastor, after about a dozen too many “couples counseling” sessions with married couples who’d nothing in common, in a really bad month, advising the young adults in his flock to “get to know them before you ‘know’ them,” maybe even going so far as to mention written checklists. And Joyce taking it WAY too far.
TIP: If you’re going to have date talking points, keep it on paper. I’ve been to a presentation where someone DID have their bullet points written on their arm….
Joyce’s pastor would tell her to say ten miles away fro Joe. She’s only supposed to date faithful, who she already knows, because aside from the religion everything else is irrelevant. As long as you agree on religion that refusal to get a divorce will take care of the rest.
(And no, I’m not kidding.)
Why do I suddenly have the urge to give your inner child a comforting hug?
I didn’t mean to sound bitter – I was just laying down the facts (with some snark): There are in fact religious factions where the religion is not just the main factor; it’s the ONLY factor. (From the perspective of the leadership, not necessarily the hormone-crazed young adult membership.) And Joyce’s sect seems quite likely to me to have such priorities – note the wide variety of subjects she’s focusing on.
(But yes, I am bitter.)
I miss my Billie avatar. I look all sad and wistful now, instead of grumpy.
Joe’s hand… last panel… looks like a cross between a hand and a foot
mike is a fan of cruel and hilarious punishment
GALASSO’S PIZZAS (and subs) FEATURES HIGH-HANGING LAMPS AND TALL BOOTH DIVIDERS. IN TIME THE ATMOSPHERE WILL CHANGE, SO THAT THE ARCHITECTURE WILL APPEAR MORE LIKE A MILITARY BUNKER. THE CHANGES WILL BE SUBTLE ENOUGH THAT LONG-TIME PATRONS WILL FAIL TO NOTICE SUCH CHANGES, BUT THEY WILL BE USED TO THE MILITARISTIC SETTING, AND COME TO CONSIDER SUCH AESTHETICS HOMELIKE. THUS THEY WILL BE MORE COMFORTABLE WHEN THEY JOIN GALASSO’S DARK ARMIES TO CONQUER THE MULTIVERSE.
Yeah, can I just get a slice of cheese and a coke or whatever?
OMG! Panel 2 Mike is the best!
-airfox
Regardless of what people think of Joyce and her methods, so far I think she’s been good for Joe. Ridiculous as her overzealous attitude has been, she’s already caused Joe to open up socially and emotionally as a character. We’ve learned more about Joe’s human side in the last few strips alone than we have in the entire comic so far. And I think Joyce’s earnestness has been a major catalyst for this, so I appreciate that.
Oh Mike…always eager to punch something…and we wouldn’t have it any other way XD
Love panel 2 Mike! Woo!
Joe has a huge mole on the back of his neck.
i just realized the mike in panel 2 XD that made me laugh haha
No no, Mike. You only get to punch the guy.