Dumbing of Age Book Eleven

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Uphill
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September 28, 2023

Uphill

by David M Willis on November 15, 2010 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - Uphill From Here

└ Tags: joyce, mike, walky

Discussion (105) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Jen Aside
    Jen Aside
    November 15, 2010 at 12:02 am | #

    Is one math book really that heavy??

    Mike’s book + Walky = WUSS

    • JackNapier
      JackNapier
      November 15, 2010 at 12:40 am | #

      Depending on the book, yes. Very yes.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      November 15, 2010 at 1:22 am | #

      Math books are frikkin huge. Not quite ‘library dictionary’ or ‘church bible’ huge, but, IME, the largest books a normal person would have to carry on a daily (or near daily) basis.

      • FireShard1
        FireShard1
        November 15, 2010 at 6:21 am | #

        You’ve never lugged around a college chem or biology book have you?

        • Kamino Neko
          Kamino Neko
          November 15, 2010 at 10:25 am | #

          No…no I haven’t. I’ll bow to superior knowledge, then.

          Math texts are still top ten contenders. >_>

        • KHNO
          KHNO
          November 19, 2010 at 12:22 pm | #

          or had to study translation… One dictionnary for the language you translate from, one for the language you translate to, and one for both – plus the book to translate. Glad there isn’t a book on how to on the top.

          • waldosan
            waldosan
            May 11, 2012 at 8:50 pm | #

            it’s not just one text book that gets you, it’s when every class makes you get either a text book or at least 3 “normal” books. considering that a full time student can have anywhere from 4-8 classes a day depending on how much of a scholar they are that’s a lot of weight to be carrying around all at once. it makes the lockers they offer at my community college a very practical solution.

        • Led
          Led
          July 28, 2012 at 5:52 pm | #

          Studying literature also makes for a heavy book bag, especially when you have to carry two 500 page novels (ofc available in hardcover only, not as pocket books), some papers to jot down notes on, a related book or two (usually really big) and a thick clump of papers with related texts…

      • Digidestined of Trust (Tim)
        Digidestined of Trust (Tim)
        February 17, 2011 at 1:24 pm | #

        Must be one big Bible, unless they’re study Bibles, but math book are definitely GINORMOUS!

    • dchorror
      dchorror
      November 15, 2010 at 1:51 am | #

      We don’t know if he’s only carrying one book. And paper and notebooks get really heavy really quick.

    • Robert in San Diego
      Robert in San Diego
      November 15, 2010 at 2:39 am | #

      If it’s a calculus text, oh yeah! The usual pattern is to have both the differential and integral calculus, and maybe some differential equations, in one book. that’s two quarters or semesters worth of stuff. Oh, and they’re usually hardcover. So yeah, a calc text can be a real tome.

      • Rowen Morland
        Rowen Morland
        November 15, 2010 at 9:26 am | #

        Looks like you put a lot of thought into it Mike! (points the finger) Actually I remember one time I almost fainted afer giving blood at the uni and getting a load of shopping on the walk home but the real culprit was my course text book.

        I like that Mike is being subtle now.

        • Stolen
          Stolen
          November 15, 2010 at 9:50 am | #

          mike’s always been subtle. now he’s just being sneaky about his asshole-ishness. dont worry, he’ll go back to being painfully blunt soon enough.

          • Blah
            Blah
            November 15, 2010 at 5:11 pm | #

            Who’s to say Mike didn’t slip bricks in to Walky’s bag?

  2. David Herbert
    David Herbert
    November 15, 2010 at 12:03 am | #

    Ah, heavy bags, the one thing I don’t miss about school.

    Also, I love how Mike’s all “Bye” for jaguars. Then again, he’d get the room to himself if Walky’s dead.

    • cappadocius
      cappadocius
      November 15, 2010 at 12:05 am | #

      Plus, it’s an easy A for the semester!

      • Malph
        Malph
        November 15, 2010 at 2:43 am | #

        I think that’s just a myth. I mean, my roomate mysteriously died, had breeze blocks tied to his legs, and was tossed into a river shortly after I found out I was failing math and biology, and instead of As I got questioned by the cops.

        • No0ne
          No0ne
          November 15, 2010 at 2:53 am | #

          So did you blame him for your failing math and bio so decided to off him? I don’t know about the rest of you guys but it seems like a poor motive for murder, let alone enough to get a warrent to bring in somebody for questioning just because your room mate was killed… Unless of course you were renting an aparment togeather that would be slightly more warrent worthy… but if you were staying in the dorm that doesn’t seem to be enough evidence to bring some one in for murder… Although I it probably depends on many many other things to…

          • Stevie Windup
            Stevie Windup
            November 14, 2011 at 11:31 pm | #

            No, it’s based on some colleges apparently having a rule that if your roommate dies, you get all A’s for the semester due to the mental trauma. Not sure whether it’s true or not.

        • Heather
          Heather
          November 15, 2010 at 2:53 am | #

          I hate it when that happens!

        • agentksilver
          agentksilver
          November 15, 2010 at 9:14 am | #

          My two roommates were also roommates in college, and they had a friend whose roommate died, and their friend then got all As for the semester. No sign of foul play, though.

    • Jen Aside
      Jen Aside
      November 16, 2010 at 12:05 am | #

      What did all you people do?? I never carried more than one or two books to class, for that class. And rolling luggage has been around for at least as long as modern college… =|

      • Virnin
        Virnin
        November 16, 2010 at 2:48 am | #

        Dragging your books around in “rolling luggage” will save you from other distractions as well… companions of the opposite sex. Goes well with a pocket protector.

  3. Teowulf
    Teowulf
    November 15, 2010 at 12:05 am | #

    Weird that Mike and Joyce don’t have bags. I don’t think I ever could survive college without mine.

    • Ascension
      Ascension
      November 15, 2010 at 12:07 am | #

      I feel the same way, but there are many who do not share my sentiments.

      • Ascension
        Ascension
        November 15, 2010 at 12:07 am | #

        Our sentiments, I should say.

    • Darth Cariss
      Darth Cariss
      November 15, 2010 at 12:08 am | #

      Me either. Assuming they are full time students, how can they just carry everything around? It’s pretty standard to have atleast 3 textbooks and a notepad. Plus if you’re like me you like to carry water and maybe a snack. Plus you gotta carry homework assignments, and…Well, you get the picture.

      • Bickendan
        Bickendan
        November 15, 2010 at 12:35 am | #

        If you’re a Music Major, you snag one of the lockers in the practice rooms if they exist and stash your instruments and books and whatnot in there.

        If you’re lucky, you can rent a locker from the university if they exist on campus, for non-music majors.

        Otherwise, you stash things in the dorms.

        In my case, I commuted in from home, with three clarinets (and a sax for a while), stashed them in my music locker, and still had to haul a bag around. C’est la vie…

        • Trevor
          Trevor
          November 15, 2010 at 1:28 am | #

          You have you rent your lockers? Thats dumb. At my school its a free for all. Whoever puts a lock on the locker first wins.

          • No0ne
            No0ne
            November 15, 2010 at 2:54 am | #

            I’d totally get as many locks as I can, put them on as many lockers as I can find, then sell them to the poor souls wo didn’t get there before me. :O Money ftw!

          • Stolen
            Stolen
            November 15, 2010 at 9:52 am | #

            i did something along the lines of that for my high school senior prank. me and a few friends bought a buttload of those cheap locks with the keys. stuck them on every locker in school and then left the keys in a huge-ass pile in front of the office doors.

          • Erin
            Erin
            November 15, 2010 at 10:22 am | #

            When I was at school, (secondary) you couldn’t get a locker til your final year, and then you had to pay a £40 deposit for it. You got the deposit back when you left if it was in good condition.
            Saying that, they only got the lockers in about two years before I left. Was a great help when you’re doing 2 highers and an advanced course. waaaay too many books :S

    • Dierna
      Dierna
      November 15, 2010 at 12:11 am | #

      Mike doesn’t need a bag. Notice that he put his math book in Walky’s bag. It’s why Walky’s bag felt heavier. *lol*

      • mpark6288
        mpark6288
        November 15, 2010 at 5:58 am | #

        I didn’t even notice that the first time. Awesome.

      • agentksilver
        agentksilver
        November 15, 2010 at 9:16 am | #

        Ohhhhhh. I didn’t notice that. That’s so clever. No wonder Mike was looking around all suspiciously like that last time we saw him.

    • Sakimei
      Sakimei
      November 15, 2010 at 12:13 am | #

      Well, it’s still the first day. I don’t think I brought anything my first day since it was all syllabi.

      Although that kinda contradicts this since they actually had to take notes and had homework right away. 0.0 Inteeense

    • LurkerAbove
      LurkerAbove
      November 15, 2010 at 1:43 am | #

      I could go to classes back in university without a bag if I wanted to. Generally I never had more than 2 classes a day, and with stuff being mostly online, I could get by with my PDA if I didn’t mind looking like a dork (iPaq with sleeve = GINORMOUS).

  4. Ragnal
    Ragnal
    November 15, 2010 at 12:22 am | #

    Gender studies. Am I the only one imagining Joyce freaking out from learning about premarital hanky-panky?

    …or is gender studies something completely different?

    • Gianni
      Gianni
      November 15, 2010 at 12:43 am | #

      I thought gender issues had to do with cultural diversity between men and women… but since I never studied it in college I can’t say I really know for sure.

    • Keleso
      Keleso
      November 15, 2010 at 12:48 am | #

      The Gender Studies class that I took was essentially a survey of feminism.

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        November 15, 2010 at 1:24 am | #

        More or less…sex only came up in terms of the politics involved.

        • bramblepatch
          bramblepatch
          November 15, 2010 at 3:17 am | #

          It’s still perfectly possible that Joyce will come up against something that will completely break her brain, even if they’re just talking in terms of the politics involved.

          • Pagannerd
            Pagannerd
            November 17, 2010 at 7:53 pm | #

            My “Debates in World Archaeology” module module has a section on gender in archaeology, which I think is supposed to be about how, from the antiquarian era up until around post-processualism, archaeologists allowed their cultures’ view of male-female relations to colour their assumptions about the male-female relations of the cultures they were studying.

            I say “I think” because my lecturer got flustered and started speaking at length about how when she was young in the 80s’, she was confused about whether Boy George was a man or a woman.

  5. Undrave
    Undrave
    November 15, 2010 at 12:22 am | #

    Walky’s a wimp XD

    I’m guessing Mike doesn’t need a bag since he got a mule.

  6. Wackd
    Wackd
    November 15, 2010 at 12:43 am | #

    I think any fear we had that Mike’s not an asshole in this universe can finally be put to rest.

  7. Joebo
    Joebo
    November 15, 2010 at 12:47 am | #

    Okay, now I’m gonna go with this being the start of their whirlwind romance.

  8. Qaxis
    Qaxis
    November 15, 2010 at 1:03 am | #

    Well, he has an hour to make it up the hill. He might just make it.

    • No0ne
      No0ne
      November 15, 2010 at 2:58 am | #

      Not if the Jaguars get him first…

      • TexasNinjaBuzzard
        TexasNinjaBuzzard
        November 15, 2010 at 4:54 am | #

        Jaguars are all white and say “HAY GUYZ!!1!”.

        • Erin
          Erin
          November 15, 2010 at 10:24 am | #

          “I can has you for munchies?”

  9. R
    R
    November 15, 2010 at 1:05 am | #

    I hope Leslie is the teacher for the course. 🙂 From the guest strip, it would seem to fit.

    I wonder when/if Robin’s going to appear.

    • R
      R
      November 15, 2010 at 1:05 am | #

      Wow, I really am permanently Joyce

    • skies
      skies
      November 15, 2010 at 11:57 pm | #

      She’s a lesbian. It’s gender studies. I have zero doubt that you are right about this.

  10. Cinder
    Cinder
    November 15, 2010 at 1:10 am | #

    Aw! Lol. Mike. <3 He's not, like, gonna have a thing for Joyce, is he? That kind of seems unnatural just to even think about it.

    • No0ne
      No0ne
      November 15, 2010 at 2:59 am | #

      Their children would be cheerfully distructive…

      “I had your MOM for a nickle… It helped I asked nicely too…”

    • Fnerd
      Fnerd
      November 15, 2010 at 4:06 am | #

      Weeell, he did sleep with Anti-Joyce in It’s Walky!…

      • No0ne
        No0ne
        November 15, 2010 at 7:04 pm | #

        Their children would be even more disturbing… Then again maybe if Anti-Joyce and Mike had kids the kids would turn out normal because when they grow up they don’t want to be like mom and dad O.o But we will never know… cause Anti-Joyce is dead.

  11. RaijinK
    RaijinK
    November 15, 2010 at 1:44 am | #

    I’ve been suspecting this for a while, but each new strip seems to reinforce it. Mike has trouble expressing his assholery directly in this continuity. His Twitter and his class notes are rife with derisive comments about Your Mom, but his actual dialogue? He’s either silent or says something that could be passive-aggressive at best. Perhaps like original Amber, he’s only able to open up (and be truly menacing) when it doesn’t have to be face-to-face.

    • RaijinK
      RaijinK
      November 15, 2010 at 1:48 am | #

      Oh. It took me a second glance to notice Mike sneaking his book into Walky’s bag. Still, not exactly direct, so my theory holds.

    • Chris
      Chris
      November 15, 2010 at 2:23 am | #

      He was kind of like that in Its Walky though.

      • No0ne
        No0ne
        November 15, 2010 at 3:03 am | #

        Also, I think this is the youngest we see Mike. So he could be working on it. Also, he seems to not constaintly scowl all the time so he is either working on that too or he is faking kinder facial expressions to throw people off guard.

        Mostly because of his I’m-totally-not-putting-my-book-in-your-bag-so-I-don’t-have-to-carry-it in the first panel there.

  12. dchorror
    dchorror
    November 15, 2010 at 1:59 am | #

    You know, since he only just met him the previous day, putting his book in Walky’s bag isn’t exactly a smart thing to do. If it were me, I’d be bumming the book off once I found it.

    I feel for the uphill both ways thing. I literally have to walk uphill both ways on my way to the train to get to school, with a ten pound bag, no less.

    • Undrave
      Undrave
      November 15, 2010 at 2:12 am | #

      If you bummed his book Mike would sell your mom to pay for it. Repeatedly. Probably in a way that would devalue your mom’s secondary market value and cause a collapse of your home town’s economy.

      • Someone
        Someone
        November 15, 2010 at 2:30 am | #

        That’s after he devalued your mom’s secondary ‘market’. I’ll let you decide that one.

      • Seerow
        Seerow
        November 15, 2010 at 2:31 am | #

        It takes a LOT of nickles to pay for a college math book. I’m not sure Mike could sell your mom that many times.

        • Gianni
          Gianni
          November 15, 2010 at 10:52 am | #

          Mike could do it

      • dchorror
        dchorror
        November 16, 2010 at 12:22 am | #

        That’s not much of a threat, he’d do that anyways. Quite frankly, I could get a lot of good animation paper if I sold a textbook without the cost of having had bought it.

        Plus, seems like I’d got on Mike’s nerves with that. Win/Win.

    • Chumpy
      Chumpy
      November 15, 2010 at 2:36 am | #

      Walky is Mike’s roommate.

      • No0ne
        No0ne
        November 15, 2010 at 3:04 am | #

        And this is the second day, so unless they met before they moved in he’s only known him for little over a day.

        • bramblepatch
          bramblepatch
          November 15, 2010 at 3:21 am | #

          Well, I think the theory is that as his roommate, Walky will be a little easier to keep track of than, say, Joyce would be. And easier to completely ruin the life of if he does anything with Mike’s stuff.

          I’m not sure how that meshes with Mike being perfectly willing to walk off and let Walky get eaten by jaguars, though. You’d think a jaguar attack would stand a good chance of damaging the book.

        • R
          R
          November 15, 2010 at 12:23 pm | #

          I think Mike’s figured out that Walky at least tries to be a decent person (something that unless someone is actively trying to deceive you is easy to determine through observation), and being as such, Mike could just say “Hey, did you accidentally grab my book?” and Walky would find Mike’s book in his backpack and return it to him no problem as that’s how most decent people would operate.

          Now if Mike were to try that on someone who didn’t value being a good person, yeah, it might be a problem.

          • James
            James
            November 15, 2010 at 9:06 pm | #

            This assumes, of course, that Mike cares about the book/money involved more than he cares about being an asshole.

  13. No0ne
    No0ne
    November 15, 2010 at 3:05 am | #

    And Walky will get eaten by Jaguars. (Mike will help)

    OR

    And Walky will get hit by a Jaguar car. (Mike will drive)

    • Mage the Observer
      Mage the Observer
      November 15, 2010 at 8:37 am | #

      So jaguars of either variety are fairly common in Iowa, are they?

      • Ruth
        Ruth
        November 15, 2010 at 8:59 am | #

        I don’t know about Iowa, but Indiana has a few, and Bloomington is near forest.

        • Mage the Observer
          Mage the Observer
          November 15, 2010 at 6:06 pm | #

          Ah, I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t screw up the location like that…

  14. Tori
    Tori
    November 15, 2010 at 7:13 am | #

    I still love Mike more than any other character. I’m sorry. He’s just too damn awesome.

  15. Jabberwocky
    Jabberwocky
    November 15, 2010 at 8:24 am | #

    Now there’s the Mike we know and love.

    • Jabberwocky
      Jabberwocky
      November 15, 2010 at 8:30 am | #

      Also, colleges should totally have live jaguars on campus. That’d be rad.

      • Fox
        Fox
        November 15, 2010 at 10:49 am | #

        Well, LSU has a live Tiger on Campus, does that sort of count?

        • Jabberwocky
          Jabberwocky
          November 15, 2010 at 12:05 pm | #

          Not jaguary enough.

      • Strephon
        Strephon
        November 15, 2010 at 10:25 pm | #

        My college roommate did encounter someone walking their young jaguar across our campus once. Apparently its purr sounded like a chainsaw.

  16. Ruth
    Ruth
    November 15, 2010 at 8:57 am | #

    Ah, Mike, how I love you.

    And it’s been a few years since I’ve been on IU’s campus, but I remember walking it with my oldest brother, and damn, I was out of breath a lot even without a heavy book bag.

  17. Richie9999
    Richie9999
    November 15, 2010 at 8:58 am | #

    I love how mike is just like Ok bye, have fun with the Jaguars and my text book.

  18. Scotty Van
    Scotty Van
    November 15, 2010 at 9:18 am | #

    I came to IU from Pennsylvania. My home sat on top of a hill that was ridiculously steep even by PA standards.

    So I always laugh at those who complain about the steepness of IU’s streets. 😀

    • Ruth
      Ruth
      November 15, 2010 at 9:47 am | #

      I grew up in a very hilly area of southeastern Indiana, and steep hills, no matter where they are, still SUCK.

  19. agentksilver
    agentksilver
    November 15, 2010 at 9:20 am | #

    1) Walky’s comment about Billie confirms my theory that Walky has a thing for Billie in this continuity

    2) Nice title drop!

  20. HMRC4EVR
    HMRC4EVR
    November 15, 2010 at 9:45 am | #

    Ah college.

    Backpacks full of books there were way overpriced that were hardly ever used and sold back for a third of what you paid in the first place, just for them to resell them at double or triple of what they gave you back.

    And all that lugging around was made so much better at UNC-W while slogging through 10 inches of standing water since the campus had NO drainage to speak of so by the time you got to class you were waterlogged from the knees down.

    ‘Best time of your life’ my ass.

  21. Leaving a Comment
    Leaving a Comment
    November 15, 2010 at 10:33 am | #

    They have an hour before class! Do what I do and go back to your room and drop you crap off. Jeez Walky, think here.

    • mpark6288
      mpark6288
      November 15, 2010 at 11:19 am | #

      Unless his dorm is on the hill after that hill. Only ever gone to school in flat lands, so I just assume IU has magic shifting hills.

      • MeHael
        MeHael
        November 15, 2010 at 12:49 pm | #

        The hills are alive with the sound of stalking jaguars…which isn’t much sound, unless generations of stalking unobservant college students has made them soft. Perhaps Amazi-Girl can save Walky from them.

        • lordoftheoneyedpurplepeopleeaters
          lordoftheoneyedpurplepeopleeaters
          December 19, 2014 at 7:33 pm | #

          for a nickel

  22. agentksilver
    agentksilver
    November 15, 2010 at 1:05 pm | #

    How do I submit some fanart? I worked all morning on some fanart of Billie and Walky, and I totes want to show it off.

    • beeftony
      beeftony
      November 15, 2010 at 8:14 pm | #

      Host it somewhere and then post it on the forum.

  23. Zac
    Zac
    November 15, 2010 at 1:21 pm | #

    I like what you did with the shade from the tree.

  24. Doom Shepherd
    Doom Shepherd
    November 15, 2010 at 3:18 pm | #

    My grad school campus was on a fairly tall hill. The walk from the computer lab to the dining hall was known as “Cardiac Hill.”

    But the best things about Clarion U were that no matter where you were walking on campus, the wind was always in your face, and no matter what the weather weas like in the rest of PA, Clarion’s sky was always, ALWAYS, gray.

  25. Chad from Canada
    Chad from Canada
    November 15, 2010 at 3:44 pm | #

    I think your all missing what I see here. I think Mike put the book in Walky’s bag so he can catch some alone time with Joyce. Whether its to humiliate her, or to hit on her… Or both… I’m not sure yet.

    • A random reader
      A random reader
      November 15, 2010 at 6:48 pm | #

      This (in my head at least) enforces the Mike x Joyce possibility, seeing as Amber x Danny that could be going down at some point.

      I’m not going to lie; I like this idea.

  26. Animal
    Animal
    November 15, 2010 at 6:23 pm | #

    What the hell is “Gender Studies?”

    • Doom Shepherd
      Doom Shepherd
      November 15, 2010 at 7:23 pm | #

      You may know it better under its alternate title: “Men Are Teh Ebil.”

      • James
        James
        November 15, 2010 at 9:10 pm | #

        That’d be the curriculum taught at Lifetime University, yes?

      • Animal
        Animal
        November 16, 2010 at 12:04 am | #

        I remember those kinds of classes as “General Education are Teh Stoopid.”

  27. daughterofthestars
    daughterofthestars
    May 20, 2011 at 9:25 am | #

    I didn’t even realize when I first read this comic that Mike has put his book in Walky’s bag. XD

    “I don’t want to hold this.” *stuff in Walky’s bag*

    I guess that explains the multiplying math books in the bag later, too. XD

  28. RandomPerson12
    RandomPerson12
    October 15, 2014 at 9:15 pm | #

    Joyce + Gender Studies = This probably won’t end well.

  29. Mousa The 14
    Mousa The 14
    March 31, 2016 at 1:06 pm | #

    Good ol’ Mike always reliably not good ol’.

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