Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

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Halfway
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May 19, 2026

Halfway

by David M Willis on May 28, 2012 at 12:01 am
  • 04 - Time Keeps on Slippin'
└ Tags: joyce, walky

Discussion (89) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    May 28, 2012 at 12:02 am | #

    “Jokes on you! I already do that!”

  2. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    May 28, 2012 at 12:03 am | #

    I like this plan.

  3. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    May 28, 2012 at 12:04 am | #

    She’s jealous of Walky cos he gets all of Dotty’s time? When did they get to such good friends?

    Something must have happened during those missing 4 days.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      May 28, 2012 at 12:07 am | #

      Dorothy and Joyce are best friends. cuz sarah is a sour puss and walky treats her like crud. But she’s had nothing but positive experiences with Dotty (cept that whole athiest thing)

      • Khantalas
        Khantalas
        May 28, 2012 at 12:12 am | #

        Joyce and Billie are best college friends as well.

      • Heavensrun
        Heavensrun
        May 28, 2012 at 12:13 am | #

        You know, I started shipping Jorothy as a sortof crack pairing, but the more time passes, the more the strip seems to be flirting with the idea itself.

        • Blob Marley
          Blob Marley
          May 28, 2012 at 1:34 am | #

          Dotty is way too straight for that,

          • vsophi
            vsophi
            May 28, 2012 at 1:06 pm | #

            This is Willis we’re talking about here. Not to mention, this is also college. Bi-curious experimentation is the norm.

          • Heavensrun
            Heavensrun
            May 28, 2012 at 3:39 pm | #

            I was straight for over 20 years before I even considered the possibility of being anything else.

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        May 28, 2012 at 12:14 am | #

        No one’s perfect.

        • Aizat
          Aizat
          May 28, 2012 at 12:31 am | #

          Hi, I’m no one and I’m perfect.

        • Jetstream
          Jetstream
          May 28, 2012 at 1:38 am | #

          ~\o Your no-body called today… She hung up when I asked her name… o/~

          • Jason
            Jason
            May 28, 2012 at 10:13 pm | #

            Wow, been a LONG time since I’ve heard that song! Thanks
            for the memories!

        • AndaisQ
          AndaisQ
          May 28, 2012 at 1:10 pm | #

          Why does Odysseus have so many fans?

  4. Joe H
    Joe H
    May 28, 2012 at 12:04 am | #

    People-watching in Smooch Town is always an awkward experience.

    • Blob Marley
      Blob Marley
      May 28, 2012 at 3:25 am | #

      Worse when it’s somebody you were hoping to invite to smooch-town. Double-worse when that person is smooching in a manner that indicates sexual preferences different from yours – like a girl smooching the girl you want to smooch, in my case.

  5. addude
    addude
    May 28, 2012 at 12:05 am | #

    And next panel Joe pops up to help Walky turn the situation into a threesome with Dorothy and Joyce

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      May 28, 2012 at 12:08 am | #

      Then Walky turns it into a foursome with mcnuggets.

      • Blob Marley
        Blob Marley
        May 28, 2012 at 3:43 am | #

        More like a fifty-threesome, amirite

        • Plasma Mongoose
          Plasma Mongoose
          May 28, 2012 at 2:53 pm | #

          Don’t forget the BBQ sauce.

  6. AJBulldis
    AJBulldis
    May 28, 2012 at 12:06 am | #

    I feel very fortunate that most of my dating or married friends are conscientious enough not to make it awkward when I happen to be hanging out with the two of them.

    • Rex Hondo
      Rex Hondo
      May 28, 2012 at 2:02 am | #

      It’s nice of them to let you choose which of them you pretend to be while the smooch. It is awkward to get pushed into that sort of thing.

    • Rex Hondo
      Rex Hondo
      May 28, 2012 at 2:02 am | #

      It’s nice of them to let you choose which of them you pretend to be while they smooch. It is awkward to get pushed into that sort of thing.

  7. Leorale
    Leorale
    May 28, 2012 at 12:06 am | #

    Oh, snap!

  8. Khantalas
    Khantalas
    May 28, 2012 at 12:07 am | #

    Wow, Walky’s kind of a douche there.

    • spiderpool279
      spiderpool279
      May 28, 2012 at 12:10 am | #

      Thank god I wasn’t the only one thinking it

    • Valdrax
      Valdrax
      May 28, 2012 at 2:54 am | #

      Yeah, that was just downright nasty of him.

    • Groove
      Groove
      May 28, 2012 at 4:08 am | #

      In panel 5 Walky briefly becomes Joe. Strangely Walky is much better at being Joe than Joe is.

    • L
      L
      May 28, 2012 at 5:20 am | #

      To be fair, Joyce’s reaction to him and Dotty going out wasn’t exactly endearing.

    • Silva
      Silva
      May 28, 2012 at 12:54 pm | #

      Sure, he’d be a douche if this was anyone but Joyce. I don’t care if she has good intentions, for most of the strips she’s shown up in in Dumbing of Age she’s been a really shitty person. It’s more weird how tolerantly everyone else treats her insanity.

  9. Uniqueantique
    Uniqueantique
    May 28, 2012 at 12:10 am | #

    My thoughts also, Khantalas, Walky needs a good kick for that remark.

  10. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    May 28, 2012 at 12:11 am | #

    Joyce is not a happy chappie in the last panel.

    • Jackson
      Jackson
      May 28, 2012 at 12:16 am | #

      I can’t imagine why. I mean, who could turn down an overt invitation to be the third wheel like that?

      • Yotomoe
        Yotomoe
        May 28, 2012 at 12:20 am | #

        it’s like the best wheel!!! Hasn’t anyone ever seen a tri-cycle?

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        May 28, 2012 at 12:20 am | #

        Yeah it is hard to imagine… 😛

      • Valdrax
        Valdrax
        May 28, 2012 at 2:55 am | #

        Invitation to be a third wheel / implication that she’s gay for his girlfriend.

  11. Wack'd
    Wack'd
    May 28, 2012 at 12:14 am | #

    Wow, Walky. You, sir, are an ASS.

  12. Aizat
    Aizat
    May 28, 2012 at 12:15 am | #

    I knew it. Joyce does have the hots for Walky.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      May 28, 2012 at 12:17 am | #

      well he is sculpted in caramel

  13. kyojikasshu
    kyojikasshu
    May 28, 2012 at 12:20 am | #

    Walky needs a good smacking. Like the full Moe Howard repertoire delivered upside his head.

  14. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    May 28, 2012 at 12:22 am | #

    everyone thinks Walky’s a douche but I dunno. I think he’s just teasing her cuz she’s a girl and he has a brother-sister rivalry with her.

  15. Ryan Balis
    Ryan Balis
    May 28, 2012 at 12:22 am | #

    why is the world conspiring against the Joyce-Walky relationship?? GOD WHY????

    • Raen
      Raen
      May 28, 2012 at 12:24 am | #

      God: YOU KNOW WHY.

      • Ryan Balis
        Ryan Balis
        May 28, 2012 at 12:34 am | #

        It must be she’s not a cat person

      • Wack'd
        Wack'd
        May 28, 2012 at 12:42 am | #

        Because it would result in the continued lack of Enterprise?

    • Rex Hondo
      Rex Hondo
      May 28, 2012 at 2:03 am | #

      What does God need with a ship?

      • Valdrax
        Valdrax
        May 28, 2012 at 2:56 am | #

        +1

  16. Raen
    Raen
    May 28, 2012 at 12:25 am | #

    …to be fair, Joyce is kinda coming off as a total closet case.

    • Jimmy
      Jimmy
      May 28, 2012 at 12:29 am | #

      I don’t know about that. I think she just wants some company. And I do think Walky is being an ass, but I doubt he would be if he knew what Joyce had been through.

      • Yotomoe
        Yotomoe
        May 28, 2012 at 12:31 am | #

        I can tell you one thing…it wasn’t spiders…
        it could have been spiders…

      • Thor
        Thor
        May 28, 2012 at 1:46 am | #

        I don’t see why Joyce is all demanding stuff of Walky in the first place. So far, the sum total of their interactions has been going to class together and Walky interrupting her post-blackout trauma to ask for pajama-jeans assistance.

        Shouldn’t she be going to hunt down Ethan instead so she can explore where this subconscious drive to become a shiksa is coming from? (NTTAWWT.)

        • TacosForever
          TacosForever
          May 28, 2012 at 5:22 pm | #

          Oh man, you’ve reminded me–does this 4-day jump mean that SOON (in two days, so like, several months from now) we get to see Joyce and Ethan go to church together? That should be awesome.

  17. TheBenenator
    TheBenenator
    May 28, 2012 at 12:37 am | #

    I would probably make a comment like Walky just did. Much less douchey that “…I’ll let YOU pretend you’re HER.”

    I’d then smack myself (in the FAAAAAAAACE) and apologize, making some poorly- and quickly-phrase statement that ends up both getting me out of some of the trouble my joke landed me in, and possibly putting me in trouble (assuming she assumes I’m making a “Girl On Girl Is Hot” comment, which while it IS true, would NOT be what I meant.)

    • TheBenenator
      TheBenenator
      May 28, 2012 at 12:58 am | #

      Yes, with my luck, things would go precisely that anime-clichedly.

      My luck: It’s Wacky!

      • Aizat
        Aizat
        May 28, 2012 at 1:00 am | #

        And then comes its sequel: Joyce and Wacky!

  18. Ryan
    Ryan
    May 28, 2012 at 12:47 am | #

    Walky’s laying it on thick, but he’s right. It’s Dorothy’s choice who she hangs out with when she can. There’s no “I have a right to hang out with her too” thing going on here. If Dorothy wanted to hang out with Joyce, she would. And I still believe that Joyce is going to try to drive a wedge between Dorothy and Walky if she ever gets Dorothy alone. Based solely on this comic: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/03-the-first-step-towards-recovery/suspend/

  19. Faeyas
    Faeyas
    May 28, 2012 at 12:54 am | #

    I’m with Walky in all he just said.

    Joyce needs to realize that the earth does not revolve around her, and yes she does come off as “bible study only”. Walky even gave her an out “Feel free to show it sometime”, and instead of taking the chance to demonstrate there is more to her than her faith and that she does want to actually spend time with Walky, she starting playing the blame game,”You get to hog all of it [Dorothy’s Time]!” Way to negotiate Joyce!

    So yes, since Joyce wont come up with an alternative idea to “bible study”, and she clearly doesn’t actually want to spend time with Walky (see how fast she backed away back to Dorothy time?], and is clearly jealous of the time Walky spends with Dorothy. Further add onto that, the fact that she is NOT talking this over with Dorothy….

    … and anyone would come to the conclusion that all you really want is to crash the smooch time. Walky just worded it in a pro smooch, intended to gross out Joyce way so she may realize she is being crazy.

    Go Walky standing up for yourself!

    • TheBenenator
      TheBenenator
      May 28, 2012 at 1:04 am | #

      I’m hoping she remembers and takes the advice, but she probably won’t. Not from him, at least — she’s not exactly his biggest fan.

      I’m looking forward to the character revealing/development that’ll happen when she gets a chance to “show it sometime”. 8~)

    • Muffinivorous
      Muffinivorous
      May 28, 2012 at 9:10 am | #

      Thank you for saying that and putting it into better words than I could hope to – an awful lot of people seem to think Walky’s just being a douche…

  20. John Madden
    John Madden
    May 28, 2012 at 1:09 am | #

    Walky=doesn’t afraid of anything

  21. Blob Marley
    Blob Marley
    May 28, 2012 at 1:33 am | #

    That’s my favorite town!

  22. Rex Hondo
    Rex Hondo
    May 28, 2012 at 2:07 am | #

    Smooch Town is nice, but one of the best things about it is the fairly short commute to Sexytimeopolis.

  23. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    May 28, 2012 at 3:06 am | #

    I’d say that Walky’s being an asshole, but to be fair, I’d probably do the same thing in his position.

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      May 28, 2012 at 2:59 pm | #

      True enough, but the only time I spend time as an asshole is when I’m stuck sitting on the bog.

  24. Sensedog
    Sensedog
    May 28, 2012 at 3:22 am | #

    Walky handled this one well, in my opinion. He has no obligation to Joyce whatsoever.

  25. Bitstream
    Bitstream
    May 28, 2012 at 3:50 am | #

    Am I reading this wrong? All the commenters seem to be suggesting that Joyce wants to hang with Dorothy, but it looks like she wants to hang with Walky to me.

    Not sure why he’s being so mean though. o_O

    • Krashthemystro
      Krashthemystro
      May 28, 2012 at 4:11 am | #

      I don’t think your wrong, I think Joyce dosen’t want to spend to much time by herself especailly after last weekend. Walky is free and she wants to hang.
      Walky “has a new toy” and dosen’t want to share yet. So out comes Jerky Mc Jerkface. It happens.

    • Raen
      Raen
      May 28, 2012 at 6:38 am | #

      “Dorothy gets like five minutes of free time a day and you get to hog all of it!”

      Sounds like it’s Dorothy at issue to me.

    • Shadlyn Wolfe
      Shadlyn Wolfe
      May 28, 2012 at 8:31 am | #

      She starts out wanting to hang with Walky, then when he rejects her (for fair, if not kindly worded, reasons) she falls back to attacking him for stealing her “buddy” Dorothy.

      Joyce is terribly co-dependent. If you show her kindness (Dorothy) you’re her best friend. If no friend is available, she tries to glomph onto the closest person who’ll have her.

      I feel bad for Joyce in this panel, but Walky was fair given how she’s behaved to date. She needs help with *issues* not another set of “kind words” to idolize.

      Of course, it’s a comic so she’s going to ping pong around a while before she starts evolving.

  26. BOB
    BOB
    May 28, 2012 at 7:34 am | #

    Freshman year is a lonely time. You know no one. As a consequence, friendships happen quickly and intensely-as we’ve seen. They have to, because people need them. You need a community.

    Joyce has just been deprived of her community. Walky and Dorothy got together and Walky is making it plain Joyce isn’t welcome. This is quite the kick in the teeth. Joyce’s series of awkward reactions to the W/D pairing is because she feel threatened. Rightly so, judging from the past two strips. There’s other members of the community (everyone who was at the beach), but Walky and Dorothy are the ones she talk to most easily (go back and judge time spent over the course of the strip).

    I saw this happen repeatedly in college. Two girls and a guy would be friends; one of the girls and the guy would pair off and the other girl would be left in the cold. It was painful to watch then; it’s painful to watch now.

  27. RocketLobster
    RocketLobster
    May 28, 2012 at 8:12 am | #

    At first I thought the first panel was in the Dreamatorium.

  28. Li
    Li
    May 28, 2012 at 10:21 am | #

    I don’t understand most of the comments here. Sigh.

    Joyce could not really make it more obvious how lonely she is and how much she doesn’t want to be alone tonight. She was just staring, preoccupied, at the bandage on her hand from where she cut it open crashing a glass into the face of an attempted rapist.

    What I think most of Walky’s defenders on this page are forgetting is that that was the last time Joyce tried to make a new friend.

    As a result, she’s turtling pretty hard, turning to the people she knows at least a little, and NONE of them want to be her friends. She approached Walky in the last strip to ask what Dorothy is doing, because Dorothy is so busy that she hasn’t been able to get Dorothy alone for five minutes to ask HER. Walky says he doesn’t know what she’s up to because of her schedule, so Joyce tries to keep the conversation afloat and eventually suggests that, if Dorothy is busy, maybe she and Walky can hang out.

    Joyce doesn’t even like Walky. She just feels a modicum of safety around him and wants to feel less alone right now.

    I guess I don’t think that’s so terrible.

    I found Walky’s last panel at her really mean, but otherwise don’t blame him for not wanting to hang out with her. He doesn’t know what happened. He just sees her as a slightly annoying girl he talks to sometimes who doesn’t approve of him dating his girlfriend.

    I guess I am just capable of understanding where both characters are coming from and empathizing with the one who’s been through an awful, awful mostly secret trauma more than the guy who got humiliated in his womens’ studies class and then got the girl anyway.

    • Dragon Nataku
      Dragon Nataku
      May 28, 2012 at 10:50 am | #

      You’re forgetting that Joyce is really good at alienating people with her “YOU’RE ALL GOING TO HELL” nonsense, and constantly putting down other people for having different views than she does. I sure wouldn’t want to hang around her.

    • Crimson Magic
      Crimson Magic
      May 28, 2012 at 12:59 pm | #

      “He doesn’t know what happened.”

      Sounds like you do, in fact, know where people are coming from here. Combine that with Joyce being perceived as the instigator of the grudge between the two, people’s comments are understandable.

      “I guess I am just capable of understanding where both characters are coming from”

      If you want to convince people of your position, you’re going to need to be a bit more diplomatic.

    • Flux
      Flux
      May 28, 2012 at 1:25 pm | #

      “He doesn’t know what happened”

      Am I thinking of the right “happening?” ‘Cause I thought he was informed about it right here:

      Source: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-2/01-pajama-jeans/nightmare/

      Or are you referring to something else?

      • Crimson Magic
        Crimson Magic
        May 28, 2012 at 8:23 pm | #

        Good point – Walky was indeed filled in. I had forgotten.

    • Flux
      Flux
      May 28, 2012 at 1:29 pm | #

      Panel 3 – Where’d the band-aid go…?

    • begbert2
      begbert2
      May 28, 2012 at 1:43 pm | #

      Correct me if I’m wrong, but Walky pretty much DOES know what happened, unless I’m misremembering when he walked in on the middle of a discussion in a pajama-jean induced haze.

      However, this is this and that is that. Joyce having had a very bad experience at a party does not entitle her to bust in on other people’s kissy-times. Especially since the audience here was given a glimpse into her head showing that she would be doing it with malice aforethought.

      • Yuki
        Yuki
        May 28, 2012 at 3:04 pm | #

        Wait, where was that malice aforethought shown? I missed something.

  29. Maycroft
    Maycroft
    May 28, 2012 at 10:53 am | #

    !Owwwwwww!

  30. Sunmaster57
    Sunmaster57
    May 28, 2012 at 10:55 am | #

    Poor Joyce- she just gets dumped on by her classmates

    • StirlingArcher
      StirlingArcher
      May 28, 2012 at 1:54 pm | #

      Phrasing!

  31. wynne
    wynne
    May 28, 2012 at 1:53 pm | #

    That was mean, Walky.

    • Mayhemzero
      Mayhemzero
      May 28, 2012 at 2:37 pm | #

      It appears having Mike as his roommate is rubbing off on Walky! 🙂

  32. MR C
    MR C
    May 28, 2012 at 11:14 pm | #

    OOOOOH WALKYBURN!!!

  33. MankindtheFoley
    MankindtheFoley
    May 28, 2012 at 11:42 pm | #

    Awwww! Joyce is so cute when she’s blushing <3!!!

  34. Yoda123
    Yoda123
    May 29, 2012 at 1:37 pm | #

    Meg Griffin: “Can I think about you in the tub tonight??”
    Connie D’Amico: “No!” (walks away)
    Meg: (muttering to herself) “I’m still GONNA!”

  35. mrsamurai8
    mrsamurai8
    May 30, 2012 at 10:11 pm | #

    so, im pretty sure Hobbes has been reincarnated as a boy named walky.
    SMOOCH

  36. Comrade
    Comrade
    May 14, 2013 at 2:24 am | #

    I don’t see why folks are calling Walky a douche. I mean… I’m also still waiting for Joyce to reveal that there is, in fact, something more to her than her religion, because it seems to be her sole interest or ‘hobby’ (I hesitate to apply the term, but you know what I mean) of any kind.

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