The Kickstarter reached $27k a few minutes before midnight, and that means the stretch goal to also print Roomies! Book 2 is totes surpassed. So if you wanna go add that book to your pledge, there are some tiers there for you now.
Also, when we reached $20k early Friday, that unlocked Saturday updates. So if you didn’t come back Saturday, go back a day or so (past the Kickstarter ad) to see what you’ve missed!
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Wasn’t this a heading banner?
Before it was released?
Yep, I’m pretty sure we saw part of this strip as header.
An early bird cameo, perhaps?
I’m pretty sure that’s a duck down there.
It is clearly a chipmunk.
No, chipmunks don’t have tails that big.
Indeed they don’t. Totally a squirrel. Probably sciurus carolinensis, the eastern American Gray Squirrel.
>.>
<.<
What? I like squirrels.
Gray squirrels are not squirrels. They are agents of the devil.
I like squirrels too. They’re right good eating.
For a bear like you they aren’t the main course….
That chipmunk is a plot point.
Chekhov’s Squirrel?
Actually it’s Dr Squirrel’s henchman…. henchanimal. Amazi-Girl rogue gallery is kinda suspect…
It’s Grace doing a cameo.
Well, yeah. All the banners were made from comics, not vice-versa. Just means I’m gonna be paying a liiiil more attn up there for sneak peeks.
nothing like texting someone at most five feet away from you
I don’t think they’re texting each-other. I think they’re just being unsociable by playing with their phones instead of talking to each-other.
You know. Because that, when combined with the first panel, causes a punch line.
Then it’s kinda weak punch.
Irony as she as cast.
I roll d20 for resist.
….18.
Woah Woah! Slow down you two. You’re talkin’ a mile a minute.
We can’t all be chatterboxes like you two, after all.
You hadn’t met me yet. I can talk for hours if you let me going.
You wanted me to start talking? Try saying Kamina is the most badass character in anime or that stupid “it takes 5 episode to do something” gag about Dragon Ball. Or hell, say how a Gundam could take out a Super Robot. Go ahead, I dare you.
Kamina IS pretty badass. Although maybe not the most badass.
Dragonball did everything pretty quick. It was Dragon ball Z that took its sweet time(although dragonball DID have a lot of padding)
I know nothing of giant robots such as gundam or super robots and have no desire to.
Alright, that should be enough bear poking.
1) Look up Ryoma Nagare. He’s a badass that don’t rely on walking shirtless or shades stolen from a Squirtle.
2) True but not as much padding as folks on the Internet made it out to be.
Finally: Good move not to poke the bear.
Kamina doesn’t rely on walking around shirtless. He gets to. And he doesn’t give a DAMN. The amount of fucks kamina gives is very low. It’s almost a negative number. Also don’t hate on the sunglasses. They’re mad nice.
I know they’re nice but c’mon Squirtle rocked those shades.
That’s like calling someone out on chewing a twig because Ash’s Grovyle did it.
Pff, going shirtless doesn’t count when he never owned a shirt to begin with.
Kamina was going to wear a shirt, but Gainax told him they ran out of budget for his costume.
Incidentally, they told Yoko something similar.
It’s not who wore them first, it’s who wears them best.
That DBZ joke exists because of one part of one arc. The ten minutes between Frieza’s blast that would cause Namek to explode and the actual explosion literally took 10 episodes. Close to half the runtime of each of those 25 minute episodes was Goku screaming. I remember watching that in ’96 or ’97 and wanting to cry.
I don’t anything about what you’ve referenced.
And I’m OK with that!
Episode runtime is not the same as real time (see also: webcomics). It was also said, IN THOSE EPISODES, that Frieza was wrong about his guess on how much time until the planet went poof. Finally, it’s a gross exaggeration to say that close to half the runtime was Goku yelling, when there wasn’t much of that all. Certainly not more than one or two minutes during that entire part.
You are exactly what Aizat was complaining about. Dragonball and DBZ have padding, but nowhere NEAR as much as you make it out to be.
your argument is that DBZ plays rugby?
There’s a nice gag in DBZ Abridged where Goku gets Frieza to admit that he doesn’t actually know how long a minute is.
First: I would never say Kamina is most badass. Simon waaaay outdid him even before the timeskip. Waaaaaaay outdid him.
Second: Eh, I’ve got a ton of things to say about Dragon Ball and Z, but the tired joke of it taking forever to do anything isn’t one of them. It’d be more accurate to say it took forever for anything *meaningful* to happen, but that’s more to do with filler and less to do with standing around looking silly.
Third: Well of course a Gundam couldn’t take out a Super Robot*, Gundams are (well, were) much more reasonable power-wise than the rampant absurdity of Super Robots. I will without a doubt say that in most cases a Gundam will be way *cooler* though, precisely *because* they tend to be much less over the top.
*Except when Gundams are also Super Robots, such as in G Gundam (curse its name), and (practically) Gundam 00 (curse its movie).
This is so me. XD
I think you forgot the dialogue pa- OHHHHHHHH
I would have called this lazy drawing had I not noticed that Danny hadmoved his arm and legs the slightest bit.
kind of a jerk thing to say regardless
I’m sorry. I was just trying to joke, and I really didn’t mean it as an insult to you. I love your work and your art, and I try not to be a jerk as much as possible, which makes me ashamed when do end up being one. Please forgive me.
i suppose i might forgive you
You should beg harder:
Get on your knees and start to chant for 50 min about David’s glory. After that, offer a sacrifice and wait… Repeat the process if there’s no answer.
Appropriate sacrifices include but are not limited to rare Transformers collectibles. Also he prefers delivery by mail as opposed to fire sacrifice.
David’s Glory?
Does this have to turn religious? Wasn’t there enough last week??
Or was that a “hole” reference?
1° Of course it has! Otherwise it will be just a normal group that likes David’s work… And the joke would be duller than what already is.
2° What happened last week?
Considering the first panel was already a banner and the third is just a copy and paste with minor edits, it would be fair to call this the laziest comic on the site.
It’d be unfair cuz he actually put some work into it, especially the 1st panel. And it’d be unfair because it is indeed, not the laziest looking comic on the site. No offence.
I was just joking around, I started my comment before David’s went up so I didn’t see it. I didn’t think he would care.
The lazy comics are the Sunday ones. I swear, sometimes it’s like he just copies his Friday ones, even the dialogue!
Except this week. He just copied the Saturday one.
…………
The first panel was not “already a banner.”
The comic came first, and thought it would be a nice sneak peek for folks to slip it into a header. Instead, folks are using it to insult me.
I really didn’t think it would bother you, I was just joking. Sorry.
you may live
For the record, your comic is absolutely ANYTHING but lazy. You update 5-6 times a week exactly on time every time and you do it while simultaneously running another comic, it’s easily one of the greatest things about your comic. You may be the hardest working comic author on the internet.
There isn’t a joke you can come up with that Willis hasn’t heard as an actual complaint.
We all know you work hard, dwillis. You give us comics 6 days a week and are at least a month ahead of schedule anyway. We appreciate you and all that you do.
Not really lazy at all, considering he had to draw the entire thing, regardless if it was a banner or not.
Well THIS should be fun.
No need for apologies! There’s $27K worth (and counting!) already! I think he’s either messing with you or pre-menstrual! 😉
Check the shading.
Willis may have recycled some of the linework for the faces (or hes just so consistent that its hard to tell) but you can tell that he for sure recolors and reshades every panel by the highlights and shadows being slightly different.
Shucks shoulda looked down a little further…
This is why you should always, always check the crotch.
*Everything* in that panel moved a little bit. The birds, the trees, the little grey peoplettes in the field, hands, legs … well, maybe not their phones and heads. That would be ridiculous and not even funny.
Yup, be social. Text while you’re walking with a real person.
Just look around, 2 people at a table in a restaurant and they are both busy texting. Are they ‘talking at each other’, or ignoring each other for ‘friends’?
I thought my generation was screwed up, heh.
Every generation is screwed up, it’s how badly we screwed up that made it noticeable.
Note how all the people you’re talking about are in constant contact with their friends. They’re in the room with one and communicating with others. How is that wrong?
Absolutely nothing. It’s just like when you scream a girl’s name while having sex, but it’s not the girl you’re having sex with at the time – what could possibly be wrong with that?
( obligatory “Kids these days” here )
Kids these days with their direct-line wireless brain modems.
Back in MY day, we had to plug the internet into a router in the back of our necks at 2 MB/s, and we LIKED it!
They could be texting each other 😛
Wow I really hate that emoticon now
I’ll admit, it took me a few seconds to get the joke.
“That seems kinda sad” I said through a computation device
:(, I emoted, feeling nothing inside.
She goes to stores to be sociable? That’s what I use the comment sections of webcomics for.
That and I wanted to try out my material.
I use them to be funny. … …. …
THE ARISTOCRATS!!! *rimshot*
Never got the Aristocrats gag. I’m breaking the first rule of jokes here but can someone please explain it to me?
Because they’re wealthy and successful and we laugh at their fortune to cover up the sounds of our sobbing.
wasn’t The Aristocrats a Disney movie about some hoyte toyte cats?
Nonono, you’re thinking of the AristoCATS. Don’t worry, I used to get the two confused also.
Heeeeeyyyy, I just got the pun in that movie title!
Ah that explains a lot, unfortunately, I have NO IFEA what this other Aristocrats thing is as I am out of touch when it comes to many of TV shows/movies made in this century.
Below, Wonder Wig and vlademir1 explain it as well as I’ve ever heard it.
I never got it either. I mean, I understand the setup and all that, and know the whole story behind it, but I just never got it.
It’s a challenge between comedians to see who could imagine and deliver the nastiest, most outrageous, funniest version of the punchline’s setup. It’s not supposed to be ha-ha funny.
Then… what kind of funny is it supposed to be if not “ha-ha” funny? I’m just wondering what you meant by the “funniest” bit of the the description there, is all.
It’s like when you see a youtube video where an accident happens like a guy on a tire-swing crashes nads first into a tree and everyone goes OHHHHH!!! and laughs.
My understanding is that The Aristocrats is surreal humor and/or anti-humor.
Among other things. The Aristocrats is multifaceted. It’s base is, of course, commentary on the aristocracy. Then it’s also commentary on the nature of show business, and commentary on what is funny, and what is acceptable vs transgressive material, etc
>>>My understanding is that The Aristocrats is surreal humor and/or anti-humor.
So far, this thread is proving you right!!
oh, god, please…please let him be texting amazi-girl and her replying…and him seeing it…oh, god, please.
Oh hey, it’s incredibly skinny guy again. I remember when I posted about him on the facebook page. Good times, good times.
BTW, still wondering if it’s the lady on the right from http://itswalky.com/d/20010323.html
or Jay from
http://itswalky.com/d/20020513.html
Slender man happens to teach a course in this particular university.
–disclaimer—this is not to troll nor flame—–
I’ve been reading this comic series for a while(so far from the start to now)
along with reading the other works he has done. one half of me enjoys it for the jokes but the other half of me dislikes that he barely draws any new characters for his stories. I understand one could think of it as multiple dimensions for every person, but that can be used as an excuse to recycle the same character over and over. What im saying is this is enjoyable but if you start a new series can it be completely different people if you are able to?
Um did you somehow miss that the entire point of this webcomic was to take familiar characters and put them in new situations? That was his stated goal from day one. He already did what you’re suggesting when he created Shortpacked.
Four words; Osamu Tezuka Star System. Think of it as if the characters are played by actors. Actors are known for certain types of roles and while they can do a variety of things, there are certain roles that they can easily fill. Osamu Tezuka, the God Father of Mangam, constantly reused his character models, and they would often die, only for the same model to appear in the next chapter as a new character, or any of his dozen of other manga, sometimes filling a similar role, sometimes as someone of completely different temperment, but it never detracts from the story. Willis is actually tame in comparison, as a lot of these characters hadn’t even seen the light of day in years, and there are new characters in there too, and they aren’t all carbon copies of their previous incarnations. Ethan in the Walkyverse only discovered his sexuality in his mid-20s to early-30s, while in the dumbiverse he discovered it in his teens, and these two situations can lead to very different struggles or characterization, which I think Willis has portrayed very well. Using the same base character concepts is not a bad thing, what matters is the story they are a part of and how they grow from their experiences. I hope that makes sense to you.
I’m sorry but I fail to see the comparison. The OP was about using the same characters in multiple situations. Your example was about drawing multiple characters the same way.
I really should be in bed right now, so I am really tired, so I’ll just summarize. I think I interpreted the OP as them getting bored of the same characters, and I was trying to make the case that new characters aren’t necessary for a good story, Tezuka was mostly recycling characters and changing their names a lot of the time. Of course the exact same characters can get boring, but I don’t think Willis is in danger of that just yet because a lot of these characters are appearing in a situation we haven’t seen them in before, or in the case of the cast that comes from Roomies, written by a more experienced Willis who doesn’t make PMS jokes (HEY, WILLIS BROUGHT THAT FACT UP AGAINST HIMSELF). I still don’t think I validate myself though. I need sleep. How do all you people stay up so late on these boards?
Considering there’s only like three guys in Shortpacked! who were there back when the strip started, I am having a really hard time taking this complaint seriously.
Seriously though, we’re seeing WAY too much of Ken, Malaya, Jacob, Lucy, Historical Jesus, Ninja Rick, and Ultra Car in Dumbing of Age. You should dial them back a bit.
Who’s “Ken”?
Ryu’s best friend and rival. Sheesh…
i only know of 2 people you said in that comment
its not a complaint its an opinion
If this were Shortpacked I’d be absolutely certain they’re gonna run into a misogynist jerk in the comic store, but I’m curious as to whether that’s also the case here.
BOB?
The rapper?
The Builder?
The Tekken Character?
The burger-place owner?
The hairstyle?
No, Buckets-O-Blood guy or as I like to call him, BOB.
BOB was there too …
My money’s on tokenism guy
Well… they’re not exactly uncommon. In fact, I’d say they’re more common the a cluestone in a Dragon’s Maze pack.
(been playing a lot of Magic lately)
I’m really hoping that the store is something along the lines of “Ninja Rick’s Super Happy Fun-Time Circus of Manga-Chan”
“Containers of Blood — Adult Comics”
“The Great Galasso’s Growing Empire of Illustrated Manuscripts”
The very sad part is that I do this. Specifically at school, it’s either a book or my laptop when we’re not having a lesson, unless I really want to talk to that person.
Hey, there’s a squirrel on that little island! Let that island be known henceforth as “Squirrel Island.” Soon the squirrels will build a navy and challenge the ducks’ control of the waterways of IU!
“Rule Rodentia!
Rodentia rules the waves,
Rodents never never will be slaves!”
There’s a bright shiny place
With a flag that bears my face
And it’s chock full of nuts!
Faraway from human life, my stupid brother and ex-wife
And do I mention that it’s full of nuts?
Hail, hail Rodentia!
Hello Aizat! Will you be immigrating and applying for citizenship on Squirrel Island?
Wait, I thought I entered the “Create Rodentia’s Anthem” contest.
I didn’t know there was a contest!
*high-five for the Phineas & Ferb reference*
“War. War never changes” thought the Water Snake as he slithered his way up the Tree of Rodentia, the home of the island nations entire population. He had been on this same mission a dozen times before. The places were different and the targets had varied from The Parrot Prime Minister to the Naked Mole Rat Tyrant, but the reason had always been the same, someone thought they had more right than the other, and had the wares to hire the best assassin in the world. He couldn’t even remember how he got into the line of work in the first place, only that he soon gain a reputation even those Imperialist Ducks couldn’t ignore, especially after their previous Dynasty had ended with their Emperor was found hanging in the window of a Chinese deli. He was surprised he was able to even enter the river without the chorus of a thousand angry quacks that could rival the noise of an accident at a squeak toy factory. Nonetheless, he was hired to take out the Fleet Commander of Rodentia, Akern, while the ducks dive bombed the nations navy fleet with their Vicious V Squad, crippling both the hands and the head of the beast in one fell swoop. It would be the decisive victory for the Duck Empire over Rodentia, and Squirrel Island would be theirs. But Water Snake didn’t care. It was just another job.
He finally made his way up to the nest of the Fleet Commander. Water Snake peeked his head over the lip of the nest, and saw the Commander hunched over, working at the nut that was his dinner. From the nest the Commander had the best view of the creak below him, allowing him to easily plan out attacks and respond to incoming threats, but covered overhead by the thickest of the tree’s foliage, making it the safest place from the ducks. But not from a snake. Water Snake slithered slowly towards his target, without disturbing the tiniest of twigs from it’s resting place on the floor, and had made his way right up to the back of the Commander. He slowly erected his body from the floor, so that standing he was taller than the Commander. Then, with a sudden speed, he shot his tongue out, touching the Commander’s neck. The squirrel had stopped so suddenly that one would swear, it was the work of a taxidermis.
“Commander Akern,”, hissed Water Snake. The Squirrel turn itself around on it’s back legs to meet beady eye to beady eye with the Snake. However, he did not look terrified.
“I am here to assassinate you,” hissed Snake, “as per orders of Duck Empire.”
‘And?” Said the Squirrel, with a voice that was too commanding for a man about to be killed.
“They will attack your navy from your East side from above,” hissed Snake “hoping to ambush you from your rear. And without their brilliant Fleet Commander from his ever watchful post, they will be dessimated as we then attack with our other forces from North and South, having expected us to come from the West.” He continued to stare at his reflection in the eyes of the Commander.
“Well I suppose you’ll want your pay now then.” Said the Squirrel. He turned away from the snake, moving towards a stash of bottle caps, bits of glass, jewelry and other such human junk. He sorted through the pile until he found a simple gold band, which he then placed before the snake. Snake picked it up with the tip of his tail, and examined it the darkness of the night, reflecting the occassional bits of starlight that managed to find it’s way through the densely packed leaves.
“You hand over your nations greatest treasure to a spy for some information?” Questioned Snake, sliding the ring on over his head.
The commander turned away from snake and looked over the edge of the at the water below. “It will mean nothing once all of the creak is under Rodentia rule, and those pesty ducks finally migrate away from here for the last time.” Snake slithered up beside him and looked down at the creak. And that was all he could see. “I would appreciate it if you left Rodentia as quickly and as quietly as you did getting here.”
Snake had already started tomoved towards the opposite side of the nest. “No problem, I need to get far away from here anyways before the ducks find out I doublecrossed them. There is only so far you can run when your pursuer can fly.”
“I would also appreciate it if you told no one about our little agreement.”
“What type of spy would I be if I revealed that?” Said snake as he dissapeared over the edge.
He was in the water moving towards the bridge where a duck was hiding just outside of view. “Is it done?” Asked the duck in as hushed a tone capable of an animal that communicates through quacks.
“Yes, the Commander is no more, you attack should go splendid.”
“And… that around your ne-”
“Trophy.”
“I should have known you to be the type to parade your success.” Said the duck, not even attempting to hide his disdain for Snake.
“Just pay me before you find yourself hanging by your feet with your precious former Emperor.” Snake knew this might lose him his pay, but he couldn’t help riling up the idiots feathers. However, he didn’t know what it looked like when a duck sneers at you until just that moment.
“Take your pay and leave worm!” The duck threw a bag a coins at the snake’s tail. He checked it before tying it arounf the ring on his neck, and slithering off, leaving the duck huffing mad.
“He’ll probably be dead by the next morning.”, thought the Snake to himself, but it really didn’t matter. He would only be the next in a long line of idiots who wound up dead, thinking they could short-change an assassin. But that was the job, you were loyal only as long as the other side didn’t offer you more. “Long live Rodentia.” Hissed Snake.
Jeeze this took longer than I thought it would.
Can I see your license for reprint of ©opyrighted material, please?
That was quick
Okay, I know the story is horribly cliched, but I don’t think I was knowingly copying someone else’s material. What is this copyrighted material and who is the owner? Or was that some sort of sarcastic compliment? Probably not…
Maybe he wants you to license it to him so that he can reprint it?
*Claps* Rodentia fanfiction already! Thank you.
That’s a little too close to home!
Had a brainwave today. You know what we should call the Danny/Amber ship?
Wineglasses.
Wineglasses? Why?
Because Amber brings the glasses to Danny’s whines.
Yyyep 😀
My god, this is the best name for anything ever.
I was gonna jokingly put “Yyyep :D” as a comment here too but it got flagged as a duplicated comment :/
Anyway we need more awesome ship names.
“Yuuuuup!“
S.S. or M.V.?
“People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening…”
*Amazi-Girl symbol spins*
I’m torn. (Just like my attention span!) On the one hand, I do this. It’s handy, it’s efficient, it lets me catch up with more than one friend at once. On the other, I’m worried that I’ll lose my ability to focus wholeheartedly on something, and that I’ll forget information immediately after getting it. (Then again, that can be chalked up to bad memory.) I know that I feel sort of neglected when a friend I really want to hang out with does something else at the same time, it’d be hypocritical of me to assume they don’t think the same, but at the same time it can be hard to tell if they really think so or if they think it’s okay to fiddle around with other stuff at the same time.
And because I rarely use a smartphone, I don’t get the ‘you’re-not-really-socializing’ guilt that comes from using electronic doohickeys outside the house. Instead, I seem to think it’s good to get out in the real world, even if all I’m doing in the real world is playing DS. Pfrgh.
There’s nothing like reading the stuff on grain… But then again, you can’t fight convenience.
An I the only person who completely misread panels 2 and 3 as him checking out her butt, then realizing “wait a minute . . . I know that butt.”?
Oks, so only slightly relevant but I was on a different campus recently with a similar bridge over a similar stream, and took this picture which may be relevant to some themes in this comic.
Could be, could BE! All I know is everything you know is wrong.
“You see that double beat panel?
That was crucial to the joke!” -Yelling Bird, Jeph Jacques