Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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for some reason joe carries around a lot of singles
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BUFFER WATCH Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:

May 19, 2026

Duh– duh–

by David M Willis on November 21, 2013 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - The Only Dope For Me Is You
└ Tags: dorothy, jacob, joe, joyce, sarah

Discussion (181) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Jen Aside
    Jen Aside
    November 21, 2013 at 12:01 am | #

    Say it, Joyce…

    L-l-l-l-l-lesbian

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      November 21, 2013 at 12:02 am | #

      I meant love…I wasn’t trying to trick you or anything.

      • Tarkada
        Tarkada
        November 21, 2013 at 12:02 am | #

        I lesbian you guys right now

        • Volkai
          Volkai
          November 21, 2013 at 12:33 am | #

          I would say I’m in lesbians with you for saying that

          but I don’t think I’m allowed to be in lesbians.

        • Aeron
          Aeron
          November 21, 2013 at 12:51 am | #

          I suddenly realize I could have been using Lesbian as a verb this whole time.

          • desai
            desai
            November 21, 2013 at 2:03 am | #

            I would lesbian someone, but I’m worried they’d Hetero me.

            • Parnifia the Bastard
              Parnifia the Bastard
              November 22, 2013 at 1:10 pm | #

              Truer words never spoken…

    • OmegaDez
      OmegaDez
      November 21, 2013 at 10:34 am | #

      YOUR ICON.
      I want to see that picture!

  2. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    November 21, 2013 at 12:02 am | #

    Darnation

  3. Wonder Wig
    Wonder Wig
    November 21, 2013 at 12:02 am | #

    Joyce, trying to reenact the comedy stylings of Carlos Mencia.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

      If someone steals a joke from Carlos Mencia does that make it original again?

      • TJ
        TJ
        November 21, 2013 at 12:08 am | #

        No, it just makes them incredibly desperate.

        Is Carlos Mencia even a thing? Last I heard of him was the South Park “Fish Sticks” thing. Maybe he was just some strange shared illusion?

        • Tom Speelman
          Tom Speelman
          November 21, 2013 at 2:54 pm | #

          He’s still around but he’s on the out circuits of entertainment.

  4. nothri
    nothri
    November 21, 2013 at 12:02 am | #

    For those watching at home and reading the alternate text, the reason is strippers.

    • Kladeos
      Kladeos
      November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

      What does it say about me that I read that as “shippers” first?

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        November 21, 2013 at 12:09 am | #

        You can get given singles for shipping? No wonder so many people around here do it.

        • -Sentinel-
          -Sentinel-
          November 21, 2013 at 12:14 am | #

          Shipping is its own reward.

          And it’s not like we can KEEP ourselves from doing it.

          • carl320
            carl320
            November 21, 2013 at 12:49 am | #

            If Mike had a nickle for every ship in these comments, he’d have all of our mothers.

            • Crimson Doom
              Crimson Doom
              November 21, 2013 at 9:48 am | #

              >Implying that Mike has not already done so

              • Felonius
                Felonius
                November 21, 2013 at 3:45 pm | #

                > Implying that Mike doesn’t get a nickle for every ship in these comments.

        • Tachyon
          Tachyon
          November 21, 2013 at 1:39 am | #

          I’d ship me and money, for a dollar.

      • Aeron
        Aeron
        November 21, 2013 at 12:52 am | #

        Both answers are acceptable.

      • Sam
        Sam
        November 21, 2013 at 8:27 am | #

        It says that you win at life because Joe ships himself with every female that is available that is not Joyce or similar to Joyce.

    • brionl
      brionl
      November 21, 2013 at 12:10 am | #

      I haven’t been to a stripper bar since I was in the Navy. But I think with inflation and all, they aren’t going to be too impressed by a single. Unless you fold it up so you can’t see the denomination, which I still remember how to do.

      • Portmanteaust
        Portmanteaust
        November 21, 2013 at 12:25 am | #

        No, not strip bars. Ship bars. There, *everything* costs only a nickel.

        • asmcint
          asmcint
          November 21, 2013 at 12:33 am | #

          And the only people dancing are mothers.

        • Valdrax
          Valdrax
          November 21, 2013 at 12:36 am | #

          “Do you know of a place where sailors hang out?”
          “Sailors? I often see them at night.”
          </shenmue>

        • VZG
          VZG
          November 21, 2013 at 3:46 am | #

          Where do I put the nickel? Do I… do I put it in someone’s slot?

          (I’ll show myself out.)

          • Plasma Mongoose
            Plasma Mongoose
            November 21, 2013 at 3:09 pm | #

            You should be nippled and dimed for that statement.

            • asmcint
              asmcint
              November 21, 2013 at 10:12 pm | #

              EROGENEOUS ZONES!!!

              …Wait. I did it wrong. Shit.

    • Nono
      Nono
      November 21, 2013 at 1:45 am | #

      See, I got that too, but for some reason I read that as Joe getting a lot of them because he was the one stripping.

      • nothri
        nothri
        November 21, 2013 at 1:01 pm | #

        Hey man, either option is possible.

  5. pokee2
    pokee2
    November 21, 2013 at 12:03 am | #

    I bet Joe gives those singles to the homeless

    • Valdrax
      Valdrax
      November 21, 2013 at 12:37 am | #

      Only if they strip for him.

  6. Norj
    Norj
    November 21, 2013 at 12:03 am | #

    Joyce will learn how to curse when Dorothy takes her virginity.

    • John
      John
      November 21, 2013 at 12:10 am | #

      Nah, she’ll be all, “Oh gosh! Ohmigosh! Fudge me harder!”

      • Kladeos
        Kladeos
        November 21, 2013 at 12:50 am | #

        That’s just wrong. And a huge turn-off.

        • Logician
          Logician
          November 21, 2013 at 6:09 am | #

          Unless actual fudge is involved.

          • Golbez the Awesome
            Golbez the Awesome
            November 21, 2013 at 12:39 pm | #

            Someone needs to draw this. Like now

            • Jakryt
              Jakryt
              November 21, 2013 at 5:46 pm | #

              Rule 34, no need to hurry.

        • Kaziel
          Kaziel
          November 21, 2013 at 6:42 am | #

          That you have that gravatar, when saying it’s a turn off makes this comment a million times better. 😀

  7. TheLurkerAbove
    TheLurkerAbove
    November 21, 2013 at 12:03 am | #

    Heh, it might be forever indeed. 😛

  8. The Sound Defense
    The Sound Defense
    November 21, 2013 at 12:03 am | #

    Suddenly Joyce has gotten really, really attached to Dorothy.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

      They’ll need to be surgically removed.

    • timemonkey
      timemonkey
      November 21, 2013 at 12:23 am | #

      Suddenly?

    • begbert2
      begbert2
      November 21, 2013 at 10:57 am | #

      But Billie is still the body she lusts for.

    • Biege
      Biege
      November 21, 2013 at 11:59 pm | #

      I think its more she dosen’t want to be left with Joe :p

  9. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

    Duh-duh-duh-duh-DEMOCRAT!

    • Fay
      Fay
      November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

      Duh-duh-duh-DUMBING OF AGE!

      • hmrc4evr
        hmrc4evr
        November 21, 2013 at 9:00 am | #

        Duh-Duh-Duh–Decade!

        Sorry, Kamen Rider reference.

        But considering we’re discussing Joyce and Dorothy being ‘together’ it DOES give give Decade’s ‘final attack ride’ a whole new meaning.

        • ninja_jesus
          ninja_jesus
          November 21, 2013 at 2:14 pm | #

          Duh-duh-duh-DAIRANGER!

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

      Watch yo mouth!

      • CapnPanda
        CapnPanda
        November 21, 2013 at 8:33 am | #

        I’m just talkin’ ’bout Dumbing Of Age.

        • DFS
          DFS
          November 21, 2013 at 9:14 am | #

          Then we can dig it!

          • Jakryt
            Jakryt
            November 21, 2013 at 5:50 pm | #

            Duh-duh-duh-duh-digging it!

    • Aizat
      Aizat
      November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

      You should know by now, we are the Duh-duh-duh-duh-

      I-i-i-it doesn’t matter what your name is.

  10. Rabbling Rouser
    Rabbling Rouser
    November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

    second panel is the Joyce adorable face of the week

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      November 21, 2013 at 12:08 am | #

      Love how she’s reaching out to Dorothy. She’s like a baby who wants her binky.

      • David Herbert
        David Herbert
        November 21, 2013 at 5:06 am | #

        She wants some Dorothy in her mouth.

        • Doctor_Who
          Doctor_Who
          November 21, 2013 at 9:22 am | #

          But only if first separated into her component parts. Can’t have them touch!

          • Leah Rockshard
            Leah Rockshard
            November 21, 2013 at 10:26 am | #

            No, silly, she doesn’t separate integrated components. Her bread doesn’t become flour and water and yeast, etc. It’s the separate real foods that come apart.

            Thus, only if Dorothy is separated from all her clothing.

    • -Sentinel-
      -Sentinel-
      November 21, 2013 at 12:17 am | #

      I like her better with the fourth panel. Antigrav eyebrows!

      • -Sentinel-
        -Sentinel-
        November 21, 2013 at 12:18 am | #

        * IN the fourth panel. Not “with”. 😐

  11. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

    Hello! I Must Be Going/I cannot stay/I came to say “I Must Be Going”/I’m glad I came but just the same/I Must Be Going…

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      November 21, 2013 at 12:06 am | #

      I’ll stay a week or two / I’ll stay the summer through / but I am telling you / I must be going.

      Groucho FTW.

      • ninja_jesus
        ninja_jesus
        November 21, 2013 at 2:15 pm | #

        BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE

        Oh, wrong song?

  12. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

    Duuuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeellll!

    • Aizat
      Aizat
      November 21, 2013 at 12:06 am | #

      DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!!!! BLOODGUN IS THE BEST COMIC EVER!!!!

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        November 21, 2013 at 12:18 am | #

        ROB LIEFELD IS A GENIUS! WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET!

  13. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

    Joe buys lots of soda’s from the soda machines. A guy get thirst when he’s at the stripper bar all night.
    (Ha. I totally went there)

    • Aizat
      Aizat
      November 21, 2013 at 12:10 am | #

      Or…Joe really like to make it rain.

      • Mr. Random
        Mr. Random
        November 21, 2013 at 12:12 am | #

        I wonder if you could use the Macy’s day parade balloons as giant umbrellas.

    • Thad guy
      Thad guy
      November 21, 2013 at 12:43 am | #

      The soda machines here take credit cards. It is the best.

  14. rachel
    rachel
    November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

    omg how is she sooooo cuuuuutieeee with a mouthful of food even??

  15. Kladeos
    Kladeos
    November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

    Aw, Joyce loves Dorothy. How cute.

    • Mr K
      Mr K
      November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

      Walky was right

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        November 21, 2013 at 12:26 am | #

        There’s a sentence that you don’t see often. XD

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      November 21, 2013 at 12:07 am | #

      But only in a wholesome biblical way.

      • John
        John
        November 21, 2013 at 12:12 am | #

        And she wants to get to know Dorothy. In a biblical way.

    • Thasvaddef
      Thasvaddef
      November 21, 2013 at 5:38 am | #

      How can you not love Dorothy?

  16. Mattyos
    Mattyos
    November 21, 2013 at 12:04 am | #

    that was literally the second most adorable thing I have seen all week

  17. Bilfred
    Bilfred
    November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

    @alt-text: Joe you devil you.

  18. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

    Why is Joyce’s mouth so full in the 2nd panel when she reduced her taco to tiny seperate parts?

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      November 21, 2013 at 12:06 am | #

      She separated them to shove them into her mouth all at once.

    • CthulhuPanda36
      CthulhuPanda36
      November 21, 2013 at 12:07 am | #

      Smaller pieces means you can compact it more?

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        November 21, 2013 at 12:09 am | #

        Does tht count as a vice?

    • Mr. Random
      Mr. Random
      November 21, 2013 at 12:57 am | #

      Comic evidence suggests she is eating all of the cheese.

  19. Marisa Mockery
    Marisa Mockery
    November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

    Damn you, Willis! It’s getting more and more impossible to NOT ship them by the day! So the closet lesbian is dating a closet gay guy?

    Wait. That works out perfectly….

    • That Damn Rat
      That Damn Rat
      November 21, 2013 at 12:11 am | #

      Buy one beard, get a second one free.

    • Glockenspielberg
      Glockenspielberg
      November 21, 2013 at 12:12 am | #

      You say closet lesbian like its a fact

    • John
      John
      November 21, 2013 at 12:14 am | #

      Nah, Joyce likes guys way too much to be a lesbian.

      But bi is a thing.

      • Glockenspielberg
        Glockenspielberg
        November 21, 2013 at 12:19 am | #

        Maybe…

        • Kennerly
          Kennerly
          November 21, 2013 at 12:04 pm | #

          Maybi.

          • xKiv
            xKiv
            November 21, 2013 at 8:00 pm | #

            Les-bi-an now sounds almost like a workable threesome.

    • Valdrax
      Valdrax
      November 21, 2013 at 12:43 am | #

      All versions of this argument explained away in one strip:
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/gorge/

  20. Dimonite
    Dimonite
    November 21, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

    I, for one, am proud of Joyce for not compromising her principles in the face of this ridiculous peer pressure.

    • chris73
      chris73
      November 21, 2013 at 12:28 am | #

      I agree

      • Zach
        Zach
        November 21, 2013 at 1:01 am | #

        Where they principles or inhibitions? She seemed to really want to swear when Dorothy left.

        • chris73
          chris73
          November 21, 2013 at 4:00 am | #

          I think its a bit of both and that makes the comic better because nothings black and white in real life so it makes Joyce and more rounded character

        • begbert2
          begbert2
          November 21, 2013 at 11:05 am | #

          They may have originally been principles, but now they’re compulsions. She’ll faux-swear at the drop of a hat, literally as hard as she can, and twice in this conversation made a real attempt to real-swear for very little reason. So it’s hard to be impressed by her ‘principles’ – she doesn’t have any, about this anyway. She’s got a sailor’s mind behind a care bear’s mouth.

          • David Willis
            David M Willis
            November 21, 2013 at 11:24 am | #

            “A compulsion and not a principle” definitely best describes my refusal to swear as a young adult.

  21. Aizat
    Aizat
    November 21, 2013 at 12:08 am | #

    Panel 2 is just what I needed. You know, I was slowly losing my sanity this morning.

  22. CthulhuPanda36
    CthulhuPanda36
    November 21, 2013 at 12:09 am | #

    “D”
    “Duh”
    “Dude looks like a lady!”

  23. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    November 21, 2013 at 12:11 am | #

    Duh Duh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh BATMAN!

    • Jakryt
      Jakryt
      November 21, 2013 at 5:53 pm | #

      Also, be on the lookout for a certain prehistoric shark.

  24. Tacdud2
    Tacdud2
    November 21, 2013 at 12:17 am | #

    Okay I now ship Joyce and Dorothy.

  25. Frostbite
    Frostbite
    November 21, 2013 at 12:18 am | #

    All I hear is Knives Chou fading Nooooo

  26. Glockenspielberg
    Glockenspielberg
    November 21, 2013 at 12:20 am | #

    I don’t understand why one not wanting the other to leave is grounds for immediate suspicion of lesbitude

    • timemonkey
      timemonkey
      November 21, 2013 at 12:30 am | #

      Honey, it’s not grounds on it’s own, it’s yet another step on the path through the grounds of lesbianism. It’s a path she’s been on for a LOOOOONG time now, to the point where Dorothy’s boyfriend is actively commenting on it regularily.

      • Glockenspielberg
        Glockenspielberg
        November 21, 2013 at 12:35 am | #

        Idunno I just feel like like people are just trying to fit their head canon into the actual story without a whole lot of evidence

        • Pope William T Wodium
          Pope William T Wodium
          November 21, 2013 at 12:42 am | #

          Shocking.

        • Mr K
          Mr K
          November 21, 2013 at 12:51 am | #

          When has that not happened?

        • Zach
          Zach
          November 21, 2013 at 12:58 am | #

          Dorothy did not correct Walky when he said so.

        • John
          John
          November 21, 2013 at 1:28 am | #

          Honestly, I don’t actually think that Joyce is significantly bisexual, or even really bicurious. Biconfused, maybe. Mainly I think she’s just too inexperienced to be sure what she’s thinking herself.

          But if it turns out that she actually is bi, it’s not something that would be coming out of nowhere. There’ve been an awful lot of hints that she might be. She’s clearly way more attached to Dorothy than is typical for platonic friends, and jealous of Walky over her. She’s waxed rhapsodic about Sal’s appearance, her hair in particular. She’s expressed a desire to crawl into Billie’s cleavage. While she gets upset, she hasn’t ever actually denied it when Walky teases her about wanting to get with Dorothy. (She hates homosexuality… and also lying.) She threw a toy at Dorothy’s head. She is herself concerned that her thoughts about the other girls on her floor might make her gay. And I have real trouble reading this strip as anything but subtext.

          So, yeah, if she actually turns out bi, I’ll be surprised… but not shocked. And in the meantime it’s fun to ship ’em.

          • Random832
            Random832
            November 21, 2013 at 9:53 am | #

            It’s interesting… I never really noticed the art style evolving, but there’s a significant difference. The most obvious aspect is the extra layer of hilights in characters’ hair that is present now and not then.

            • John
              John
              November 21, 2013 at 2:06 pm | #

              The highlights were one thing I noticed when they started appearing, but don’t usually now (though occasionally they appear where I don’t think there should be highlights, and it looks weird), and don’t notice the absence of when I jump back in the archives.

              What jars me about the early strips is the change in proportions. People were maybe 4 heads tall back in the beginning of the strip, and while they’re still not anything like realistically proportioned, they’re much more so now. That change happened gradually enough that I didn’t notice it as it was happening, but when I jump back into the early strips, it’s like, “What the hell, everybody turned into Miis of themselves.”

              The lines have gotten a lot smoother, too. I think some of that may have been updated hardware.

        • zaratustra
          zaratustra
          November 21, 2013 at 3:17 am | #

          that makes too much sense

        • VZG
          VZG
          November 21, 2013 at 3:54 am | #

          1) People don’t always mean things seriously on the internet.

          2) There have literally been comics already with Joyce suspecting she might have less-than-platonic feelings for girls. Well, fearing, really, but none of this is coming out of nowhere.

          3) People don’t seem to have a problem with this when it goes the other way (as in a not-lesbians way), so I don’t see a point in complaining.

    • Kladeos
      Kladeos
      November 21, 2013 at 12:54 am | #

      She wanted to crawl into Billie’s boobs.

      I don’t think she’s into girls, but she sure does say and acting in damning ways sometimes.

      • Rutee
        Rutee
        November 21, 2013 at 9:50 am | #

        Excellent ways, says this lesbian.

      • John
        John
        November 21, 2013 at 5:31 pm | #

        Danging ways.

      • Jakryt
        Jakryt
        November 21, 2013 at 5:55 pm | #

        Even if you’re not a lesbian, who doesn’t love boobs?

    • ninja_jesus
      ninja_jesus
      November 21, 2013 at 2:19 pm | #

      What if Zordon was looking for teenagers with lesbitude instead of “attitude”?

  27. newllend
    newllend
    November 21, 2013 at 12:26 am | #

    Nice try Joyce but no, and now we go back to either amber or Billie and Ruth, or both with a little bit of Mike PLEASE! I will never ask for anythink else in a skit

    • Kirby
      Kirby
      November 21, 2013 at 1:49 am | #

      If you want Willis to give you a Mike strip tomorrow you should have made the request two months ago.

      • David Willis
        David M Willis
        November 21, 2013 at 2:32 am | #

        three

        • N0083rP00F
          N0083rP00F
          November 22, 2013 at 11:02 am | #

          You and your buffer …… It’s as if you were organized and have a long term plot outline written out or something silly like that….
          Now I’m craving a “Sad Joyce in Snow” sketch.

  28. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    November 21, 2013 at 12:29 am | #

    I would like to see 2nd panel Joyce do John Belushi’s impersonation of a pimple. 😀

    • The Phantom's Belch
      The Phantom's Belch
      November 21, 2013 at 10:13 am | #

      Call it a “zit” like he did. 😉

      And then Mike yells “FOOD FIGHT!” while pieing Walky in the face.

      (Firefox likes “pieing” but hates “statted” (past tense of “to stat”)? Strange.)

  29. TheStranger
    TheStranger
    November 21, 2013 at 12:41 am | #

    I’m a little surprised that Joe’s spending this time and effort (and a dollar) trying to get Joyce to swear.

    I mean, has he not noticed that her shirt’s done a button lower than usual? Pretty sure this is the first outfit she’s worn in the dumbiverse, non-dress category, that’s shown boobcrack at all.

    I say that not to be crude (although it is, to be fair) but rather to point out that teasing her about her language is likely to put her on the defensive and make her less likely to loosen her tongue.

    OTOH, maybe she’s showing more of the twins because of Sal’s sweater vest comment. I dunno.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      November 21, 2013 at 12:53 am | #

      He sees a girl showing cleavage and his first instinct is to tip her. Sounds pretty Joe to me.

  30. Gottawonder
    Gottawonder
    November 21, 2013 at 12:52 am | #

    I think the second panel is disgusting. Maybe taking this to serious..oh well.

    I have seen Mr. W’s panels of Joyce being absolutely adorable, and weird, and sad, and cute, and scared, and everything in between. But this is just sad.
    But good God Gertie (to quote my favorite Aunt), if I were in a public place with a person of an age equal to mine, and she was not mentally handicapped (and not drunk) and she did that to me….

    I think I would not be seen in too many public places with her.

    And yeah, I do have to be proud of her for not giving in and swearing, she does have a good stong sense of right and wrong for herself and tries to uphold it, even with all the peer pressure.

    Like to see some Mike, hasn’t been around in awhile and I’m goody two shoe’d out. Need some down right Mikeness.

    • Yeah
      Yeah
      November 21, 2013 at 1:39 am | #

      Dramatic people like Joyce in that panel are not my kind of people, but jeez, that’s harsh, and I’d agree you’re taking it too seriously. I’m really not sure how getting Joe punched repeatedly in public is LESS terrible than this, which is just her having an attachment to a friend who she probably would not have expected to make before going to college. She’s obviously not that socially aware in this setting, so it’d also be fair to give her a bit of slack on the enthusiasm levels.

    • VZG
      VZG
      November 21, 2013 at 3:57 am | #

      Yeah, definitely taking it too seriously. I hope your friends know that you don’t tolerate even a little bit of silliness; you should probably make that clear, so they don’t get dropped for a moment of impulsive not-adult-enough behavior.

  31. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    November 21, 2013 at 12:53 am | #

    DAMMIT! (not in relation to comic.)
    Okay, I’m on an IPad, and I can see the alt-text. SOMEHOW…
    Still can’t figure out which gesture triggered it so I’m going to describe what I see in hopes that SOMEONE will know how this happens.
    The entire comic grows shades darker as the alt-text appears in the center with a glowing white. If I tap to the side, which is the only part of the comic unaffected, it grows darker, if I tap again, the comic reverts to normal.
    Will someone PLEASE figure this out?
    Cause I can’t….

    • adrien
      adrien
      November 21, 2013 at 4:04 am | #

      I have no idea, but a quick search for “alt text iPad” returned this result which may prove useful: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20100404045906105

    • Bill
      Bill
      November 21, 2013 at 4:12 am | #

      You could use a real computer instead of what is basically an oversized smartphone that still can’t make calls……

      • Leonou
        Leonou
        November 21, 2013 at 5:38 am | #

        Phones can make call ? Seriously, they don’t know what new gimmick to add to their products.

      • Kladeos
        Kladeos
        November 21, 2013 at 2:55 pm | #

        OR you can understand that:
        a) people like using tablets, which were designed for portable internet browsing;
        b) people have computer issues sometimes and use a back-up (I read on my phone for a week because of this);
        c) people aren’t necessarily home when they check the comic;
        d) people don’t necessarily have access to a computer.

        • John
          John
          November 21, 2013 at 5:58 pm | #

          I’ve never figured out why people like using tablets. Tablets appear to be trying to fill a niche between smartphone and laptop that doesn’t seem to me to actually exist. They’re not small enough or durable enough to pocket and carry around on your person at all times like a phone (smartphones aren’t really, either, come to that), they can’t make phone calls, and they’re nowhere near as capable as a real computer. If I’m going to be lugging something the size of an iPad around, I might as well be carrying a netbook and have a full-up multitasking OS with a real UI.

          • Kladeos
            Kladeos
            November 21, 2013 at 6:41 pm | #

            My girlfriend carried around a mini-tablet and used that as her smartphone/music player (free wifi on campus) before she got a smartphone, and even after she got a smartphone for a while. My mom brings her iPad to people’s houses and stuff to read, and to read ebooks and browse the internet while traveling. She doesn’t travel with a laptop.

            Tablets are great for surfing the web while you’re in bed or you don’t want to wait for your laptop to boot up or lug it around. When I’m traveling I usually wish I had a tablet because reading on my iPhone for too long sucks. Reading the comments here on my iPhone sucks. Every morning over breakfast and at lunch I boot up my laptop for 10-40 minutes just to read while eating, when it’d be easier to do on a tablet. It’s not something that would be necessary for me, but it’d make me happier.

  32. Zach
    Zach
    November 21, 2013 at 12:55 am | #

    Isn’t that a lot of cleavage on Joyce? Who helped her get dressed?

    • Mr K
      Mr K
      November 21, 2013 at 2:40 pm | #

      Billie

  33. Regalli
    Regalli
    November 21, 2013 at 1:06 am | #

    Guys, guys, you’re reading the alt text all wrong. Clearly Joe has all those singles from his job at a strip club, not as a customer.

  34. Jack Faire
    Jack Faire
    November 21, 2013 at 1:11 am | #

    This storyline has made me think about swearing and what it really is. Most swear words have meanings beyond being swear words. Some that even have other words that describe the same thing but aren’t considered swear words.

    That got me thinking really swear words are just words used to give oompf to what you are saying so Dangit or any variation of is also a swear word because they are used in the same way as dammit is. “Cleaning it up” doesn’t really stop it from being a swear because if you think about it it’s not the words themselves that are swears but the feeling behind them.

    • VZG
      VZG
      November 21, 2013 at 3:59 am | #

      …No, not really. What is and what isn’t a swear is a more or less mutual decision made by a culture. You can’t just go and say “CHAIR!” is a swear because someone said it in a really vehemently angry way.

      • Notebooked
        Notebooked
        November 21, 2013 at 6:47 am | #

        Basically. There are a lot of adjectives that provide impact, and any word can be an anger-loaded exclamation (“dangit”, “heck” — on the adjective side, basically any negative adjective could make your point harsher), but the anger won’t be conveyed as well as if you had used a swear word, which are generally accepted to have that meaning.

      • ninja_jesus
        ninja_jesus
        November 21, 2013 at 2:22 pm | #

        OH YEAH? WHY DON’T YOU GO AND CHAIR YOURSELF, MISSY/MISTER? >:(

  35. lividjellyfish
    lividjellyfish
    November 21, 2013 at 1:49 am | #

    For Joyce:

    http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/351/d/6/you_tried__by_the_mexican_whovian-d5od4z7.png

  36. Ben
    Ben
    November 21, 2013 at 2:10 am | #

    And mike has a backpack full of nickels. these are both constants…

  37. VZG
    VZG
    November 21, 2013 at 4:00 am | #

    That is a big empty space in that there cafeteria.

  38. JA
    JA
    November 21, 2013 at 4:19 am | #

    Joyce in panel 2….

  39. Chase the Ace
    Chase the Ace
    November 21, 2013 at 4:36 am | #

    Panel 4 Joyce is the cutest :3

  40. hof1991
    hof1991
    November 21, 2013 at 7:06 am | #

    Joyce is missing someone like Becky to talk things over with. She had a very sheltered childhood, with no sisters. (kinda) Homeschooled, probly not allowed to play unsupervised. Sarah isn’t the chatty type.

    It might look like first romance, but she is probly just working through her first real friendship and her friend did not stick up for her and then walked away. I feels for her. She wants some human contact, but she’s just not that important to anybody. Dorothy puts studying first, as does Sarah. Ethan is just hiding behind her. Sal considers a child. She’s a source of amusement to Joe. Awful alone.

    • drs
      drs
      November 21, 2013 at 9:18 am | #

      There are hints of possible bisexuality but all of that is a good point, as well. Becky’s gone silent and Dorothy’s her closest friend. Though she does have a new love of cartoons to share with Ethan.

    • John
      John
      November 21, 2013 at 6:37 pm | #

      I’m still thinking that, whether Joyce is actually bi or not, Becky has a serious girl-crush on Joyce, and being the target of that for all these years may have skewed Joyce’s perception of what “best friends” means.

      • chris73
        chris73
        November 21, 2013 at 10:58 pm | #

        Becky has a crush on Joyce?

        • Kladeos
          Kladeos
          November 21, 2013 at 11:50 pm | #

          I went back and read all posts tagged with Becky and it isn’t obvious that that is the case… They were definitely close, and there is some subtext (“has she replaced you in my heart?”), but nothing too obvious.

  41. Ugakicka
    Ugakicka
    November 21, 2013 at 7:33 am | #

    Dammit, Dorothy. Joyce rebelled against her parents for you. Wait for her to finish.

    • Mr K
      Mr K
      November 21, 2013 at 2:40 pm | #

      By the rate at which she’s rebelling, she’s gonna create a black metal band. Joyce is lead vocal, Sal and Walky are on guitars, Dorothy’s on drums, and Dina’s on keyboards.

      • garblegarble
        garblegarble
        November 21, 2013 at 7:29 pm | #

        Dina on keyboards evokes the image of some proggy math-rock act with 150 minute long albums consisting of only one song…

        • Logician
          Logician
          November 21, 2013 at 7:58 pm | #

          The tracks are each titled with the latin name of a dinosaur, and the lyrics are a complete description of everything known about the species in question. Scientific accuracy is never sacrificed for the sake of rhyme or metre.

          Meanwhile, behind the singer & keyboard player, the two guitarists rampage about the stage on animatronic velociraptors. There are serious backstage arguments about whether their antics are distracting the audience from the lyrics: can Dorothy broker a compromise?

          • N0083rP00F
            N0083rP00F
            November 22, 2013 at 11:13 am | #

            Reduce the number down to three and with some concerted cajoling you might get RUSH to try this.
            150 minute Dino-rock symphony ….. that is something that must exist ….

  42. Insanely Asinine
    Insanely Asinine
    November 21, 2013 at 9:04 am | #

    Joe keeps the single dollars because he is secretly The Dollar Knight. He runs around in a Speedo.

  43. Arturo
    Arturo
    November 21, 2013 at 10:29 am | #

    Do I hear lesbian bells?

  44. OmegaDez
    OmegaDez
    November 21, 2013 at 10:34 am | #

    LOL.
    Joyce is hilarious in panel 2.

  45. Jon Lennox
    Jon Lennox
    November 21, 2013 at 11:28 am | #

    To be fair to Joyce, tomorrow in class won’t be until sometime in February or so.

  46. All Else Fails
    All Else Fails
    November 21, 2013 at 11:58 am | #

    She gets a cake. In frosting it reads:

    At Least You Tried

  47. Drizzle My Kizzle
    Drizzle My Kizzle
    November 21, 2013 at 12:24 pm | #

    How is Dorothy having to spend every waking moment working? The only explanation could be that she’s taking, like 9 classes, because she clearly doesn’t have a job…

    • Jo Pearson
      Jo Pearson
      November 21, 2013 at 1:32 pm | #

      Take it from someone who has experienced a couple of major breakdowns, both partially from over-studying: There’s an infinite amount of study you can do. If you set your standards too high, there simply isn’t enough time in the world to study what you want to an adequate standard.

      • Ashley
        Ashley
        November 21, 2013 at 2:55 pm | #

        “Yes, I’m hungry and tired, but re-reading the chapter and rewriting all my cue cards won’t hurt.”

    • oldFart
      oldFart
      November 21, 2013 at 11:40 pm | #

      Holy crap, you neurotypicals have noooooooo idea how easy you have it. Some of us have to acutually work. 20-30 hours a week is not an unusual amount of time to spend studying. When I read the last batch of comments about Dorothy’s study time, I was pretty shocked. The ease with which some of you described handling undergraduate coursework was totally alien to my experience. Fuck, man, I’m jealous, also pissed off at the….I guess privilege and entitlement I see in the comments. If it was so easy for you, be grateful, instead of judging those who have to work harder than you do. (I know Drizzle My Kizzle was just curious, but some of the earlier ones seemed pretty nasty IMO) Maybe she has some kind of learning difference or alternate brainwiring. Willis might be down with some neurodiversity, without spelling it out with diagnoses; look at Dina and her apparent autistic traits.

      • Kladeos
        Kladeos
        November 21, 2013 at 11:48 pm | #

        Also some people just really do work harder, especially if they have concrete goals and a competitive program they want to get into. I was approaching being a slacker, but a friend I know really wanted to be a vet, and to do that you need grades in the 90s-range. She worked has ass off all four years to maintain that mark.

  48. Mr K
    Mr K
    November 21, 2013 at 2:39 pm | #

    Who does Joyce think she is? Luke Skywalker?

  49. Kitschensyngk
    Kitschensyngk
    November 21, 2013 at 3:02 pm | #

    I kinda sympathize with Joyce here. I too went through a period where I never used curse words.

    I’m a little cooler with it now (to a point – I still don’t like the F-word, or the B-word for that matter) but I’ve learned that it’s not always okay to just casually throw those words around whenever you feel like it, because the more you cuss without thinking, the less likely people will take you seriously.

    • John
      John
      November 21, 2013 at 6:01 pm | #

      And not cussing is getting people to take Joyce so seriously…

    • oldFart
      oldFart
      November 21, 2013 at 11:55 pm | #

      In my fundamentalist days, I went several years without swearing. (I was a convert, so there was a before and an after, when I did, and do, swear.) I still don’t see it as a requirement, and I think they are all being total douchebags to goad her like that. Too bad she can’t express herself more forcefully without fake-cussing. Coincidentally, swearing is supposedly forbidden in my workplace, so I’m in kind of the same boat she is. What do I say instead of “fuckin’ asshole”?

  50. Pat Myers
    Pat Myers
    November 21, 2013 at 7:00 pm | #

    I love the second panel. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO…

  51. man in black
    man in black
    November 21, 2013 at 9:34 pm | #

    great page

  52. Jackson
    Jackson
    November 22, 2013 at 9:27 am | #

    There is a fine line between adorable and pitiable, and Joyce is standing right on top of it.

  53. Gottawonder
    Gottawonder
    November 23, 2013 at 2:02 am | #

    I do have a sense of humor, and silliness can be fun. I’m pretty much a hermit, but the friends I do have know that. If others don’t, that is their problem.

    A teenager girl in college, acting like a baby, stretching out her arms with grabbing motions, while she hollers ‘nooooo’, and spits food all over everyone is not “silly”.
    Her friend has to study. How hard is that to grasp?

    Joyce is not being silly, she is dead serious.
    I still think it’s disgusting.

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