Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

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July 11, 2026

Little push

by David M Willis on November 25, 2017 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - This Is the Way that We Love

└ Tags: joe, joyce

Discussion (112) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    November 25, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    small steps

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      November 25, 2017 at 2:23 am | #

      Really? Sounds like she’s about to escalate.

    • Paul
      Paul
      November 25, 2017 at 4:25 am | #

      Is the steppy thing easier, or is it easier to draw? 😛

      • David M Willis
        David M Willis
        November 25, 2017 at 4:33 am | #

        A treadmill is about 500% easier to draw than a steppy thing.

        • DonDueed
          DonDueed
          November 25, 2017 at 6:01 am | #

          Even easier is drawing neither.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          November 25, 2017 at 9:03 am | #

          What piece of exercise equipment is the hardest to draw? Stationary bicycle? Elliptical machine? Bowflex?

          • ValdVin
            ValdVin
            November 25, 2017 at 10:59 am | #

            Accurately drawing a person using the old-school Nordic Track, with actual slats of wood you strap feet into, has all the fun toil of drawing the machine plus genuine human motion of XC skiing.

        • Tawdry Quirks
          Tawdry Quirks
          November 26, 2017 at 5:39 am | #

          So, where do stairmills fall in relation to treadmills and conventional step machines in terms of difficulty to draw? Is it the middle ground between the two, or is it even harder to draw than an ordinary stepper?

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        November 25, 2017 at 2:41 pm | #

        Trust me, the steppy thing? Not easier.

        Joyce, stop. You fool. Don’t do it.

        • Ana Chronistic
          Ana Chronistic
          November 25, 2017 at 11:58 pm | #

          easier for me, I have to pay attention that I’m not gonna just fall off on a treadmill

          • Ana Chronistic
            Ana Chronistic
            November 25, 2017 at 11:58 pm | #

            (I ended up watching Crunchyroll when I realized the gym was in the WiFi range)

  2. BBCC
    BBCC
    November 25, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    I, ah, can recall a couple of bible stories to that affect, Joe.

    • shadowcell
      shadowcell
      November 25, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

      God’s really into the whole “do as i say, not as i do” thing

      • Meta
        Meta
        November 25, 2017 at 12:12 am | #

        “do as I say, not as I said before”

        • Bast
          Bast
          November 25, 2017 at 8:19 am | #

          do as I say, not as I said before, unless I say so”

          No wonder we have endless religious wars.

      • FacelessDeviant
        FacelessDeviant
        November 25, 2017 at 9:54 pm | #

        Ah yes. The old “Do as I say, don’t kill every firstborn in Egypt”-adage

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      November 25, 2017 at 12:09 am | #

      Yeah, how the god of the Bible behaves is really dependent on which parts you read.

      • Jamie
        Jamie
        November 25, 2017 at 8:45 pm | #

        Depends even more on who’s reading it for you.

        Which is super ironic given Protestantism.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      November 25, 2017 at 12:45 am | #

      Oooh! One of them involves the biblical Jacob. No, wait, at least two of them involve the biblical Jacob!

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      November 25, 2017 at 2:24 am | #

      I think you mean bible stories to that effe-…

      ….

      …. wait, no, that could work. Carry on.

  3. Wack'd
    Wack'd
    November 25, 2017 at 12:06 am | #

    “god’s super big on deceit” we are talking about the same god who was totally cool with jacob tricking his senile father into giving him all his land instead of his brother, right

    • Wack'd
      Wack'd
      November 25, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

      …not that jacob

  4. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    November 25, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    Baby Jesus cries when you tell fibs and lies.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      November 25, 2017 at 12:53 am | #

      To be fair, babies cries a lot. It’s probably just gas.

    • Bast
      Bast
      November 25, 2017 at 8:20 am | #

      Just take the batteries out of the baby monitor…duh! 😛

    • Crusading Barista
      Crusading Barista
      November 25, 2017 at 12:42 pm | #

      Lies and Fibs give Baby Jesus gas! STOP TOTURING THE POOR CHILD!
      No wonder why He says, “The Truth shall set you free.”

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      November 25, 2017 at 2:32 pm | #

      Post hoc ergo proctor hoc?

  5. Achallenger
    Achallenger
    November 25, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    I am so confused

  6. AgentKeen
    AgentKeen
    November 25, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    🎵The Dig It bone is connected to the next panel Dig It bone🎵

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      November 25, 2017 at 12:21 am | #

      I’m seeing triple. Nine Joes!

    • The Chosen One
      The Chosen One
      November 25, 2017 at 1:58 am | #

      He’s got a second head
      And a third leg

      Classic Joe

    • foamy
      foamy
      November 25, 2017 at 2:57 am | #

      He’s a three-legged two-headed abomination of science!

  7. Derek
    Derek
    November 25, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    so wait Joyce DOESN’T think Jacob belongs with Sarah anymore?

    • AgentKeen
      AgentKeen
      November 25, 2017 at 12:10 am | #

      I think it’s that she realized she was imagining Jacob never getting with herself and caught herself.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      November 25, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

      I think she doesn’t believe there’s any possible world where Joyce would want to be with HER, but she’s still trying to tell herself she wants him to be with Sarah :/

      • Smiling Cat
        Smiling Cat
        November 25, 2017 at 12:13 am | #

        “…where Joyce would want to be with HER” Your typo and your avatar sync up really well.

        • Fart Captor
          Fart Captor
          November 25, 2017 at 12:41 am | #

          That is CRAZY TALK because Joyce does not appreciate dinosaurs and Becky has come to understand the importance of this in a relationship

  8. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    November 25, 2017 at 12:08 am | #

    Step By Step…One By One…
    Higher and higher!
    Step By Step…Rung By Rung
    Climbing Jacob’s Ladder!
    –Huey Lewis & The News

  9. HL
    HL
    November 25, 2017 at 12:09 am | #

    every time Joyce and Joe interact my heart makes a smile

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      November 25, 2017 at 2:26 am | #

      That’s probably not healthy.

      • AGV
        AGV
        November 25, 2017 at 5:31 am | #

        It deppends on how it smiles
        Is it in a Joyce’s Patented Triangle Smile(tm) way or in a “wanna know how I got these scars” way?

  10. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    November 25, 2017 at 12:10 am | #

    Panel four Joyce is caught out, cutely (like evrytying she does).

    Glad for Joe to have this moment, not because it’s a victory for him, but because he’s being the person who can say what Joyce needs to hear. Actual human Joe: He comes in handy sometimes.

  11. vile_gamer
    vile_gamer
    November 25, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

    I need a shirt like Joe’s.

  12. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    November 25, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

    Joyce has clearly booked a flight to Egypt.

    • OhPun
      OhPun
      November 25, 2017 at 12:25 am | #

      I think she’s already there and Queen. However, she may be considering (panel 2 and 3) booking a return flight.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      November 25, 2017 at 2:32 am | #

      She should work on her deltaoids.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      November 25, 2017 at 2:46 pm | #

      To go on a river cruise, no less!

  13. Beef
    Beef
    November 25, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

    I love Joyce but I wish she’d stop

    • Ninjamaid
      Ninjamaid
      November 25, 2017 at 6:19 pm | #

      Yeah, I can’t see a way this’ll end well. Joyce is trying to get Jacob with Sarah, Sarah is trying to get Joyce with Jacob. They both like Jacob. He’s loyal to Raidah.

      I think either combination would work well, but you shouldn’t try to build a romantic relationship with someone while they’re already in one.

      Homewrecking is a terrible place to start a relationship.

  14. Keulen
    Keulen
    November 25, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

    Looks like Joyce still isn’t aware of her own feelings towards Jacob yet.

    • Averien
      Averien
      November 25, 2017 at 1:21 am | #

      She’s aware of her feelings; she just believes that what she thinks are Sarah’s feelings are more important.

  15. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    November 25, 2017 at 12:12 am | #

    Joe and Joyce’s friendship is one of the comic’s most interesting ones, mostly post-gun on campus storyline, where I thiiiink is when she started talking to Joe more over text, but I forget for sure.

    • HL
      HL
      November 25, 2017 at 12:12 am | #

      I agree, they’ve always had a good dynamic and I’m glad to see more of them.

      • Wright
        Wright
        November 25, 2017 at 1:20 am | #

        I’ve read all of Shortpacked!, and only bits and pieces of Rookies and It’s Walky (mostly out of confusion about where to start in the archives). But there’s this really sweet short storyline at the end of Its Walky where Joyce and Joe pretend to be married when Joyce visits her family. It’s really sweet, and because of it I kind of ship Joyce and Joe. Not as either of them are now (God, no) but somewhere, maybe ten years down the line in our time, after they’ve both grown up in their own way and have been friends, honest with each other, the whole time.

        • Wright
          Wright
          November 25, 2017 at 1:21 am | #

          That’s supposed to be Roomies. Stupid auto-correct.

          • geno
            geno
            November 25, 2017 at 11:10 am | #

            They have a super cute little arc towards the end of Roomies as well. They go to a museum or something

        • SarahSaur
          SarahSaur
          November 25, 2017 at 5:07 pm | #

          I;ve been reading roomies/itswalky with the rerun David Willis has been doing over on itswalky.com I only mention this, because it kinda solves the “where to start in the archives” issue, because they are getting posted in the order that he wants them to be. He posts one daily (along with his commentary on it), currently a good portion of the way through itswalky, I think.

  16. HL
    HL
    November 25, 2017 at 12:12 am | #

    also dang Joe stop skipping leg day

    • Nono
      Nono
      November 25, 2017 at 12:13 am | #

      Yeah, he’s really top-heavy. I’m not that surprised though since he’s not THAT much into working out so he’s probably in it mostly to attract girls.

      • HL
        HL
        November 25, 2017 at 12:13 am | #

        girls are attracted to calves i should know i met a girl once

        • tyersome
          tyersome
          November 25, 2017 at 12:33 am | #

          So, was she impressed with your mooves?

          • Jamie
            Jamie
            November 25, 2017 at 9:26 pm | #

            Have an internet.

        • Roborat
          Roborat
          November 27, 2017 at 3:52 pm | #

          . . . . once.

          Sorry, I was channeling Johnny Dangerously for a bit there.

          • merbrat
            merbrat
            December 5, 2017 at 9:48 pm | #

            I was hearing Joe Piscopo’s voice saying that, too.

    • Blackbird
      Blackbird
      November 25, 2017 at 12:24 am | #

      It’s not like his arms are super-muscular either, and some guys are just born with big shoulders. I’d bet Joe never worked out a day in his life before he started hanging with Jacob.

  17. Lapin
    Lapin
    November 25, 2017 at 12:16 am | #

    Joyce is so confused and since I have no desire to revisit those weird years my mother bought into the evangelical BS I am walking away from this storyline.

  18. Mad_Academic
    Mad_Academic
    November 25, 2017 at 12:20 am | #

    Can I get a GAWD BOMB!?

  19. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    November 25, 2017 at 12:24 am | #

    I’ve always been bad at running and my knees went to hell seven years ago so yes to the steppy thing.

  20. Kamino Neko
    Kamino Neko
    November 25, 2017 at 12:25 am | #

    I hadn’t realized that Joyce was so consciously aware of her crush on Jacob so I took a few minutes to properly parse her line in panels 3 and 4.

    ‘Oh, wait…she hesitated because she almost admitted she had a thing for him, herself, not because she realized she was kind of insulting Sarah.’

    … And, thus, she ended up insulting Sarah by accident.

    • RacingTurtle
      RacingTurtle
      November 25, 2017 at 12:39 am | #

      Yep. Oh, Joyce.

  21. Passchendaele
    Passchendaele
    November 25, 2017 at 12:27 am | #

    *Joyce pulls out a honey bun when no one’s looking*

  22. FLUFFYWOLF
    FLUFFYWOLF
    November 25, 2017 at 12:29 am | #

    That awkward moment when Joe is displaying more ethics about honesty and relationships than you.

    • Jason
      Jason
      November 25, 2017 at 3:21 am | #

      To be fair, Joe always thought he was pretty good at honesty and relationships. He’s very much Not A Fan of deceit in relationships- although he was blinded to when he used deceit himself and convinced himself otherwise.

  23. Tacos
    Tacos
    November 25, 2017 at 12:32 am | #

    Ah yes… the steppy thing.

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      November 25, 2017 at 12:51 am | #

      The bad guy from Justice League?

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        November 25, 2017 at 2:34 pm | #

        No, the Born To Be Wild band. *cue stair machine montage*

      • Tacos
        Tacos
        November 25, 2017 at 3:40 pm | #

        I haven’t actually seen the movie yet. I hear people say it’s either real good or real bad.

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          November 25, 2017 at 6:21 pm | #

          That’s what you should expect out of Zack Schrodinger.

  24. Doopyboop
    Doopyboop
    November 25, 2017 at 12:49 am | #

    As much as I dislike Raidah, I’ll be glad when we get to the end of this arc about breaking her and Jacob up. I’m not a fan of Raidah and Jacob, but that is Jacob’s decision to make. The more you push on people in a relationship, the more you’re not exactly gonna convince them not to date that person.

    • geno
      geno
      November 25, 2017 at 11:14 am | #

      Thinking you know what Willis is gonna do almost always means he’s gonna do something completely different.

  25. Bagge
    Bagge
    November 25, 2017 at 12:52 am | #

    You know… I thought we had seen all adorable sides of Joyce by now, but flustered-totally-not-trying-to-impress-cute-boys!Joyce sure is adorable.

  26. Katherine
    Katherine
    November 25, 2017 at 1:12 am | #

    I made a JJJoe from the comic above: https://imgur.com/a/ViNRy

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      November 25, 2017 at 1:18 am | #

      Like a humanoid Cerberus.

      • Pl0x
        Pl0x
        November 25, 2017 at 3:00 am | #

        I’m pretty sure Cerberus is a human. You gotta have capable fingers to type all those super long comments.

        Seriously though, the name ‘Cerberus’ has come to mean the DOA commenter for me, even more than the mythological three-headed dog.

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        November 25, 2017 at 2:51 pm | #

        Joeberus?

  27. NinjaNick
    NinjaNick
    November 25, 2017 at 1:18 am | #

    You gotta start somewhere.

    • BentKnee
      BentKnee
      November 25, 2017 at 1:43 am | #

      The steppy thing is most likely to make sure you never try again if you pick it first.

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        November 25, 2017 at 10:28 am | #

        I’ve never had trouble with stair machines…treadmills have attempted to kill me twice. >_>

  28. Badgermole
    Badgermole
    November 25, 2017 at 2:19 am | #

    I really want to know how Joe feels about this, fingers crossed for introspecting-Joe strips soon.

    • chris73
      chris73
      November 25, 2017 at 2:53 am | #

      We know Joe feels strongly about cheating via his thoughts on his dad and hes tried to dissuade Joyce before about this however hes probably the best person to out to Joyce why this course of action so wrong.

      Becky won’t because what Joyce wants is all thats important, Dorothy would hem and haw, Walky would be ignored so really Jow is the best option here

      • chris73
        chris73
        November 25, 2017 at 2:53 am | #

        Jow…Joe sheesh

  29. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    November 25, 2017 at 2:22 am | #

    …. well, Joyce IS making a scene. She might as well get some exercise out of those awkward stairs.

  30. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    November 25, 2017 at 2:23 am | #

    Dig it

  31. BenRG
    BenRG
    November 25, 2017 at 2:28 am | #

    The point when Joyce’s conscience starts to needle her regarding this whole stupid plan. Also possibly the point when Joyce realises that maybe being too close to Jacob (on the treadmill) is not good for her peace of mind!

  32. Peter
    Peter
    November 25, 2017 at 5:30 am | #

    That pause between “get with…” and “Sarah” is pretty revealing of how Joyce is beginning to feel. I sense that she really meant “me”, not “Sarah”.

  33. Emily
    Emily
    November 25, 2017 at 6:28 am | #

    Joe being the voice of reason in a matter of interpersonal relationships has to be a sign of the apocalypse.

    • Josh Spicer
      Josh Spicer
      November 25, 2017 at 1:26 pm | #

      This isn’t the first time he’s had to have a talk with Joyce regarding matters of the heart.

  34. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    November 25, 2017 at 8:23 am | #

    BTW, Joyce, you’re blowing a perfect opportunity. Just be honest, admit you don’t know how this equipment works, say you’re trying to get into it, and ask Jacob to show you. It’s not a bad way for him to get with… Sarah.

  35. Bast
    Bast
    November 25, 2017 at 8:24 am | #

    Why arn’t bouncy castles considered a legitimate for of exercise?

    • Bast
      Bast
      November 25, 2017 at 8:25 am | #

      form*

      Please implement editing.

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        November 25, 2017 at 2:34 pm | #

        Safety issues. There’s supposed to be a little red tether that shuts the whole thing down if something goes screwy and the whole castle flies away.

        • Bast
          Bast
          November 25, 2017 at 8:20 pm | #

          Blasphemy!

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      November 25, 2017 at 9:28 am | #

      Because exercise isn’t supposed to be fun, at least according to Calvin’s dad.

      • Bast
        Bast
        November 25, 2017 at 8:19 pm | #

        No one will deny my bouncyness!

    • OhPun
      OhPun
      November 25, 2017 at 2:49 pm | #

      (Warning: Extreme geekiness and off topic) Because, no matter how upset you get while trying to implement them, Cryptography APIs are not exercise.

      • OhPun
        OhPun
        November 25, 2017 at 2:49 pm | #

        https://www.bouncycastle.org/

  36. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    November 25, 2017 at 1:15 pm | #

    There’s something about Joe and Joyce trying to get the other to be more honest/truthful/not deceitful/not a bad person even if they are a good person doing bad things for selfish reasons that makes me happy for both of them to have each other.

    Even if the ship isn’t an end game, I’d like to think that at the end they can still go to each other and talk about anything.

  37. Jhon
    Jhon
    November 25, 2017 at 1:49 pm | #

    Joyce, there’s this thing your nose does when you lie.

  38. DJ Professor K
    DJ Professor K
    November 25, 2017 at 3:45 pm | #

    I JUST noticed Joe is wearing the same shirt as Dina from before for a completely different reason this is fantastic

    • Roborat
      Roborat
      November 27, 2017 at 3:59 pm | #

      Dina is going to be pissed when Joe returns it to her, he stretched it all out of shape.

  39. ǝ snow ʍousɐ
    ǝ snow ʍousɐ
    November 25, 2017 at 5:56 pm | #

    That panel 4 cognitive dissonance though

  40. LadyJ
    LadyJ
    November 25, 2017 at 11:17 pm | #

    okay where’s my 9999k slowburn joexjoyce coffeeshop AU

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