Four students summon and study potentially dangerous demons within the walls of the mysterious Summerland University.
Empowered
Adam Warren
A sexy superhero comedy (except when it isn't) about the never-ending struggles of a plucky but very unlucky young superheroine.
Lighter Than Heir
Melissa Albino
A young Volant woman joins the military in an effort to upstage her war-hero father.
The Otherknown
Lorian Merriman
Chandra is a 12-year-old accidental time traveler with a reluctant new dad, who happens to be a member of a feared galactic crime syndicate.
Sunshine Boy
Moosopp
New-kid Kelly is sweet but naive. Luckily, he's got his outgoing neighbor Grey in his corner.
Knights Errant
J.R. Doyle
Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
Anacrine Complex
Sae Cotton
A superhuman heist involving probably too many pigeons than entirely necessary.
Hazy London
Scotty
A story about messy relationships. From friendly foes to crazy families. Nothing is black and white, just full of color. But, all colors can get a little hazy...
MASKLESS
kickingshoes
In a world where people can wield the magic of elemental Masks, all Ashe wants to do is help. Maskless and useless, with dreams of fire and smoke on the back of his tongue, he finds himself on a strange, dangerous path to uncovering the secrets of these incredible objects, and the source of the monsters plaguing his home.
Monster Pulse
Magnolia Porter Siddell
Four kids run afoul of a creepy secret organization's experiments, which turn their body parts into fighting monsters. Part sentimental coming-of-age story, part monster-training shonen manga, with just a bit of sci-fi body horror.
Atomic Robo
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
The Witch Door
Anni K.
Katariina Lehto discovers her neighbor is a witch called Jousia Muotka. Jousia introduces Katariina to the strange people and places beyond the witch door...
Patrik the Vampire
Bree Paulsen
Patrik loves to knit, bake, and help his friends while dealing with his own demons... like his thirst for blood because, oh yeah--he's a vampire.
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
The Lonely Vincent Bellingham
Diana Huh
Vincent is an unkind man looking to disappear, and finds himself in the care of a vampire and her two wicked children.
Demon's Mirror
Harry Bogosian
Based loosely off of "The Snow Queen", a story by Hans Christian Andersen, we see things take a different turn as the demons become central characters, and the side characters stick around. Yup, that's the only differences. Enjoy!
Fairmeadow
Kendra P. / KP
A wayward soldier finds herself in a pacifist commune deep in the wilderness of a war-weary land. Living in isolation brings her closer to those she was sworn to kill than she could ever imagine - but also threatens to tear the place apart.
Clockwork
Chikuto
Cog Kleinschmidt is a diligent, quiet worker at the Mercia Fortress, the world power's leading stronghold. His orderly life is thrown into chaos when an enemy kingdom sends a diplomat for peace talks. This diplomat needs something from Cog - whether he agrees to their terms or not!
Star Trip
Gisele Weaver
Jas is a human taken from her home planet on a trip across the galaxy she will never forget.
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Go Get a Roomie
Clover
Experience the queer journey of an upbeat hippie and the friendships she makes along the way! A tale of self-discovery and love of many forms.
Obelisk
Ashley McCammon
In 1908 New York, a young woman struggles to put her life back together in the wake of her father's death - until she discovers a vampire in the shambles of her inheritance.
Solstoria
Angelica Maria
After her brother goes missing, Samantha vows to become a Knight and help those around her in the Kingdom of St. Helena.
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Between Failures
Jackie Wohlenhaus
The low stakes adventures of an assorted group of 20 somethings trapped in the declining years of American retail. They are naughty and say lots of swears.
Lunar Blight
Studio CARTRIDGE, Laura Lee
Lunar Blight is a gothic horror story about an elite knight serving a moon cult who must choose between upholding his honoured duty or condemning everything he’s grown to know.
Heart of Gold
Eliot Baum, Viv Tanner
A pianist with failing eyesight seeks out a priest with a miraculous healing touch, drawing him deeper into a world of miracles and curses.
Shaderunners
Alex Assan, Lin Darrow
A ragtag band of bootleggers open a speakeasy for bottled colour in the greyscale city of Ironwell.
Far to the North
Allison Shaw
Kelu turns to the monsters of her remote mountain home when her family is held hostage by outsiders.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
Tove
Severin
The end of the world is coming, and Tove doesn't want to be a hero, but SOMEONE has to look after her little brother.
Folklore
Adam Ma, Colin Tan Wei
A superhuman horror story focused on a small band of survivors trying to navigate a war-torn world in the aftermath of the Federation’s collapse.
[un]Divine
Ayme
A highschool senior thought giving up his soul for a demon was a good idea. It wasn't.
Paint the Town Red
Windy, Winter Jay Kiakas
Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
Spinnerette
Krazy Krow, Rocio Zucchi, Pablo Rey
When a lab accident gives Heather Brown spider powers and six arms, she does what any midwest comic geek would do: Become Ohio's #3 superhero!
2 Slices
RJ Morel
After a case of mistaken identity, will awkward Daisuke find help from excitable Mamo, or will his love life be thrown completely off track?
Wychwood
Varethane
When Tiara's pyrokinesis is finally noticed, she is captured by a magical research organization for study. If she cooperates, she could be helping to save humanity from a dire threat - but can she trust them?
Drugs & Wires
Mary Safro, Io Black
Dan used to be a VR operator until his brain got fried by malware. Now he's stuck delivering packages in a post-Soviet hellhole all while trying to adjust to his new life and find some answers.
Real Science Adventures
Brian Clevinger
Spin off stories and other adventures from the world of Atomic Robo!
El Goonish Shive
Dan Shive
WARNING: This comic often ignores the Laws of Physics
Countdown to Countdown
Velinxi
Iris Black is a self-proclaimed inventor with the curious ability to bring his drawings to life, and yearns to find a space where he can use his powers freely.
Sam & Fuzzy
Sam Logan
Troubled by gangster rodents, lovesick vampire stalkers, or confused ninja assassins? Don't panic! Sam and Fuzzy are here to help. (For a reasonable fee.)
Killjoys
Flatw00ds
When two disgraced ex-feds fall backwards into trouble with the clown mafia, getting out in one piece is gonna be no joke!
Wilde Life
Pascalle Lepas
Oscar decided to rent an old haunted house, and that's when things got weird...
Awaken
Koti Saavedra/Flipfloppery
Superpowers, monsters and conspiracies. Piras, the spoiled Dameschi heir, fights to recover his identity after becoming a terrorist!
Come Hell or High Water
Jenny/Star, Mori
Prince Gladimir was never meant to fall for a pirate. Swearing off love for duty, the threat of war propels him back into the Captain’s world of high seas and high stakes. Their relationship could be the thing to save the kingdom of Yvoire - or destroy it.
How to be a Werewolf
Shawn Lenore
Malaya Walters was bitten by a werewolf as a child. After being raised by her human family, she faces the chance to learn what being a werewolf is really like as an adult.
Whomp!
Ronnie
A depressed, portly, hirsute anime fan stumbles through life in the ever-pursuit of chicken nuggets and other life-shortening indulgences.
Nerf Now!!
Josué Pereira
A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
Girl Genius
Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success.
Goblins
Ellipsis
A fantasy RPG as told through the eyes of the low-level monsters.
BOOKMARK Click "Tag Page" to bookmark a page. When you return to the site, click "Goto Tag" to continue where you left off.
BUFFER WATCH
Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:
Once you go Carla, you’ll go as far aa Moana?
Once you go Carla, you’ll feel more sexually frustrated than a koala? *falls down an agirlandherfed.com archive binge but doesn’t find the perfect Speedy page*
Once you go Carla, you’ll stop searching the alphabet and won’t hit on Darla?
Your misunderstanding. Plasma Mongoose means if you say Beetlejuice’s name three times, _Carla_ shows up. Mike doesn’t work at all like Beetlejuice. If you want to meet Mike you have to go to your mother’s bedroom under the right conditions. Also Beetleju… Oh, hi, Carla.
It is out to sea
It has lost its rudder and gone to meet i’ts maker
It is a lost ship
Bereft of navigation
It flounders in a Sargasso sea
If someone hadn’t given him a chart it would be rusting in peace housing clown fish
Its run down the straits of Hormuz and joined the Flying Dutchman
Its off the books
Its motive processes are now defunct
Davy Jones called and got a not in service message
This is an EX ship
Carla’s parents own a tech company…Carla, at least, owns a phone made by them…it’s probably either corporate swag passed on to her, or licensed apparel she picked up before actually meeting Carla.
See, that’s why DoA is fun. Technically, Carla is going to school here with people who are her parents in another timeline, who own a tech company, so we kept the tech company part and kinda “nudge nudge wink wink say no more say no more” the awkward bits.
Two things Joyce doesn’t like: admiting that evolution is real, and Catholic paraphernalia. If she sees a genetically cloned dinosaur pope she is going to faint.
“Sorry, mah deranged neighbor went nuts an’ destroyed mah school uniform a while back. An’ I can’t ‘zactly get another from here, so… well, this is how ah dress normally. Ah guess you’ll just have to get used to me lookin’ like this.”
Huh. Wonder why. I know her parents seem to be well off, hence why Mary really couldn’t retaliate, but I don’t recall what all they do, or why the name would be on the jacket.
As far as we’re aware, Carla’s parents run some sort of multi-million-dollar (multi-billion-dollar?) tech company, and at least some of their stuff involves lasers – Carla borrowed some of their stuff and used it to spell out her name when she pranked Mary.
Lasers, right. I probably should have checked the prank scene like I did the ‘and that’s what Ultra Car means to me’ one.
We can also conclude that the Ruttens have some active role in creating and designing their products, between the ‘my dad scratch-built me this toy’ story and Carla being an engineering major. (As opposed to, say, accounting.)
Her parents own a tech company called Ruttech, most notable for making smartphones with a built-in AI known as ‘Zoomer’. Carla’s indicated that some of the things she got for pranking (like the LEDs that spelled out her name during the Mary payback Rube Goldberg) were supplied by them, so we can presume they do more than phones. We also have the story of how Carla’s dad scratch-built her an Ultra Car toy as a kid that could transform into at least three different modes. That takes serious engineering and designing props plus access to good plastic and/or metal, plus the tools to cut and shape and assemble everything. (And we saw said Ultra Car in a Patreon strip, confirming she was on-model and pretty high quality. Again, for a scratch built toy, that is impressive. Wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Rutten’s a hobbyist.)
So I’m guessing that while they have a lot of Zoomer money, they’re also a very prolific tech company in general. Why Sal has clothes with (presumably) their branding, no clue, but they probably sponsor shit the way Verizon or Samsung do.
Entirely possible, yeah, and that was my first instinct before I checked the strip, but the term ‘scratch build’ isn’t really associated with 3D printing, just model making. I feel like if that was used to a significant degree, Carla would have mentioned it.
True enough on the term “scratch build.” My thought is that this was a shorthand way of describing “non-commercial toy”
But speaking as an engineer who’s been doing this sort of thing for a while, I’d probably have drawn it all up in a CAD program, and then it would be relatively simple to feed that into an SLA, SLS, or other industrial type 3D printer. I’ve also worked with model makers who could do amazing things with basic materials.
I have seen enough on creativity using CNC milling machines right down to hacksaws and a set of files to make elaborate prototype parts and assemblies – nothing in that realm surprises me – not even the Z-scale vehicles on a friends layout.
Yup, if she goes to vacation in a Scandinavian country, and happens to fall into some garbage while rollerblading inappropriately, you can say that something is Rutten in the state of Denmark.
I reiterate my comments about Joyce and boundaries.
Carla however is a delightful force of nature. (Also, apparently Sal likes Zoomer phones or something? OR HAS JOINED THE ROLLER DERBY? Hopefully we find out tomorrow!)
… look, Joyce does have a lot of problems with crossing boundaries, but she did fine in this strip. She asked permission before doing anything and didn’t do anything she didn’t get permission for.
Her expression suggests she’s not totally fine with it, any more than she’s totally fine with Joyce waking her up in the morning. At best that says ‘resigned’, and Joyce clearly won’t stop despite clear indications she’s unwelcome. (Also, I’m not certain Sal’s ever been able to develop really good boundaries around her physical appearance, given the age she was straightening her hair around and her conflicted feelings about it. That says to me Charles and/or Linda pressuring her started pretty early.)
The only boundary we really know she’d be good at enforcing is the gloves stay on (and even that we only know from Willis’ comment about how in the slip shine, Jason was originally going to try to take them off and Sal was going to smack his hand away).
Amethyst of Gemworld, from the animated miniseries that aired back in 2012! (Man I wish Cartoon Network and DC had realized what they had there. The short was fun and cute and we could’ve gotten playsets.)
I’m surprised they didn’t. Maybe they thought “War on a homeworld where all the nobles are from houses named for gemstones’ was too much like Steven Universe plus Game of Thrones?
Actually probably not leather looking closely, but heavier material isn’t out of the question. Plus I think the tear is on a seam for a sleeve? Probably a good idea for that to be able to withstand heavier use.
It being on a seam actually makes it easier to fix discreetly, but the one basic stitch that most people know won’t be strong enough. Gotta sew that up real tight and make sure it can’t stretch or fray out. I don’t know the actual names of any of the stitches, but the one I’d use is like a bunch of little knots around the tear (on the inside, of course).
Yeah, I figured it was doable, but certainly beyond my ability and probably one of those things you want someone with more than basic knowledge doing.
Actually though, IU has an Apparel and Textiles either major or school. Take it there, Sal! Someone there will do it for a reasonable rate and won’t ask questions!
Depends on whether the material tore, or the seam let go. Sewing isn’t too difficult to figure out, but good looking seams take practice. Thicker materials like canvas and leather are kind of a pain in the ass, too. Sal could probably have a tailor fix her jacket for a lot less than an equivalent new one would cost.
I’m pretty sure what Proxiehunter was saying is that because Mary knows we can assume everyone knows, because her first move would have been to tell everyone. The rest of her tactics came from that failing to actually do anything.
She knows, and is an absolute fuckhole about it. Warning for transphobia. (Might be obvious, given context, but better safe than blindsiding somebody with that.)
Stop trying to hornswoggle me into binging Willis’s comics, people. I already spent the past week in a Shortpacked! hole, I don’t need to reread this one on top of that.
Oh, please, everything is connected to Sal’s robberies. If Sal, Marcie, Ethan, Amber, Blaine, Leland, Ryan, Walky, Ken, Mr. & Mrs. Walkerton, Billie, Mike, Stacy, Yuri, or Faz are involved, it’s going to be related to those specific incidents. That’s the law, don’t blame me, I voted against that bill, I don’t make the rules.
I speculate Joyce is wondering why Sal would have a Carla jacket, and since Joyce never gets laid, her mind goes straight to sex. “Oh, my God, were Sal and Carla lovers?” Even though Sal is straight and we have no clue which way Carla swings.
Orientation is constant across universes. Carla is asexual homoromantic, unless her being “trans-chassis” in the other universe complicates the general rule. The homoromantic bit has been strongly hinted at in her behavior vis-a-vis Malaya.
Carla’s trans-chassis status in the other universe (as Ultra-Car) translates into her being trans in this ‘verse – her orientation is unaffected by it.
Her behavior with Malaya was creepy and weird. It came out of nowhere, was completely blatant, in front of Marcie, who she should know is interested and Sal who’s feuding with Malaya and on the outs with Marcie.
It seemed to be begging for emotional abuse, which was also out of the blue, not really hinted at by anything we’ve seen before.
I’m completely reserving judgment on what it might mean until we see some followup.
Asexual, homoromantic. (Note her interest in Malaya and her ‘I agree with you, girls are super cute’ or something similar line during one of her chats with Ruth” while expressing distaste for the sexy stuff.) Confirmed in the old universe, indicated through dialogue and Willis’s ‘no Slipshine for Carla’ rule here.
It is surprise, I think. I don’t think that she made the connection between the logo on the bike jacket and Carla. Heck, I doubt that she even knew that it was Carla’s name before Sal pointed it out.
Carla has clearly invented and makes use of a personal teleportation device. Or has created a stealthfield from her observations of Dina’s sneaking skills.
At some point, do Carla and Joyce face off in some kind of teleportation contest? And what even is a teleportation contest? (I.e., what kind of metrics are used to evaluate proficiency in teleportation?)
Based on what they’ve been using their teleportation for, their competition would probably be about ability to be wherever is most narratively relevant.
Billie could get in on the competition, if she were allowed to arrange for people to whisper “booze” over and over.
I mean, a more rational perspective would be that Joyce left the door open when she barged in, and curiosity-driven Carla decided to peek in or was just randomly running back and forth through the halls to relieve boredom (as she is wont to do) and happened to pass by at the right moment.
Of course, this is Carla, so high-tech hijinks do in fact seem more likely.
So my guess is Sal used to work for Carla’s parents’ company in some fashion (or was sponsored by them as someone else suggested) and that was how she was able to afford her motorcycle.
If it’s something like a used Kawasaki 300R, it wasn’t terribly expensive in the grand scheme of things. Certainly attainable working a summer job when you don’t have any other expenses.
So, I’m thinking that Carla’s dad’s company sponsors and/or owns a motor racing team.
Carla’s response time is freaky. I’m guessing that she’s hanging around the room still hoping that she can impress Sempai (Malaya) and guessed from hearing Sal’s reaction that she’d pulled out her Rutten Motorcross team jacket.
Plaid is a confusing, mind-boggling phenomenon, and most people would rather avoid drawing it. Willis, the madman, flaunts it about as wrapping paper for his overpowered queer girls.
Very likely, it takes an elaborately engineered apparatus to keep Carla’s fragile ego propped up to the point no one realizes how flimsy the foundation is.
Here’s a prediction: Joyce isn’t going to let that leather jacket have a quiet retirement. She is a seamstress (I can’t see Carol letting her lack that critical home-making skill), so she’s going to fix the jacket and wear it whenever she needs to feel cool and confident. The fact that it mildly smells of Sal will be a bonus, although she’d never admit that to herself.
I know this is just a gag and I shouldn’t read too much into it, but that’s… actually not good, Carla. Thinking that everybody’s always talking about you and possibly secretly judging you is pretty much buying an express ticket to Paranoia/Anxiety/Depression Town.
Me, too. She’s had to build a bulletproof ego because of all the abuse she took as a trans kid, and she wants to be an asshole so she doesn’t have to care, but she cares all the same.
Which is a shame because, if she was less defensive, I suspect that Amber and Joyce would gladly befriend such a smart and helpful woman. Of course, that’s the tragedy of just about every introverted personality, isn’t it?
…oh, at first I thought that was Carla’s and she was there because she and Malaya… but that’s actually Sal’s jacket, right? (How many motorcycle clothes can a person have? How many do you *need*?)
Probably Ellicot-Chatham, since Hannerdad apparently is responsible for a large chunk of what makes sentient AI in the QCverse possible, and Beatrice has the business ethics of a James Bond villain.
If you count the Ellicott-Chathams as two families, as Hannerlore’s parents are separated, I think Ruttech will have the edge. And Carla is definitely more Rich Kid than Hanners, but then Carla’s parents in the old universe were very supportive despite their flaws whereas Beatrice is A Problem.
Hanners dad helped invest AI and has a damn space station. I don’t know much about Carlas parents, but Hanners parents should have them topped, at least if you consider their combined wealth.
By the way, Fart Captor, shout outs for dealing with yesterday’s Asshole who is now Today’s Twitter Asshole who is just doubling down on his homophobia. Appreciated. He won’t learn anything but I appreciate not seeing him call us all sycophants for saying ‘yeah no, queer people get tired of straightness as societal default when we must be hidden For The Children, leaving our community’s young to suffer, and we’re all kind of Done With That Shit.’
And he just keeps going on, too. It’s almost impressive how he keeps bringing up new, exciting validations for getting into the moderation queue forever.
Being a dutchman, that name **, given proper inflection to account for the last “N” , would be any and all reason not to ever wear that jacket.
No, not even sarcastically…
Pox on our prime minister and his party of Goons….
(yes unintentional, but what is the actua chance…..)
** including the misspelling you get in anglophonic newpapers who don’t spell….. wait … check. period.
Late, but I love Sal’s beleaguered older sister-ness here. Like “*sigh* okay, okay, you can pick something out but I get final say’ is such a big sister thing to say.
I thought Sal LIKED ruttin’
she’s just not interesting in adding Carla to it
Hey, once you go Carla, you’ll realize that nothing rhymes with Carla.
Parlour?
Darla? Koala? Moana?
Once you go Carla, you’ll go as far aa Moana?
Once you go Carla, you’ll feel more sexually frustrated than a koala? *falls down an agirlandherfed.com archive binge but doesn’t find the perfect Speedy page*
Once you go Carla, you’ll stop searching the alphabet and won’t hit on Darla?
She’s a fish killer.
Onve you go Carla you never join the South Carolina Administrative and Regulatory Law Association. Which is a real thing, you’re welcome.
Marla.
Once you go Carla, you won’t go that far…la
Once you go Rutten, you gonna be headbuttin’
slap-jackin’
bonky-tonkin’
Now you’re just making up words.
To quote Thor, “All words are made up.”
Boffing, knobbing
Carla is like Beetlejuice?
No, don’t be absurd.
..you have to call Beetlejuice’s name three times.
Carla you only have to think about.
Mike doesn’t even need that.
I thought that was Bloody Mary.
Your misunderstanding. Plasma Mongoose means if you say Beetlejuice’s name three times, _Carla_ shows up. Mike doesn’t work at all like Beetlejuice. If you want to meet Mike you have to go to your mother’s bedroom under the right conditions. Also Beetleju… Oh, hi, Carla.
The only name that you never live to say to completion is Candle Ja……….
It’s an older meme sir, but it checks out.
No, no, you can and HAVE TO say Candle Jack to completion, but once you…………….
This nesting has evidentally been Candle Hi-Jacked. :X
Too bad that we can’t fin-
That’s is a real Billie-like expression on Carla.
I always thought Carla looked like Billie after seeing her on the cover for Book 6.
Sal: So Radical
Totaly.
Tubular even.
“Totally tubular, dude.”
But is Carla incorrect?
(She is not)
Well, now I have a plethora of questions. (First and foremost, why is Carla the actual best?)
Faz has made a chart.
And I, Faz, have also made this other chart, about how all other ships except Faz and Carla are obsolete.
Not a pairing – two separate ships.
The ‘Carla’ ship is self-explanatory – she is the best.
The ‘Faz’ ship is people appreciating the fact that Faz is alone.
It is out to sea
It has lost its rudder and gone to meet i’ts maker
It is a lost ship
Bereft of navigation
It flounders in a Sargasso sea
If someone hadn’t given him a chart it would be rusting in peace housing clown fish
Its run down the straits of Hormuz and joined the Flying Dutchman
Its off the books
Its motive processes are now defunct
Davy Jones called and got a not in service message
This is an EX ship
Ooh, I’ve been dying to know about that Rutten jacket! It’s existence mystifies me. Probably because I don’t know enough about Carla.
When was it seen before this?
There’s a couple pictures on the DoA tumblr- a panel preview and a drawing of Sal (clothing reference, I think?).
The Dumblr of Age has some great stuff on it!
Carla’s parents own a tech company…Carla, at least, owns a phone made by them…it’s probably either corporate swag passed on to her, or licensed apparel she picked up before actually meeting Carla.
See, that’s why DoA is fun. Technically, Carla is going to school here with people who are her parents in another timeline, who own a tech company, so we kept the tech company part and kinda “nudge nudge wink wink say no more say no more” the awkward bits.
My guess would be the latter; Ruttech probably sponsors a superbike and/or or Formula 1 team.
Pull out the Catholic school outfit, Joyce!
Two things Joyce doesn’t like: admiting that evolution is real, and Catholic paraphernalia. If she sees a genetically cloned dinosaur pope she is going to faint.
To be fair, if I saw a cloned dinosaur pope I might faint.
If I saw a cloned dinosaur Pope, I might convert to Catholicism.
Depends, what’s Dino-Pope’s stance on clerical celibacy?
That it’s a clerical error.
Oooo. Can you go to purgatory for laughing at a bad joke if it’s a good one?
Maybeee … its all for a bit of a giggle plus you get early release for good behaviour.
A genetically cloned dinosaur pope in a plaid miniskirt and white knee-socks.
And a miter. You can’t tell a dino-pope from a dino-cardninal without the miter.
And all his dinosaur friends ask “What’s the miter with you?”
Cloning is against Catholic doctrine. Most popes are just plain ol’ dinosaurs.
Ahahahhahahaahaha you’re funny.
Seriously though, things get too Catholic and Joyce’ll break out in hives.
Yeah, I could only see Joyce pulling it out to throw it in the trash.
But Sal hates the uniform too, right? Given where she got it from? Maybe there’s a way she and Sal could bond over that?
BURN IT!
Sadly, Sal still needs it for days her parents show up.
“Sorry, mah deranged neighbor went nuts an’ destroyed mah school uniform a while back. An’ I can’t ‘zactly get another from here, so… well, this is how ah dress normally. Ah guess you’ll just have to get used to me lookin’ like this.”
… okay, yeah, fine. Wouldn’t work. : (
It’s not like the Catholic School uniform helped when she last saw them, so why not.
School uniform might not help but I guarantee Sal’s normal clothes will hurt.
Huh. Wonder why. I know her parents seem to be well off, hence why Mary really couldn’t retaliate, but I don’t recall what all they do, or why the name would be on the jacket.
As far as we’re aware, Carla’s parents run some sort of multi-million-dollar (multi-billion-dollar?) tech company, and at least some of their stuff involves lasers – Carla borrowed some of their stuff and used it to spell out her name when she pranked Mary.
Lasers, right. I probably should have checked the prank scene like I did the ‘and that’s what Ultra Car means to me’ one.
We can also conclude that the Ruttens have some active role in creating and designing their products, between the ‘my dad scratch-built me this toy’ story and Carla being an engineering major. (As opposed to, say, accounting.)
Her parents own a tech company called Ruttech, most notable for making smartphones with a built-in AI known as ‘Zoomer’. Carla’s indicated that some of the things she got for pranking (like the LEDs that spelled out her name during the Mary payback Rube Goldberg) were supplied by them, so we can presume they do more than phones. We also have the story of how Carla’s dad scratch-built her an Ultra Car toy as a kid that could transform into at least three different modes. That takes serious engineering and designing props plus access to good plastic and/or metal, plus the tools to cut and shape and assemble everything. (And we saw said Ultra Car in a Patreon strip, confirming she was on-model and pretty high quality. Again, for a scratch built toy, that is impressive. Wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Rutten’s a hobbyist.)
So I’m guessing that while they have a lot of Zoomer money, they’re also a very prolific tech company in general. Why Sal has clothes with (presumably) their branding, no clue, but they probably sponsor shit the way Verizon or Samsung do.
Mrs. Rutten helped build it too. Carla’s from an engineering family!
I saw the strip and missed that somehow. Even sweeter! (And clearly the two of them are an engineering powerhouse couple.)
Yep, Carla’s family are tech giants.
Not literal giants, though. But Carla’s pretty tall…
Ruttech probably has the latest in 3D printing technology. Even 10 years ago, you could do some amazing things with the right 3D printers.
Entirely possible, yeah, and that was my first instinct before I checked the strip, but the term ‘scratch build’ isn’t really associated with 3D printing, just model making. I feel like if that was used to a significant degree, Carla would have mentioned it.
True enough on the term “scratch build.” My thought is that this was a shorthand way of describing “non-commercial toy”
But speaking as an engineer who’s been doing this sort of thing for a while, I’d probably have drawn it all up in a CAD program, and then it would be relatively simple to feed that into an SLA, SLS, or other industrial type 3D printer. I’ve also worked with model makers who could do amazing things with basic materials.
I have seen enough on creativity using CNC milling machines right down to hacksaws and a set of files to make elaborate prototype parts and assemblies – nothing in that realm surprises me – not even the Z-scale vehicles on a friends layout.
I assumed they sponsored a motorcycle race team, like Redbull does, but in their case, they also make the tech that is used by the team.
*plays Spin Doctors’ “Two Princes” on the hacked Muzak*
And Carla must be related to Lenny and/or Squiggy. Certainly not both though. That would be too darn weird. Even for this strip.
Guess Carla’s previously-displayed ability to apparate when her name is spoken wasn’t a one-time deal.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-8/02-this-is-the-way-that-we-love/hobble/
…..
….. okay, we need to turn this into FTL tech, like, yesterday.
Rutten?
I don’t get it
Wait is it actually Carla’s name? Thought that was a joke.
Nope. Carla’s last name is Rutten.
Yup, if she goes to vacation in a Scandinavian country, and happens to fall into some garbage while rollerblading inappropriately, you can say that something is Rutten in the state of Denmark.
– I will just show myself out, shall I?
You can see the full names of the members of the main cast on their individual cast pages.
Example: Carla Rutten
everything’s better with Carla
Carla is the best
I reiterate my comments about Joyce and boundaries.
Carla however is a delightful force of nature. (Also, apparently Sal likes Zoomer phones or something? OR HAS JOINED THE ROLLER DERBY? Hopefully we find out tomorrow!)
… look, Joyce does have a lot of problems with crossing boundaries, but she did fine in this strip. She asked permission before doing anything and didn’t do anything she didn’t get permission for.
I think they’re referring to the general recurring issue of ‘treating Sal like a life size barbie’.
I think Sal can take care of herself in this respect. If she wanted to lay down the law she could.
Her expression suggests she’s not totally fine with it, any more than she’s totally fine with Joyce waking her up in the morning. At best that says ‘resigned’, and Joyce clearly won’t stop despite clear indications she’s unwelcome. (Also, I’m not certain Sal’s ever been able to develop really good boundaries around her physical appearance, given the age she was straightening her hair around and her conflicted feelings about it. That says to me Charles and/or Linda pressuring her started pretty early.)
The only boundary we really know she’d be good at enforcing is the gloves stay on (and even that we only know from Willis’ comment about how in the slip shine, Jason was originally going to try to take them off and Sal was going to smack his hand away).
You know, every time the glove thing is mentioned, I always wonder how bad her hands must smell, always being encased in gloves like that.
…I mean, I assume she showers.
This is entirely unrelated, but who’s that character in your gravatar, Regalli? She looks extremely familiar, and I swear she’s Marvel-related.
Amethyst of Gemworld, from the animated miniseries that aired back in 2012! (Man I wish Cartoon Network and DC had realized what they had there. The short was fun and cute and we could’ve gotten playsets.)
Oh, cool, I’ve seen a few issues of her comic at the local collectibles store. It seems interesting, if it’s anything like that short.
I’m surprised they didn’t. Maybe they thought “War on a homeworld where all the nobles are from houses named for gemstones’ was too much like Steven Universe plus Game of Thrones?
I guess Sal’s a fan of one of her parent’s motorcycle design skills.
I thought Joyce would volunteer to sew up the jacket
But that would require giving it back after, instead of keeping it once Sal throws it out.
She will sleep with it on henceforth.
It’s a pretty big tear, and the jacket might be leather. Might be harder to patch up than Joyce has the skills or resources for.
Actually probably not leather looking closely, but heavier material isn’t out of the question. Plus I think the tear is on a seam for a sleeve? Probably a good idea for that to be able to withstand heavier use.
It being on a seam actually makes it easier to fix discreetly, but the one basic stitch that most people know won’t be strong enough. Gotta sew that up real tight and make sure it can’t stretch or fray out. I don’t know the actual names of any of the stitches, but the one I’d use is like a bunch of little knots around the tear (on the inside, of course).
Yeah, I figured it was doable, but certainly beyond my ability and probably one of those things you want someone with more than basic knowledge doing.
Actually though, IU has an Apparel and Textiles either major or school. Take it there, Sal! Someone there will do it for a reasonable rate and won’t ask questions!
*Academics nerd*
Yep, Indiana U has a fashion design major.
Depends on whether the material tore, or the seam let go. Sewing isn’t too difficult to figure out, but good looking seams take practice. Thicker materials like canvas and leather are kind of a pain in the ass, too. Sal could probably have a tailor fix her jacket for a lot less than an equivalent new one would cost.
Is this the part where Joyce discovers Carla is the daughter of bazillionaires or the part where Joyce develops a linking for motor culture?
I’m worried this is the part where Joyce discovers Carla is a trans woman and blabs it to everyone.
Eh, ‘everyone’ probably only means Becky at this point. The rest of the dorm seems to already know. At the very least, Mary and Agatha/Mandy do.
And I can’t see Mary knowing without outing her to everyone in an attempt to cause trouble.
Mary knows.
Yeah, Mary knowing – and intentionally misgendering – Carla a while back was a whole…thing, to put it lightly.
I’m pretty sure what Proxiehunter was saying is that because Mary knows we can assume everyone knows, because her first move would have been to tell everyone. The rest of her tactics came from that failing to actually do anything.
She knows, and is an absolute fuckhole about it. Warning for transphobia. (Might be obvious, given context, but better safe than blindsiding somebody with that.)
Stop trying to hornswoggle me into binging Willis’s comics, people. I already spent the past week in a Shortpacked! hole, I don’t need to reread this one on top of that.
Me too! (Somedude is kiiinda reminding me of the comments section there)
My point was that with Mary knowing I’m sure damn near everyone knows, because Mary would have made sure of it.
Mary wouldn’t necessarily.
Mary doesn’t blab. Mary hoards. Mary saves for blackmail. Mary waits until she can do real damage.
Exactly.
So like Mike regarding this!
First guess, sponsorship deal when Sal did some legit motorcycle racing?
I think it’s more likely to have some connection to Sal’s robberies.
Oh, please, everything is connected to Sal’s robberies. If Sal, Marcie, Ethan, Amber, Blaine, Leland, Ryan, Walky, Ken, Mr. & Mrs. Walkerton, Billie, Mike, Stacy, Yuri, or Faz are involved, it’s going to be related to those specific incidents. That’s the law, don’t blame me, I voted against that bill, I don’t make the rules.
The robberies also feature prominently in Galasso’s plans for world domination.
I don’t understand Joyce’s expression in the last panel.
I speculate Joyce is wondering why Sal would have a Carla jacket, and since Joyce never gets laid, her mind goes straight to sex. “Oh, my God, were Sal and Carla lovers?” Even though Sal is straight and we have no clue which way Carla swings.
Orientation is constant across universes. Carla is asexual homoromantic, unless her being “trans-chassis” in the other universe complicates the general rule. The homoromantic bit has been strongly hinted at in her behavior vis-a-vis Malaya.
Carla’s trans-chassis status in the other universe (as Ultra-Car) translates into her being trans in this ‘verse – her orientation is unaffected by it.
Her behavior with Malaya was creepy and weird. It came out of nowhere, was completely blatant, in front of Marcie, who she should know is interested and Sal who’s feuding with Malaya and on the outs with Marcie.
It seemed to be begging for emotional abuse, which was also out of the blue, not really hinted at by anything we’ve seen before.
I’m completely reserving judgment on what it might mean until we see some followup.
Asexual, homoromantic. (Note her interest in Malaya and her ‘I agree with you, girls are super cute’ or something similar line during one of her chats with Ruth” while expressing distaste for the sexy stuff.) Confirmed in the old universe, indicated through dialogue and Willis’s ‘no Slipshine for Carla’ rule here.
I couldn’t groove on the other universes, but I had the impression in this one that Carla might be ace.
Yep, ace, homoromantic and sex-repulsed.
It is surprise, I think. I don’t think that she made the connection between the logo on the bike jacket and Carla. Heck, I doubt that she even knew that it was Carla’s name before Sal pointed it out.
Carla has clearly invented and makes use of a personal teleportation device. Or has created a stealthfield from her observations of Dina’s sneaking skills.
At some point, do Carla and Joyce face off in some kind of teleportation contest? And what even is a teleportation contest? (I.e., what kind of metrics are used to evaluate proficiency in teleportation?)
Clearly, a teleportation contest compares speed, accuracy, cooldown time, bypassable materials/energies, and visual coolness.
Based on what they’ve been using their teleportation for, their competition would probably be about ability to be wherever is most narratively relevant.
Billie could get in on the competition, if she were allowed to arrange for people to whisper “booze” over and over.
Alcohol powered teleportation is a thing.
And then Dina steps out from behind a door and wins.
I mean, a more rational perspective would be that Joyce left the door open when she barged in, and curiosity-driven Carla decided to peek in or was just randomly running back and forth through the halls to relieve boredom (as she is wont to do) and happened to pass by at the right moment.
Of course, this is Carla, so high-tech hijinks do in fact seem more likely.
Though Joyce most likely barged in through the half-bath, not the hall door.
That’s true. Makes you wonder which room Carla barged in through, then.
Speak of the Carla and she will appear.
She’s displayed this ability before: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-8/02-this-is-the-way-that-we-love/hobble/
Sal x Carla, yes please
Nice
This is basically what we were all screaming about on Patreon last night, yes.
When I saw the jacket on Tumblr, I thought it was Carla’s and had lent it to Sal.
The heart ships what it ships, but canon…ah, the hell with canon.
Canon is just a cheap tactic to make weak ships stronger.
Cannon, on the other hand, is a heavy tactic to make ships sink!
This is shipping. What’s canon got to do with it?
Okay Willis, how much to I have to pledge to get Joyce in Sal’s old jacket? Or even in the 9th book; I’ll wait if I have to
Sal’s a Barbie Girl
In Joyce Brown’s world.
A leather jacket.
And she’s fantastic.
Joyce can brush Sal’s hair.
And lend her clothes to wear.
Oh, irritation
Sal’s close to frustration.
Come on, Fuckface
Let’s go-
What rhymes with “Fuckface”? Duck face? Car chase? Pod race?
“Suck face”, like kissing?
That’s bestiality.
So is this going to be Joyce dresses everyone today part 2?
I doubt it’s everyone; only the girl she’s got a crush on.
No, Dorothy’s studying.
Right, so she will TOTALLY need a fetching studying outfit.
So it is going to be another day full of hoodies?
So my guess is Sal used to work for Carla’s parents’ company in some fashion (or was sponsored by them as someone else suggested) and that was how she was able to afford her motorcycle.
If it’s something like a used Kawasaki 300R, it wasn’t terribly expensive in the grand scheme of things. Certainly attainable working a summer job when you don’t have any other expenses.
So was I the only one who couldn’t pull up the site in the last few hours?
I had to reset my iPad before I could get here.
So, I’m thinking that Carla’s dad’s company sponsors and/or owns a motor racing team.
Carla’s response time is freaky. I’m guessing that she’s hanging around the room still hoping that she can impress Sempai (Malaya) and guessed from hearing Sal’s reaction that she’d pulled out her Rutten Motorcross team jacket.
To be fair, she IS a motherfucking goddess
H- hi, plaid Carla.
Plaid is a confusing, mind-boggling phenomenon, and most people would rather avoid drawing it. Willis, the madman, flaunts it about as wrapping paper for his overpowered queer girls.
It’s an artistic power move.
It’s also the fastest warp speed possible.
Which explains how she got there.
Plaid just makes girls even cuter. That’s scientific fact.
Missed you, Carla!
Days I’ve been struggling with disphoria, Carla’s cameos always help me through
Tbf, Sal, you made that outfit work.
It takes an engineering degree to construct an ego as massive as Carla’s without it collapsing under its own weight.
Very likely, it takes an elaborately engineered apparatus to keep Carla’s fragile ego propped up to the point no one realizes how flimsy the foundation is.
Quite, considering what kind of life she had (even if her parents were loving and supportive), yeah she needs quite a scaffolding for that.
Here’s a prediction: Joyce isn’t going to let that leather jacket have a quiet retirement. She is a seamstress (I can’t see Carol letting her lack that critical home-making skill), so she’s going to fix the jacket and wear it whenever she needs to feel cool and confident. The fact that it mildly smells of Sal will be a bonus, although she’d never admit that to herself.
And by “mildly smells of Sal”, we mean “strongly smells of cigarettes”.
Yeah, that occurred to me too and, yes, I’m not sure that Joyce would differentiate.
We have evidence that she doesn’t.
The smell of ‘cool’ that never goes away.
(Wish I had a Sarah grav for this one.)
I know this is just a gag and I shouldn’t read too much into it, but that’s… actually not good, Carla. Thinking that everybody’s always talking about you and possibly secretly judging you is pretty much buying an express ticket to Paranoia/Anxiety/Depression Town.
I took the joke to be more about self-centeredness. “Everyone’s talking about me all the time because I’m great” and all.
Not great.
A motherfucking goddess.
(This reply paid for by the ‘Carla Is a Motherfucking Goddess and Don’t You Forget It’ Committee.)
Carla is great and I stand in her shadow as a bug a terrible pitiful bug.
Yeah I think for her it’s the other way around. Which is also a thing. Egocentrism and all.
Which is also not a good thing. XD Case in point, the egocentric sitting in the White House right now…
I love Carla <3
Me, too. She’s had to build a bulletproof ego because of all the abuse she took as a trans kid, and she wants to be an asshole so she doesn’t have to care, but she cares all the same.
And wants to be known as an asshole so when people hate her it’ll at least be for the fake asshole persona, not for her real self.
Cause that doesn’t hurt nearly so much.
Which is a shame because, if she was less defensive, I suspect that Amber and Joyce would gladly befriend such a smart and helpful woman. Of course, that’s the tragedy of just about every introverted personality, isn’t it?
What you said exactly, except applied to Mike. And without the fake part.
Reply to thejeff ninjad by BenRG.
Well said.
She’s like Beetlejuice
I’m sorry but who’s that?
Old cartoon/movie in which a wacky guy appears when you say his name (three times?)
You aren’t playing the game properly.
Betelgeuse has an associated game? I thought it was just the movie and Cartoon!
or is this more like a Candlejack thi-
…oh, at first I thought that was Carla’s and she was there because she and Malaya… but that’s actually Sal’s jacket, right? (How many motorcycle clothes can a person have? How many do you *need*?)
One suit of actual motorcycle gear and then just lots of leather clothes.
My question is which families richer, Ellicott-Chatham or Rutten?
Probably Ellicot-Chatham, since Hannerdad apparently is responsible for a large chunk of what makes sentient AI in the QCverse possible, and Beatrice has the business ethics of a James Bond villain.
If you count the Ellicott-Chathams as two families, as Hannerlore’s parents are separated, I think Ruttech will have the edge. And Carla is definitely more Rich Kid than Hanners, but then Carla’s parents in the old universe were very supportive despite their flaws whereas Beatrice is A Problem.
Now I’m off to see if Carla has ever met Joe…
The answer is not especially!
Also Hannerdad spends his time and funds developing things like space pizza delivery so I’m not sure about his profit margins.
On the other hand, if he has the time and money to develop things like space pizza delivery…
Hanners dad helped invest AI and has a damn space station. I don’t know much about Carlas parents, but Hanners parents should have them topped, at least if you consider their combined wealth.
Well, if that Carla comment isn’t 100% absolute classic Carla, I don’t know what is.
“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
A Rutten brand racing outfit? For some reason I’m reminded of that
scene in Iron Man 2.
I wonder what Rutten Tech builds other than smart phones. Suits of powered armour? Wouldn’t be surprised.
By the way, Fart Captor, shout outs for dealing with yesterday’s Asshole who is now Today’s Twitter Asshole who is just doubling down on his homophobia. Appreciated. He won’t learn anything but I appreciate not seeing him call us all sycophants for saying ‘yeah no, queer people get tired of straightness as societal default when we must be hidden For The Children, leaving our community’s young to suffer, and we’re all kind of Done With That Shit.’
Fart Captor has no patience for assholes.
Think about it.
*Fingerguns*
Oof. Yeah, that guy’s a real piece of work.
And he just keeps going on, too. It’s almost impressive how he keeps bringing up new, exciting validations for getting into the moderation queue forever.
Take a shot every time he cries censorship.
It’s five o’clock where I am, it’s okay.
Being a dutchman, that name **, given proper inflection to account for the last “N” , would be any and all reason not to ever wear that jacket.
No, not even sarcastically…
Pox on our prime minister and his party of Goons….
(yes unintentional, but what is the actua chance…..)
** including the misspelling you get in anglophonic newpapers who don’t spell….. wait … check. period.
Late, but I love Sal’s beleaguered older sister-ness here. Like “*sigh* okay, okay, you can pick something out but I get final say’ is such a big sister thing to say.
Carla must love it when a plan comes together.