Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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sure let's set a scene in that parking lot i've been avoiding drawing for eight years
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June 14, 2026

Elbowing

by David M Willis on February 3, 2019 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - But the Sun Still Shines
└ Tags: amber, jennifer, marcie, ruth, sal

Discussion (119) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    February 3, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    Just take up a safer hobby

    like archery

    or skeet shooting

    or demolition

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      February 3, 2019 at 12:46 am | #

      I was going to say pick-up sticks but you can prick yourself or lose an eye.

      • LookingIn
        LookingIn
        February 3, 2019 at 1:17 am | #

        I’d add tiddlywinks but then I remembered the great brawl of 1995…I think it’s still banned in my middle school

        • Adam Black
          Adam Black
          February 3, 2019 at 2:13 am | #

          Lawn Darts

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            February 3, 2019 at 6:01 am | #

            Real ones, not those imposters with blunt plastic tips or beanbags.

        • Clif
          Clif
          February 3, 2019 at 2:15 am | #

          I had friends that played some kind of game where they shot marbles at fairly closeb range with BBs. Always struck me as dangerous cause you could never tell what the BB would do after hitting the marble. These are the same friends that would toss lit firecrackers at each others feet. I thought they were crazy. On the other hand, I jumped off roofs. If I did that today I’d break every bone in my body.

          • Ana Chronistic
            Ana Chronistic
            February 3, 2019 at 2:46 am | #

            had an ex who tried drinking gasoline on a dare

            health problems later in life? NAWWWWW… 9_9

      • TachyonCode
        TachyonCode
        February 4, 2019 at 8:26 am | #

        Ana did say demolition, anyway…

      • TemplarKnight
        TemplarKnight
        February 4, 2019 at 11:50 pm | #

        Eh, Skeet shooting and Archery are both far and away safer than Roller Derby. Both of them used ranged weapons and when practiced properly, you won’t hurt anybody.

        Roller derby is full of dangers regardless of level of skill.

  2. AnvilPro
    AnvilPro
    February 3, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    Ruth vs. Sal is the battle this campus, or maybe even this reality, could never contain

    • LookingIn
      LookingIn
      February 3, 2019 at 1:19 am | #

      which of course means that it’s going to happen and Ruth finds her outlet leading to the three ladies forming their own team to battle for Marcie’s affection

      I think I saw too many 80s team movies

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    February 3, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    Yeah, careful Sal. Last girl to antagonize Ruth ended up falling in love with her. It’s only a matter of time before Mary succumbs.

    • MatthewTheLucky
      MatthewTheLucky
      February 3, 2019 at 12:13 am | #

      Heh. You said antagonize.

      • LookingIn
        LookingIn
        February 3, 2019 at 1:19 am | #

        …is that what kids are calling it these days? 😀

  4. William Leonard Reese Jr.
    William Leonard Reese Jr.
    February 3, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    It’s nice that Ruth is here to supervise. And that Amber and Sal are making such an effort to get along. I also find Sal’s comment to be hilarious.

    . . . I honestly never even considered that all of these snarkers could play off of eachother so well.

    • lilyliv
      lilyliv
      February 3, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

      It’s a world made of snark, and I think that’s beautiful.

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 3, 2019 at 2:17 am | #

        It’s a snark world after all.

        • AGV
          AGV
          February 3, 2019 at 6:35 am | #

          It’s a snark eat snark world

        • Charlie Spencer
          Charlie Spencer
          February 3, 2019 at 6:46 am | #

          It’s a world of snark and a world of bile,
          And all that we say is spiteful and vile.
          Once it’s said, we abhor; yet we still pile on more,
          It’s a snark world after all.

        • Ryek Hvek
          Ryek Hvek
          February 3, 2019 at 9:01 am | #

          it’s Snarknado Week on the Blowjob Cat Channel

  5. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    February 3, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    Why is Ruth watching? Is it because this resemble hockey, sorta?

    • Dean
      Dean
      February 3, 2019 at 12:12 am | #

      It’s a sport where the team she supports has a chance of winning.

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        February 3, 2019 at 12:25 am | #

        Hey, it’s barely mid-late October. The Leafs haven’t been eliminated…yet.

        • LookingIn
          LookingIn
          February 3, 2019 at 1:20 am | #

          What’ll happen first: the Leafs winning a Stanley Cup or DoA getting to the end of freshman year?

          My money’s on the end of freshman year 😀

          • ValdVin
            ValdVin
            February 3, 2019 at 8:40 pm | #

            Hate to tell Ruth, but the Quebec Nordiques will win the Stanley Cup before the Leafs.

            (I am aware of what I said.)

            • Roborat
              Roborat
              February 7, 2019 at 5:21 pm | #

              Yea, Colorado has a slightly better chance of winning than Toronto, sure.

    • CJ
      CJ
      February 3, 2019 at 5:50 am | #

      It’s a public parking lot. Maybe she just saw them at it and stayed to see what’s going on?

      Billie is still next to her, so their relationship hasn’t run into Billie’s lies yet.

    • ego
      ego
      February 3, 2019 at 10:02 am | #

      shes here for the slipshine

  6. Dave
    Dave
    February 3, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

    Elbows are clearly not hands.

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      February 3, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

      Mine are.

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        February 3, 2019 at 1:18 am | #

        I can’t tell if you’re joking, but I used to know a guy whose hands were legitimately attached at the elbow. He had to wear a helmet during recess, in case a stray ball or kid got launched in his direction, because he couldn’t flinch very well.

        • Yumi
          Yumi
          February 3, 2019 at 1:12 pm | #

          I have approximately 50 hands.

          • Bathymetheus
            Bathymetheus
            February 3, 2019 at 8:14 pm | #

            That’s pretty handsy.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      February 3, 2019 at 9:46 am | #

      Those girls gotta be careful. Too much elbowing, and they may wind up touching weenuses.

  7. BBCC
    BBCC
    February 3, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

    Yeah, amber, you’re practicing skating now. Elbowing comes later. 😉

    And yeah, sure, no elbowing, just like hockey has no fighting.

    The fun part here is neither Ruth nor Sal are exactly wrong.

    • Segnosaur
      Segnosaur
      February 3, 2019 at 8:40 am | #

      Won’t they end up on the same team though (so they won’t normally be playing against each other). Much of the derby i have seen involves one city against another.

  8. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    February 3, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    I guess drawing parking lots is a pain in the asphalt after a while.
    *switches the hacked P.A. to the channel for the hockey arena organ player*

  9. Questionor
    Questionor
    February 3, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    sooo, do roller derby teams have cheerleaders for when Ruth decides to join too?

    • Woomy
      Woomy
      February 3, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

      It’s a pretty independent sport, so any derby team could probably decide to have cheerleaders

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      February 3, 2019 at 6:12 am | #

      Now I REALLY want to see a cheerleader troupe on skates

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        February 7, 2019 at 5:23 pm | #

        Sure, but the blades would get pretty chewed up by the wood and concrete floors.

  10. Hazel
    Hazel
    February 3, 2019 at 12:19 am | #

    So…Amber is saying sorry to Sal? Not the context I wanted but I’ll take it!

  11. Woomy
    Woomy
    February 3, 2019 at 12:22 am | #

    What about it? They’re like the same age and Ruth is no longer her RA.

    • Alanari
      Alanari
      February 3, 2019 at 1:14 am | #

      Ruth and Billie? Ruth is a recovering alcoholic, and trying to get out of a depression. Billie is a practicing alcoholic. Ruth shouldn’t keep her company right now, she’s not stable herself. She needs distance to everything that contains alcohol until she has gained a bit of stability. It literally is a matter of life and death for her, since every relapse can be the one after which you never try to stop drinking again and alcoholism is deadly. I’m not sure sal knows about Ruth’s drinking problem though.

      Also, sal knows that they both are codependent. Billie effectively told her. As soon as codependency comes into play, relationships get extremely unhealthy. sal recognised codependency so she probably knows that.
      She also knows that Billie is an alcoholic. Free life lesson for you: if you ever discover that you partner is an alcoholic, run. Run as fast as you can. Living in close relationship with an alcoholic will make your life hell. Always. And the longer you stay, the more difficult it gets to escape from that. There are cases where partners saw no other way out than suicide.

      So yeah, Sal is right about this. The relationship is extremely unhealthy.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        February 3, 2019 at 1:16 am | #

        Also, y’know, all the violence these two got into.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 3, 2019 at 1:39 am | #

          That said, considering her own relationship with Marcie, it’d be awful rich for Sal to have a go at Ruth for codependency.

          • Alanari
            Alanari
            February 3, 2019 at 3:06 am | #

            True. I’m actually guessing that this is why she knows so much about it. It probably was part of her own therapy sessions.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              February 3, 2019 at 3:25 am | #

              Which definitely went super well, yeah. Wouldn’t shock me if that is part of why she’s rejected therapy entirely (as well as pretty strong implications her therapists were unhelpful at best and shitty to her at worst).

              • Alanari
                Alanari
                February 3, 2019 at 4:23 am | #

                Actually, codependent people usually turn hostile towards everyone who criticises their relationship. So if they have tried to get a bit of distance between her and marcie, that might be enough to turn sal against them.

                • BBCC
                  BBCC
                  February 3, 2019 at 12:19 pm | #

                  Although we also don’t know where therapy took place. If it were in Tennessee (and at least some of it probably was) then they were already forced to get distance.

                  Goddamn, I really just want to know what happened in Sal’s therapy sessions.

              • Needfuldoer
                Needfuldoer
                February 3, 2019 at 2:22 pm | #

                Yeah, the therapy she got was undoubtedly more “make Sal the way her mother wants her to be” than “help Sal deal with her situation on her own terms”…

      • Adam Black
        Adam Black
        February 3, 2019 at 1:46 am | #

        There is scientific evidence that the danger you describe, the sharp cliff of relapse, is literally caused , created and maintained by total abstinence.

        Despite Ideology advocating total abstinence for all person s is as effective a strategy as total abstinence is to horny teenagers as sex education. Meaning its 100% until its not at all, and consequences will be far more severe. ( with teenagers grwater likelihood of stds and pregnancy ).

        What has proven effective is a strategy of radical reduced usage with no guilt and shame, plus a regime of Antiopiates to prevent a post alcohol high. This helps retrain the brain that alcohol isn’t a trigger for getting high, and prevents the severe crssh and burn from a mere sip of alcohol. It remove s the power of temptation and shame cycle.

        There is a lot of evidence d based science behind this in human s and with mice. The AA approach of total abstinence is effective less than 7%.

        It can also cause the dry drunk effect. Long term alcohol use also causes gaba deficiency which weaning off can help mediate.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 3, 2019 at 1:49 am | #

          It’s probably not a bad idea for a recovering alcoholic to try for a period of sobriety before retraining the brain, but it is definitely true that it’s proven very ineffective as a long term solution.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            February 3, 2019 at 1:53 am | #

            Also – it is possible to support someone recovering from alcoholism after you find out they’re an alcoholic. Alcoholic doesn’t automatically translate into a soul sucking pit of toxicity. Yes, it’s important to get out when you recognize a situation is toxic or turning toxic, but it’s hardly impossible to stay with someone who is an alcoholic and have it not turn toxic (especially if they’re trying to recover – that said, yes Billie isn’t trying to recover, but Ruth knows that and thus far is handling it okay).

            • Alanari
              Alanari
              February 3, 2019 at 2:58 am | #

              It is possible if said person wants help. Billie doesn’t. If they don’t want help, they either are a soul sucking pit of toxicity or they will soon become one. Period.

              An addict that doesn’t want to stop consuming will rather give up his parents, friends, job, partner and kids than his drug. There’s a reason that addicts tend to end up alone. Eventually the people around them say “I can’t do this anymore, me or the drug”. And they choose the drug.

              • BBCC
                BBCC
                February 3, 2019 at 3:05 am | #

                I’m speaking more generally than about Billie and Ruth. I suspect you’re right that Billie will have to eventually decide to get help if she and Ruth are going to last, though for now both Billie and Ruth are remaining functional (which doesn’t mean Billie doesn’t need help, but it’s better than not).

        • Questionor
          Questionor
          February 3, 2019 at 2:13 am | #

          Disciprine come from within
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLPUnTw4-1Q

        • Alanari
          Alanari
          February 3, 2019 at 2:52 am | #

          Controlled drinking doesn’t work. An alcoholic has lost control over his drinking patterns. That literally is one of the characteristics of an alcoholic.

          Trying to reduce the alcohol input is done by more or less every alcoholic at some point. Success rate is near zero. They can’t even follow simple rules like “don’t drink in my presence”. You can’t return to a normal, healthy drinking pattern. Addiction means you want more. Always and always more. And the addiction will win.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            February 3, 2019 at 3:45 am | #

            There is a difference between an alcoholic trying without professional help and one working with a professional along with meds that reduce if not eliminate whatever high they get from it. I’m not going to say Adam’s suggested regime works because I’ve not read the studies he mentions, but there is a difference. And it’s important to note it’s been proven completely cutting drinking out doesn’t work either (a method with a 93% failure rate can hardly be said to work, even if it is the highest rate around – again, I’m not familiar with addictions studies so I can’t comment on that).

            • Alanari
              Alanari
              February 3, 2019 at 5:05 am | #

              Actually, it currently is the method with the best prospect of working. There currently is no reliable way to undo addiction. It effectively is a subconscious connection between alcohol and feeling good the brain has learnt. To cure addiction, you have to undo that. We don’t know how to do that. There are rare cases where it worked. To my knowledge, it’s currently not known why it worked. As long as you have that connection, consuming will always lead to the overwhelming wish to drink more.

              My grandparents were not good people. The abuse they put in their children makes everything in this comic look pale. As a result, I have a bunch of addicted aunts and uncles. And I once had a relationship with a dry alcoholic. So I read a lot about it. Once I’ve read the thread of a guy who practiced controlled drinking for years. He knew a lot of studies and arguments and could discuss for hours. Explain why this is the best way to death with addiction. And it all sounded really convincing. And two posts further down he told us that he got really drunk the last evening. He had turned verbally aggressive against his children and beaten up his wife in front of said children. It was Christmas. Yeah. The wonders of controlled drinking. You’ll get beaten up less often if you stay.
              I mean, he found all kinds of reasons and excuses for this. All except this one: he’s an alcoholic who drunkenly abuses his family and instead of being horrified, he tries to rationalise it.

              • Inahc
                Inahc
                February 3, 2019 at 6:55 pm | #

                “Actually, it currently is the method with the best prospect of working.”

                [citation needed]

                • Inahc
                  Inahc
                  February 3, 2019 at 6:57 pm | #

                  …actually I’d love some citations from Adam Black too. it’s not as easy as it used to be to find good information from a quick google.

                • Inahc
                  Inahc
                  February 3, 2019 at 9:43 pm | #

                  fwiw, the wikipedia article is on the side of abstinence, but I don’t have the energy to dig into the studies and see whether they were for counselling+medication or counselling alone.
                  it does mention medications, but in a separate section, with no mention of long-term anything (besides a warning about the dangers of benzos).

                • BBCC
                  BBCC
                  February 4, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

                  Also, while I definitely believe Alanari about the person whose arguments they read, the same thing can happen to someone abstaining from alcohol. People go off the wagon, get really drunk and abuse the people around them all the time. That doesn’t necessarily mean abstinence isn’t the best choice.

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        February 7, 2019 at 5:25 pm | #

        I wouldn’t call Billy practicing, she pretty much has it down, she could probably go professional by now if she wanted to.

    • CJ
      CJ
      February 3, 2019 at 6:08 am | #

      Ruth is still Sal’s RA. So criticizing her relationship with Billie is something not wise given the power imbalance.

      If someone could point me to reliable studies about what works against addiction? The only people I know who reliably stopped drinking or smoking avoid alcohol and tobacco at all times. Everyone I know who tries the approach of controlled usage has phases of intensive usage. But this is anecdotal evidence and some of you here (and Cerberus, too) always insist that there are more effective ways to stop addictive behavior.
      Though I’m sure you need to change gene expression to change the receptiveness to the drug – just like you need to change gene expression to end PTSD – no one is really sure how that works. There are some experience-based concepts for PTSD where the change is brain activity and hormone levels and stuff are shown for relatively small populations, but why these methods convince your body to regulate hormon production differently is still unclear.

      • BarerMender
        BarerMender
        February 3, 2019 at 8:32 am | #

        I think the incredible power is that Ruth now knows that Sal was working with Amazi Girl, which would be of interest to the police. Ruth has blackmail power.

  12. pjeseb
    pjeseb
    February 3, 2019 at 12:25 am | #

    Pretty sure low blows are also not allowed in roller derby.

  13. EvilMidnightLurker
    EvilMidnightLurker
    February 3, 2019 at 12:41 am | #

    Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered I have fought my way here to the parking lot beyond the dorms to take back the femurs you have stolen, for my will is as strong as yours and my campus as great. You have no power over me!

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      February 3, 2019 at 1:22 am | #

      [Ruth vanishes in a puff of David Bowie]

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 3, 2019 at 3:02 am | #

      Damn, I can never remember that line.

  14. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    February 3, 2019 at 12:42 am | #

    I was about to ask when Sal got some freckles, but then realized, oh, my monitor is dirty.

    Cleaned now.

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 3, 2019 at 3:00 am | #

      Nothing like that has ever happened to me. As far as you know.

  15. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    February 3, 2019 at 12:50 am | #

    One one hand we have former vigilantes trying to focus their rage on sports, and on the other we have a codependent relationship that broke many rules. Morality is confusing when no one is actively doing something evil.

  16. Keulen
    Keulen
    February 3, 2019 at 1:02 am | #

    Now I’m wondering what Sal wanted to say in the last panel.

    • Danielle
      Danielle
      February 3, 2019 at 1:12 am | #

      hello pot, meet kettle

  17. Bicycle Bill
    Bicycle Bill
    February 3, 2019 at 1:37 am | #

    No elbowing in Derby?  Sure.  Just like there’s no traveling in basketball or holding in American football.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      February 3, 2019 at 1:38 am | #

      Or fighting in hockey.

      After all that is against the rules.

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        February 3, 2019 at 3:16 am | #

        I’m pretty sure that most sports’ rule-books are just to make the administrators feel better about themselves and let them fool themselves that they’re not enabling anarchy!

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 3, 2019 at 3:41 am | #

          I know right? I can practically hear one saying “Look, we SAID it’s against the rules, what else do you want us to do? Hands are tied!”

          • Bagge
            Bagge
            February 3, 2019 at 4:26 am | #

            You want us to tie ELBOWS as well? That’s just crazy

            • Deanatay
              Deanatay
              February 3, 2019 at 9:53 am | #

              “Our weenuses are tied!”

              (Yes, I love the word ‘weenus’. So help me, I will die on this hill.)

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        February 3, 2019 at 7:16 am | #

        A friend of mine once went to a fight where a hockey game broke out.

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          February 3, 2019 at 7:28 am | #

          That seems like a natural progression.

          • Bagge
            Bagge
            February 3, 2019 at 7:35 am | #

            In fact, as far as I can tell, Ice Hockey was first invented in Iceland as described in Njal’s Saga

            “Skarphedinn takes a spring into the air, and leaps over the stream between the icebanks, and does not check his course, but rushes still onwards with a slide. The sheet of ice was very slippery, and so he went as fast as a bird flies. Thrain was just about to put his helm on his head; and now Skarphedinn bore down on them, and hews at Thrain with his axe, “the ogress of war,” and smote him on the head, and clove him down to the teeth, so that his jaw-teeth fell out on the ice. This feat was done with such a quick sleight that no one could get a blow at him; he glided away from them at once at full speed. Tjorvi, indeed, threw his shield before him on the ice, but he leapt over it, and still kept his feet, and slid quite to the end of the sheet of ice.”

    • Ethics Gradient
      Ethics Gradient
      February 3, 2019 at 2:31 pm | #

      No forward passes in Rugby.

      Everyone should play football – no it’s not called soccer you heathens – which is clearly the cleanest sport of all!

      *dives for the dressing room*

  18. Bagge
    Bagge
    February 3, 2019 at 1:40 am | #

    Two characters in a snark-off… with Billie silent in the background. That’s just bizzar.

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 3, 2019 at 1:57 am | #

      Billie is too smart to get involved in a snark-off between Ruth and Amazigirl.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        February 3, 2019 at 2:00 am | #

        Oh god, can Billie please call Sal AG in front of Amber? Please?

    • Dean
      Dean
      February 3, 2019 at 2:16 am | #

      Billie has winner.

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 3, 2019 at 2:26 am | #

        A snark-off has a winner?

        You’re doing it wrong.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 3, 2019 at 2:37 am | #

          Of course it does if it’s a good one!

          The audience.

          • Clif
            Clif
            February 3, 2019 at 3:03 am | #

            Point.

            • Clif
              Clif
              February 3, 2019 at 3:05 am | #

              Billie has the audience.

              • ego
                ego
                February 3, 2019 at 10:05 am | #

                “now THATS how you do movie night!”

                • Bagge
                  Bagge
                  February 3, 2019 at 11:19 am | #

                  Lucy better take notes

  19. foducool
    foducool
    February 3, 2019 at 2:21 am | #

    holy shit that’s a burn of a thousand suns

  20. Catman
    Catman
    February 3, 2019 at 3:04 am | #

    Where’s Carla? Shouldn’t she be practicing too? I want more Carla

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      February 3, 2019 at 3:25 am | #

      Carla’s not on the team.

      • Catman
        Catman
        February 3, 2019 at 5:34 am | #

        But… she came to enlist

        • C.
          C.
          February 3, 2019 at 8:25 am | #

          If you actually read the strip, she only came to be next to Sal in her jacket.

  21. BenRG
    BenRG
    February 3, 2019 at 3:15 am | #

    I think that Ruth may be worrying a bit too much here. Yes, Sal and Amber have extensive opportunities to be rough with each other but they also have fewer opportunities to think of reasons to be rough with each other except: “Get out of my way, girl!”

  22. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    February 3, 2019 at 4:35 am | #

    Kettle, meet pot

  23. Piotr W
    Piotr W
    February 3, 2019 at 5:13 am | #

    I don’t understand. What power does Ruth have over Sal? Or was it supposed to be sarcastic?

    • EnerPrime
      EnerPrime
      February 3, 2019 at 5:43 am | #

      Ruth is Sal’s RA. As demonstrated by Ruth and Billie’s early interactions, it is fairly easy for an unethical RA to make one of their dorm resident’s life very unpleasant if they so choose.

      • BarerMender
        BarerMender
        February 3, 2019 at 8:36 am | #

        Blackmail power. She knows about Sal & Amazi-girl.

  24. Khno
    Khno
    February 3, 2019 at 7:07 am | #

    Being non confrontational is swell, but you know, at a point you just can’t keep avoiding to address issues just because you can’t jab them. I mean, this is a mean parking lot and it deserves a rough treatment at least.

  25. Emily
    Emily
    February 3, 2019 at 8:25 am | #

    At least I’m not the only one who thinks derby is one of the dumbest possible options for a sport for someone trying to deal with violent anger issues.

  26. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    February 3, 2019 at 9:05 am | #

    NOOOOOooooo! We were supposed to get Leslie putting Joe in his place! This wasn’t the deal, Willis! THIS WASN’T THE DEAL!

    • JBento
      JBento
      February 3, 2019 at 9:29 am | #

      This is a New Deal… partly starring the Great Depressed. How fitting.

    • C.
      C.
      February 3, 2019 at 9:36 am | #

      Damn you Willis

    • Lieutenant Dan
      Lieutenant Dan
      February 3, 2019 at 12:42 pm | #

      “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

      • Ed Rhodes
        Ed Rhodes
        February 3, 2019 at 1:38 pm | #

        Damn! Why don’t we have a thumbs up button?

    • chris73
      chris73
      February 3, 2019 at 5:48 pm | #

      Itd be better for leslie to sort her personal/teaching life out first

  27. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    February 3, 2019 at 9:30 am | #

    Oh boy, time for another round of Guess That Car!

    I think Marcie’s in front of either a Pontiac G6 or a Dodge Intrepid.

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      February 3, 2019 at 10:49 pm | #

      I would guess Intrepid.

      Also, a nod for drawing these cars. They look sorta generic, but all the proportions are all real-seeming and don’t distract from the foreground action. Plus it’s not.like they’re gonna be used much.

  28. ego
    ego
    February 3, 2019 at 10:00 am | #

    ruth: still a better matchmaker than joyce

  29. Peng
    Peng
    February 3, 2019 at 2:40 pm | #

    “…an’ yet somehow ah still sort of managed.”
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/phrasing/

  30. nothri
    nothri
    February 3, 2019 at 7:46 pm | #

    Ruth: Are you suggesting that your relationship with Amber is similar to ours?

    Sal: Wha? No, that’s-

    Amber: Well, I mean, Walky and I were together for a while, and you do look a little like him, especially if I don’t wear glasses…

    Sal: I hate you all.

CHOOSE A SIDE, NO COWARDS

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  • Polls Archive
CONVENTION APPEARANCES


May 3, 2025 - FCBD @ Laughing Ogre Comics in Columbus, Ohio

David M Willis! avatar
David M Willis!
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 6h
I think you mean the Slug-Maker
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 6h
today in #9chickweedlane i guess we're memory-holing again that 1997 story where amos and edda kissed for the first time after she, uh, got shot at school
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 7h
this has real "leia comforting luke for losing a guy he just met after her planet got exploded" energy
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 7h
Dumbing of Age: "Locate" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Locate
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 14h
butts disease
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Unnatural Selections @soundmirrors.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
It’s been awhile since I’ve more seriously read up on Ugaritic and Canaanite religions (alas, w/semi dated scholarship), but this is interesting, and not in a peaceful matriarchal fantasy kind of way.
theradr.bsky.social's user avatarRabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social ⋅ 20d
If you do a close read not only of the Bible but the archeology, it starts to look like the Israelites, & all but a couple of Judean kings, worshipped a goddess for pretty much the whole First Temple era. The implications of this are... far ranging-- & her name might not be what we've believed.
header image - Israelite Goddess Mystery Quest
www.lifeisasacredtext.com
Israelite Goddess Mystery Quest
smashing pillars / tracing echoes
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 18h
Have some sticker ideas for Toyhax
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 19h
fellas, is hasbro trying to make toys for children again
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 19h
Erase Soundwave's mouth! Recolor him light blue! ...don't correct Ratbat's miscolored face in the next panel
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 20h
So, I put my mind to it and retaught myself 3D modeling.
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 21h
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
who wore it better
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
1
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Dumbing of Age: "Pervasively" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Pervasively
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indigo-k.com's user avatar
-indy ✨ (he/him) @indigo-k.com ⋅ 1d
WIP: Taking a break for dinner, and then back to finish this later tonight:
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gwensnyder.bsky.social's user avatar
Gwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
I will say for the umpteenth time that the Democratic establishment is terrible at understanding enthusiasm math. An energized base is crucial to winning fights-- electoral and otherwise-- because they will drag the low info folks out to vote and protest and engage. You NEED that energy.
gwensnyder.bsky.social's user avatarGwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
It's not just that he and his policies are unpopular, there's a clear and demonstrated enthusiasm differential now. His base is energetically absent, ours is livid and out in the streets.
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fakeeyes.bsky.social's user avatar
FakeEyes @fakeeyes.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Pretty good Spider-Man figure, I don’t care what they say.
Spider-Man doing that thing you expect. It’s the butt thing. Why have I done this to myself? Is this my life? Yes.
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zaratustra.bsky.social's user avatar
zaratustra @zaratustra.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social adjacent to your interests
adashtra.bsky.social's user avatarAsh Parrish @adashtra.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Turns out the guy was Chuck Ayers, a nationally recognized cartoonist and creator of Crankshaft. He had a lot to say but the thing that struck me was that when he talked about whats going on now, I could see he was holding back emotion. All this still hurts him to see 55 (!!) years later.
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katiestp.bsky.social's user avatar
Katie @katiestp.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Right now, these sweet kids have no clue how impactful this period in history will be for them, but I hope they will be proud of the time they made the best protest sign ever: The green one that says “Trump eats boogers” #NoKings
Kids and adults standing on a pedestrian bridge over the highway with protest signs that say fascists out and no Trump no ice. The best one is green and says Trump eats boogers.
katiestp.bsky.social's user avatarKatie @katiestp.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
We can’t make the actual event at the capitol today, so you’ll find us with the kids on University with our signs (and I might bring the megaphone too). Even if you can’t make it to the capitol - come out in your own neighborhoods, even if it’s for a few minutes. Be seen. Be heard. #nokings
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anguirus.bsky.social's user avatar
Anguirus @anguirus.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
rude of you to call me out like this @damnyouwillis.bsky.social
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
www.ebay.com/itm/23614371... five hours left on this weirdo in the box weirdo not in the box is not for sale
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charliejane.bsky.social's user avatar
Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️‍⚧ @charliejane.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
At Comic-Con 2009 I was getting misgendered a fair bit and feeling anxious AF about it. Robert Downey Jr. was doing a press conf for Sherlock Holmes. I wanted to shout out a question but hated drawing attn to myself. I did it anyway. He gestured at me: "the lady in the blue shirt." I was so happy.
bolt451.bsky.social's user avatarHunter S Schafer @bolt451.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
dawn these are not the same things you had an abusive boyfriend wilbur had a live-in sex stranger who he chose over your safety because he was getting laid, until the moment something almost happened to HIS GOLDFISH
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Dumbing of Age: "Counter-protest" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Counter-protest
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
(June 19, 2026)
It's Joyce!  Directing our attention leftwards!
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
yeah maybe joyce switching to paramore from dc talk last storyline was a good move variety.com/2025/music/n...
header image - Hayley Williams Hopes Christian Music Industry ‘Crumbles’ Amid Michael Tait Scandal: ‘F— All of You Who Knew and Didn’t Say Anything’
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Hayley Williams Hopes Christian Music Industry ‘Crumbles’ Amid Michael Tait Scandal: ‘F— All of You Who Knew and Didn’t Say Anything’
Paramore singer Hayley Williams has reacted angrily to news of accusations against Christian music star Michael Tait, saying, 'I hope the CCM industry crumbles.'
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DaisyFM ✒︎ @daisyfm.net ⋅ 3d
I think it's been long enough that we should all be able to agree that Charles Martinet sounds nothing like what Mario is supposed to sound like.
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david malki ! 🔩 New game! BOLTED 🔩 @davidmalki.com ⋅ 2d
The universe told me "Stop obsessively collecting 19th century illustrations. Here. Now you have plenty. You are done now. Go do the second half of your deal, where you make more things out of them"
video thumbnail
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wackd.bsky.social's user avatar
Wack'd @wackd.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
oh this is a hot take and i'm extremely here for it
daisyfm.net's user avatarDaisyFM ✒︎ @daisyfm.net ⋅ 3d
I think it's been long enough that we should all be able to agree that Charles Martinet sounds nothing like what Mario is supposed to sound like.
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
www.ebay.com/itm/23614976... bid on my HFTD Leader Class Starscream!
header image - Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons Leader Class ROTF Starscream, complete 653569490937| eBay
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Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons Leader Class ROTF Starscream, complete at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many pro...
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