Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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dorothy and walky were kicking their shoes down the hallway and got walky's confiscated alll the way back in... geez, 2012????
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June 1, 2026

Lojack

by David M Willis on April 17, 2019 at 12:01 am
  • 03 - Sometimes the Sky Was So Far Away
└ Tags: joyce, ruth, sal, walky

Discussion (154) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    April 17, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    the most underachieving femur grab

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      April 17, 2019 at 12:17 am | #

      🎶
      Femurs
      Nothing more than femurs
      Trying to forget those
      Femurs of mine

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        April 17, 2019 at 2:01 am | #

        Does that fit the Star Wars theme?

        ♬ Femurs
        Nothing but femurs
        All of the femurs
        Trophies of mine
        ♬

        • MaximumZero
          MaximumZero
          April 17, 2019 at 2:31 am | #

          ♫Millions of Femurs
          Femurs for me
          Millions of Femurs
          Femurs for free♪

          • AbacusWizard
            AbacusWizard
            April 17, 2019 at 5:07 am | #

            ♫Femurs come in a thigh
            They were put there by a guy
            In a factory downtown…♫

            • Charlie Spencer
              Charlie Spencer
              April 17, 2019 at 6:58 am | #

              I like big femurs and I cannot lie,
              I like ’em when they come from the thigh…

              • Slartibeast Button, BIA
                Slartibeast Button, BIA
                April 17, 2019 at 10:36 am | #

                ♫ That ain’t working
                That’s the way you do it
                Femurs for nothing and the shoes for free ♫

                • keithcurtis
                  keithcurtis
                  April 17, 2019 at 11:21 pm | #

                  ♫ Suddenly Femurs
                  are no longer in side me
                  the don’t hold my legs up
                  I can’t understand

                  Suddenly Femurs
                  no longer provi-ide me
                  the power of sta-andi-i-ing
                  Femurs are banned! ♫

  2. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    April 17, 2019 at 12:03 am | #

    Ruth really is feeling better.

    • jeffepp
      jeffepp
      April 17, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

      • jeffepp
        jeffepp
        April 17, 2019 at 12:24 am | #


        But I’m feeling much better now

        See if that works.

        • Roborat
          Roborat
          April 17, 2019 at 3:01 pm | #

          Funny, I knew it would be that scene.

  3. jeffepp
    jeffepp
    April 17, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    Undepressed Ruth is best Ruth.

    • Proto
      Proto
      April 17, 2019 at 6:42 pm | #

      Most people tend to be better when they’re not depressed

  4. Yumi
    Yumi
    April 17, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    I love how he just left during the middle of lunch and followed Ruth all the way back to her room to look at his shoes. I mean, dude was bonding with his sister, and I would have preferred that continued, but I do love the absurdity of it.

    • jeffepp
      jeffepp
      April 17, 2019 at 12:13 am | #

      Eh, based on his track record, he and Joyce would have been “bonding” in a broom closet in short order.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      April 17, 2019 at 2:08 am | #

      There’s not much that’s more on-brand for Walky than abandoning serious discussion in favor of shallow absurdity.

      … Is there a blank template of Willis’s re-drawing of that “guy gawking at a lady nearly identical to his girlfriend” meme?

    • Zellgato
      Zellgato
      April 17, 2019 at 5:27 pm | #

      Honestly she’s probably following just not in the room.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        April 17, 2019 at 8:27 pm | #

        Nah, she’s hanging out with her new bestie, Joyce.

        And wishing she’d followed Walky and Ruth.

  5. Tacos
    Tacos
    April 17, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    … Well that’s just weird.

    • Batz
      Batz
      April 17, 2019 at 12:17 am | #

      Soon, Ruth will have a full second wardrobe without having to pay a dime!

  6. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    April 17, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    Don’t give me no Second-Hand Shoes…

    • foamy
      foamy
      April 17, 2019 at 12:10 am | #

      HAND-ME-DOWN shoes

      Hang your head in shame, sir.

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        April 17, 2019 at 1:35 am | #

        Or maybe he meant “Don’t give me second-hand shoes.” Or maybe he meant “Don’t give me no second-class shoes.”

        • foamy
          foamy
          April 18, 2019 at 8:55 am | #

          It’s a song reference, to Hand Me Down World, by the Guess Who.

          • Marsh Maryrose
            Marsh Maryrose
            April 19, 2019 at 10:30 am | #

            That is the most likely reference. But there are other possible matches. Secondhand Love by Pete Townshend is at least a strong contender. Second Class Love by Buju Banton is something I threw in mostly for fun, but it’s not entirely out of the running.

  7. Kravis
    Kravis
    April 17, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    2012 was just weeks ago… If Avengers: Endgame has anything to say about it!

  8. BBCC
    BBCC
    April 17, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    Well, if THAT ain’t a throwback.

    This is nostalgia week apparently. I love it!

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      April 17, 2019 at 1:25 am | #

      Honestly, I needed this. I am not a happy Canadian tonight so the laugh is appreciated.

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        April 17, 2019 at 2:40 pm | #

        The Leafs are in the Playoffs and are ahead in their series, why so down? It’s not like there is a picture of 3YO you standing on skates wearing a Leafs uniform.

        • Roborat
          Roborat
          April 17, 2019 at 2:50 pm | #

          Canada doesn’t revolve around Toronto. Winnipeg also won their game to tie their series. Calgary shit the bed but I hope it is a wake up call for them, they finished with the second best record this year, I would expect them to win their series.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          April 17, 2019 at 4:27 pm | #

          I’m happy for the leafs! I just wish we could et our shit together when it comes to our fucking provincial elections because if we elect one more racist, homophobic prick I will not be responsible for anything I do in my fury. 😛

          • Inahc
            Inahc
            April 17, 2019 at 5:12 pm | #

            Aw fuck. See, this is why I avoid the news, it’s all terrible these days.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              April 17, 2019 at 5:23 pm | #

              Not knowing is worse for me, but I cannot blame you one bit for refraining from the news.

  9. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    April 17, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    Why?

    • LookingIn
      LookingIn
      April 17, 2019 at 12:39 am | #

      Why not?

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      April 17, 2019 at 10:38 am | #

      Because!

  10. Nono
    Nono
    April 17, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    Wow Ruth, so you’re making Billie look at a reminder of Wally every time she walks into the room?

    • Schpoonman
      Schpoonman
      April 17, 2019 at 12:13 am | #

      I don’t think Ruth is talking to Billie right now.

      • Thursday Violist
        Thursday Violist
        April 17, 2019 at 12:17 am | #

        That’s probably why she put it up.

        • Ethics Gradient
          Ethics Gradient
          April 17, 2019 at 4:32 am | #

          A charm to ward off Billie.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          April 17, 2019 at 8:03 am | #

          Those have been up for a long time, though I don’t think we’ve had our attention directly called to them before. You can glimpse them in various shots of Ruth’s room.

          • Douglas
            Douglas
            April 17, 2019 at 12:48 pm | #

            For example, this one. Interestingly, the alt-text for that strip is “*shakes dice* c’mon, walky needs a new pair o’ shoes”, which didn’t make sense to me at the time. I just assumed it was because the strip mentioned gambling.

            • Douglas
              Douglas
              April 17, 2019 at 12:49 pm | #

              http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/gamble/

  11. Sporky
    Sporky
    April 17, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

    What’s with Ruth and clothing trophies?

    • LookingIn
      LookingIn
      April 17, 2019 at 12:40 am | #

      because she can’t mount heads without it getting awkward…

  12. Woomy
    Woomy
    April 17, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    I ship it

  13. AnvilPro
    AnvilPro
    April 17, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    Best in-laws

  14. Beef
    Beef
    April 17, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    Jeez I was actually super confused until the alt text.

    • mick4state
      mick4state
      April 17, 2019 at 12:51 am | #

      How does one do that on mobile? I’m still confused.

      • Mydnyt
        Mydnyt
        April 17, 2019 at 12:55 am | #

        Tap the blank space under the comic to the right of the navigation buttons.

        • Xenocide
          Xenocide
          April 17, 2019 at 2:08 am | #

          Or the left, for some reason I usually go for the left even though the right would be easier to reach with my thumb.

  15. Batz
    Batz
    April 17, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

    The callback boomerang flies long before making the return arc!
    (Jeez! 2012?!)

  16. Piotr W
    Piotr W
    April 17, 2019 at 12:12 am | #

    Wow, who is this stranger that looks like Ruth, but is not Ruth?

    • LIB
      LIB
      April 17, 2019 at 8:17 am | #

      This is Ruth! What we knew before was only half-Ruth, as her body was inhabited by Depression-Demon who was fighting her for conrrol of her movements.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      April 17, 2019 at 10:40 am | #

      This is not the Ruth you are looking for.

      You can go about your business.

      Move along.

  17. Schpoonman
    Schpoonman
    April 17, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

    Ruth is pushing Dina out of my top 3, oh no.

  18. Kern Wallace
    Kern Wallace
    April 17, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

    Well that’s something I never expected to come back.

  19. William Leonard Reese Jr.
    William Leonard Reese Jr.
    April 17, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

    . . . .I admit I have to applaud that vindictiveness of Ruth. Would that classify as a Lawful Evil act? To Mount a Prize like that?

  20. tirachokko
    tirachokko
    April 17, 2019 at 12:18 am | #

    ruth is doing so good! Is……is this what it’s like to be medicated? Is there actually hope after all? Maybe I should seriously think about it then. I was just starting high school when this webcomic started, and honestly seeing Ruth’s progression and watching her feel makes me wonder if going to therapy will be good after all

    • ian livs
      ian livs
      April 17, 2019 at 12:21 am | #

      I can’t speak for therapy from personal experience bc I’ve never been (yet?) but I know it seemed to help my friend back when they went. And medication’s been helpful for me, for the most part. So I’d say there’s always hope. 🙂

    • Jack
      Jack
      April 17, 2019 at 12:26 am | #

      I only have my own experience of antidepressant medication to go by, but that experience has been nothing like Ruth’s. The veil of grime doesn’t just vanish one day. It’s a long process (a month or two), it’s gradual, and there are hella side effects to worry about. It’s so gradual, in fact, that the first few times I didn’t actually notice that it was happening, and I said “fuck it”.

      • Jack
        Jack
        April 17, 2019 at 5:37 am | #

        Given the replies below, I want to clarify: I hate talk therapy. It’s never done me any good and I don’t expect it ever will. It’s a hoop I have to jump through to get the drugs that keep me alive. I absolutely loathe every therapist I’ve ever met. Including the ones I’ve met socially.

        I know talk therapy helps a lot of people, so I wanted this perspective to be the minority one if I was going to say it. Just be aware that if you end up hating the living hell out of therapy, you’re not alone.

        • Lazy
          Lazy
          April 17, 2019 at 10:37 am | #

          I hate talk therapy, too, but cognitive therapy has been helpful. I had to quit a lot of therapists before I found one with a style suited to my problems/personality.

          On a separate note, seeing Ruth do things for herself and others makes me look forward to getting better. I’ve been there before, and this reminds me that I’ll be there again.

    • Angie
      Angie
      April 17, 2019 at 12:43 am | #

      in my case I didn’t notice anything had changed until one day several months later I was like “hold up, I haven’t been crushingly miserable in a long time”. kinda just,,, forgot I was sad and thought so little about sad memories that I barely remember them at all now. the only thing I can think to compare it to is when you have real bad hiccups, and then a few hours later you realize they went away and you didn’t even notice.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      April 17, 2019 at 12:58 am | #

      My experience is that meds just reduce the depth and frequency of the horribleness. I don’t feel good, but I feel much less bad.

    • moon
      moon
      April 17, 2019 at 1:19 am | #

      personally therapy and medication were very helpful for me. it was expensive, and i had to go to a few different clinics before finding someone who was a good fit, but helpful.

      a tip for anyone reading this and considering therapy: do a little research on a therapist before you see them. what insurances they take, they specialize in anything, are there any reviews or testimonies? i wasn’t able to do this because i was 14 and internet reviews weren’t a thing when i started going to therapy, but you might dodge a bullet! hope everything works out

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      April 17, 2019 at 4:28 am | #

      Echoing the others to say that it was helpful for me. Getting on the right medication and having a therapist was like night and day for me and got me out of the hole where I just wanted to kill myself all the time.

      • Ntrovert60
        Ntrovert60
        April 17, 2019 at 6:43 am | #

        I’ve fought depression since I was a teenager, with major depressive episodes thrown in just for grins. I never felt like talk therapy helped me very much, until the most recent episode. I don’t know what has changed – maybe just me? Maybe I’m just at a place in life where talking through things helped me put them into perspective and even resolve some long-standing feelings.

        Getting on the right meds helps tremendously. Side effects aren’t fun, but it’s helping me. I don’t wholeheartedly endorse talk therapy, but it can be helpful if you’re in the right place for it, I think.

    • chalcara
      chalcara
      April 17, 2019 at 7:05 am | #

      My depression went away nearly completely after they diagnosed and and medicamentated my thyroid condition, but I still needed behaviorial theraphy to get out of the bad patterns I developed in a decade of brain fog.

      But yeah; together it made a world of a difference. In a year and half I went from apathic and unable to enjoy anything to, you know, being in geneal a happy person. The world has frigging colours now!

      I still have to do more mental maintenance than „normal“ people, I still get depressive spells, especially if I forget my thyroid meds a day or two, but they’re a week or two of apathy instead of months and months of „lemme lay down and hope I die“.

      My shrink compared growing up with depression like a healthy tree growing on a wind-battered cliff. The tree‘s healthy, doing all the tree things necessary, but the winds have changed its form and that needs to be taken in account. That really helped me dealing with that.

      But yeah, better living through chemistry; even though I am sometimes grumpy my thyroid hormones are DLC. But hey, could be much, much worse.

    • Hazel, Crazy Goat Lady
      Hazel, Crazy Goat Lady
      April 17, 2019 at 8:50 am | #

      Ketamine is the only instantaneous anti-depressant, however because of its recreational uses it had not been cleared for clinical trails until recently. Now, its possible to get a prescription, but like all trial drugs its insanely expensive. Also, it makes it hard to get work done for the first two hours, you feel too warm and fuzzy, but the drug has a long tail you come down form the high and then have full executive function for 22-34 hours. I have a pretty light depression that I just push off with herbal anti-depressants. They work and are easier to get, but take a while to work and are generally less potent (although they generally have few side affects). I’ve tried Ketamine once tho’ and the effects were immediate.

    • Alanari
      Alanari
      April 17, 2019 at 1:13 pm | #

      Never been on medication. Have been in therapy though. The effect was way less fast but effectively the same. But yeah, getting out of depression feels like that.
      There are different approaches. Talk therapy. Behavioural therapy. Medication. Self-help groups. Books. And others. Find your way. Believe me, it is worth the trouble.

  21. Tenzhi
    Tenzhi
    April 17, 2019 at 12:18 am | #

    2012? What was that, two weeks ago in strip time?

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      April 17, 2019 at 2:22 am | #

      A little over a month.

      Dorothy and Walky were kicking his shoes down the hall during “Strange Beerfellows“, which was Sunday, September 12. Today is Saturday, October 16.

  22. Jack
    Jack
    April 17, 2019 at 12:18 am | #

    …is the implication here that Ruth is sneaky and that therefore she… uh, needs an easy way for someone to locate her?

    I’m not getting the Lojack/sneakiness thing.

    • RacingTurtle
      RacingTurtle
      April 17, 2019 at 12:51 am | #

      I think so. It looks like Walky had no idea she was inches away from his shoulder until she spoke.

    • 3oranges
      3oranges
      April 17, 2019 at 12:55 am | #

      For someone to be able to keep track of where she is instead of letting her sneak off, yeah. For instance, besides the vehicle thing, it’s apparently slang for ankle monitors.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      April 17, 2019 at 12:57 am | #

      LoJack is a pre-GPS commercial system for locating stolen cars, assuming the car thief is thoughtful enough to keep the stolen car with a few miles of appropriate transmitters and receivers. A car equipped with a LoJack transmitter sends out little radio chirps saying “Here I am! This is me!,” so if you have a LoJack receiver, you know when there’s a LoJacked car in your vicinity.

      I’d have gone with “You need a bell on your neck,” but I am not modern and high-tech like Walky is.

      • Jack
        Jack
        April 17, 2019 at 5:25 am | #

        Yeah, I was thinking the bell thing would have made more sense as a figure of speech.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      April 17, 2019 at 2:24 am | #

      I had no idea what Lojack was until I googled it after reading this strip. Apparently it’s a system for tracking stolen cars.

  23. ian livs
    ian livs
    April 17, 2019 at 12:19 am | #

    The last panel is just… adorable somehow. Maybe it’s seeing Ruth happy some more? But also… same, Walky. Same.

  24. brionl
    brionl
    April 17, 2019 at 12:20 am | #

    Hang up yer shoes Young Walky,
    Hang up yer shoes up high.
    Hang up yer shoes Young Walky
    Poor boy yer shoes won’t fly.

    (sung to the tune of Tom Dooley)

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      April 17, 2019 at 6:54 pm | #

      Damn it, now I want a po’ boy.

  25. Bagge
    Bagge
    April 17, 2019 at 12:22 am | #

    Yeah, I’m with them in the final panel. It IS awesome.

  26. Just-a-geek
    Just-a-geek
    April 17, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/06-strange-beerfellows/shoes/

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      April 17, 2019 at 12:39 am | #

      Also seen here
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/gamble/

      • Inahc
        Inahc
        April 17, 2019 at 12:53 am | #

        and someone noticed them waay back in 2013: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/03-answers-in-hennessy/pot-kettle/#comment-123282

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          April 17, 2019 at 12:59 am | #

          Oooooh!

        • Keulen
          Keulen
          April 17, 2019 at 2:18 am | #

          How the hell did I not notice Walky’s shoes in Ruth’s room in all those previous strips?

          • Sam
            Sam
            April 17, 2019 at 2:45 pm | #

            I have no idea but you are not alone as I didn’t notice either. Willis does some damn good misdirection to make us fail to notice a shoe trophy for like, 6-7 damn years.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              April 17, 2019 at 5:22 pm | #

              To be fair it’s in a handful of strips over those 6-7 years, starting at least months after the scene with the shoes and often only partly visible.

              And some did notice them. It’s been brought up in comments before.

        • RacingTurtle
          RacingTurtle
          April 17, 2019 at 2:35 am | #

          I thought there was also a strip where someone (Joyce or Carla, maybe?) looked at Ruth’s wall and said in an aside “Are those shoes?”

          But I can’t find such a strip, so maybe I Berenstein Bear’d myself

  27. Bickendan
    Bickendan
    April 17, 2019 at 12:25 am | #

    A wild Ruth appears!
    …
    She’s super effective!

  28. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    April 17, 2019 at 12:26 am | #

    I’m glad that Walky’s never just given Ruth a free pass for her bullshit and was still not fond of her, but I’m with him, that is pretty neat.

    I like that this is a peace offering, given it’s still staying in her room and it isn’t like he’s getting anything out of it other than it existing as a trophy, which, I guess Walky can appreciate.

    • Sam
      Sam
      April 17, 2019 at 2:42 pm | #

      Well it was a peace offering in that she was willing to take it down and give him his shoes back. But he didn’t want them back because he finds it awesome so, now he knows of this thing he appreciates.

  29. Bagge
    Bagge
    April 17, 2019 at 12:36 am | #

    So… those resources, no one has thought to direct Walky to those before? Not Jason? Not Dorothy? He hasn’t dug them up on the campus homepage himself?

    Do we really want a system when we relay on Ruth on won’t-murder-you-drugs to help those that have problems in class?

    • Darkoneko
      Darkoneko
      April 17, 2019 at 12:44 am | #

      of course he didn’t dig them himself, that’d take efforts

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        April 17, 2019 at 4:47 am | #

        That’s very fair.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      April 17, 2019 at 12:46 am | #

      When I was TAing for math, no one in the system gave me a list of resources to refer students to, except for the math center I was required to tutor at. Everything else I had to hunt down myself.

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        April 17, 2019 at 12:49 am | #

        ….Actually, that’s seems like the higher education I know and think should improve.

        And granted, the person who SHOULD give them to Walky would be Jason, who was a not-very-good-TA with even worse bosses.

    • Emperor Norton II
      Emperor Norton II
      April 17, 2019 at 12:27 pm | #

      Do we really want a system when we relay on Ruth on won’t-murder-you-drugs to help those that have problems in class?

      The better question is, why on earth wouldn’t we want that?

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      April 17, 2019 at 6:19 pm | #

      Most colleges and universities really suck at education and bitterly resent having to do it. “Teachers” are appointed with no training in teaching, and they are never told about the resources that the institution offers to students. Rees knows about getting remedial coaching from TAs because he used to be a TA himself and had to provide tutoring. He probably doesn’t know about anything else, because nobody told him.

      Here’s the thing that you have to bear in mind about the university system: “Lecture” means “reading”. Lectures were originally invented as a process in which students chipped in cash to hire a person who had a copy of Aristotle to read it out line by line so that they could take it down as dictation. And even though printing was invented more than five hundred years ago, nobody ever re-engineered university teaching. Lectures persist because they are cheap and traditional and nobody gives a damn.

  30. Darkoneko
    Darkoneko
    April 17, 2019 at 12:44 am | #

    Another trophy for my wall

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      April 17, 2019 at 12:50 am | #

      No, Ruth’s wall. Keep up.

  31. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    April 17, 2019 at 12:44 am | #

    As trophies go, that’s pretty pedestrian.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      April 17, 2019 at 12:50 am | #

      Hey, if you knock it, you first walk a mile in those shoes

      • Slartibeast Button, BIA
        Slartibeast Button, BIA
        April 17, 2019 at 1:00 am | #

        Those shoes were made for walkin’

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          April 17, 2019 at 1:14 am | #

          No, they were made for Walky. Keep up.

          • ShinyNeen
            ShinyNeen
            April 17, 2019 at 8:28 am | #

            C’mon, Bagge, pace yourself. We have to sprint to keep up with you!

            • Bagge
              Bagge
              April 17, 2019 at 12:57 pm | #

              Better step up, then

      • Chris Phoenix
        Chris Phoenix
        April 17, 2019 at 1:04 am | #

        I’m not sole’d on these puns. Keep your tongues in your heads.

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          April 17, 2019 at 1:15 am | #

          When people talk about goody-two-shoes they… don’t talk about these shoes.

          • Marsh Maryrose
            Marsh Maryrose
            April 17, 2019 at 1:56 am | #

            Shoes life. Shoes a job. Shoes a career. Shoes a family. Shoes a fucking big television. Shoes washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Shoes good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance.

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          April 17, 2019 at 2:37 pm | #

          Yeah, they’re pretty shoddy.

    • 3oranges
      3oranges
      April 17, 2019 at 1:00 am | #

      I’m sure it will get better. It looks unimpressive when it’s the sole portion, but I’m sure this is just the first step. And I guess second step? But you know what I mean, eventually there will be a lot more than just heels over her head.

    • JBento
      JBento
      April 17, 2019 at 8:44 am | #

      Eh, judging by the amount of people who hadn’t noticed them until now, I’d say Ruth needs a less sneakier trophy. Not everything is a shoe-in to show off.

  32. timemonkey
    timemonkey
    April 17, 2019 at 12:51 am | #

    If by awesome they mean dumb then sure. I mean, it could be awesome if she’d done something cool to get them or they represented something cool. But they don’t.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      April 17, 2019 at 1:00 am | #

      They represented a reign of terror so absolute that Walky rather gave up on his only pair of shoes than said “sorry for being a stupid shit, can I have my shoes back now?”

  33. RacingTurtle
    RacingTurtle
    April 17, 2019 at 12:59 am | #

    I find this oddly lovely. I think it’s because it’s proof that New Ruth isn’t a whole new person, created entirely by badly-needed pharmaceuticals. She’s still Ruthless, but she can control herself now and only share this kind of thing with people who are cool with it. If Walky didn’t think this was “just awesome”, Ruth could get his shoes down (and replace them, if needed/possible) like a responsible person. Since he appreciates the trophy, they can both admire it instead.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      April 17, 2019 at 11:18 pm | #

      That’s very true.

  34. Madock345
    Madock345
    April 17, 2019 at 1:07 am | #

    Anybody got a link to the 2012 comic?

    • Jo
      Jo
      April 17, 2019 at 1:19 am | #

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/06-strange-beerfellows/shoes/

  35. 3oranges
    3oranges
    April 17, 2019 at 1:14 am | #

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/06-strange-beerfellows/launch/

  36. Jo
    Jo
    April 17, 2019 at 1:21 am | #

    oh, and the one 3oranges posted is better

  37. Nathan
    Nathan
    April 17, 2019 at 2:04 am | #

    is this the shoe incident?

    • Nathan
      Nathan
      April 17, 2019 at 2:06 am | #

      I clicked “random” and it was the first page i landed on!

    • ShinyNeen
      ShinyNeen
      April 17, 2019 at 8:38 am | #

      It was a pretty sweet kick!

  38. ktbear
    ktbear
    April 17, 2019 at 2:14 am | #

    So, is this about Billie? On account of them being “siblings” and all?

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      April 17, 2019 at 5:01 am | #

      I don’t think so. I’m thinking that Ruth has decided that, as she seems to be stuck as an RA for now, she’s going to start acting the part, especially as Billie probably won’t be interested in taking up her slack as she has in the past.

  39. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    April 17, 2019 at 2:24 am | #

    Undepressed Ruth is becoming one of my favorite characters.

  40. Undrave
    Undrave
    April 17, 2019 at 3:09 am | #

    Can we get a tag for the shoes?!

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      April 17, 2019 at 4:50 pm | #

      Not until we Tag The Cricket! 😉

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        April 17, 2019 at 5:06 pm | #

        Tag Tag the Cricket!

        • Inahc
          Inahc
          April 17, 2019 at 5:13 pm | #

          How long do crickets live, anyways? Is it possible he’s still lurking in the building somewhere?

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            April 17, 2019 at 6:31 pm | #

            I think they live at least a few weeks, so Tag’s probably still around somewhere if he hasn’t been smooshed or eaten by Fuckface.

            #tagtagthecricket

            • ValdVin
              ValdVin
              April 17, 2019 at 6:42 pm | #

              As Malaya said, iguanas are herbivores. (TBH that’s when I learned it.)

              Now I want to see Cricket on top of Fuckface’s head.

              • thejeff
                thejeff
                April 17, 2019 at 8:29 pm | #

                I still can’t decide whether the cricket’s name should be Tag or Lettuce.
                The meta joke or the in-world joke. I think we need another cricket.

              • Needfuldoer
                Needfuldoer
                April 17, 2019 at 9:06 pm | #

                #tagtagthelettuce

  41. Ethics Gradient
    Ethics Gradient
    April 17, 2019 at 4:30 am | #

    “Shoeless” David Walkerton

    Maybe he should take up base-ball?

  42. BenRG
    BenRG
    April 17, 2019 at 5:00 am | #

    From our third-person perspective, we now see that the students of IU are weird all the way down!

  43. Fire_daws
    Fire_daws
    April 17, 2019 at 7:26 am | #

    Ruth’s mounted Walky’s walkies?

    (Also another Claireface I want to add to my collection today but i’ve only got my mobile ‘til next week)

    • Roborat
      Roborat
      April 17, 2019 at 3:02 pm | #

      You mean the Claire face from today’s page?

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        April 17, 2019 at 6:41 pm | #

        I also vote for a Claire-vatar from her “violent” phase today.

  44. Mister Sparkle
    Mister Sparkle
    April 17, 2019 at 8:26 am | #

    Not gonna lie, I thought lojack meant something very different before I googled it.

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      April 17, 2019 at 4:59 pm | #

      I was guessing it was a movie reference. 🙂

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        April 17, 2019 at 11:10 pm | #

        The Legend of Billy Lojack.

        • Marsh Maryrose
          Marsh Maryrose
          April 17, 2019 at 11:11 pm | #

          Make that, The Legend of Billie Lojack.

  45. ShinyNeen
    ShinyNeen
    April 17, 2019 at 8:27 am | #

    I wasn’t expecting a Ruth and Walky bonding moment, but I’m sure not complaining either!

    Also it’s me, I never noticed those dang shoes up there before now and this completely blew me away. Can’t handle all these dramatic revelations!

  46. WikiDreamer
    WikiDreamer
    April 17, 2019 at 9:42 am | #

    Not sure what I expected but totes sure I’m enjoyin’ it.

  47. C.T Phipps
    C.T Phipps
    April 17, 2019 at 9:56 am | #

    But Walky if you got them back, you’d have TWO pairs of shoes.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      April 17, 2019 at 10:21 am | #

      Why would a boy need two pairs of shoes?

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        April 17, 2019 at 11:17 pm | #

        Because if he has sex with another girl, he will then own one pair of shoes for each girl he has ever had sex with, just like Joe.

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/01-if-the-shoes-split/manliness/

  48. Elsendor
    Elsendor
    April 17, 2019 at 3:58 pm | #

    lmao my boss did this with a pair of flipflops a shoplifter lost in her haste to run away. they’re in the breakroom to this day.

  49. Jhon
    Jhon
    April 17, 2019 at 9:56 pm | #

    Walky knows ‘awesome’ when he sees it!
    😎

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