Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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no you fool, trees are way harder to draw without leaves covering the branches!!! i hate drawing branches!!!!
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June 14, 2026

December

by David M Willis on September 8, 2020 at 12:01 am
  • 04 - Is a Song Forever?

Discussion (210) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    September 8, 2020 at 12:04 am | #

    has that left car moved at ALL

    I guess we know who’s taking the lockdown SERIOUSLY

    • hash
      hash
      September 8, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

      Will it still be there after it’s covered in snow and it melts!

      • Chris Phoenix
        Chris Phoenix
        September 8, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

        Snow doesn’t melt cars, what are you talking about?

        • Durandal_1707
          Durandal_1707
          September 8, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

          Clearly you haven’t seen the car I had as a student.

          • Necromancer_Typewriter
            Necromancer_Typewriter
            September 8, 2020 at 4:21 pm | #

            Your car might’ve been a Wicked Witch, dude.

            • anonymousethatscurriesinthedarkness
              anonymousethatscurriesinthedarkness
              September 10, 2020 at 9:15 pm | #

              Haven’t you ever heard of adobe motors?

        • Ray Radlein
          Ray Radlein
          September 8, 2020 at 12:38 am | #

          oh you’re one of those car truthers are you

          • Yenklette
            Yenklette
            September 8, 2020 at 12:44 am | #

            The Bluesmobile was a controlled demolition! I have all the proof!

            • JetstreamGW
              JetstreamGW
              September 8, 2020 at 8:43 am | #

              You got set photos!?

    • SonicHowling
      SonicHowling
      September 8, 2020 at 1:04 am | #

      I have the sense that the tires oughta be going flattish by now

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      September 8, 2020 at 2:34 am | #

      See yesterday’s comments re: Honda’s glass 5-speed automatic transmission.

      • Paul
        Paul
        September 8, 2020 at 7:06 pm | #

        See yesterday’s comments re: Honda’s glass 5-speed automatic transmission.
        I have owned two hondas, one with a manual and one with an automatic transmission. Both have been trouble-free transmission wise.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          September 8, 2020 at 8:57 pm | #

          The late 90s to early 2000s 5-speed automatic wasn’t strong enough to hold up behind the J30 V6 for very long under moderate to heavy load. Second or third gear didn’t get enough fluid, so it got too hot and cooked the friction plates and surrounding housing. It was a problem in the Accord and especially the bigger, heavier Odyssey minivan.

          They partially addressed this with a recall and additional oil injector, but the long term ‘fix’ was to dramatically reduce the transmission fluid change interval.

          My family’s had three V6 Accords. Both early ones got the extra injector and frequent changes, and held up with extra care. The last was a later one that supposedly didn’t have the issue, but it came from one of Honda’s senioritis years and the engine wiring harness started falling apart when it was 11 years old.

          The current Acura TLX with the 3.7 V6 and DCT is amazing, though.

    • hoop
      hoop
      September 8, 2020 at 9:09 am | #

      It’s Mike’s car.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      September 8, 2020 at 10:00 am | #

      The dark grey car on the right has managed to escape the shot entirely. Good on it!

    • Vrykerion
      Vrykerion
      September 8, 2020 at 12:38 pm | #

      Hey, if you get the closest parking spot to the door, you do NOT let that go easily.

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        September 8, 2020 at 5:44 pm | #

        …is it going to reveal there’s a motorcycle parked in the space in front of the leftmost car

        The neighbours pull that shit here and I hate it

  2. BBCC
    BBCC
    September 8, 2020 at 12:04 am | #

    Okay, but YAY Snow!

    • Undrave
      Undrave
      September 8, 2020 at 12:04 am | #

      We’re all aging a month everyday! AAAAAAAH!

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        September 8, 2020 at 12:07 am | #

        All the time the characters didn’t age due to time movie so slow is catching up at once.

        • Ana Chronistic
          Ana Chronistic
          September 8, 2020 at 10:43 am | #

          Eventually this will average out to the comic is running in real time

      • motorfirebox
        motorfirebox
        September 8, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

        So… no change since I turned 30, then.

      • Ray Radlein
        Ray Radlein
        September 8, 2020 at 12:38 am | #

        [glances around at 2020]

        Yes. Yes, we are.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          September 8, 2020 at 2:36 am | #

          Take your pretend +1 upvote.

          It has been a long decade…

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 8, 2020 at 12:37 am | #

      I look forward to see Sal looking cool in winter gear.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        September 8, 2020 at 2:39 am | #

        But snow and sport bikes don’t mix! Hopefully she’ll figure something out. Maybe store it and get a dual-sport with studded knobby tires as a winter beater.

  3. Undrave
    Undrave
    September 8, 2020 at 12:04 am | #

    All I want for Christmas is Hank getting a divorce…

  4. Chris
    Chris
    September 8, 2020 at 12:04 am | #

    The cars keep disappearing. Something’s definitely up.

    • Undrave
      Undrave
      September 8, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

      People just can’t pay the parking cost because they had to increase it ten fold after Linda sued the college?

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        September 8, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

        She now owns the university. Welcome to Lindiana U.

        • King Daniel
          King Daniel
          September 8, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

          Surely you mean “Lindiana Me”?

          • Geneseepaws
            Geneseepaws
            September 8, 2020 at 7:25 am | #

            Linda. Spelled k-a-r-e-n.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 8, 2020 at 2:13 am | #

      Winter break; only those resident at the university will still be using the parking lot.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      September 8, 2020 at 2:55 am | #

      I’m pretty sure the grey car is eating one car every month. First the white car, now it’s eaten the brown car that was parked on the other side of the tree.

  5. AntJ
    AntJ
    September 8, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    whoa, new color scheme for the new decade

  6. King Daniel
    King Daniel
    September 8, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

    With today’s strip, I believe we have now officially spent more time on this single timeskip than has passed outside of timeskips in the entire rest of the comic to date.

    Thought for food.

    • clif
      clif
      September 8, 2020 at 1:03 am | #

      And for dessert, consider the fact that there is a timeskip between panel of each strip, so that the amount of time spent in-comic is actually very very small.

      • The Lurker
        The Lurker
        September 8, 2020 at 5:07 am | #

        I heard it was Work for Food….

    • Mollyscribbles
      Mollyscribbles
      September 8, 2020 at 2:08 am | #

      We’ll hit the 10-year anniversary this week. One week of the comic taking longer than nearly a full decade prior.

    • LuminousLead
      LuminousLead
      September 8, 2020 at 5:02 pm | #

      Reminds me of when El Goonish Shive spent weeks of updates on a 5-second period, and then did a 6-month timeskip in one update.

  7. CC
    CC
    September 8, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

    So that’s, uh … one way to get these kids through the first semester 😛

  8. Zatar
    Zatar
    September 8, 2020 at 12:07 am | #

    Oh so this is REALLY a time-skip then.

  9. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    September 8, 2020 at 12:07 am | #

    The comic is trying it’s best to catch up with the rest of us.

    • Taellosse
      Taellosse
      September 8, 2020 at 2:09 am | #

      If it actually did, though, the tagline would have to be changed. That 1st month took 10 years to tell, and by now almost every student character should not only have completed (or abandoned) their BA/BS, but likely also have finished any graduate or doctoral degrees they’d be likely to pursue.

  10. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    September 8, 2020 at 12:09 am | #

    Carol got run over by a reindeer!

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      September 8, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

      I hope Carol got run over by a divorce lawyer.

      • Terah
        Terah
        September 8, 2020 at 12:22 am | #

        Take my invisible like.

      • Proxiehunter
        Proxiehunter
        September 8, 2020 at 12:29 am | #

        The reindeer was a divorce lawyer. You know, like that elf who was a dentist.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      September 8, 2020 at 12:43 am | #

      You have to be a grandma for that! Them’s the rules!

      • Chris
        Chris
        September 8, 2020 at 12:56 am | #

        And that won’t happen for at least another seven months.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          September 8, 2020 at 1:38 am | #

          At best, Jordan might be a father and she has no access to his kids so it’s irrelevant.

          • Slartibeast Button, BIA
            Slartibeast Button, BIA
            September 8, 2020 at 3:20 am | #

            My new fanon is that The Jordan Incident was that he knocked up a good Christian girl and then refused to marry her.

            (Alternatively, he knocked up some very unsuitable girl and *did* marry her.)

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              September 8, 2020 at 5:37 am | #

              Maybe wifey is an atheist or some non-Christian religion who refused to play nice (like a Jewish person who refused to ignore the Browns antisemitism or a Muslim girl and Islamophobia or something along those lines).

              • brionl
                brionl
                September 8, 2020 at 12:35 pm | #

                Maybe she’s a *gasp* Catholic!

  11. NinjaNick
    NinjaNick
    September 8, 2020 at 12:10 am | #

    Jingle bells, jingle bells…

    Too early to say it? Okay, I’ll stop.

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      September 8, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

      Dashing through the halls
      We hope we won’t be late
      Scrolling down we go
      Laughing all the way
      Alerts our cell phones ring
      Type on screens so bright
      What fun it is to laugh and post
      This parody tonight!

      Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
      Jingle all the way
      Oh! what fun it is to stop
      At Galasso’s today, hey
      Jingle bells, jingle bells
      Jingle all the way
      Oh! what fun it is to stop
      By Galasso’s today

      • Bicycle Bill
        Bicycle Bill
        September 8, 2020 at 1:17 am | #

        In order to keep with the meter of the song, that means that the name ‘Galasso’ has to be pronounced something like ‘GAL-lass-so’.  And all this time when I’ve been reading the name, the voice in my mind keeps pronouncing it as ‘gal-LASS-so’.

      • Geneseepaws
        Geneseepaws
        September 8, 2020 at 7:30 am | #

        Pizzas! (And subs)!

  12. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    September 8, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

    Winter brought with it the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads
    Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground, while the skies filled with snow
    And all that I ever
    Was able to see
    The fire in the air, glowing red
    Silhouetting the snow on the breeze
    –Al Stewart

  13. brionl
    brionl
    September 8, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

    Nnnnooooo!!!!
    Brown Car! You’re gone!
    Our time was too short.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      September 8, 2020 at 10:05 am | #

      Escape is not his plan.

      I must face him, alone.

  14. Joe Moose
    Joe Moose
    September 8, 2020 at 12:12 am | #

    Which car will survive the purge? Find out tomorrow!

    • Michael Lanting
      Michael Lanting
      September 8, 2020 at 1:45 am | #

      Should be obvious, there’s only one car that hasn’t moved at all. I wonder whether it was owned by one of the dead guys.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      September 8, 2020 at 2:58 am | #

      I’m betting the grey car will be the last one there, but I could be wrong.

  15. Cmasta1992
    Cmasta1992
    September 8, 2020 at 12:12 am | #

    Why does DoA get to be done with 2020 but we aren’t.

    • abacuswizard
      abacuswizard
      September 8, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

      You mean 2010.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        September 8, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

        No, 2020. DOA always takes place THIS year.

        • Lingo
          Lingo
          September 8, 2020 at 12:33 am | #

          Then, logically, tomorrow will ALSO be 2020.

          • Geneseepaws
            Geneseepaws
            September 8, 2020 at 7:37 am | #

            October Sunday’s comic
            November Monday’s comic
            December Today’s comic
            tomorrow’s comic. January 2021
            But DOA is always in This year.

            • clif
              clif
              September 8, 2020 at 12:16 pm | #

              Today’s comic today – December 2020
              Tomorrow’s comic today – January 2021
              Today’s comic tomorrow – December 2019
              Tomorrow’s comic tomorrow – January 2020

              Let’s Do the Time Warp Again.

              • Geneseepaws
                Geneseepaws
                September 8, 2020 at 11:54 pm | #

                I tip my hat to you.
                I found it on the ground outside Reid hall, it fits perfectly.
                Well, I washed it first, on the ground makes that necessary.
                Five second rule and all.

    • Solenoid
      Solenoid
      September 8, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

      Because DoA never reeeeeally engaged with 2020. That’s the beauty of the floating comic timeframe.

      • Jon Rich
        Jon Rich
        September 8, 2020 at 12:37 am | #

        Yeah, Willis can’t do the floating timeframe with coronavirus, because it would interrupt his timeline, send everyone home, and also only last for, like, three weeks?

        So it’s a 2020 without 2020’s defining characteristic, which mostly makes me wish I lived in DoA.

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      September 8, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

      No, no, that’s the horror of it, see

      Tomorrow’s strip is likely to be “January”, right? But the strip will still be published in 2020…which means that our characters will be ‘ported right over to January 2020. They’ll have to experience the year all over again.

      • Lingo
        Lingo
        September 8, 2020 at 12:34 am | #

        Oh you beat me to it.

      • Jon Rich
        Jon Rich
        September 8, 2020 at 12:37 am | #

        **The horror.**

      • SillyGoose
        SillyGoose
        September 8, 2020 at 3:38 am | #

        That would be in violation of the Geneva convention and the Universal declaration of human rights, art. 18: “No one shall be made to relive 2020, ever, not even Hitler after being captured by Chronoguards”.

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        September 8, 2020 at 10:07 am | #

        I dunno. Things actually still seemed OK back in January. If Willis keeps the comic there long enough, they could escape the suffering altogether.

        • King Daniel
          King Daniel
          September 8, 2020 at 9:53 pm | #

          Wasn’t like half the internet panicking about WWIII back in January?

          (sure, it wasn’t particularly well-grounded panic, but still)

          Nevermind the Australian wildfires which were still going on then…

          • Marisa Mockery
            Marisa Mockery
            September 8, 2020 at 11:18 pm | #

            2020 started with WW3 memes, yes. I distinctly remember waking up to some scary memes in early January XD

  16. Doc Harleen
    Doc Harleen
    September 8, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

    Holy shit, Willis.

  17. ProjectXa3
    ProjectXa3
    September 8, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

    Oh

    oh it’s the same cars but there’s less of them every month

    oh no people leaving

  18. plasticwrap
    plasticwrap
    September 8, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

    Now we’ve gone too far. Damn you Willis, what are you planning?!?

  19. Dave Van Domelen
    Dave Van Domelen
    September 8, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

    No matter how interesting the life, most of it is still boring to an outsider.

  20. Erica
    Erica
    September 8, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    Damn it, is anyone else frustrated waiting 24 hours for a new comic and it’s just this? And it’s been the past 3 days now. Argh. Give me some actual story.

    • leaf
      leaf
      September 8, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

      How could you say something so controversial yet so brave

      • clif
        clif
        September 8, 2020 at 12:25 pm | #

        Cars are mysteriously disappearing. Leaves are dying. (Present leaf excepted.) We still haven’t seen Blaine’s dead body. And yet, with all the drama, people are complaining.

    • Sporky
      Sporky
      September 8, 2020 at 12:27 am | #

      September 10th is the 10th anniversary of this webcomic. I’m certain that until then, you’re gonna see this. So maybe don’t check back until then.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        September 8, 2020 at 7:48 am | #

        So tomorrow will be January. The 10th will likely start with characters again, but will it be February or just late January, when they come back from winter break?

        • clif
          clif
          September 8, 2020 at 12:55 pm | #

          If you were a patron, you’d be an entire month ahead.

    • clif
      clif
      September 8, 2020 at 1:06 am | #

      You haven’t noticed the building tension as the cars disappear one by one,,

    • FacelessDeviant
      FacelessDeviant
      September 8, 2020 at 5:31 am | #

      An interesting storytelling device to be sure.
      And pretty sassy to do in a webcomic. I can respect it.

    • SonicHowling
      SonicHowling
      September 8, 2020 at 9:11 am | #

      The first time the October strip loaded I said “what ye FUCK is this” quite loudly, though no one else was present. Like, these cannot have been drama free holidays.

  21. Vukodlak
    Vukodlak
    September 8, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    Taking all bets! whose grown a beard or a goatee! Or at least will have profess to have grown one. I’m betting Danny or Wallky will profess to having grown a goatee but have only a few tuffs of hair.
    While Joe will have grown a beard for winter.

    • SuperFroakie82
      SuperFroakie82
      September 8, 2020 at 12:29 am | #

      Hat guy will be gone, but at what cost.

      • Geneseepaws
        Geneseepaws
        September 8, 2020 at 7:50 am | #

        About 20£ from Kangol.

    • Chris
      Chris
      September 8, 2020 at 12:36 am | #

      Joyce will have grown a goatee.

      • clif
        clif
        September 8, 2020 at 12:48 am | #

        Joe will appear to have grown a beard, but in reality will have been replaced by Richard.

      • Rectilinear Propagation
        Rectilinear Propagation
        September 8, 2020 at 1:41 am | #

        Will her toenail be back?

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      September 8, 2020 at 3:16 am | #

      Everyone, because we are now in the Evil Parallel Universe version of DoA.

      Dorothy is a religious fanatic working to convert atheist Joyce.

      Roz and Joe loudly promote the Anti-Sex League.

      Walky is a dumb workaholic student. Sal is a moralistic prig reporting people for pirating music.

      Marcie never stops chattering.

      Danny is Mr. Cool.

      etc.

  22. kat
    kat
    September 8, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

    oh damn

  23. Black bumblebee
    Black bumblebee
    September 8, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

    …awwe, we’re missing fun holiday shenanigans.

    • Chris Phoenix
      Chris Phoenix
      September 8, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

      Yes, but a month of Halloween costumes would have been fanservice, and DYW feeds on our tears, not our joy.

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        September 8, 2020 at 1:30 am | #

        If you don’t think DYW can turn Halloween costume fanservice into tragedy, I don’t know what comic you’ve been reading.

        • HenrEek
          HenrEek
          September 8, 2020 at 8:43 am | #

          Not on Slipshine

      • JessWitt
        JessWitt
        September 8, 2020 at 9:57 am | #

        Halloween comics for Patreon or bust!

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        September 8, 2020 at 10:13 am | #

        I am all out of tears. Halloween has been left in the dust bin, and Willis streaks by even the gluttonous Jabba-The-Hutt holiday that consumes all people’s money and still makes them feel worthless. By January, I will be a blank slate, ready for Willis to draw whatever he wishes on me.

  24. kat
    kat
    September 8, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

    is this because we’re gonna see people go home for Christmas break?

    • Rectilinear Propagation
      Rectilinear Propagation
      September 8, 2020 at 1:43 am | #

      I think JessWitt was right and the comic is going to pick up again in February on the comic’s anniversary.

  25. TheKelliestKelly
    TheKelliestKelly
    September 8, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

    I *love* drawing branches. I find it soothing.

  26. FLUFFY
    FLUFFY
    September 8, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

    Bwoy, Joyce must have had an… INTERESTING… Thanksgiving dinner. The Thanksgiving dinner with extremely racist, horrible relatives is the constant that unites most Americans.

    • Chris Phoenix
      Chris Phoenix
      September 8, 2020 at 12:28 am | #

      Seen on a T-shirt: “Racism is so American, when you protest it, people think you’re protesting America.”

      • khn0
        khn0
        September 8, 2020 at 3:59 pm | #

        Real problem is: how can you protest geography? I mean beside protesting at Vautrin-Lud’s country house with a few torches, how would you do?

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      September 8, 2020 at 12:50 am | #

      IKR? I was thinking Thanksgiving would be a huge meltdown between Joyce and Carol.

      • Jon Rich
        Jon Rich
        September 8, 2020 at 12:53 am | #

        I’m really hoping we see it in flashbacks.

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          September 8, 2020 at 1:27 am | #

          Or maybe flashbacks showing that Thanksgiving went fine despite Joyce’s worries. As is we’ve got no idea whether things have gotten better or worse.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      September 8, 2020 at 7:51 am | #

      I am sad to have missed that. Lots of nice tension. And a chance to see Jocelyne again.

      And where did Becky go for Thanksgiving? Or is the split between Hank and Carol more open and the good Browns had their own thing while Carol and John were alone?

  27. LiterallyJustSomeGuy
    LiterallyJustSomeGuy
    September 8, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

    Time sure is *flying*, huh? I wonder if Walky passed math.

    After the timeskip: Walky dropped out of school, Amber can’t afford tuition, and Joe decided he needs some time away from campus (and is not enrolled, with intent to return to school in a later semester). Stacy has moved in with Richard, and the comic now revolves around the five of them and their pseudo-family antics!

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      September 8, 2020 at 12:41 am | #

      Who is the wacky neighbor then?

      • clif
        clif
        September 8, 2020 at 12:54 am | #

        Becky.

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        September 8, 2020 at 1:28 am | #

        Robin. Who in theory is looking for work.

        • clif
          clif
          September 8, 2020 at 12:49 pm | #

          Okay. Robin on one side. Becky and Dana on the other. Mike is the landlord.

  28. Rani
    Rani
    September 8, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

    Ok Willis, time to double down.

    Next comic: 20X1

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      September 8, 2020 at 12:21 am | #

      Nah, we’re probably just switching the comic from being set “in the last quarter of This Year” over to “in the first quarter of This Year” tomorrow

      • Rani
        Rani
        September 8, 2020 at 8:02 am | #

        Whoosh

  29. leaf
    leaf
    September 8, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

    Can’t wait for tomorrow’s comic

  30. Octo
    Octo
    September 8, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

    And they all (except maybe Mike?) lived happily ever after. And we, the readers, were stuck watching the months change until the end of time Willis didn’t want to pay for the site anymore.

  31. Jamie
    Jamie
    September 8, 2020 at 12:22 am | #

    Bleak.

  32. Professor Detective
    Professor Detective
    September 8, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

    Okay, that beige car probably needs to be towed. $100 USD says there narcotics or a corpes in it.

    • clif
      clif
      September 8, 2020 at 12:58 am | #

      January arrives. In the next strip the trunk opens, Blaine looks around cautiously, and then crawls out.

      • CK
        CK
        September 8, 2020 at 10:57 pm | #

        I laughed out loud.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      September 8, 2020 at 3:01 am | #

      That or the person who owns it is really determined to always get that particular parking space.

  33. Icalasari
    Icalasari
    September 8, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

    “I hate drawing branches!”

    You… You don’t draw them first then the leaves on top?

  34. Bagge
    Bagge
    September 8, 2020 at 12:31 am | #

    Becky can no longer hide in the tree

    • clif
      clif
      September 8, 2020 at 12:34 pm | #

      That’s okay. Her girlfriend can.

      As you will see when she finally moves.
      I wonder why she wasn’t tagged. Maybe Willis missed seeing her and forgot.

  35. Romanticide
    Romanticide
    September 8, 2020 at 12:34 am | #

    Time is past.

    • clif
      clif
      September 8, 2020 at 12:35 pm | #

      It was.

  36. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    September 8, 2020 at 12:37 am | #

    Okay, so…. if this is in the book, I’m assuming it’s not just going to be one page.

    I think we’re getting a full 6 month time skip.
    Like from we’re going to be in March at the end of this.

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      September 8, 2020 at 12:45 am | #

      But Willis promised us winter, and winter’s all we’ve seen in the preview panels

      (plus, by March the weather is generally no longer freezing in Bloomington, averaging about six degrees Celsius above)

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        September 8, 2020 at 2:51 am | #

        A time skip that long would also probably mean we’d eventually get leaves back. Willis has said that’s probably not gonna happen.

    • a/snow/mous/e
      a/snow/mous/e
      September 8, 2020 at 12:53 am | #

      Maybe if it’s on a right-hand page? Or if we are going another month ahead (I suppose just skipping finals and jumping into the new semester makes sense), the next page could be a splash page?

      • clif
        clif
        September 8, 2020 at 1:11 am | #

        Less of a splash page and more of a frozen icycle page.

  37. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    September 8, 2020 at 12:51 am | #

    At this rate we might actually see sophomore year before the 22nd century.

  38. Barf Ninjason
    Barf Ninjason
    September 8, 2020 at 12:55 am | #

    Kinda hoping that two years are gonna pass thusly

  39. foducool
    foducool
    September 8, 2020 at 1:12 am | #

    then 2020 started and we had 12 more months of this XD

  40. Marsh Maryrose
    Marsh Maryrose
    September 8, 2020 at 1:15 am | #

    I am SO disappointed. I was really looking forward to the Browns’ Thanksgiving fraught

    • Moon
      Moon
      September 8, 2020 at 1:32 am | #

      Maybe we’re timeskipping all the way to the NEXT fall ?

  41. OnyxIdol
    OnyxIdol
    September 8, 2020 at 1:33 am | #

    It’s just going to be the months until graduation from now right?

  42. TomHCinMI
    TomHCinMI
    September 8, 2020 at 1:34 am | #

    The brown car on the far right doesn’t seem to have moved either!

    The white van and the grey van aren’t always parked in the picture; but when they are, they’re each parked in the same spaces each time!

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 8, 2020 at 2:15 am | #

      “Hey, I paid for that parking space and I’m going to use it!”

  43. Suet
    Suet
    September 8, 2020 at 1:45 am | #

    No, alt-text, you fool, now the trees will never have leaves!!

    What did leave however is the brown car that left too soon since the blue car got suspicious<abbr title="Ah, the only time of sanity. On to January?".

  44. Juanoku
    Juanoku
    September 8, 2020 at 2:14 am | #

    YOU WHAT

  45. BenRG
    BenRG
    September 8, 2020 at 2:16 am | #

    I’d love to read the transcript of all the ‘phone calls Christmas Morning between the various charactersj,both those who were at home and those (for various reasons) who had decided to stay at the dorms over the break.

  46. brute
    brute
    September 8, 2020 at 2:22 am | #

    i don’t like this

    it’s giving me the anxious feeling i get when i miss updates for awhile and have to make myself catch up, but i’ve been here every day

    what have i missed, these kids go through so much every day and now we’re missing weeks at a time and they’ll all be totally different people aaaaa

    • Council
      Council
      September 8, 2020 at 2:35 am | #

      I think the idea id either either to convey Joyce got her wish and these ‘times’ are ‘uneducational’, and by extension rather mundane, or, to build suspense for the end of the sequence where everything during it is revealed to be an absolute clownshow, and we are getting an in medias res reveal of the key points over time.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        September 8, 2020 at 8:40 am | #

        There is a lot of stuff that seems pending, even if nothing else dramatic happens. Seems unlikely Joyce’s family stuff will stay stable through Thanksgiving and then an entire month at home over Christmas. We’re missing Joyce’s first meeting with Carol since the kidnapping – or her equally fraught refusal to come home.

  47. C.T Phipps
    C.T Phipps
    September 8, 2020 at 2:41 am | #

    And Willis has taken up Bob Ross landscape painting on Youtube.

    “Now for some little trees!”

  48. goggleman64
    goggleman64
    September 8, 2020 at 3:08 am | #

    Next strip, the cars will be on fire and the doors will be painted with “STAY OUT | DEAD INSIDE”.

  49. CJ
    CJ
    September 8, 2020 at 3:34 am | #

    So, will we be reunited with our loved ones once Christmas break is over?

  50. David Doty
    David Doty
    September 8, 2020 at 3:56 am | #

    Maybe it won’t take 80 years for them to graduate after all.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 8, 2020 at 4:52 am | #

      Responding seriously, my gut feeling is that DoA will be the freshman year only and then an epilogue book set at graduation.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        September 8, 2020 at 1:35 pm | #

        Willis has always said it’d be freshman year only.

  51. Willoughby chase
    Willoughby chase
    September 8, 2020 at 4:07 am | #

    The flashbacks are going to be wild

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 8, 2020 at 4:53 am | #

      SAL: “Y’know, Polyanna, I’m still trying to work out how you ended up getting Roz’s sister’s old job! I mean, you’re barely nineteen!”

  52. BenRG
    BenRG
    September 8, 2020 at 7:38 am | #

    Request for bonus strip: The “Exiles-only Year End Party” at Robin and Becky’s place. Other attendees: Joyce, Ruth, Howard, Sal, Marcie, Amber and Faz.

  53. davidbreslin101
    davidbreslin101
    September 8, 2020 at 7:43 am | #

    Twist: by January, then entire cast has crashed out of college. Time for DoA: The Next Generation.

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      September 8, 2020 at 8:30 am | #

      Opening page: the tree of No Leaves. Joyce is in the park with her baby, for play date with kid that Ethan and Danny adopted. Mike rolls up en chaise and waves at her.
      Joyce says, “Oh, I had coffee with Carla, Sunday. She says your Rut’Frame will come off the assembly line this week for sure. She says it has two skins: (gestures up and down) Iron man and Business Suit.
      (Mike nods)
      She Said you’d really like it.
      Mike nods.
      Becky was over for J.J.’s birthday, she said the physics are killer good and the battery life will go a day and a half with out recharging.
      Mike smiles.
      Random middle aged woman walks past Mike’s wheelchair, shows a nickel and grins evilly, and then spits on the sidewalk in front of Mike. Drops the nickel in the spit and walks off.
      Joyce shouts “Hey”. Belatedly throws a rock at her, but misses.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 8, 2020 at 8:57 am | #

      Two girls walk into a dorm room. AMARA is an African-American girl with hair in tied back rainbow dreadlocks. DAWN is a sad-looking thin blonde girl with brown eyes.

      PANEL ONE
      AMARA: “So, I guess we’re room-mates for the next year!”

      PANEL TWO
      AMARA: “Mama Dee and Mama Jay both told me stories about Reed Hall! It’s going to be so much fun! So, what’s your name?”

      PANEL THREE
      DAWN is silent, looking uncomfortable. AMARA is giving her a challenging raised-brown look.

      AMARA: “Girl, are you okay?”

      PANEL FOUR
      DAWN (grimacing): “I… I don’t… Are… You have two mothers?!?”

      PANEL FIVE
      DAWN (suddenly clutching her face): “No! Sorry, sorry! That’s Mother talking and I’m trying so hard not to be like her!””

      PANEL SIX
      AMARA (Laughing): “Wow! That sounds like how Mama Dee say’s Mama Jay’s mother talked about them when they got together! The name’s Amara Keener!

      DAWN: “I’m… Dawn. Dawn Bradford.”

    • davidbreslin101
      davidbreslin101
      September 8, 2020 at 9:13 am | #

      ^… I love both of these scenarios.

  54. thumb
    thumb
    September 8, 2020 at 7:50 am | #

    It’s gonna be a long December, and there’s no reason to believe that the pace is gonna be faster than the last.

  55. Kitsune
    Kitsune
    September 8, 2020 at 8:17 am | #

    I’m trying to figure out if this is to indicate a time skip or just how fast the leaves fall in Indianan? I went to college in Indiana so I remember the Winters there.

    • Kitsune
      Kitsune
      September 8, 2020 at 8:32 am | #

      Never mind, just noticed the words November and December.

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      September 8, 2020 at 8:33 am | #

      Wind chill of 35-40 below zero wind 40 kph, brutal, nasty and awful.
      Oh, and cold Chill, chill to the bones, a chill that would leave you about April?
      That college in Indiana?

      • Bicycle Bill
        Bicycle Bill
        September 8, 2020 at 9:04 pm | #

        No, that’s the college in Minnesota.

  56. Ntrovert60
    Ntrovert60
    September 8, 2020 at 8:40 am | #

    It’s like the old Zork / Infocom games.

    Time passes…
    Time passes…
    Time passes…

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      September 8, 2020 at 12:35 pm | #

      Oooooow, a jeweled egg, help I’ve been eaten by a grue.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      September 8, 2020 at 2:01 pm | #

      Say “Hello Sailor”

  57. SpaceshipPilot
    SpaceshipPilot
    September 8, 2020 at 8:51 am | #

    The comic is just going to be pictures of this parking lot from now on.

  58. ziggy78eog
    ziggy78eog
    September 8, 2020 at 9:19 am | #

    So much for not skipping Halloween.

  59. goki
    goki
    September 8, 2020 at 9:30 am | #

    I guess one consolation, if we aren’t seeing anything, it might mean that things are “normal” for the school and it’s students and nothing weird is happening or worth seeing.
    Of course that also means that once we see things again, Shenanigans and Wacky nonsense will ensue, but that could also mean actual trouble.

  60. Nazmazh
    Nazmazh
    September 8, 2020 at 9:31 am | #

    Okay, well then. So much for my theory yesterday that it was meant to look like a big time skip when only a couple days from end of October to start of November had actually passed.

    This is at least one whole month gone. And since that amount’s now in play, there’s no telling how much he might be willing to skip ahead to get to another major story beat.

    As others have commented – Seems so strange for them to have such an eventful September and October to have such an un-noteworthy November + [however many other months] that they can just be glossed over and skipped entirely.

    On the other hand, it will be hilarious seeing what I’m sure are going to be radical changes in some characters personalities, and Willis slowly teasing out/trolling with breadcrumbs as to how exactly they got there from where they were.

    • Simarilian
      Simarilian
      September 8, 2020 at 7:37 pm | #

      Danny has a new hat.

  61. Eric
    Eric
    September 8, 2020 at 9:37 am | #

    lol this is the strip now. Just a rotating month placeholder.

  62. Jarawara
    Jarawara
    September 8, 2020 at 9:42 am | #

    Next strip we flash back to the roof. Everyone is still there on the roof, exactly where we left them. No one says anything for two frames, then on the third frame someone says “We’ll, it’s been three months. Shouldn’t we be going back to class or something?”

    Storyline then continues like there’s been no timeskip.

  63. Eliz
    Eliz
    September 8, 2020 at 9:45 am | #

    Do the placement of the cars mean something?? In November there was one less: someone left. Then December they are spread apart: the group isn’t close anymore.

  64. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    September 8, 2020 at 9:53 am | #

    Aw, would’ve loved to see IU in the snow.

    Bright side is some of the cast skipped awkward holidays with their families.

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      September 8, 2020 at 9:58 am | #

      Well, if the comic stops in January or February, there will hopefully still be snowy days.

  65. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    September 8, 2020 at 9:55 am | #

    oh nooo the other car died /o\

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      September 8, 2020 at 10:22 am | #

      No, it just realized that the cold and distant beige car would never return its feelings, so it has moved on.

  66. Rikunda
    Rikunda
    September 8, 2020 at 10:04 am | #

    Now it will be post exams… I guess this is a faster way to progress the stories though. Can’t be watching as they change after something like that. Just the end result.

  67. Deanatay
    Deanatay
    September 8, 2020 at 10:22 am | #

    It’s OK, Willis. Next comic will be January, and all the branches will be covered in happy snow. Nice, easy-to-draw snow…

  68. Some Ed
    Some Ed
    September 8, 2020 at 11:39 am | #

    Next week: Oh my goodness, Frog! Is it really Spring already? I guess the calendar says it, it must be so!

    And here I thought this comic was going to run for the rest of my life, possibly even outlasting the creator with a buffer lasting several more years.

  69. TomHCinMI
    TomHCinMI
    September 8, 2020 at 12:21 pm | #

    Flurries.
    Maybe it’ll stick in January?

  70. Geneseepaws
    Geneseepaws
    September 8, 2020 at 12:46 pm | #

    I’m asking which hall/dorm This parking lot is for. Cause if this is the hospital and we’re seeing the hospital’s parking lot, we’ve all missed the point of the time skips.
    If this is the arc focusing on Mike’s “I’m not dead, yet” Recovery, we’re missing the point/clues/info, mah peoples.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      September 8, 2020 at 8:46 pm | #

      I think it’s the round driveway on the south side of Read Hall.

      Hopefully this link takes you to Street View at approximately where the comic’s “camera” is.

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        September 8, 2020 at 9:51 pm | #

        Yeah, those steps are the ones Amber gutted Ryan on.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        September 8, 2020 at 10:33 pm | #

        It probably is, though there are some differences.

  71. Booker
    Booker
    September 8, 2020 at 1:56 pm | #

    So. I’ll be honest. I’m confused. Did Willis say we are doings a literal MONTHS time skip or is this just a little artistic interlude?

    • David M Willis
      David M Willis
      September 8, 2020 at 4:02 pm | #

      *taps the sign*

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/blog/not-a-metaphor/

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        September 8, 2020 at 8:43 pm | #

        I assume the “time passes” month comics will seamlessly segue into that panel?

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          September 8, 2020 at 10:35 pm | #

          They are the same cars.

      • Lingo
        Lingo
        September 8, 2020 at 11:02 pm | #

        Wow, you posted that over a year ago….

        • David M Willis
          David M Willis
          September 8, 2020 at 11:29 pm | #

          i plan ahead

      • Booker
        Booker
        September 9, 2020 at 5:35 am | #

        *flails out of chair*
        Did not expect the man himself to answer 0_O
        Awsome

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      September 8, 2020 at 4:08 pm | #

      We were told that the preceding arc culminating in the kidnapping and its aftermath was meant to be taken as a “season finale” for DoA.

  72. Sombrero
    Sombrero
    September 8, 2020 at 3:03 pm | #

    DoA Season 2: All You Need is Flashbacks

  73. Raptorofwar
    Raptorofwar
    September 8, 2020 at 3:27 pm | #

    Every time I see the title abbreviated I think it means dead on arrival. Maybe I need to think less morbid thoughts.

  74. Mojo
    Mojo
    September 8, 2020 at 8:05 pm | #

    So, do I gather this is now a monthly comic?

    • Icalasari
      Icalasari
      September 8, 2020 at 8:12 pm | #

      BADUM, TSH!

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