… is it just me, or is Joe looking particularly chiseled and handsome in that last panel? Like, he’s randomly extremely hot there, far more so than panel 1 where he looks kinda frazzled.
Is this just me? Am I the only one feeling warm tingles as I look at that last panel? Do I need to do the “I’ll be in my bunk” Firefly joke again? Cause I will.
His dad’s around, he knows he has to up his game if he wants the ladies to come to him rather than to his father. So he’s taken care to muss his hair just right and get the perfect stubble level and just the right amount of chest hair showing (panel 5)
From philanderer to womanizer. I suppose that IS a step up. At least the new one is not a complete monster.
I have to wonder how Blaine acted during the courtship. How many warning signs were overlooked as just quirks and not red flags. That said, we saw him act; both to the church group and when swaying Ross to his cause.
We don’t know anything about Amber’s grandparents, could have been a “this is the only boy who’ll marry you” kind of deal? Or, if they weren’t in the picture, “this is the only boy who’s ever paid attention to me, I’d better marry him” deal?
Before I read your comment, I was thinking – What would happen if Faz and Joe were both bi or gay, and got together? It would be really creepy*, but I’d kind of ship it just to keep them both from creeping on anyone else.
* Creepy due to their personalities – I don’t think they’d be a good fit romantically, and I think they’d both automatically try, and it would get really weird. In addition Faz is way too vulnerable for me to seriously want him in a relationship with an older/more mature person anyone.
It wasn’t a retcon. That strip can easily be misread, but the intent there was that it would have been legal for Rachel to have sex with him under Indiana’s Romeo and Juliet law, but if Rachel thought that was gross, he’d reach the regular age of consent (16) in two weeks.
I like to think the Rosenthal family album could be summarized as “Joe through the ages”. You’ve got photos of old timey Grandpa Joe with his new Packard, a portrait of Great-Great-Grandpa Joe with his 1880s sideburns, a decaying daguerreotype of Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa Joe with his rifle and Army uniform…
I actually feel like Joe has been changing a bit already. I think that part of the depth he’s gained in the comic as been due to seeing more sides of him than him changing; but I think that this relationship with Joyce has shown some small steps towards seeing women as more than objects.
I’m actually quite curious what Stacy will have to say about all of this. Y’know what with her not really being aware of the depth of her daughters’s psychological issues and/or the depth of her ex husbands maliciousness.
One day Joe will learn that indeed there is a thing as *too* much sex. One day when Joe is withered and unable to move or be rid of the stench that comes with such activity.
That shall be the day that Joe learns to moderate his sex life and his personal life. But that day is not this day.
Ehhhhh I mean orrrrr aromantic attraction can beget romantic attraction, and he may be at least partially aromantic. And why slut shame?
He is still young, after all. If he wants to learn how to develop romantically it may rightly include aspects of aromatic attitude as well, if you ask me…
Yeah, I think Ethan maybe possibly dying might have pushed Danny over the edge to confessing attraction. I’ll take it. And at this point I think Amber can handle it too.
Honestly I think I would have preferred them getting together sooner than now. I think the ship has kinda cooled a little at least for me. Plus it feels just slightly unfair they’d had wait until one was put in a life or death situation before they felt it was okay, considering how fast Amber moved on to Walky.
She was still VERY sensitive about the fact Ethan would choose someone else over her back when Ethan was faking being straight with Joyce. If it felt like Danny had been HIDING that he was gay, it could have felt like He’s Not Really Into You 2: Electric Boogaloo and could have theoretically been detrimental for her. She would have probably understood that he was bi if he literally said so with words though.
Ethan sometimes views Amber as very fragile like she used to be when she was younger and has kind of fallen out of step with the exact types of help Amber actually needs (like, she did not need coddled about this exact thing even if it would have hurt her feelings or made her feel insecure, she doesn’t need shielded like that).
Its a bit odd that Danny doesn’t check on her more. Like, she broke up with him, so that’s awkward, but she also definitely just got kidnapped and hospitalized her dad.
I guess it could mean that he’s already seen her since everything happened. I agree that it’s strange if this is their first interaction since the kidnapping.
I feel a disturbance, as if shit might get complicated in the next minute. You got Yuri (Who hates Amber for BS reasons) somewhere there in the hospital balling over Blaine and since Eathan is there Naomi (Who also hates Amber for BS reasons) is going to show up and I feel like atleast one of these two parents if not both of them is going to say something antagonistically shitty towards Amber but I don’t know what. Probably having something to do with Ethan being gay or something stupid like that.
Which reminds me I don’t know why Danny is such a rush to see Ethan, it’s just going to be one big harsh love triangle of watching his current crush cry over another guy who Danny himself told to fuck off the night before getting put in a coma.
What if Mike seduces Yuri for a nickle while Blaine watches, unable to interfere because of the pain and difficulty breathing. Without ever waking up from his coma, because it’s Mike.
I imagine Joe is being facetious, but he’s been hard to read. I feel like it’d be a lot easier if we knew what exactly happened at Becky’s party for Joyce to have fallen asleep on him like she did. They’ve been close, but they also had that falling out for a time.
As horny as they are can she really judge that much? I don’t see them make files upon files of slash fics. Not that I have a problem against literature though.
Pumpkins are very low in fat, have some protein and are very high in Vitamins A and C, and contain useful amounts of potasium, iron and B-6. They have a shelf life of many weeks (months in refridgerator). And what’s wrong with orange?
Now Jack’s-O’-Lantern, THOSE be sketchy, rot, and have creepy-ass smiles with their dead eyes watching, always watching… eeuuuhhhhh.
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Joe gonna Joe
kinda surprised he’s even free to visit, but I guess all the ladies still kinda pissed at him rn
… is it just me, or is Joe looking particularly chiseled and handsome in that last panel? Like, he’s randomly extremely hot there, far more so than panel 1 where he looks kinda frazzled.
Is this just me? Am I the only one feeling warm tingles as I look at that last panel? Do I need to do the “I’ll be in my bunk” Firefly joke again? Cause I will.
No, it’s not, he wears stubble well.
His dad’s around, he knows he has to up his game if he wants the ladies to come to him rather than to his father. So he’s taken care to muss his hair just right and get the perfect stubble level and just the right amount of chest hair showing (panel 5)
Yeah I dunno if anyone but Stacey would choose Richard. He’s creepy, which is immediately apparent to young women, and Joe knows it.
Joe does look good in the last panel, though. If only he could stop talking.
And Danny peppily running to find Ethan; that sweetie.
Stacy could do a hell of a lot worse; remember who her previous partner is.
Yeah. She DID do a helluva lot worse.
From philanderer to womanizer. I suppose that IS a step up. At least the new one is not a complete monster.
I have to wonder how Blaine acted during the courtship. How many warning signs were overlooked as just quirks and not red flags. That said, we saw him act; both to the church group and when swaying Ross to his cause.
We don’t know anything about Amber’s grandparents, could have been a “this is the only boy who’ll marry you” kind of deal? Or, if they weren’t in the picture, “this is the only boy who’s ever paid attention to me, I’d better marry him” deal?
From abuser to womanizer. It’s an improvement, but still likely to end badly.
Blaine could definitely be charming. Many abusers can.
Or is trying to look different from him. I put extra effort in that if I’m going somewhere with my father.
I think it’s the tousled-hair look. Always ups the hotness, unless it tips over the edge to just Pandemic-ratty.
Joe and Faz being in the same place seems weird.
Like, I’m pretty sure one of them is what the other turns into if he drinks the Mr. Hyde formula. But I’m not sure which.
I think it’s happened before, but I don’t remember for sure.
Yeah, when Faz was at school the first time Joe was showing him around.
Try ominous. What if Joe becomes Faz’s mentor? That would be bad for both of them.
I seem to recall Joe’s giving him valid tips on how to be less of a creeper?
As Joyce once told Joe, “Does he talk and act just like you, but with charts?”
Here are all of Joe and Faz’s prior interactions: https://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/faz+joe/
Aaaah, so that’s how you do combined tag searches? Thank you!!
People kept mentioning this function and I was confused.
Pass it along!
By the way: excellent joke. Kudos.
Before I read your comment, I was thinking – What would happen if Faz and Joe were both bi or gay, and got together? It would be really creepy*, but I’d kind of ship it just to keep them both from creeping on anyone else.
* Creepy due to their personalities – I don’t think they’d be a good fit romantically, and I think they’d both automatically try, and it would get really weird. In addition Faz is way too vulnerable for me to seriously want him in a relationship with
an older/more mature personanyone.Yeah uuuuh https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/stepdad/
According to the time he came by in the linked visit, he wasn’t even 14 yet so I’m going to have to call this a bad if not awful take.
Faz’s was later retconned a couple of years older. And I did mention the age difference as a reason not to actually ship Faz with anyone.
It wasn’t a retcon. That strip can easily be misread, but the intent there was that it would have been legal for Rachel to have sex with him under Indiana’s Romeo and Juliet law, but if Rachel thought that was gross, he’d reach the regular age of consent (16) in two weeks.
Quite a bit actually
Man, have I missed Joe!!
Me too! Cover me while I reload!
(Kidding. I just can’t resist an opportunity for a hellacious pun.)
You really missed the mark on that one though.
First Joe, then Mark? You really need to work on your accuracy…
That was no accident, that’s a hit list…
More of a miss list really.
Boo, cocky
Which brings us back, full circle, to Joe.
Oh, Joe… Never change.
Judging by his father, he never will, though he will likely fall into a time warp at some point.
After the last strip, judging Joe by his father doesn’t seem right.
I believe the implication there is that Joe’s father is a time-displaced Joe.
He’s his own dad, like Dave Lister!
I was thinking Philip J. Fry, but he was only his own grandfather.
I like to think the Rosenthal family album could be summarized as “Joe through the ages”. You’ve got photos of old timey Grandpa Joe with his new Packard, a portrait of Great-Great-Grandpa Joe with his 1880s sideburns, a decaying daguerreotype of Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa Joe with his rifle and Army uniform…
Like Lieutenant Dan!
Or the Popeye family.
I actually feel like Joe has been changing a bit already. I think that part of the depth he’s gained in the comic as been due to seeing more sides of him than him changing; but I think that this relationship with Joyce has shown some small steps towards seeing women as more than objects.
This isn’t even Joe’s final form.
That would be Joe’s dad who is conveniently in the same strip today for comparison.
Joe no
I’m actually quite curious what Stacy will have to say about all of this. Y’know what with her not really being aware of the depth of her daughters’s psychological issues and/or the depth of her ex husbands maliciousness.
Who’s the guy with the 5 o’clock shadow?
(I’m kidding, if anyone thinks I’m serious)
That’s Eglamore.
(my thought exactly, well played)
Idra is looking different though.
👏
Haha
One day Joe will learn that indeed there is a thing as *too* much sex. One day when Joe is withered and unable to move or be rid of the stench that comes with such activity.
That shall be the day that Joe learns to moderate his sex life and his personal life. But that day is not this day.
nah, that day this happens. (42 seconds in if time stamp doesn’t work)
https://youtu.be/bb03u3u-o7o?t=42
He’s going to have women biting him in the balls for not keeping up and learn to moderate that way.
Wait, that’s lions, not humans.
Ehhhhh I mean orrrrr aromantic attraction can beget romantic attraction, and he may be at least partially aromantic. And why slut shame?
He is still young, after all. If he wants to learn how to develop romantically it may rightly include aspects of aromatic attitude as well, if you ask me…
Joe’s looking shaggy, when was the last time he had a haircut?
Is this the first time he had that overall look? I am struggling to remember.
Going back using the tags it looks as though there was a design change in Joe starting once Malaya was done with him.
when was the last time any of us had a haircut
I think I had one this year? but I’m not sure?
I had one four years ago. Probably won’t be getting another.
I had one on Tuesday.
For you it was Tuesday. For me, it was just a haircut.
+1
Finally got one last week, for the first time since November. So I have that to be happy about.
I have a razor, I’m good.
I’ve had electric clippers for years, so at least that’s been a non-issue.
Last summer.
EYES EMOJI at Danny looking for Ethan.
And it’s nice to see Amber with her family <3
Yeah, I think Ethan maybe possibly dying might have pushed Danny over the edge to confessing attraction. I’ll take it. And at this point I think Amber can handle it too.
They both know that they’re attracted to each other. This might be the moment where they act on it, instead of staying apart so as not to hurt Amber.
Why would they think hooking up would hurt Amber? If anything, I’d expect her to be supportive of her best friend (and ask for details on the sly).
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/chummy/
“Turning her second boyfriend gay too”? Not that that’s really the case, but it could definitely hit at her insecurities.
She would of course support them, after all they’re obviously better off together than with a monster like her.
I do think it would be better now than immediately after AG broke up with Danny.
Honestly I think I would have preferred them getting together sooner than now. I think the ship has kinda cooled a little at least for me. Plus it feels just slightly unfair they’d had wait until one was put in a life or death situation before they felt it was okay, considering how fast Amber moved on to Walky.
She was still VERY sensitive about the fact Ethan would choose someone else over her back when Ethan was faking being straight with Joyce. If it felt like Danny had been HIDING that he was gay, it could have felt like He’s Not Really Into You 2: Electric Boogaloo and could have theoretically been detrimental for her. She would have probably understood that he was bi if he literally said so with words though.
Ethan sometimes views Amber as very fragile like she used to be when she was younger and has kind of fallen out of step with the exact types of help Amber actually needs (like, she did not need coddled about this exact thing even if it would have hurt her feelings or made her feel insecure, she doesn’t need shielded like that).
Its a bit odd that Danny doesn’t check on her more. Like, she broke up with him, so that’s awkward, but she also definitely just got kidnapped and hospitalized her dad.
I guess it could mean that he’s already seen her since everything happened. I agree that it’s strange if this is their first interaction since the kidnapping.
He does seem to be respectful of her request to spend her energy on family, so there’s that.
He is more flippant than I would have expected.
Yeah, I also got the “I’m there if you need me, but you say you need family right now so I won’t bother you” vibe
I do like how Danny thought on not being too much for Amber yet finding a way to a least show some friendly support.
All this tragedy and loss has made me incredibly horny.
I guess you haven’t been Oversexed yet, huh?
Hey. What Yotomoe gets up to on his own time is his business.
As long as he illustrates it on Devient Art.
I’d say no since I’m still a virginYou’re still getting over Faz admitting that he’s not always great.
I feel a disturbance, as if shit might get complicated in the next minute. You got Yuri (Who hates Amber for BS reasons) somewhere there in the hospital balling over Blaine and since Eathan is there Naomi (Who also hates Amber for BS reasons) is going to show up and I feel like atleast one of these two parents if not both of them is going to say something antagonistically shitty towards Amber but I don’t know what. Probably having something to do with Ethan being gay or something stupid like that.
Which reminds me I don’t know why Danny is such a rush to see Ethan, it’s just going to be one big harsh love triangle of watching his current crush cry over another guy who Danny himself told to fuck off the night before getting put in a coma.
Hey you never know, Linda might show up too!
And then Carol arrives for femur replacement surgery
We can hope.
What if Joe seduces Yuri.
What if Mike seduces Yuri for a nickle while Blaine watches, unable to interfere because of the pain and difficulty breathing. Without ever waking up from his coma, because it’s Mike.
Oh that is gonna be awkward, but I don’t think Ethan has romantic feelings for Mike anymore…unlike the other way around.
I imagine Joe is being facetious, but he’s been hard to read. I feel like it’d be a lot easier if we knew what exactly happened at Becky’s party for Joyce to have fallen asleep on him like she did. They’ve been close, but they also had that falling out for a time.
I bet Amber’s wondering why her weird almost-brothers are constantly horny.
As horny as they are can she really judge that much? I don’t see them make files upon files of slash fics. Not that I have a problem against literature though.
Excellent point. I think Amber can respect horniness, but she seems to keep it to herself more (and strangers on the internet, if she shares her fic).
Makes sense, Faz has no shame and Joe has tact but very little shame. Amber has enough shame for all 3 of them.
… I actually like how Joe looks like this. Damn You Sexy Unkempt Joe.
Joe looks more punished recently.
Thanks Joe, we needed to know that.
I ship Danny and Ethan and am hoping that this means good things.
Same. But I hope this doesn’t break Amber since she’s been through A LOT already.
I’ve been waiting for Danny to show up again
And his hat too!
I like this cool and confident Danny
….. where has Joe been for the past ninety million strips?
Sexin’ probably
Not involved in the kidnapping, basically.
Today’s strip left me with complete opposite feelings of yesterday’s strip despite having a disturbingly similar ending
Joe looking like a lone hero staring at the sea
Danny’s here! It’s been 84 years….I missed him, he’s always brings such a bright levity.
Danny has gotten over Amber. That makes me sad.
He’s been over amber for ages now. Amber has also been quite demonstrably over Danny for a good while
Danny meanwhile is clearly undersexed, if his behaviour is any judge.
Nice to see Joe and Danny again.
Speaking of the latter, looks like he’s getting proactive.
Danny: How DARE Ethan not be ready for true love!
Or he’s just going ahead to check on his friend (and crush).
Amber doesn’t want to interact and he’s likely had his fill of the Joe and Richard and Stacy dynamic.
Good to see that Amber’s mother and Joe’s dad are still together and, apparently, they are in a good relationship with each other.
Apparently.
Ethan and Danny. Stacy and Richard. Amber needs a hug from someone besides Faz right now.
Okay. Looks like Faz would fit right into this family.
Okay, Joe. Well, I must admit, I honestly never considered that possible reading of the word.
Pumpkins are fat, orange, and go rotten in a week.
Thanks for the complement, Mom…
The expression on Amber’s face after Joe’s comment is fantastic!
Pumpkins are very low in fat, have some protein and are very high in Vitamins A and C, and contain useful amounts of potasium, iron and B-6. They have a shelf life of many weeks (months in refridgerator). And what’s wrong with orange?
Now Jack’s-O’-Lantern, THOSE be sketchy, rot, and have creepy-ass smiles with their dead eyes watching, always watching… eeuuuhhhhh.
https://www.google.com/search?q=pumpkin+nutrition
Is Dr. Rosenthal a gynecologist?
Osteologist.
Is Amber having a realization in the fourth panel?
can’t wait for the arc where Joe deals with his self floating!!!!