Dumbing of Age Book Eleven

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August 1, 2023

Hup

by David M Willis on November 11, 2020 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - This Bright Millennium

└ Tags: lucy, walky

Discussion (106) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    November 11, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    “It would’ve saved a lot of trouble if he’d have just had Love at First Sight like me and we hooked up immediately like”

    • clif
      clif
      November 11, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

      But to walk you across the street, he would have had to real with emotions.

    • Cholma
      Cholma
      November 11, 2020 at 12:49 am | #

      Lucy hasn’t realized yet that if she wants Walky, she needs to throw a toy at his head.

      • Felix
        Felix
        November 11, 2020 at 4:13 am | #

        Ah yes, the classic approach.

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        November 11, 2020 at 11:17 am | #

        Does it work with HP toys? Which does Lucy own?

  2. Chris
    Chris
    November 11, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

    I was hoping she’d recognize him.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      November 11, 2020 at 2:38 am | #

      Amber already has the ‘impenetrable paper-thin disguise’ trope covered.

      • MacareuxMoine
        MacareuxMoine
        November 11, 2020 at 6:02 am | #

        Works for her because Amazi-Girl is different from Amber, while Nightguy is 100% acting like Walky in a costume.

      • Psychie
        Psychie
        November 11, 2020 at 6:05 am | #

        I mean, to be fair to Amazigirl, Amber tends to be quiet/unobtrusive and thus relatively forgettable, coupled with the fact that she hid her training from her very small circle of friends (Ethan and Mike) so well before coming to IU that even THEY didn’t think Amber would be capable of the sort of athleticism Amazigirl displays, let alone those who have come to know her since. Also, the design of the uniform might have an impact on how her figure looks compared to Amber’s usual style of dress, their respective postures are drastically different, the way they carry themselves is drastically different, their mannerisms are rather different, etc.

        Additionally, I think Billie and possibly maybe a couple others were the only ones to correctly narrow down Amazigirl’s base of operations to that floor of that dorm, to anyone else she could be basically any brunette girl with that build and height (not super uncommon) and that’s before considering the possibility that she might be a thin girl of other hair color/style wearing a bodysuit and wig.
        On top of all this I don’t think very many people got especially good looks at Amazigirl, adding to the difficulty to recognize her out of uniform.

        Honestly, it’s people complaining about Clark Kent’s glasses while ignoring literally everything else about the disguise all over again.

        • Psychie
          Psychie
          November 11, 2020 at 6:06 am | #

          Ninja’d, curse my sesquipedalian loquatiousness!!!

          • Kaidah
            Kaidah
            November 11, 2020 at 8:41 am | #

            Curse you for making me look up words before I’ve finished my morning coffee. lol

          • Makkabee
            Makkabee
            November 11, 2020 at 9:23 am | #

            Bless you for casually dropping “sesquipedalian” in a conversation!

          • MacareuxMoine
            MacareuxMoine
            November 11, 2020 at 10:13 am | #

            You misspelled loquaciousness 😉

            • Ana Chronistic
              Ana Chronistic
              November 11, 2020 at 11:19 am | #

              Loquaciousness is a long way to say verbosity 🤔

              😬👍

              • Opus the Poet
                Opus the Poet
                November 11, 2020 at 1:53 pm | #

                No, verbosity is just lots of words, loquaciousness is lots of fancy words. I’m the opposite of that, I used to have tweets that didn’t use the 140 character limit.

                And yes I know it’s 280 now, I’m just making a point and hanging a timeframe on the statement.

                • Ana Chronistic
                  Ana Chronistic
                  November 12, 2020 at 12:04 am | #

                  you’re terse

          • Reltzik
            Reltzik
            November 11, 2020 at 5:54 pm | #

            I pity any Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobics reading this thread.

    • MacareuxMoine
      MacareuxMoine
      November 11, 2020 at 10:37 am | #

      called it: she was just rolling along with Walky being perfectly disguised – apparently to not kill the romance (which Walky isn’t aware of ;-)).

  3. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    November 11, 2020 at 12:07 am | #

    …. I can’t tell if Lucy is being intelligent or stupid here. I’m going to go with stupelligent.

    • SeanR
      SeanR
      November 11, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

      High INT, low WIS.

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        November 11, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

        Maybe she’s just rolling weird. Both Perception and Sense Motive are wisdom skills, and she nailed the first but flubbed the second.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      November 11, 2020 at 12:10 am | #

      Walky seems to be catnip for smart girls somehow.

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        November 11, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

        Apparently he’s sculpted out of caramel.
        It also reminds me of my most favourite line, in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, when the incredibly gorgeous and talented Jessica Rabbit is asked what she sees in that guy, and she says, “He makes me laugh”.

        • Ana Chronistic
          Ana Chronistic
          November 11, 2020 at 11:22 am | #

          That’s actually Dr. Nerdlove’s relationship selling point, that FUN is the most important compatibility factor. Looks and riches often go away, smarts can often mean snobbery, kindness is great but… fun blows that away.

      • DaisyFM
        DaisyFM
        November 11, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

        He’s cute!

      • Keulen
        Keulen
        November 11, 2020 at 12:28 am | #

        He definitely seems to attract them like moths to a flame.

    • YakkoRex
      YakkoRex
      November 11, 2020 at 1:29 am | #

      I believe the term is Smart, Smart, Dumb.

  4. Beau Kirin Maysey
    Beau Kirin Maysey
    November 11, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

    Amber just apparently evades recognition as a masked vigilate. Walky… not so much…

    • JepMZ
      JepMZ
      November 11, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

      She’s so head over heels for him, she memorized every geometry of his figure in every angle

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        November 11, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

        The butts match!

        • drs
          drs
          November 11, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

          One time in high school, a friend thought she recognized her best friend by the butt. Our classrooms were wall to ceiling glass, but the upper part was obscured by blinds or something, so some girl was visible from the waist down. Jan stared, bolted out to say hi, and came back miffed because it was not in fact her friend.

        • Icalasari
          Icalasari
          November 11, 2020 at 1:19 am | #

          The Joker would probably turn himself in while laughing a ton, amazed that BATMAN has a sense of humour and would pull that off

          • JR
            JR
            November 11, 2020 at 3:36 am | #

            Where’s my goddamn electric car, Bruce?!

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raaTXyXXsDM

    • JetstreamGW
      JetstreamGW
      November 11, 2020 at 12:45 am | #

      “You think I wouldn’t recognize you just because I can’t see your cheekbones?”

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      November 11, 2020 at 3:14 am | #

      TECHNICALLY we haven’t seen Walky cross the line to vigilante quite yet.

      We’ll know when he does, due to the extensive amount of medical care he’ll need. (Unless he gets hurt doing parkour instead.)

  5. nobodybasically
    nobodybasically
    November 11, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

    Unclear if Lucy is smarter than every other character or if Walky’s disguise is canonically worse than Amazigirl’s.

    • SeanR
      SeanR
      November 11, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

      Yes.
      Walky is wearing an off-the-shelf ski-suit, “cape”, (which might be terrycloth, for all we know), and mask.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        November 11, 2020 at 2:41 am | #

        The Amazi-Costume isn’t much more advanced than that. The biggest difference is the utility belt, other than that it’s just coveralls, mask, gloves, boots, and a cape.

    • CrazyJ
      CrazyJ
      November 11, 2020 at 12:18 am | #

      Walky’s disguise is definitely going to be easier to see through. AG changes her hairstyle, demeanor, and takes off her glasses, and tends to go unnoticed as Amber. Not only does Walky do none of that, but he’s also black so it narrows the list down a little (unless you are Billie).

      • Juanoku
        Juanoku
        November 11, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

        That’s… A LITTLE racist my guy

        • CrazyJ
          CrazyJ
          November 11, 2020 at 4:33 am | #

          Pointing out that race is (usually) a physically distinguishing characteristic isn’t even a little bit racist, it’s just pointing out the obvious.

          • Fay
            Fay
            November 11, 2020 at 7:39 am | #

            From a quick search, only about 7% of students at IU identify as African American, so it actually does narrow down the pool quite a bit.

    • drs
      drs
      November 11, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

      Or DID gives you extra disguise power in this universe. No one can recognize Amber as AG because she isn’t AG.

      • Chris Phoenix
        Chris Phoenix
        November 11, 2020 at 3:30 am | #

        Body language changes can be a powerful disguise.

    • Scoops!
      Scoops!
      November 11, 2020 at 12:53 am | #

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/amazi-girl+lucy/

      From the tags, Lucy hasn’t met Amazi-Girl so we don’t have a direct comparison. I do like the theory that she’s spent so much time closely examining Walky that she would recognize him, specifically, no matter what.

    • Lars
      Lars
      November 11, 2020 at 2:41 am | #

      If you ask Billie who Nightguy is, she probably suspects Joe.

  6. Diner Kinetic
    Diner Kinetic
    November 11, 2020 at 12:10 am | #

    She was wrong in _just_ the wrong way, and it’s adorable

  7. Leorale
    Leorale
    November 11, 2020 at 12:10 am | #

    Her jacket even says “LOVE”. The power of the jacket compels him.
    On the other hand, he could totally be doing this to impress Amber/AG, to start us on wacky love-rectangle adventures.

    • MacareuxMoine
      MacareuxMoine
      November 11, 2020 at 9:56 am | #

      As I said before: somebody has to give Lucy some ‘I’ and ‘U’ pins, so at least her jacket can spell it out for Walky.
      New thought: How are the odds that ‘I’ and ‘U’ pins are available at IU?

  8. BBCC
    BBCC
    November 11, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

    I mean, it is traditionally the love interest who notices first…

  9. Tsa
    Tsa
    November 11, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

    her little :3 face though!!!

    • Jade
      Jade
      November 11, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

      omg totally spies!! that was my hyperfixation for a beat over the summer.

  10. Dean
    Dean
    November 11, 2020 at 12:12 am | #

    Just like a dame, thinking that mild-mannered nobody Walky is actually Nightguy! Why, they’re nothing alike!

  11. Nono
    Nono
    November 11, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

    Who’s gonna rack up more delusion points by the end, Lucy or Joyce?

    Though Billie is definitely a contender.

  12. Kelli
    Kelli
    November 11, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

    I can guarantee that Walky is still oblivious.

  13. Proto_Eevee
    Proto_Eevee
    November 11, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

    I’m totally glad we get to see more Night-Guy. I hope this is a long term thing now

  14. Mae
    Mae
    November 11, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    I ship Lucy x Walky SOLELY for the reason being that I want Lucy to be happy. She deserves the best.

    • SeanR
      SeanR
      November 11, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

      Long-term happy or short-term happy?

      • AbelUndercity
        AbelUndercity
        November 11, 2020 at 7:49 am | #

        The way time works in this strip, it can be both.

    • Rectilinear Propagation
      Rectilinear Propagation
      November 11, 2020 at 12:22 am | #

      Oh that reminds me of that recurring joke in the What Your Favorite Ship In [Fandom] Says About You series on YouTube:

      “You just want good things for [character]. And really, who wouldn’t?”

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      November 11, 2020 at 12:27 am | #

      I ship them both for that and because I suspect they’d be a cute couple. And because I like to ship any pairing that’s even remotely possible, and maybe a few that are impossible as well.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      November 11, 2020 at 12:56 am | #

      I mean… I want the best for her as well. She is cute as a pie, sweet as honey and make the world better for the people around her (with the possible exception of Malaya).

      I just don’t see “the best” including “Walky”.

      • brute
        brute
        November 11, 2020 at 3:18 am | #

        ^^^

  15. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    November 11, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    Oh Lucy, what are you going to do if Walky still wants to hook up with Amber? They never officially ended things as far as I remember. Not to say that something didn’t change over the break, maybe it did.

    Also is Walky actually trying to be like Amazi-girl and if so, does he have any idea what he is getting himself into?

    • deathjavu
      deathjavu
      November 11, 2020 at 12:58 am | #

      Cry, yes, not even slightly.

  16. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    November 11, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    *cues up Stevie Wonder for the hacked P.A. speakers*

  17. mackabre
    mackabre
    November 11, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    to quote How I Met Your Mother, “Oh, honey…”

  18. Spencer
    Spencer
    November 11, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    One day Lucy’s heart is going to break in two and I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it.

  19. JenGen
    JenGen
    November 11, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

    Oh dear, my sweet child…you’re crusin’ for an emotional bruisin’

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      November 11, 2020 at 2:25 am | #

      Agreed; read any comic book or watch any superhero show and you’ll realise that nothing good ever comes from being a superhero’s first love interest. Optimistically, you’ll be left embittered and emotionally broken.

      • CJ
        CJ
        November 11, 2020 at 3:57 am | #

        That’s why there’s so much supergirl/Lena luthor fanfic around.

  20. Juanoku
    Juanoku
    November 11, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

    This can only end well…
    Also weren’t her hands freezing

    • Wizard
      Wizard
      November 11, 2020 at 12:51 am | #

      Now they’re warmed by the power of love.

      • RowenMorland
        RowenMorland
        November 11, 2020 at 1:37 am | #

        And adrenaline from a scary situation.

      • Tawnee
        Tawnee
        November 11, 2020 at 3:57 am | #

        This *demands* I follow up with “the warmth of a glove”, but then I remembered this is a fairly US heavy board so I don’t know how recognisable Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s song The Power of Love is.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          November 11, 2020 at 6:46 am | #

          I think us Millennial Yanks would instantly recall the Huey Lewis and the News song of the same name, because it was in Back to the Future.

  21. Keulen
    Keulen
    November 11, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

    Lucy, as much as I ship you and Walky, you’re really reading too much into this. You’re gonna have to be a lot more direct if you want Walky to know how you feel about him.

    • Vukodlak
      Vukodlak
      November 11, 2020 at 12:34 am | #

      That boy can be pretty dense, if he slipped into bed and found Lucy waiting in her underwear he might think she forgot which room was hers.

      • Wraithy2773
        Wraithy2773
        November 11, 2020 at 1:45 am | #

        Yeah, probably best if she skipped the underwear.

        I mean, it’s been how long since the last Slipshine?

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        November 11, 2020 at 6:04 am | #

        Platonic underwear-only spooning is in her future.

  22. lia
    lia
    November 11, 2020 at 12:25 am | #

    who the hell is walky

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      November 11, 2020 at 7:31 am | #

      Night Guy’s alter ego.

  23. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    November 11, 2020 at 12:40 am | #

    Poor Lucy doesn’t realize that she’s got cooties.

  24. Bagge
    Bagge
    November 11, 2020 at 12:48 am | #

    Lucy, NO!

  25. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    November 11, 2020 at 12:49 am | #

    I feel sad about Lucy. Walky has no obvious interest in her. There’s a big difference between being in love and being good to others.

  26. Ashley
    Ashley
    November 11, 2020 at 1:16 am | #

    Oh, honey, no.

  27. NinjaNick
    NinjaNick
    November 11, 2020 at 1:44 am | #

    It’s not romantic; it’s just heroic.

  28. BenRG
    BenRG
    November 11, 2020 at 2:23 am | #

    *Sigh* Poor Lucy. This is so not going to go well. She is not Lois Lane and Walky is not Superman. He’ll, he’d struggle to be the 1980s Blue Beetle! Most importantly, of course, this is not a game, as Walky seems to think it is.

    FWIW, though, I wouldn’t say ‘no’ if the ultimate direction to this mask would be for Lucy to follow her Walkyverse counterpart and ultimately become the new Amazi-Girl!

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      November 11, 2020 at 8:45 am | #

      How dare you demean Ted Kord like that.

  29. Varangian
    Varangian
    November 11, 2020 at 3:21 am | #

    HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA oh my God

  30. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    November 11, 2020 at 7:38 am | #

    Saved you trouble?

    Yes.

    Avoided that skeezy dude despite Walky’s presence?

    Debatable.

  31. Amy
    Amy
    November 11, 2020 at 9:01 am | #

    This is weird, the next comic button stopped working on my archive bin- wait, what do you mean I caught up? ;w;

  32. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    November 11, 2020 at 9:04 am | #

    I just hope that poor Lucy is not full herself of illusions about Walky.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      November 11, 2020 at 9:29 am | #

      Oh, she’s full to the brim of illusions about it! Crushes blind you to reality oh so effectively!

  33. hof1991
    hof1991
    November 11, 2020 at 9:10 am | #

    Amber wears glasses. Walky doesn’t. The glasses are essential to a secret identity.

    • He Who Abides
      He Who Abides
      November 11, 2020 at 10:42 pm | #

      Y’do know that the Clark Kent/Superman dichotomy goes well beyond glasses, yes? There’s body language, attitude, slightly-too-large clothing cleverly altered to both mask his build and contain his cape, plus the well-documented “fact” that Clark Kent has the constitutional fortitude of a wet piece of tissue paper . . . but no, it’s just glasses and stupid people /s

      • StClair
        StClair
        November 11, 2020 at 11:53 pm | #

        I used to have a better, shorter, more focused video, but this one is what I could find … skip ahead to about 1:20 if you like.

        • StClair
          StClair
          November 12, 2020 at 12:01 am | #

          Found it! Watch that one instead. 🙂

  34. Sporky
    Sporky
    November 11, 2020 at 9:39 am | #

    Lucy probably loves books. Someone should give her a copy of He’s Just Not That Into You.

  35. Zee
    Zee
    November 11, 2020 at 11:23 am | #

    AaaaaaaaaaA she’s so adorable I can’t handle it

  36. thumb
    thumb
    November 11, 2020 at 2:04 pm | #

    It is doomed, but I can’t help but smile.

  37. Spaz8
    Spaz8
    November 11, 2020 at 2:25 pm | #

    Everyone is talking about Walky and Lucy and mentioning Lucy shouldn’t be with Walk because she needs better. So my friend had a big Brian idea that Jacob and Lucy could be a thing since Lucy said that she is similar to Joyce and Jacob mentioned that he’d start looking for girls like Joyce to date. (It fits with Jacobs crush on Lucy in shortpacked! too)

    • RacingTurtle
      RacingTurtle
      November 12, 2020 at 3:04 am | #

      I thought the same thing when Jacob said that. Glad I’m not the only one!

  38. Heather
    Heather
    November 11, 2020 at 6:25 pm | #

    Somehow with his lack of martial arts training and mcnuggets diet I’m not sure how long Walky can keep this up long term if he gets the inkling to try to do this regularly.

    Granted Amber had rather troubling attitude to maintaining physical health too at points like in the form of sleep.

  39. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    November 11, 2020 at 9:34 pm | #

    Lucy’s expression in panel four is wonderful. I hope she’s not too disappointed.

  40. Jackson
    Jackson
    November 12, 2020 at 9:56 am | #

    He can deal genuinely with emotions.

Joyce and Joe?

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