Dumbing of Age Book Eleven

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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September 20, 2023

Operating

by David M Willis on October 6, 2020 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - This Bright Millennium


└ Tags: booster, carla, mary, meredith, walky

Discussion (303) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    October 6, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    actually, this leg of the tour is spot on

    • JetstreamGW
      JetstreamGW
      October 6, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

      I think it might’ve been too complimentary to Mary.

      • Hinonron
        Hinonron
        October 6, 2020 at 2:31 am | #

        W: “This is Mary… because naming her “Ronalda Trump” would have been too obvious and invited blowback.”
        M: “You are FIRED from tout-giving, Walky!”

        • DSL
          DSL
          October 6, 2020 at 10:10 am | #

          Well, that and … that fella … was still mostly a Brooklyn curiosity with Manhattan pretensions out there in the real world when this strip started.

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          October 6, 2020 at 11:04 am | #

          The rest of the dorm hires Walky to give tours only of Mary’s room.

          • Ana Chronistic
            Ana Chronistic
            October 6, 2020 at 11:56 am | #

            Then Roz REALLY wants a room change

  2. Octopus Ink
    Octopus Ink
    October 6, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

    Say what you will about Walky, he seems to have everyone’s number!

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      October 6, 2020 at 2:25 am | #

      I’m enjoying Walky’s introductions of everybody so far.

    • Eyebrow
      Eyebrow
      October 6, 2020 at 6:45 am | #

      The hilarious thing is how cooperative everyone is being, backing up his one-line descriptions no matter how insulting.

      This reminds me of Groundhog Day, when Phil introduces Rita to everyone in the diner.

      • J
        J
        October 6, 2020 at 4:42 pm | #

        Mary’s is particularly awesome, and she doesn’t even care, she just takes it and runs with it. & I still have yet to see Carla not be amazing. We get to see her smash _proverbial_ pies in people’s faces now.

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    October 6, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

    Wait, the goth no one ever sees is Meredith’s roomie? Like, Bloodrose?

    So who was Agatha’s roommate?

    • Radiance
      Radiance
      October 6, 2020 at 12:09 am | #

      Bloodrose was Agatha’s roommate before the room transfer. Now Sierra is Agatha’s roommate.

      • Lingo
        Lingo
        October 6, 2020 at 1:53 am | #

        But Ruth implied that Agatha’s roommate was someone they “lost”, as in they left the dorm. If that was Bloodrose, then she can’t be Meredith’s roommate.

      • RacingTurtle
        RacingTurtle
        October 6, 2020 at 1:55 am | #

        Agatha’s old roommate left the wing entirely. It can’t have been Bloodrose. I think this strip is specifically intended to confirm Agatha’s roommate was not, in fact, Bloodrose. Maybe we never met Agatha’s roommate.

        • Lingo
          Lingo
          October 6, 2020 at 2:18 am | #

          I guess the only thing we know for sure about Agatha’s old roommate is that Sarah described her as a “notorious bongowad,” although of course Sarah hates everybody.

          • Lingo
            Lingo
            October 6, 2020 at 2:18 am | #

            Forgot about the filter, lol

            • Jake'm
              Jake'm
              October 6, 2020 at 5:06 am | #

              Honestly, I thought everyone was just going along with the joke of replacing the b-word with Joyce’s choice of b-word.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            October 6, 2020 at 6:20 am | #

            Maybe it was Guns (the SEMMF Squad 48 member notable for her pistols and music hipsterdom, not literal firearms). We just didn’t see her because “NO GUNS EVER”.

            • Reltzik
              Reltzik
              October 6, 2020 at 9:09 pm | #

              Sorry, no. IU has a no-Guns policy.

              • Needfuldoer
                Needfuldoer
                October 7, 2020 at 9:13 am | #

                Maybe Dumbiverse Guns (if she exists) got that nickname because she’s ripped.

          • Geneseepaws
            Geneseepaws
            October 6, 2020 at 8:37 am | #

            I am Not of the opinion that Sarah hates everyone. I b’lieve that pretending to hate everyone is Sarah’s defense for her floor ganging-up and ostracizing her, for getting her roommate The therapy/treatment for addiction to save her life. Sarah seems to me to be afraid that everyone will be like her 1st Year floor mates, and so rejects any social interaction as a first strike protective move.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              October 6, 2020 at 10:39 am | #

              It does mean her opinion in Agatha’s roommate shouldn’t be taken too seriously though – whether she actually hates everyone or is just performatively hating everyone.

            • Lingo
              Lingo
              October 6, 2020 at 9:33 pm | #

              Yeah, what thejeff said. Didn’t mean it literally.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      October 6, 2020 at 7:48 am | #

      Meredith’s roommate is actually non-existent, just a scam so she gets a double room for herself at the double rate. The goth chick was just some theater major she hired as a front.

      To this day my college friends insist I did this my sophomore year, in the best dorm on campus.

      • DSL
        DSL
        October 6, 2020 at 10:16 am | #

        I had a deal almost as good. My sophomore-year roommate was basically a lump in his bed or on the couch of the TV lounge for most of the year, and my junior roommate basically moved in with his significant-other for the second semester. I’d see an occasional sign he’d been there to pick up a shirt or a book or something, but that was it. Fine with me because he was a slob.
        Then I got an actual solo room my senior year, but I was next to two freshmen who couldn’t stand each other, so the one was always standing around in my room whining about the other.

        • leaf
          leaf
          October 6, 2020 at 10:27 pm | #

          Damn, you were in the dorms all 4 years? That sucks dude.

  4. butts
    butts
    October 6, 2020 at 12:09 am | #

    i missed carla

    y’know, briefly

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      October 6, 2020 at 12:12 am | #

      Missing Carla is impossible for very long. She’ll make sure you notice her in short order.

      She’s looking into the price of having a billboard erected outside the dorm.

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        October 6, 2020 at 12:26 am | #

        Man, her folks are rich as Croesus. No matter what it costs, she can afford it.

        The problem is, it’s easy to ignore a billboard after a while. She’s trying to come up with a way to keep eyes on it.

        • Devin
          Devin
          October 6, 2020 at 2:29 am | #

          Speaking as someone who lives with an electronic billboard over a mile away that I can’t stop noticing at night…there are ways.

      • AbelUndercity
        AbelUndercity
        October 6, 2020 at 7:45 am | #

        Specifically, outside of Mary’s window.

    • SuperZero
      SuperZero
      October 6, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

      She does seem to have pretty good Dexterity.

      • Slartibeast Button, BIA
        Slartibeast Button, BIA
        October 6, 2020 at 7:49 am | #

        And the Rutech jamming system.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 6, 2020 at 11:20 am | #

      It’s okay, butts

      You can always reload, and try again

      • Slartibeast Button, BIA
        Slartibeast Button, BIA
        October 7, 2020 at 12:55 am | #

        Squeeze, don’t pull.

  5. Chris
    Chris
    October 6, 2020 at 12:09 am | #

    Yep, another silhouette filled in. Called it.

    • Leorale
      Leorale
      October 6, 2020 at 12:13 am | #

      Clearly. I’m not looking forward to Malaya but I’m curious to see Billie’s haircut.

    • Segnosaur
      Segnosaur
      October 6, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

      2 more to go.

      The one on the end is probably Malaya (based on the hair). The other… Probably Billie (being one of the few major characters not reintroduced yet), but it does look a bit different.

      • Wereg
        Wereg
        October 6, 2020 at 12:33 am | #

        Given the boots and pose, there’s a nonzero chance it could be a post-haircut Amazigirl. Or someone entirely new.

        Either way, Dorothy did mention that they lost Billie. I’m a little wary.

        • Nono
          Nono
          October 6, 2020 at 12:36 am | #

          Her status is being kept very vague, but it probably wouldn’t be the worst thing for her to be out of the story? Before the timeskip her plot value was circumstancial at best, given her ‘Sal is Amazi-Girl!’ shtick and how she’s always kept out of the loop of most of the major conflicts like Joyce vs. the world and only gives side quips on the Walkertons.

          She was a major part of Ruth’s development, but doesn’t seem as essential now.

          • Cholma
            Cholma
            October 6, 2020 at 1:29 am | #

            She didn’t have any lines, but I thought we saw Billie standing in a line at the beginning of this chapter.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              October 6, 2020 at 3:51 am | #

              That wasn’t Billie. Billie doesn’t live in this building anymore.

        • Audkitten
          Audkitten
          October 6, 2020 at 12:39 am | #

          What if it’s Marcie and not Billie?

        • Axel
          Axel
          October 6, 2020 at 12:44 am | #

          I’ve been assuming it’s Marcie

        • Rabid Rabbit
          Rabid Rabbit
          October 6, 2020 at 4:59 am | #

          Except that the boots don’t have heels, so unless Amazi-Girl’s new costume really, really stretches out Amber’s spine… Even then, the silhouette seems to have longer legs rather than just better posture than Amber does.

          The same applies to Marcie, the top of whose head in on level with Sal’s eyes (https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/idontknow/ — and that’s taking the bandanna into account), and therefore seems extremely unlikely to be the missing person, unless the characters aren’t drawn to scale, which they seem to be.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            October 6, 2020 at 2:50 pm | #

            According to both Willis and Malaya, Marcie is very very small.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          October 6, 2020 at 6:24 am | #

          Amazi-Girl is physically identical to Amber; that silhouette is too tall.

      • clif
        clif
        October 6, 2020 at 12:34 am | #

        We lost Billie.

    • Nono
      Nono
      October 6, 2020 at 12:34 am | #

      12 girls to 3 guys to… 1 nb?

      Boy that ratio is getting really bad considering we lost two characters and I don’t know if we’re gonna be seeing Jacob anytime soon, either.

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        October 6, 2020 at 12:41 am | #

        Malaya is likely to not be considered a girl anymore, as well.

        Do we actually have confirmation anywhere Ethan’s not at school this semester, or is it just absence of evidence being read as evidence of absence?

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          October 6, 2020 at 3:52 am | #

          The latter, as far as I can tell.

        • a/snow/mous/e
          a/snow/mous/e
          October 6, 2020 at 7:09 pm | #

          Also his apparent absence from the silhouettes. Unless he somehow combined with Billie?

      • Robbie
        Robbie
        October 6, 2020 at 12:42 am | #

        Who will think of the mens????

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        October 6, 2020 at 1:47 am | #

        Bad? My class at high school (until Year 10) was 51 girls to 22 boys, and that was no problem at all.

      • Anna
        Anna
        October 6, 2020 at 3:39 am | #

        I was thinking the same. All the missing characters are men: Mike, Ethan, Jacob. The gender ratio is getting quite skewed.

        • Delicious Taffy
          Delicious Taffy
          October 6, 2020 at 5:43 am | #

          Oh, well.

          • Spencer
            Spencer
            October 6, 2020 at 8:23 am | #

            It’s kind of a bummer vis a vis the queer male representation I mean. Ethan’s on a bus and Mike is dead.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 6, 2020 at 8:08 am | #

          The only problem I have with that is that it limits the romantic options for those interested in men.
          Though as long as they’re around, romantic interests don’t have to be main cast.

        • Segnosaur
          Segnosaur
          October 6, 2020 at 9:19 am | #

          Jacob wasn’t a central figure before, so it is possible that he may still be in the comic even if he doesn’t warrant an appearance on the banner. (Kind of like Mary in a way… Did figure into a few storylines and is back.)

  6. Buggman
    Buggman
    October 6, 2020 at 12:10 am | #

    Meredith doesn’t actually have a roommate. The goth chick was a high school buddy who showed up just once to make everyone think she did so that she could keep her room to herself.

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 1:08 am | #

      She didn’t really show up once. She was just required to live in the closet and never leave by the roommate agreement.

  7. Littlebit
    Littlebit
    October 6, 2020 at 12:10 am | #

    Carla’s hair is almost worthy of it’s own tag!

  8. Radiance
    Radiance
    October 6, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

    Carla deserves all the attention in the universe, all of it.

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 1:09 am | #

      And then her skates deserve whatever attention is left over.

    • Varangian
      Varangian
      October 6, 2020 at 3:36 am | #

      PREACH

  9. StClair
    StClair
    October 6, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

    on her, it’s amusing. at least in small doses.

  10. AeromechanicalAce
    AeromechanicalAce
    October 6, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

    I’m very happy Mary would hate me instantly upon learning my politics.

    • Greebs
      Greebs
      October 6, 2020 at 12:37 am | #

      Honestly, Mary seems more the hate-first-ask-questions-later type.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      October 6, 2020 at 2:17 am | #

      She’d probably hate most of us in these comments either for our politics and/or for not being her kind of Christian. I’m used to being hated by right-wing Christians for being an atheist and a socialist though.

      • Sirksome
        Sirksome
        October 6, 2020 at 5:22 am | #

        Honestly Mary has kind of become a charicature now. I can’t imagine her enjoying anything. She’s like a mini Carol. She should be glad Willis isn’t working Covid into the story because she’d probably be dead.

    • Council
      Council
      October 6, 2020 at 7:27 am | #

      I meanwhile am kind of frightened she might only find me moderately repulsive at times.

      • Council
        Council
        October 6, 2020 at 7:27 am | #

        Definitely hate me all the other times though, which is of some comfort.

  11. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    October 6, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

    Would you buy a used Carla from this man?

  12. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    October 6, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

    Mary can’t pretend to be a decent person for 5 seconds.

    • Steve
      Steve
      October 6, 2020 at 1:02 am | #

      Mary is a fictional straw-woman.

      • clif
        clif
        October 6, 2020 at 1:12 am | #

        So she should burn well?

      • Arian
        Arian
        October 6, 2020 at 3:41 am | #

        Mary is less a straw-woman and more someone who, unrealistically and for the sake of humour and/or making a point, voices aloud what other people like her think, but don’t say.

        Of course no real fundamentalist would make the comment that Mary’s shown saying here: it’s a punchline. But think it inside their heads? Some of them definitely do.

        • DrunkenNordmann
          DrunkenNordmann
          October 6, 2020 at 7:34 am | #

          “Of course no real fundamentalist would make the comment ”

          You’d think so, but I’m pretty sure real fundies have said worse than that.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            October 6, 2020 at 8:12 am | #

            Not usually quite so quickly or bluntly. It usually comes wrapped up in some justifications for why it’s a bad thing.

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          October 6, 2020 at 6:11 pm | #

          I take it you aren’t on Twitter much.

      • Nono
        Nono
        October 6, 2020 at 7:45 am | #

        So she’s the new Mike?

      • june gloom
        june gloom
        October 6, 2020 at 6:43 pm | #

        Take a look on Right Wing Watch sometime, you’ll find all sorts of people just like her.

        I’ve also known fundies who thought Mr. Rogers was evil for teaching children to love themselves.

  13. Chris Phoenix
    Chris Phoenix
    October 6, 2020 at 12:15 am | #

    Based on Boomer’s expression in the last panel, I think Boomer is shipping Boomer and Carla. I know she’s ace, but Boomer does not know that.

    • abysswatcher1993
      abysswatcher1993
      October 6, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

      Their name is Booster.

      • Chris Phoenix
        Chris Phoenix
        October 6, 2020 at 2:25 am | #

        Whoops, honest mistake. Booster it is. At least I was careful not to get their pronouns wrong. 🙂

        • Rabid Rabbit
          Rabid Rabbit
          October 6, 2020 at 4:51 am | #

          It’s a perfectly reasonable mistake to make given that the word “Zoomer” is in the strip.

        • a/snow/mous/e
          a/snow/mous/e
          October 6, 2020 at 7:12 pm | #

          their pronouns are pretty much specified in the about page to be “they/them”, i don’t think you need to avoid using pronouns entirely 😛

          • a/snow/mous/e
            a/snow/mous/e
            October 6, 2020 at 7:14 pm | #

            although i guess it does lead to the question: do you say “they’re shipping themselves with Carla” or “they’re shipping themself with Carla”?
            honestly probably either is fine

            • Regalli
              Regalli
              October 6, 2020 at 9:51 pm | #

              Apparently ‘themself’ is making a comeback (after falling out of use in the early 1900s? I think? I googled the other week but didn’t remember,) but ‘themselves’ is probably still being used by some nbs tired of dealing with autocorrect or the like.

              • Arian
                Arian
                October 8, 2020 at 3:46 am | #

                ‘Themselves’ is standard when the gender of the person is unknown or unspecified:

                “We don’t want anyone to hurt themselves. If someone hurts themselves, it will be their own fault. Everyone has to take responsibility for themselves.”

                So I expect ‘themselves’ to be the one that sticks for non-binary people too. I’ll say ‘themself’ if someone asks me to, but no-one has yet.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        October 6, 2020 at 6:26 am | #

        Okay, Booster.

        • clif
          clif
          October 6, 2020 at 2:26 pm | #

          Booster is short for Boomer AntiMike.

    • ktbear
      ktbear
      October 6, 2020 at 12:22 am | #

      Do we know Carla is ace for a fact? I seem to have missed it if that is the case.

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        October 6, 2020 at 12:27 am | #

        Sexuality carries over between ‘verses, and she was ace in the Walkyverse. She’s never outright stated it here in the Dumbiverse, but has alluded to it a few times.

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        October 6, 2020 at 12:38 am | #

        I don’t think it’s been mentioned in the strip, yet (I thought she’d mentioned it when asked to be a go-between between Ruth and Billie, but I found the strip with the line I was remembering, and a) Carla didn’t mention her aceness, and b) the context was totally different)…but with the ‘sexualities are consistent between universes’ and Ultra-Car (Carla’s Walkyverse counterpart) being sex-repulsed Ace, we do know.

        Ultra-Car, however, is not aromantic (she had a relationship with Malaya that made her wish she weren’t asexual), so the default assumption would be that Carla isn’t, either, so her and Booster could happen, just as long as they were content with no sex, or at least the sort of weird one-sided sex UC and Malaya settled on. (Assuming she’s fine with enbies, not just ladies.)

        • Rabid Rabbit
          Rabid Rabbit
          October 6, 2020 at 4:50 am | #

          Mentioned very, very subtly in strip, but not by name, in one of the Joyce-est of Joyce moments: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/need-2/

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 6, 2020 at 8:16 am | #

          There was that weird wanting to be dominated by Malaya thing she had going on for a bit.

      • Lingo
        Lingo
        October 6, 2020 at 2:26 am | #

        Carla showed a lot of (possibly nonsexual) interest in Malaya at one point.

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      October 6, 2020 at 12:28 am | #

      Carla is specifically a homoromantic ace, so she is interested in dating girls, but may or may not be interested in various stripes of nonbinary peeps. (Attraction is complicated, and with genders outside the binary it only gets moreso. Especially since most of our words and models are built on the assumption of binary gender.)

    • Lingo
      Lingo
      October 6, 2020 at 2:27 am | #

      It’s funny you say that, because just yesterday I thought Booster was showing an interest in Ruth.

      • Sombrero
        Sombrero
        October 6, 2020 at 2:17 pm | #

        Judging by facial expression, Booster seem more interested in Ruth, for whatever reason.

    • spookyfox
      spookyfox
      October 6, 2020 at 3:12 am | #

      she’s an ace lesbian 🙂

      • He Who Abides
        He Who Abides
        October 6, 2020 at 6:14 am | #

        To quote Rain, she’s lesbi-ish.

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          October 6, 2020 at 9:06 am | #

          Nah, just because you’re sex-repulsed doesn’t make you less of a lesbian. (There is… a very aggressive strain of anti-ace and -aro rhetoric among certain segments of the gay community, and especially among lesbians. A lot of it ends up feeding into exclusionary shit like TERFdom. As an ace who’s watched a lot of bullshit go down claiming I’m not really part of the community despite what attraction I do experience being exclusively to women as a mostly female person, it’s a sore spot.)

          • ego
            ego
            October 6, 2020 at 10:13 am | #

            it seems to be hardwired instinct in homo sapiens [sic] that the best way to feel better about oneself is to find someone to crap all over. marginalized groups just gotta marginalize groups, sucks.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              October 6, 2020 at 10:44 am | #

              Tends to be a good way to ingratiate yourself to the majority. Join them in oppressing even less respected groups.

              • clif
                clif
                October 6, 2020 at 2:29 pm | #

                Burn the Furrys.

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  October 6, 2020 at 3:12 pm | #

                  Furries are near the bottom of the Geek Hierarchy Chart

          • He Who Abides
            He Who Abides
            October 6, 2020 at 5:20 pm | #

            @Regalli – sorry, didn’t mean to hit a sore spot. The term “lesbi-ish” was used in a webcomic by an asexual homoromantic girl to describe herself, when her girlfriend’s brother questions why she’s upset about classmates assuming a friend of hers is a lesbian (“aren’t you ace” is his exact question, greasy little git-sack), and I always thought it sounded funny. My bad.

            • Regalli
              Regalli
              October 6, 2020 at 9:52 pm | #

              Ah, all good. Didn’t get the reference.

  14. darkproject08
    darkproject08
    October 6, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

    Oh. Mary’s back again.

    Super.

    • Jamie
      Jamie
      October 6, 2020 at 1:04 am | #

      On the plus side, she did not merit a silhouette.

  15. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    October 6, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

    Carla is… I’d say “too cute”, but no, this is an excellent amount of cute.

  16. Newllend(henryvolt)
    Newllend(henryvolt)
    October 6, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

    I feel like too many far right wing people like Mary don’t realize that being a Christian and being a conservative ruplicans aren’t necessarily the same thing. Especially now since today’s republican values don’t at all match up with what Jesus actually stood for.

    • SuperZero
      SuperZero
      October 6, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

      I’d think some of them would have gotten Walky’s reference. He wasn’t being subtle.
      But Mary is bad at things.

    • abysswatcher1993
      abysswatcher1993
      October 6, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

      The alt right stopped pretending a long time ago. They embraced racism and all other evil isms.

      • Newllend(henryvolt)
        Newllend(henryvolt)
        October 6, 2020 at 12:47 am | #

        Yeah but if there’s one thing I’ve learned the past 4 years its that republicans are really good at being in denial about the religious standings.

        Look at kamander Bonespers, despite the racism, the constant lying, the self serving greed, the Vain pride, long list of adultery and sexual deviancy, they Still think he’s prime example of a Christian President. Reason why is because he’s a Republican like them….for as long as right after he decided to run for president the first time he ran for office.

        • Newllend(henryvolt)
          Newllend(henryvolt)
          October 6, 2020 at 12:52 am | #

          * Commander (Don’t know what that was)

        • Kensou
          Kensou
          October 6, 2020 at 2:21 am | #

          Let’s quote different lines from the New Testament at Mary and see which one pisses her off the most! I’ll go with Matthew 25:40.

          • Arian
            Arian
            October 6, 2020 at 3:28 am | #

            That one’s a doozy, all right, and even more so, the rest of the chapter.

            For those needing a gloss:

            Matthew 25:34-46

            34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

            37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

            40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

            41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

            44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

            45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

            46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

            • Arian
              Arian
              October 6, 2020 at 3:31 am | #

              (Oops, forgot to include the version of the Bible; there’s a lot. This is from the New International Version, the NIV.)

            • Agemegos
              Agemegos
              October 6, 2020 at 4:59 am | #

              So basically God is going to reward the Right and condemn the Left?

              • Kamino Neko
                Kamino Neko
                October 6, 2020 at 6:55 am | #

                DEFINITELY the takeaway these people would…uh…take away from it.

              • HenrEek
                HenrEek
                October 6, 2020 at 8:22 am | #

                How, for goodness sake, you came to that conclusion?

                • clif
                  clif
                  October 6, 2020 at 2:34 pm | #

                  It’s right there in print. Of course that’s his right and left and not ours.

                  Their right and left?

                • Agemegos
                  Agemegos
                  October 6, 2020 at 4:24 pm | #

                  Check the first sentence of verse 34 and first sentence of verse 41.

                • Agemegos
                  Agemegos
                  October 6, 2020 at 4:27 pm | #

                  @clif The political Left and Right were originally so termed from being on the Speaker’s left and the Speaker’s right (in the French National Assembly, about 1790).

    • C.T Phipps
      C.T Phipps
      October 6, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

      Supply Side Jesus.

      • clif
        clif
        October 6, 2020 at 1:14 am | #

        Yeah, if Willis isn’t giving us Historical Jesus this time around, he should at least introduce his distant relative, Supply Side Jesus.

        • C.T Phipps
          C.T Phipps
          October 6, 2020 at 2:06 am | #

          I think he actually did. Except Willis called him “White Jesus” and he’s Leslie’s personal archenemy.

        • Sombrero
          Sombrero
          October 6, 2020 at 2:19 pm | #

          He gave us Mike Jesus at the end of Season 1.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      October 6, 2020 at 2:21 am | #

      I’m pretty sure they either haven’t read their Bibles, or they have and just conveniently forgot that Jesus healed sick people and fed the poor for free.

      • C.T Phipps
        C.T Phipps
        October 6, 2020 at 5:18 am | #

        The entire New Testament is a thing they’d like to ignore.

        • DrunkenNordmann
          DrunkenNordmann
          October 6, 2020 at 7:37 am | #

          I still have no idea how you can yourself call Christian, while ignoring Christianity’s central scripture.

          • Agemegos
            Agemegos
            October 6, 2020 at 7:57 am | #

            By obsessing about original sin and the substitutary sacrifice.

            • C.T Phipps
              C.T Phipps
              October 7, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

              Because all that matters is mumble mumble DAMN ALL WHO AREN’T US!

            • Arian
              Arian
              October 8, 2020 at 3:50 am | #

              And the so-called right to life, which belongs solely to embryos and foetuses. Once you’re born, you have no right to live. 😛

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        October 6, 2020 at 8:29 am | #

        Generally the response is that’s a matter for private charity – generally religious private charity, not the government. Many on the Religious Right do give a lot to charity and a lot of it is aimed at feeding the poor, though it’s often siphoned off by those running the charity.

        And even when it isn’t they get to exercise control over who gets helped and often use it to proselytize.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      October 6, 2020 at 6:30 am | #

      Republican marketing did that on purpose, to tie their ideology to a support base before the world completely left them behind.

  17. Tarpo
    Tarpo
    October 6, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

    I love this as sort of a “Mid series refresher” on who everyone is. At least through Walky’s eyes.

    • SuperZero
      SuperZero
      October 6, 2020 at 12:21 am | #

      He’s doing pretty well, really.

  18. Nono
    Nono
    October 6, 2020 at 12:19 am | #

    Y’know, before Mary at least gave the (very thin) veneer of pretending to be a good person. Now she’s just doubled down on the crazy ‘nobody could actually be altruistic!’ angle.

    • SuperZero
      SuperZero
      October 6, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

      The model for the sort of people she’s based on may have… declined.

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        October 6, 2020 at 12:30 am | #

        Understatement, given the ‘knowingly exposing hundreds of people to a potentially fatal virus THEY KNOW THEY HAVE’ thing.

        • SuperZero
          SuperZero
          October 7, 2020 at 12:38 am | #

          And that’s just how they’ve fallen in the last week. They’ve been doing that every week for years.

    • abysswatcher1993
      abysswatcher1993
      October 6, 2020 at 12:22 am | #

      I think I know what is happening here. Willis took all the jerkassery of Walkyverse Sarah and put it in Mary to make DoA Sarah relatable and likable. I mean in the Walkyverse Mary wasn’t so despicable.

      • clif
        clif
        October 6, 2020 at 12:38 am | #

        Potaytoe Patohto.

      • Peter Lewerin
        Peter Lewerin
        October 6, 2020 at 12:52 am | #

        I think it’s more that Willis’ standard for whom to present as relatable or despicable has changed. Being atheist, sexually active, or even sardonic aren’t necessarily terrible in a woman anymore. Likewise, being devout isn’t as much of protection anymore.

        But do note that Sarah still isn’t portrayed as a thoroughly nice person.

        • clif
          clif
          October 6, 2020 at 1:15 am | #

          She has a thoroughly nice baseball bat.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 6, 2020 at 8:24 am | #

          Good, but not nice.

          • Geneseepaws
            Geneseepaws
            October 6, 2020 at 8:57 am | #

            A neutral-good baseball bat with an Ego of Zero is infinitely preferable to an L.awful-e.Vile Mary with an Ego of 18+3.

        • DanLovatClark
          DanLovatClark
          October 6, 2020 at 1:01 pm | #

          She’ll cop to smart and mean.

        • Sombrero
          Sombrero
          October 6, 2020 at 2:22 pm | #

          Old Testament God was not a thoroughly nice person.

          • Opus the Poet
            Opus the Poet
            October 6, 2020 at 6:20 pm | #

            To use the vernacular my daughter picked up after moving to Scotland, OT God was a “right bastard”. The kind of guy who would demand a father sacrifice his only son, not once but on several occasions. Isaiah wasn’t the only one, just the one most frequently mentioned.

        • Peter Lewerin
          Peter Lewerin
          October 13, 2020 at 5:36 am | #

          Afterthought: by stating that Sarah isn’t a “thoroughly nice person”, I did not mean that she isn’t likable, sometimes even adorable. She is truly her sister’s keeper.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        October 6, 2020 at 6:34 am | #

        Walkyverse Mary was still a holier-than-thou hypocrite, though.

    • mrnoidea
      mrnoidea
      October 6, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

      Sounds like a theme for 2020.

  19. SuperZero
    SuperZero
    October 6, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

    Everyone’s cooperating so nicely, standing in their doorways so Walky can introduce them.

  20. Harvey Janus
    Harvey Janus
    October 6, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

    Ah hi Mary, still literally human garbage I see! Hope you had an awful christmas getting pissed off over someone telling you happy holidays.

    • Harvey Janus
      Harvey Janus
      October 6, 2020 at 12:22 am | #

      Carla is perfection though.

    • abysswatcher1993
      abysswatcher1993
      October 6, 2020 at 12:23 am | #

      I am having nice memories of Christians being offended by Starbucks.

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      October 6, 2020 at 12:36 am | #

      I for one hope she spent the whole time looking for a particular DVD she’d packed away but never took to college, but she never manages to find it, and its content is the kind of obscure shit that’s not available to stream anywhere. Superbook or something, probably. And so it just nagged at the corner of her mind, and she spent way too much time searching without success, and by the end it wasn’t even about watching it but about being able to find it. And then she found it two days after ordering a new copy for an exorbitant price on Ebay. (Incredibly specific curses are fun! ^_^)

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        October 6, 2020 at 3:07 pm | #

        Regali, that’s just plain mean.

        *high-five offered*

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          October 6, 2020 at 9:55 pm | #

          *High-five accepted*

  21. BBCC
    BBCC
    October 6, 2020 at 12:21 am | #

    Mary, the 1930s called and they want that look back. You are undeserving of it.

    And YAY Carla! <333333 I look forward to seeing how she and Booster interact.

  22. EAG46
    EAG46
    October 6, 2020 at 12:26 am | #

    Carla is way less annoying than Mary. The former is only interested in herself, while the latter is detrimental to everyone else not like her.

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      October 6, 2020 at 9:03 am | #

      I’m not sure how I read Carla; but I think that the “I’m Absorbed in myself” thing is just a game she plays/will play, until she finds some folks to open up to. I don’t think she’s found herself as much as she hasn’t found her college budds, there yet.

      • Some1
        Some1
        October 6, 2020 at 12:41 pm | #

        I’ve always figured her basic reason for acting out boiled down to “I’m afraid that people won’t like me because I’m trans, so I’m going to act out so that when people don’t like me I can believe its because they think I’m an asshole as opposed to hating me for something I can’t control”

  23. Confuzor
    Confuzor
    October 6, 2020 at 12:32 am | #

    I just realised I don’t see Ethan in the character lineup. Uh oh.

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 12:42 am | #

      He’s off living with the Warners while he’s working on bringing Mike back as a Zombie.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        October 6, 2020 at 6:37 am | #

        Joe and Rachel could probably build a resurrection machine, but they’re not on good terms in this universe.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      October 6, 2020 at 12:46 am | #

      I also don’t see Blowjob Cat, Marcie, Jason, Galasso, or any of the parents … and it’s a sure bet that Hank and Carol will probably have a major story arc in one of the up-coming chapters.

      Maybe it’s just that Willis couldn’t draw everybody into a single header panel like that and eventually everyone will in fact be back (with the exception of Blaine and Ross).

      • clif
        clif
        October 6, 2020 at 1:01 am | #

        All dead. It turns out Carol couldn’t live without her femurs. Blowjob Cat died in an accident with a truck carrying weed killer.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        October 6, 2020 at 1:22 am | #

        You’re no fun! 😛

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        October 6, 2020 at 1:38 am | #

        Yes. I am really looking forward to ten years of strips consisting of bottle story in which nobody appears who is not in the group banner.

        I think what is going to happen is that the entire dorm is going to be encased in a large block of concrete, trapping those few on this floor. You can note the date. I’m calling it now.

        I’m not so certain why the dorm building is being encased in concrete. I think it’s because the university’s building budget has to be spent for tax-immunity reasons. Some architect figures that actual dorm rooms aren’t going to be needed while everyone is off campus owing to pandemonium, and of course it’s much simpler to build a modern building without any obsolete cavities in the structure. The resulting neo-Corbousier Movement will sweep the world behind a banner emblazoned with the slogan “a public building is a machine for being locked out of”. But don’t quote me on that unless I turn out to be right.

    • sultryglebe
      sultryglebe
      October 6, 2020 at 1:43 am | #

      Maybe he has the same haircut.

  24. Bagge
    Bagge
    October 6, 2020 at 12:36 am | #

    Walky knows the score

  25. Robbie
    Robbie
    October 6, 2020 at 12:39 am | #

    I love Carla

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 12:44 am | #

      Who doesn’t? Joy is contagious, even through the comic page.

      • Bysmerian
        Bysmerian
        October 7, 2020 at 9:22 am | #

        Oh, I hate Carla. Like, Mary is odious and an objectively worse person, I get that. But while I understand that folks in general here think Carla’s great, I personally feel like I wouldn’t be able to stand her in real life.

  26. mrnoidea
    mrnoidea
    October 6, 2020 at 12:40 am | #

    As a stoner, I can paradoxily confirm: weed is not a personality. There are other joyous things to share with other people, including:

    Hiking!
    Video games!
    Crazy college stories!
    Boring college stories!
    Romance!
    Bitter isolation!
    Waiting to go on an actual porn site until you were 23 because Youtube was good enough!
    Omeprazole!
    The mindfuckery of seeing a 10-mile long slope reaching from the desert below to the alpine forests above—yeah okay, that’ll do.

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 12:45 am | #

      Tune in, turn on, drop out.

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      October 6, 2020 at 5:53 am | #

      Hold the fuck up. What do you mean, “YouTube was good enough”? There ain’t no porn on there.

      • mrnoidea
        mrnoidea
        October 6, 2020 at 11:08 am | #

        Not since the Ad-pocalypse of late 2017.

        • clif
          clif
          October 6, 2020 at 2:40 pm | #

          When I was 21 the very idea of a YouTube would have been preposterous.

          • Opus the Poet
            Opus the Poet
            October 6, 2020 at 6:57 pm | #

            When I was 21 the Internet was still science fiction.

            I’m old, I know that. It’s not my lawn, so I can’t yell at you to get off of it, but I can still yell at you to “get a job!”😎

  27. Schpoonman
    Schpoonman
    October 6, 2020 at 12:41 am | #

    Whoa, Meredith, that’s a little much.

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 1:21 am | #

      It’s true. Walky is an undercover FBI agent.

      Remember, there’s only a one letter difference between nark and snark.

      • clif
        clif
        October 6, 2020 at 1:29 am | #

        He’ll never equal his work in infiltrating the Humming Hymnal gang though.

      • paleotectonics
        paleotectonics
        October 6, 2020 at 4:16 am | #

        It’s ‘narc’, for ‘narcotics’.

        • clif
          clif
          October 6, 2020 at 2:40 pm | #

          Sh!

  28. cartoogle
    cartoogle
    October 6, 2020 at 12:43 am | #

    Huh. Blowjob cat.

  29. Kamino Neko
    Kamino Neko
    October 6, 2020 at 12:43 am | #

    Ah, Carla. Never change.

  30. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    October 6, 2020 at 12:44 am | #

    You wanna hear more about Carla? Fine!
    Carla is hot as FUCK

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 12:57 am | #

      You could have stopped with Carla is hot.

      By and large, FUCK is an obsolete acronym and should usually be replaced with the modern term, PLeCK — Perfectly Legal Carnal Knowledge.

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        October 6, 2020 at 12:59 am | #

        *twitches in word nerd*

        Hate that bullshit etymology….

        • clif
          clif
          October 6, 2020 at 1:27 am | #

          Mine, or the one I referenced?

          “Both” is a perfectly valid option.

          • Kamino Neko
            Kamino Neko
            October 6, 2020 at 1:38 am | #

            The one you referenced. Literally nothing about it makes sense, and it makes me twitchy.

            Yours is a perfectly amusing twist on it…if only the base reference wasn’t so annoying. >_>

            • Agemegos
              Agemegos
              October 6, 2020 at 1:42 am | #

              I know two backronymic bullshit etymologies for F.U.C.K. Can we come up with one for “swive”?

              • clif
                clif
                October 6, 2020 at 2:08 am | #

                Some Won Is Very Ergasmic.

                Hey, it’s early in the morning.

              • Bicycle Bill
                Bicycle Bill
                October 6, 2020 at 4:09 am | #

                Well, there’s the one clif alludes to, and I’ve heard another backronym that says it refers to conjugal relations after the marriage/whatever has been duly sanctioned by the ruler — Fornication Under Consent of the King.

            • Arian
              Arian
              October 6, 2020 at 3:17 am | #

              100% agreement. No words were derived from acronyms before the 20th century. If anyone tells you a word that existed before 1900 was derived from an acronym, they’re wrong. Always. Including whichever word you’re thinking of right now.

              The great majority of words that came into existence after 1900 were also not derived from acronyms, and I’m not sure exactly when the earliest acronym-words were. But if someone says a word newer than 1900 was derived from an acronym, there’s a non-zero chance that they’re correct.

              For words older than that, there’s NO chance. None.

              • Bicycle Bill
                Bicycle Bill
                October 6, 2020 at 4:19 am | #

                Beg to differ with you there; some mnemonics which date to pre-1900 are in fact acronyms.  I’m thinking about things like HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior) to remember the names of the Great Lakes, or ROY G. BIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) to remember the colors of the spectrum.

                And then there’s PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction) to assist you in remembering the proper order to perform mathematical processes within a single equation.

                • Kamino Neko
                  Kamino Neko
                  October 6, 2020 at 6:19 am | #

                  Mnemonics and acronyms aren’t really the same thing.

                  The Great Lakes aren’t called Homes, nor is the spectrum a Roy G. Biv. Those are just ways to remember their names. That’s not the same as, say, the USA PATRIOT Act or SCUBA which are referred to as…well, the former is usually simply the Patriot Act, but the acronym is actually the name of the organization or item.

                • Arian
                  Arian
                  October 8, 2020 at 4:00 am | #

                  As Kamino Neko says. A mnemonic is not a word, even when it is an acronym.

                  acronym
                  /ˈakrənɪm/
                  noun
                  an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word
                  (e.g. ASCII, NASA ).

                  Words that are often alleged to have derived from acronyms, but definitely weren’t, include ‘golf’, ‘tip’ and ‘posh’.

              • Kamino Neko
                Kamino Neko
                October 6, 2020 at 6:27 am | #

                Also, ‘fuck’ has (likely) cognates in various other Germanic languages (which English is, at it’s core), making the acronymic etymology a needless extra complication, which would require hard proof to make it reasonable to believe.

                • Kamino Neko
                  Kamino Neko
                  October 6, 2020 at 7:23 am | #

                  Also-also…While looking up when ‘fuck’ is first attested (to compare it to when ‘carnal’ first appeared (to test whether ‘for unlawful carnal knowledge’ was even logically possible if you ignore the other issues (results unclear*)), I discover that the phrase ‘for unlawful carnal knowledge’ is attested…from the 19th century. Well after the first attestation of ‘fuck’.*

                  * I found a couple different references, which didn’t agree on when it first appeared – it could be anywhere from the 14th to 16th centuries. If it attained its offensive connotation early on, of course, it would likely have been in use well before it was written down. ‘Carnal’ dates from the 14th, so…unclear.

                • CJ
                  CJ
                  October 6, 2020 at 7:39 am | #

                  The other language had a shift on the vowel.

                  I vaguely remember there was a distinction for abbreviations that are spoken as one word, like radar, or were you spell out the characters like EU. Can’t remember it now. Huh, looking at the definitions I German Wikipedia, I misremembered.

                  The German Wikipedia also distinguished backronyms (inventing a String of words to assign a new and often more or less humerous meaning to an existing word) and apronyms which are created for new things to come out as an existing word. Whoever though up ELSTER(magpie) as the name for online taxes system in Germany needs to be hit. Too many rightwingers frame taxes as stealing as it is.

                • Kamino Neko
                  Kamino Neko
                  October 6, 2020 at 8:30 am | #

                  CJ – that distinction is acronym (word) vs initialism (letters).

                  So, scuba is an acronym, ATM is an initialism.

                • clif
                  clif
                  October 6, 2020 at 2:49 pm | #

                  According to the New York Times:

                  Acronymy has ancient roots, as illustrated by the early Christian use of the Greek word ichthys meaning “fish” as an acronym for Iēsous Christos, Theou Huios, Sōtēr (“Jesus Christ, God’s son, Savior”). In English, the first known acronyms (as opposed to plain old initialisms) cropped up in the telegraphic code developed by Walter P. Phillips for the United Press Association in 1879. The code abbreviated “Supreme Court of the United States” as SCOTUS and “President of the…” as POT, giving way to POTUS by 1895. Those shorthand labels have lingered in journalistic and diplomatic circles — now joined by FLOTUS, which of course stands for “First Lady of the United States.”

                  https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-11/01-this-bright-millennium/operating-2/#comment-1498868.

                • clif
                  clif
                  October 6, 2020 at 2:50 pm | #

                  Wrong link. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19FOB-onlanguage-t.html

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          October 6, 2020 at 6:39 am | #

          Blame Van Halen for that one.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            October 7, 2020 at 9:14 am | #

            WELP. I’d better not name-drop any bands for a while.

      • Yotomoe
        Yotomoe
        October 6, 2020 at 1:26 am | #

        Naw I like FUCK

    • Varangian
      Varangian
      October 6, 2020 at 3:44 am | #

      You’re right, and you should say it.

  31. Robbie
    Robbie
    October 6, 2020 at 12:44 am | #

    Oops I slipped and started shipping Carla and Booster.

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      October 6, 2020 at 9:26 am | #

      Robbie, that is why they used to put lard on the rails in the dry dock. To make it easier to get the ships afloat. (Later it was petroleum grease). Get those ships underway!

  32. Rainhat
    Rainhat
    October 6, 2020 at 1:13 am | #

    Weirdly, that last panel is the most likeable I’ve ever found Carla to be.

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 1:39 am | #

      Of course your reaction is your own, but do you recall her glorious mechanical revenge on Mary?

      • StClair
        StClair
        October 6, 2020 at 2:33 am | #

        IIRC, it also involved optics and a couple of other fields of science and/or engineering.

        • Bicycle Bill
          Bicycle Bill
          October 6, 2020 at 4:27 am | #

          The only thing that would have made that better would have been someone like Ruth coming by once it was all over and saying, like Kingsley Shacklebolt did in HP+OOP, “”You may not like it, but you can’t deny it … Carla’s got style.”

      • Rabid Rabbit
        Rabid Rabbit
        October 6, 2020 at 10:28 pm | #

        That inspires awe and applause, which is not quite the same as likeability.

  33. NinjaNick
    NinjaNick
    October 6, 2020 at 1:27 am | #

    Carla’s so cool. No need to explain more.

  34. clif
    clif
    October 6, 2020 at 1:36 am | #

    Any bets on how Walky will describe Amber?

    Or for that matter, Dorothy.

  35. Doongus
    Doongus
    October 6, 2020 at 1:39 am | #

    Oh, I thought that Carla’s silhouette was actually Billie’s. Can’t believe that she AND Ethan have been put on a bus for now.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      October 6, 2020 at 2:00 am | #

      I’m pretty sure the short haired person between Amber and Danny will be Billie with a haircut.

  36. PB
    PB
    October 6, 2020 at 1:40 am | #

    She’ll be back~
    Soon they’ll see~
    And she’ll ask “tell me more about me~”

    • Varangian
      Varangian
      October 6, 2020 at 3:43 am | #

      She’ll be back
      With some drones
      That designate this hallway a “Carla Zone”

      • Joe
        Joe
        October 6, 2020 at 7:09 am | #

        Oceans rise,
        Empires fall,
        ‘Cept for hers, because she wins ‘em all

  37. Juanoku
    Juanoku
    October 6, 2020 at 1:51 am | #

    Wow… He’s CRAZY accurate with these… You ok walky?

  38. RacingTurtle
    RacingTurtle
    October 6, 2020 at 2:04 am | #

    Hi Carla! *waits ten seconds* Hi Carla!

  39. Varangian
    Varangian
    October 6, 2020 at 3:41 am | #

    Fucking hell, Walky, way to be a fuckin’ narc >:(

    Also, literally Mary’s entire character: https://youtu.be/FZUcpVmEHuk

    finally CARLA HOUR, THE BEST HOUR

    lookit how fuckin cute she is

  40. BenRG
    BenRG
    October 6, 2020 at 3:54 am | #

    There are those who think that Carla is a narcissist. I prefer to think of her as being insecure and lonely.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      October 6, 2020 at 7:18 am | #

      I don’t think she’s *insecure*, but she knows that there are people who will hate her for being a trans woman, so she gives everyone a reason to hate her for being an annoying pest, then when she finally pushes them away she latches onto the friends who stuck around because she can trust that they won’t backstab her.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        October 6, 2020 at 8:34 am | #

        And because it hurts less when they hate her for her annoying cover persona than for being trans.

        • Apostate
          Apostate
          October 6, 2020 at 9:12 am | #

          For real.

      • ischemgeek
        ischemgeek
        October 6, 2020 at 9:18 am | #

        This was me as a queer teen in a very religious conservative region. I was a combination insufferable know it all who went around looking like I got in a fight with a lawnmower then fell in a vat of fluorescent dye.

        If I was an insufferable prat with crazy hair and fashion, they’d hate and make fun of me me for the shit I wanted them to hate me and make fun of me for rather than the stuff that actually hurt (queer slurs & making fun of a facial deformity I had), which gave me control of my own narrative and also was a sort of armor or magician’s misdirection. Look at my hair, isn’t it ridiculous?! (Pay no attention to the bi in the closet)

  41. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    October 6, 2020 at 4:03 am | #

    *Yawn*….Look I kinda fell asleep so I’m late to the party on this one, but it’s never to late to say Walky is being a dick! Seriously Mary is probably the only one who deserves his very callous and rude introductions here. If Carla didn’t enjoy anyone saying anything about her by default I’d be pissed.

  42. Eldritchy
    Eldritchy
    October 6, 2020 at 4:15 am | #

    Did Danny’s hat mutate and attach itself to Mary as its new host?

    • Sunny
      Sunny
      October 6, 2020 at 7:53 pm | #

      If it did it must’ve grown at least three sizes over christmas.

  43. Carla's #2 Fan
    Carla's #2 Fan
    October 6, 2020 at 4:28 am | #

    I ship Carla and me, obviously. I’ve been waiting for that skates silhouette to be filled in! Also, to those saying that the one silhouette can’t be Billie cause she doesn’t live there anymore, Lucy doesn’t either and is on the image.

  44. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    October 6, 2020 at 4:35 am | #

    Walky’s pooffy haircut is so nice the more I see it

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      October 6, 2020 at 4:37 am | #

      ALSO STOP DOING ROLLERS INSIDE THE DORMS WTF

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        October 6, 2020 at 4:40 am | #

        We’ve already been here. Yes, Carla is disrespecting the dorm and endangering her dorm-mates but I can’t see her stopping unless she hurt someone and she’s the sort of person who wouldn’t even stop then as it was “their fault for not getting out of the way quick enough”. I want to be wrong but I have yet to see much of Carla to suggest that I am.

        • Sirksome
          Sirksome
          October 6, 2020 at 5:32 am | #

          Honestly Carla is probably better at skating than she is walking so I highly doubt she’s endangering anyone. If she actually hurt someone I think she would stop at least to practice more or get better skates cause that would really damage her ego.

      • Amelie Wikström
        Amelie Wikström
        October 6, 2020 at 1:39 pm | #

        She’s not just transgender, she’s also really a car in a human body. Gotta let her have wheels at least.

        Or, on a less meta joke level, she will find a way to express her belief in her own ultimate freedom to do whatever she wants, rollerskating is probably the least destructive option for all involved.

  45. Willoughby chase
    Willoughby chase
    October 6, 2020 at 5:10 am | #

    I hate Ronald Reagan that is all

  46. Martin Smith
    Martin Smith
    October 6, 2020 at 5:56 am | #

    Wait, Meredith doesn’t rate the cast picture? Meredith?! Pfft. What a bunch of narcs.

  47. Delicious Taffy
    Delicious Taffy
    October 6, 2020 at 5:59 am | #

    Carla’s hair.

  48. Lorien Inksong
    Lorien Inksong
    October 6, 2020 at 6:51 am | #

    Yay Carla’s back! I know she can be a bit much but I love her.

    Ugh Mary is back… and worse than ever. Guessing she spent the break in a hateful echo chamber with her family.
    American/conservative Christianity is the worst. I’m not really confident in calling myself a Christian (sort of lost the faith, didn’t want to, but that’s another story) but I can say for certain that if Jesus exists in heaven, he weeps observing so many violent and nasty Christians.

    If anyone wants to share church horror stories I’d be happy to, but I don’t want to ramble too long.

    Also lets end on a positive note. Yay Carla!!

    • Amelie Wikström
      Amelie Wikström
      October 6, 2020 at 7:05 am | #

      I think Willi’s Jesus talked about that in his other comic, how the sanctimonious establishment is still working just like it did 2000 years ago except for using his name. That part would probably be what bothers him the least I think.

      I do look forward to all the soundly supported crap I imagine the comic is going to give Mary, but hey, Carla! See below I guess.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      October 6, 2020 at 2:57 pm | #

      What’s really sad is Willis has said before that Mary’s parents are probably very nice people, but she picked up the wrong lessons at church.

      So I’m just imagining them going ‘wtf’ at their daughter telling them they’re going to hell for whatever reason it is today.

      • C.T Phipps
        C.T Phipps
        October 6, 2020 at 8:45 pm | #

        Mary is the anti-Claudia Conway.

        Which I suppose is the Anti-Joyce.

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        October 6, 2020 at 10:03 pm | #

        I’ve got a cousin like that, unfortunately. Though for him it was Gamergate. His parents are… extremely concerned by his life choices.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 6, 2020 at 10:21 pm | #

          That seems more likely. Getting into an extreme version of religion that your parents aren’t part of isn’t something I’d expect – at least not until older. Religion is more commonly something you get from your parents.

          Whereas GamerGate grew out of common teenage boy activities.

    • C.T Phipps
      C.T Phipps
      October 6, 2020 at 8:45 pm | #

      And yes, Jesus would be enormously pissed about the things done in his name since its more or less the opposite of every lesson he did. Also to the exact same sort of fundamentalists.

  49. Amelie Wikström
    Amelie Wikström
    October 6, 2020 at 6:57 am | #

    I love Carla. And I’m sure she would be unbearable to be around for real, and she’d actively try to annoy you the more you calmly accept her and keep loving her through her unbearableness, and I’d spite-love her for that until she begs for mercy.

  50. maarvarq
    maarvarq
    October 6, 2020 at 7:20 am | #

    If only Mary were a ridiculous exaggeration of gun-loving “Christians”, rather than a fair rendition of one.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      October 6, 2020 at 7:26 am | #

      I was gonna say. I remember saying stuff like “I prefer it when Mary isn’t written as a spite machine with no character.”

      Then it turns out, no, that’s just what the Right are. All of them.

      • 80-watt Hamster
        80-watt Hamster
        October 6, 2020 at 2:00 pm | #

        I get that you’re pissed off at the state of the world. Seems as though most of humanity is at the moment. But that’s not true. At all. May as well say that all Muslims are terrorists, or that immigrants from south of the border are all job-stealing murderers and rapists.

        • Spencer
          Spencer
          October 6, 2020 at 2:09 pm | #

          The Muslim faith is a religion and culture. Latin America is a continent.

          Being a Republican is a choice. Supporting rich white dudes stamping your rights because they’ll take just a little more away from people you irrationally loathe is something you have to actively do.

    • Amelie Wikström
      Amelie Wikström
      October 6, 2020 at 8:34 am | #

      I remember when she was just innocently blackmailing and passive-aggressiving people to make Carla stop existing instead of enthusiastically going along with the suggestion she’d like to shoot poor people. I didn’t know I was trans then but it was already so easy to hate her, a true-heart hatred reserved for characters you just really wish weren’t so realistic.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        October 6, 2020 at 8:46 am | #

        Oh no, that’s not what I meant.

        It’s like, Mary just did evil shit constantly for no reason other than she seemed to get off on it, and that just made no sense to me. She just acted like an asshole and got instantly defanged and beaten all the time with no effort, and it was kind of boring, I guess.

        Now I’m at a point where a person motivated entirely by gibbering mad hatred, to the point of constantly throwing themselves into a meat grinder on the off chance their sputtering bones will fly out and hit someone they don’t like on the head, that’s not unrealistic anymore. That’s just what Right Wings are worldwide.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 6, 2020 at 10:35 am | #

          They always were. It’s just higher profile now.

        • Willoughby chase
          Willoughby chase
          October 6, 2020 at 12:45 pm | #

          Yes.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        October 6, 2020 at 8:47 am | #

        Oh jeez you weren’t even responding to me. Sorry about that.

        • Amelie Wikström
          Amelie Wikström
          October 6, 2020 at 9:04 am | #

          Elder Mr Winklevoss voice: Don’t apologize for a spit-fire post like that.

  51. FacelessDeviant
    FacelessDeviant
    October 6, 2020 at 8:07 am | #

    Ouch. Meredith got roasted hard.

    Harsch bud!

  52. RedComet
    RedComet
    October 6, 2020 at 8:47 am | #

    Is this something he’s doing because Mike is gone?

  53. SlothfulCobra
    SlothfulCobra
    October 6, 2020 at 9:00 am | #

    Now that’s a lot of character drift. Or is it flanderization?

  54. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    October 6, 2020 at 9:42 am | #

    Walky has a true talent for describe people with two words.

  55. John
    John
    October 6, 2020 at 9:45 am | #

    Ahh, Carla. She’s really grown on me over the course of the comic.

  56. thumb
    thumb
    October 6, 2020 at 10:09 am | #

    Walky’s personality has flattened out. It’s that thing where you don’t quite feel the things you used to. You don’t laugh or really get angry or anything. Everything’s kinda lowkey humming, but nothing pops enough to provoke full blown emotion. You can feel maybe annoyance, maybe some quiet, maybe nostalgia, maybe a smile, maybe you can find as much as a chuckle, but not much else. I think my dude’s still grieving.

    • Spencer
      Spencer
      October 6, 2020 at 10:41 am | #

      This is also my read. He’s not done processing Mike’s death.

  57. Smooti
    Smooti
    October 6, 2020 at 10:54 am | #

    Ah yes, the best character in DOA has arrived. Also, do the kids not call people narc anymore? “You’re such a cop” is a weird phrase to me, but then again my college days are behind me.

    • Smooti
      Smooti
      October 6, 2020 at 10:55 am | #

      I realize that my not separating that thought might cause some confusion. For the record, Carla is the best doa character.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 6, 2020 at 11:34 am | #

      ‘narc’ means ‘narcissistic’, right? Why yes, thank you, I AM awesome. 😉

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        October 6, 2020 at 2:59 pm | #

        No,’Narc’ is short for narcotics squad, basically someone who rats you out on using drugs.

    • tbf
      tbf
      October 6, 2020 at 3:55 pm | #

      I presume “cop” has morphed into a general insult following Black Lives Matter.

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        October 6, 2020 at 4:43 pm | #

        I mean, it’s never really been a compliment.

  58. raultsi
    raultsi
    October 6, 2020 at 11:48 am | #

    neat literary mechanism Willis is using to refresh the character roll call. You know, in case anybody was worried that Mike is the only missing character (Blaine and ToeDad don’t count)

  59. bcb
    bcb
    October 6, 2020 at 11:57 am | #

    I love Carla and Walky’s interaction on this page!

  60. Peter
    Peter
    October 6, 2020 at 12:29 pm | #

    Interesting that Walky, normally so oblivious to what goes on in other people’s heads, sees right through Carla in this strip.

    Also, narcissist though she may be, Carla is adorable here.

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      October 6, 2020 at 10:06 pm | #

      She makes no secret of her motives, really.

  61. Wakeangel2001
    Wakeangel2001
    October 6, 2020 at 12:29 pm | #

    Mary must think Star Trek is the most horrible dystopian world in all fiction

  62. Heather
    Heather
    October 6, 2020 at 12:42 pm | #

    Ah so perhaps this is Booster’s true purpose: introducing new readers who might not want to delve into ten years worth of previous comics for context on who the heck certain people are, especially when it might have been a full calendar year or two since their last actual appearance or longer. (Wild people to be sure especially with the decent tagging system, but I’m sure they exist).

    • Sombrero
      Sombrero
      October 6, 2020 at 2:42 pm | #

      Booster’s true purpose is to allow an event trade, conservation of energy and all that. They perfectly shield the trade-off mass (Mike, maybe Ethan and Billie too?) from Season 1.

  63. Hilzabub
    Hilzabub
    October 6, 2020 at 12:45 pm | #

    I, too, want more Carla. She’s a delight.

  64. Vulcanodon
    Vulcanodon
    October 6, 2020 at 12:51 pm | #

    Expository introductions, everyone moving on, I feel like sending a sympathy card to Willis for losing Mike. I wonder if he was expecting him to die.

    Also I like Booster, looking forward to stories around them.

    • Vulcanodon
      Vulcanodon
      October 6, 2020 at 12:53 pm | #

      In related news, hey it’s Carla! Yea Carla!

    • clif
      clif
      October 6, 2020 at 11:40 pm | #

      Nah. Willis is used to Mike dying.

  65. Brighter Side
    Brighter Side
    October 6, 2020 at 3:55 pm | #

    Why does Booster get fuller lips than everyone else in the college? Are we setting up a kissing thing later?

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      October 6, 2020 at 4:19 pm | #

      Because they’re wearing lipstick. At least, it looks the same to other characters (Sarah, Rachel, etc.) who wear lipstick.

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      October 6, 2020 at 6:15 pm | #

      So as to match Amber’s ideal of a beau.

  66. FirePrincessLily
    FirePrincessLily
    October 6, 2020 at 6:18 pm | #

    I was really hoping Mary had also taken a terrible fall off a roof.

  67. Arianod
    Arianod
    October 6, 2020 at 6:29 pm | #

    Booster is beginning to wonder whether they made the right choice coming here.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 6, 2020 at 8:28 pm | #

      People usually ask that question after being around Walky for any length of time.

  68. Eric
    Eric
    October 6, 2020 at 9:41 pm | #

    So what is this? A “welcome to my comic if you don’t want to read 10 years of it” bit?

  69. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    October 6, 2020 at 10:22 pm | #

    Carla really is one of those people you can’t hate, aren’t they?

    • Rabid Rabbit
      Rabid Rabbit
      October 6, 2020 at 10:30 pm | #

      Unless you’re Mary.

      I mean, I’d probably hate Carla in real life, because her annoying traits are just the sort of thing that would really annoy me, but as a character she’s pretty great.

  70. Megan Rivera
    Megan Rivera
    October 6, 2020 at 11:19 pm | #

    Carla’s hair looks long and pretty and fluffy

  71. Jhon
    Jhon
    October 7, 2020 at 12:03 am | #

    ‘Feeding and healing people for free’ — isn’t that what Christians do? But if Mary had meant that, she would have said ‘we’.

    So Christians need ar-15s to fight the Socialists who are trying to undermine the system with free food and healthcare in order to hurt rich people. Who are not Christians because Christians are not supposed to be rich.

    • Bysmerian
      Bysmerian
      October 7, 2020 at 9:34 am | #

      The hypocrisy is the point of the line. But I feel like the phrasing is a little too on the nose here, although the expression is unfortunately accurate to Mary’s character type.

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