Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 19, 2026

Shaved

by David M Willis on May 17, 2023 at 12:01 am
  • 04 – But Don't Give Yourself Away
└ Tags: joe, joyce

Discussion (175) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    May 17, 2023 at 12:01 am | #

    apparently Joyce is a mild version of drinking from the wrong Grail

    (I mean, she just has to wait for 5 o’clock)

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      May 17, 2023 at 12:02 am | #

      *Joyce subsequently gets sandpaper-face-burn and has regrets*

      • Schpoonman
        Schpoonman
        May 17, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

        See, my guess was that her butt itches so when she returns the favor of Joe kneading her face with his butt she’ll scratch that itch.

      • JA
        JA
        May 17, 2023 at 12:14 am | #

        Some women like the stubble. Can’t explain why.

        • DaisyFM
          DaisyFM
          May 17, 2023 at 12:27 am | #

          Because it’s sexy.

        • shrub
          shrub
          May 17, 2023 at 1:23 am | #

          Some woman (my wife for example) like the masculine look, seems Joyce does as well

          • Ophidiophile
            Ophidiophile
            May 17, 2023 at 2:23 am | #

            I was just reading that many women are very attracted to manly men when they (the women) are ovulating, and the rest of the time, they might be more interested in guys like Danny. It will be interesting to see if Joyce’s feelings toward Joe last more than a week.

            • Shrub
              Shrub
              May 17, 2023 at 3:05 am | #

              Might well be true

            • DaisyFM
              DaisyFM
              May 17, 2023 at 3:06 am | #

              I like both, but I’ve never ovulated in my life.

            • Andy
              Andy
              May 17, 2023 at 11:24 am | #

              I think this is more of an autistic response to a change in Joe appearance rather than ovulation changes.

            • Freemage
              Freemage
              May 17, 2023 at 11:37 pm | #

              I retain a strong level of skepticism regarding such claims. As someone who has always had some degree of facial hair, whether a particular woman found me attractive or not was never, ever, dependent upon what week it was in her cycle–they were remarkably consistent either way.

              I think the thing that confounds (male) researchers is that women are far less likely to have a single ‘type’ that they all like, as opposed to dudes, who are more prone to have an idea that there is an objective hotness scale that all women can be measured against.

        • Victor Riley
          Victor Riley
          May 17, 2023 at 1:25 am | #

          Yeah, but you still have to shave every now and then… otherwise the stubble becomes whiskers. That’s the price of stubble… you have to suffer through short periods of no-stubble.

          • David Alexander McDonald
            David Alexander McDonald
            May 17, 2023 at 1:27 am | #

            There are trimmers that will leave stubble.

            • Needfuldoer
              Needfuldoer
              May 17, 2023 at 2:22 am | #

              A dull Norelco almost does.

              … Blades for those things are expensive, okay?

              • Kimi
                Kimi
                May 17, 2023 at 2:47 am | #

                I have yet to find out whether knees, ankles or faces are the worst to shave, as I fortunately don’t have to shave my face. I hate doing the knees though.

                • Needfuldoer
                  Needfuldoer
                  May 17, 2023 at 4:32 am | #

                  I’ve never done the other two, but ankles are probably the worst from a geometry standpoint.

                • Needfuldoer
                  Needfuldoer
                  May 17, 2023 at 4:35 am | #

                  The face isn’t bad. It’s annoying when the blade grabs, but it’s hard to mess up if you’ve got access to a mirror. Hell, I’ve electric-shaved while driving a few times. Going by feel isn’t that hard, and the rearview mirror is right there for a last minute double-check in the parking lot.

                • Mr D
                  Mr D
                  May 17, 2023 at 7:06 am | #

                  I’d say the worst part of doing your face is that you’re doing it on the mirror, so that means reverse controls. horizontal reverse controls, even.

                • Needfuldoer
                  Needfuldoer
                  May 17, 2023 at 7:22 am | #

                  Reverse controls don’t bother me until I try to use trimmer scissors. Then there’s a lot of controlled flailing involved.

                • Dave
                  Dave
                  May 17, 2023 at 8:57 am | #

                  The worst to shave is the butt.

                  The area above the groin is no picnic either, if only for how easy it is to end up with razor bumps. And nipples are a BONGO to shave without accidentally nicking them.

                • Ana Chronistic
                  Ana Chronistic
                  May 17, 2023 at 1:05 pm | #

                  Hairy ankles??

                  *has sparse as fuck body hair so ended up starting and never stopping No Shave November since 2020*

                • Pergola
                  Pergola
                  May 17, 2023 at 10:46 pm | #

                  Hairy nipples?
                  ( google has a thing about that )

                • Ari
                  Ari
                  May 24, 2023 at 11:31 am | #

                  I shave all three and I definitely think knees are the worst. My face is actually pretty easy but to be fair I have pretty sparse facial hair and shave it fully. It would be harder if I had a full beard.

            • Victor Riley
              Victor Riley
              May 17, 2023 at 10:45 pm | #

              That ain’t real stubble. Still just a bit too long. The shortest guard on my trimmer don’t look like no stubble, and that goes by millimeters.

          • Wizard
            Wizard
            May 18, 2023 at 10:45 am | #

            Thanks to a combination of light skin and dark, moderately coarse facial hair, I tend to look slightly stubbly nearly all the time.

        • zee
          zee
          May 17, 2023 at 12:09 pm | #

          It’s so much hotter than a clean face or a full beard

          • Victor Riley
            Victor Riley
            May 17, 2023 at 10:47 pm | #

            Not on everyone. Some of us it just looks schlubby. On sharper features, sure… but us with rounder faces have to do one or the other.

        • Angel
          Angel
          May 18, 2023 at 12:43 am | #

          @Ja: It’s the feeling/texture too ;P https://imgur.com/a/iMWifd4 (artist source: funsexydragonball)

        • Liliet
          Liliet
          May 20, 2023 at 12:35 pm | #

          Sensory nice

  2. Thag Simmons
    Thag Simmons
    May 17, 2023 at 12:01 am | #

    Joyce has now unlocked her psychic powers

    • Dara
      Dara
      May 17, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

      it’s the day this version of Joyce’s powers arrived!

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        May 17, 2023 at 1:18 am | #

        Not just any powers! She just got a Stand Power. ✌️😎

        By the way this music is awesome, thank you! 🤟🤩

        • Dara
          Dara
          May 17, 2023 at 11:54 pm | #

          Kirby Krackle is good live too. When I was running a music festival I brought ’em in a few times, it was great.

    • Angel
      Angel
      May 18, 2023 at 12:43 am | #

      i mean there are ‘beard oils’ and such so i can imagine some kinda ‘massage’ would stimulate nad make growth happen more

  3. Caro
    Caro
    May 17, 2023 at 12:01 am | #

    oh god it’s been so long. he just looks out of place in the New style

    • Cattleprod
      Cattleprod
      May 17, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

      It’s like what happens when I go back to read older comics, but happening in new ones.

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        May 17, 2023 at 12:07 am | #

        It’s so weird to look at the designs in some of those old comics, you get so used to the later iterations it’s easy to forget the character didn’t always look like that.

  4. Drain
    Drain
    May 17, 2023 at 12:01 am | #

    Clean shave Joe (to the tune of baby shark)

    • Mindset
      Mindset
      May 17, 2023 at 12:15 am | #

      doo doo doo, doo doo doo do you

    • saltchocolate
      saltchocolate
      May 17, 2023 at 4:45 am | #

      Curses! Earworm hell!

  5. Caro
    Caro
    May 17, 2023 at 12:02 am | #

    he’s totally reading julia grey btw

    • HueSatLight
      HueSatLight
      May 17, 2023 at 12:17 am | #

      He has to look like Seth again.

  6. SeanR
    SeanR
    May 17, 2023 at 12:02 am | #

    Give it an hour.

    • Jamie
      Jamie
      May 17, 2023 at 12:07 am | #

      Let’s just say 5 hours passed between those last two panels.

    • Angel
      Angel
      May 18, 2023 at 12:17 am | #

      i’m sure fake beards are a thing if fake lashes are tho idk if the stubble would ‘feel’ the same lol (tho some times ‘5 o clock shadow’ can be litearl/grow back within the week lol )

  7. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    May 17, 2023 at 12:02 am | #

    And Joyce’s newest magical power is….

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      May 17, 2023 at 1:46 am | #

      …. wait, is this Joyce’s magical power or is it Joe’s magical power?

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        May 17, 2023 at 2:25 am | #

        It only works when they work together.

        • Nono
          Nono
          May 17, 2023 at 3:30 am | #

          Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak gems stronger.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            May 17, 2023 at 5:00 am | #

            Counterpoint: Captain Planet.

          • Mr D
            Mr D
            May 17, 2023 at 7:08 am | #

            Fusion is the easiest way to defeat Majin Buu.

            Also why they never do it, would deprive them of the Challenge

          • Taffy
            Taffy
            May 17, 2023 at 7:54 am | #

            “Quit embarrassing yourselves! I’ve seen what you really are.”
            [Cue best scene in the show]

      • Clif
        Clif
        May 17, 2023 at 2:28 am | #

        Question not the miracle of the stubble.

  8. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    May 17, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    ….wow Joyce is a witch after all. She willed the stub back XD

    • SeanR
      SeanR
      May 17, 2023 at 12:06 am | #

      I suspect Joe is one of those who had a dead caterpillar level of stubble by fourteen. His beard is quite full at eighteen. The stubble will be back before the sun sets. Possibly before the sun has reached its zenith.

      • jflb96
        jflb96
        May 17, 2023 at 3:26 am | #

        I’m reading those numbers as ‘hours after midnight’

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        May 17, 2023 at 8:20 am | #

        I think we had a flashback moment of young Joe’s stubble suddenly appearing, but I can’t remember context.

  9. Schpoonman
    Schpoonman
    May 17, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    So is this a Chia pet thing or more of a pull-Goku’s-tail-out-so-he-can-go-SS4 thing?

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      May 17, 2023 at 8:00 am | #

      Why not both? Maybe Chia Pets emit large amounts of Blutz Waves. That would help explain why they have so many powerful entities in their lineup, like the Hulk, Weird Al, and Scooby-Doo.

  10. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    May 17, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    Dumbing of Age Book 13: HNNNGHNGHGNGHNGHGNGHNNGH

  11. Nono
    Nono
    May 17, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    Yeah nah stubble!Joe was way better.

    • saltchocolate
      saltchocolate
      May 17, 2023 at 4:48 am | #

      Agree. Keep pulling, Joyce. Joe needs to understand that “being sexy” & “having sex with every girl” don’t have to go together.

  12. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    May 17, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    The old Joe design with 2023!art is kinda surreal.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      May 17, 2023 at 2:27 am | #

      What do you mean, “kinda”?

      Come to think of it, when was the last time we saw un-unkempt Joe?

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        May 17, 2023 at 2:36 am | #

        Uh… here, I think. At the very least it’s the last one before the alt-text says that Joe is now perpetually stubbly.

  13. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    May 17, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    –Shaving Cream/Be nice and clean
    Shave every day and you’ll always look keen!

    • Dana
      Dana
      May 17, 2023 at 12:51 am | #

      Burma Shave?

      • Laura
        Laura
        May 17, 2023 at 1:31 am | #

        Bryl-creem, a little dab’ll do ya,
        Use more, only if you dare,
        But watch out,
        The gals will all pursue ya,—
        They’ll love to put their fingers through your hair.

      • shrub
        shrub
        May 17, 2023 at 1:41 am | #

        Somerset Shaving Oil is so much better

      • Kimi
        Kimi
        May 17, 2023 at 2:49 am | #

        The only reason why I know that quote is from an old comic called ‘once upon a table’.

        • Ana Chronistic
          Ana Chronistic
          May 17, 2023 at 3:12 pm | #

          It’s usually* preceded by

          “A baby fell out of the window🎶
          You’d think that her head would be split🎶
          But good luck was with her that morning🎶
          She fell in a barrel of–”

          *the one time I heard it and somehow it earwormed itself into permanence

          • Ana Chronistic
            Ana Chronistic
            May 17, 2023 at 4:11 pm | #

            Oh, turns out it’s Dr. Demento

  14. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    May 17, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    As a guy who has to shave every 3 days this is real.

    • SeanR
      SeanR
      May 17, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

      Oh. Wow. Those were the days.
      I do know some people who, even in their sixties, can’t grow a full beard, but I generally think of that as a young person trait.

      I miss being able to clean up with nothing but a battery powered electric shaver. These days, it’s a blade or nothing. I’ve mostly given up and just keep the beard. Trim it to shape every couple weeks with a guard on my trimmer.

      • CallynD
        CallynD
        May 17, 2023 at 12:24 am | #

        I don’t want a beard, but my lack of ability to grow one is grating. If I have to shave every couple of days regardless, I wish it was a choice rather then a necessity because the sparse hair looks bad. I’m well into my 30s.

        • Sirksome
          Sirksome
          May 17, 2023 at 12:39 am | #

          On the other hand, shaving constantly is annoying. It’s a bit disheartening to shave in the morning and already feel it coming back by night. Having to shave everyday for the “clean shave” look is tedious. I respect anyone who can maintain that routine.

        • Victor Riley
          Victor Riley
          May 17, 2023 at 1:29 am | #

          Growing the beard isn’t easy… the first 6-8 weeks looks horrible. Patchy in places, bare in others. It’s a mess.

          But if you stick through it, it will get to a point of looking pretty good, and then you can trim it.

          I thought I didn’t have the “ability”… but I just didn’t stick it out long enough. Then I had to try and grow one last year (for a play)… and I’ve actually kept it since. I still shave the neck though, to keep it looking neat.

          • Laura
            Laura
            May 17, 2023 at 1:33 am | #

            That’s one thing I like about wearing masks. I can let my stubble grow.

        • Theluxland
          Theluxland
          May 17, 2023 at 6:41 am | #

          I have a full beard since i was 14, and i’m 30 now. I can tell you i’m absolutely tired of shaving it constantly, since I have to do it pretty much everyday or I look like I didn’t shave for a week the day after. It’s so quick.
          These days i’m lucky to have a job that can make me keep a beard. I can trim it up pretty much every week and it makes me look much better but man, curses these genes!

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      May 17, 2023 at 8:21 am | #

      I was unfortunately born with certain genes that make me grow facial hair, but I was also born with genes that gave me ADHD and mild laziness. So I’ll grow a full, soft, admittedly attractive beard fairly fast, but I don’t give a fuck about shaving it except on the neck and cheeks. At least it helps keep the stupid backwards unsalvageable hicks ’round here from immediately calling me slurs for not looking manly enough.

      (By the way, if you’re a dude scrutinizing other dude-shaped people’s faces to make sure they’re masculine enough for your personal preference, you’re gay. You’re a little gay. Stop hitting on me at Walmart, it’s 9pm and you have a wife at home to come out to.)

    • Liquid Len
      Liquid Len
      May 17, 2023 at 10:27 am | #

      I’ve had a beard on and off over the last couple of decades (including the now-increasingly-on-old-guys goatee at times), but these days I’m clean shaven. Mostly because my beard is now snow white and shaving makes me look younger. The advantage is snow white on pasty skin means I can avoid shaving for several days at a time.

    • Angel
      Angel
      May 18, 2023 at 12:33 am | #

      makes sense but i mean, other than lasering it off or a close shave from the barber, you aren’t exactly plucking it out/tweezing it by the roots (tho i’ve plucked some stray armpit hairs evne after shaving and those grow back as well, sometimes in the exact same spot lol), i suppose it can look good to leave it there and only shave it in the summer

  15. NGPZ
    NGPZ
    May 17, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    Love that Joyce face last panel!!!! 😍So cute!!!

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      May 17, 2023 at 12:41 am | #

      Me too. One of best face of her.

  16. BBCC
    BBCC
    May 17, 2023 at 12:06 am | #

    See guys, he’s making an effort!

    • SeanR
      SeanR
      May 17, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

      Clearly the wrong effort.

  17. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    May 17, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    I mean, she isn’t wrong, he looks way hotter the other way.

    On the bright side, as a beard haver, that shit grows back QUICK, so she will not have to wait long. It’s called 5’o clock shadow for a reason, though black hair like Joe’s, he probably will be set by 2 PM.

    • Kimi
      Kimi
      May 17, 2023 at 2:52 am | #

      The joys of shaving legs if you have dark hair, are going to the beach, and your hair grows fast. I wonder what the point is sometimes.

      • eh, whatever
        eh, whatever
        May 17, 2023 at 5:45 am | #

        Ritualized torture, that’s what. Like an initiation rite, except you’re expected to keep it up instead of doing it just once.

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        May 17, 2023 at 6:15 pm | #

        I used to shave my legs from time to time– in part because it was occasionally a preference, largely because I was insecure having visible leg hair but I’d want to swim and stuff– and my legs would feel so nice for that day and then be itchy and uncomfortable by the next day. I’ve learned to get past the insecurity around having body hair because the regrowth was not worth it for me.

    • Mr D
      Mr D
      May 17, 2023 at 7:40 am | #

      Man, I shave on Mondays and I have the 5 o’clock shadow on fucking Friday. It got to the point that I would just shave once a month and trim it halfway through.

  18. Jo_cubstar
    Jo_cubstar
    May 17, 2023 at 12:12 am | #

    Poor Joe. She shouldn’t try to control him.

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      May 17, 2023 at 8:07 am | #

      She absolutely should. He’s going nuts right now, mutilating his own body in an attempt to appeal to her, and she’s using her healing powers to repair the damage.

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        May 17, 2023 at 5:52 pm | #

        Yeah. It’s like that relationship in Disney’s Encanto. XD

        • Taffy
          Taffy
          May 17, 2023 at 9:41 pm | #

          I didn’t pay a lot of attention to that movie, tbh. The music got me tuned out because I hated it and didn’t wanna gripe while others were watching.

  19. brute
    brute
    May 17, 2023 at 12:14 am | #

    i agree with her ideology but not her actions

    • Holly
      Holly
      May 17, 2023 at 1:26 am | #

      Here, here!

  20. Architex
    Architex
    May 17, 2023 at 12:15 am | #

    Oh good, when I read “Shaved” on twitter I really thought were going to still be in Lucy’s room and things were getting more awkward haha.

  21. yak
    yak
    May 17, 2023 at 12:24 am | #

    jeez joyce literally just wait a day and it’ll be back

  22. anonymsly
    anonymsly
    May 17, 2023 at 12:25 am | #

    This is weirdly sweet. Joe cleaned up thinking Joyce would like it, the clean-cut good boy image, but she wants his normal self. Enough to try trying to physically yank his stubble back into being.

    • Rotunda
      Rotunda
      May 17, 2023 at 1:03 am | #

      Or maybe he just woke up feeling good because of Joyce, and put on a new appearance to celebrate. It happens.

      • eh, whatever
        eh, whatever
        May 17, 2023 at 5:47 am | #

        …Joe is extroverted, so maybe…

      • DailyBrad
        DailyBrad
        May 17, 2023 at 7:01 pm | #

        It’s possible, but I also feel like he’s been prone to thinking Joyce wants a transformation out of him when she already told him that “Anti-Joe” would be boring.

  23. Dr. T
    Dr. T
    May 17, 2023 at 12:25 am | #

    That is the reaction my wife always has when she notices that I trimmed my beard. If it were up to her I’d have quite the beard.

    • Kimi
      Kimi
      May 17, 2023 at 2:53 am | #

      Bring braided beards back into style, like LotR dwarves.

      • jflb96
        jflb96
        May 17, 2023 at 3:30 am | #

        If I could get there without going through the Wild Man of the Mountains phase, I absolutely would

        • Liquid Len
          Liquid Len
          May 17, 2023 at 10:29 am | #

          For me, no, as I’d end up looking like Santa Claus

  24. UrsulaDavina
    UrsulaDavina
    May 17, 2023 at 12:27 am | #

    It’s either stubble or Joe had alot of blackheads under his stubble and Joyce is squeezing them out.

    • woobie
      woobie
      May 17, 2023 at 12:33 am | #

      EW

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      May 17, 2023 at 12:40 am | #

      Oh noes, Joyce will be the “pulling blackheads from my boyfriend face” girlfriend

      • Dana
        Dana
        May 17, 2023 at 1:04 am | #

        Mine is one of those. It’s not so bad. At least she stops if I ask.

      • Laura
        Laura
        May 17, 2023 at 1:34 am | #

        It’s actually quite intimate, if both parties are into it.

      • BOOSTER SHOT
        BOOSTER SHOT
        May 17, 2023 at 2:19 am | #

        This is it. This is the thread that makes me quit the internet

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          May 17, 2023 at 6:23 pm | #

          Indeed.

          No touchy! No touchy! No touch.

  25. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    May 17, 2023 at 12:36 am | #

    Now I can’t unseen Joey’s face. He killed any memory from Joe.

  26. V
    V
    May 17, 2023 at 12:42 am | #

    Classic girlfriend moment :,)

  27. Reaver
    Reaver
    May 17, 2023 at 12:48 am | #

    Eyebrowless Joe can’t hurt meee

  28. brionl
    brionl
    May 17, 2023 at 12:49 am | #

    KKKAAAAAAAAAAAA
    MMMMEEEEEEEEEE…

  29. Jay
    Jay
    May 17, 2023 at 1:03 am | #

    Is this Joyce unlocking her Author Avatar reality-warping powers?

  30. Siddlaw
    Siddlaw
    May 17, 2023 at 1:17 am | #

    This is like that Schitts Creek scene. Which was also valid.

  31. Rabid Rabbit
    Rabid Rabbit
    May 17, 2023 at 1:27 am | #

    Clearly, Joe thought he might be getting lucky soon, and remembering Booster’s comments, thought he ought to make and effort.

    (For reference: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-11/02-look-straight-ahead/atlength/)

    • Nicoleandmaggie
      Nicoleandmaggie
      May 17, 2023 at 7:44 am | #

      Booster is 100% spot on. Kissing stubble is like thousands of tiny knives.

      • Zaxares
        Zaxares
        May 17, 2023 at 7:51 am | #

        Ayeeep. I’m a guy and even I don’t fancy the thought of somebody running their stubbled cheek lovingly over the sensitive parts of my anatomy. XD

      • Rose Red
        Rose Red
        May 17, 2023 at 9:54 am | #

        Yup. Tiny tiny knives.

        Hedgehog is my least favorite type of kiss. Naked mole rat is the best, but squirrel is acceptable.

      • DailyBrad
        DailyBrad
        May 17, 2023 at 7:05 pm | #

        Fresh stubble, yeah. A couple of day’s growth is a lot less bad.

  32. Qube
    Qube
    May 17, 2023 at 1:42 am | #

    reminds me of my favorite joke comic about “beauty and the beast”:

    Prince Guy, Formerly Beast: Belle, it’s me! 😀

    Belle: *gun* Change back. >:(

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      May 17, 2023 at 8:11 am | #

      Beast is interesting and moody and sexy and has hobbies (brooding, botany, reading), and Adam is just some French guy with property.

  33. Mr.Morningstar
    Mr.Morningstar
    May 17, 2023 at 2:10 am | #

    Apparently she can

  34. Acher4
    Acher4
    May 17, 2023 at 2:21 am | #

    The stubble appearing……….
    Does this seem to anyone else, like, a scene from a horror movie… or is it just me? <.<

  35. miz
    miz
    May 17, 2023 at 2:41 am | #

    for those interested, joe was last seen clean-shaven in 2014: https://www.dumbingofage.com/skim-2/

    and stopped combing his hair after hooking up with malaya and giving up on having character development in early 2019:
    https://www.dumbingofage.com/blows-2/

    • HueSatLight
      HueSatLight
      May 17, 2023 at 10:41 am | #

      I was interested. I was guessing the shaving was tied to “this is what ladies want for hooking up”.

  36. Shrub
    Shrub
    May 17, 2023 at 3:07 am | #

    This is a cute strip but I hope its just a one-off and not a portent of of how this relationship will go

  37. Steelbright
    Steelbright
    May 17, 2023 at 3:18 am | #

    There’s something so inherently chaotic about these two. Am i to assume that’s the truest sign of love in the Willis verse?

  38. Maggie
    Maggie
    May 17, 2023 at 3:23 am | #

    So is this a Joyce doesn’t like change thing or do you think it will turn out to be deeper than that?

    • Felian
      Felian
      May 17, 2023 at 6:05 am | #

      i’m guessing the “i don’t like change“ thing is most important. When you have trouble reading faces (i’m not sure if it’s been established that Joyce’s autism has trouble reading faces?), it can throw you off when the face has changed, too. The same facial expression does not feel like the same facial expression when there’s suddenly no stubble!!

      Good thing for Joyce, the stubble will always come back.
      Bad thing for Joyce, beards change all the time and it’s a lot of effort to maintain them all the time at the same length (or maybe it’s just me who rates the effort high because my ADHD brain can’t be bothered to grab a razor or trimmer every day!)

      • Aslan
        Aslan
        May 17, 2023 at 8:32 am | #

        Or she just thinks it’s hot

      • vlademir1
        vlademir1
        May 17, 2023 at 9:26 am | #

        No, it’s absolutely a lot of effort at a base level. Not so much as that required for wearing makeup daily, but closer to that than to zero effort. If you go really deep on beard care it can easily reach half an hour to an hour daily.
        Hell, that’s before the effort required to maintain the equipment to maintain the beard. Dull razor, scissors, and trimmer blades can lead to incidents requiring even bigger removals

        • Felian
          Felian
          May 18, 2023 at 2:29 pm | #

          oh NO
          that’s it, i’m gonna grow a low-effort full-beard with room to store small snacks for later. 😛

    • HueSatLight
      HueSatLight
      May 17, 2023 at 5:46 pm | #

      I’m guessing more than anything else: it’s funny.

    • Angel
      Angel
      May 18, 2023 at 12:34 am | #

      well it is quite sudden/surprising but other than joe’s exes (tho has he had a proper ex versus casual flings/one night stands?) being like “shave before meeting up” i guess it might be standard for him, at least joe wouldn’t have to wait long, i cut my bangs too short one year and it feels like it took like 3-4 months to grow it partially back as an adult when i was trimming it once every 2 weeks or monthly during high school

  39. Suet
    Suet
    May 17, 2023 at 3:47 am | #

    Considering Jacob was clean-shaven, Joyce probably just likes Joe as a tad scruffy.

    It’s like popping a pimple! Multiple pimples at once!

  40. AGV
    AGV
    May 17, 2023 at 4:47 am | #

    “The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be… unnatural.”

    • AGV
      AGV
      May 18, 2023 at 4:14 am | #

      Alternatively:
      “The attempt on my beauty standards has left me scarred and unkept “

  41. Adept
    Adept
    May 17, 2023 at 6:07 am | #

    Oh dear… This feels like Joyce wants Joe as a fetish fulfillment rather than a person.

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      May 17, 2023 at 7:48 am | #

      The fuck are you on about?

    • vlademir1
      vlademir1
      May 17, 2023 at 8:50 am | #

      That is only true in the absence of any other context, such as the entire arc of the relationship prior to this point.

    • Shade of Blue
      Shade of Blue
      May 17, 2023 at 11:22 am | #

      Hold up…… let them cook

    • Angel
      Angel
      May 18, 2023 at 12:36 am | #

      i mean nothing wrong with finding certain aspects sexy but she wasn’t attracted to ethan for having a beard (even ’emaciated emo ethan’ doesn’t seem too stubble-y)

  42. Shade of Blue
    Shade of Blue
    May 17, 2023 at 7:07 am | #

    I love it. This reminded me of the octopus pie strip where Will shaves and it immediately starts growing back into stubble over the course of a few panels.

  43. Username Taken
    Username Taken
    May 17, 2023 at 7:55 am | #

    It always felt like Willis was setting this world up as a superhero origin story with the costumed crimefighting, and now Joyce has a super power. Stubble Lass?

  44. Big Z
    Big Z
    May 17, 2023 at 8:10 am | #

    Actual footage of my partner if I were ever to shave.

  45. Taffy
    Taffy
    May 17, 2023 at 8:24 am | #

    Joyce is extra cute today. Re-asserting her dominance preference is a good look, and maybe it’ll help Joe feel more secure.

    • Angel
      Angel
      May 18, 2023 at 12:37 am | #

      off topic, but nice new icon lol

  46. Aslan
    Aslan
    May 17, 2023 at 8:31 am | #

    Joyce’s Feral Era of clinging to ceilings, trees, and tree-like people continues

  47. Yeet
    Yeet
    May 17, 2023 at 8:59 am | #

    your face, I smoosh it

  48. Holly A
    Holly A
    May 17, 2023 at 9:11 am | #

    Mostly im worried that when he shaved his face he included eyebrows apparently

  49. egg egg
    egg egg
    May 17, 2023 at 9:28 am | #

    I have the same reaction when people shave and change their hair.

  50. Jennifer Bak
    Jennifer Bak
    May 17, 2023 at 10:12 am | #

    I vaguely remember something in the 80s about how either George Michael shaved once and his popularity went down or how his PR team wouldn’t allow him to shave because they were worried his popularity would tank.

  51. Guy Sensei
    Guy Sensei
    May 17, 2023 at 10:46 am | #

    Mr. Willis where can I read the Woody After Hours Ruth interview strips?

    • Guy Sensei
      Guy Sensei
      May 17, 2023 at 10:48 am | #

      It is mentioned here where Joe begins his perpetual stubble
      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/twelvethirty/

      • DailyBrad
        DailyBrad
        May 17, 2023 at 7:09 pm | #

        Man, I forgot how hot Penny is.

        • StClair
          StClair
          May 17, 2023 at 7:51 pm | #

          if only she wasn’t so bad, in every universe we’ve seen.

  52. Handley Ramirez
    Handley Ramirez
    May 17, 2023 at 1:04 pm | #

    God, it’s so hard to find the middle ground between clean-cut and dirtbag. I feel for Joe.

  53. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    May 17, 2023 at 1:22 pm | #

    Hey gang, guess what I found today?

    A reversal in a cartoon ad from Peter Arno, most famously drawing for The New Yorker.

  54. YordleJay
    YordleJay
    May 17, 2023 at 1:24 pm | #

    I forgot what joe looked like clean shaven

  55. AlaninDC
    AlaninDC
    May 17, 2023 at 4:23 pm | #

    I’m sure it’s been mentioned before, but if Joe decided to grow a full beard, he’d look like Bluto from the old Popeye cartoons

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      May 17, 2023 at 7:08 pm | #

      Yeah kinda. Richard is basically Joe with a full beard and some grey. Richard does honestly look not unlike Bluto.

  56. Kazuma Taichi
    Kazuma Taichi
    May 17, 2023 at 6:22 pm | #

    the sheer sadness in her eyes during second panel
    it’s like she’s been betrayed

  57. wakeangel2001
    wakeangel2001
    May 17, 2023 at 6:57 pm | #

    so Joe is full of Play-doh huh?

  58. goggleman64
    goggleman64
    May 17, 2023 at 7:31 pm | #

    I hope these two are as much fun to write as they are to read

  59. ADLegend21
    ADLegend21
    May 17, 2023 at 8:01 pm | #

    I love that she put his eyebrows back on.

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      May 17, 2023 at 9:21 pm | #

      Okay, wow, I didn’t even see he was missing them!

      I am a guy and when I think of shaving my face I don’t consider the eyebrows.

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      May 17, 2023 at 9:30 pm | #

      So that is why panel 3 was so weird to me. I knew something was wrong about his face, besides the lack of stubble and weirdly combed hair. The lack of eyebrows didn’t occur to me until you pointed it out, but I could feel that something was kind of creepy about his face.

  60. Angel
    Angel
    May 18, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    peeled joe 8D;

  61. vulcanodon
    vulcanodon
    May 18, 2023 at 8:57 am | #

    This was my wife’s reaction when I started shaving my beard to wear a mask during covid 2020

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