The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
Sister Claire
Yamino
In the troubled aftermath of a great war between Witches and her fellow Nuns, novice Sister Claire just wants a purpose.
Astral Aves
Moon Cabal
A fantasy coming-of-age following the adventures of Astra The Black and friends, as they navigate the mysterious world around them. It's politics, adventure, and the supernatural; oh, and crazy hair.
El Goonish Shive
Dan Shive
WARNING: This comic often ignores the Laws of Physics
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Goodbye to Halos
Valerie Halla
Cuddles, gay flirting, weird feelings, and magic-fueled knife fights - it's an adventure across the queer multiverse!
Star Trip
Gisele Weaver
Jas is a human taken from her home planet on a trip across the galaxy she will never forget.
The End
August Brown, Cory Brown
Two aliens crash a sci-fi convention and accidentally take seven nerds on an adventure that spans the galaxy!
Widdershins
Kate Ashwin
A series of light-hearted Victorian-era adventure stories featuring grumpy bounty hunters, accidental thiefkings, and more, in England's magical capital city Widdershins!
Paranatural
Zack Morrison
Superpowered middle schoolers fight evil spirits in their rural hometown. Come for the jokes, stay for the cast, the creatures, and the mystery that ties them all together!
Jailbird
Charlie Davis
An all-ages comic about a recently escaped prisoner's struggle to understand the outside world, and vice-versa. Also, a magic cape!
Awaken
Koti Saavedra/Flipfloppery
Superpowers, monsters and conspiracies. Piras, the spoiled Dameschi heir, fights to recover his identity after becoming a terrorist!
Go Get a Roomie
Clover
Experience the queer journey of an upbeat hippie and the friendships she makes along the way! A tale of self-discovery and love of many forms.
Between Failures
Jackie Wohlenhaus
The low stakes adventures of an assorted group of 20 somethings trapped in the declining years of American retail. They are naughty and say lots of swears.
Lighter Than Heir
Melissa Albino
A young Volant woman joins the military in an effort to upstage her war-hero father.
Sufficiently Remarkable
Maki Naro
Two young women living in Brooklyn discover that you're always coming of age.
Stand Still, Stay Silent
Minna Sundberg
A few generations after the end of the world, a small, poorly financed research crew is sent out to rediscover whatever is left of the forbidden old world in the south.
The Lonely Vincent Bellingham
Diana Huh
Vincent is an unkind man looking to disappear, and finds himself in the care of a vampire and her two wicked children.
Cut Time
Juby
Rel and her trusty avian friend Fugue are on a quest to save a world that's lost track of time. Follow them and their new recruits, in a story written with help from the stars.
The Sanity Circus
Windy
Magic, monsters and mysteries await in the odd city of Sanity. It's up to Attley and a colorful group of characters to find out just what is going on.
Starhammer
J.N. Monk, Harry Bogosian
A teen girl inherits a powerful alien artifact and proceeds to make a series of increasingly poor decisions
Cassiopeia Quinn
Gunwild, Psudonym
A cute, pantsless thief is pursued across the stars by a buttoned-up military officer in the spacey, laser-filled future.
Real Science Adventures
Brian Clevinger
Spin off stories and other adventures from the world of Atomic Robo!
Star Impact
Jack McGee
A young, energetic woman fights her way up in the world of super-powered boxing after discovering the mighty gloves of her missing idol!
Love Not Found
Gina Biggs
Abeille is on a quest to find someone who wants to do it the old-fashioned way in a time when touching has become outdated.
Sam & Fuzzy
Sam Logan
Troubled by gangster rodents, lovesick vampire stalkers, or confused ninja assassins? Don't panic! Sam and Fuzzy are here to help. (For a reasonable fee.)
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Alice and the Nightmare
Misha Krivanek
Alice finally attends University to learn to collect the dreams of humans, meet new friends, and deal with a pesky reflection along the way.
The Automan's Daughter
Mike Stamm
Aisha Osman and her uncle Siddig outwit bikers, spies and kidnappers while gearing up for a showdown with the formidable Widowmaker mecha.
Knights Errant
J.R. Doyle
Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
Monster Pulse
Magnolia Porter Siddell
Four kids run afoul of a creepy secret organization's experiments, which turn their body parts into fighting monsters. Part sentimental coming-of-age story, part monster-training shonen manga, with just a bit of sci-fi body horror.
Whomp!
Ronnie
A depressed, portly, hirsute anime fan stumbles through life in the ever-pursuit of chicken nuggets and other life-shortening indulgences.
Fireweeds Moors
Gato Iberico
A cat-headed man and a girl with a sandwich hankering accidentally end up in a myth-infused country where magic chalices are a really big thing.
The Witch Door
Anni K.
Katariina Lehto discovers her neighbor is a witch called Jousia Muotka. Jousia introduces Katariina to the strange people and places beyond the witch door...
Empowered
Adam Warren
A sexy superhero comedy (except when it isn't) about the never-ending struggles of a plucky but very unlucky young superheroine.
Girl Genius
Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success.
Anarchy Dreamers
Emily Ree
Sparkly undead kids fight society's worst Nightmares in this pastel-punk urban fantasy coming-of-age!
Tigress Queen
Allison Shaw
A barbarian warlord and a pampered prince try to avoid a marriage alliance that could end decades of violence.
This is Not Fiction
Nicole Mannino
What do you do when the person you're in-love with is an anonymous romance novelist? Get your best friend to hire your worst enemy for help!
Kiwi Blitz
Mary Cagle (Cube Watermelon)
Steffi thinks she can use her kiwi mech to become a superhero. This idea turns out to be very stupid.
[un]Divine
Ayme
A highschool senior thought giving up his soul for a demon was a good idea. It wasn't.
Devil's Candy
Rem, Bikkuri
A lush fantasy about boy genius Kazu Decker, the girl he constructed for his 9th grade science project, and the world of devils and monsters they live in.
Monsterkind
Taylor C
Wallace Foster, a young, bright-eyed human social worker, has his entire world view rocked when he's suddenly relocated into a city primarily inhabited by monsters.
Godslave
Meaghan Carter
Edith has been thrown into the dangerous world of modern-day Egyptian mythology. Fighting monsters and dealing with family drama of godly proportions.
Demon's Mirror
Harry Bogosian
Based loosely off of "The Snow Queen", a story by Hans Christian Andersen, we see things take a different turn as the demons become central characters, and the side characters stick around. Yup, that's the only differences. Enjoy!
Hazy London
Scotty
A story about messy relationships. From friendly foes to crazy families. Nothing is black and white, just full of color. But, all colors can get a little hazy...
Lilith's Word
inkPangur
If you had the power to make any wish come true using just one word, what would you say?
Caramel Corn
Potchimew
Sarah is the only human left in a world full of mythical creatures and monsters. All she wants to do is live a quiet life, but everything changes when she meets her guardian angel, Jacob.
Wilde Life
Pascalle Lepas
Oscar decided to rent an old haunted house, and that's when things got weird...
Never Satisfied
Taylor Robin
Lucy Marlowe, a magician's apprentice, competes against other apprentices for an important, magical, Goverment Job.
Kochab
Sarah Webb
A YA F/F fantasy comic about Sonya, a lost skier trying to survive a snowy wilderness and find her way back to her village; and Kyra - a fire spirit trying to fix the home that she let fall apart around her.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
Ghost Junk Sickness
Studio CARTRIDGE, Laura Lee
Two hunters try to survive and end up being pushed to pursue a deadly bounty dubbed "The Ghost".
Nerf Now!!
Josué Pereira
A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
Wychwood
Varethane
When Tiara's pyrokinesis is finally noticed, she is captured by a magical research organization for study. If she cooperates, she could be helping to save humanity from a dire threat - but can she trust them?
BOOKMARK Click "Tag Page" to bookmark a page. When you return to the site, click "Goto Tag" to continue where you left off.
BUFFER WATCH
Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:
Is it terrible that I hope it’s Billie and Walky waking up next to each other?
Utterly nonsexual happenstance, but that sheer gut wrenching terror of the moment they wake up like, wearing each other’s shirts after a drunken debauch friendship reconciliation.
Carla in the window playing the violin WEE WEE WEEEWEE from the Halloween movies.
Joyce and Walky. “I had the weirdest dream,” Joyce says. “We were in college together, and Head Alien was just a cartoon character, and I was dating Joe, and you were dating some random girl from Robin’s store…”
it’d be hilarious if mcr actually did show up there that weekend as some kinda ‘tour’ tho idk how many bands play for/get invited to colleges versus just some theatre rented near one
Reel Big Fish played at my undergrad. What was wild is this was 2014 and I was a non-trad student so I think I might have been the only one that was super excited but still.
Sorry for the report, Willis. Clumsy fingers on a tablet.
I was going to say that the song doesn’t have to fix the situation in order to be cathartic, but I seem to have slipped over into an alternate universe where Coatl said “fit the situation” rather than “fix the situation. ”
Either that or I should wake up before reading and commenting.
I feel like country would be a big stretch. Pop less so, but still a no.
Granted, I’m likewise having trouble coming up with any suitable alternatives. My mind says videogame music, but we haven’t really had any evidence that she does (or ever did) much gaming. On the other hand, she does strike me as someone who would be into music that does interesting things with either instruments or vocals, though. Like heavy metal with an accordion, rock with a violin, crazy tongue-twisters, unusual vocabulary…things like that.
my thoughts for her are mostly pop/adult contemporary/soft rock, mostly the places where the genres overlap. That’s what my kind of similar friends would listen to at her age (though most of them also had one or two more interesting picks too)
also this isn’t a genre but I see like… inspirational music? The two songs that for some reason came to my head for her were ‘you raise me up’ (not that I see her singing that about anyone) and ‘breakaway’ (though I don’t know if Americans listen to Kelly Clarkson, and it’s not 2004)- that kind of theme
I bet she’d listen to uptempo pop country, but probably not modern
“blue jeans truck girl beer boots truck” bro country or old-school country. Her playlists must have some Carrie Underwood and LeAnn Rimes in them.
There I Ruined It hit the nail on the head with that one.
My folks have Lonestar’s My Front Porch Looking In on heavy rotation at their house. I can’t stand the sound of it anyway, and I get that it’s supposed to be heartwarming and sentimental, but I can’t shake the mental picture of a useless dad standing there watching his wife struggle to get their two little kids out the door.
What happened to Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks country?
In rock, it’s sweat and energy and “hope I die before I get old”. Pop? “Pop will eat itself”: Be catchy, and if it sounds passe in five years, no matter.
There’s a…Zen(?) to country. The themes may be somewhat limited, but the ways to vary the connection to the audience can be made anew.
I’m not the only one taking new country songs and thinking about Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, George Jones & Tammy Wynette, etc, and hoping they’re as good.
I think a lot of children hear mostly the songs their parents (and older siblings) listen to, up to a certain age. And I can see Dorothy not getting super into her own musical interests (yet).
Also, like, when the comic first came out it would make sense she’d know the song by heart, given the album would have come out when she was a teenager.
But current timeline, the song came out- wait, before she was even born ??? oh god making me feel olda
I think it’s cute how watsonian this whole thread is.
But Doylistically speaking, i think Willis simply doesn’t listen to a lot of music. They like MCR. So their characters more or less all like MCR.
Are you sure english language music from the 60s to the early 2000s isn’t just really really good? According to Star Trek it will continue to be quite popular for centuries.
Centuries from now, Classical Music will come to mean anything before Jazz-Rap Fusion. The Boroque period will remain distinct and will have a resurgence in popularity from time to time, though of course it will have to be altered and fixed for postmodern ears. This will not be done with the rest of the then-classic ouevre because, as we all know, if it ain’t Boroque you don’t fix it.
If she’s like me she at that age, she has really wide-ranging tastes. I did like classical, but I also liked alternative, heavy metal (both old and contemporary), was learning to like 70s music I’d previously not appreciated from my new friends, showtunes, operetta, opera (got a bunch of my friends into opera…), would soon get into a capella, and liked just basically everything except techno and country.
People have always been really surprised that I don’t like Ballet (my sister does), even though I like opera, but like… I like what I like, not what people think my type likes. (I don’t have the attention span for music without words being anything but background music.)
I feel like Dorothy would be into stuff like Liz Phair, Fiona Apple, and other artists like that. I think that Ruth would be the one to sing MCR and Dorothy would be singing Jewel, but it was probably reversed for characterization reasons
I’d think Dorothy looked up songs she might want to sing before karaoke–like, searching keywords, finding songs that felt emotionally appropriate–but I don’t think she had that level of ambition here.
Yeah, she never admits when she’s overdone it, so we end up in this weird place of “nothing is wrong, ever,” and when people point it out she just kind of doesn’t correct them. This is good.
Having done this song, the first two verses are hard to do on key, but then if you make it through the volume and delivery changes and finish strong, no one remembers the first two verses.
IMO, she urgently needed to be bad at this. The last thing she needs is another thing to be Perfect at. A new hobby with the same bad mentality isn’t the way.
Also, I love that it’s preceded by a panel of Jennifer and Ruth, because they are wearing-out, both in general and in specific to Dorothy right now, with this whole we’ll-save-you scheme. Brilliant, 10/10 no notes.
Oh man, that is brilliant. Willis plays the long game with the patience and brilliance of master strategist. I am once again filled with a small sense of wonder (and envy).
You go Dorothy! Forget your problems for a little while, and sing your heart out. Personally I use YouTube and videogames to take my mind off things, but if it works for you then go for it.
I don’t think it’s an accident, since the original explanation in the lyrics is cut off. Looking at the rest of the lyrics on genius, she may have chosen the song also because of Walky coming to her for relationship advice.
She’s having angst, and it’s compounded by other people coming to her for advice. Walky, Joyce, but also Ruth (and maybe Billie? I’ll go re-read that bit shortly). She’s cultivated that kind of relationship. And in the case of Joyce, I think it’s more on Dorothy’s side. I know not everyone agrees, but I think Joyce plays up needing Dorothy to mentor her, just so Dorothy has an excuse to hang out.
“plays up”, is a kind of exaggerated behavior. A person (or pet) acts more injured/skilled/helpless/… than they are, to get attention. Like a little child who scrapes their knee but looks for a parent before they start crying.
So for Joyce, I mean that Joyce wants to spend time with her friend. And Dorothy only makes time for Joyce when she thinks Joyce needs mentoring/parenting. So Joyce acts more helpless around Dorothy. Joyce might not be doing it consciously.
Fun fact, pretty much all kids look for a trusted authority figure when they get mildly hurt, but they’re not looking to manipulate. They’re just not sure yet how seriously they’re hurt, and are checking the reaction of a trusted adult to tell them how scared they should be. If the adult gasps or looks alarmed, the kid will conclude they got hurt pretty bad, get scared, and cry. If the adult manages to keep calm, or if we chirp back “you’re okay!” then the kid will probably run off and play!
fun fact, I was explaining a term to someone who seemed unfamiliar with it. Second fun fact, sometimes a kid will get hurt, cry, look around see nobody’s there, stop, and then go look for someone. It’s not bad, but it is exaggerating a reaction.
I’m not attacking your parenting, I’m just a former preschool teacher with an ND special interest in kid behaviors / childhood development. I have more I can say about looking for a parent when crying, but it kinda sounds like you don’t prefer the subject change. Very good then!
I mean, sometimes that happens to me and I’m an adult. The tears don’t start to flow uncontrollably until I’m with a friend or family member. I can keep it together until then, and often need to.
But nobody in my life has ever accused me of exaggerating how upset I am just because I didn’t cry until I got help. What an unkind and uncaring accusation to make!
I was describing this Calvin and Hobbes strip, and you read it as a personal attack, the likes of which you have never experienced before. Whatever is upsetting you, it’s not me, please don’t take it out on me.
Yeah, that makes sense, but you probably should’ve specified you were referencing something in the first place? It’s understandable there would be backlash to a comment that seems to be presented as fact when you’re just talking about a comic strip. (I mean, do you really think kids do that? Calvin is not exactly representative of all children, as he’s very precocious and mischievous… very few children would be so manipulative!)
If you’re saying that a little kid with a scraped knee who only starts crying once they’ve found an adult is exaggerating their pain, perhaps to get attention, then no. I’m not.
And if you’re not saying that then I don’t know why you used those words to say something else, but please take this moment to clarify what you really did mean.
You didn’t mention Calvin and Hobbes in your original comment. Every part of your comment suggested that you were talking about what real children actually do and using that as a lens to describe Joyce’s behavior.
I do not believe that real children who are observed crying when they are with Mom but not until they see her are, in your words, displaying an “exaggerated reaction”, nor that they’re doing it “to get attention” unless by “to get attention” you mean “to ask for help”.
I think that is a very unkind thing for any person to suggest about another person’s behavior.
I have given an alternative explanation for why this sort of thing might happen – a person might be able to outwardly appear calm until they are safe enough to get help.
The fact that I disagree with you does not mean that I mean that some exterior thing is “upsetting me” or that I am only disagreeing with you because you hurt my feelings. Nor does it mean that I somehow took your comment as a “personal attack”. I used a personal example in my first response to you in order to explain why I believe you are incorrect in your understanding of human behavior.
However, the fact that you apparently think that I am upset or that I only responded because I thought you were personally attacking me or anybody else does go a long way to proving my greater point – on the whole, people are not as capable of discerning complex psychological motivations from external behavior as they believe.
Well, perhaps you can at least read this: the only reason I disagree with you is because you are factually wrong about why children cry. They don’t do it for attention. Even if they walk to mom first before they start crying.
It is true that everyone already has a “clear image” of who Dorothy is and it is true that I encourage many (Walky and Joyce mainly) that image too much, but well, it seems that this song is just the prologue to what Dorothy wants. really.
It is a kind of prelude, I think she’s starting to realize she doesn’t want to try to be a mentor. It will be hard to change because that is her instinct, and it is how her current social circle sees her. eg: https://www.dumbingofage.com/pissybaby/
She needs an additional social circle who she can be her new self with. Like Arnold.
Kinda curious about what this being the last strip in the storyline means. Maybe this is gonna be one of those cases where the storyline changes at midnight but we still cover both halves of the night?
Also this is totally a coincidence but it’s kinda fitting seeing Dorothy embrace the angst tonight, right after it was scientifically proven that 2000s edge is cool again.
Maybe it’s my unfamiliarity with the song, but this feels like such a strange spot for the storyline to end. Usually DoA’s chapter endings have a much stronger “button.” Something to make me feel a sense of either closure or cliffhanger. But this one just kind of…stops. And it (seemingly, again I don’t know the song) stops in the middle of a song, which makes it feel even less resolved.
I’ve got so many songs I want to sing at karaoke that I never will, because they’re downers. Dust In The Wind is one of them. But the most notable one, and sadly the one that fits my voice the best, is He Stopped Loving Her Today.
(Another is 100 Years, but that’s more because I want people to have a good time and not an existential crisis.)
Ben – go for it. Sing what YOU want to sing, unless the song is too much of a downer for you personally. That’s why I still find it hard to get through the Garth Brooks song, “The Dance”. Reminds me too much of someone who I’ll never see again.
I’m the same with being in stage; if I’m not me, then I dont have a problem with everyone watching me, and can express whatever it is I’m supposed to even if it’s bombastic or self-flagellating or esoteric.
Holy shit I’ve been in a downswing lately and been thinking about karaoke’ing this song next chance I get oh no the comic is literally me help (I love this song and this comic)
Well, that’s another reason she’s been keeping her feels bottled up. She knows she’s doing mentoring unasked, she can’t complain that they don’t appreciate it.
I’ve mentioned before that if I went to karaoke my go-to song would be “Caledonia”. It’s a song about how much the singer misses Scotland and feels he’s lived too long elsewhere. I have never left Scotland for longer than a month. I just like the song.
This is actually good for Dorothy; she’s finally letting out all those negative thoughts and emotions, in a healthy way. True, she may be singing, badly, but that’s not the point.
Anyone else think Ruth and Jennifer are both privately finding this hot and that’s why they’re defaulting to petty criticisms
Because they both do look kind of astonished
Anyway hell yeah Dorothy show them it’s not the life it seems
yes, yes!
Shout! Shout! Let it all out! These are the things your entire audience would rather do without. But c’mon, they’re still hanging with you, so c’mon.
While Dorothy is now drunk (due to her being a featherweight from the looks of it), she’s at least surrounded by a lot of sober individuals, so there’s a very low (but not 0%) chance of her doing something (or someone) stupid before the evening is over.
Gonna be honest (though maybe I shouldn’t be), I was pretty disappointed to see “end of storyline.” I got excited about this scene during the setup, so even if it’s referenced more later, I was hoping to see it play out more. (I take this back if the next storyline somehow comes almost right back to this.)
I assumed it would have been one of those post is actual a long comic = 2+ comics post but . . . I’m too old and supports this short version. Even if I shake my fists at the sky.
THIS is exactly the person i am at Karaoke. My friends sing happy songs, i sing every dark emo drama song i can think of. My friends think that’s sad and depressing, but honestly it gives me a calm bliss.
Loading ...
“huhuhu that’s what SHE s—”
*falls over from drunkness*
New storyline begins…
… they wake up together.
(not specifying who ‘they’ are because really it could go a few different ways)
Surely we’ll get a dream first.
Judging by the blurry preview, it’s going to be a flashback.
Is it terrible that I hope it’s Billie and Walky waking up next to each other?
Utterly nonsexual happenstance, but that sheer gut wrenching terror of the moment they wake up like, wearing each other’s shirts after a drunken debauch friendship reconciliation.
Carla in the window playing the violin WEE WEE WEEEWEE from the Halloween movies.
Counterpoint: what if it’s Dorothy and Sal
Joyce would have an aneurysm
What if it’s Ruth and Danny. Everyone would have an aneurysm.
What if it’s all three of these since there’s no overlap!
I think everyone would have an aneurysm if its Walky and Ruth.
Joyce and Walky. “I had the weirdest dream,” Joyce says. “We were in college together, and Head Alien was just a cartoon character, and I was dating Joe, and you were dating some random girl from Robin’s store…”
“Nah, we broke up,” Walky says.
….. oh shit.
Sometimes, you just gotta give into the angst.
That’s what MCR is really for.
it’d be hilarious if mcr actually did show up there that weekend as some kinda ‘tour’ tho idk how many bands play for/get invited to colleges versus just some theatre rented near one
Reel Big Fish played at my undergrad. What was wild is this was 2014 and I was a non-trad student so I think I might have been the only one that was super excited but still.
I know most people know at least a few songs, but I wouldn’t have guessed MCR for Dorothy
Me neither tbh she doesn’t seem the emo music type, I’d have pegged her as into pop or country lol
My Chemical Romance has charted on the US pop charts a number of times, including with this song (albeit Dorothy was a baby at the time)
The important thing now is that the song fits the situation.
Sorry for the report, Willis. Clumsy fingers on a tablet.
I was going to say that the song doesn’t have to fix the situation in order to be cathartic, but I seem to have slipped over into an alternate universe where Coatl said “fit the situation” rather than “fix the situation. ”
Either that or I should wake up before reading and commenting.
I feel like country would be a big stretch. Pop less so, but still a no.
Granted, I’m likewise having trouble coming up with any suitable alternatives. My mind says videogame music, but we haven’t really had any evidence that she does (or ever did) much gaming. On the other hand, she does strike me as someone who would be into music that does interesting things with either instruments or vocals, though. Like heavy metal with an accordion, rock with a violin, crazy tongue-twisters, unusual vocabulary…things like that.
Chamber rock!
…or accordion metal, I suppose.
my thoughts for her are mostly pop/adult contemporary/soft rock, mostly the places where the genres overlap. That’s what my kind of similar friends would listen to at her age (though most of them also had one or two more interesting picks too)
also this isn’t a genre but I see like… inspirational music? The two songs that for some reason came to my head for her were ‘you raise me up’ (not that I see her singing that about anyone) and ‘breakaway’ (though I don’t know if Americans listen to Kelly Clarkson, and it’s not 2004)- that kind of theme
I stand by this whole comment, but tbh ‘adult contemporary’ on its own seems like a good summary of Dorothy’s persona (at least, pre-tragedies)
Oh, we definitely listened to Kelly Clarkson
Not to bully you too hard but.. AMERICAN IDOL, Kelly Clarkson, not being listened to by Americans would certainly be amusing.
I got mixed up, thought she was on Canadian Idol (in my defence, I didn’t watch either show). They sure seemed to play her music like it was CanCon
I bet she’d listen to uptempo pop country, but probably not modern
“blue jeans truck girl beer boots truck” bro country or old-school country. Her playlists must have some Carrie Underwood and LeAnn Rimes in them.
That axiom on what guys sing v. what gals sing in the country genre is dangerous valid.
“Bro country” v. Carrie Underwood’s breakout hit is a great example.
(Dangerous is a weird autocorrect for “dang”.)
There I Ruined It hit the nail on the head with that one.
My folks have Lonestar’s My Front Porch Looking In on heavy rotation at their house. I can’t stand the sound of it anyway, and I get that it’s supposed to be heartwarming and sentimental, but I can’t shake the mental picture of a useless dad standing there watching his wife struggle to get their two little kids out the door.
What happened to Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks country?
Yeah, I get what you mean.
In rock, it’s sweat and energy and “hope I die before I get old”. Pop? “Pop will eat itself”: Be catchy, and if it sounds passe in five years, no matter.
There’s a…Zen(?) to country. The themes may be somewhat limited, but the ways to vary the connection to the audience can be made anew.
I’m not the only one taking new country songs and thinking about Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, George Jones & Tammy Wynette, etc, and hoping they’re as good.
I feel like she may listen to Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and the like.
Gerard Way is probably close enough to Dark Emo Danny looks-wise to trigger *something* in teenage Dotty.
I think a lot of children hear mostly the songs their parents (and older siblings) listen to, up to a certain age. And I can see Dorothy not getting super into her own musical interests (yet).
Danny was playing welcome to the black parade on the uke at one point, so plausibly one of them (or a third secret friend) rubbed off on the other.
Oh lord MCR is *such* a Danny band, I bet he was the one who got her into it.
For whomever this concerns, this is the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIqBXPtolcw
Also, like, when the comic first came out it would make sense she’d know the song by heart, given the album would have come out when she was a teenager.
But current timeline, the song came out- wait, before she was even born ??? oh god making me feel olda
It’s plausible. Most of the music I listen to was released before I was born.
Mr. D, you’re not old until you read a discussion like this and realize you don’t recognize half the genres mentioned.
You want to ask questions like “Is dark-pop folk-punk a thing?
Yeah it’s somewhere in between bubblegum death pop and pseudoironic post-jazz.
I think it’s cute how watsonian this whole thread is.
But Doylistically speaking, i think Willis simply doesn’t listen to a lot of music. They like MCR. So their characters more or less all like MCR.
Are you sure english language music from the 60s to the early 2000s isn’t just really really good? According to Star Trek it will continue to be quite popular for centuries.
Not just that, the crew of the Enterprise D loved
public domainclassical musicthat Paramount didn’t have to pay licensing fees to use!They went, “How can I convey that Dorothy is not okay?” and the answer was right there.
Idk i really don’t see it. I imagine just classical music, well specifically the Classical and Boroque Eras
Centuries from now, Classical Music will come to mean anything before Jazz-Rap Fusion. The Boroque period will remain distinct and will have a resurgence in popularity from time to time, though of course it will have to be altered and fixed for postmodern ears. This will not be done with the rest of the then-classic ouevre because, as we all know, if it ain’t Boroque you don’t fix it.
If she’s like me she at that age, she has really wide-ranging tastes. I did like classical, but I also liked alternative, heavy metal (both old and contemporary), was learning to like 70s music I’d previously not appreciated from my new friends, showtunes, operetta, opera (got a bunch of my friends into opera…), would soon get into a capella, and liked just basically everything except techno and country.
People have always been really surprised that I don’t like Ballet (my sister does), even though I like opera, but like… I like what I like, not what people think my type likes. (I don’t have the attention span for music without words being anything but background music.)
I feel like Dorothy would be into stuff like Liz Phair, Fiona Apple, and other artists like that. I think that Ruth would be the one to sing MCR and Dorothy would be singing Jewel, but it was probably reversed for characterization reasons
I’d think Dorothy looked up songs she might want to sing before karaoke–like, searching keywords, finding songs that felt emotionally appropriate–but I don’t think she had that level of ambition here.
Can’t be off key if you’re on no recognizable key in the first place!
If you’re off key, just sing louder!
“People talk loud when they wanna sound smart, so if we play loud, then people will think we’re good!”
— Squirdward Tentacles
How off-key can you get when the original song is practically screaming? Its not like she’s trying to sing Yesterday Once More.
See, the emotional honesty of this is probably good for Dorothy.
Dumbing of Age 14: She’s Not Holding Up a Liquor Store Badly So I’m Ultimately Considering This a Win
Yeah, she never admits when she’s overdone it, so we end up in this weird place of “nothing is wrong, ever,” and when people point it out she just kind of doesn’t correct them. This is good.
I guess Dotty’s not good at singing. Too bad.
Having done this song, the first two verses are hard to do on key, but then if you make it through the volume and delivery changes and finish strong, no one remembers the first two verses.
IMO, she urgently needed to be bad at this. The last thing she needs is another thing to be Perfect at. A new hobby with the same bad mentality isn’t the way.
Fervently bad. Even if the fervor is from frustration, not joy.
I agree. She needed to be bad at this, and for everything to be okay afterwards and/or to feel good about it after. We’ll see if that happens.
I am now rehearing Arlo Guthrie saying, “well that was horrible.”
if you wanna end war and stuff you gotta sing loud!
That last panel Dorothy is absolutely iconic.
And yet I don’t see it as anyone’s avatar yet.
Also, I love that it’s preceded by a panel of Jennifer and Ruth, because they are wearing-out, both in general and in specific to Dorothy right now, with this whole we’ll-save-you scheme. Brilliant, 10/10 no notes.
tragically, this will be the thing that dooms her presidential campaign thirty years later
the Keener Scream, if you will
The Keener keen.
keen
verb
keened; keening; keens
intransitive verb
1 a: to make a loud and long cry of sorrow : to lament with a keen
b: to make a sound suggestive of a loud cry of sorrow
a keening siren
2: to lament, mourn, or complain loudly
Oh man, that is brilliant. Willis plays the long game with the patience and brilliance of master strategist. I am once again filled with a small sense of wonder (and envy).
Keener Keen Not-So-Keen: Pitched Political Battle Closes on a Sour Note
+##
Gotta give her credit though, absolute SPOT ON choice for her current mental state
Oh wow. That’s… some way to end the storyline.
As you earthlings say, “Damn you Willis!!!!”
Like Dorothy, Willis is Rocking Out!
It is a fantastic ending. The last panel, especially, is amazing!
I wonder if we can get an uninterrupted comment chain of the lyrics like on YouTube or Tumblr? I’ll start.
Well, if you wanted honesty, that’s all you had to say.
I never want to let you down
Or have you go, it’s better off this way
I never wanted to let you down or have you go
It’s better off this way!
From all the dirty looks,
For photographs your boyfriend took
Remember when you broke your foot from jumping out the second floor?
I’m not okay, I’m not okay
Alternatively, someone could just post a link to the lyrics.
I know. What fun would that be?
I would simply Google the object my friend is describing.
You go Dorothy! Forget your problems for a little while, and sing your heart out. Personally I use YouTube and videogames to take my mind off things, but if it works for you then go for it.
Every panel of her singing has heart, my god, she’s showing off.
Dorothy’s song. https://youtu.be/UgmY2sB71Hc?si=EfxYDBh8-lCSYL_Z
Thank you.
But now I’m disappointed it wasn’t a Rick roll.
Oh storyline over, that means no one is gonna drunkenly make out with one another.
Also Joyce broke a toe.
Coincidence?
I dunno.
I tend to be off with predictions.
I don’t think it’s an accident, since the original explanation in the lyrics is cut off. Looking at the rest of the lyrics on genius, she may have chosen the song also because of Walky coming to her for relationship advice.
She’s having angst, and it’s compounded by other people coming to her for advice. Walky, Joyce, but also Ruth (and maybe Billie? I’ll go re-read that bit shortly). She’s cultivated that kind of relationship. And in the case of Joyce, I think it’s more on Dorothy’s side. I know not everyone agrees, but I think Joyce plays up needing Dorothy to mentor her, just so Dorothy has an excuse to hang out.
When you say that Joyce “plays” with the need for Dorothy to be her mentor, do you mean that Joyce wants Dorothy for herself?
“plays up”, is a kind of exaggerated behavior. A person (or pet) acts more injured/skilled/helpless/… than they are, to get attention. Like a little child who scrapes their knee but looks for a parent before they start crying.
So for Joyce, I mean that Joyce wants to spend time with her friend. And Dorothy only makes time for Joyce when she thinks Joyce needs mentoring/parenting. So Joyce acts more helpless around Dorothy. Joyce might not be doing it consciously.
Fun fact, pretty much all kids look for a trusted authority figure when they get mildly hurt, but they’re not looking to manipulate. They’re just not sure yet how seriously they’re hurt, and are checking the reaction of a trusted adult to tell them how scared they should be. If the adult gasps or looks alarmed, the kid will conclude they got hurt pretty bad, get scared, and cry. If the adult manages to keep calm, or if we chirp back “you’re okay!” then the kid will probably run off and play!
That’s a huge advice for parents and I wanna put it in my Tiktok.
fun fact, I was explaining a term to someone who seemed unfamiliar with it. Second fun fact, sometimes a kid will get hurt, cry, look around see nobody’s there, stop, and then go look for someone. It’s not bad, but it is exaggerating a reaction.
I’m not attacking your parenting, I’m just a former preschool teacher with an ND special interest in kid behaviors / childhood development. I have more I can say about looking for a parent when crying, but it kinda sounds like you don’t prefer the subject change. Very good then!
I am unhappy with how I responded to you, Leorale.
I mean, sometimes that happens to me and I’m an adult. The tears don’t start to flow uncontrollably until I’m with a friend or family member. I can keep it together until then, and often need to.
But nobody in my life has ever accused me of exaggerating how upset I am just because I didn’t cry until I got help. What an unkind and uncaring accusation to make!
You may be reading something into what I typed that I didn’t say.
I was describing this Calvin and Hobbes strip, and you read it as a personal attack, the likes of which you have never experienced before. Whatever is upsetting you, it’s not me, please don’t take it out on me.
Yeah, that makes sense, but you probably should’ve specified you were referencing something in the first place? It’s understandable there would be backlash to a comment that seems to be presented as fact when you’re just talking about a comic strip. (I mean, do you really think kids do that? Calvin is not exactly representative of all children, as he’s very precocious and mischievous… very few children would be so manipulative!)
If you’re saying that a little kid with a scraped knee who only starts crying once they’ve found an adult is exaggerating their pain, perhaps to get attention, then no. I’m not.
And if you’re not saying that then I don’t know why you used those words to say something else, but please take this moment to clarify what you really did mean.
What are you, middle management scolding a misbehaving subordinate?
You didn’t mention Calvin and Hobbes in your original comment. Every part of your comment suggested that you were talking about what real children actually do and using that as a lens to describe Joyce’s behavior.
I do not believe that real children who are observed crying when they are with Mom but not until they see her are, in your words, displaying an “exaggerated reaction”, nor that they’re doing it “to get attention” unless by “to get attention” you mean “to ask for help”.
I think that is a very unkind thing for any person to suggest about another person’s behavior.
I have given an alternative explanation for why this sort of thing might happen – a person might be able to outwardly appear calm until they are safe enough to get help.
The fact that I disagree with you does not mean that I mean that some exterior thing is “upsetting me” or that I am only disagreeing with you because you hurt my feelings. Nor does it mean that I somehow took your comment as a “personal attack”. I used a personal example in my first response to you in order to explain why I believe you are incorrect in your understanding of human behavior.
However, the fact that you apparently think that I am upset or that I only responded because I thought you were personally attacking me or anybody else does go a long way to proving my greater point – on the whole, people are not as capable of discerning complex psychological motivations from external behavior as they believe.
I am not going to litigate this or even read that.
Well, perhaps you can at least read this: the only reason I disagree with you is because you are factually wrong about why children cry. They don’t do it for attention. Even if they walk to mom first before they start crying.
It is true that everyone already has a “clear image” of who Dorothy is and it is true that I encourage many (Walky and Joyce mainly) that image too much, but well, it seems that this song is just the prologue to what Dorothy wants. really.
I almost forgot, not only Dorothy’s prologue, but also the new perception that everyone will see in her.
It is a kind of prelude, I think she’s starting to realize she doesn’t want to try to be a mentor. It will be hard to change because that is her instinct, and it is how her current social circle sees her. eg: https://www.dumbingofage.com/pissybaby/
She needs an additional social circle who she can be her new self with. Like Arnold.
Well, he has appeared sparsely, but what guarantees that he is the key?
Rick Moranis autographed baseball in his dorm room?
He’s dreamy, he has a Rick Moranis autographed baseball, and he’s wearing his sexy hoodie.
i’m surprised walky wouldn’t be recording it to send to everyone even if he doesn’t think it’s about joyce lol
Yes, let it all out!
Kinda curious about what this being the last strip in the storyline means. Maybe this is gonna be one of those cases where the storyline changes at midnight but we still cover both halves of the night?
Also this is totally a coincidence but it’s kinda fitting seeing Dorothy embrace the angst tonight, right after it was scientifically proven that 2000s edge is cool again.
Maybe it’s my unfamiliarity with the song, but this feels like such a strange spot for the storyline to end. Usually DoA’s chapter endings have a much stronger “button.” Something to make me feel a sense of either closure or cliffhanger. But this one just kind of…stops. And it (seemingly, again I don’t know the song) stops in the middle of a song, which makes it feel even less resolved.
Curious
dorothy emo arc
She and Ethan will be swapping hoodies and styling tips next. XD
Nice ending!
And the good(?) ending? The bad one would be her holding up a liquor store, of course.
I can’t believe that when the next arc starts, the relationships are gonna be all different than when this one ended–
Either we come back to this scene minutes later – but after midnight so it’s the next day – or we get a time skip and everything’s changed.
Oof. The little emo kid that lives in my heart just fought her way out to tell Dorothy she just earned an A+ in passive aggressive use of MCR lyrics
And hey, always good to see the kids enjoying a karaoke number from when their parents were growing up.
Yeah. I feel that, Dorothy.
Dorothy….wow, but WOW in the good sense!!!!
It’s a shame that the storyline ends here, I at least want to see some more extensive panels with everyone’s reactions.
Three of the last four storylines have featured Dorothy in the end.
Wish I can do a Genius-style annotation of these lyrics. Wonder who it’s dedicated to?
*sings Dust in the Wind by Kansas*
That pepperoni pizza in your avatar looks good.
I’ve got so many songs I want to sing at karaoke that I never will, because they’re downers. Dust In The Wind is one of them. But the most notable one, and sadly the one that fits my voice the best, is He Stopped Loving Her Today.
(Another is 100 Years, but that’s more because I want people to have a good time and not an existential crisis.)
Ben – go for it. Sing what YOU want to sing, unless the song is too much of a downer for you personally. That’s why I still find it hard to get through the Garth Brooks song, “The Dance”. Reminds me too much of someone who I’ll never see again.
*furious headbanging*
Are you actually supposed to be on key when singing karaoke?
Not that I’d know. Singing in public is a far bigger fear than speaking in public for me.
Funnily enough, I feel better singing karaoke than if in public speaking. At least with karaoke it’s not your own words.
I’m the same with being in stage; if I’m not me, then I dont have a problem with everyone watching me, and can express whatever it is I’m supposed to even if it’s bombastic or self-flagellating or esoteric.
this is called ‘masking’ by certain others-of-us
You could go meta and sing “With a Little Help from my Friends”.
Karaoke: A Japanese word meaning “tone deaf”
Polite applause.
Holy shit I’ve been in a downswing lately and been thinking about karaoke’ing this song next chance I get oh no the comic is literally me help (I love this song and this comic)
Wish I recognized any of the songs that were being sung… although I HAVE at least heard of the band ‘My Chemical Romance’.
Great…now I like a second MCR song. DAMN YOU, WILLIS!!
All my source of MCR come from Dumbing of Age.
I never listened a single song of them, even I hearded about them a lot of times.
The Black Parade is a fantastic album, I highly recommend it. Even if it’s not your usual genre, it’s worth at least one listen.
Hopefully Sal didn’t hear that, Ruth.
Sal looks over and just says “I know, right?”
wow that sure is a thing to say in front of Sal, Ruth
How they all “wearing her out”, since it’s the own Dorothy that ruining her own life?
Well, that’s another reason she’s been keeping her feels bottled up. She knows she’s doing mentoring unasked, she can’t complain that they don’t appreciate it.
She might be singing about herself.
oh damnit grav roulette
I’ve mentioned before that if I went to karaoke my go-to song would be “Caledonia”. It’s a song about how much the singer misses Scotland and feels he’s lived too long elsewhere. I have never left Scotland for longer than a month. I just like the song.
Feelings don’t have to be valid in karaoke
Dorothy is Literally Me™️
Hi, Dorothy.
It’s not bad singing, she’s just putting a folk-punk spin on it
This is actually good for Dorothy; she’s finally letting out all those negative thoughts and emotions, in a healthy way. True, she may be singing, badly, but that’s not the point.
Wait: Ruth and Jennifer fist-bumpimg? Are they finally agreeing with something??
Thanks for the earworm (sincerely)
hell yeah! one of my favorite songs and it turns 20 this year!
Anyone else think Ruth and Jennifer are both privately finding this hot and that’s why they’re defaulting to petty criticisms
Because they both do look kind of astonished
Anyway hell yeah Dorothy show them it’s not the life it seems
yes, yes!
Shout! Shout! Let it all out! These are the things your entire audience would rather do without. But c’mon, they’re still hanging with you, so c’mon.
Is this our first middle of the day end of storyline? It was daylight out not too long ago
I’m pretty sure gerard way doesn’t have a key
While Dorothy is now drunk (due to her being a featherweight from the looks of it), she’s at least surrounded by a lot of sober individuals, so there’s a very low (but not 0%) chance of her doing something (or someone) stupid before the evening is over.
Gonna be honest (though maybe I shouldn’t be), I was pretty disappointed to see “end of storyline.” I got excited about this scene during the setup, so even if it’s referenced more later, I was hoping to see it play out more. (I take this back if the next storyline somehow comes almost right back to this.)
Yeah, Willis could have squeezed at least one more epic ass strip outta Dorothy singing, to have it cut short like this was… abrupt?
I just hope Dorothy feels better the following storyline in any case T_T
I assumed it would have been one of those post is actual a long comic = 2+ comics post but . . . I’m too old and supports this short version. Even if I shake my fists at the sky.
Jennifer, the entire point of this is to let Dorothy do something without worrying about doing it well.
You think Sal got Danny up there to perform WAP?
Feels like this is checking a lot of Ruth and Jennifer’s boxes
Anyway hell yeah Dorothy you’re braver than me
hell YEA Dotty hell yea
Pretty wild that this song is very obviously about Joyce huh!
Damn, Dorothy! She’s had enough!
THIS is exactly the person i am at Karaoke. My friends sing happy songs, i sing every dark emo drama song i can think of. My friends think that’s sad and depressing, but honestly it gives me a calm bliss.