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Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
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He’s baring his teeth in a predatory manner. Look, I know it’s a DIFFERENT way than we’re USED to, with the eyebrows and corners of the lips pointing the wrong way, but we still need to keep our longstanding survival instincts regardless.
Realistically nobody would be friends with Mike if he was a complete asshole so there was probably a time when his youthful innocence disappeared along with Marcie’s voice. Maybe that’s another thing that motivates Amber.
SPOILER ALERT: Mike is probably still be an alcoholic with super nice parents. His girlfriend only likes him when he is nice-drunk, so she breaks up with him, like in the other universe.
Twelve is around the time that I started really drinking.
Depends on the person of course but for some of us it’s actually good to get it out of the system in our youth. Needless to say(hopefully), but it is not the right way to go for most people though. Some can have real trouble with knowing their limits or even handling alcohol at all.
I have no interest or desire to drink alcohol what so ever anymore. For the most part I had stopped by the time I was 24, only had an occasional drink during a celebration or what ever and now at 28 I don’t drink at all. Not a drop. Been there done that, nothing interesting about it.
This is just me sharing my own experience for what ever reason(not sure myself). I’m not suggesting anyone start drink, whatever their age. What a waste of time and money.
“really drinking” to me implies “heavy drinking”… but I hope that what you actually meant was that was when you started having small amounts of wine or whatever. afaik the liver isn’t fully developed at 12, so it’s not good to actually get *drunk* that young, but it’s good to have some experience with alcohol so it’s not such a big deal later.
Eh, having been misprescribed Adderall as a kid and hearing other people’s bad side effect stories, it’s more likely to leave you zombified than whatever’s going on here.
I understand the side effects on a normal person, and didn’t mean to imply what was happening to Mike was normal, apologies.
But, this is Mike we’re talking about. He turns into a super nice person when he’s drunk in the Shortpacked universe, so I wouldn’t be surprised if psychoactive medications also make him behave very differently in this one.
Yeah, I just tend to be tetchy about these things. So many misconceptions about learning disabilities to begin with, plus my particular experience there was So Bad, plus a pedantic streak and here we go. No harm taken.
I wonder if he was still trying to hide everything about himself. All the anger, hatred, rage, at this pretty society of hypocrites and criminals. Still trying to play nice. Still playing the good boy.
Oh, baby Amber. I can’t tell whether this is before or after the Convenience Store, but either way knowing what that’s gonna do for your psyche… poor kiddo.
That whole thing went down when everyone was thirteen or so, right? So here she’s probably tennish, given how small she is and if people are letting her babysit. (Probably only for kids a couple years younger, too, ten’s early. My guess is it’s one of her mom’s friends/coworkers.)
I always guessed the convenience store incident was probably early high school, or around 3-4 years before the main story.
The character models for this arc’s flashback scenes look a lot younger than that. Maybe fourth or fifth grade? That’s when my school system introduced the concept of “homeroom” and changing rooms and teachers for a couple classes. (Sixth through eighth was middle school, which had a room change for every class.)
That’s right, they were thirteen. So probably 7th grade, going into 8th, since they were on a school trip when it happened and Sal was away from home for 5 years.
My first thought is that it’s some friend of Stacy’s who wants to give Amber some spending money in addition to the kids being watched. (Maybe make sure Amber wasn’t on her own all those nights too, given how young she looks and how prone Amber is to isolation now.) That said, I have no idea what babysitter rates are or have ever been like, so. *shrug*
Apparently Really Quick Google says that’s about average for professional babysitters but like double rates for teen ones, so either Willis is adjusting for future inflation, Amber really is That Good, or someone’s being nice.
Different areas have different average rates. I know in some large cities, it’s not unusual for babysitters on average to charge $12 to $15 an hour. Which, if you’re watching more than one kid, can really add up since many also charge per child.
Babysitters, depending on their rates, can make pretty good money.
$10 an hour is pretty standard in my experience. It might be more than minimum wage, but it’s also not generally as steady as, say, McDonald’s. Like, Amber might only get five hours one week, no work the next, and such, and the pay kind of reflects that.
He looks so…scared. Is this where we find out Mike went through an insane amount of bullying and trauma to the point he decided that it was better to hurt the world before the world could hurt him? Or is it where we find out he fought back against some form of bullying and discovered he liked being mean? Only time will tell. But for now, young Mike looks normal. And nervous. And it makes me a little sad seeing the person he ended up becoming.
Omg, what if it is!? It’s been established that Amber finds both the guys attractive, right? And there’s no way Mike would smile in the real world, so it’s defintely an AU fanfic.
From Faz to Mike. This…doesn’t seem like progress to me.
I seem to remember, Willis once said he didn’t really know what to do with Mike in DoA? Something about how the role Mike played in the Walkyverse didn’t really need Mike in DoA?
And now he has a whole storyline centered on him. Truly, the last will be first.
Alright, it looks like I’d better get my Unified Theory of DOA Mike out the door before it gets either confirmed or denied during this arc. I’ll compile my data points soonish but the TL;DR version is that like all DOA characters, Mike’s punchline of a personality from Walkyverse has been extrapolated to its logical real-world cause and conclusion, and so DOA Mike genuinely cares about his friends, and also genuinely believes that forcing them to confront the harsh truths about themselves will make them happier. You can quote me on this.
It’s Bloodrose, a character from the Walkyverse whose running gag is that her face was always either hidden or off-panel. In the Dumbingverse, her running gag is that and the fact that you can’t find her in the tags.
Even if it turns out he has a sympathetic backstory or some sort of explanation for why he behaves the way he does, that doesn’t make his behaviour excusable or justifiable.
I dunno about rehab.
We’re apparently getting more background, but we’re also likely to see progress on the “seduce Ethan to mess with Danny” arc. Which isn’t likely to be as sympathetic.
Mike actually seems human here. It will be nice to see him with a bit more characterisation than “arsehole”. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
so why is he an asshole in this universe then? In walkyverse i thiiiink it was because his parents were too bloody nice all the time or something like that and assumed itd be the same here but its clear he wasnt always a dick soooo
I have been kind of hoping that one of Mike’s schemes, like the one currently going on with Ethan, would end up backfiring, leading to him getting burned and having to face some real consequences for his actions. (And I don’t even hate Mike, it would just be interesting to see him deal with the situation and get a peek of some actual emotions under that scowl.)
Instead, it seems that the kid smiling nervously in the last panel is the one who is probably going to get burned and crushed, ending up becoming the misanthropic asshole with angry eyebrows and a constant scowl on his face that we all know.
Seriously though you’ve always got this holier than thou attitude. That plus the anime profile picture have led my friend and I to the conclusion that you’re the Mary of the comments
Mary and Mike are both fictional characters, though, so they’re not actively doing anything. Are you actively doing anything? Are you a fictional character? Well?
Goes to the core of personhood or the illusion of same. What happens to a child while their brains are still developing and making connections shapes those connections, almost indelibly. Many comments are to the effect of “I don’t care about his childhood” and bad behavior will always have consequences whatever its backstory. But saying we don’t care what makes a terrible person is (on the other side of the coin) saying we don’t much care about what bad treatment is doing to kids now.
There’s a difference between not giving a damn about what makes a terrible person terrible on a personal level and on a societal level. Yes I care about societal trends that lead to this kind of behaviour and how we can correct them but no I don’t give a single solitary damn about any given asshole’s sob story as to why they treat the people around them like dirt.
so can i not give a shit bout ambers shitty backstory to why she assaults multiple people because she a dangerous vigilante that needs to go to jail or be forcibly held at a metal facility
I mean you’re not wrong at this point Amber is a danger to herself and others and if she isn’t going to pursue treatment of her own accord someone needs to intervene.
At no time does caring about somebody’s backstory mean they don’t face consequences or that you have to forgive them. There are plenty of practical advantages to knowing how people got the way they are, from saving yourself from hatred to a heads-up on your own buttons. It doesn’t imply that you say “Oh well that’s all right then go ahead and go on being shitty.”
There might even be the odd case where you can help the shitty person out of their own spiral. Like a person standing on shore.
Amber’s White and Black morality is probably the reason her super hero persona is unhealthy. Super heroes do have to break the rules for keeping the world safe, like Tony Stark and Deadpool (who is more of an anti hero). Sometimes you have to commit petty crimes to get what you want, or protect the ones you care about, and not everyone can afford to buy comics when food is a priority.
Also, is this Mike’s origins?! I find it interesting that Mike’s presentation happens after Amber says what she thinks of heroes and villains.
Right so… maybe no one will read this, but I just visited the main site and this wasn’t the front page comic. Yesterday’s comic (the end of chapter 3) was on the front page. I had to look for this page in my browser history to get to this.
I thought something had happened and Willis had taken down the page… I’m glad it wasn’t anything other than a weird glitch.
Okay I haven’t read all the comments so sorry if this is a repeat but…
Come ON this is obviously a gay friendfic found on that flashdrive, and about two or three comics on we get to see a Very Confused Blaine just looking at a compute screen going “….WAT”
Someone is citing the MA constitutional provision explicitly allowing the state to impede federal marshals enforcing the fugitive slave act, DAMN the average citizen is radicalized
you’re laughing. the largest antebellum plantation house burned down & there are brides who will not get to spiritually absorb the poisoned spectral energy of the land for their big day, & you’re laughing.
Me if I ever see Tony Hawk: Hey you’re Tony Hawk the famous skateboarder. That’s right I recognise you. Won’t be able to get any content out of this will you, you piece of shit
How to read all 28 issues of my Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane run on Marvel Unlimited:
1: The first four issues were published as the miniseries "Mary Jane."
www.marvel.com/comics/serie...
today in #9chickweedlane i learned we have to be shown children learning and relearning what sex is, for Reasons, even though they already clearly know and have prepared nuanced questions about it!
also that Gran must hate, if she's still alive, how Old Juliette is the same but with gray hair
one of my favorite things is when a commenter explodes WHEN DO THESE CHARACTERS GET THERAPY but directed towards a character who canonically has a regular therapist
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btw if you're one of those rando bluesky weirdos who doesn't know me but sees me in the wild being sarcastic and don't know i'm being sarcastic because you haven't taken like 30 seconds to, like, maybe look at my user profile or something, keep walking, you're not going to score internet points here
Here's an entertaining cite at the bottom of the first page
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
JUST IN: Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan moves to dismiss federal criminal case against her for allegedly helping immigrant hide from ICE. Her lawyers say she's protected by official acts & judicial immunity and 10th Amendment. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 2d
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
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what the fuck is that on his face
I don’t like this.
does. not. compute.
hyperventilating
Welp! Existence was fun while it lasted. See ya all in Armageddon~!
*meets you on armageddon hill, where the battle is yet to take place*
This is nice, I’m glad we decided to picnic here
Well, duh! Of course you aren’t happy with a parent getting a middle school kid drunk right before his first day of class!
Some new form of glare but…it’s strange. He doesn’t look like he’s standing on his head.
He’s baring his teeth in a predatory manner. Look, I know it’s a DIFFERENT way than we’re USED to, with the eyebrows and corners of the lips pointing the wrong way, but we still need to keep our longstanding survival instincts regardless.
“The smile of an Abh, so maligned that they say it’s like a poisonous flower in its glory. I have yet to see Lafiel with such an expression.”
appropriate avvie is appropriate
The bottom is a smile and the top half has me worried
It’s like that thing Faz has on his face, except rounder.
Isn’t he a little YOUNG to be drinking?
Do we really believe that would stop him?
BURN IT!! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!
We get a Mike origin story now. He’s clearly not drunk, but is smiling. How bad a day will he have?
Mike looks like he is on the verge of a break down.
Realistically nobody would be friends with Mike if he was a complete asshole so there was probably a time when his youthful innocence disappeared along with Marcie’s voice. Maybe that’s another thing that motivates Amber.
It’s obvious he’s seen Ethan’s shirt and just turned the Autobot frown upside down to mess with him.
A new Yorker, eh? Suddenly things are making sense.
NEW YORK CITY?
Get a rope.
Pick up the pace.
I see what you did there.
Mike has used all the muscles in his tiny, child body to create that false image of a smile
Yeah he looks like he’s really straining to keep it in place. Almost exhausted!
WHAT
Humanizing chapter let’s go!
SPOILER ALERT: Mike is probably still be an alcoholic with super nice parents. His girlfriend only likes him when he is nice-drunk, so she breaks up with him, like in the other universe.
It’s nice to see more of his back story.
He’s twelve, mate.
Never too young to start drinking.
If you’re younger than negative nine months old you’re too young to start drinking.
Twelve is around the time that I started really drinking.
Depends on the person of course but for some of us it’s actually good to get it out of the system in our youth. Needless to say(hopefully), but it is not the right way to go for most people though. Some can have real trouble with knowing their limits or even handling alcohol at all.
I have no interest or desire to drink alcohol what so ever anymore. For the most part I had stopped by the time I was 24, only had an occasional drink during a celebration or what ever and now at 28 I don’t drink at all. Not a drop. Been there done that, nothing interesting about it.
This is just me sharing my own experience for what ever reason(not sure myself). I’m not suggesting anyone start drink, whatever their age. What a waste of time and money.
“really drinking” to me implies “heavy drinking”… but I hope that what you actually meant was that was when you started having small amounts of wine or whatever. afaik the liver isn’t fully developed at 12, so it’s not good to actually get *drunk* that young, but it’s good to have some experience with alcohol so it’s not such a big deal later.
Oh fuck he’s adorable
So Mike has a twin. That’s interesting.
wtf mike wtf just wtf what happened to you wtf
and that was the last time he ever smiled, the end
Actually, I would bet real money that this storyline is about exactly that.
Yeah, I’m already deeply nervous and vaguely sad.
Oh, that’s a valid point. o-o
*nervous sweat*
Oh jeez, meeting Blaine crushed his spirit, didn’t it?
That’d do it for me. Just seeing him last strip made me want to kick flowers, say “drat”, and talk back to my mother.
Pure evil.
Oh shit that’s probably right. Damn you Willis et cetera
Awww, how adorable!
Now why the screaming blue fuck is it on his face?
He certainly doesn’t look comfortable.
Curious to see what happened to Mike, if we’re even going to learn.
Oh god modern comic prices.
I started reading them as a small child in the Seventies. Inflation is a terrible thing.
Since he’s way too young to get alcohol on his own, I wonder how many drugs Mike is on right now.
I mean the ones parents have their doctors prescribe to their kids for ADHD or similar afflictions…
Eh, having been misprescribed Adderall as a kid and hearing other people’s bad side effect stories, it’s more likely to leave you zombified than whatever’s going on here.
I understand the side effects on a normal person, and didn’t mean to imply what was happening to Mike was normal, apologies.
But, this is Mike we’re talking about. He turns into a super nice person when he’s drunk in the Shortpacked universe, so I wouldn’t be surprised if psychoactive medications also make him behave very differently in this one.
Yeah, I just tend to be tetchy about these things. So many misconceptions about learning disabilities to begin with, plus my particular experience there was So Bad, plus a pedantic streak and here we go. No harm taken.
I wonder if he was still trying to hide everything about himself. All the anger, hatred, rage, at this pretty society of hypocrites and criminals. Still trying to play nice. Still playing the good boy.
I wonder what made him want to tear it all down.
I don’t care how young he is Mike smiling without being drunk is unsettling.
It’s unnerving seeing kid Mike smiling here because the few times we’ve seen him smiling while sober as an adult were fucking terrifying.
…What the hell is this Willis?
WHAT HATH YOU WROUGHT!?!?
Mike, showing up drunk is not the way to start out at your new school.
*tries to find that song in the pile of doo-wop records* *fails*
Oh, baby Amber. I can’t tell whether this is before or after the Convenience Store, but either way knowing what that’s gonna do for your psyche… poor kiddo.
Before
Shes waaaayyyy too lil
That whole thing went down when everyone was thirteen or so, right? So here she’s probably tennish, given how small she is and if people are letting her babysit. (Probably only for kids a couple years younger, too, ten’s early. My guess is it’s one of her mom’s friends/coworkers.)
They mention homeroom, so I assume they’re in at least middle school.
Eleven or twelveish then? They look about on the cusp of puberty. Sure we’ll figure out before the story’s through, anyway.
I always guessed the convenience store incident was probably early high school, or around 3-4 years before the main story.
The character models for this arc’s flashback scenes look a lot younger than that. Maybe fourth or fifth grade? That’s when my school system introduced the concept of “homeroom” and changing rooms and teachers for a couple classes. (Sixth through eighth was middle school, which had a room change for every class.)
IIRC, they were 13ish then. ~5 years ago.
That’s right, they were thirteen. So probably 7th grade, going into 8th, since they were on a school trip when it happened and Sal was away from home for 5 years.
Haha oooh yes
I am so ready for this
♫♪~Flashbaaacks~♪♫
Who’s been letting him drink at such a young age!?
My first thought as well!
Damn. Amber makes more money babysitting than the average McDonald’s employee?! She must be GOOD.
My first thought is that it’s some friend of Stacy’s who wants to give Amber some spending money in addition to the kids being watched. (Maybe make sure Amber wasn’t on her own all those nights too, given how young she looks and how prone Amber is to isolation now.) That said, I have no idea what babysitter rates are or have ever been like, so. *shrug*
Apparently Really Quick Google says that’s about average for professional babysitters but like double rates for teen ones, so either Willis is adjusting for future inflation, Amber really is That Good, or someone’s being nice.
Different areas have different average rates. I know in some large cities, it’s not unusual for babysitters on average to charge $12 to $15 an hour. Which, if you’re watching more than one kid, can really add up since many also charge per child.
Babysitters, depending on their rates, can make pretty good money.
No, McDonald’s just sucks.
…. oh, and they don’t pay their employees enough.
$10 an hour is pretty standard in my experience. It might be more than minimum wage, but it’s also not generally as steady as, say, McDonald’s. Like, Amber might only get five hours one week, no work the next, and such, and the pay kind of reflects that.
Wha- What? A Mike who’s not scowling?
He’s drunk
What is mike the king of
try not to laugh or smile challenges
what
mike’s tragic backstory
did not see that one coming
His tragic backstory is that he’s from New York
THEY’RE ALL SO CUTE AND TINY
D’awwww! It’s Mike from back when he was a happy, smiling, innocent child!
……..
I am completely filled with renewed optimism for this storyline, and completely confident that absolutely nothing can go wrong.
I LOVE HIM INSTANTLY
and now, you get to see him crushed into a bitter, misanthropic ball.
Well, this can only end well.
And by the end of the year the only kids left in that class were Mike, Amber, and Ethan.
Time sure moves on. It’s weird to think of grade school kids using torrents. They don’t seem like they’ve been around that long, but they have.
https://youtu.be/mgSwD4j8v1c
Danny = Ethan
Brian = Mike
Unnamed girlfriend = Amber
Torrents make you feel old? Try MC Hammer.
https://xkcd.com/1995/
Evil can have a code too. It’s just more flexible and generally situational.
They had no idea on what was coming didn’t they?
That is Mike’s twin brother Other Mike.
“And now, an excerpt from the new book How Manipulative, Emotionally Abusive Monsters Are Made by Dr. D.Y. Willis.”
Waaaaaaait.
…..
Isn’t Mike a bit young to have been drinking?
He looks so…scared. Is this where we find out Mike went through an insane amount of bullying and trauma to the point he decided that it was better to hurt the world before the world could hurt him? Or is it where we find out he fought back against some form of bullying and discovered he liked being mean? Only time will tell. But for now, young Mike looks normal. And nervous. And it makes me a little sad seeing the person he ended up becoming.
I second this!
Even as a kid, Mike smiling is weird and kinda scary.
Let the paranoia and theorizing commence!
This is clearly the Dumbing of Age high school AU fanfic that Blaine is reading from Amber’s flash drive.
Omg, what if it is!? It’s been established that Amber finds both the guys attractive, right? And there’s no way Mike would smile in the real world, so it’s defintely an AU fanfic.
From Faz to Mike. This…doesn’t seem like progress to me.
I seem to remember, Willis once said he didn’t really know what to do with Mike in DoA? Something about how the role Mike played in the Walkyverse didn’t really need Mike in DoA?
And now he has a whole storyline centered on him. Truly, the last will be first.
That scared look on his face is him luring everyone into a false sense of security before shanking the biggest kid and becoming the king of this yard
Hopefully we get to see a Recess-esque playground scene where he stages a coup against their equivelant of King Bob.
I’m not ready to get my heart broken
Awwww look at these cute little children. So innocent. So not broken by life yet. (or not AS broken, I mean, Blaine is obviously already a factor)
Alright, it looks like I’d better get my Unified Theory of DOA Mike out the door before it gets either confirmed or denied during this arc. I’ll compile my data points soonish but the TL;DR version is that like all DOA characters, Mike’s punchline of a personality from Walkyverse has been extrapolated to its logical real-world cause and conclusion, and so DOA Mike genuinely cares about his friends, and also genuinely believes that forcing them to confront the harsh truths about themselves will make them happier. You can quote me on this.
Whaaat the fuuuuck is happening here
NO.
NOPE.
Nope nope nope nope NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE!
Whenever anyone writes this, I always read it as:
N-OPEN-OPEN-OPEN-OPEN-
It reminds me of this commerical.
ORIGIN STORY!
The problem here is that this is not a happy smile. It isn’t an evil smile either.
This looks sad and forced. The smile.of a crushed spirit.
What the hell is this gravatar? A shoulder? A nose?
Is it the secret big bad who has been pulling the strings behind every major event in the series? Probably not.
It’s Bloodrose, a character from the Walkyverse whose running gag is that her face was always either hidden or off-panel. In the Dumbingverse, her running gag is that and the fact that you can’t find her in the tags.
A shoulder.
Or just the smile of a nervous kid coming into a new school and being introduced to his new class. Forced and scared, but not necessarily crushed.
At least that’s how I’d read it, if it wasn’t proto-Mike.
Oooh origin story time! *gets popcorn*
Sorry, no matter how adorable he was as a kid, I refuse to feel sympathy for Mike as a young adult.
Good luck mantain that PoV after this storyline is done.
Even if it turns out he has a sympathetic backstory or some sort of explanation for why he behaves the way he does, that doesn’t make his behaviour excusable or justifiable.
You know a bad person can still be sympathetic, right? Without that excusing their misdeeds?
In fact, I’d argue that the more sympathetic the villain, the better, because it makes their evil acts all the more despicable.
I feel like an understanding of your comment was pretty much explicit in BBCC’s comment.
That’s what I intended, yes. It can serve as an explanation, but it cannot serve as an excuse or justification.
He’s… he’s smiling *shiver*
is that what is on the usb… a picture of mike smiling
Hoo boy.
Here we go.
So he’s a Warner brother.
Yakko, Wakko and Mike?
Which would explain his animosity, he never got over being replaced by Dot!
Actually, he’s the EIGHTH Warner brother, the other seven were all named “Art!” (That’s all right, I’ll see myself out!)
I was waiting for someone to make this joke.
Something tells me that this arc will teach us a lot about how Amber, Ethan and Mike became the people that they are in the present.
Oh a Mike storyline? This is very much needed (seriously he needs character rehab).
I can’t bring myself to torrent comics either, middle school Amber.
I dunno about rehab.
We’re apparently getting more background, but we’re also likely to see progress on the “seduce Ethan to mess with Danny” arc. Which isn’t likely to be as sympathetic.
It may not gain Mike much sympathy. But it’s one probable step closer to uniting a fairly closeted Ethan and a less than decisive Danny together.
Showing up at school drunk on the first day… well, I guess he tried to make a good first impression
oh my god theyre so tiny
“Wow Mike is such a non-character, Willis has to give him an arc”
*two days later*
“RED ALERT THE CHAPTER IS NAMED AFTER MIKE”
I always felt I was condescended to (is that English?) when some teacher called me “Dear”. Might be a German thing.
How about you?
P.S.: Looks like Blaine doom will hang in the air for some time.
Mike actually seems human here. It will be nice to see him with a bit more characterisation than “arsehole”. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
Okay
so why is he an asshole in this universe then? In walkyverse i thiiiink it was because his parents were too bloody nice all the time or something like that and assumed itd be the same here but its clear he wasnt always a dick soooo
“Who hurt you, Mike?”
(I am expecting great things of this…)
What? You mean Mike wasn’t born with that scowl? There was a time when he had other expressions? My mind is blown.
I feel the way Harlequin did when Batman started laughing at her. It made her feel anxious and afraid and she yelled at him to knock it off.
See, Mike is not a villain, because he has a code… a zip code.
So,
I have been kind of hoping that one of Mike’s schemes, like the one currently going on with Ethan, would end up backfiring, leading to him getting burned and having to face some real consequences for his actions. (And I don’t even hate Mike, it would just be interesting to see him deal with the situation and get a peek of some actual emotions under that scowl.)
Instead, it seems that the kid smiling nervously in the last panel is the one who is probably going to get burned and crushed, ending up becoming the misanthropic asshole with angry eyebrows and a constant scowl on his face that we all know.
Great. Just great.
The issue would be, what would ‘burn’ Mike? He’s already isolated, he doesn’t consider anyone his friends and physical violence only benefits him.
Mike’s origin story? I’m curious about why he’s such a dick
It would be the deepest ironies if it was because Ethan and Amber used to prank him a lot.
If I had his parents I’d hate everyone too.
No hacked muzak yet?
Here we go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zLfCnGVeL4
So it’s Mike’s turn to get the humanizing touch, huh? Let’s see if it sticks.
Does anyone else hear someone chanting in Latin?
https://youtu.be/6H3UiwU1N5I
Yeah, I’m not here for Mike’s tragic backstory at all. I don’t care about awful men’s bad childhoods.
Well, we’ll see Ethan and Amber too. The little bit about “code” is a nice touch.
No one’s forcing you to stay and read yknow. If you’re “not here for it”, leave
No alternate opinions allowed.
Seriously though you’ve always got this holier than thou attitude. That plus the anime profile picture have led my friend and I to the conclusion that you’re the Mary of the comments
Yes, not having a lot of patience for the harmful follies of fictional characters is totally the same as active bigoted harassment.
Mary and Mike are both fictional characters, though, so they’re not actively doing anything. Are you actively doing anything? Are you a fictional character? Well?
BAAABIES! It is babies and babies of age!
(I’ve been looking forward to this since I saw the preview art months ago!)
DOA babies, we’ll watch our dreams fall through!
DOA babies, life’ll do the same to you!
Goes to the core of personhood or the illusion of same. What happens to a child while their brains are still developing and making connections shapes those connections, almost indelibly. Many comments are to the effect of “I don’t care about his childhood” and bad behavior will always have consequences whatever its backstory. But saying we don’t care what makes a terrible person is (on the other side of the coin) saying we don’t much care about what bad treatment is doing to kids now.
There’s a difference between not giving a damn about what makes a terrible person terrible on a personal level and on a societal level. Yes I care about societal trends that lead to this kind of behaviour and how we can correct them but no I don’t give a single solitary damn about any given asshole’s sob story as to why they treat the people around them like dirt.
so can i not give a shit bout ambers shitty backstory to why she assaults multiple people because she a dangerous vigilante that needs to go to jail or be forcibly held at a metal facility
Plenty of people don’t.
I mean you’re not wrong at this point Amber is a danger to herself and others and if she isn’t going to pursue treatment of her own accord someone needs to intervene.
At no time does caring about somebody’s backstory mean they don’t face consequences or that you have to forgive them. There are plenty of practical advantages to knowing how people got the way they are, from saving yourself from hatred to a heads-up on your own buttons. It doesn’t imply that you say “Oh well that’s all right then go ahead and go on being shitty.”
There might even be the odd case where you can help the shitty person out of their own spiral. Like a person standing on shore.
Eeeee…aaaaa…ooooo…
This is gonna tests my patience fast.
It’s heartbreaking to see how defensive Amber becomes in the first three panels.
“New comic book?”
“I earned the money I bought it for by working myself.”
huh. yeah, that… that’s not normal at that age, is it? it’s like she’s already feeling guilty for having a nice thing. :/
OH SHIT IS MIKE ABOUT TO GET HUMANISED!?
I’m hoping we discover, “Nope, sorry, there’s nothing there.”
Unfamiliar Mike facial expression. I am confused. And after the Faz-fiasco, also very suspicious.
Fiazco?
Be warned: Mike will go round and kill anyone who sees this comic to prevent word getting out of his more innocent time.
Wow, Mike started drinking young.
Doctor Loomis: I looked into that boy’s eyes and realized…he was pure evil.
Holy Cheese, it’s a Mike childhood backstory! I don’t think we ever saw this in the Walkyverse.
Ethan and Amber were Harry and Hermione once, weren’t they?
Oh thank gog we get character development for Mike
Thank jegus, even
Agreed. He’s been a cipher for way too long.
Yessssss Mike chapter!!! My dreams have come true
Oh he’s so cute in this!
Am I the only one who sees this on-the-verge-of-breaking look of madness on Mike’s face? There is just something about his face…
I’m pretty sure its the bags under his eyes.
What do you think?
huh. they’re not visible in your avatar, I had to scroll up to the original to see that they were really there.
I erased them see now he’s happy.
I know most comments are about Mike, but I’m also really feeling for have-to-justify-buying-myself-something Amber.
Jesus, that smile is depressing.
Amber’s White and Black morality is probably the reason her super hero persona is unhealthy. Super heroes do have to break the rules for keeping the world safe, like Tony Stark and Deadpool (who is more of an anti hero). Sometimes you have to commit petty crimes to get what you want, or protect the ones you care about, and not everyone can afford to buy comics when food is a priority.
Also, is this Mike’s origins?! I find it interesting that Mike’s presentation happens after Amber says what she thinks of heroes and villains.
they’re all so small and adorable
Oh this is going to be very, very sad isn’t it? ):
Atleast it might justify my bad taste in Mike as a favorite character.
more like BLESSED image
Read more Deadpool, then you can do almost anything you want.
Incoming trauma. The entire DOA is a chronicle of trauma. Fortunately reading The Body keeps the score.
https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748
I’d link to my library’s catalog, but that would not help you unless you live in south central Wisconsin.
That last panel is terrifying
HOO BOY I’M READY
I hope they keep Mike a personification of evil. It makes him a better character.
Who is this new character? Never seen anyone like him before!! Weird how his name is so close to Mike Warner’s, and how similar the hair is…
It would be funny if it turned out that there was no reason. Mike’s just always been Mike.
The real question is why Ethan and Amber are friends with him.
Right so… maybe no one will read this, but I just visited the main site and this wasn’t the front page comic. Yesterday’s comic (the end of chapter 3) was on the front page. I had to look for this page in my browser history to get to this.
I thought something had happened and Willis had taken down the page… I’m glad it wasn’t anything other than a weird glitch.
Willis, are you a mindreader? I was just wondering the other day why Mike is such a despicable beast.
BABY MIKE……………. this can’t end well but…… BABY MIKE
I will hug him and squeeze him and keep him for my very own!
Okay I haven’t read all the comments so sorry if this is a repeat but…
Come ON this is obviously a gay friendfic found on that flashdrive, and about two or three comics on we get to see a Very Confused Blaine just looking at a compute screen going “….WAT”
;P
soooo ready for this
I just noticed…
Ethan…..why does your face LOOK LIKE FAZ
I’m……no
No sweet baby child no
Which Mike is this? I mean he has to be from another universe…
Willis, you’re an ASS.
i only just saw the chapter title
awesome