Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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i wrote that fifth panel as a joke to myself but then i kept it
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June 8, 2026

Poop

by David M Willis on January 8, 2019 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - But the Sun Still Shines
└ Tags: jennifer, ruth

Discussion (150) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    January 8, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    if you love something, taunt the shit out of it

    • chris2315
      chris2315
      January 8, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

      Well, that is the basis of my relationship with my cat…

      • Felix
        Felix
        January 8, 2019 at 2:35 am | #

        now, now. The cat is just bored, it’s only taunting you to get you to play with it.

        • Shen Hibiki
          Shen Hibiki
          January 8, 2019 at 4:09 am | #

          Pretty sure Chris is the one doing the taunting…

          • weirderthanweird
            weirderthanweird
            January 8, 2019 at 7:15 am | #

            I like cats because it works both ways. Sometimes my cats randomly attack and scare the shit out of me. Sometimes I stomp at them when they’re on the tile so I can watch them scramble and try an get traction. We love each other very much.

            • Clif
              Clif
              January 8, 2019 at 8:11 am | #

              There have been worse relationships.

              • Clif
                Clif
                January 8, 2019 at 8:17 am | #

                I’m talking about Billie and Ruth, of course. You and your cats sound hopelessly co-dependent.

      • LookingIn
        LookingIn
        January 8, 2019 at 5:37 am | #

        …mine too. I guess it explains why she always hisses and swipes at me

    • Deathjavu
      Deathjavu
      January 8, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

      I’m sure this strategy will in no way backfire and these twos’ terrible relationship will be secure, forever.

    • Batman
      Batman
      January 8, 2019 at 1:21 am | #

      I will have your femurs!11!!!!

      • Yet_One_More_Idiot
        Yet_One_More_Idiot
        January 8, 2019 at 3:34 pm | #

        I actually a little amazed that Billie can outrun Ruth; didn’t she put on a bunch of weight after graduating high school? Whereas Ruth is fully capable of de-femur-ing a college student at will…! xD

    • Rabid Rabbit
      Rabid Rabbit
      January 8, 2019 at 3:20 am | #

      Well, that’s one way to make Ruth go to the toilet, I suppose. but I wouldn’t have expected either of them to be into scat play.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      January 8, 2019 at 8:09 am | #

      If it’s true love, it can endure the taunting.

    • Architex
      Architex
      January 8, 2019 at 8:07 pm | #

      *In a bathroom stall*

      Ruth, angry: “I don’t have time for this shirt!”

  2. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    January 8, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    True love.

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      January 8, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

      No speed lines means no love?

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      January 8, 2019 at 12:27 am | #

      Or, as they say in the English department, sun-deer.

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        January 8, 2019 at 1:17 am | #

        Tsun dere ?

        • JoeCovenant
          JoeCovenant
          January 8, 2019 at 3:41 am | #

          Son, Dear?

          • Zach
            Zach
            January 9, 2019 at 12:41 am | #

            Thundercats, Go!

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          January 8, 2019 at 8:10 am | #

          Sunder Ray.

        • Yet_One_More_Idiot
          Yet_One_More_Idiot
          January 8, 2019 at 7:19 pm | #

          So they live up in the north-east then, in Tsundereland?

          Ha’way, why aye man! xD

  3. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    January 8, 2019 at 12:03 am | #

    Ah love, it comes in so many forms. The question here is, what is Ruth going to do with Billie when she catches her?

    • Clif
      Clif
      January 8, 2019 at 8:20 am | #

      DOA(whatever number this is): How Billie Lost Her Femurs

  4. Yumi
    Yumi
    January 8, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    Someone remind me, is their dining hall attached to their dorm building?

    • Questionor
      Questionor
      January 8, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

      Billie’s tAlEnTs never cease to impress

      • Questionor
        Questionor
        January 8, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

        oops this wasn’t supposed to be a reply >.<

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      January 8, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

      Someday we’re going to make Willis assemble a virtual map of the campus et environs.

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        January 8, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

        It’s a real campus. We should fuck with them someday by getting together and requesting a tour. Then we all go nuts and take hundreds of pictures when we spot something from the comic.

        “This is where Amber stabbed a motherfucker! There’s Garbage Roof! OH MY GOD, BLOWJOB CAT!!!”

        • woobie
          woobie
          January 8, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

          THIS

        • Yumi
          Yumi
          January 8, 2019 at 12:35 am | #

          I’ve always been curious how many people who actually go to IU read this comic. I wonder if it ever pops up on, like, campus meme pages.

          • Marsh Maryrose
            Marsh Maryrose
            January 8, 2019 at 1:11 am | #

            I’m currently assuming that if anyone who lives in Bloomington (never mind actually goes to IU) read the comic, questions like yours would probably be answered quickly and authoritatively.

            • Yumi
              Yumi
              January 8, 2019 at 1:15 am | #

              Not everyone who reads the comic necessarily reads the comments regularly, though.

          • King Daniel
            King Daniel
            January 8, 2019 at 1:33 am | #

            Not super-recently, but I’ve seen comments in here before by people who attend/have attended IU, for what it’s worth.

        • Bicycle Bill
          Bicycle Bill
          January 8, 2019 at 3:20 am | #

          Blowjob Cat, technically, is not on campus.

      • McBogue
        McBogue
        January 8, 2019 at 1:00 am | #

        Here’s a start.

    • Lingo
      Lingo
      January 8, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

      Yes, they have A dining hall in their dorm (though I don’t think it’s the same one in which Billie ran into her old flame that one time).

      • Lingo
        Lingo
        January 8, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

        But I thought that that area with the tables and chairs that they’re walking TOWARD was their dining hall. So now I’m a bit confused.

        • David M Willis
          David M Willis
          January 8, 2019 at 12:31 am | #

          It was, in 2010.

          These days it’s just a study area that looks like a dining hall.

          So Billie’s carrying food there from one of the other places within the building that sells food.

          because that’s how we deal with sliding timescales

          • Lingo
            Lingo
            January 8, 2019 at 11:24 pm | #

            I see, gotcha 🙂

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      January 8, 2019 at 1:07 am | #

      I’ve long posited that there is someone at IU whose only job is to read DoA and then enact changes designed specifically to thwart Willis’s location models.

      The Landes Dining Room in Read, the original source for most earlier dining hall scenes, is long gone. But there apparently is a new-ish food court built to replace it, still in Read but in a different location. I say “apparently” because online, all of the IU dining locations seem to exist in a Schroedinger’s state. Open, closed, moved, re-opened? At this point, I’m not sure I trust the official IU:RPS site for any of this.

      But I’m willing to assume, for the moment, that Read Hall has some sort of food court. (The architect for the Read Hall renovation says that El Bistro was “relocated to a more central location,” but doesn’t say if that location was still in Read Hall. Also, the non-IU:RPS references to El Bistro are mostly from Foursquare, which considers El Bistro to be closed.)

      • David M Willis
        David M Willis
        January 8, 2019 at 1:12 am | #

        There’s a food court-ish area in the middle of Read Hall, yeah. It’s up the stairs from the center of the main lobby, and at the end of the hallway from that big windowed area Ethan sits at sometimes. I haven’t drawn it up close yet because 1) it’s a complicated place to draw a background set of, and 2) it’s an awkward public place to take photos, when it’s not gated off because it’s closed.

        • David M Willis
          David M Willis
          January 8, 2019 at 1:18 am | #

          *sorts through photos*

          In 2015, the center establishment in the food court was called Bistro Deli. But as of 2017, it’s something called…. Erbert Gerbert’s…? Look, I don’t know.

          • Marsh Maryrose
            Marsh Maryrose
            January 8, 2019 at 1:41 am | #

            From the official IU:RPS page, Erbert and Gerbert’s. “Sandwich shop dedicated to serving more flavorful sandwiches and soups.” If one prefers less flavorful sandwiches and soups, look elsewhere.

            It’s a Wisconsin-based chain. They are currently promoting a Mac & Cheese BBQ Brisket sandwich.

            • Marsh Maryrose
              Marsh Maryrose
              January 8, 2019 at 1:49 am | #

              I am assuming that the fact that this sandwich contains a layer of brisket ON TOP of a layer of Mac & Cheese means that this sandwich would never be one that Joyce could eat, never mind the Citrus Chipotle BBQ sauce.

              • CJ
                CJ
                January 8, 2019 at 4:05 am | #

                Last time I tried, mac&cheese was all that flavorful. I can’t see sandwiches around that improving it much?

                • CJ
                  CJ
                  January 8, 2019 at 4:06 am | #

                  Wasn’t
                  (Why can’t this damn keyboard intuit which language I’m writing in and what I mean to say?)

                • Swissaboo
                  Swissaboo
                  January 8, 2019 at 6:22 am | #

                  Well it depends on what cheese you use. A really sharp whatever will remain really sharp when melted around a bunch of macaroni, after all.

              • hof1991
                hof1991
                January 8, 2019 at 8:03 am | #

                Mac and cheese on pizza or sandwiches is a thing in Wisconsin. Low rent foodie kinda thing.

            • Pablo360
              Pablo360
              January 8, 2019 at 4:36 pm | #

              Erbert and Gerbert’s is officially the best name for a bistro.

  5. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    January 8, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    Dumbing of Age Book 9: It’s Just Going to Become Poop, and Then You Have to Poop It

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      January 8, 2019 at 1:45 am | #

      Dumbing of Age Book 9: It’s All Just A Conspiracy By Big Food, Huh

      • Catman
        Catman
        January 8, 2019 at 2:05 am | #

        Dumbing of age book 9: MuSt Be NiCe HaViNg A pUrPoSe

        • Clif
          Clif
          January 8, 2019 at 8:47 am | #

          I’m going to stick with with my reply to Kyrik above: DOA9: How Billie Lost Her Femurs.

    • foamy
      foamy
      January 8, 2019 at 7:15 am | #

      “Most men are of naught more use in their lives but as machines for turning food into shit.” – Piotr Vorkosigan, attributing it to Leonardo da Vinci.

      • Clif
        Clif
        January 8, 2019 at 8:48 am | #

        Would Vorkosigan lie?

        • DSL
          DSL
          January 8, 2019 at 9:41 am | #

          Nothing else is a Vorkosigan.

    • Ryek Hvek
      Ryek Hvek
      January 8, 2019 at 10:42 am | #

      it’s a conspiracy by Big Poop

  6. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    January 8, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    Exercize is where you make it happen.

  7. timemonkey
    timemonkey
    January 8, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    It’s cute now that the power dynamic has been removed.

    • Clif
      Clif
      January 8, 2019 at 2:27 pm | #

      I think the power dynamic was established the first time Ruth tossed her around.

  8. Piotr W
    Piotr W
    January 8, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    … you know, I honestly don’t understand how this relationship works. These two seem to spend their time snickering at each other. Huh?

    • Nono
      Nono
      January 8, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

      Some people really like casual banter.

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      January 8, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

      They say love and hate are more closely intertwined than people are aware of, but I think that is slightly off. I think love and sass are more closely intertwined than people are aware of and this relationship is just one example of it.

      • Piotr W
        Piotr W
        January 8, 2019 at 12:13 am | #

        True, but I don’t remember seeing any actual healthy love between these two. As far as I remember, they either seem to snap to each other, or fall into self-destructive depression together…

        • Kyrik Michalowski
          Kyrik Michalowski
          January 8, 2019 at 12:18 am | #

          A fair point. I want Ruth and Billie to have a good relationship, because I think they seem good together but they don’t actually have much healthy interaction. I’m sure there is at least a couple of things that could be pointed to as normal or healthy between them but I can’t think of any.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            January 8, 2019 at 12:32 am | #

            They do take care of each other as well as they can, but yeah, these two need, at minimum, some time apart imo, much as I love them.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              January 8, 2019 at 12:33 am | #

              I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s better than before, but Billie’s hiding her dorm and her relationship with her floor mates from Ruth (because she’s been treating Ruth like a conquest with them) and she hasn’t been going to therapy.

              • ruhrow
                ruhrow
                January 8, 2019 at 1:02 am | #

                Meh, therapy doesn’t work for everyone. And I don’t read it as Billie hiding her dorm from Ruth so much as her trying to escape it, which is when she ends up spending time back with Ruth, so there’s natural separation there.

                • the final pam
                  the final pam
                  January 8, 2019 at 1:49 am | #

                  While that’s true, Billie seemingly hasn’t gone since Ruth was hospitalized and they made her go. And I’d argue that you’d need to try first before you can just say that it doesn’t work. Billie clearly has depression and suicidal and self-destructive tendencies, just like Ruth, but she is neither receiving medication or treatment for it, which is not going to help her in the long run.

                • Sam
                  Sam
                  January 8, 2019 at 5:22 am | #

                  Billie hasn’t even gone so she can’t say it ‘doesn’t work for her’ and you can’t decide ‘therapy doesn’t work’ when you refuse to open yourself up to the possibility of it working either. You have to genuinely be willing to accept advice and being corrected for it to work.

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  January 8, 2019 at 6:45 am | #

                  Yeah, she’s in denial about her problems. She’s an alcoholic who’s making no effort to stop drinking. She’s depressed herself, though differently than Ruth. She needs help of some kind and she’s not getting it.

                  None of which means that separation from Ruth would be good for her.

            • Samantha Johnson
              Samantha Johnson
              January 8, 2019 at 1:18 am | #

              I think Billie moving to another dorm is giving them both that separation they need. And I don’t think Billy is hiding anything from ruth. I think what she is trying to do cultivate a reputation and she was trying to avoid exactly ehat happened with Carla and her cute roommate people finding out she wasn’t popular and wasn’t cool

              • thejeff
                thejeff
                January 8, 2019 at 6:47 am | #

                I think she’s more hiding Ruth from her other dorm, which is unhealthy enough for the relationship.
                But that also suggests she’s hiding her reputation in the other dorm from Ruth – particularly the parts of it based on her “seducing her RA”.

                • Clif
                  Clif
                  January 8, 2019 at 8:31 am | #

                  She’s saving it to taunt her with.

          • HentMas
            HentMas
            January 8, 2019 at 3:26 pm | #

            >but they don’t actually have much healthy interaction

            pray tell, what is a “healthy interaction”

            if they are cool with it, it’s “healthy” there are no rules in love, everything works as it should until it doesn’t

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              January 9, 2019 at 9:31 am | #

              People can and are okay with all sorts of things that are unhealthy for them. See: These two’s suicide pact.

    • woobie
      woobie
      January 8, 2019 at 12:16 am | #

      Those who love you will put up with you.

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        January 8, 2019 at 1:21 am | #

        “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

  9. Hazel
    Hazel
    January 8, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    Food good, Ruth! Food so good! Well. Maybe not college cafeteria food.

    • abysswatcher1993
      abysswatcher1993
      January 8, 2019 at 12:49 am | #

      Food is good as long as it isn’t made by cafeterias.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      January 8, 2019 at 3:23 am | #

      Food is fuel. You need fuel.
      The rest is exhaust.

  10. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    January 8, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    That’s adorable.

  11. lilyliv
    lilyliv
    January 8, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

    If you don’t sass the ever-loving shit out of each other*, is it really twue wuv?

    *Pun not intended. 🙂

  12. caesaria82
    caesaria82
    January 8, 2019 at 12:19 am | #

    This day in-universe is, like, the healthiest, happiest these guys’ relationship has ever felt and I love it and I’m all fueled by new year optimism and I hope that they have turned a corner <3

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      January 8, 2019 at 12:21 am | #

      I wish you could embed images here, but alas.

      I’m gonna tell him.

      • caesaria82
        caesaria82
        January 8, 2019 at 12:30 am | #

        I know, I know. I probably just jinxed it. I accept my role as the Olaf of the comments section.

    • Samantha Johnson
      Samantha Johnson
      January 8, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

      I know right I am rooting for them. Nut i think as Ruth gets a bit healthier she will get more annoyed with Billy’s narcicism i really hope it works abd Billy continues to improve as well

      • caesaria82
        caesaria82
        January 8, 2019 at 12:33 am | #

        Same! I don’t think I’ve seen Billie smile this much, ever. She’s an alcoholic and that is a problem obviously, but I feel like maybe she could get to a place where she wants to get help for that? And Ruth has been on medication for what, two days? Give it time, she’ll get better too.

        I AM NOTHING IF NOT A HOPELESS OPTIMIST xD

        • Samantha Johnson
          Samantha Johnson
          January 8, 2019 at 1:12 am | #

          No im not upset with Ruth at all shes adjusting and making a lot of progress. Just as she continues improving she may get more annoyed or notice bullies Narcissistic tendencies like it seems her roommate is.
          And we have actually seen Billy improve as well. She hasnt been drinking as much and seems to be channeling into making a goodninpression and being doted on by her new popularity

        • DaveM
          DaveM
          January 8, 2019 at 7:24 am | #

          I’ve never seen Billie as an alcoholic myself. She seems more of a (mostly) functional alcohol abuser to me. She uses alcohol for it’s effects rather than needing it to feed an addiction. She doesn’t seem to have been drinking since their hospitalisation, but is showing no signs of withdrawal at all. I think her drinking is a symptom of her issues, rather than the cause of them and if she deals with the real cause of her issues, the need to drink herself senseless will likewise fade. Or maybe I’m barking down the wrong track entirely. Time (and Willis) will tell, they always do.

          • Clif
            Clif
            January 8, 2019 at 8:35 am | #

            I’m not saying your wrong, but what makes you believe that Billie hasn’t been drinking since their hospitalization.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            January 8, 2019 at 10:22 am | #

            I’m with Clif. There’s no sign that she’s ever stopped drinking, which is why we’ve never seen signs of withdrawal.
            We know she was drinking with Dorothy while Ruth was in the hospital and we saw her trying to drink at Galasso’s when Jason recognized her.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            January 8, 2019 at 11:18 am | #

            In Just Hangin’ Out With My Family, when Ruth tells Howie he’s too young for Game of Thrones, Billie asks her if she should be saying that since both Billie and Ruth were teenage alcoholics. Ruth tells her to shut up.

            http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/escape-2/

  13. Samantha Johnson
    Samantha Johnson
    January 8, 2019 at 12:22 am | #

    I am so happy to see these two actually becoming healthier and spending time together I. A more stable way. Billie your snark is endearing but can you really outrun your annoyed girlfriend

    • Wizard
      Wizard
      January 8, 2019 at 12:37 am | #

      Why would she want to? I’m pretty sure this counts as foreplay for these two.

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        January 8, 2019 at 12:47 am | #

        Yeah, they’re definitely gonna fuck in a closet. :/

        • Samantha Johnson
          Samantha Johnson
          January 8, 2019 at 1:12 am | #

          True …. That probably true

  14. Yumi
    Yumi
    January 8, 2019 at 12:26 am | #

    Off-topic, I want to direct Dina to today’s Google doodle.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      January 8, 2019 at 1:32 am | #

      For those not in the US, here is the Dino Doodle. The art is by a second-grader who wants to be a paleontologist.

      • Liquid Len
        Liquid Len
        January 8, 2019 at 8:17 am | #

        Is that a pachycephalasaourus in the egg?

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          January 8, 2019 at 9:18 am | #

          Can it breathe fire?

  15. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    January 8, 2019 at 12:30 am | #

    Yo’ure gonna need more food to counter all the energy you’re spending trying to catch Wile E. Coyote over there

    • DSL
      DSL
      January 8, 2019 at 9:45 am | #

      A tiny little piece of my childhood died once I read that a coyote is faster than a roadrunner.

      • Clif
        Clif
        January 8, 2019 at 2:20 pm | #

        Did you read it in an Acme publication?

  16. BBCC
    BBCC
    January 8, 2019 at 12:34 am | #

    I love these two. Seriously though, what’s the point in dating if you can’t do a little (harmless) teasing.

  17. Sporky
    Sporky
    January 8, 2019 at 12:45 am | #

    [Hanna Barbera running noise]

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      January 8, 2019 at 12:58 am | #

      The one that sounds like a bunch of wooden balls tumbling?

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        January 8, 2019 at 2:41 pm | #

        I always thought that was the bongos. Actual bongos, not autocorrect.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      January 8, 2019 at 2:12 am | #

      In the last panel they’re just running past the same 25 feet of background over and over again in an endless loop.

  18. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    January 8, 2019 at 12:47 am | #

    I normally would slap Billie for being a jerk, but I applaud her for mocking conspiracy theories and anorexia. Eating is important, and conspiracy theories most of the times are based on antisemitism. Also, I love eating delicious food.

  19. Bagge
    Bagge
    January 8, 2019 at 1:04 am | #

    Wow! Leafs scores tonight.

    • JBento
      JBento
      January 8, 2019 at 8:07 am | #

      The only Leafs that can score aren’t the actual players.

      • nothri
        nothri
        January 8, 2019 at 10:49 am | #

        I mean, this might fall under certain definitions of being a player…

  20. foducool
    foducool
    January 8, 2019 at 1:18 am | #

    mocking spongebob meme? in this comic?
    it’s more likely than you’d think

  21. Keulen
    Keulen
    January 8, 2019 at 1:48 am | #

    I just imagined Ruth in the role of Buzz here. With Billie as Woody, obviously.

  22. Kensou
    Kensou
    January 8, 2019 at 2:32 am | #

    Billie has started to speak Gamzee-style. I’m a little afraid now.

    • ninja_jesus
      ninja_jesus
      January 8, 2019 at 4:46 am | #

      I don’t get it, so I’m gonna guess it’s Homestuck related.

      • Delicious Taffy
        Delicious Taffy
        January 8, 2019 at 12:12 pm | #

        There’s an alien juggalo called Gamzee, and he types in alternating caps. He’s batshit flippin’ bonkers, and he takes naps on a big pile of bicycle horns.

        • Arian
          Arian
          January 8, 2019 at 11:04 pm | #

          I briefly thought Karkat had rescued him with the pap-shoosh, but then… *sad*

  23. NinjaNick
    NinjaNick
    January 8, 2019 at 2:43 am | #

    That’s one way to burn calories.

  24. Pacce
    Pacce
    January 8, 2019 at 3:04 am | #

    This is the most “comic strip” comic of Dumbing of Age ever and I kinda love it for that.

  25. Kinoko
    Kinoko
    January 8, 2019 at 3:35 am | #

    ILU, Billie. <3

  26. Tyler Durham
    Tyler Durham
    January 8, 2019 at 3:41 am | #

    That last panel is giving me serious Calvin and Hobbes vibes.

  27. fire_daws
    fire_daws
    January 8, 2019 at 4:38 am | #

    Second panel

  28. DaveM
    DaveM
    January 8, 2019 at 5:19 am | #

    (Sneaks up and puts ‘Yakety Sax’ on the hacked Muzak)
    What? It’s a comedic chase scene. It’s traditional!

  29. Zaxares
    Zaxares
    January 8, 2019 at 5:26 am | #

    While this strip is kinda sweet in its own way, I can’t help but think that replacing a suicidal person’s depression with rage/anger is NOT a healthy solution. :/ In real life, that’s how you get suicide bombers or people who go on mass shooting sprees before offing themselves.

    • Clif
      Clif
      January 8, 2019 at 8:40 am | #

      Behind every suicide bomber or mass shooting, there’s a Billie?

    • the final pam
      the final pam
      January 8, 2019 at 4:46 pm | #

      That’s quite a slippery slope you’re on. Ruth is not genuinely angry or full of rage, and her depression hasn’t gone away because of it. There’s a huge fucking leap from Billie lightly mocking her this one time and the steps it takes for someone to become a mass shooter.

      • Zaxares
        Zaxares
        January 9, 2019 at 4:59 am | #

        This one time, yes. What I’m saying is that this should not be a repeated pattern. It’s very easy for the depressed/ostracized person in their vulnerable state of mind to think that the teasing is instead mockery. Very often when people are in pain, the first thing they look for is somebody to blame. This is how jihadists and other terrorist groups tend to do their recruiting; they approach desperate people who think there is no way out and convince them that everything that is wrong in their life is because of X, and that X must be destroyed, at the cost of one’s own life if necessary. Of course Ruth herself, in her current position, is in no danger of being recruited, but you can probably see how someone who is lost, hurting and alone can be easily self-radicalized by just associating with the wrong people or reading the wrong literature online. The last thing they need is people in real life inadvertently reinforcing that warped world view.

  30. THEHYPERBOLOID
    THEHYPERBOLOID
    January 8, 2019 at 8:22 am | #

    That’s how approximately 81% of childhood fights with my siblings started.

  31. Ob
    Ob
    January 8, 2019 at 9:04 am | #

    Slightly off topic, but is it just me, or has Billie gained a lot of weight since the start of the comic? Considering it’s only been around 1 month in DoA time, she must have a serious eating disorder to go from this to where she is now.

    • DSL
      DSL
      January 8, 2019 at 9:48 am | #

      They were calling it the “Freshman 10” when I started. By the time I graduated, they were calling it the “Freshman 15.”

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      January 8, 2019 at 9:56 am | #

      Nah, the art’s just evolved and so now she’s closer to how she looks in Willis’ mind’s eye. Same with Amber.

    • the final pam
      the final pam
      January 8, 2019 at 4:43 pm | #

      I think it’s just the art evolved. Joyce looks like she’s also gained some curves, with bigger hips and breasts at point. Ruth, on the other hand, looks like she’s lost weight, because she’s taller and has a thinner head shape now.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        January 8, 2019 at 7:47 pm | #

        Willis commented before that Amber’s always been rounder in his mind but it’s only the past few years he’s been able to render it as specifically. Same is probably true with Billie and Marcie, and, on the other side, Dorothy and Ruth both seem skinnier lately, but we know Dorothy’d previously been described as ‘bony’.

  32. Arianod
    Arianod
    January 8, 2019 at 10:24 am | #

    Having femurs is nice too.

  33. Piotr W
    Piotr W
    January 8, 2019 at 11:15 am | #

    Speaking of Billie and Ruth, do you guys understand what are the reasons for their problems? I honestly can’t say why Billie is depressed and suicidal…

    • Uly
      Uly
      January 8, 2019 at 11:48 am | #

      Oddly enough, people don’t need reasons to have depression. Sometimes it’s just a thing that happens, likewise with thoughts of suicide.

      Billie is depressed because she has a mental illness. That’s the reason.

      Now, it’s possible that her depression/alcoholism/suicidal thoughts are related to a thing or several things you can point to, like crappy parents (smart money in this comic is on crappy parents, always), but they don’t have to be. People don’t need a reason to be sick.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        January 8, 2019 at 3:02 pm | #

        Honestly, my theory is that Ruth has depression and uses alcohol to self-medicate, while Billie is mostly an alcoholic, with the depression being secondary.
        Ruth has been able to quit alcohol several times, only relapsing when circumstances changed (when she and Billie got together in their sexy lesbian suicide pact). Billie has never tried, as far as we know. Billie’s depression at the very least doesn’t seem as overwhelming and constant as Ruth’s.

        It’s possible that Ruth’s depression is just chemical, but given that she’s an orphan with an abusive guardian/grandfather, it’s very likely that the roots of it lie in that.
        Billie’s homelife was more one of emotional neglect – her parents were largely absent. She likely ran pretty wild in her high school years and the binge drinking turned straight into an addiction. Which both feeds and helps her cope with her self-loathing.

        • Uly
          Uly
          January 8, 2019 at 5:29 pm | #

          That’s certainly possible. I was responding mostly to the implication that people can’t be depressed/suicidal without a “reason”. It’s just not like that, and even if there is an outside reason it may not be one that’s easy to pin down or explain.

  34. wakeangel2001
    wakeangel2001
    January 8, 2019 at 12:58 pm | #

    I actually am interested to know how much of the food we eat becomes poop and how much gets incorporated into our bodies now.

    • Uly
      Uly
      January 8, 2019 at 1:01 pm | #

      I think it depends on what you’re eating…?

      • Clif
        Clif
        January 8, 2019 at 2:24 pm | #

        Every individual metabolism is different. A lot more than you’d think.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      January 8, 2019 at 3:52 pm | #

      I don’t think it answers your specific question, but you would probably be interested in the book Gulp, by Mary Roach, a fun and entertaining read.

      Anyway, according to this Vox article of surprising facts about feces, apart from water, poop is mostly bacteria, with some indigestible plant fiber and a smattering of sloughed-off intestinal cells.

      In other words, pretty much everything you eat that isn’t cellulose gets absorbed into the body, assuming no acute or chronic problems with your digestive tract.

      • Jhon
        Jhon
        January 8, 2019 at 10:13 pm | #

        It’s because of those bacteria that you fart. On the other hand, you don’t have to poop quite so much.

        • Roborat
          Roborat
          January 10, 2019 at 4:02 pm | #

          That’s Dumbing of Age, read the comic for the lols, read the forum to learn interesting facts about bodily functions.

  35. purblebirb
    purblebirb
    January 8, 2019 at 11:59 pm | #

    that last panel gives me a real “Early-Peanuts Charlie Brown being a little smartass” vibe

  36. pienapp1e
    pienapp1e
    January 9, 2019 at 12:57 am | #

    awww 🙂 definitely a fave comic lolol

  37. Micki
    Micki
    January 15, 2019 at 8:16 pm | #

    Uh oh…I’m worried about Ruth now. 🙁 ED red flag?

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So he's been playing Jiggly Ball.
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look how incredibly photoshopped these lower legs are they definitely lassoed that lower leg color and desaturated it in post
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they managed to get the arms and thighs to be different grays, which I wasn't sure they'd be able to do, the way the mold's set up though maybe they're just producing a lot of extra thighs and/or arms in the wrong colors and throwing those away, i dunno
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