Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

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May 12, 2026

Formulate

by David M Willis on April 8, 2020 at 12:01 am
  • 03 - When It Crumbles
└ Tags: dina, dorothy, sarah, walky

Discussion (95) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    April 8, 2020 at 12:04 am | #

    up one CLEVER GIRL

    • JetstreamGW
      JetstreamGW
      April 8, 2020 at 12:07 am | #

      Aaaand my mind immediately goes to a ridiculous Harry Potter fanfic.

    • auroki
      auroki
      April 8, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

      I mean trading a street super hero for a dinosaur seems like a good win for the party dynamic

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      April 8, 2020 at 4:21 am | #

      Ha!

      That *almost* makes me want to watch the new Jurassic World films.
      …or, OR, I could just rewatch the original Jurassic Park?
      What do you all think? 😛

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        April 8, 2020 at 12:59 pm | #

        No neither. Watch proper documentaries — Dina

    • JonnyDino
      JonnyDino
      April 8, 2020 at 6:43 pm | #

      I feel like the joke in the final panel is being missed by most:

      Velociraptors (like all theropods) has wrists oriented such that their palms faced inwards. So the Jurassic Park raptors with their palms-down hands bother people like Dina

      Just want Willis to know, I see what you did there and I love it

  2. BBCC
    BBCC
    April 8, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    Ooooh, curiosity piqued.

    What’s the plan, Madame President?

    • Ed Rhodes
      Ed Rhodes
      April 8, 2020 at 3:51 pm | #

      Pseudolus: Wait!

      Hero: Yes?

      Pseudolus: A brilliant idea!

      Hero: Yes!

      Pseudolus: That’s what we need, a brilliant idea.

  3. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    April 8, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    I’ll be Raptor Round your finger…

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      April 8, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

      Dang that stings, someone dial the police. … wait… don’t touch that dial.

      • pdp15
        pdp15
        April 8, 2020 at 12:27 am | #

        They’ll be watching you

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          April 8, 2020 at 2:13 am | #

          10 PRINT “Sending out an S.O.S.”
          20 GOTO 10
          RUN

          • Bicycle Bill
            Bicycle Bill
            April 9, 2020 at 12:28 am | #

            Oh my god … does that bring back memories.

            • Needfuldoer
              Needfuldoer
              April 9, 2020 at 5:37 am | #

              Oh no, it’s still running.

              ** BREAK in line 20 **

    • Anu3bis
      Anu3bis
      April 8, 2020 at 2:21 am | #

      Did ya have to?

    • AndieStardust
      AndieStardust
      April 8, 2020 at 4:13 am | #

      Dude, I love you

    • Charles Spencer
      Charles Spencer
      April 8, 2020 at 9:13 am | #

      Nah, Cranberries.
      “You’ve got me Raptor ’round your finger”
      ‘Cause LGBT.

  4. Nono
    Nono
    April 8, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    Nobody has told Dina that Becky’s in trouble, right? That’s the only reason why she isn’t a little more frantic.

    • Hugo Bedward
      Hugo Bedward
      April 8, 2020 at 12:07 am | #

      I don’t think so, although Dorothy did mention Becky getting kidnapped within earshot of Dina last page.

    • Radiance
      Radiance
      April 8, 2020 at 12:11 am | #

      Dina trusts Amber and Amazi-Girl enough that she probably won’t be too worried for Becky when someone explains the situation.

      • Ccubed
        Ccubed
        April 8, 2020 at 12:14 am | #

        I don’t think she knows about the part where AG is the one kidnapping Becky. I think she might raise some objections to that point.

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          April 8, 2020 at 1:00 am | #

          On the one hand, yes.

          On the other hand, just because AG’s being let out to kidnap Becky doesn’t necessarily mean she’s actually going to do it.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            April 8, 2020 at 2:21 am | #

            The important thing is that Amazi-Girl and Becky make it look like it’s happening.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      April 8, 2020 at 9:41 am | #

      Amazi-Girl: Becky, I’m afraid I’ve been sent here to kidnap you, or all our friends will be hurt.
      Becky: You mean, like Joyce? And Walky?
      AG: Yes, and also Sarah and Dorothy
      Becky: Eeeeehhh… I guess Joyce would care. Wait wait, what about Dina?
      AG: As far as I know, they don’t have her.
      Becky: YESS!!
      Dina: Actually, I have joined the kid-napping party.
      AG: WAUGGH where did you come fr- oh right, Dina.
      Becky: Dina! Why’d you get yourself kidnapped??
      Dina: Everyone else was doing it, I wished to participate. Strangely, as of yet, no one is napping. I admit, the purpose of this gathering baffles me still, but I will figure it out…

  5. Mada
    Mada
    April 8, 2020 at 12:05 am | #

    RAWR.

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      April 8, 2020 at 10:10 pm | #

      Your comment and Lillian’s face 🙂

  6. Hugo Bedward
    Hugo Bedward
    April 8, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

    So did Toedad notice Dina tying herself up and think “Sweet, free hostage”?

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      April 8, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

      No one saw Dina enter, her powers of stealth are not to be underestimated.

      • mrnoidea
        mrnoidea
        April 8, 2020 at 12:20 am | #

        Indeed.

      • Arianod
        Arianod
        April 8, 2020 at 3:39 am | #

        or understood.

        • Felix
          Felix
          April 8, 2020 at 3:50 am | #

          Indeed.

  7. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    April 8, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

    Dina will be the key to saving everyone, calling it now. Amazi-girl will be able to do something, but Dina is the immediate key. Now, what else can go wrong before then?

  8. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    April 8, 2020 at 12:06 am | #

    I’m starting to think that they could all just walk out of there as soon as Ross has his back turned.

  9. Makkabee
    Makkabee
    April 8, 2020 at 12:08 am | #

    I already loved Dorothy, but I love her even more for making plans that involve velociraptors just as a matter of course.

  10. carl320
    carl320
    April 8, 2020 at 12:09 am | #

    Davie504 has left the chat

  11. Cmasta1992
    Cmasta1992
    April 8, 2020 at 12:09 am | #

    Dina is a sweetheart but maybe hostage situation is starting on max difficulty even if we are dealing with some dumb fucks for kidnappers?

  12. Ryan the Cool
    Ryan the Cool
    April 8, 2020 at 12:09 am | #

    i love this hover text it’s so dumb and punny and i’m laughing

    • MondayLiker
      MondayLiker
      April 8, 2020 at 12:40 am | #

      I’d never heard that saying before, so this was a delightful Google trip!

      • Keulen
        Keulen
        April 8, 2020 at 12:55 am | #

        I learned something about dinosaurs that I hadn’t known before.

  13. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    April 8, 2020 at 12:16 am | #

    Dina, you clever girl!

  14. a/snow/mous/e
    a/snow/mous/e
    April 8, 2020 at 12:17 am | #

    “Orientate”? Is Dina British…?

    • NelC
      NelC
      April 8, 2020 at 12:34 am | #

      Plot twist: Willis is secretly Canadian.

    • Arianod
      Arianod
      April 8, 2020 at 3:48 am | #

      What, don’t Americans say “orientate”? What do they say then?

      (non-native speaker, asking bc curious)

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        April 8, 2020 at 5:46 am | #

        They say “orient”.

        • Alaric
          Alaric
          April 8, 2020 at 6:48 pm | #

          Really?! I’m American, and I’m pretty sure I’ve always used the two words interchangeably.

          • Rachel
            Rachel
            April 16, 2020 at 7:19 am | #

            I mean… okay… but how old are you?

            I’m talking the 1960s and 70s when Orientation became a fancy word for “Training” in various businesses and colleges and swiftly got butchered into “Orientate” because people didn’t understand that the whole “Tation” was tacked on, like in Notation, Narration, etc.

            One does not Notate, nor Narratate. But we still say “Orientate”

            And, now, of course, there’s also Commentate and Commentator… *sigh* It’s Comment. A Commentary on current events is a series of Comments by Commenters.

            Commentate my ass…

    • Leadsynth
      Leadsynth
      April 8, 2020 at 6:55 pm | #

      “My wrists are oriented properly” would be how I would say it. Now I’m curious where Dina grew up!

  15. Maddieface
    Maddieface
    April 8, 2020 at 12:42 am | #

    Dorothy took Sarah’s dig about being a leader to heart it seems.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      April 8, 2020 at 2:23 am | #

      “Hey, Roz, I got kidnapped and thrown down a stair. Is THAT ‘aproachable’ enough for you?”

  16. adam Black
    adam Black
    April 8, 2020 at 12:47 am | #

    why isnt Dina freeing everyone ?

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      April 8, 2020 at 2:22 am | #

      No one has asked her to, and she tries to follow social cues

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        April 8, 2020 at 2:26 am | #

        Also – taped up hands.

        • Arianod
          Arianod
          April 8, 2020 at 3:49 am | #

          Ah, but her wrists are orientated properly!

          • King Daniel
            King Daniel
            April 8, 2020 at 5:01 am | #

            By which she means, properly for a Velociraptor. They couldn’t pronate their wrists, despite some popular depictions showing otherwise.

  17. Chris Phoenix
    Chris Phoenix
    April 8, 2020 at 12:48 am | #

    So a bunch of people trapped indoors…

    Who may die if they try to leave the building…

    At the mercy of sadistic, psychopathic, bumbling, and/or religiously insane authority figures…

    A surprisingly high percentage of their acquaintances already in the hospital in serious condition…

    A few of them allowed to leave for essential functions…

    Damn you Trump Willis!

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      April 8, 2020 at 1:20 am | #

      Mine is a bitter, bitter laugh.

      For real though, good luck, friends.

    • PB
      PB
      April 8, 2020 at 1:33 am | #

      Pffffffft hahahahahahaha oh my god what a time to be alive

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        April 8, 2020 at 9:47 am | #

        We will surely drive ourselves insane, if we cannot laugh about it.

  18. Keulen
    Keulen
    April 8, 2020 at 12:59 am | #

    So since Dina can put duct tape around her own wrists, I’m hoping she can also get herself out of the duct tape.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      April 8, 2020 at 2:25 am | #

      Unlike the others, her arms are free. She should be able to break the tape if she knicks the edge with her teeth first.

      • fractalwolf
        fractalwolf
        April 8, 2020 at 3:10 am | #

        The spool of duct tape is still hanging from her wrists. Based on the angle I’m guessing she started by attaching the end of the duct tape to pinky-side of her left wrist and wrapped it around to the top using her right hand. She then placed her right wrist against her left wrist inside the loop of loosely hanging duct tape, and pressed against her legs to adhere it.

        All of which is to point out that a) it’s not that tight, and b) she can reverse the process by holding the duct tape roll between her legs, swinging to the left and down to pull it away from her right wrist, and then just using her freed hand to take it the rest of the way off.

        If she also tied her legs together too tightly to do that, pretty much anyone could hold the roll for her, either with their bound hands or with their teeth.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          April 8, 2020 at 7:47 am | #

          Or she could use her hands, which are taped together in front of her to undo one of the others much more easily than they could.

          • JBento
            JBento
            April 8, 2020 at 7:36 pm | #

            Or, y’know, the scythe-like claw on her feet, duh.

  19. NinjaNick
    NinjaNick
    April 8, 2020 at 1:03 am | #

    Duct tape might be used as a weapon against the Goons From Hell.

    • fractalwolf
      fractalwolf
      April 8, 2020 at 3:25 am | #

      Very true! As Empowered knows all too well… https://www.empoweredcomic.com/comic/volume-5-page-110

    • Cybersnark
      Cybersnark
      April 8, 2020 at 11:17 am | #

      Helena, please demonstrate:
      https://78.media.tumblr.com/2ce9b58bb11c24d27bedd9ab95d7f522/tumblr_nq3sq6HTWF1rgvfxho2_500.gif

      • fractalwolf
        fractalwolf
        April 8, 2020 at 1:04 pm | #

        Ooh, what’s that from?

        • Skemono
          Skemono
          April 8, 2020 at 3:26 pm | #

          Orphan Black, looks like.

  20. Lingo
    Lingo
    April 8, 2020 at 1:19 am | #

    It feels kinda strange to see Dorothy without her glasses for such an extended length of time. I guess she left her glasses in her dorm room.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      April 8, 2020 at 2:28 am | #

      She must be farsighted.

      • Lingo
        Lingo
        April 19, 2020 at 1:02 am | #

        They can’t ALL be farsighted!

  21. PB
    PB
    April 8, 2020 at 1:32 am | #

    “I have an army!”

    “We have a dinosaur.”

    • He Who Abides
      He Who Abides
      April 8, 2020 at 6:42 am | #

      “Puny toe.”

  22. BenRG
    BenRG
    April 8, 2020 at 2:01 am | #

    I think that Sal, Mazie and Amber would feel annoyed, embarrassed and maybe more than a little guilty if they knew the level of trust Dorothy has in them and the level to which they’re her heroes. Dorothy is a Superhero Girls fangirl, obviously!

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      April 8, 2020 at 2:26 am | #

      Mazie?

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        April 8, 2020 at 3:03 am | #

        Might be an attempt at giving Amazi-Girl a “normal” name.

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        April 8, 2020 at 3:14 am | #

        If, as I hope, Amazi-Girl is able to find some measure of stability with Amber, she may want to have a distinct identifying name. I like ‘Mazie’.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          April 8, 2020 at 2:11 pm | #

          Ahhhh, I see. Cute! I like it.

  23. Bagge
    Bagge
    April 8, 2020 at 2:01 am | #

    also, they are currently unsupervised and Dina has her arms free and can untie Joyce.

    Is there a bible verse about Toeshaped turds getting beaten up?

    • Khyrin
      Khyrin
      April 8, 2020 at 8:54 am | #

      Ezekiel 25:17 – I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I take vengeance on them.

      Or, the translation that is more familiar to pop culture nerds; “And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

  24. PiotrW
    PiotrW
    April 8, 2020 at 2:28 am | #

    Okay, what’s going on here? Is Dina honestly so oblivious that she kidnapped herself..?

  25. Miri
    Miri
    April 8, 2020 at 2:51 am | #

    So one of the things Amazigirl required might have been Walky’s mask… Any guesses on the other two?

    Also, does Dina have her phone on her? (Also I’m really proud of how far Dina has come – deliberately seeking out a group of her peers who value and respect her, looking for the social cues etc – whilst also really hoping she can do the wrist twist instantly freed thing…

    • Jhon
      Jhon
      April 8, 2020 at 10:26 am | #

      A ninja and a roll of duct tape.

  26. Bagge
    Bagge
    April 8, 2020 at 3:53 am | #

    Dorothy: “I now have formulated a perfect, twelve-step plan to free us from our current predicament…”
    Joyce & Amber: “EFF YOU EFFING EFF-HOLES, WE WILL EFF YOU UP!!!!”
    Dorothy: “That was step one and two…”

  27. T Campbell
    T Campbell
    April 8, 2020 at 6:20 am | #

    You know shit’s real when Sarah admits she likes people to someone who isn’t Joyce.

  28. Aprion
    Aprion
    April 8, 2020 at 7:01 am | #

    a ninja velociraptor

  29. Dwayne
    Dwayne
    April 8, 2020 at 7:10 am | #

    *oriented

  30. Vulcanodon
    Vulcanodon
    April 8, 2020 at 7:56 am | #

    My vote goes to the smart lady with the plan. Hope she doesn’t drop out of the race. Oh, wait…

  31. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    April 8, 2020 at 8:56 am | #

    What will be this plan? I’m really curious.

  32. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    April 8, 2020 at 12:08 pm | #

    Awww at Sarah in the first panel.

    Walky might wanna put the mask back on. It could get him revved up for the plan.

    • Zee
      Zee
      April 8, 2020 at 12:56 pm | #

      Amazigirl took it

      • JessWitt
        JessWitt
        April 8, 2020 at 5:28 pm | #

        Right of course.

  33. Raptorofwar
    Raptorofwar
    April 8, 2020 at 3:08 pm | #

    Honestly, that’s one of the biggest thing I dislike about Jurassic Park velociraptors. Try positioning your wrists like that. How do you not break them?

  34. nightshade
    nightshade
    April 8, 2020 at 3:18 pm | #

    just a question wouldnt you think ruth would notice half her hall isnt there yet ?

    • timemonkey
      timemonkey
      April 8, 2020 at 3:51 pm | #

      This whole thing started with her noticing. And if she starts checking people who know them that’ll lead her to the other half of the main cast.

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