Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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you're not the boss of me nooooooowwww
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June 14, 2026

East Studio

by David M Willis on September 3, 2022 at 12:01 am
  • 01 – Bring Me to Life Drawing
└ Tags: joe, sal

Discussion (83) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    September 3, 2022 at 12:03 am | #

    Look, Sal happened to learn the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, why you gotta be hatin’, Joe

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      September 3, 2022 at 3:54 am | #

      Instead of walking across the ground and climbing the wall, she needs to learn how to levitate so she can follow the hypotenuse of that right triangle.

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        September 3, 2022 at 7:03 am | #

        Have you heard the word of our lord and saviour: Grappling Hook

        • Lieutenant Dan
          Lieutenant Dan
          September 3, 2022 at 8:56 am | #

          More evidence that Sal is Amazi-Girl.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          September 3, 2022 at 8:59 am | #

          If there’s one thing Worms: Armageddon taught me, it’s that grappling hooks don’t pull you in a straight line.

          • Devin
            Devin
            September 3, 2022 at 1:00 pm | #

            Gosh darn force vectors. So inconsiderate.

          • The Wellerman
            The Wellerman
            September 3, 2022 at 2:12 pm | #

            You play Worms? Awesome!!! 😃

          • someone
            someone
            September 4, 2022 at 5:25 am | #

            Use a Hook of Dissonance so that you just teleport to wherever the grappling hook attaches. Nobody can tell whether or not you traveled in a straight line.

  2. ADLegend21
    ADLegend21
    September 3, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

    If Sal wants to live in an assassin’s Creed game, let her!

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      September 3, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

      OK now I HAVE to make a stealth game with her! 😃

      • v.gay.person
        v.gay.person
        September 3, 2022 at 1:03 am | #

        YES PLEASE

      • anon
        anon
        September 3, 2022 at 1:20 am | #

        makes me think of those flash games where you dodge stuff so maybe a climbing walls kinda thing lol

      • Bicycle Bill
        Bicycle Bill
        September 3, 2022 at 3:51 am | #

        A wall-climbing video game has already been made.  See the 1980s arcade game “Crazy Climber” by Nichibutsu (released in North America by Taito).

        • anon
          anon
          September 3, 2022 at 4:07 am | #

          doesn’t mean one with sal wouldn’t still be a fun parody lol

  3. Nono
    Nono
    September 3, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

    Sal just has shower Danny on the brain doesn’t she.

    Also Sal, get Danny’s phone number or something by now.

    • Madock345
      Madock345
      September 3, 2022 at 12:59 am | #

      I know *I* have shower Danny on the brain lmao.

    • Queezle
      Queezle
      September 3, 2022 at 1:55 am | #

      “Shower Danny on the brain”? What does that mean?

      • Madock345
        Madock345
        September 3, 2022 at 2:54 am | #

        It’s implying that she would have imagined Danny in the shower and found it hot.

  4. Shitbird
    Shitbird
    September 3, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

    Sal is real scared of being rejected by Danny I guess?

    • Nep
      Nep
      September 3, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

      She’s scared of being seen to care too much, because it’s been used against her.

      • DailyBrad
        DailyBrad
        September 3, 2022 at 12:11 am | #

        Right, vulnerability has been punished more than once by her mother and others.

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        September 3, 2022 at 12:13 am | #

        She’s afraid of being lied to or gaslit or preached at with conspiracy theories, and doesn’t want to get anywhere near his bunk.

        • Laura
          Laura
          September 3, 2022 at 11:11 am | #

          Context?

          • Reltzik
            Reltzik
            September 3, 2022 at 1:10 pm | #

            Puns need context?

          • Laura
            Laura
            September 3, 2022 at 3:56 pm | #

            Sorry, I just didn’t get the pun. Wasn’t sure of the reference.

    • jeffepp
      jeffepp
      September 3, 2022 at 1:13 am | #

      Elevators. She’s afraid of elevators.

      • Casi
        Casi
        September 3, 2022 at 3:37 am | #

        She’s right to be afraid of those death boxes.

        • Bicycle Bill
          Bicycle Bill
          September 3, 2022 at 3:53 am | #

          I remember the scene with the faulty elevator in “Hotel”, the 1967 movie based on the book by Arthur Hailey.

        • Psychie
          Psychie
          September 3, 2022 at 10:40 pm | #

          That looked extraordinarily cheesy, and I love it. Like, first the dude cautions him about the bomb being extra deadly on an elevator, like, what? Then the elevator gets stuck because the little girl pushed the stop button and somehow they can’t just un-stop it? Then the dude makes a terrorist joke? Now everyone has blood on them? Why? It never even explains WHY the guy had a bomb in the first place! What even IS this?

          I don’t even want to watch it, because I feel like getting the context would ruin the magic of that trailer and absolutely BONKERS it is!

  5. King Daniel
    King Daniel
    September 3, 2022 at 12:04 am | #

    Hovertext POV: the ledges and handholds are slippery with ice

    (probably cursed)

  6. The Wellerman
    The Wellerman
    September 3, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

    You’re not the boss of me now! 🎵
    And you’re not so big! 🎵

    😆

    • Hazel
      Hazel
      September 3, 2022 at 12:06 am | #

      Life is unfair~~

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      September 3, 2022 at 12:12 am | #

      One time in freshman year Spanish class, this girl (who was not so good at Spanish) responded to the teacher’s question with, “Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know.” And then this other kid in class sang out “Can you repeat the question?”

      In my preferred version of what happened next, the entire class burst into song. In reality, maybe three of us half-sang a couple more lines.

      • The Wellerman
        The Wellerman
        September 3, 2022 at 12:13 am | #

        For what it’s worth, the real version still sounds cool 🙂

  7. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    September 3, 2022 at 12:05 am | #

    And as I look the title banner has Sal, Danny and Joe all in various states of PSL. Welcome to that time of year.

    • Laura
      Laura
      September 3, 2022 at 12:17 am | #

      PSL?
      Pumpkin spice latte?
      https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/PSL

      • AbacusWizard
        AbacusWizard
        September 3, 2022 at 12:24 am | #

        “Perverse Sexual Lust.” It was a very common acronym on the It’s Walky! message boards back in the Keenspot/Nighstar days.

        • Clif
          Clif
          September 3, 2022 at 1:49 am | #

          Well, that’s just Joe’s default state. Doesn’t really count.

        • Laura
          Laura
          September 3, 2022 at 11:10 am | #

          Ah. Thank you.

    • emeraldbeacon
      emeraldbeacon
      September 3, 2022 at 12:18 am | #

      …Pumpkin Spice Latte?

      Dangit, it *is* the beginning of September…

      • Bicycle Bill
        Bicycle Bill
        September 3, 2022 at 3:55 am | #

        Ever seen white pumpkins?  That’s what’s left after regular pumpkins have been drained of their spice by illegal poachers.  FIGHT BACK!! DEMAND ONLY ETHICALLY-SOURCED PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES!!

    • BarerMender
      BarerMender
      September 3, 2022 at 12:29 am | #

      Port St. Lucie? Pumpkin Spice Latte? Puahate Sluthate Lookism? Private Storyline? Paid Sick Leave? Help me out.

  8. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    September 3, 2022 at 12:06 am | #

    Sooner or later those wall are going to be slick with ice or snow or DAMMIT DANIEL!

  9. cookie1995
    cookie1995
    September 3, 2022 at 12:07 am | #

    *reads hovertext*
    And now I have the malcom in the middle theme stuck in my head
    Thanks Willis/s

    • Casi
      Casi
      September 3, 2022 at 3:39 am | #

      I said damn you willis as i started humming the theme song myself.

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      September 3, 2022 at 4:57 am | #

      I’m happy to see people getting this reference.

  10. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    September 3, 2022 at 12:09 am | #

    Please tell me Danny and Sal are forming a band, I neeeeed it

  11. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    September 3, 2022 at 12:11 am | #

    I love the side of Sal that Danny brings out, I really, truly do.

  12. ReFlex76
    ReFlex76
    September 3, 2022 at 12:12 am | #

    Naked Danny walks out of shower, expecting only Joe.
    Sal sees naked Danny.
    Sal gets horny.
    They still go to East Studio, with its soundproof walls.
    Sal about to test Danny’s vaunted cunnilingus skills, Slipshine getting likely.

    • cbwroses
      cbwroses
      September 3, 2022 at 12:15 am | #

      So was Danny naked in the hall or did he immediately drop the towel when he entered the room?

    • Madock345
      Madock345
      September 3, 2022 at 1:05 am | #

      I do like to imagine Danny and Joe hang out naked in the dorm but Danny doesn’t seem the type. Ready to be proved wrong though.

      • Findus
        Findus
        September 3, 2022 at 4:53 am | #

        This comic strip rather seems to prove you right:
        https://www.dumbingofage.com/pajamas-2/

  13. BBCC
    BBCC
    September 3, 2022 at 12:17 am | #

    Don’t you discourage her, Joe! Sal likes the windows. They remind her of her better times at boarding school.

    • anon
      anon
      September 3, 2022 at 1:21 am | #

      i’m not sure how high up it is but i’m surprised there’s enough diff textures ‘jutting’ out for her to get a good hold onto even with gloves/parkour skills

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        September 3, 2022 at 7:09 am | #

        I think there’s a tree

  14. AbacusWizard
    AbacusWizard
    September 3, 2022 at 12:17 am | #

    “You’ve got an open window and Ah’m gonna use it.”

  15. Suet
    Suet
    September 3, 2022 at 12:28 am | #

    “Don’t telll me what to do, I’ll only what not to do even more!” *shoves jellybeans up nose*

    Joepunzel, Joepunzel, lay down… nvm

  16. John
    John
    September 3, 2022 at 12:36 am | #

    stop telling sal to not be sal.

  17. Dave Van Domelen
    Dave Van Domelen
    September 3, 2022 at 12:37 am | #

    The elevator doesn’t suit her idiom.

  18. Kravis
    Kravis
    September 3, 2022 at 1:10 am | #

    That’s why they called Sal “Spyder” (yeah, that’s right, with an “y“) in the joint, Joe.

    Cause she… Likes to climb shit.

  19. Qube
    Qube
    September 3, 2022 at 1:26 am | #

    re: alt text: Joe is still pretty big though

  20. Amelie Wikström
    Amelie Wikström
    September 3, 2022 at 2:40 am | #

    Compromise: take the stairs

  21. june gloom
    june gloom
    September 3, 2022 at 2:41 am | #

    I just adore Joe when he’s exasperated.

  22. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    September 3, 2022 at 4:11 am | #

    Are we heading towards that classic manga situation where Sal will see Danny arriving wearing only a towel and blush, Danny see Sal see him and blush and everything becomes an awkward silence broken only by a salty joke from Joe..? Not bad! Sal don’t seem to like the idea of waiting, is she afraid Joe will going into an apprehensive mother-style interrogation or is she just afraid that she likes Danny too much? Let’s hope to see them playing in that music pratice room.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      September 3, 2022 at 4:23 am | #

      Wouldn’t Joe be savvy enough to realize that when Sal is waiting in the room for a semi-naked Dan to return, being a proper bro means suddenly deciding that he needs to go to the library *right now* for an extended study session?

  23. darkoneko
    darkoneko
    September 3, 2022 at 5:07 am | #

    Goota pratice to keep in shape :muscle:

  24. Chasey
    Chasey
    September 3, 2022 at 5:48 am | #

    I guess she COULD use the stairs, but that’d be absolutely barbaric.

  25. AlaninDC
    AlaninDC
    September 3, 2022 at 6:51 am | #

    I don’t ever remember reading what Sal’s major is, that she would require a music practice room.
    What’s she taking at the university?

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      September 3, 2022 at 7:06 am | #

      Sal is in fact a music major, although she was undeclared for most of the comic’s run so far

    • Koms
      Koms
      September 3, 2022 at 7:16 am | #

      Undeclared? https://www.dumbingofage.com/2021/comic/book-11/05-as-long-as-its-free/garaged/

  26. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    September 3, 2022 at 8:30 am | #

    Have we seen that music room before? I’m thinking of…Sayid and Brian?

  27. thumb
    thumb
    September 3, 2022 at 8:41 am | #

    Sal becoming forcing herself to be a regular normie despite it going against every single one of her instincts. Her original plan was to ride her motorcycle straight through the window and stop in an Akira slide. Not enough space? Her coolness bends time and space.

    • Adept
      Adept
      September 3, 2022 at 10:07 am | #

      She’s given up on the bike for now, remember. Too expensive to keep on campus.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        September 3, 2022 at 11:07 am | #

        Her next thought was to do exactly the same thing on her bicycle.

  28. Bagge
    Bagge
    September 3, 2022 at 9:05 am | #

    Que Malaya: “Ooooh, too cool for elevators, are you?”
    Sal: “FINE, I’ll ride the elevator.”
    Malaya: “Oooooh, too cool for climbing, are you?”

    • sdrainbow
      sdrainbow
      September 3, 2022 at 3:16 pm | #

      This, but unironically

  29. H.J. Fleischmann
    H.J. Fleischmann
    September 3, 2022 at 12:34 pm | #

    One day we shall see Sal take the lift.

  30. Keulen
    Keulen
    September 3, 2022 at 1:12 pm | #

    I’m glad that Sal’s good at climbing buildings, because in real life this would be pretty dangerous if she slips and falls. Especially in winter when there could be snow or ice on parts of the building.

  31. Marvelman
    Marvelman
    September 3, 2022 at 5:55 pm | #

    Sal has been mad at her mom ever since she chose Walky to be on that video instead of her. I’d really like to hear her Mom’s side of the story. Of course, I’m assuming there is another side to the story. Maybe it really was just because Sal is darker than Walky.

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      September 3, 2022 at 8:52 pm | #

      It isn’t just that, in general Sal feels Linda favors Walky, and even Walky has acknowledged it, even if his initial reasoning was different from Sal’s.

  32. Violet
    Violet
    September 3, 2022 at 6:51 pm | #

    It was on this day that I managed to fully catch up on every strip from both dumbing of age and It’s Walky! (currently working through Shortpacked! to complete the set). Also I love how no matter the universe, Sal is still incapable of understanding how doors or elevators work. Hence why even the bike she rides has no doors to ensure they don’t get in the way of her rule of cool;

  33. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    September 4, 2022 at 12:03 am | #

    I know that Billie can’t distinguish the realmAmazi-Girk, but will she learn the truth aboht Sal being Spider-Woman?

  34. Steelbright
    Steelbright
    September 4, 2022 at 10:08 pm | #

    Maybe she just doesn’t want to deal with you being a dipshit for another 10 minutes, Joe.

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