Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
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Velinxi
Iris Black is a self-proclaimed inventor with the curious ability to bring his drawings to life, and yearns to find a space where he can use his powers freely.
The Otherknown
Lorian Merriman
Chandra is a 12-year-old accidental time traveler with a reluctant new dad, who happens to be a member of a feared galactic crime syndicate.
Beeserker
TJ Cordes
This comic is about a robot powered by bees, but it's also about the kind of people who think filling a robot with bees is a good idea, and why they're wrong.
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
Slightly Damned
Chu
Rhea Snaketail returns from the dead, befriending a Demon who falls in love with an Angel. The afterlife ain't what it used to be!
Namesake
Isa, Meg
There's ghosts at your heels and fairy tale worlds ahead. What do you do? Jump down the rabbit hole!
Blindsprings
Kadi Fedoruk
Tamaura, wrested into a world 300 years in the future, must find a way to save the magic fading from her country.
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Desperate for companionship, Frankenstein's Monster pretends to be the Opera Ghost. A grave mistake.
2 Slices
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After a case of mistaken identity, will awkward Daisuke find help from excitable Mamo, or will his love life be thrown completely off track?
Mac Hall
Matt Boyd
The legendary early-aughts webcomic that inspired a wave of webcomic creators.
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Of course, maybe they should invite Mike on the logic that Mike being an ass at your party is better than a Mike that is mad you stiffed him. Lex Luthor uses similar reasoning for why he invites the Joker into the Legion of Doom.
well i mean…the bruises and whatnot have healed, but i’m sure joe is no more inclined to socialize with joyce knowing she’s willing to punch him for thought crimes, never mind how hard. it could be three and a half months and he’d probably still be reluctant to attend.
I can’t hear that song. I got some song from Tim Wilson stuck in my head instead. I can’t remember the name of the song for some reason, but here is a link to it:
Joyce doesn’t feel safe around Joe and has reacted poorly to his presence each time he’s been near her since their ‘date’. This is just ensuring he doesn’t show up.
Would you rather have him stumble into the party accidentally and do something that could reinforce Joyce’s negative feelings on parties instead of actively telling him he can’t go?
The problem with what he may or may not do is that you could also easily say that Joe will now be miffed that he didn’t get an invite and will crash the party
I just don’t believe Joe deserves that kind of spitefullness
I’m with others on this one. If you don’t tell him that there’s a party on, he might come over to see what all the hubbub is about, and then there’s the awkward clash of “Oh, hi Joe….we’re having a party and it’s invite only, so please go away”, which could ruin the mood.
But by specifically telling him ahead of time, mood-ruinage* later on should theoretically be avoided. He’s not that much of a dick that he’d deliberately crash the party and be an ass now that he knows it’s happening, Joyce knows that he’ll probably just stay away (and anyway, he wants to avoid getting punched by Joyce again probably…).
Now Mike on the other hand, I think Joyce might actually invite on the basis that he’ll be slightly less of a dick to her if he gets invited then if he didn’t. Probably.
It’s a coed dorm with the sexes split between wings. If it works like the ones I lived in with the same arrangements, unless there are complaints and an RA available to act on them, anyone can wander the halls anywhere. Your only exclusion zones are the showers and people’s rooms.
AIUI they’re split between floors, not wings. The difference being, with the split between floors there’s less likely to be proper access control (i.e. a key card that only people who live in that wing have), but that doesn’t mean it’s not still technically against the rules for them to be there unescorted.
It is rude to go and find somebody who is in their own space, when they have expressed zero intention to come into yours, to knock on their door and tell them that by the way they need to stay away. But this isn’t likely to hurt Joe’s feelings at all, so I think this one falls squarely under Rule Of Funny.
I don’t think it’s particularly because it’s Joe as much as because in her eyes, Joe is defined by his sexuality and at the moment, as a result of Ryan, male sexuality is what frightens her the most.
The clear difference of course being that by all appearances Joe is a strong advocate of consensual sex, but again, it’s not as much Joe himself as Joyce’s impression of him as someone who is defined by the exact thing that frightens her the most.
Which is ironic, sad and unfortunate for Joyce because given Joe.s explanation to Danny of his views on mutual consent and womens’ sexual agency, he’s an important anti-Ryan.
While I think you’re right about Joe, mostly because he’s always been played as funny and harmless, I wouldn’t normally take people’s own explanations of views on mutual consent and womens’ sexual agency at face value. The Ethical Slut is a common trope, but not quite so much in real life. And the other type often talks the same and even thinks of himself the same way, but aren’t quite as ethical as they claim – quite happy to lie and pressure to seduce, even though they avoid outright rape.
More importantly no in Joyce’s situation is going to be at all comfortable with someone that sexually outgoing. Pushes all the wrong buttons.
We can trust him, because we know better. She can’t.
Yes, Joe was wrong with the way he interrupted the class and made questionable remarks. But Joyce also held rather questionable attitudes at one time. And, because of those attitudes Joe was subject to physical violence.
Ironically, Joe would actually be one of the safer people for Joyce to be around. Yes, he’s running around trying to have sex with every (female) thing that moves… but he would definitely avoid pushing things as far as sexual assault.
Yes, but Joyce still more or less retains the attitudes that had her punching Joe in the face. She’s cooled on the anti-gay stuff, but she didn’t just become a non-fundie overnight.
Joe might be safer to have around than some, but given precedent, I think Amber and Sarah probably have it covered, especially since he has a tendency to make even his best friends uncomfortable.
while I agree he wouldn’t be the type to do that, how does that make him “one of the safer people” I mean that statement is vague enough that it could include every person who isn’t into sexual assault so thats true in a way, but most of the characters in this comic (Joyce’s almost rapist excluded) probably would be considered just as safe in that regard to Joe. in all honesty its not how safe the person actually is so much as how safe they make Joyce feel. which is why she is inviting friends and those with positive interactions, rather then the entire dorm who we probably can assume (to some extent) aren’t rapists.
Well, my argument that he’s “one of the safer people” is based partly on the fact that he’d have a much more intimidating presence than someone like Walky or Dan.
1. Joyce wasn’t around to see that, she doesn’t read the comic, she doesn’t know everything about Joe
2. People like to bring this up as some proof that Joe is a great guy. Last time I checked, “not being a rapist” is just basic decency
3. The purpose of this party is not just to make sure Joyce isn’t raped, but that she feels comfortable and happy and surrounded by friends – Joe isn’t her friend (I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care that he wasn’t invited) and it was shown that male sexuality makes Joyce uncomfortable now, and if Joe starts hitting on a lady in a party or even just talking about fucking a lady (and he would, he’s JOE) – that would make her feel bad
Meh. I don’t consider this any MORE dickish than deliberately trying to embarrass someone in front of their friends by essentially waving money in their face to do something they personally object to doing essentially for their personal amusement. Their mutual antagonism of one another has honestly kind of become the cornerstone of their relationship.
In any case, I would usually consider telling someone they’re not invited to a party to be pretty rude, but considering that Joe probably doesn’t really care (And is probably heading to Roz’s party anyway) I found this to be funny really.
He’s male, he’s a highly sexual being, and she knows for a fact that he’s at least attracted to her enough to ask her on a date.
For someone traumatized enough to see her would-be rapist in every single man who isn’t already on her safe list (which consists, so far, entirely of Walky, Ethan, and apparently Jacob) those three facts would be enough to add up to ‘unsafe feelings’ I think.
I prefer non friend Frienimies! Its so much easier then having actual enemies, I mean with actual enemies you have to thwart there evil plans every week, and come up with witty banter about the persona they chose to represent themselves by. Like how much time does one have to spend figuring out penguin puns for every other time you punch them?
Does anyone want to join me in calling Joyce & Joe as a couple by the time DoA comes to an end? I see this ship, off in the distance (which will be part of the fun—watching it slowly sail into harbour), and I am booking my passage now.
They were teased for a while in the Walkyverse but sadly they went with Joyce/Walky instead. Which means we might get another taste of what could have been in this one.
It’s rude, true, but Joe’s not the type to get his feelings hurt over not being invited to a party organized by someone who repeatedly had him be punched in the face by Mike. Normally I wouldn’t like Joyce doing this either, but with the context here I think it’s fine.
I think I’m the only one that agrees with you. I’m also of the unpopular opinion that Joyce is a jerk for punching Joe and having Mikr punch Joe. I think Joe is a douche, but also doesn’t deserve things as bad as he’s got. But people here will always side with little princess Joycw, unless Becky is rude to Joyce and then everyone sides with Becky and defends her against so called “becky hate” that I STILL have yet to see.
The harshest of the Becky hate gets deleted by Willis.
Nobody really thought Joyce punching Joe was acceptable but it was a one time thing, she did no actual damage and he called her on it the next day (and she even seemed to get that she did wrong) so we let it go.
I was explaining how horrible a news sourch Fox news is to someone not too long ago, and he says, really? I think they are fair and balanced! I started laughing a little too hard but then I realized he was serious… that was awkward
I was thinking the same thing,
Ethan:”hey theirs a party tonight, I’m taking you”
Danny: “wha… O_o” *blushes* “well I mean if you insist…”
Ethan: “yeah Dorothy was to shy to go without you there”
Danny: “oh haha yeah it almost sounded like you were askimg me out”
Ethan: “hehe yeah that would be awkward”
(both awkwardly blush and look away from each other)
I’m pretty sure the phrase “taking the edge off” usually refers to taking drugs, drinking, etc. A dose of vigilanteism seems to be Amber’s go-to, as we’ve seen before.
“Taking the edge off” made me wonder, too. A spot of vigilante justice, or a shot of bourbon, or maybe just rubbing one out, a la Something About Mary?
I mean, I get that Joyce doesn’t want him there, but that’s a dick move. It’s not hire someone to punch you in the face rude but it’s still pretty rude.
I can understand why Joe was specifically “not-invited”, the last time they were together when he wasn’t making moves on Joyce he was making moves on anything with a vagina walking on two legs.
Wouldn’t being willing to Joe girls who have lost a leg make Joe a better person who doesn’t discriminate against girls who are missing large appendages.
And Amber-as-Amber isn’t dating him, so he can’t be her +1. Fortunately there’s Ethan to bring him, and Joyce won’t say no to him…but she’ll probably make the obvious assumption if her gay ex-boyfriend asks to bring a strange guy to her party.
Though he might make a point of saying “This awesome sauce guy is dating Amazi-Girl! How cool is that? Pretty dang cool if you ask me.” Or at least giving her a head shake if she gives him a knowing or questioning glance.
So Ethan is coming… and Danny is coming… and Amber will show up later.
…This sounds WAY too much like its gearing up for the most destructive possible outcome.
Can you imagine Joyce not wanting Sal there? Whether Sal has better things to do is something else again. But if Marcie is tied up with someone else, it’s possible.
Danny doesn’t want to be flirting with Ethan when Amber arrives, so he is talking with Sal instead. But Sal is bored and leaves telling her tutor she’ll see him later tonight.
Danny: “I uh what um why are you asking me?” *tugs at collar*
Ethan: “Oh, Amber needs to prep herself before the party. She wanted to bring you, and I’m also invited. So she told me to not wait up, and just take you!”
Danny: “Oh. Oh that makes more sense. Not that I thought it was for another reason! Nope. Why would you ask me to a party like that?”
Ethan: “Like what?”
Danny: PARTY. IT’S PARTY TIME. LETS GO TO PARTY NOW.
That also seems possible. But yeah, there will not be any declarations of undying love. I would be annoyed and concerned if that happened.
I don’t see how that would even happen. Even if Joyce somehow misunderstands the situation without Ethan or Danny correcting her Amber will still know what’s up.
Joyce what the hell. Okay yes, he’s made questionable choices. But I’d bet everything I own that if he heard that YOU were having a party, he’d roll his eyes and make sure to go everywhere BUT your party. If he showed up, you could have someone say “sorry, invite only.”
Having a “definitely not” list doesn’t actually mean sending someone around to tell them to keep away (it could simply mean to say “no, he can’t be your plus one” if anyone asks), but Becky might have misunderstood.
Here’s something to think about… I wonder how Dorothy feels about Joe being excluded. The 2 of them were probably not best friends, but they were at least familiar with each other prior to college. (I also wonder if she knows about Joyce having Joe punched in the face. I know the comic is largely done for comedy, but physical assault would normally be a rather serious issue.)
Galasso gives no shits so I doubt he would’ve called the authorities, and I also doubt that Joe would’ve told anyone. Danny probably kept his mouth shut because he’s bffs with Joe. So I doubt highly that Dorothy actually knows that she helped kick his ass.
There might have been evidence… Joe probably showed bruising as a result of the punches, and he did talk to Joyce about the issue in public (which means it might have been overheard.) Then there was also the waitress who was a witness, who might not have called the cops but who would have seen things.
Overall though, I agree… Dorothy doesn’t know. Although it would be interesting to see how she would react if she did hear of it.
This strikes me more as a childish petulance kind of thing that she’s shown around Joe before. I can’t imagine her treating Joe well considering how she feels about men in general at the moment.
It’s entirely possible that Joyce was rattling off names of people to invite and said “Oh, and Joe is definitely not invited” and Becky, being not as well socialized as Joyce, decided to contact him about it anyway. Or perhaps out of curiosity. Hanlon’s razor and all.
See thats what I don’t get about this whole thing, Joe wouldn’t want to go because there’ll be no alcohol and probably no girls for him to bang yet Becky told him he specifically wasn’t going (I’m know not sure if it was deliberate on Joyces part or deliberate on Beckys part)
It just seems almost like a case of trying to rub it in Joes face that hes not allowed to come which is I don’t get as Joyce helped to (and encourage) a physical assault on Joe
Remember, Joyce doesn’t get how tame and uninteresting the things she enjoys are to more worldly people. Let’s be honest, if most of the people she’s inviting didn’t already enjoy each other’s company this party would blow.
Doesn’t change the point that this seems like either Joyce or Becky are deliberately snubbing Joe (which is fine as its their party) and making sure he knows about it
I’m wondering if Becky is going to run into the would be would be rapist during her invite/non invite rounds? So what kind of predictions does everyone have on how this will wrong?
No I don’t think that will happen. I’m of the opinion that Ryan either doesn’t go to this college, or isn’t in the dorms. In my experience, most upperclassmen prefer to live on their own, since dorms are quite expensive. (this is based on my college experience though. the dorms at her school might be more reasonably priced) I think that Ryan isn’t going to show his sorry face around this comic anymore.
On how it could go wrong…Danny comes out to Ethan first, but Amber overhears and thinks he’s going to leave her since he didn’t tell her first. Sarah and Jacob have a fight that continues from their last one. Sarah confronts Becky in front of everyone at the party in an angry outburst. Someone brings alcohol and Joyce has a panic attack. Becky makes a move on Billie, Ruth only sees the move being made, breaks up with Billie and kicks Becky out.
That concludes my list. Hopefully none of them happen.
I doubt Ryan is gone from the comic forever. I mean, I doubt any of us actually WANT him to come back, but from a storytelling perspective, it would make sense for him to come back at one point.
Hopefully to get his teeth knocked in by amazi girl
and sarah
and becky
and dorothy
and billie
and ruth
and danny
and joe
and mike
and roz
and ethan
and oh so especially joyce
About the hover text, I’d say that Danny, Mike, Billie and Sal are the only medium height characters, unless I’m missing some. I almost said Ruth, but she’s a bit above average for a woman I think.
The thing is that this comic’s tone is all over the place. If a work deals with serious issues in a serious way on a regular basis many people aren’t going to be as willing to suspend their disbelief for wacky hijinks and instead they’re going to end up looking at them through the same lens they look at the serious subject matter because it’s all happening in the same setting so it’s not unreasonable to hold it to the same standard. And from a realistic perspective this is a really jerkish thing to do.
That is more of an artistic problem (internal inconsistency-do I want to be slapstick gag-a-day, soap, or slice of life) though, not a measuring stick for our opinions of characters. A fairly common one in long-running webcomics too. QC has the same problem with Faye-a lot of her physical violence in early strips is much less consistent with the tone of the strip now. For that matter a lot of the more controversial characters have this problem-they act in ways that are consistent with a more exaggerated setting even though it’s a fairly realistic and sober one.
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...
Where did Hollywood go so wrong? I thought movies were supposed to be an escape from reality, a chance to put your worries aside and not have to think about any underlying ideas or concepts. Well, not anymore.
theonion.com/you-can...
It's not a new argument, of course, but Chesterton dismissed it effectively in 1908.
"You will hear everlastingly... this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The fact is, of course, that the rich man is bribed; he has been bribed already. That is why he is a rich man."
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Hawley dismisses Trump lining his pockets with his memecoin: "Listen, I think nobody believes that Donald Trump can be bought. I mean, what does Donald Trump need more money for?"
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Pavel
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“I had to let you know because we’re all out of face-punches”
“WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN”
“Joyce’s hand still hurts, and Mike’s busy”
Is Mike on the list? I must know. And Joyce might want a chaperone again.
“Hail Satan” phone prank. So, no.
Eh, they don’t, Sarah’s ther—oh wait.
Dorothy, Walky and Ethan will be there, she’s safe.
Mike is also on the “Definitely not” list.
Mike is probably on a “no punch” clausule… so he is probably not going either… unless he decided to take it as a loophole that he can kick.
Of course, maybe they should invite Mike on the logic that Mike being an ass at your party is better than a Mike that is mad you stiffed him. Lex Luthor uses similar reasoning for why he invites the Joker into the Legion of Doom.
Mike is wherever you don’t want him to be.
Unless you want him to be with your mom. He’ll be there for a nickel.
He is kind like the evil fairy in sleeping beauty in that aspect XD
Keep your enemies close to you.
That was it is only a short thrust instead of all that annoying running around first.
Becky probably isn’t telling him he’s not invited in that case.
If Mike is not invited, Becky will tell him. She has no fear, and will get right up in his FAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaacccccccceee!
For a nickel.
meme overload
But Mike is useful to Joyce. He’s always there when you need him to punch Joe in the face.
Wow, Joyce must punch really hard if it’s been like what, a week and a half since Joes and her date?
Three and a half weeks.
well i mean…the bruises and whatnot have healed, but i’m sure joe is no more inclined to socialize with joyce knowing she’s willing to punch him for thought crimes, never mind how hard. it could be three and a half months and he’d probably still be reluctant to attend.
He’s busy banging pretty much every night (and most of the day), anyway.
“Very explicit?”
Well yeah – have you seen her butt in those shorts?
how could you NOT
Booty booty booty booty
booty everywhere!
…I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it.
I’m not angry. I’m disappointed.
You didn’t finish the song.
They’ve all got butts disease! Quarantine this thread! I need 50…butts. Its to late for me, go on without me! Find a cure!
I will destroy you and steal your fiance, Booty Booty Booty Booty Rockin everywhere?
Nooo! one of our only doctors was infected! We need you Doctor_Who!
They’re not technically related, so it’ll be OK.
I can’t hear that song. I got some song from Tim Wilson stuck in my head instead. I can’t remember the name of the song for some reason, but here is a link to it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWAeEitbERk
I think Joe would take that way better if Becky delivered the message in the form of a singing telegram.
I’d rather have Becky not be shot by Joe…in the doorway…with a loaded sock.
I, am! a singing telegram, BANG
Yay, Clue!
“DADADADADADA! I am your singing telegram!”-BLAM!
Shouldn’t have knocked on Ruth’s door when she’s hungover.
Which alternate ending are we getting?
definitely not the one where the gay guy turns out to be hetero after all
He could be bi! Like Danny!
1 plus 2 plus 2…plus 1.
You probbly don’t wanna try Sal’s either.
Maybe. Maybe not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui337e5D50E
She also said to get Mike to punch you in the face……I’ll be right back!
Well thats just a dick move, my opinion of Joyce just took a major dive
Joyce doesn’t feel safe around Joe and has reacted poorly to his presence each time he’s been near her since their ‘date’. This is just ensuring he doesn’t show up.
Ironically it’s Joe’s face who should feel unsafe around Joyce.
You don’t see an issue with telling someone theres a party and they’re not invited, you don’t see how rude that is?
This is Joe you’re talking about.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/sweetlesbianfacts/
Joes a douche so don’t invite him but to tell him specifically hes not invited to a party is just plain rude
Would you rather have him stumble into the party accidentally and do something that could reinforce Joyce’s negative feelings on parties instead of actively telling him he can’t go?
The problem with what he may or may not do is that you could also easily say that Joe will now be miffed that he didn’t get an invite and will crash the party
I just don’t believe Joe deserves that kind of spitefullness
I don’t think Joe is the type to get angry enough that he’d go do something after he’s been told not to do something.
So don’t invite and if he turns up explain its invite only so problem solved so why need to specifically tell someone they’re not invited is beyond me
*Something similar happened to me a couple of decades ago and it hurt then and it still (surprisingly) hurts now
I’m with others on this one. If you don’t tell him that there’s a party on, he might come over to see what all the hubbub is about, and then there’s the awkward clash of “Oh, hi Joe….we’re having a party and it’s invite only, so please go away”, which could ruin the mood.
But by specifically telling him ahead of time, mood-ruinage* later on should theoretically be avoided. He’s not that much of a dick that he’d deliberately crash the party and be an ass now that he knows it’s happening, Joyce knows that he’ll probably just stay away (and anyway, he wants to avoid getting punched by Joyce again probably…).
Now Mike on the other hand, I think Joyce might actually invite on the basis that he’ll be slightly less of a dick to her if he gets invited then if he didn’t. Probably.
*ruinage is a word now. Deal.
Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t guys not even allowed in the women’s dorm uninvited? Him stumbling into the party would be a pretty neat trick.
Joe is very likely to be in the ladies’ dorm anyway for *delicate cough* other business.
It’s a coed dorm with the sexes split between wings. If it works like the ones I lived in with the same arrangements, unless there are complaints and an RA available to act on them, anyone can wander the halls anywhere. Your only exclusion zones are the showers and people’s rooms.
AIUI they’re split between floors, not wings. The difference being, with the split between floors there’s less likely to be proper access control (i.e. a key card that only people who live in that wing have), but that doesn’t mean it’s not still technically against the rules for them to be there unescorted.
It’s not rude to tell someone to stay out of your personal space because they make you uncomfortable.
It is rude to go and find somebody who is in their own space, when they have expressed zero intention to come into yours, to knock on their door and tell them that by the way they need to stay away. But this isn’t likely to hurt Joe’s feelings at all, so I think this one falls squarely under Rule Of Funny.
I don’t think it’s particularly because it’s Joe as much as because in her eyes, Joe is defined by his sexuality and at the moment, as a result of Ryan, male sexuality is what frightens her the most.
The clear difference of course being that by all appearances Joe is a strong advocate of consensual sex, but again, it’s not as much Joe himself as Joyce’s impression of him as someone who is defined by the exact thing that frightens her the most.
Which is ironic, sad and unfortunate for Joyce because given Joe.s explanation to Danny of his views on mutual consent and womens’ sexual agency, he’s an important anti-Ryan.
While I think you’re right about Joe, mostly because he’s always been played as funny and harmless, I wouldn’t normally take people’s own explanations of views on mutual consent and womens’ sexual agency at face value. The Ethical Slut is a common trope, but not quite so much in real life. And the other type often talks the same and even thinks of himself the same way, but aren’t quite as ethical as they claim – quite happy to lie and pressure to seduce, even though they avoid outright rape.
More importantly no in Joyce’s situation is going to be at all comfortable with someone that sexually outgoing. Pushes all the wrong buttons.
We can trust him, because we know better. She can’t.
Yes, Joe was wrong with the way he interrupted the class and made questionable remarks. But Joyce also held rather questionable attitudes at one time. And, because of those attitudes Joe was subject to physical violence.
Ironically, Joe would actually be one of the safer people for Joyce to be around. Yes, he’s running around trying to have sex with every (female) thing that moves… but he would definitely avoid pushing things as far as sexual assault.
Yes, but Joyce still more or less retains the attitudes that had her punching Joe in the face. She’s cooled on the anti-gay stuff, but she didn’t just become a non-fundie overnight.
Joe might be safer to have around than some, but given precedent, I think Amber and Sarah probably have it covered, especially since he has a tendency to make even his best friends uncomfortable.
while I agree he wouldn’t be the type to do that, how does that make him “one of the safer people” I mean that statement is vague enough that it could include every person who isn’t into sexual assault so thats true in a way, but most of the characters in this comic (Joyce’s almost rapist excluded) probably would be considered just as safe in that regard to Joe. in all honesty its not how safe the person actually is so much as how safe they make Joyce feel. which is why she is inviting friends and those with positive interactions, rather then the entire dorm who we probably can assume (to some extent) aren’t rapists.
Well, my argument that he’s “one of the safer people” is based partly on the fact that he’d have a much more intimidating presence than someone like Walky or Dan.
Joe’s also demonstrated an actual understanding of enthusiastic consent. Nah, this was just dickish.
Mind, I don’t like Joyce less for it – it’s amusing and mild.
1. Joyce wasn’t around to see that, she doesn’t read the comic, she doesn’t know everything about Joe
2. People like to bring this up as some proof that Joe is a great guy. Last time I checked, “not being a rapist” is just basic decency
3. The purpose of this party is not just to make sure Joyce isn’t raped, but that she feels comfortable and happy and surrounded by friends – Joe isn’t her friend (I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care that he wasn’t invited) and it was shown that male sexuality makes Joyce uncomfortable now, and if Joe starts hitting on a lady in a party or even just talking about fucking a lady (and he would, he’s JOE) – that would make her feel bad
Meh. I don’t consider this any MORE dickish than deliberately trying to embarrass someone in front of their friends by essentially waving money in their face to do something they personally object to doing essentially for their personal amusement. Their mutual antagonism of one another has honestly kind of become the cornerstone of their relationship.
It’s not since their “date” it’s since the party.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/duhduh/
She associates him with the creep (not that he’s done anything or would do anything) and does not want to be alone with him.
I think you might mean this comic? http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/01-pajama-jeans/touch/
In any case, I would usually consider telling someone they’re not invited to a party to be pretty rude, but considering that Joe probably doesn’t really care (And is probably heading to Roz’s party anyway) I found this to be funny really.
It IS since their ‘date’ she just got worse after the party.
Joe shouldn’t feel safe around JOYCE as she had someone assault him for no reason.
And then she joined in the beatdown when joe told her she was crazy for bringing mike on their date to punch him…
Timemonkey: why does Joyce feel unsafe around Joe? I understand why she’d dislike him and why she’d feel uncomfortable around him, but why unsafe?
He’s male, he’s a highly sexual being, and she knows for a fact that he’s at least attracted to her enough to ask her on a date.
For someone traumatized enough to see her would-be rapist in every single man who isn’t already on her safe list (which consists, so far, entirely of Walky, Ethan, and apparently Jacob) those three facts would be enough to add up to ‘unsafe feelings’ I think.
I honestly think it was more humorous then anything, its how Joyce and Joe are, they are like frienemies except not really friends…
So, just enemies
Or emies.
It could be worse, they could be enemas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enema
I mean Joe might actually enjoy that… just saying
I prefer non friend Frienimies! Its so much easier then having actual enemies, I mean with actual enemies you have to thwart there evil plans every week, and come up with witty banter about the persona they chose to represent themselves by. Like how much time does one have to spend figuring out penguin puns for every other time you punch them?
Frenemimes then? All the friendship/animosity of frenemies, but none of the talking hassle.
Does anyone want to join me in calling Joyce & Joe as a couple by the time DoA comes to an end? I see this ship, off in the distance (which will be part of the fun—watching it slowly sail into harbour), and I am booking my passage now.
I would love to book passage on that ship. I can see them being very good for each other, if they can get past their current antipathy.
They were teased for a while in the Walkyverse but sadly they went with Joyce/Walky instead. Which means we might get another taste of what could have been in this one.
This was my thought exactly.
It’s rude, true, but Joe’s not the type to get his feelings hurt over not being invited to a party organized by someone who repeatedly had him be punched in the face by Mike. Normally I wouldn’t like Joyce doing this either, but with the context here I think it’s fine.
My opinion of Joyce has bottomed out on a pretty permanent basis by this point.
I think I’m the only one that agrees with you. I’m also of the unpopular opinion that Joyce is a jerk for punching Joe and having Mikr punch Joe. I think Joe is a douche, but also doesn’t deserve things as bad as he’s got. But people here will always side with little princess Joycw, unless Becky is rude to Joyce and then everyone sides with Becky and defends her against so called “becky hate” that I STILL have yet to see.
The harshest of the Becky hate gets deleted by Willis.
Nobody really thought Joyce punching Joe was acceptable but it was a one time thing, she did no actual damage and he called her on it the next day (and she even seemed to get that she did wrong) so we let it go.
“I’m the only gay in the village!”
To be fair, I didn’t see that anyone else had agreed with chris73 up there. No need to be so salty.
that’s not the only thing involving joe that is explicit
medium height characters? yeah right, what would we do with those, everything would seem so balanced, and who wants that!
They could always fi stand on a staircase.
Fox News would! They love everything ‘fair and balanced’
I think I threw up a little in my mouth
I was explaining how horrible a news sourch Fox news is to someone not too long ago, and he says, really? I think they are fair and balanced! I started laughing a little too hard but then I realized he was serious… that was awkward
Did their eyes glaze over a little as they said that?
“Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.”
The only way Raymond Shaw could be described as “warm” is if he was currently on fire.
Should of gone with the .
That didn’t work
The Bender Response was what the rest of that said.
It’s interesting to see Becky refer to it as a curated party. Kind of highbrow language for her.
Is Mary on the Definitely Not list?
For every party ever.
No wonder she’s such an unhappy chappie.
She’s a robot? That explains it all.
CHAPP1E would be on the Invite list.
Smart move actually he would have brought so many people.
Joyce is more serious about the vetting process than the White House.
Ethan’s gonna accidentally ask Danny on a date <3 there may be squee-ing
I was thinking the same thing,
Ethan:”hey theirs a party tonight, I’m taking you”
Danny: “wha… O_o” *blushes* “well I mean if you insist…”
Ethan: “yeah Dorothy was to shy to go without you there”
Danny: “oh haha yeah it almost sounded like you were askimg me out”
Ethan: “hehe yeah that would be awkward”
(both awkwardly blush and look away from each other)
Dorothy*AmberI seriously can’t wait to see how the scene of Ethan asking Danny to the party will play out
“hey cutie, you wanna have a good time?”
I have personally disinvited Prime to many, many, parties.
What about Nova/Nemesis Prime?
He’s dead. I don’t need to disinvite him.
He lives on in our sparks. And also toy form.
Sorry Joe, you’re uninvited. Such an unfortunate slight.
I don’t think he’s unworthy. Give Joyce a moment to deliberate.
(https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bff8Xc_YeGA)
What is Joe doing in his room and fully clothed on a Saturday night?
… this is a very good point.
He has to wear clothes on the way over to her room. Otherwise he won’t get to take them off again.
(“Her” = Joe’s unspecified hypothetical booty call. Not Joyce’s room.)
I think it’s still midday, so he’s got some time.
Is it Saturday night yet? I know its Saturday, but I don’t remember anything indicating it couldn’t still be Saturday afternoon.
He had to change clothes and shower between girls.
Ethan, you take Danny to the party…? Come on Amber, how dumb can you be?
If Danny ever decides to tell her how he’s feeling, she’s gonna look back and see that might not have been the best idea.
I mean, she’s practically settin’ the two up
It’s the fujoshi in her, subconsciously leading her to do this kind of thing-
Amazi-Girl is Amber’s anti-drug?
More like a gym workout.
I’m pretty sure the phrase “taking the edge off” usually refers to taking drugs, drinking, etc. A dose of vigilanteism seems to be Amber’s go-to, as we’ve seen before.
“Taking the edge off” made me wonder, too. A spot of vigilante justice, or a shot of bourbon, or maybe just rubbing one out, a la Something About Mary?
“You-Know-Who” making her rounds is clearly a reference to Amazi-Girl going on patrol.
I mean, I get that Joyce doesn’t want him there, but that’s a dick move. It’s not hire someone to punch you in the face rude but it’s still pretty rude.
I can understand why Joe was specifically “not-invited”, the last time they were together when he wasn’t making moves on Joyce he was making moves on anything with a vagina walking on two legs.
You think that Joe limits himself to girls with two legs?
I would hope so.
Wouldn’t being willing to Joe girls who have lost a leg make Joe a better person who doesn’t discriminate against girls who are missing large appendages.
I think Opus was referring to extra legs.
Probably; I assume he isn’t into bestiality.
Why wouldn’t Danny be on the invite list??
Joyce doesn’t really know him. They’ve barely interacted.
Joyce doesn’t know him, he’s just some dude.
And Amber-as-Amber isn’t dating him, so he can’t be her +1. Fortunately there’s Ethan to bring him, and Joyce won’t say no to him…but she’ll probably make the obvious assumption if her gay ex-boyfriend asks to bring a strange guy to her party.
..ooh, this is gonna be good.
Though he might make a point of saying “This awesome sauce guy is dating Amazi-Girl! How cool is that? Pretty dang cool if you ask me.” Or at least giving her a head shake if she gives him a knowing or questioning glance.
She’ll think he found a boyfriend within 24 hours of breaking up?
Considering their “dating” relationship was a sham, I don’t see why she’d be surprised at Ethan moving on quickly.
The next morning: “Ethan, when I said ‘You take Danny to the party’, I didn’t mean as a date.”
So Ethan is coming… and Danny is coming… and Amber will show up later.
…This sounds WAY too much like its gearing up for the most destructive possible outcome.
What course of action do you suggest, O, master of strategy?
“On Deadly Ground, FIGHT!”
I know, isn’t it great?
(Castle reference)
I’m just wondering if, to add a cherry on the party cake, Sal will also make an appearance.
Can you imagine Joyce not wanting Sal there? Whether Sal has better things to do is something else again. But if Marcie is tied up with someone else, it’s possible.
Danny doesn’t want to be flirting with Ethan when Amber arrives, so he is talking with Sal instead. But Sal is bored and leaves telling her tutor she’ll see him later tonight.
Because Sal studying math on a Saturday night is totally a thing she would do?
THEY ARE FINNA FUCK( finally)
What’s probably gonna happen
Danny: Hi
Ethan: Hello
Danny: I feel akward about myself.
Ethan: So do I
(Don’t talk for the rest of the party)
What the comment sections wants to happen
Danny: Ive always loved you Ethan
Ethan: Lets make out.
Danny: Threesome with Amber!
“So… do you likes transformers ?”
“Not really”
“deal breaker.”
Ethan: “Joyce is having a party, wanna come?”
Danny: “I uh what um why are you asking me?” *tugs at collar*
Ethan: “Oh, Amber needs to prep herself before the party. She wanted to bring you, and I’m also invited. So she told me to not wait up, and just take you!”
Danny: “Oh. Oh that makes more sense. Not that I thought it was for another reason! Nope. Why would you ask me to a party like that?”
Ethan: “Like what?”
Danny: PARTY. IT’S PARTY TIME. LETS GO TO PARTY NOW.
That also seems possible. But yeah, there will not be any declarations of undying love. I would be annoyed and concerned if that happened.
Yes. This is exactly how I imagine that conversation going. Word for word.
Mike is also on the “Definitely Not” list…but it’s probably best that you don’t tell him.
I can see it now. Joyce accidentally telling Amber that Ethan’s secretly dating Danny behind Amazigirl’s back on future strips.
Because it’s Joyce, how she handles worrying about something already consumes her.
And no, I’m not subscribed to Patreon for the moment.
I don’t see how that would even happen. Even if Joyce somehow misunderstands the situation without Ethan or Danny correcting her Amber will still know what’s up.
Oh god.
I just realized I’m in a situation extremely close to Danny’s right now.
BRB, smacking head against wall in desperate attempt to un-Dan myself.
Accept your Dannyiness perhaps you will gain his powers of awkwardness.
You’re dating superhero? Well, congrats. Try not to get taken hostage by the bad guys too often.
eh, comes with the territory. Makes for great make-up sex after too. Provided you survive.
Death traps are a turn-on, yes.
Of course Danny would Dan the kidnapping up. That is why no one has kidnapped him.
Eh, last time Someone had to beat up his kidnapper within inches of his life, on on a fast food parking lot.
Besides Blaine, who kidnapped him.
And don’t, ever, break up with them, you might get a shark thrown at you.
Staying together isn’t all that safe either. You’re never more than one creative team change away from your body being found in a refrigerator.
Not the best idea to send Becky to gloat but oh so sweet
Ha.
Joyce what the hell. Okay yes, he’s made questionable choices. But I’d bet everything I own that if he heard that YOU were having a party, he’d roll his eyes and make sure to go everywhere BUT your party. If he showed up, you could have someone say “sorry, invite only.”
It’s to rub it in his face.
Because under her facade of sickening sweetness she’s actually kind of an incredibly mean-spirited person.
Having a “definitely not” list doesn’t actually mean sending someone around to tell them to keep away (it could simply mean to say “no, he can’t be your plus one” if anyone asks), but Becky might have misunderstood.
I would point out that this is his most recent questionable choice. That was, what, yesterday? The day before? And it specifically poked at a very significant sore spot. This is mean as hell, but not inexplicably mean.
Oops…that wasn’t supposed to be all a link…
Here’s something to think about… I wonder how Dorothy feels about Joe being excluded. The 2 of them were probably not best friends, but they were at least familiar with each other prior to college. (I also wonder if she knows about Joyce having Joe punched in the face. I know the comic is largely done for comedy, but physical assault would normally be a rather serious issue.)
Galasso gives no shits so I doubt he would’ve called the authorities, and I also doubt that Joe would’ve told anyone. Danny probably kept his mouth shut because he’s bffs with Joe. So I doubt highly that Dorothy actually knows that she helped kick his ass.
There might have been evidence… Joe probably showed bruising as a result of the punches, and he did talk to Joyce about the issue in public (which means it might have been overheard.) Then there was also the waitress who was a witness, who might not have called the cops but who would have seen things.
Overall though, I agree… Dorothy doesn’t know. Although it would be interesting to see how she would react if she did hear of it.
Joyce is actually a pretty damn unpleasant person under the veneer of sweetness.
This strikes me more as a childish petulance kind of thing that she’s shown around Joe before. I can’t imagine her treating Joe well considering how she feels about men in general at the moment.
PREMRITAL HANKY PANKIES
It’s entirely possible that Joyce was rattling off names of people to invite and said “Oh, and Joe is definitely not invited” and Becky, being not as well socialized as Joyce, decided to contact him about it anyway. Or perhaps out of curiosity. Hanlon’s razor and all.
I hadn’t thought of that possibility, Becky does have the maturity of a 13 year old so thats quite possible
So she’s a few years ahead of Walky. XD
Sounds about right, I really don’t get the Walky/Dorothy thing
Considering she had him repeatedly assaulted I’m not actually inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt in any of her interactions with Joe.
See thats what I don’t get about this whole thing, Joe wouldn’t want to go because there’ll be no alcohol and probably no girls for him to bang yet Becky told him he specifically wasn’t going (I’m know not sure if it was deliberate on Joyces part or deliberate on Beckys part)
It just seems almost like a case of trying to rub it in Joes face that hes not allowed to come which is I don’t get as Joyce helped to (and encourage) a physical assault on Joe
Remember, Joyce doesn’t get how tame and uninteresting the things she enjoys are to more worldly people. Let’s be honest, if most of the people she’s inviting didn’t already enjoy each other’s company this party would blow.
Doesn’t change the point that this seems like either Joyce or Becky are deliberately snubbing Joe (which is fine as its their party) and making sure he knows about it
I’m wondering if Becky is going to run into the would be would be rapist during her invite/non invite rounds? So what kind of predictions does everyone have on how this will wrong?
Go wrong
No I don’t think that will happen. I’m of the opinion that Ryan either doesn’t go to this college, or isn’t in the dorms. In my experience, most upperclassmen prefer to live on their own, since dorms are quite expensive. (this is based on my college experience though. the dorms at her school might be more reasonably priced) I think that Ryan isn’t going to show his sorry face around this comic anymore.
On how it could go wrong…Danny comes out to Ethan first, but Amber overhears and thinks he’s going to leave her since he didn’t tell her first. Sarah and Jacob have a fight that continues from their last one. Sarah confronts Becky in front of everyone at the party in an angry outburst. Someone brings alcohol and Joyce has a panic attack. Becky makes a move on Billie, Ruth only sees the move being made, breaks up with Billie and kicks Becky out.
That concludes my list. Hopefully none of them happen.
I’d have to say thats one helluva party if all that happens
I doubt Ryan is gone from the comic forever. I mean, I doubt any of us actually WANT him to come back, but from a storytelling perspective, it would make sense for him to come back at one point.
Hopefully to get his teeth knocked in by amazi girl
and sarah
and becky
and dorothy
and billie
and ruth
and danny
and joe
and mike
and roz
and ethan
and oh so especially joyce
About the hover text, I’d say that Danny, Mike, Billie and Sal are the only medium height characters, unless I’m missing some. I almost said Ruth, but she’s a bit above average for a woman I think.
Define medium height!
<== 5'-3" of puny fury
<= 4'10" and fully grown
5’0″ unless I’m walking on stilts. Low-five!
I AM A SMALL PASTRY PUFF
Am I the only one that read the title as “The Ed Geoff”?
Not even his own girlfriend wants to hang around Danny for too long.
Danny’s not dating Amber, he’s dating Amazi-Girl. Even he doesn’t quite get that.
Today in the comments : innocent comic joke get über overblown.
B-b-but where else do I misplace my hate for a fictional character?
…Youtube?
The thing is that this comic’s tone is all over the place. If a work deals with serious issues in a serious way on a regular basis many people aren’t going to be as willing to suspend their disbelief for wacky hijinks and instead they’re going to end up looking at them through the same lens they look at the serious subject matter because it’s all happening in the same setting so it’s not unreasonable to hold it to the same standard. And from a realistic perspective this is a really jerkish thing to do.
That is more of an artistic problem (internal inconsistency-do I want to be slapstick gag-a-day, soap, or slice of life) though, not a measuring stick for our opinions of characters. A fairly common one in long-running webcomics too. QC has the same problem with Faye-a lot of her physical violence in early strips is much less consistent with the tone of the strip now. For that matter a lot of the more controversial characters have this problem-they act in ways that are consistent with a more exaggerated setting even though it’s a fairly realistic and sober one.
Panel 3: Ethan realizing the implications of this metaphor.
I just now realized that I’ve binge-read the entirety of the comics online. I have no life…
At least you aren’t alone. I binge-read at least one comic a week.
Damn you Willis. I really want to know what kind of face Ethan is making in panel 4.
Have you tried getting your face really close to the monitor, then looking to the right?
Ethan invite Danny and finally they KISS