What do you do when the person you're in-love with is an anonymous romance novelist? Get your best friend to hire your worst enemy for help!
Atomic Robo
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
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.
Sufficiently Remarkable
Maki Naro
Two young women living in Brooklyn discover that you're always coming of age.
Kiwi Blitz
Mary Cagle (Cube Watermelon)
Steffi thinks she can use her kiwi mech to become a superhero. This idea turns out to be very stupid.
Paranatural
Zack Morrison
Superpowered middle schoolers fight evil spirits in their rural hometown. Come for the jokes, stay for the cast, the creatures, and the mystery that ties them all together!
Whomp!
Ronnie
A depressed, portly, hirsute anime fan stumbles through life in the ever-pursuit of chicken nuggets and other life-shortening indulgences.
Fireweeds Moors
Gato Iberico
A cat-headed man and a girl with a sandwich hankering accidentally end up in a myth-infused country where magic chalices are a really big thing.
Cut Time
Juby
Rel and her trusty avian friend Fugue are on a quest to save a world that's lost track of time. Follow them and their new recruits, in a story written with help from the stars.
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Girl Genius
Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success.
The End
August Brown, Cory Brown
Two aliens crash a sci-fi convention and accidentally take seven nerds on an adventure that spans the galaxy!
Hazy London
Scotty
A story about messy relationships. From friendly foes to crazy families. Nothing is black and white, just full of color. But, all colors can get a little hazy...
The Witch Door
Anni K.
Katariina Lehto discovers her neighbor is a witch called Jousia Muotka. Jousia introduces Katariina to the strange people and places beyond the witch door...
[un]Divine
Ayme
A highschool senior thought giving up his soul for a demon was a good idea. It wasn't.
Goodbye to Halos
Valerie Halla
Cuddles, gay flirting, weird feelings, and magic-fueled knife fights - it's an adventure across the queer multiverse!
El Goonish Shive
Dan Shive
WARNING: This comic often ignores the Laws of Physics
Kochab
Sarah Webb
A YA F/F fantasy comic about Sonya, a lost skier trying to survive a snowy wilderness and find her way back to her village; and Kyra - a fire spirit trying to fix the home that she let fall apart around her.
Demon's Mirror
Harry Bogosian
Based loosely off of "The Snow Queen", a story by Hans Christian Andersen, we see things take a different turn as the demons become central characters, and the side characters stick around. Yup, that's the only differences. Enjoy!
Godslave
Meaghan Carter
Edith has been thrown into the dangerous world of modern-day Egyptian mythology. Fighting monsters and dealing with family drama of godly proportions.
Sister Claire
Yamino
In the troubled aftermath of a great war between Witches and her fellow Nuns, novice Sister Claire just wants a purpose.
The Sanity Circus
Windy
Magic, monsters and mysteries await in the odd city of Sanity. It's up to Attley and a colorful group of characters to find out just what is going on.
Widdershins
Kate Ashwin
A series of light-hearted Victorian-era adventure stories featuring grumpy bounty hunters, accidental thiefkings, and more, in England's magical capital city Widdershins!
Lighter Than Heir
Melissa Albino
A young Volant woman joins the military in an effort to upstage her war-hero father.
Jailbird
Charlie Davis
An all-ages comic about a recently escaped prisoner's struggle to understand the outside world, and vice-versa. Also, a magic cape!
Never Satisfied
Taylor Robin
Lucy Marlowe, a magician's apprentice, competes against other apprentices for an important, magical, Goverment Job.
Sam & Fuzzy
Sam Logan
Troubled by gangster rodents, lovesick vampire stalkers, or confused ninja assassins? Don't panic! Sam and Fuzzy are here to help. (For a reasonable fee.)
Between Failures
Jackie Wohlenhaus
The low stakes adventures of an assorted group of 20 somethings trapped in the declining years of American retail. They are naughty and say lots of swears.
Astral Aves
Moon Cabal
A fantasy coming-of-age following the adventures of Astra The Black and friends, as they navigate the mysterious world around them. It's politics, adventure, and the supernatural; oh, and crazy hair.
Nerf Now!!
Josué Pereira
A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
Love Not Found
Gina Biggs
Abeille is on a quest to find someone who wants to do it the old-fashioned way in a time when touching has become outdated.
Caramel Corn
Potchimew
Sarah is the only human left in a world full of mythical creatures and monsters. All she wants to do is live a quiet life, but everything changes when she meets her guardian angel, Jacob.
Star Impact
Jack McGee
A young, energetic woman fights her way up in the world of super-powered boxing after discovering the mighty gloves of her missing idol!
Monster Pulse
Magnolia Porter Siddell
Four kids run afoul of a creepy secret organization's experiments, which turn their body parts into fighting monsters. Part sentimental coming-of-age story, part monster-training shonen manga, with just a bit of sci-fi body horror.
Lilith's Word
inkPangur
If you had the power to make any wish come true using just one word, what would you say?
Awaken
Koti Saavedra/Flipfloppery
Superpowers, monsters and conspiracies. Piras, the spoiled Dameschi heir, fights to recover his identity after becoming a terrorist!
Go Get a Roomie
Clover
Experience the queer journey of an upbeat hippie and the friendships she makes along the way! A tale of self-discovery and love of many forms.
Starhammer
J.N. Monk, Harry Bogosian
A teen girl inherits a powerful alien artifact and proceeds to make a series of increasingly poor decisions
Stand Still, Stay Silent
Minna Sundberg
A few generations after the end of the world, a small, poorly financed research crew is sent out to rediscover whatever is left of the forbidden old world in the south.
Star Trip
Gisele Weaver
Jas is a human taken from her home planet on a trip across the galaxy she will never forget.
Cassiopeia Quinn
Gunwild, Psudonym
A cute, pantsless thief is pursued across the stars by a buttoned-up military officer in the spacey, laser-filled future.
Devil's Candy
Rem, Bikkuri
A lush fantasy about boy genius Kazu Decker, the girl he constructed for his 9th grade science project, and the world of devils and monsters they live in.
Tigress Queen
Allison Shaw
A barbarian warlord and a pampered prince try to avoid a marriage alliance that could end decades of violence.
Anarchy Dreamers
Emily Ree
Sparkly undead kids fight society's worst Nightmares in this pastel-punk urban fantasy coming-of-age!
The Lonely Vincent Bellingham
Diana Huh
Vincent is an unkind man looking to disappear, and finds himself in the care of a vampire and her two wicked children.
Alice and the Nightmare
Misha Krivanek
Alice finally attends University to learn to collect the dreams of humans, meet new friends, and deal with a pesky reflection along the way.
Real Science Adventures
Brian Clevinger
Spin off stories and other adventures from the world of Atomic Robo!
Empowered
Adam Warren
A sexy superhero comedy (except when it isn't) about the never-ending struggles of a plucky but very unlucky young superheroine.
Ghost Junk Sickness
Studio CARTRIDGE, Laura Lee
Two hunters try to survive and end up being pushed to pursue a deadly bounty dubbed "The Ghost".
Monsterkind
Taylor C
Wallace Foster, a young, bright-eyed human social worker, has his entire world view rocked when he's suddenly relocated into a city primarily inhabited by monsters.
Knights Errant
J.R. Doyle
Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
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!
The Automan's Daughter
Mike Stamm
Aisha Osman and her uncle Siddig outwit bikers, spies and kidnappers while gearing up for a showdown with the formidable Widowmaker mecha.
Wychwood
Varethane
When Tiara's pyrokinesis is finally noticed, she is captured by a magical research organization for study. If she cooperates, she could be helping to save humanity from a dire threat - but can she trust them?
Wilde Life
Pascalle Lepas
Oscar decided to rent an old haunted house, and that's when things got weird...
BOOKMARK Click "Tag Page" to bookmark a page. When you return to the site, click "Goto Tag" to continue where you left off.
BUFFER WATCH
Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:
Opening up isn’t easy, especially when you have actual proof of it going completely wrong and everyone hating you for it.
I’m not trying to blame you for anything, but I dislike when people talk about how all of Sarah’s problems would be solved if she just opened up, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world to do.
No one said that it is going to be *simple*. However she’s not likely to deal with any of her issues in a healthy way unless/until the point where she can start taking the hard steps toward dealing with everything.
They would think “huh, so that Sarah girl is crazy, that’s rough, but she doesn’t want me to be around,” which is what Jacob is probably thinking, too.
They would think “huh, so that Sarah girl is crazy, that’s rough, but she doesn’t want me to be around so there’s nothing I can do for her,” which is what Jacob is probably thinking, too.
Sarah is gonna be in sophomore level classes. But freshman can test into higher level classes. They can sometimes skip freshman level classes if they took AP classes in high school.
While Sarah’s social skills definitely need some honing, I’m finding more and more that Jacob’s whole personality is flawed, which is a lot harder to fix.
In other words, I’m starting to get a strong dislike to Jacob. I get a feeling that he’s quite unempathetic and self-sufficient.
Sara is kinda hard to read, especially if you haven’t had that kinda friend yet. He just may not know what to do. If you drive people away, most will go. Joyce is just staying cause she’s a special nutcase
Really? He just seems like a regular dude. Pretty well-adjusted, too, as opposed to our main cast, each of which has some kind of not-so-hidden neurosis or personality flaw.
Here are Jacob’s sins: tried to get to know Sarah. She was unresponsive, so he backed off a bit, until they bonded over telling “Joyce” stories. Meanwhile, because “talking sometimes after class” is not a monogamous relationship, he also talked a bit with a girl Sarah didn’t like.
And… that’s basically it?
Oh also a girl sitting next to him just flipped out and ran away from him, and he found that a little strange.
You forgot starting a relationship with Sarah’s archnemesis. But Jacob didn’t know that until after Sarah found out about it, so that’s not much of a sin either.
And honestly, even if he did… Raidah’s not a bad person. Has a bit of a more casual attitude towards pot use, and holds a bit of an unfair grudge towards Sarah, but beyond that, she hasn’t been malicious.
She was also a jerk to Dina. But you’re right, it’s not like Raidah is a universally terrible person. I don’t think the way she’s been bullying Sarah would be right even IF Sarah had just wanted to get rid of Dana, but if the story was being told from Raidah’s point of view, I’m sure Sarah would be the one coming off as a cruel jerk.
Well, to reply to you all, I’d say that to me, bullying = terrible person.
And also, that being a neurotic person who has almost only neurotic friends, I would’ve found it very obvious in Sarah’s acting that she’s suffering, and I would’ve offered at the very least some small acts of kindness, even if I decided to stay away. But Jacob’s attitude strikes to me as unconcerned and borderline mean in a quite uncalled for way.
So yeah, while your statements that he’s “just a regular guy” might be true. I might be one of those people that really just can’t stand “regular guys”.
People’s neuroses are basically just (perhaps wounded) sensitivity and vulnerability, and it means a lot when that person shows it to you. Less sensitive people really get on my nerves sometimes.
And as for the argument of a story told by Raidah, well, I would certainely not be reading a comic that condones bullying and makes the victim appear like a jerk.
I won’t be surprised if Jacob actually tries to talk to Sarah after the lesson just because he’s worried about her. I would be too: She looks like she’s going into a deep, dark ‘down’ phase to me!
He did say he would decide for himself who he wants to try and be friends with. If he really felt like being friends with Sarah at some point, I could totally see him going over to her with her book and scarf and trying to understand her.
At this point it should be pretty clear to him that she has trouble in social situations. He was already identifying it when he noticed that she only talked to Jacob when riffing on Joyce.
I’m glad she couldn’t go through with it based on getting back at Raidah. But, I do wish she could just go after him for the real reason, she likes him.
Somebody needs to hug her if they weren’t all scared to.
Ditto what Nightsbridge said. Also, how do you hold up that strip and say that Sarah is the one who’s wrong for not accepting the hug? Mike’s mother is CREEPY and she has no respect for boundaries. I get hella unnerved if people try to hug me when they just met me.
Amber’s fine getting a hug from Mrs. Warner because she knows who she is. Sarah does not, and more importantly, Sarah doesn’t suddenly reject recovery because she didn’t want to be hugged by a stranger.
I can understand a person not wanting to be hugged by stranger but, there’s a proportion of response that’s appropriate.
She jumped straight past “Ma’am, please respect personal space” to “MA’AM, I WILL DEFEND MY PERSON WITH WEAPONS” without knowing anything other than Amber, who she knows and is standing right next her, just received a warm hug from the mother of Mike, who she also knows.
A hug is not a threat. THAT hug was not an attack.
Her response was extreme.
It was a joke based on comical exaggeration. It’s a webcomic, so sometimes the characters aren’t going to be acting fully within the limits of reality if it interferes with a good punchline, unless you think Sarah carries that bat with her everywhere.
No, I don’t think she carries a bat everywhere but, she does have at the party. What kind of a person, apart from AG, shows up to a campus party with a weapon?
(AG is in the background already having a fight…)
By the way, that link with Joyce you had? At that point Sarah was just the grumpy curmudgeon of the cast, the same way Joyce was the ingenue, or Walky was just the dorky goofball. We know now that Sarah doesn’t consciously reject people; she does it because she’s been burned in the past.
At this point we are saying something similar but, it seems to be a little more than just ‘she’s been burned.’
It’s not natural to go to a party with a weapon after saying she wasn’t going to go.
A person goes to a party to dance. She went expecting a fight.
She went to the party because she was worried Joyce was going to be hurt by some raging asshole. This is outright stated.
Sarah is introverted, and because of her traumatic experience in her first year she’s all the less willing to open up to people. She pushes people away and decides that they can’t see any worth in her because that’s easier than accepting people can actually love her.
There is a lot of sympathy on here for Sarah.
I say no way! Shes miserable, its her own making, and if she wants to change that then get some help and take responsibility.
But Jacob can do better than either of those girls, too.
I think it’s okay to feel bad for Sarah? I think it’s okay to say “man this situation sucks ass.” But I agree, this IS her own making. She didn’t just randomly happen into all this. She pushed Jacob away intentionally. She punched Raidah in the face that one time. I think the thing where she told her roomate’s dad that she was losing control of her life wasn’t a bad thing? I don’t feel like that was a mistake.
I dunno, he and Raidah have some great chemistry together. From Jacob’s perspective she’s a catch. I think that they could have a lovely relationship together.
I do want Jacob to confront her and for Sarah to reveal what happened between her and Raidah. I also really really want to see her try and explain her assault on Raidah.
Something like about this strip is that it’s not afraid to show the main characters as having actual issues, even if those issues are funny sometimes.
Like, Joyce is sometimes funny when she says hanky-panky, or talks about her beliefs. But it’s also clear that yes, she is repressed, and has issues.
Likewise with Sarah, it’s easy to have her be a “grumpy sourpuss who secretly cares about her friends,” but here we see that she is actually just kind of fundamentally messed up. Like, seriously, the act of smiling feels so fake to her that she had to retreat.
Like, another strip would have her being cheerful, and then everyone would be all “Aw Sarah, we miss the old you! You can be grumpy if you want!”
But I’d love to see the day where Sarah can actually talk to people like a normal human being.
Yeah, it’s weird to think of all the times problems people like Sarah have are depicted almost as non-issues in fiction. It’s what I appreciate the most about DoA, actually; it treats them as the real, damaging problems they are. There’s never any kind of cartoonish brushing aside of the characters’ issues.
Dear lord, the man is not a bleeping psychic; it’s enough that he sensed the disturbance in the force. They are not friends, and she’s made it pretty clear that personal questions are off the table. Fact is, he has a girl to focus his attention on, and the only reason he has to try to figure out Sarah is a genuine concern for her mental health. Even then, he’d probably ask Joyce what’s going on, rather than Sarah.
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
Hot Toys Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 1/6 Scale Darth Vader Deluxe ($495) & Standard ($315) is up for preorder at Sideshow - shrsl.com/4wcx6 #ad
If you preorder make sure to hit the Exclusive versions since they include a commemorative plaque and cost the same.
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 ⋅ 2d
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."
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com ⋅ 2d
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?"
wilbur, savvy enough to know he's in a comic strip but still not a great actor, awkwardly lifts a muffin up into frame so that we, the audience, understand that he has a muffin right now, which is very important narratively, but he's not really selling it well as an organic, human action
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 1d
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 2d
Pavel
@spavel.bsky.social ⋅ 11d
Loading ...
“GIRL R U A MAGAZINE CUZ U GOT ISSUES”
“yeah u wanna subscribe”
sorry ‘sall I got I been sick
i like that one. haven’t heard it before. will definitely find occasion to use it here
“Man, she doesn’t just have issues. She has anthologies.”
Sarah can do no wrong. She even sent Dina to act as the cutest agent in the history of spying.
Ay gurl, are you my calculus textbook?
Cut you got problems.
best one yet
“Boy, are you a software update, ’cause not now”
Addendum to the calculus one:
“I’d be fine, boy, except for…
… dx.”
Are you a revolutionary banner?
Cause you’re totally a red flag.
Ooh, more:
Are you a Nymphomaniac? Cause you’ve gotta screw loose.
Did you have crawdads for lunch? Because you smell cray.
Gurl, you so fine… as in the Italian, for ‘finished’.
I really find the speed limit signs in Italy hilarious which are tagged with “a fine tunnel”. So vain.
Don’t run away, Sarah !
Perhaps she considers it a preferable alternative to trying to woo Jacob out of jealousy– if she does, I must say I agree.
I… hoped for an honest bit of conversation
Give it time; he may decide to open conversation. I don’t think Sarah will, though.
I think he got tired of trying.
Well, he can bang Raida first and Sarah will still be there once he’s ready for a change.
nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
Oh god I want to hug her…she needs a hug.
All I can imagine is that if anyone tried to give her one right now, she’d hiss like a cat and somehow make herself look twice as big.
haagen dazs’ll do that to ya
Her ponytail would probably stand on end.
foomp
fweep?
We know for a fact that when threatened with hugging, Sarah resorts to her bat: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/guard/
Does that mean she has the bat with her at all times? Where does she keep it?
…Oh. Well, that would explain the crankiness.
That is NOT a bag of holding.
If I might quote Nash & Tara.
Although a lot of folks might have read these last two strips and thought ‘WTFIWWY’ about her behavior.
Just like Batman and all his gadgets,even though he has a belt,i find it too small to store all the stuff he uses. So Batman logic.
Some realities have hammerspace. Sarah has Batspace. Unrelated to Batman.
She needs a bunch of things, but she’s not going to get any of them until she seriously opens herself up to the idea that she can possibly get them.
Until then, she’s going to continue to wallow in a vat of self-fulfilling bitterness.
The most immediate thing she needs right now is her book. She left it on the other desk. That’ll be awkward.
Her book and her scarf. They’re holding her place until she returns to the front.
Opening up isn’t easy, especially when you have actual proof of it going completely wrong and everyone hating you for it.
I’m not trying to blame you for anything, but I dislike when people talk about how all of Sarah’s problems would be solved if she just opened up, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world to do.
No one said that it is going to be *simple*. However she’s not likely to deal with any of her issues in a healthy way unless/until the point where she can start taking the hard steps toward dealing with everything.
I agree. I’d hug her right now.
Baseball bats for you.
Good think the crowd missed the show. Who knows what they would think.
I think the Hoodie Dress Crowd should be a recurring cast, like the BROS BROS BROS of QC.
I’m just wondering who the girl is who just walked through the door? I keep thinking it’s Sydney Yus but I’m not sure.
No tags, so obviously they’re optical illusions.
I was thinking Lucy, but no tag.
They would think “huh, so that Sarah girl is crazy, that’s rough, but she doesn’t want me to be around,” which is what Jacob is probably thinking, too.
They would think “huh, so that Sarah girl is crazy, that’s rough, but she doesn’t want me to be around so there’s nothing I can do for her,” which is what Jacob is probably thinking, too.
Whoops, sorry for double-post, please delete.
Sarah will have to come back eventually, her book is still there.
Oh, good point. All the awkaaaards.
UNLESS… it’s all part of her plan to look awkward and pathetic, to the point where Jacob brings the book back to her, in sympathy.
All part of her evil, evil, (pathetic) EVIL plan.
Aww. Poor Sarah.
I wonder how Marcie and Malaya are doing.
I was expecting a cutaway today. Glad Willis didn’t spring one on us!
Could still happen tomorrow. I almost think the timing would be meaner, after seeing that pained look in panel 5.
Probably having a sword fight in some abandoned parking lot by now.
Yeah, a ‘sword fight’.
With… strap-ons?
Ues or no, for them, it’s foreplay.
How about Dina and Becky? We could always have more Beckasaurus.
The beckasaurus is with you always! Just open your heart to it’s data sets.
Just look down, and dig.
Busy basking in the shining glory of their new relationship and consequently forgetting Sal even exists, no doubt.
*plays The Zombies’ “Tell Her No” on the Muzak*
you know what that last panel says to me. Someone just realized a personal fault (or two) they are not comfortable with and may try to change it.
From this distance, that one Hoodie Dress person is almost Lucy.
That’s what I was thinking. No tag, but that doesn’t kill the idea, Willis has skipped tags before.
What makes me question it is that the main cast are still just freshmen; does IU often have advanced placement high schoolers take classes?
Sarah’s a sophomore and she’s part of the main cast.
Sarah is gonna be in sophomore level classes. But freshman can test into higher level classes. They can sometimes skip freshman level classes if they took AP classes in high school.
Yeah, but Sarah explicitly went to this school last year. Dana?
If Sarah was a beer she’d be Flying Monkeys Alpha Fornication.
Oh, Sarah! Raidah’s tears only help with one strip… I’d hoped a little more effect!
*cross arms, defense position*
nooope.
I am Sarah
I am Spartacus
I am Groot.
I am Alpharius.
I am Iron Man
*guitar riff*
I am what I am!
I am the Walrus.
I am Batman.
https://youtu.be/52kxR94b9_0
I am the terror that flaps in the night.
I am one with the Universe.
Disappointing really. You’d think the universe would be more original.
Lo, I have become Death, Stealer of Pie
Yoda I am.
I. am.OZ!
OZ the great and powerful or OZ from down under?
BOOOOTHHH!-waves fingers-
Sorry Jacob, that ship has sailed.
The blonde girl in front of Sarah looks a bit like Joyce when she smiles. I want her and Joyce to be friends and they can be adorable together.
People always ask, “Why do people hate X character because they’re *unlikable*? Why is being likable so important?”
This. This is why.
So…. this is been frustrating and uncomfortable.
That’s all I can come up with to say about that.
The more I see of Sarah’s outfit the more I realize she was loaded for bear. Those heels!
I hope Jacob tries to check in with her, despite Sarah’s angry face. If only everyone had a Dina level of patience and acceptance.
someday
oooooooor, probably not. but you know. maybe its better this way
Panel 3 can be the face that gets drawn on this book when it gets published.
If it’s not, you can print it out and add it anyway.
This is breaking my heart.
This.
The worse part, I think, is that Sarah really does like Jacob.
While Sarah’s social skills definitely need some honing, I’m finding more and more that Jacob’s whole personality is flawed, which is a lot harder to fix.
In other words, I’m starting to get a strong dislike to Jacob. I get a feeling that he’s quite unempathetic and self-sufficient.
I’m not sure about Jacob yet.
Sara is kinda hard to read, especially if you haven’t had that kinda friend yet. He just may not know what to do. If you drive people away, most will go. Joyce is just staying cause she’s a special nutcase
Really? He just seems like a regular dude. Pretty well-adjusted, too, as opposed to our main cast, each of which has some kind of not-so-hidden neurosis or personality flaw.
Here are Jacob’s sins: tried to get to know Sarah. She was unresponsive, so he backed off a bit, until they bonded over telling “Joyce” stories. Meanwhile, because “talking sometimes after class” is not a monogamous relationship, he also talked a bit with a girl Sarah didn’t like.
And… that’s basically it?
Oh also a girl sitting next to him just flipped out and ran away from him, and he found that a little strange.
You forgot starting a relationship with Sarah’s archnemesis. But Jacob didn’t know that until after Sarah found out about it, so that’s not much of a sin either.
And honestly, even if he did… Raidah’s not a bad person. Has a bit of a more casual attitude towards pot use, and holds a bit of an unfair grudge towards Sarah, but beyond that, she hasn’t been malicious.
She was also a jerk to Dina. But you’re right, it’s not like Raidah is a universally terrible person. I don’t think the way she’s been bullying Sarah would be right even IF Sarah had just wanted to get rid of Dana, but if the story was being told from Raidah’s point of view, I’m sure Sarah would be the one coming off as a cruel jerk.
Well, to reply to you all, I’d say that to me, bullying = terrible person.
And also, that being a neurotic person who has almost only neurotic friends, I would’ve found it very obvious in Sarah’s acting that she’s suffering, and I would’ve offered at the very least some small acts of kindness, even if I decided to stay away. But Jacob’s attitude strikes to me as unconcerned and borderline mean in a quite uncalled for way.
So yeah, while your statements that he’s “just a regular guy” might be true. I might be one of those people that really just can’t stand “regular guys”.
People’s neuroses are basically just (perhaps wounded) sensitivity and vulnerability, and it means a lot when that person shows it to you. Less sensitive people really get on my nerves sometimes.
And as for the argument of a story told by Raidah, well, I would certainely not be reading a comic that condones bullying and makes the victim appear like a jerk.
Did Sarah forget her head scarf? Is it still up in the desk by the front? That would be awkward. Heh.
Also, is this another one of those “everyone in a hoodie dress except Sarah” days? Heh heh.
oh sarahhhh
well that plan failed
Oh, for crying out loud! Someone hug her already!
Failed the hate is not strong enough in this one…..
I’m sure she is doubly happy to be seated behind a blonde clone of Joyce.
I won’t be surprised if Jacob actually tries to talk to Sarah after the lesson just because he’s worried about her. I would be too: She looks like she’s going into a deep, dark ‘down’ phase to me!
He did say he would decide for himself who he wants to try and be friends with. If he really felt like being friends with Sarah at some point, I could totally see him going over to her with her book and scarf and trying to understand her.
At this point it should be pretty clear to him that she has trouble in social situations. He was already identifying it when he noticed that she only talked to Jacob when riffing on Joyce.
I’m glad she couldn’t go through with it based on getting back at Raidah. But, I do wish she could just go after him for the real reason, she likes him.
Somebody needs to hug her if they weren’t all scared to.
You mean this person?
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/guard/
You don’t become that way after only one semester of “my associates stopped liking me because I called my depressed roommate’s dad” and you just know THAT hug came with big-assed containers of cookies on top and SHE WASTED IT.
He can choose to be her therapist or he can choose to be her friend but, he can’t choose both and one cannot exist without the other.
Some people don’t like hugs from strangers. That’s fairly simple and understandable.
Ditto what Nightsbridge said. Also, how do you hold up that strip and say that Sarah is the one who’s wrong for not accepting the hug? Mike’s mother is CREEPY and she has no respect for boundaries. I get hella unnerved if people try to hug me when they just met me.
Ditto x2
Amber’s fine getting a hug from Mrs. Warner because she knows who she is. Sarah does not, and more importantly, Sarah doesn’t suddenly reject recovery because she didn’t want to be hugged by a stranger.
I can understand a person not wanting to be hugged by stranger but, there’s a proportion of response that’s appropriate.
She jumped straight past “Ma’am, please respect personal space” to “MA’AM, I WILL DEFEND MY PERSON WITH WEAPONS” without knowing anything other than Amber, who she knows and is standing right next her, just received a warm hug from the mother of Mike, who she also knows.
A hug is not a threat. THAT hug was not an attack.
Her response was extreme.
It was a joke based on comical exaggeration. It’s a webcomic, so sometimes the characters aren’t going to be acting fully within the limits of reality if it interferes with a good punchline, unless you think Sarah carries that bat with her everywhere.
Comedy aside, it was extreme.
Here’s contrast: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/05-media-rumble/halfbath/
Plus, the state of Sarah’s problems in Joyce’s dialog: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/05-media-rumble/break/
No, I don’t think she carries a bat everywhere but, she does have at the party. What kind of a person, apart from AG, shows up to a campus party with a weapon?
(AG is in the background already having a fight…)
She brought a weapon because she thought she’d need to pull Joyce out of a bad situation.
Which she had to.
By the way, that link with Joyce you had? At that point Sarah was just the grumpy curmudgeon of the cast, the same way Joyce was the ingenue, or Walky was just the dorky goofball. We know now that Sarah doesn’t consciously reject people; she does it because she’s been burned in the past.
At this point we are saying something similar but, it seems to be a little more than just ‘she’s been burned.’
It’s not natural to go to a party with a weapon after saying she wasn’t going to go.
A person goes to a party to dance. She went expecting a fight.
She went to the party because she was worried Joyce was going to be hurt by some raging asshole. This is outright stated.
Sarah is introverted, and because of her traumatic experience in her first year she’s all the less willing to open up to people. She pushes people away and decides that they can’t see any worth in her because that’s easier than accepting people can actually love her.
Having said that, Sarah’s allowed to respond negatively to any type of physical contact she doesn’t want.
Sings: Sarah, Sarah
Storms are brewin’ in your eyes . . .
Doing the right thing frequently feels awful.
Yeah, Jacob is half concerned, half worried about walking home alone in the dark.
Oh, Sarah, you poor thing…
Sarah you are breaking my heart right now.
Man Sarah is so so so bad at this
Sarah doesn’t really want to be a misanthrope.
In face, I think she wants to HIT a particular anthrope pretty bad.
It’s hard to use someone as a tool for revenge when you like them so much.
I think this is just solidifying in his mind that she’s the crazy bongo that Raidah said she was. And that makes me sad.
Mission aborded but not for the best.
The real question of interest here is why are those two girls in the first panel wearing the exact same outfit?
theyre part of the hoodie dress appreciation guild
There is a lot of sympathy on here for Sarah.
I say no way! Shes miserable, its her own making, and if she wants to change that then get some help and take responsibility.
But Jacob can do better than either of those girls, too.
I think it’s okay to feel bad for Sarah? I think it’s okay to say “man this situation sucks ass.” But I agree, this IS her own making. She didn’t just randomly happen into all this. She pushed Jacob away intentionally. She punched Raidah in the face that one time. I think the thing where she told her roomate’s dad that she was losing control of her life wasn’t a bad thing? I don’t feel like that was a mistake.
I dunno, he and Raidah have some great chemistry together. From Jacob’s perspective she’s a catch. I think that they could have a lovely relationship together.
I do want Jacob to confront her and for Sarah to reveal what happened between her and Raidah. I also really really want to see her try and explain her assault on Raidah.
Something like about this strip is that it’s not afraid to show the main characters as having actual issues, even if those issues are funny sometimes.
Like, Joyce is sometimes funny when she says hanky-panky, or talks about her beliefs. But it’s also clear that yes, she is repressed, and has issues.
Likewise with Sarah, it’s easy to have her be a “grumpy sourpuss who secretly cares about her friends,” but here we see that she is actually just kind of fundamentally messed up. Like, seriously, the act of smiling feels so fake to her that she had to retreat.
Like, another strip would have her being cheerful, and then everyone would be all “Aw Sarah, we miss the old you! You can be grumpy if you want!”
But I’d love to see the day where Sarah can actually talk to people like a normal human being.
Yeah, it’s weird to think of all the times problems people like Sarah have are depicted almost as non-issues in fiction. It’s what I appreciate the most about DoA, actually; it treats them as the real, damaging problems they are. There’s never any kind of cartoonish brushing aside of the characters’ issues.
It’s okay Sarah, you will eventually seduce him with your awkwardness.
Dear lord, the man is not a bleeping psychic; it’s enough that he sensed the disturbance in the force. They are not friends, and she’s made it pretty clear that personal questions are off the table. Fact is, he has a girl to focus his attention on, and the only reason he has to try to figure out Sarah is a genuine concern for her mental health. Even then, he’d probably ask Joyce what’s going on, rather than Sarah.