The Dumbing of Age Book 15 Kickstarter continues! With Amazi-Girl, whose magnet was here the whole time!
Sal: 'K, so it's "choir." S'just singin' with a buncha other folks. Can't even pick me out. S'not a big deal, even. It's NOTHIN'.
Marcie: Your voice, be PROUD.
Sal: No, that's not-- Ah'd rather not.
Marcie: Your voice? I love.
Sal: Well, y'shouldn't.
57 thoughts on “Proud”
ZombieKyrik
I can only assume this is Sal blaming herself for not being able to save Marcie’s voice. Singing might be making her happy, but then she immediately remembers Marcie can’t sing and feels guilty.
.
Is that a solid read on the situation? Any other interpretations, stuff I missed, or stuff I didn’t consider?
Doopyboop
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/tuned/ Pretty much on the money.
Thag Simmons
Yeah, this strip feels like a reminder about a character beat that was established but that some people might have forgotten about in the like, 6 years it’s been since Marcie was a relevant character.
RassilonTDavros
That’s definitely a big chunk of it, but her last line makes me think Sal also doesn’t like how her own voice sounds to some degree. Not necessarily, like, vocal dysphoria, but at least some level of discomfort.
RassilonTDavros
Another possibility I just thought of: perhaps back when Marcie could speak, Sal liked Marcie’s voice better than her own? Possibly for reasons stemming from the internalized racism Linda’s “parenting” has given her.
Li
Linda was also racist in Marcie’s direction. FWIW.
Rabid Rabbit
It hadn’t occurred to me before, but that could fit with her not liking to call it “choir,” cuz choirs are those wild things in Black churches, right? The ones that go all over the place instead of sticking to nice, basic, bland(white) Bach-is-too-inventive harmonizations.
Y’know, the ones that are as musically over-the-top as Joyce’s preferred rock-hymns. But Linda wouldn’t notice that.
Obviously, Sal also (mainly) prefers to call it “ensemble” because an ensemble is a group of individuals coming together to do something while remaining individuals, whereas a choir is a bunch of people coming together to form a homogenous mass. But it does seem like it could be a factor, just because the flying spaghetti monster knows that Linda would manage to ruin her daughter’s enjoyment of singing in a racist way if she could.
Leorale
I actually thought of choir as a really white-coded activity. (Unless it’s a Gospel choir, which is its own genre.)
Also, something Catholic angels do, in white robes, with lil golden harps. Not a cool motorcycle rebel thing at all.
But yeah the Marcie voice interpretation is still the most important part.
Thag Simmons
I am sure someone out there is crazy racist enough to think choir is a black thing, but there are many church choirs that are extremely white.
marcus erronius
I read that as an extra dollop of guilt. “You shouldn’t love my voice, not when I’m responsible for you not having one”
Sharizard
I might almost think the opposite way. Sal loves her voice, and loves to sing, and that brings up the guilt.
Needfuldoer
She probably blames herself for escalating the conflict with what’s-his-face until it got to that point, too.
Rimwalker55
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/landed/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/balances/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/escalation/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/injury/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/cowgirl/
Dave Van Domelen
Soprano, alto, or contralto?
tim gueguen
Mezzo basso profundo falsetto cookie monster.
Viktoria
Mezzo. Just based on the meme that Sal is good at everything.
(More seriously, I don’t see her being high enough for a soprano or low enough for a contralto. No reason, just based on vibes. Mezzosoprano fits.)
Corey C.
Now I really wish her rendition of “Hurt” was fully animated and voiced so we’d know what key she sings at. I imagine her being an alto, but imagine if she sang like an opera soprano.
Throwatron
based on her being sal, i could easily see her being able to naturally conform to multiple different vocal types without much effort. being superhumanly talented at the things she’s talented at, with no apparent effort required, is a running theme with her. I’ve definitely met vocalists who are specialized in doing just one thing, and they are all extremely envious of the singers who can just do whatever they want.
Needfuldoer
I’ve always imagined Sal’s singing voice sounds like Linda Ronstadt, specifically the range she exercises with When Will I Be Loved.
Chuk
I just started learning that Linda Rondstadt song a couple of weeks ago (mostly for the guitar).
Cholma
Re: Alt Text – I see what you did there.
TrueSurvivor
I initally thought the alt-text was a reference to Fabulous Secret Powers, but I see Willis is not a man of culture after all. So disapointing.
Astariel
Damn, hitting Sal right in the guilt. Hope she takes it to heart.
Aura
So there’s that survivor’s guilt, huh :(
Throwatron
okay i may just cry about this one
Queen Anthai
I get why she’s arguing the point, but jeez, Sal, just take a compliment.
Li
😢 Baww.
Li
Adding A prediction here: I think it’s going to turn out that Sal’s specific hangup is because when they were kids, Marcie wanted to be a singer, like, as a “when I grow up” dream job. And Sal has never forgotten, even though Marcie has moved on to other aspirations?
Li
Speaking of which: what ARE Marcie’s aspirations. We know she’s on the roller derby team and we know she had a precarious security gig for Robin: https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/cadet/
.
I think it’s pretty strongly implied that Marcie isn’t a student. I would BET that “cop” isn’t Willis’s plan for her anymore, though, if it ever was. 2016 was…. let’s call it “an enlightening year” for us white people.
Li
Addendum: hadn’t occurred to me until I read the comments that Sal was just being a jerk by describing Marcie’s gig as on the way to becoming a cop. I forgot that they weren’t in a great place at the time!
Wack'd
i think she’s just taking whatever gig work she can get. she lives with like a dozen other people
Leorale
It’s entirely possible that Marcie’s current longterm aspiration would be “pay rent this month”. Poverty is tough like that.
Li
I know! I was definitely not blaming Marcie-the-character. Just… wondering. If I’m right and she once wanted to be a singer, is there something else she wants to be instead? Feasible or otherwise?
IntangibleMatter
Girl, you’re implied to have one of the nicest voices in the comic, it’s heartbreaking that you don’t see it.
Throwatron
No, what’s actually heart-breaking here, is that Sal is acutely aware of it. She’s not ashamed of her singing voice because she’s concerned about her talent, she’s ashamed of her singing voice because she feels directly responsible for her best friend not having one. She’s spent like 8 years punishing herself for that by not singing…and when Marcie realizes she’s finally healing from that, it makes her so happy, but that only hurts Sal even more.
Zamperla
regrettably, sal hon, nobodys ever gotten their voice back for someone else not singin’. But what other way’d she ever get taught growing up to handle bad things besides assume it’s her fault?
Needfuldoer
I’ve always assumed they did a lot of singing together before the incident.
cyberbubblee
seeing marcie that proud makes my heart happy
Rimwalker55
Love what Marcie is doing for Sal here.
darkoneko
…what’s going on ?
Rimwalker55
It’s Spring! Time to dance!
Rimwalker55
Serious answer to your question though, tag search Sal and add Leland as a filter will give the back story on Marcie
anon
aw
altho for some reason i’m picturing carla giving marcie a voicebox that’s malaya’s voice to troll sal haha
Serendipity
Aw, Sal, Marcie’s absolving you of any wrongdoing just like she has been as long as you’ve harbored this misplaced guilt. Your mother should be carrying this awful weight, not you.
Marcie wants to hear you sing.
Big Z
And can I just say Marcie’s smile throughout yesterday and today has been just chef’s-kiss perfect as a combination of sincere, smug, and just a little trollish?
Tan
I am *crying* panel 5 is so sweet.
Leorale
I super appreciate how this strip preserves the word-order grammar of Marcie’s ASL.
(“Your voice: I love” rather than “I love your voice.”)
eskimolos
Ahhh, survivor’s guilt?
hoop
i really dig how signing is indicated here in the coloring – i know it’s been presented that way all along, but it’s just a cool visual indication.
(back when it was first implemented i was like “wait when did Marcie get glowy robot arms”)
Throwatron
okay, but this raises the even more important question: how can we get Marcie some glowy robot arms????
zee
I like the accurate translation of the grammar in ASL here, rather than just writing it out how it would be spoken (or how it’d be done in English Spoken Sign ig)
Ray
Wow, we’re metatexting Melissa Manchester now?? Kewl!
Rosicrucian
Bear in mind this is also some of the most involved interplay we’ve had with Sal and Marcie since Sal found out her friend had been holding a torch for her.
Meadow
MARCIE!!!!!!!! (I know she was here last strip too but I forgot comments existed lol)
ElderlyMarxist
awwww 🥹 <3
motorfirebox
Oh. OHHHHHHH.
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