168

Angel
Posted on October 29, 2014 by David M Willis
2014-10-patreonpreviewSo this was weird.  Guess who won this month's vote to star in the Dumbing of Age Patreon monthly bonus comic?  O HAI BECKY.  Well, uh, that's spooky timing.  But I drew a Becky strip anyway (also Asma is in it), so if you wanna go check it out, all you have to do is be a member of the Patreon.  The first panel of the bonus strip is on the left.   You can see the monthly bonus strip (and the monthly wallpaper) for any pledge amount, and if you pledge $5 or more you get to see tomorrow's strip a day early.  That's right, those folks knew Becky was showing up 24 hours ago!  But not a month ago, or they probably wouldn't have voted this way. We're not going to have any shortage of Becky, is what I'm saying.

168 thoughts on “Angel”

  1. Jen Aside

    Becky, Becky, she so cool
    I don’t get Becky I can’t sleep
    I need Becky ‘fo I beat
    Becky, Becky, marry me

    1. thebombzen

      You mean

      Sal, Sal, she so cool ohwait wrong comic

      1. Mr. Random

        No, I think that applies to this one too.

      2. Very Good Karma

        Maniac, Maniac, he’s so cool.
        Maniac, Maniac, don’t go to school.
        Runs all night, runs all right.
        Maniac, Maniac, *kissed a bull*!

        1. PASchaefer

          Holy crap, that takes me back.

        2. Oddball

          You kissed a Bull?

        3. Roborat

          Yea, Red Bull.

        4. tarmaie

          I didn’t know there was anyone else in the world who read that book.

        5. Very Good Karma

          Are you kidding?? It won a Newberry Medal! There are *curriculums* written for teaching that book.

        6. Renadt

          Damn it, that was a good book.

  2. An Average Loser

    Ohai Becky.

    1. Tunaro

      So, how’s your school life going?

      1. Tenn

        It’s not true, it’s bullcrap, I did not draw dingdongs, I did naaaht.

        1. 0kami

          So, anyway, how is your premarital-hanky-panky life?

  3. Tunaro

    Oh joy, more wood to add to the fire!

    1. Yotomoe

      That sounds like a euphenism.

      1. Van Dyne

        It’s not. It is in fact another comment reflecting the OP’s desire to randomly immolate certain characters.

    2. Jen Aside

      It feels wrong to start a phrase “oh joy” and not conclude it with “sex toy”

      1. Aubri

        +68

        1. Opus the Poet

          +1 more

      2. Joy

        This is especially true when you know people named Joy.

      3. xKiv

        Oh joy, more wood to add to the fire sex toy!

        /couldntresist

  4. Mr k

    “Hey, Joyce, want to meet my atheist girlfriend?”

    1. AgentKeen

      “Wait, that came out wrong, I’m just a friend of Dorothy!”

    2. Yotomoe

      “No? How about my Jewish boyfriend? Don’t worry, nothing’s happened yet. He’s gay”

      1. newllend

        Or my other alcoholic and possibly BI friend and her EX criminal roommate.

    3. Dalky

      I think you guys missed the point… BECKY would be the one with the athiest girlfriend. And I’d say something like that seems inevitable.

      1. HMRC4EVR

        Maybe this is the point we find out Becky is gay and has been trying to hide it from Joyce out of fear, but Joyce realizes she has feelings for Becky that’s been transferred to Dorothy in lieu of Becky not being there.

        So we add another can of romantic gasoline to the fire.

  5. Nanchatte

    no that’s taylor swift

  6. Doctor_Who

    The fundieness has been doubled!

    Let’s hope Mary doesn’t ruin it. Perky fundies are more fun than bongoy ones.

    1. Yotomoe

      They put the fun in fundies.

      1. Lone Wolf

        Conversely, Mary puts the “fundament” in “fundamentalist”.

        1. Mr k

          No, she puts the mental in “fundamentalist”

        2. Lone Wolf

          http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Fundament?r=75

        3. Opus the Poet

          You’re both right, she’s an ass and she’s mental.

        4. GamaranSepudomyn

          You beat me to that one. Although I was going to make that joke about Joyce.

      2. Jen Aside

        you’re talking about these amirite

        1. gwalla

          omfg what

        2. saltchocolate

          Jen Aside — I demand a refund of my brain-before-checking-out-your-link. A *full* refund. No trace memories of that insanity.

    2. Tunaro

      A rabid opposum covered in barbed wire’d be better than Mary.

  7. AgentKeen

    Hey, alt-text, I’m the one that makes ‘SAL?!?’ jokes.

    …and probably like 50 other people.

    1. Jen Aside

      That’s how Willis knows us so well. One pool of jokes =p

      1. AgentKeen

        “Nobody has made a ‘FAAAACE’ joke in a while; better have someone get hit in the face with a pie.”

        1. Opus the Poet

          We haven’t had an “unkillable badass” joke for a while either… Probably because unkillable badasses are so rare, unlike religious fundamentalists that hate all things fun.

    2. Wack'd

      This would be a lot more dramatic if Becky had called Joyce earlier to break up with her, followed by an extended flashback of the two of them in high school.

  8. Mattyos

    Well this is going to be a spectacular truck crash

  9. Dean

    Don’t worry Joyce, God has just been ‘paying attention’ to Billie and Ruth lately, if you know what I mean.

    1. Yotomoe

      “I made the right decision making these too so hot. If only people’d stop spreading that “I hate gays” rumor. My whole schtick is I don’t hate anyone!

      1. Shadowtechie

        +1 for TRUTH!

      2. Tenn

        “Oh hey there little fella!”

        Brain, you are far too good at recalling things thought forgotten.

  10. Tommy Fresh

    Becky-Joyce Shippers!

    Assemble!

    1. buckybone

      ALL ABOARD

    2. Mr k

      It turns out that Becky always had a crush on Joyce. This conversation will go badly.

    3. newllend

      how can there already be shippers !? everyone would have forgot she existed if it wasn’t for the fact she’s on the cast list.

      1. Jen Aside

        or in the VERY FIRST STRIP if you accidentally click the “First” button??

        1. Disloyal Subject

          Or when you follow ads here to check the daily update, only to feel that tiny spark of rage when they bring you to page one instead and negate the time saved in not typing the URL manually by requiring a click to reach the homepage…

        2. Opus the Poet

          Dude, bookmarks save tons of time.

        3. lipstick_suckerpunch

          I am often reminded of Beckys existence when my large thumb tries to click the ‘previous’ button on my phone and mashes into the first button instead.
          I’m actually kinda excited to find out what happened to Becky. How long in the DoA universe has it been since Joyce last saw her?

        4. Opus the Poet

          The last strip with Joyce and Becky in the same physical locale was posted September 15, 2010 http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/01-move-in-day/forget/

      2. Hoboturtle

        Actually I don’t even think Becky is still on the cast list.

    4. Orangey

      I ship them so hard and I DONT KNOW WHY? I’ve got it in my head that Becky has a massive crush on Joyce for some reason.

    5. Tenn

      I will not ship Joyce with Becky unless Dorothy is also involved.

  11. Emperor Kiva

    I knew Joyce would cheer up quickly somehow. Way to go, Joyce! 😀

  12. Kernanator

    Oh this is going to be fun!

    …Hopefully.

  13. JessWitt

    It’s been a while, Becky! Can’t wait to see what comes of this little get-together.

  14. GoogerGeiger

    Plot twist: God is real.

    1. Kennerly

      We all knew that already, at least within the world of Dumbing of Age. His name is Willis.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        And this God of the DoA is an atheist.

        1. Yotomoe

          He looks in the mirror and says “You’re not real”

        2. Deanatay

          I imagine our God (if he exists) to be an atheist. He knows what he is and why he exists, so he doesn’t have to believe in himself, and there’s nothing bigger than him to believe in. So, yeah, atheist.

      2. Mkvenner

        And he’s a zombie in a box.

    2. Mkvenner

      And He’s a zombie cat.

  15. Yotomoe

    Your chin is looking strong as ever.

  16. dailybrad

    “Becky! Finally, I need you to look at giant butts with me!”

    1. cesium133

      “Hi, Becky! Please don’t look at my browser history. There are no pictures of mandangles in there. I promise.”

  17. Khaner

    Prediction: Joyce’s changes in college will cause these two to start to hate each other, with Becky representing everything Joyce was and despises about herself. It will lead to arguments, and an eventual falling-out.
    And then wonderful hatesex

    1. dailybrad

      I could see it maybe being Joyce trying to pretend to be as she was, slipping, and Becky maybe being like “Oh, thank God, you finally noticed some of this stuff too!”

  18. newllend

    Hey main character we’ve only seen twice since the beginning of the comic. how you been.

  19. Mkvenner

    This won’t end well. Ditto for their friendship.

    1. Mkvenner

      Joyce is the plaything of Tzeentch. Never play poker with him.

  20. Very Good Karma

    Ominous feeling is ominous.

    1. Chest Manly

      Your statement is giving off an ominous feeling.

      1. Very Good Karma

        Your noting of the ominous feeling of my statement feels ominous.

    2. newllend

      what like how she got here? wait wait wait let me guess… she ran away from home and came here to see the love of her life one last time

      1. tinfoil theory

        Good thing Joyce doesn’t have a bike. It might get stolen.

      2. AgentKeen

        She’ll go on the run, eventually meeting some Australian gal that insists on always wearing an outback hat (or whatever they’re called) and was disowned by her mother, the hook-handed leader of time-traveling Australian pirates. They’ll both get caught up in a secret war with the Big Vampire and his vampire minions. Becky turns out to have a twin, and both of them were given vampire DNA (the real reason Becky gets nasty sunburns as opposed to being a red-head).

        I spent too much time on that.

        1. Very Good Karma

          And I spent too much time trying to figure out if your were just making something up or referencing another webcomic.

  21. Chest Manly

    I’m so glad I’m donating to Patreon. The early stuff is well worth the cash im paying.

    Yay, I can’t wait to see how Becky reacts to a slightly college influenced Joyce.

    Will there be any more shirts for sale soon in the store?

  22. Mkvenner

    You know there is more than one way to read this sign right?

  23. nothri

    Now that’s what I call service!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCHE0Tjw6MA

  24. astraea

    Oh, this is going to be painful. I want to be happy for Joyce, but I know what it’s like when two old friends go to college, and one changes more than the other. The nature of the relationship shifts, makes things awkward, especially if the friend who hasn’t changed is unwilling to listen. It’s possible to salvage the friendship, but if Joyce or Becky is expecting for things to be just the same between them, they have another thing coming.

  25. John

    “Beckyvador!”

  26. newllend

    A new challenger appears, probably here to challenge Dorothy for the title of being Joyce’s best friend/lover

  27. Em

    It bodes badly that the first thing said was “You remembered my name!”

    1. Aubri

      I was scared I was the only one who noticed that. That passive aggressive is worthy of Seattle!

      1. dailybrad

        I think it was more insecurity. Joyce, to her, is getting to be all worldly, she sees herself as the “little people” forgotten on the way up.

      2. Kelly

        haha, nice

        /Seattleite

        1. Disloyal Subject

          Best city, as far as the big ones go. Optimum weather, decent seafood and public transportation, plentiful geekery…
          I really should visit more often.

        2. Opus the Poet

          I used to live there, sorta. Bellingham and Tacoma before we got moved again. Damn you DoD!

        3. Em

          I READ THAT AS OPIUM WEATHER OH MY GOD. *coughs* Anyway. I love Seattle as well. It’s about a two hour drive away, but I still never go.

    2. Carriethedragon

      I think she’s just joking. Like “haha, we’ve been separated for only a little while and we’re best friends, let’s pretend I was worried you would forget my name.” I mean, they’ve been in school for what, a month? And we’ve already seen Joyce call Becky at least once, as well as attempting to call her on another occasion.

    3. Daibhid C

      If I’ve got my theology correct, Joyce and Becky do, in fact, believe they’re going to live forever, and possibly learn how to fly.

  28. Idon'tcarenomore

    So Becky knew to come to her room in the dorm and Sarah let her in and now they need to play catch up?
    And is Becky going registered now, or visiting?
    How will this affect the 2 of them?
    Will Becky run screaming into the sunset after meetings Joyces’ atheist gf, gay Jewish BF, carmel friendly/ememy Walky, and sexy Sal and dopey Dan?
    Tune in same time tomorrow and for the rest of the year to find out 🙂

    1. Roborat

      Same Amazi-Girl time, same Amazi-Girl channel.

  29. Sili

    Cute New Testament scholarship joke.

  30. Evan

    Becky’s facial structure is a lot like Joyce’s mom. I will assume she is a secret illegitimate sister.

  31. Triniking1234

    Well dang, girl. We haven’t seen you since twenty-twelve.

  32. Xain

    the question is if Joyce takes this as a sign that hey no prob bob your not in trouble or as here is my messenger to bring to back to the straight and narrow from which you have strayed. I’m hoping the former but it feels like we havnt been cursing Willis name enough recently so I’m betting the latter

  33. meghantheworldeater

    Oh shit oh shit oh shit! I think I just realized what “When Somebody Loved Me” is referring to!
    Why must he toy with our emotions!

  34. brew

    oh
    my
    god

  35. Twinkle Toes the Berserker

    Either somebody needs to tell me what the alt-text is, or tell me how to see them on my tablet (Which I am stuck on until I have new laptop funds). I’m dying here. D:

    So. Why hasn’t Becky been answering Joyce’s calls for forever? Has Becky changed in the ways Joyce has? Will their friendship survive whatever Willis has in store for them over the next year of real world time?

    Stay tuned?

    1. David M Willis

      You can see hovertext on tablets by tapping the blank space on either side of the comic navigation.

      1. Twinkle Toes the Berserker

        Yay! Now I can go back and read all the alt texts since late September! 😀

    2. Dean

      It says ‘SAL!?!? no wait wrong comic’.

  36. Anonymous

    Interesting!
    Now then, is this a ‘Hi there, how’ve you been? –My life is falling apart, helphelphelp’ or a ‘Hi there, how’ve you been? Oh, phone? They don’t let us have phones there, silly! Nor [long list of other normal things], of course’?

  37. MxJosh

    Beckys story just has to be told

  38. Rabid Rabbit

    Becky still has possessed eyes, so I’m going to assume she hasn’t started to be de-brainwashed.

    1. kelticat

      How can she be de-brainwashed? Joyce is the only one of the Homeschool class who is at a secular college. Everyone else wasn’t socialized enough to hack it and had to go to a Christian college.

  39. Beachfox

    I was seriously getting worried about Becky after the several weeks (in universe)/years (out of universe) of Joyce being unable to get ahold of her on the phone.

    Seeing her away from her school in the middle of the week doesn’t bode well, but I’m glad she’s, y’know.. Moving under her own power and not enacting a Very Special Afterschool Special about alcohol somewhere.

  40. Morty

    oh, this is gonna end well

  41. Mike

    We’ve got trouble my friends. That’s trouble with a capital “T,” and that rhymes with B and that stands for Becky.

  42. Jacob Newburn

    I always thought Becky was like Tyler Durden and that’s why she wasn’t picking up her phone.

  43. Dragon

    It’s gonna be Joyce’s first few days of college all over again, isn’t it? Horror and shock at the promiscuity, gays/lesbians, differing moral and religious ideals, and racism. Looking forward to it ;D

  44. famulusdepopuli

    I was kind of hoping for something like this. It’s obvious that Joyce is noticing that the real world and the ideal one she grew up with aren’t the same, nor are they completely compatible, at least, not in the black and white terms with which she has been taught to see things. Regardless it is pretty clear that she doesn’t know how to feel about these differences, and I’m hoping that seeing how much Becky has changed (or hasn’t) might bring her to realize that the outside world, for all of it’s differences, might be good.

  45. Packy

    The similarities between Joyce and my wife continue: in high school, her best friend was also named “Becky”.

    Let’s hope this Becky doesn’t wind up screwing Joyce over.

    1. Anonymous

      Or walking all over her for changing her ways.

      Floor Joyce.

    2. MrSpkr

      “Let’s hope Becky ends up screwing Joyce over and over.”
      .
      There; fixed that for you.

  46. Sam Shamblin

    I will take this time to say that I have loved and appreciated every one of your comics up to and including this one.

  47. Sam Shamblin

    So thank you!

  48. NoneOfYourConcern

    Ironic how she appears only after her name is removed from the character section.

  49. OnyxIdol

    Well, the drama barometer was already low, but now it has plummeted even further. Methinks there is another hurricane a-brewin’.

  50. Lume

    Becky- Joyce’s guardian angel, who materialized because Joyce was THAT naive. Or is it Sarah…? Guardian angel duo…?

  51. Thomas

    Becky!! Finally we get to see more of her. Now, what’s gonna happen? Either of two things, I guess:

    – Becky’s still the same christian conservative girl she used to be, which is then used to highlight Joyce’s progress.
    – Becky came out as a lesbian. Joyce’s progress is then shown by her relatively easy acceptance of this. Which seems a bit trite, given the abundance of lesbians in Willis’ comics, but then again, Becky had that vibe from the very beginning.

    1. Halloween Jack

      There is something about the way she’s drawn in this strip and here that screams “future gym teacher”.

  52. Caravelle

    THE CRITERION OF EMBARRASSMENT xD xD xD

    I’m so glad I got into Jesus mythicism/historicity now. Just being able to get that joke makes it all worth it!!

    1. OnyxIdol

      Oh? There was a Jesus-injoke? Pray tell what is it, because I didn’t really get it.

      1. Thomas

        It’s not really about Jesus, but about establishing the veracity of historical tradition. If a story is embarrassing to its author, there’s a high chance it must be true. Take for example the story of how Saint Nicholas got so angry at another bishop on a minor point of orthodoxy that he hit the other man over the head. This story is told in a Life of Saint Nicholas, which is otherwise full of the usual wonders ascribed to Saints. These must be taken with a grain of salt, especially since many such wonders are simply copied from other Saints’ Lives. But since the story about two clerics exchanging blows is so embarrassing, yet included by the author of the Saint’s biography, it’s probably true.

        1. Thomas

          Source: http://www.livius.org/person/nicholas-of-myra/#Nicaea?

        2. OnyxIdol

          Ah, now I get it. Thanks for the explanation.

          And yes, it’s hilarious : )

        3. a4lbi

          I learned something! I didn’t catch that at all.

  53. 0kami

    Ask and thou shalt receive. 🙂

  54. Caffieanted

    I’m getting a ‘oh crap!’ feeling than a ‘oh yay!’ feeling right now.

    1. Luzahn

      Well of course! The fun bit is figuring out exactly which terrible thing will happen.

      Has Becky become more secular than Joyce? Will she condemn Joyce’s new life? Is she secretly Azmolach, demon lord of the Eternal Pits?

      1. madock345

        I have a strong feeling about that last one. I think it’s a winner.

  55. PlainMarie

    When worlds collide… boom!

  56. saltchocolate

    Oh, shit.

  57. chase

    Wrong angel, I think.

  58. hof1991

    On the. Tumbler, there was a question about gender bent characters, followed by a Becky drawing. I thought it was a Danny that had sprouted breasts. So, happy to see Becky instead.

    1. GamaranSepudomyn

      Yup, it’s time to add that to the list of things that could go horribly wrong.

  59. Hegah

    That….is a really impressive chin on Becky…..

  60. Emperor Kiva

    Wait Becky? I thought she exploded or something.

  61. GenericGuestName

    “You remembered my name!” Wish my friends held me to such high standards ;P

  62. madock345

    I wonder if Joyce is in on Becky’s secret identity as the Crimson Chin?

  63. begbert2

    ‘SAL?!?! You said you’re my best friend?!? YAY! That means I can brush and brush and brush your hair and that you’ll let me have se- er, ride your motorcycle!’

  64. reece

    Ugggh I forgot to check in for updates for weeks and I have no idea where I left off…on one hand, it’ll take forever to find my place… On the other i get to binge…is this a bane or a boon?

    1. shammers

      i would follow the RSS feed. i use feedly to keep up to date on this stuff. then, if you skip a week, it’ll show you both unread updates

  65. zombody

    is her hair shorter than it was at the very beginning?
    …
    I SENSE QUEERNESS
    (…i mean that’s a stereotype so on one hand it might not mean anything but on the other hand it’s a really easy way to hint at that… so fingers crossed for queer!Becky)

  66. kishimobot

    Ahh, I’m really worried now. I hope Becky has become a little more open minded

  67. Jackson

    Sarah’s as big of a biblical scholarship nerd as the author, apparently.

  68. shammers

    what if joyce falls for becky?

    that would be so weird. and complicated. ugh

    1. Cephalo the Pod

      I’m expecting the opposite; Becky falls for Joyce.

  69. Timni

    Man I completely forgot about this character

  70. Bagge

    Angel achieved

  71. OmegaDez

    God is quiet? Is she usually hearing him reply? Is that what happens to believers? I wonder why he never said anything to me. Maybe he’s pissed at he for not believing in him?

    Anyway, WHOA. Becky. It’s been YEARS.

  72. OmegaDez

    She had time to be kicked off the character page.

  73. brumagem

    Holy shit, looking back from the more recent pages it does almost look like it is a sign from God.

    Except, you know, that would mean God made a train wreck of Becky’s situation just so Joyce and Ethan could learn something.

  74. B.D

    Ha. A couple of commenters actually called it.

  75. Yarrr

    Yeah, God, what ARE you trying to tell Joyce here?

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