523

Blammo
Posted on August 6, 2020 by David M Willis

523 thoughts on “Blammo”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    then it turns out he just fell out of bed

    …

    after a gun went off, but yeah

    DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD BLAINE LOLOLOLOL

    1. Thursday Violist

      and that’s why you don’t go to sleep with a gun in your hand

    2. Ana Chronistic

      Alt-text: rip as in tear?

      1. Doctor_Who

        He ripped his hospital gown when he fell out of bed, showing his butt. Everyone on that floor is having a good laugh right now.

        1. He Who Abides

          You don’t need to rip the gown to show off your butt, a fact that still turns Mrs. Abides fire-engine red to this day.

      2. Thrabalen

        Some people do shed a tear when someone dies, yes.

      3. NotPiffany

        rip as in “Rest in Pity,” if you’re serious.

        1. Agemegos

          Requiescat in pace / rest in peace.

        2. NotPiffany

          Blaine doesn’t get peace. Blaine gets pity. Because he’s pathetic.

        3. HeySo

          While RIP is in fact traditionally a reference to the soul resting in peace, even as far back as the 1700s it has also been used to reference the body/spirit resting in peace where specific mention to the soul is not also provided. Within the past three decades or so (perhaps earlier, that was just the oldest clear reference I could find) it has predominantely been used for such; Whether that’s due to a rise in secular outlook or the increase in popularity in vampire and zombie fictions, I can’t say. 😛

          So there’s no clear determination as to which is intended here but, frankly, if the alternative to giving his soul peace is for him to be an undead that continues harassing everyone, that tradeoff doesn’t seem worth it. So let’s just go along with the RIP. 😛

          Though I guess we could also interpret a lack of RIP as “buried alive in a coffin”, but y’just know he’ll eventually claw his way out. See, and this is why we need a successor to Buffy. The undead are just totally out of check these days. Like that weird one who’s leading the US. I mean, you can’t tell me a living person would go around with that kind of unnatural skin tone..

        4. Jarawara

          Buffy for President, 2020!

        5. HeySo

          She’s definitely got MY vote.
          Well, I mean, I’m still kinda in favor of the “Mike for All” campaign I promoted a bit earlier on, but due to certain circumstances, it looks as though we’ll have to put that one to bed, for now. Er, so to speak. ..and so Buffy it is!

        6. Concolor44

          He receives no pity from THIS quarter. Rancid SOB got off easy, considering how much damage he’s done.

      4. Ana Chronistic

        NO “Rip and Tear” comments, I’m disappointed

        1. Schpoonman

          I’m sorry, I was otherwise occupied last night. The song started playing in my head when I read your comment, if it makes you feel better.

        2. thejeff

          “Rip Torn”?

        3. A.Rion

          I am too. When I saw your comment last night, I immediately thought about responding ‘Until: “It’s done.”, but thought that was kind of a poor followup. But now that no one else made a Doom-related joke, I’m wishing I had just said it.

    3. Lanie

      I am feeling so much pity for the fictional nurses who are going to have to do all the paperwork for that fall. And preceding gunshot.

      1. abysswatcher1993

        And the peopple cleaning all the blood after forensics is done.

        1. HeySo

          I imagine the people who regularly clean the ER and Maternity Ward are already fairly used to it. :S

    4. Emily

      The text in the last panel was about a pizza.

      1. Opus the Poet

        Gigglesnort 🙂

    5. HeySo

      “DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD BLAINE LOLOLOLOL”

      Let’s play a rhyming game..
      Blaine, Brain, Rain, Drain, Stain..
      I could do more, but I’ll abstain.

      1. HeySo

        Whoa, that’s actually a pretty solid tonguetwister, as well. Give it a shot- just repeat the middle line again as a fourth line, and try to say the whole thing fast.

  2. Sirksome

    Is it done though?

    1. Doctor_Who

      Entirely unrelated. Asher’s just getting a notification from his Galasso’s Pizza (and Subs) App that his calzone is ready for pickup.

      It’s a great app, but the messages are somewhat ominous.

      “You will pay for this” (cash, paypal, and all major plastic accepted)

      “We can rule this world, together!” (Join our preferred customer club for weekly coupons)

      “You will rue this day!” (whenever the location settings detect you an another restaurant)

      The worst part is the permissions. Only app I know of that asks for access to my location, camera, blood, and firstborn upon installation.

      1. Spriteless Girl

        Don’t exaggerate. Just your secondborn will do.

      2. Sirksome

        I feel like this would be so canon.

        1. Jamie

          That requires Galasso having competently hired an app developer…

        2. Doctor_Who

          Do we know if Sydney Yus is a student? They could be a CS major.

          I was CS, and I’ve known a few with basically that attitude.

        3. Needfuldoer

          Was a CS major, can confirm. Computers are easier to understand than people.

          You can also take them apart, fix them, and put them back together without going to jail (at least until Apple gets their way).

        4. Strain of Thought

          Also, in the Walkyverse Sydney Yus was canonically technically competent enough to rebuild Evan’s broken body into a cybernetic monstrosity strong enough to defeat Ultra Car. (Evan has been mentioned in DoA as being a hot gay guy with a prosthetic arm who is the only boy who is out of Ethan’s league.)

        5. Bicycle Bill

          Any man who can have ninjas at his disposal can certainly find a competent app developer.

        6. Reltzik

          Unless that developer is also a ninja.

        7. Vulcanodon

          The problem is finding them when you need to make updates

        8. raultsi

          exactly. one doesn’t just go and find a ninja. If they don’t want to be, you’re SOL.
          yes, I know, it should be SOOL but I bow to the general misspelling of the acronym.

        9. showler

          I always assumed that it was “shit outta luck”.

        10. Tobias

          I assumed it was “short on luck”.

        11. Regalli

          Yes but see, Pamela’s still alive in this verse. She totally has the business side of things handled, including ominous but totally on-brand text messages. The app refers to you exclusively as FOOL!, of course.

      3. Keulen

        This sounds very likely for a Galasso’s App, if there is one.

      4. Mra

        That sounds like Galasso, honestly

      5. Mollyscribbles

        I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns out to be true.

      6. Jon Rich

        I love your idea for the notifications, Doctor.

      7. yarrr

        Nice one.

      8. HeySo

        ” Only app I know of that asks for access to my location, camera, blood, and firstborn upon installation.”

        Actually, I installed Google Play on my Amazon tablet, and it asked for exactly those things! =O

        Well, I dunno how that is for non-Amazon android tablets, which come with Google Play pre-installed.. maybe your agreement is just implicitly granted to them along with your original purchase? ?

    2. AbelUndercity

      I’m not convinced it’s done until someone says something to the effect of “yup, that’s a dead Blaine, right there.”

  3. not you again

    WELL.

  4. Jupiterror

    welp. Bye, Blaine

  5. JetstreamGW

    Couldn’t happen to a nicer douchebag. Toodles!

  6. Stu

    Wait, Joe was the one behind this? I somehow think I’m missing a puzzle piece here.

    1. Spectre

      That’s not Joe getting the text. That’s Asher.

      1. Axel

        Joe would be an interesting twist though

      2. showler

        Asher is a little more involved in Grandpa’s business than he claims.

        1. Axel

          my assumption has been that he was pretty far out, but after being blackmailed by Blaine, then seeing what exactly it was for, he was ready to make a call or two

        2. bryy

          1000000000000000000000000%.

        3. NotPiffany

          Makes sense to me.

        4. Dr T

          I assume one of two things:

          1) Asher may not be that involved (otherwise why would Blaine’s threats bother him?), but has the connections required to get even, or

          2) It is more likely grandpa used him as a go between as opposed to contacting Lester directly.

        5. DailyBrad

          Yeah, I am inclined that’s the situation, that these people are not going to directly contact each other immediately after something like this, to leave less of a trail in the event phone records are sought out, etc.

        6. showler

          In my opinion if he is in enough to be used as a go between in this situation, then he is not as out as he pretends to be or thinks he is.

        7. thejeff

          The only way out of the mob is the way Blaine left.

        8. Axel

          I also think it’s noteable, re my theory that Asher confirmed with Blaine that it was just financial, not violent, other than maybe wanting amazigirl beaten up. That’s part of why I think his call (or one of his calls) was made after the kidnapping. Both because of spite at Blaine for involving him in violence and because being tied to a kidnapping and murder is a lot worse than being tied to some guy trying to force his daughter out of college, and is more gramps-actionable

        9. C.T Phipps

          Asher is now Kylo Ren to Sal’s Rey.

          I NOW SHIP THEM!

        10. Strain of Thought

          Also, I just noticed a parallel with the relationship between Asher and Sal- Sal wanted assistance committing further crimes after Asher had said their business was concluded, Asher agreed and provided the assistance, and then Asher called the cops to get rid of Sal while she was committing that crime because Asher decided she was a liability that was best disposed of as soon as possible. This makes Asher’s whole thing with Walky about ‘just walk away’ a whole lot more ominous, and makes me wonder if demanding that other people know when to quit is going to be a running theme with Asher’s character.

        11. pjeseb

          My guess was that Asher used some of that money he stole from “Gramps” to pay off Lester.

        12. Agemegos

          Possibly, but that would be an awful waste of a couple of hundred grand. If would be a lot more parsimonious of Asher to let Blaine have enough leeway to get himself arrested on charges good for life plus 218 years, and then tell his Gramps about it before the feds offer Blaine a deal for testimony. Then Gramps orders the hit and pays the contractor, and Asher doesn’t have to explain to anyone where he got quarter of a mill from to drop on a hit-man.

        13. C.T Phipps

          Killing a “normal” person is apparently 5000 to 10,000 dollars according to the FBI.

        14. James

          If anyone was the Kylo in all this it’s Blaine, honestly. Same levels of emotional maturity and competence.

        15. Agemegos

          Does that get your target whacked by the cop guarding him while he is handcuffed to a hospital bed?

        16. C.T Phipps

          I tend to think a cop would be a low-level Hitman since it’s very easy to do.

        17. Michael Haneline

          Yeah cops are like entry-level assassins. They kill innocent people all the time anyway just for shits and giggles, why would they charge a whole lot to kill one more “nobody” (in their eyes)?

        18. DudeMyDadOwnsaDealership

          Assuming Asher was in no way Linda Walkerton’s inbetween, that is.

          Her connections to where the power is is everything to her, and she isn’t afraid to come off as a monster to those who “don’t matter.”
          She may already be in the know of some things that would bury both her and her partners if the public, or other big-shots not in on the take, found out.
          She may also know more about the local underworld than than, say, families who aren’t going places? Who knows?
          Not highly probable, but that would have more to do with Linda having nowhere near the means she’d like to believe she has rather than it being too shady a method to solve the issue with Blaine, knowing Linda and her preferred crowd.

    2. Cheshrin

      Asher (whose grandfather runs the mob Blaine laundered for) was. Note the parallel between this text and the text Asher sent to Blaine after pulling the fire alarm.

    3. KSClaw

      No that’s Asher

    4. Andy

      That’s Asher in panel 5, and presumably his hand in Panel 6. Joe is in the hospital, behind Faz.

    5. cartoogle

      Final panel isn’t Joe, it’s the guy (who’s name I forget) who pulled the fire alarm and got everyone kidnapped. Same guy who got Sal arrested back when.

      1. cartoogle

        Wow, ninja’d by 6 people in 2 minutes.

    6. Needfuldoer

      No, Joe was the one behind Faz.

      1. Cyrus

        I read this as Joe being the sinister entity responsible for the creation of Faz.

  7. leaf

    Lol, Danny looks like a fish

  8. Mada

    He always was…

    *puts on sunglasses*

    gunning for worst dad.

    1. Hornet

      YYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHH!!

    2. Kinoko

      “Wait, it’s all Asher?”
      “Always has been.”

  9. Chris

    And this is why you have to be careful who you blackmail.

    1. C.T Phipps

      There’s an episode of SHERLOCK where a blackmailer admits that he doesn’t have any backups for all his blackmail material and it’s all in his head. Thus the heroes kill him.

      Because he SERIOUSLY misread what kind of series he was in.

      1. Arianod

        I remember that episode. That was when I stopped watching Sherlock >_>

        1. Zach

          Same. “I have magic mind powers, and for me memory is not a creative act, and I don’t understand how I’m even able to learn new things if my neurons are so static as to not suffer memory degradation. Also, I don’t have high intelligence, I have superhuman smell, sight, hearing, touch, and can focus on infinite things at once.”

          It’s cute, fine, really, but not half as brilliant as it pretends to be.

  10. Yotomoe

    “Weird time to tell me about finishing your math homework, man.”

    1. Sirksome

      I was actually gonna make a joke about him finally finishing his laundry since one of the last times we saw him he was staring out a window in his underwear.

  11. Queen Anthai

    WTF just happened?

    1. Jamie

      Well, you see, when a bad dad and a bad cop hate each other very much, sometimes one of them ends up shooting the other in the face.

      1. BigDogLittleCat

        This made me laugh a great deal.

      2. Cholma

        +!

      3. Geneseepaws

        Ooh, very fine, ++

      4. HeySo

        Sometimes- but never often enough, unfortunately. I feel like we’d solve nearly all of the world’s problems if that was a universal constant..

        1. Valerie

          That would be pretty nice.

    2. Mra

      The cop shot Blaine and plans to make it look like a suicide, likely because he is a crooked cop belonging to the same mob as Blaine, and Blaine’s recklessness is proving to make him more trouble than he is worth

      1. Rectilinear Propagation

        I read the previous comic as the cop planning to say Blaine was killed in the struggle for the gun (self-defense and/or an accident) but I’m not sure it really matters.

        1. BigDogLittleCat

          He probably actually was killed in the struggle for the gun. He probably did try to get the gun from Lester.
          I agree, it doesn’t matter.

      2. Queen Anthai

        See, between this and yesterday’s strip, I read it as “crooked cop offers Blaine a way out, so he shoots into the air to make it sound like a struggle and hands Blaine the gun so he can make his escape.”

        I mean obviously the alt-text proves me wrong but that’s really where I thought this was going.

        1. David

          I don’t think that was the kind of escape Lester was thinking of. Too many variables. How is a hospitalized guy going to actually escape,even assuming he got the gun?

        2. Bruce

          After reading, I had no idea who, if anyone, had been shot. I didn’t see the alt text; I almost never do. I think in this instance, I would have liked the suspense to last until tomorrow’s comic; however I am more than happy to say good riddance, Blaine. Rot in comic hell, you absolute piece of garbage.

        3. Andrusi

          I think that’s where Blaine thought it was going, too.

      3. Miri

        And Asher apparently ordered the hit 😮

    3. Miri

      … That last panel was not something I expected 😮

      This may mean Walky hit a high-level active mobster… I hope he and Sal do not rekindle a friendship 😮

      1. DailyBrad

        I do not think this was Asher’s call, himself, but if it was, Asher seemed to take the punch in stride. If he wanted to retaliate, he had ample opportunity to do that during the hostage situation.

    4. Bunny

      Blaine pressures Asher(who claimed to be out of the family business) to help kidnap Amber and her friends. He uses his knowledge of mob finances as leverage to force Ashers hand. The cops really are on the mob payroll. If Asher let’s him blackmail him once, he’ll keep doing it because Blaine recognizes no boundaries. So this is Asher getting payback on Blaine for the breathtaking disrespect of blackmailing him, and protecting his granddad and family business by removing the threat.

      1. Romanticide

        what you are saying makes sense.

    5. clif

      Someone learned not to mess with Asher. I mean they learned it too late to do any good, but they’ll never make that mistake again.

    6. KJ

      Blaine lied to Asher about his intentions when blackmailing Asher into pulling the fire alarm, and Asher, who has ACTUAL influence in the mob, called a hit on his dumb ass

  12. Aislashu

    Just a shot in the dark, but I assume he’s dead.

    1. CMasta1992

      Well played

    2. tim gueguen

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB7ZMajJ1FY

      1. Keulen

        Well that was an interesting song.

        1. tim gueguen

          It’s a cover of Blake Edward’s theme to A Shot In the Dark, the second film to star Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.

  13. Dunedon

    Does it bother anyone else that Faz is smiling, as if he’s known all along this was coming.

    1. Mra

      I have never seen Faz not smile.

      1. Kamino Neko

        There was that one panel, where he basically turned into a Simpsons character.

    2. DailyBrad

      I think that is just how he defaults. We’ve seen him smile plenty of times where he was alarmed or upset.

  14. Jezi

    And nothing of value was lost.

    1. Mra

      Amber’s tuition money

      1. Doctor_Who

        Unless Blaine wrote a will stating otherwise, it’s entirely possible that his money will go to Amber, Faz, and Yuri by default.

        1. BigDogLittleCat

          Unless he wrote a will otherwise, it probably all goes to Yuri. I don’t know of any jurisdiction in which the spouse is not first next of kin.

        2. NotPiffany

          Are we sure that he actually married Yuri?

        3. BBCC

          He calls himself Faz’s stepdad so seems reasonable to assume.

        4. clif

          Unless they changed it, the no will default in Texas was half to the spouse and the other half split between the kids. When my father died, my sister and I needed to sign everything back to my mom for a dollar and other valuable considerations. At which point she had a lawyer draw up a will. I don’t have one, but we keep stuff in my wife’s name and the cash in joint accounts with rights of survivorship.

        5. HeySo

          Indiana inheritance law, according to googled sources:

          “When a child’s parent passes away intestate and the surviving spouse is his or her other parent, that child will inherit half of the decedent’s estate.

          However, if the decedent got remarried to a person other than the child’s parent before he or she died, the child receives whatever is left over following the spousal claim of one-quarter of the real property and half of the personal property of the decedent.”

          Thus, theoretically, Amber and Faz would split 3/4 of real property and half of personal property? It’s a bit convoluted since we’ve got a half-sibling situation going on, but Amber definitely is looking to inherit some portion.

          Rather, it may be hard to find states where only a single inheritor is assumed by default. Some states have protections that prevent spouses from being written out of wills entirely (conversely, no states have similar protections for children), but typical standard is that there’s some sort of split between all next-of-kin rather than just nearest next of kin (with that position mostly just notable for determining things like power of attorney where such hasn’t been clarified).

        6. Devin

          What kind of verification is required for Faz to count for this? I thought it wasn’t generally acknowledged that he was Blaine’s son (although those with the right knowledge and context know he is). Would a DNA test do it?

        7. HeySo

          I assume so. All the subsections I saw on the Indiana inheritance law reference page I looked at had all children (adopted, current marriage, past marriage, and illegitimate) as having equal status [aside from step-children, who were excluded from inheritance unless noted in a will]. Thus I’d assume any sort of validation of biological status would be enough to put you on that same standing. Likewise why I assumed the split between Amber and Faz would be equal (if Faz’s claim is properly made).

      2. Alex Boston

        Her new stepfather will cover it.

        1. Agemegos

          That’s awfully generous of Richard. Is Stacy going to tell him about it before the wedding or after?

        2. HeySo

          Richard is a well-off, self-absorbed gynecologist (ie, doctor). I can’t imagine he’d be at all opposed to taking on such a patriarchal obligation.

        3. thejeff

          I don’t believe he’s a gynecologist, but a bone doctor.

        4. HeySo

          Was he an orthopaedic surgeon? So likely even more well off, then. 😛

        5. Devin

          And more specifically, looking to prove his dedication. Given that he’s already helping them with the lawsuit from Ryan, I imagine keeping his new stepdaughter who is also his son’s peer in school would be well in keeping with this desire. Certainly much more than denying her would be.

        6. HeySo

          That was my take on it, yeah.

      3. Newllend(henryvolt)

        Ok something of literal value might have been lost, unless he had life insurance. But then again I don’t know if suicide by cop is covered by life insurance, and even if it did Yuri might sue to atleast get half of it.

    2. Angel

      Isn’t her new stepdad rich?

      1. Agemegos

        Richard and Stacy aren’t married yet. And Stacy might not be able to get away with being quite that blatant a gold-digger.

        1. Bruce

          Is Stacy a gold-digger? My impression is that she’s in it for the sex, just like Richard.

        2. Schpoonman

          After Amber gutted Ryan Stacy mentioned that his parents were suing the shit out of them and Richard was helping with court fees.

        3. Agemegos

          It she hit Richard up for Amber’s tuition she would come across as one.

  15. danielle

    asher’s here?

    1. Agemegos

      Does anyone recognise that location in panel 5? Is it the hospital or one of the other college buildings?

      1. Schpoonman

        Looks like the outside of Asher’s dorm.

        1. Devin

          +1, that’s McNutt

  16. Maemae

    oh SHIT, Asher is with the MOB??? I thought he was just some lackey Blaine hired!

    1. Bagge

      I start to re-evaluate my notion that Blaine ever hired him. It might not have been him who pulled the fire alarm after all.

    2. Axel

      his grandpa is the boss (or at least up there), that’s how Blaine knew him

    3. bejouled

      There are a few strips with Asher that makes it clear that his family is in the mob, but he is trying to get out. Blaine made him help by threatening to turn his (mob) family on him if he didn’t. Look through the Asher-tagged strips with Blaine

      1. Mae

        Got it, thank you!! Don’t know how I missed that, whoops

    4. Jamie

      I don’t think it was ever spelled out in-comic, fwiw.

      1. bejouled

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/gramps-2/

      2. AntJ

        comes pretty close here https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/gramps-2/

        1. AntJ

          also here https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-10/01-birthday-pursuit/wiggly/

    5. Dean

      Blaine coerced Asher’s help by threatening to reveal his family’s ties to organised crime. Not a great strategy, as it turned out.

      1. DrunkenNordmann

        If I recall correctly, he coerced Asher by threatening to tell his grandfather… something.

        1. Rabid Rabbit

          IIRC, Asher stole mob money as a way to get out from under them, so Blaine was threatening to tell Gramps that.

        2. BigDogLittleCat

          Where did we learn Asher stole from his grandfather?
          I thought that was just fan speculation.

        3. Cheshrin

          I think he told Sal that he was paying his tuition with “under-the-table” money he swiped from his gramps when he left.

        4. Agemegos

          Asher told Sal: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-10/01-birthday-pursuit/wiggly/

  17. Mra

    Hey, it’s that guy that Sal knew in middle school. Why is he receiving the text. Is he connected to the mob too?

    1. Axel

      heavily implied if not outright stated that his grandpa is in the mob

      1. Miri

        I got that his grandpa is a mob boss, not just in it…

        1. Axel

          I thought so and said that a couple posts up, but then I second guessed myself

    2. Mr D

      Oof, buddy, awkward name there.
      Anyway, if you look back at–LAST YEAR???? GOD DAMN!

      Anyway, if you remember when Asher and Blaine had a chat, it implied that Asher’s grampa was the head of the k-Mafia and Asher wanted to go legit. Blaine threatened to out him to the don for asher to pull the alarm.

      And this seems to be Asher becoming Michael Corleone.

      1. Axel

        Bagge helpfully linked it

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/gramps-2/

        1. Axel

          wow, not just bagge, as I see upon refreshing.

  18. Antonio Tyler

    Sad_trombone.wav

  19. Axel

    someone tipped off his gramps

  20. Bagge

    PIECE OF SHI…

    Or… he actually helped off Blaine… but he used fudging assasination to do it… and he might have worked against Blaine from the start.

    I’M SO CONFUSED RIGHT NOW.

    1. Bagge

      I asked for asher to PUNCH Blaine. I didn’t call for a downright cold-bloded MURDER

    2. deathjavu

      That’s a good point, why pull the fire alarm for Blaine if you were just planning on getting him killed…unless it wasn’t worth it for the mob to kill Blaine just for threatening Asher, but it was once Blaine fucked up in the most public way possible.

      1. Chris

        Survival strategy: go along with what the blackmailer tells you to do, until you can silence him.

      2. Kamino Neko

        Assuming he intended the hit all along, Blaine wouldn’t have been where Lester (or one of the other cops in the mob’s employ) could have gotten to him if he hadn’t progressed his plot.

        Seems more likely, though, that he took advantage of the arrest to take out the threat after going along to keep himself from trouble.

      3. Agemegos

        I don’t think Asher had enough money or influence to get Blaine killed. But he could tell that Blaine’s plan was stupid enough, and sufficiently dangerous to Gramps, that if he helped it go along and then told one of his uncles about it, Gramps would have Blaine killed. This is what we call “giving him enough rope to hang himself”.

      4. KJ

        I think Asher called the hit after he found out Blaine lied about not planning to hurt anyone

    3. DrunkenNordmann

      For a small refresher: Asher’s grandfather was Blaine’s boss, but Asher himself was trying to stay away from the mob business.

      So Blaine coerced him into helping him by threatening to tell his grandfather… something that’d make him “more disappointed in you”.

      Probably making Asher realise that, hey, the mob business might have SOME perks. Like ordering a hit on a guy who blackmailed you.

      1. tim gueguen

        Asher skimming money that was supposed to go to Gramps is a reasonable guess.

    4. Regalli

      I know.

      Like. Damn. I was genuinely pulling for him to get that distance. (Based off the blackmail, it seems likely he was telling the truth to Sal about stealing the money, so I have to imagine he was at least trying.)

      Plus, this basically guarantees continued mob presence in the storyline. At least as a potential threat.

  21. Kravis

    Blaine O’Malley sleeps with the fishes.

  22. Joe Moose

    Watch Asher be a high-level mob guy.

    Also, Faz looks…glad? Or just defaulted into smile, dunno.

    1. Mra

      I have never seen Faz not smile. I think that is just his face.

  23. Cheshrin

    Well, I guess someone didn’t cut as many ties as he told Sal he did. Guess “boss’s grandson” ranks a little higher than “money launderer” on the mob ladder in terms of strings you can pull.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      D’ya think?

    2. Agemegos

      He didn’t have o pull strings, just drop a dime. Blaine supplied Gramps’ Mob with all the motivation needed.

  24. KSClaw

    I kind of had the feeling that Blaine’s boss wouldn’t tolerate his bullshit. No mobster likes a waste of resources

    1. Bicycle Bill

      Waste of resources is one thing; that’s part of the risk of doing “business”.  Being dragged out into the open, or even out of the shadows, into public scrutiny where you’re going to be asked all sorts of embarrassing questions by people who expect answers is something else again.

    2. DrunkenNordmann

      Not just a waste of resources. Blaine’s boss is Asher’s GRANDFATHER.

      I doubt he took kindly to Blaine trying to rope his grandson – disappointed as he may be in him – into his bullshit.

    3. Agemegos

      There is something worse than the waste of resources. Blaine committed enough crimes to go to prison for life plus 218 years, leaving evidence and witnesses all over the place. Which meant that his only hope of breathing free air before they launch the starship Enterprise was to turn cut a deal with the prosecution, testifying against Gramps &c. in return for a reduced sentence or even witness protection. Gramps and Asher are smart enough to figure that out.

      So Asher told one of his uncles a story about Blaine that was even mostly true, and Gramps had Blaine whacked.

  25. CMasta1992

    GOT ‘EM COACH

  26. Stephen Bierce

    Thought Yuri was Robin a moment.

    1. BarerMender

      I thought she was Meredith a moment.

      1. saltchocolate

        I thought she was Dina for a moment.

  27. inqntrol

    Looks like Blaine had a case of lead poisoning.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      ‘Euthaniasium’, the new wonder drug available from Glaxo/Kline/Smith & Wesson, in dosages ranging from .32, .357, .38, and .45, as well as 8, 9, and 10 mm.

  28. Sirksome

    How are we feeling about Asher right now? Cause honestly even though I have no love for Blaine this is even more of a reason not to like or trust Asher for me.

    1. Mra

      Enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend.

    2. deathjavu

      Well, he pulled the fire alarm and was somehow aware of, if not outright responsible for an assasination. Doesn’t seem great and that’s just his recent history, I think it only gets worse if you go back.

      1. Miri

        Gets Sal involved in armed robberies, gives her a weapon to keep, and calls the cops on her when she goes solo? Yeah, not a great kid or friend…

    3. Rectilinear Propagation

      I haven’t trusted him since the reveal he betrayed Sal. I don’t think we’ve had a scene with Asher that doesn’t state or imply that he’s going to be a problem. He hasn’t actually appeared in that many strips. So it’s not like I had my hopes up.

      1. Regalli

        Yeah, he’s been set up as a longer-term source of conflict than just the setup to get Blaine kidnapped (even if he’d genuinely been and stayed away from the mob, the odds of the mob leaving him alone were nil, but he’s consistently had the ‘oh surprise! I was less honest than I let on’ thing anyway,) so it’s not surprising he’s an active threat…

        But DAMN, Asher, that is cold.

        1. Regalli

          * Blaine kidnapped = Blaine’s kidnapping plot underway, or something to that effect.

        2. thejeff

          I think he might have been honest about trying to get away, but it’s hard to leave the mob, especially if you’re not willing to let the family burn.

          I suspect he just tipped off gramps and gramps used him as the conduit to Lester to fix the problem – helps to draw him back into the fold.

        3. Regalli

          Yeah, it definitely seems like ‘attempted but is getting drawn back in the fold whether he wanted to or not.’ Can’t imagine what he’d want the money he clearly appears to have stolen for if not tuition without strings attached.

    4. Sam

      Not sure. I’m not committed to calling him evil because of this specifically though. Blaine lied and said no one would get hurt, that he just wanted to give a scare and it was all about money. Then someone ended up in a coma and someone else died and he kidnapped a bunch of extra people, several of whom likely got at least mild injuries from the fighting to get out.

      All Asher really had to do was tell his grandfather that Blaine asked him for a tiny favour then went off the damn rails and he would have organised it due to 1) putting his grandson at risk and 2) being a complete liability. And he is likely used to this kind of ‘justice’ being doled out and learned to ignore it as being wrong because ‘it’s the mob, what else would you expect?’

      1. Devin

        We don’t have a lot to go on to be sure, but that scenario makes the phrasing “It’s done” seem a little awkward to me. I do recognize that’s subjective, but it feels like a long way to go to get here. It feels to me like he’s more directly involved.

  29. Rognik

    Alt text, dude! Spoilers!

    1. abacuswizard

      He ain’t really dead until you see him on-panel with X’s for eyes.

  30. Nono

    Quick question but, do they generally have security cameras in hospital rooms?

    1. Mra

      You’d think they would have lots of security cameras in hospitals because of druggies trying to trick or steal their way into their next hit

      1. Axel

        wow

        1. Mra

          What is so “wow”?

      2. Bicycle Bill

        I predict we will find that there was a sudden and unexplained ‘malfunction’ or power outage to the camera in Blaine’s room, or to the monitoring device it was transmitting to.  You know, the same thing that happens to bank security camera or police body cams from time to time.

      3. Ray Radlein

        Yes, but those cameras are in hallways or in the pharmacies/supply rooms where the drugs are. Cameras in the hospital rooms are not quite as common

      4. NotPiffany

        Cameras to keep people from stealing drugs would be in the pharmacy/pointed at the narcotics cabinet, not a patient’s room. The hallways probably have cameras, and certain wards might, but a standard patient room probably doesn’t.

    2. Axel

      they have them in a lot of dementia wards and stuff (to prevent abuse and so that if something happens to a patient, they can find out what even if the patient can’t express it) but I don’t know about anywhere else.

    3. Johan

      Idk about /in/ the rooms because privacy but hallways defo which wouldn’t actually matter here.

      Lots of cops have body cams tho

      1. Rectilinear Propagation

        Unfortunately, cops turn off their body cams all the time.

        Also, I can see it not being legal to even have a body cam on while they’re actually in one of the rooms, again for privacy. No idea if that’s a thing but it wouldn’t surprise me.

        1. Geneseepaws

          Oh, no! My body-cam just ran out of battery! Shame! I won’t be able to charge it until I get back to the station. Oh well!

        2. Tarnagh

          Chances are excellent a body cam would be off while cops are in the hospital. HIPAA violations and all that. Almost guarantee the camera would be off for any cop in the room with a patient.

        3. March

          In a hospital room, while in the presence of private medical information, is considered one of the only times that are officially acceptable for a law enforcement officer to knowingly turn their body cam off. There are exceptions, such as during an interview that will have information related to evidence, with prior consent. Because Blaine has just come out of surgery, and it will be generally accepted that doctors and nurses will be coming in and out to relay information without time to go through that song and dance over and over, that’s the only thing Lester has to say if he’s even questioned about why his body cam was off while he was guarding a high-profile suspect. The officers posted outside will also not have theirs on, due to the privacy of the other patients (doctors/nurses/medical professionals do confer in the hallways, amongst other events) and in order to comply with the hospital’s own policies regarding recording equipment. That’s not to say it’s always the best idea, but the hospital has to protect themselves and their patients, and depending on the area, generally law enforcement will play nice with hospitals. Law enforcement prefers to maintain good relations with medical staff, and often a CO will tell officers posted to comply with the staff’s directions, as long as it does not directly contradict their own orders. (For example, the CO orders those two to not leave that post for anything until their relief arrives, but a nurse tells them they need to briefly stand on the opposite side of the hall so as not to block equipment rolling in. That does not contradict their orders, so they comply)

      2. NotPiffany

        It’s a safe bet that even if DoA-Bloomington cops have body cameras, they don’t have the upgraded cameras that the real Bloomington PD is getting (or has gotten) this year. It’s a safe bet that Lester didn’t record Blaine’s death for posterity.

    4. BigDogLittleCat

      Not that I’ve ever seen.

    5. Agemegos

      Usually not. Privacy reasons. In the corridors, maybe.

    6. Kamino Neko

      In wards, maybe…in private (or semi-private) rooms, not a chance.

      1. Roborat

        He is a suspect in (several) felonies and in police custody, that would override any privacy considerations.

        1. Agemegos

          Yeah, but the hospital is not going to instal a security camera in a room just for him.

  31. jeffepp

    Tear off a loose end.

  32. Kravis

    For once, I’m really feeling the sentiment expressed in my avatar.

  33. BlackScarabZ

    On the one hand, I wanted his ass to rot in a cell for the rest of his life for what he did… on the other hand, we learned from Toedad that the only way to stop these monsters is to let other, worse monsters, handle it. I think this turned out for the best.

  34. cartoogle

    So that’s Yuri in panel 4? Not buying it. She’s like Faz, never opens her eyes.

    1. Jamie

      Not sure if racist or stupid.

      1. Rabid Rabbit

        Possibly neither, if being metaphorical: Yuri refused to see the truth about Blaine, bought his lies about Amber’s tuition keeping their family poor, etc.

    2. Harvey Janus

      Literally opened her eyes in the second strip she was in but okay.

    3. bryy

      wow dude or dudette

    4. Foxhack

      Whew there’s gonna be two murders on this strip today

    5. Zee

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/yuri/ bruh. Literally open in her first appearance.

  35. BigDogLittleCat

    I am resentful that my first thought seeing the first panel was “poor Faz.”

    I wonder what this does to Amber’s college finances. I hope he had life insurance. But he is was such a selfish turd I doubt it.

    1. anonymsly

      If he did, I think Yuri would be the beneficiary. However, I’m betting he doesn’t have a will, so depending on Indiana estate law Amber might get something as an heir?

      1. Roborat

        After the police finished going through the books as part of their investigaiton, there would likely be nothing left of the estate for anyone to inherit.

    2. Newllend(henryvolt)

      That’s what I was wondering for a bit, I don’t know weather or not Ross would get it. Since he’d probably pass it off as “The lord is my life insurance” or something like that. But Blaine would have it? I hope there at least SOMEONE here smart enough to get it.

      1. Miri

        Would they pay out for suicide/death whilst breaking the law, depending on exactly how it’s spun?

        1. BigDogLittleCat

          Most insurance policies will not pay out if the suicide happens soon after the policy is purchased, but unless suicide under all circumstances is specifically excluded, it should pay out.

        2. BarerMender

          Suicide exclusions usually last two years.

    3. Alex Boston

      Amber’s new stepdad will cover her tuition.

    4. Agemegos

      Much depends on whether Blaine’s obligation to pay Amber’s tuition is a liability of the estate. Creditors get paid before heirs.

    5. March

      While Blaine might not have had the foresight to take out a life insurance policy, I’m willing to be that Yuri, who is in the sort of family business where husbands die young, would think to do it. Just because she’s in a difficult situation (pregnant and then married to a predator who works in the family business, because regardless of her character, Yuri has been stated to have been a teenager when she had Faz and that makes Blaine a predator) doesn’t mean she’s stupid.

  36. Bagge

    Turns out, Blaine really did not hold any power over asher.

    https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/gramps-2/

    1. cartoogle

      Holy cow, that Asher conversation was about exactly one year ago.

    2. Kamino Neko

      Actually, this suggests he held plenty of power over Asher – no reason for Asher to be the one to call the hit, otherwise.

      The problem for Blaine is they weren’t the only two players in the game, and it was a sort of Rock-Paper-Scissors thing – Blaine blackmails Asher, Asher pays Lester, Lester shoots Blaine.

      1. James

        Until we get confirmation one way or another, I’d be more willing to bet it was less Asher specifically ordering the hit and more “hey Gramps, I know we’re not on the best terms but this asshole just fucked up bigtime and he was waving your name around to get stuff done”

  37. Newllend(henryvolt)

    Damn Asher…So does this mean that Carol is now the #1 worst parent in Do a now that her biggest competition is dead?

    1. Bagge

      I think we need to count Clint as a parental figure for this purpose. also there is “fun time with Linda and the shoebox money” to consider.

      1. deathjavu

        I think that all ranks well below “released someone that pointed a gun at my child”. Clint hasn’t really had enough panel time to reveal his full evil and Linda’s just not in the same league.

        1. Bagge

          But she’s working very hard to get there.

          I also have a feeling Ethan’s and Danny’s parents still have some potential to live up to.

        2. Newllend(henryvolt)

          Danny’s parents: never satisfied.

          Naomi: treated her son like a disappointment for being gay and blamed his best friend for making him gay despite being able to tell he was gay before they were dating.

          Linda: showed an ugly amount of prejudice towards her oldest friend for being the kid of what she thought to be low class family of immigrants, then takes the money Sal was saving up for her surgery and never returns it. Then spends maybe 4 years never acting like Sal never existed not contacting her for years even during birthdays and holidays.

          Carol: sided with the guy who held her own daughter at gunpoint, went behind our own families back with her hometown Church to take mob money in order to bail out said guy out of jail. Then after said man conspires to help the mobster kidnap her daughter putting in danger for the second time, she refuses to admit any fault in the decision she made…

          No Carol still beats out the others because her decision actively put her daughter and offspring of many of the people in danger and instead of admitting she was wrong she’ll rather look for an excuse to say she made the right decision. Most likely using God as a reason.

          As for Ethan and Walky/Sals dad their flaw is mainly just being spineless

        3. thejeff

          Danny’s parents aren’t really just “never satisfied” as much as they seem to have decided that Danny’s just a failure whose only hope is to attach himself to a successful woman.

          Otherwise I basically agree, though think Charles at least deserves more blame than just being spineless.

        4. Bagge

          Good arguments there.

          It should also be noted that the shortcomings you list for Carol are as a mother to Joyce. There is also Jocelyne to consider once that conflict bubbles up, and whatever happend with Jordan. It should also be noted that John, the one child that actually followed in her footsteps as far as we know, is a full-grade jerk. Stellar parenting there, Carol.

          Then there is the matter of her utter failure as a mother to Becky, the girl of the same-church-faily who practically grew up in her house, best friend of her daughter, who tragically lost her own mother and was attacked by her father and was in desperate need of a parental figure. Hank eventually stepped up and did the right thing (which is why he is daddy of the year#1 in my book). Carol didn’t.

        5. Regalli

          We already know at least one Brown parenting fail with Jocelyne – they suspected enough when she was a kid the one pastor talked about Enforcing Proper Gender Roles – and if she appears this storyline I fully expect it to be the moment shit hits the fan with hers. (If not – and it’s packed enough already! – I strongly suspect Carol and John get preemptive blocks when she sides with Joyce and Hank, before coming out, and they don’t find out from her.) And Jordan…

          There’s a Reveal being saved for Jordan, that’s for damn sure.

        6. BBCC

          All we know about Jordan is

          1) He dressed like a Transformer when Joss took him and Joyce trick or treating, but he refused to participate in the actual trick or treating (Bonus strip).

          2) The rest of the family considers him ‘difficult’ and he refuses to attend family events.

          3) Carol blames them ‘not squeezing hard enough’ for his lack of contact. Hank says it’s because they squeezed TOO hard.

          4) When Joyce stood up to her parents re: Dorothy, Hank said ‘I guess you take more after your brother Jordan than we thought’. He says they don’t see eye to eye but he’s still a good kid so whatever it is probably isn’t TOO heinous.

        7. Regalli

          I think Jordan’s going to end up being relatively fine, but whatever got him estranged probably involved at least one action from Carol we all find horrifying, with or without Hank’s approval. (Without can mean basically anything, ‘with’ something that’s marginally socially acceptable but very much an ‘oh god you recognize kids are PEOPLE right?’ sort of thing like snooping in his room or selling all his Transformers to fund the church or something.)

        8. Regalli

          Though thinking on it, the latter definitely seems more a ‘without’, I think even early Hank recognizes enough that that’d be a faux pas.

  38. ReFlex76

    Asher tries to get out, but they keep pulling him back in.

    1. Miri

      I dunno, ordering hits probably isn’t the best way to get out of the mafia…

      1. Leorale

        He might not have had to order it. He could just tell the right person what Blaine is doing: an attack on several college students, using mob resources, that doesn’t forward mob goals in any way and will certainly bring scrutiny upon them. They’ll decide themselves that this is how to deal with Blaine.

        1. thejeff

          My guess is that he told Gramps and Gramps sent him to Lester to arrange it, because Gramps doesn’t want him out of the mob.

          Not that you’re ever really out.

  39. zelgato

    Yep. Was wondering about that

  40. adam Black

    is Asher related to Faz?

    1. Rabid Rabbit

      Possibly, if the theory that Yuri is a mob daughter is correct.

    2. Miri

      It’s possible? In Shortpacked I seem to recall Yuri was a mafia boss’s daughter so Faz might be Asher’s cousin… In which case Blaine was probably ranked higher than “stooge” (and Faz and Yuri probably don’t need to worry about being penniless/homeless, and Yuri’s “All our money goes on Amber’s tuition so you won’t be able to go to college” shtick looks even more unlikely than it did before, even if she got a demerit for being an unwed teenage mother before marrying Blaine)…

      1. thejeff

        I doubt she’s that closely related, just because “seduces mob bosses teenage daughter (niece?) and keeps her as a side piece for a decade or so” doesn’t really seem a good career move for a stooge. The kind that gets you whacked long before this.

  41. CMasta1992

    Some dogs gotta be put down like the rabid monsters they are. I feel no sorrow over this, marking the first and hopefully last time I celebrate a cop killing someone extra-judicially.

    1. Rectilinear Propagation

      Well, he murdered him as part of his mob duties not for cop reasons if that helps.

  42. tim gueguen

    Next strip we learn that it wasn’t really Blaine who was killed, but his equally evil identical twin Enialb.

    1. temperaryobsessor

      Its for the best, he was clogging up the narrative.

    2. Suitora

      Enialb would be the good twin TBH.

  43. Rani

    …so is Asher the mafia?

    1. Rikunda

      I think he is related to them?

    2. Rikunda

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/gramps-2/

    3. DrunkenNordmann

      His grandfather was Blaine’s boss, but Asher himself was actually trying to stay out of the mob business.

      Then Blaine blackmailed him and he probably decided that having mob connections has some perks.

      1. clif

        I figure that he still had a few favors he could call in.

  44. Kitschensyngk

    Well, at least he managed to avoid going to prison.

  45. Rani

    …ohhhhhhh this hit was the result of Asher finally hanging Blaine with all the mob rope he let him have.

  46. FirePrincessLily

    No cause for alarm folks, just a very noise party poopers going off! And a lot of red punch on the floor, and sheets… And walls…

  47. Some1

    Plot twist: Asher is the dragon to the grandfather, who is co-dragons with Ruth’s grandfather to Jason’s dad who is secretly being bankrolled by a universe hopping Head Alien.

    1. Alex Boston

      Dragon = ?

      1. Some1

        https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/main/thedragon

      2. abacuswizard

        Second-in-command, basically. I think it’s from TVTropes.

  48. Nah

    Yaaaaaaaaah, if all your power derives from your mob connections maybe don’t blackmail the grandson of the guy who runs the mob, and is therefor much more connected than you.

  49. BBCC

    Okay, so, million dollar question – did Asher lie to grandpa (“Blaine stole your money and planned to make it look like I did it”), did he tell grandpa the truth and grandpa took his side, did he go back to the mob to get grandpa to do this, or does he just know enough about how grandpa works and know Lester and so asked Lester to let him know when this happened, or did Asher ask Lester for this himself OR did he lie to Sal at least about HOW FAR out he is?

    1. Alex Boston

      Not sure but I doubt that Asher is stupid enough to lie to his grandfather.

    2. deathjavu

      I think Asher told his grandpa that Blaine threatened him, and that was probably not enough to get him killed given that Asher isn’t going into the business, but once Blaine failed in the most public way possible, and put himself in a position where he was very likely to rat, that pushed it over the line.

    3. Ray Radlein

      Asher could have just told his father that Blaine told him the whole thing was his grandfather’s idea and threatened him unless he did it. That would be enough to get Blaine iced.

    4. BigDogLittleCat

      I don’t think Asher called it. Blaine was a threat to the entire operation because he could have offered up info on the mob in exchange for a plea deal. Leaning on the grandson to pull a fire alarm pales next to getting arrested for multiple kidnappings and murder.

      1. Agemegos

        For what it’s worth, that’s my take too. Asher let Blaine go on with a blatantly dumb plan, and then told one of his uncles that it was Blaine and what he was doing. Once Asher’s Gramps knew about the threat Blaine presented they had ample reasons of their own to have Lester kill him, and Asher needed neither to pay the hit-man nor order the use of Mob resources.

        1. Droewyn

          Okay, but if Asher didn’t call in the hit, then why is he the one being reported to?

          That implies some level of involvement beyond “I’m telling my grandpa on you!”

          I think Asher came clean to his grandfather, and that 1) cleaning up his own mess and 2) forgetting all of this “going straight” nonsense is how he gets back in the boss’s good graces.

        2. Roborat

          Asher is connected to the kidnapping, and was at risk of getting dragged in as an accessory if Blaine talked. This is just Gramps letting him know that he is no longer at risk of being implicated.

        3. Agemegos

          I don’t think the some unknown person sending a message to Asher is Lester reporting to his boss in Gramps’ mob. It’s somebody in the Mob telling Asher that the operation is over for some reason. Dara had a good explanation.

    5. Zee

      My guess? Asher just let his grandpa know about Blaine’s lil goings on without letting on too much about himself. I think he’s as out as he says he is, or is trying at least, but, yeah (ADHD brain couldn’t think of an ending for that sentence).
      It would be fun if he pinned the theft on Blaine though

      1. Agemegos

        Yeah, that seems plausible. Rather than try to play Blaine against Gramps himself, Asher took his troubles to someone sympathetic in the Mob, such as an easy-going uncle. The word came back from Gramps “go along and let us know when the ball is rolling; we will deal with it”. Now it’s dealt with, and Asher’s friendly uncle is telling Asher so.

        There is no reason to suppose that Asher hired Lester or gave Lester his orders, or that it is Lester who texted Asher. Lester is more likely hired or handled through a senior lieutenant in the Mob; he’d baulk at orders from an obscure teenager.

  50. Raznaak

    Huh, I thought yesterday Lester would give the gun to Blaine to attempt an escape or hostage situation.

  51. Aprion

    And justice was served on this day. He shall not be missed. Now we just need mike to wake up so he can piss on the ashes later.

  52. Mr. Random

    …..why are you texting the college kid that the murder is done?

    1. Mr. Random

      I know he’s like grandson to the boss, but still.
      Is he going to try and take over?
      That seems like a bit of a genre shift.

      1. Nono

        Or Asher ordered the hit. He probably still has some sway and he probably didn’t take too kindly with being threatened by some low level patsy.

        1. BarerMender

          The last I heard, and it’s been 30 years since I heard, a mob hit cost $250,000. I doubt Asher has that kind of sway.

        2. Rectilinear Propagation

          Doesn’t have that sway as in doesn’t have the money or doesn’t have enough sway to convince Lester to do this for free?

          Because I can see the mob thinking it’s in their own interest to not have one of their low level guys harassing the boss’s son, even if he did leave.

        3. Kamino Neko

          Grandson. But, yes…trying to get away from the family business doesn’t mean he’s not still family (unless he turns against the family, rather than simply trying to go straight). And whether it’s just familial affection/loyalty or putting down someone with the audacity to go after the boss’s family for fear they might go up the chain…family counts.

        4. C.T Phipps

          Low level hitmen cost 5K to 15K.

          High level Hitmen cost 100K to 250K.

        5. Agemegos

          Which would you rate Lester as?

        6. C.T Phipps

          I’d say bribing a cop to kill someone in custody is far far less costly than something that would require actual preparation. Certainly, I think Lester is the kind of guy who’d take 10 grand to eliminate Blaine.

          It’s not a complicated job and Lester is a goon who can do this without endangering his position.

        7. thejeff

          OTOH, a cop is a valuable asset. Running a risk of exposing that may be worth more to the mob than a measly 10 grand. The mob wouldn’t be paying Lester that much, but if someone outside wanted a contract it might well cost significantly more.

    2. AutobotDen

      Yuri did it, probably.

  53. Ghastly

    Say hi to your other selves in hell, Blaine.

  54. Los

    You know what…I’m not gonna celebrate til I now for sure. Willis be trippin, Could be he did wrestle the gun away then sent the text. He’s the athletes foot of villains.

    1. Mra

      Or he wasn’t shot in any vital organs allowing the nurses to resuscitate him.

      1. Miri

        … He was shot in the toe for some comic irony?

  55. Keulen

    Blaine’s not dead, he’s resting. He’s pinin’ for the fjords.

    1. BigDogLittleCat

      He’s pushing up the daisies! He’s joined the choir invisible!

      Choir has one of the stupidest spellings in English. WHY are its vowels backwards?

      1. Miri

        Maybe it’s supposed to be qw-oi-r phonetically, rather than qw-i-or?

      2. Chris

        Historically it was spelled “quire”, until someone who liked Latin a bit too much decided to write it as if it were derived from “chorus”.

        1. clif

          Actually it was Middle English quer or quere borrowed from the Old French cuer which in turn came from the Latin chorus. At least if you believe the Complete and Unabridged Collins English dictionary.

  56. Bathymetheus

    It is unlikely that message to Asher is from Lester. We see other cops rushing into the room immediately, so he would not have the opportunity to send it. Nor would they.

    I’m thinking it might be Yuri . . . but the implications of that are significant.

    1. BigDogLittleCat

      No, they’re running out of the waiting room. He’s got a few seconds to get it out.
      Yuri looks startled/concerned too, not like she was involved.

      1. Bathymetheus

        I agree she looks surprised, or possibly even angry. I’m not sure how to interpret that. Maybe she finally feels free to express her true feelings towards Blaine.

        1. BigDogLittleCat

          I think it’s a “what was that?!” expression. Or “that was a gunshot!” frown of concern.

      2. James

        It’s also possible the last panel is not immediately concurrent with the rest of the strip

        1. Agemegos

          Good point.

  57. Falcon

    Through Blaine’s somehow never-flagging superhuman capabilities no matter how hurt or badly outnumbered he is, he actually did wrestle the gun away from the corrupt cop, shot him and is now at large again.

    1. Miri

      Nah, he wasn’t wearing the mask so his supervillain powers were removed.

  58. BigDogLittleCat

    I have a really hard time believing Asher called this hit. The boss’s grandson wouldn’t have that kind of decision-making power. Especially if he’s trying to be a college student and get out of the business.
    Not just anyone can order a hit, especially not a hit that has the potential of exposing a valuable resource like a cop on the payroll.

    Blaine wasn’t killed because he blackmailed Asher. He was killed because he’d compromised the mob.
    The moment Blaine set this plan into action he signed his own death warrant. There’s no way he could have gotten away with it, and as many mentioned yesterday, the only thing he could have offered to reduce his sentence was informing on the mob.
    My guess is that when Asher heard what happened, he alerted his grandfather who immediately set the wheels in motion.
    I wonder if it was coincidence that Lester was one of the cops on the scene? Did gramps make sure one of his men was there to stay close to Blaine and shoot him when the first opportunity arose.
    I bet if Amber hadn’t pummeled him into the ground so all Lester had to do was cuff him, if he’d been in any condition to look like he was trying to get away or resist arrest, there would have been a struggle for the gun in the street and he’d have been killed then and there.

    Asher’s getting the text doesn’t mean he called the hit. Only that for some reason someone thought he wanted to know.

    1. timemonkey

      All Asher had to do was call his grandfather and let him know how off the rails Blaine is and it would taken care of.

      1. BigDogLittleCat

        “Gramps, he’s wearing a super hero costume!“

        1. Agemegos

          Yup!

        2. Regalli

          “Yeah, that is DEFINITELY DeSanto’s campaign manager the other guy was going after. Yeah, he put his real goddamn name on the bail paperwork. Did you hear the other night he had a chase with some kid on those scooters you use a fucking app for? No, I don’t know where he got the mask from, either. Yeah. Yeah, the superhero’s a thing, it’s weird, mostly she just beats up rapists and bike thieves but this one time she chased a car on a skateboard and that’s how the dead guy got arrested. Fuck if I know what he was thinking!”

    2. Droewyn

      I can’t see the conversation between Asher and Grandad happening without Grandad wanting to know why Asher — who has been “disappointing” his family by trying to go straight — was involved at all?

      The blackmail would have come out. And then the reason FOR the blackmail… and who’s to say that Granddad didn’t actually notice the missing money but chose not to say anything, either out of respect for Asher’s choices or giving HIM enough rope to hang himself.

      I think as punishment Asher was ordered to clean up his own mess (there is literally no reason why he’d be informed of a hit’s success otherwise), and that he also has to forget about this whole “staying out of the family business” nonsense.

      1. James

        Asher could’ve told the very reasonable half-truth that Blaine was tossing around Gramps’ authority to get stuff done, without mentioning the specifics of the blackmail

      2. BigDogLittleCat

        All Asher had to tell his grandfather is that Blaine asked him to pull the alarm. He can say he refused. For all they know, Blaine got some other kid to do it. And when the shit hit the fan, Asher realized Blaine was behind it so he called gramps to warn him.
        Or he can say Blaine wanted to eff up Amber by having the alarm go off in the middle of the night during mid-terms.
        I’m sure Asher had no idea what Blaine had in mind, or he wouldn’t have agreed.
        If he knew and refused, he could have called gramps to tell him Blaine was planning this deranged crime, so maybe take care of him before he calls attention to himself.

        1. Roborat

          Asher didn’t need to say anything, this would have been all over the news. Gramps would have realized Blaine has become a huge liability and needed to erased.

  59. BigDogLittleCat

    Are we certain Blaine married Yuri?
    It would be sweet if he hadn’t, because then Amber is his next of kin, so she inherits everything. You know she would help out Faz, so he doesn’t end up homeless. Would have to figure out how to do that without enriching bongo Yuri.

    1. Bathymetheus

      If Yuri sent that message, she is involved in the decision to off her husband/partner. This means she has a lot more agency than this commentariat has been giving her credit for. Also she is deeply involved with the Korean mob – so even if there is no marriage (unlikely, given the conservatism of crime families) she has access to lawyers who can ensure she gets whatever money there is.

      1. BigDogLittleCat

        I don’t think she sent the text. Why would she off Blaine?

        If they’re not married and there’s no will* the only thing she could do is get Faz recognized as Blaine’s child then he’d get half. A DNA test with Amber to see if they’re related. If not, and Faz really isn’t Blaine’s child, her only option would be to forge a will.

        *no way Blaine had a will. He wouldn’t admit his mortality.

      2. thejeff

        We don’t know that Yuri is mob-connected other than through Blaine. She may well be.
        Not likely highly connected though, or Blaine wouldn’t have gotten away with seducing her as a teen, getting her pregnant and keeping her on the side for a decade or so.

        1. Regalli

          The only indication Yuri’s involved, really, is that Blaine’s still Korean mob (Mike’s comment about a Korean barbecue place receipt working as blackmail for him to drive Amber on the Field Trip of Doom*, the specific mention Asher’s Asian and everyone went ‘wait, really?’ because that skintone’s closer to Ethan and Joe’s,) and we know in Shortpacked he was sleeping with the mobster’s daughters. (Per Stacy right before the Faz reveal, and as I recall that’s part of why they left – they hadn’t known, and he’d gotten into hot water and they had to leave their home.)

          We’ve got some indication per Patreon strips, IIRC, that Yuri knows about the mob connection, but that doesn’t mean she’s connected herself. I for one have just chosen to believe it because up til now I was hoping she’d be the one to off Blaine (and subsequently dispose of the body,) and because it gives him a plausible way to have met Yuri that’s not specifically cruising for teenage girls. Which doesn’t make him sleeping with and almost certainly grooming her any better, but is marginally less horrifying. If only because the cruising option makes it so much more likely there’s other victims of his out there. (There was NEVER indication in Shortpacked that any of the ‘blankity blank daughters’, as Stacy calls them, were underage, and I feel like ‘statutory rapist’ is one of those things that you bring up about your scumbag ex/dad when discussing his rampant cheating. Especially when comparing Blaine to Mike came up multiple times throughout the strip. That’s not the sort of implication you make lightly about a character, even one as rotten as Blaine, and that suggests to me it is PRECISELY as bad as we fear.)

          I think if she is related, it’s pretty low-level for the same reasons you suggest. And that Yuri had another dude to call Faz’s father and take the fall there. (Which would also be, I’m sure, why Blaine was so insistent on ‘stepfather.’ Incidentally I just had to correct myself to past tense because… yeah.)

          * Implications there are twofold: One, this place is apparently sketchy enough that the new kid in town knows something’s up, or at least that whatever’s on the receipt is clearly suspicious. (And since Mike had never met Amber’s parents before the party beyond the brief run-in with Blaine, it wouldn’t just be something about Stacy’s personal preferences.) Two, Blaine immediately recognizes it as a threat. While it could just have been a date with Yuri, my bet is it’s in some way used by the mob.

        2. thejeff

          I do think that if Yuri had any real pull with the mob, then she wouldn’t have settled for being the other woman all those years, even if she wanted to keep him rather than getting him bumped off.

        3. Regalli

          Oh, absolutely. Honestly I wouldn’t be shocked if she has a connection, but it’s actually lower than Blaine’s ‘launders millions, knows the boss’s grandson, still completely expendable’ one.

    2. Rectilinear Propagation

      Blaine was insistent that Faz refer to him as “step-father” instead of “father” and Amber also referred to Yuri and Faz as step-family. I don’t think either of them would do that if he wasn’t actually married to Yuri.

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/stepfather/

  60. abysswatcher1993

    So Asher was more evil and cunning than Blaine. Also, how can that corrupt cop get away after shooting Blaine in a hospital were there are tens of people that can testify hearing a gun shot and that a cop entered the floor.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      ?

      1. molochmachine

        Wasn’t it established that Blaine was going to be framed by accusing him of trying to grab the gun?

    2. Foxhack

      … The cops had him in protective custody?

      Cops get away with a LOT of shit.

    3. BigDogLittleCat

      He doesn’t need to. “Blaine grabbed his gun and in the struggle it went off.”
      Happens often enough to be entirely believable.
      Especially since that is likely what happened, as Blaine tried to keep Lester from shooting him.

      1. thejeff

        Not so much that it happens that often, but they lie about often enough.

        And everyone knows you can trust cops to tell the truth.

    4. Harvey Janus

      Well, there’s always the good ol’ Blue Wall of Silence buying the story Lester cooked up/was told to give.

    5. Sirksome

      It’s a cops word vs a dead criminal murderer in a justice system known for protecting cops in situations even more incriminating than this one. He probably wouldn’t even have to lie to skirt any jail time. They’ll probably give him a medal.

      1. tim gueguen

        The fact Blaine was arrested for murder and multiple counts of kidnapping, all while wearing a supervillain costume, will help the “Cop almost killed by dangerous looney” narrative.

    6. Kamino Neko

      He literally explained it last strip. The story is that Blaine attempted to escape, grabbed Lester’s gun, and got shot in the ensuing scuffle.

      1. David

        No, the story is that Blaine wanted to commit suicide, grabbed Lester’s gun, and killed himself. Reread that last panel carefully.

        1. Kamino Neko

          I read it perfectly well, thank you very much.

          ‘Suicide’ is a much less probable interpretation than a desperate escape attempt. It happens much less frequently for real and is basically non-existent as an excuse for police violence.

        2. David

          Why would you want to escape after humiliation?

    7. BenRG

      He already told Blaine that he was going to claim that Blaine tried to steal his gun and that he shot him in the struggle. Unfortunately, this story is likely to be accepted without more than the most cursory investigation.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Especially if the two cops in today’s strip are also on the take.

        1. Kamino Neko

          Don’t need to be on the take. Cops support cops, and since nobody saw what actually happened except the victim and the killer, and the victim was exactly the kind of asshole that almost everyone who knew him could believe would do that, nobody, except maybe Yuri, will be able to make a heartfelt plea for a proper investigation.

    8. Tarnagh

      Lester’s a cop. He has no need to “get away.” A criminal tried to wrestle his gun from him and was shot in the struggle. At this point, if that shot was Blaine somehow shooting Lester instead, the cops rushing into the room will kill him dead now whether or not they’re on the take themselves.

  61. Mariah Hardnett

    Well he had it coming he had it coming he only has himself to blame.

    1. Droewyn

      I read that as “only has himself to blaine”.

      1. clif

        That too.

  62. Foxhack

    Wait. That’s Faz’s mom in panel 3. And she looks SURPRISED at this?

    Why do I suspect she wasn’t told this would happen?

    1. Kaz

      Why would she be? There’s nothing implying she’s part of the mob.

      1. Foxhack

        Pretty sure she’d have to be aware of some stuff, since she knows she’s married to Korean mob stooge.

    2. Rectilinear Propagation

      Telling her that they’re going to kill Blaine seems like a terrible idea. Why risk her trying to stop it from happening or warning him?

    3. BenRG

      Surprised? No. Angry and horrified? Yes.

      Yuri probably knew how her husband’s ‘business associates’ would respond to this caper, especially if he failed and was captured. That doesn’t make the reality of it any less horrible for her.

      1. C.T Phipps

        I fully believe Yuri is horribly naive about Blaine’s importance as well as decency. She’s entirely under his sway and control.

  63. bryy

    The “it’s done” totally leads me to believe this was Asher’s plan all along.
    https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/03-when-it-crumbles/gone-too/

    1. Dara

      I don’t think it was Asher’s plan. I think he told his grandfather before shit started happening what Blaine wanted him to do, because as someone who wants to stay out of that shit, he probably knows that giving in to blackmail will probably be worse for that goal than going “Hey gramps, I know we’re on the outs, but one of your guys just threatened me to do a favour for him. What’s this about?” Even a disappointing family member may still family and probably more important to his grandfather than a mook like Blaine.

      How he framed it and whether he told his gramps that he was being blackmailed or threatened into doing it is anyone’s guess, but my theory is that however he explained things, he was told by his grandfather to do what Blaine wanted and let him know when things kicked off, and he’d take care of it from there.

      Both this strip and the strip where Asher’s the one texting “It’s done” obscures the name of the other person, and since it was sent after everyone was grabbed, Blaine’s people already knew the alarm had been pulled, so there would have been no reason for Asher to be texting Blaine about it, so I’m thinking he was telling his grandfather, who found out what was going on from there and between the…everything, decided Blaine was too big of a liability to let live. Asher may not know exactly what “it’s done” means here (though he probably has a pretty good idea), and his grandfather is letting him know that Blaine won’t be an issue anymore.

      1. Agemegos

        I find that pretty convincing. It puzzled me why Lester would report to Asher unless Gramps used Asher as his handler for Lester, and that seemed a strange thing for Gramps to do. It makes a lot of sense the way you suggest.

      2. Dark_T_Zeratul

        This seems like the most likely scenario to me.

      3. Regalli

        Good catch with the fire alarm text timing! You’re right, that does seem like the most likely sequence of events.

        Damn, Asher.

    2. BigDogLittleCat

      I wouldn’t read too much into the wording. It’s how you tell someone a job has been done when you want to be vague.
      “I killed Blaine” is a really awkward text to have floating around.

  64. saltchocolate

    I came here to say: “Good riddance.” Unapologetically.

  65. BigDogLittleCat

    Holy shit! Did you know Woody Harrelson’s father was a hitman?!

  66. 0kami

    Sayonara, Bongo.

    Don’t forget to write!

    1. Geneseepaws

      I don’t think that Hell will let Blaine have asbestos paper to write on. And regular paper just burns up.

      1. Opus the Poet

        And the nomex/kevlar blend that resists burning doesn’t take ink and has to be painted or sublimated on.

        1. Geneseepaws

          Well! If yer using Kevlar… I dunno, I guess he could do counted cross-stitch or embroidery with Kevlar. But jeeze, what is the postage from Hell to “The Realm of the Living”??? And who do we ask about that? Neil Gaiman? Snowy or Rhea? Sauron? Tristan Wicker?

        2. Opus the Poet

          Willis could do a crossover with Krazy Krow from Spinnerette and The Demon Sisters and have Blaine send a letter from Hell.

  67. Iain

    I am unhappy with this turn of events

  68. BenRG

    For ‘Asher’, read ‘Michael Corleone’. Because that’s who he is. He may claim to be different but, in the end, he’s one of the Family and thinks like one of the Family. He also defaults to the Family’s ‘solutions’ to problems.

    Sal and Walky are in danger from just knowing him. I’m thinking that he’s going to be the antagonist going forwards, especially for Amber and the Walkerton Twins.

    1. C.T Phipps

      To be fair, Blaine was an existential threat to his life and the lives of others.

  69. NinjaNick

    Code Gray! I have a bad feeling Blaine killed someone. Who else would have contacted Asher Douchebag?

    1. Needfuldoer

      The dirty cop on the mob’s payroll, letting him know Blaine won’t be an issue anymore.

      1. NinjaNick

        I hope you’re right. Either way, there’s a threat in the hospital.

  70. Alanari

    I really hate it when bad guys get away with dying instead of actually paying for what they have done.
    Also, asher apparently is fine with murder now. Filing him under “bad guy” too. So much for him being a better person now. And being out of family business.

    1. NinjaNick

      He’s worse than Carol.

      1. David

        He is not competing as parent. I hope.

        1. NinjaNick

          But he’s competing as post(?)-Blaine DOA villain.

    2. drs

      What does “actually paying for” mean?

      1. Alanari

        He’s just dead. Being dead is not a punishment, it is what happens to all of us. Dying (probably) is pretty bad, but it’s over so fast, there’s not much time to really feel bad about anything or regret or suffering. He probably died before he fully grasped that he’s going to die.
        I do not believe in any kind of afterlife, so for me, he’s just gone. That’s unfairly easy. Plus, it means a whole bunch of suffering for all around him. His last words to his son were that he’s worse than broken ribs. It’s a punishment for his relatives, not for him.

        1. Ryek Hvek

          This reminds me of an episode of the old Inspector Morse series where a supplier of flawed designer drugs to a local rave scene speeds away from capture only to immediately crash head on into a tree, and with face lit by the burning wreck, Morse sourly observes “the bastard got away.”

        2. Alanari

          Never heard of that series to be honest, but yes, exactly that.

        3. iain

          I’m in agreement. It means more trauma for a lot of people connected to him, and it removes any chance for restorative justice.

          Everyone’s going “yay he’s dead” but this isn’t about him anymore.

        4. Opus the Poet

          Dying is boring and the TV is worst thing about Hell. It’s all nature documentaries about stellar formation in real time. At least I think that’s what it was, I wasn’t there long enough to be sure.

      2. clif

        Being supported in prison by the taxpayers dollars.

    3. Zach

      I could just as easily argue he had a moral imperative to commit the murder of an untouchable mobster.

      Asher could be fine.

      1. Alanari

        Murder is murder. He is a criminal who resorted to one of the worst crimes to solve his problems.

      2. Queezle

        I would disagree with that.
        Nobody, not even someone who did as many vile and heinous things as Blain, deservs to be executed like that (in fact I am against capital punishment as a whole but thats a diffrent story) without trial. Human Rights still apply, they need to. There is a reason we have a justice sythem (even tho it is seriously flawed), we can’t just kill someone because a few people think they deserv to die.
        And Blain was hardly untouchable.

    4. Regalli

      Asher has definitely moved from ‘shady probable antagonist, but who knows’ to ‘oh yeah, this is gonna be a shitshow’, agreed.

      In real life, I’d be all for Blaine turning state’s witness (because mobsters) or in jail for the rest of ever (though I think the odds of either a mob connection on the inside or just someone who had to deal with him constantly saying ‘fuck this dude’ and killing him would be… pretty high.) In this story? Blaine’s purpose has been served and exhausted, and keeping him around would either mean an eventual (and almost certainly LENGTHY) trial storyline, or him turning on the mob to evade jailtime. Since I don’t think Blaine was ever going to leave Amber the fuck alone so long as he was remotely capable of it, given how irrationally ridiculous his revenge plot was… well, more options are opened with the Duo of Evil Dads dead. Both for later antagonists (because the mob is now on the story radar outside Blaine, and characters like Sir can take major villain spotlight as well) and for things like ‘Becky has complicated and uncomfortable emotions about her father’s death, and can finally no longer hide them entirely’ and maybe a new target for AG. If Faz has an increased role, then yeah, his last words to Faz are a source of angst. If Yuri’s set to be an antagonist in her own right, this makes her goal separate from Blaine’s, and if she’s not it means she is in fact untethered to him, in a way I’m sadly not sure she would have managed without it being so… forceful. It’s good narratively, even as it’s a terrible action involving terrible people at all turns.

      Fuck Blaine, fuck Lester, and I am… darkly impressed by Asher’s composure, because he definitely seems to have taken an active role in getting a man – one he actually knew well enough to recognize by name, even! – killed. For an 18-year-old? That is COLD. (He’s gonna be an interesting antagonist, that’s for sure.)

      1. thejeff

        Even in real life, Blaine getting a deal for turning witness would be rough, since it leaves him as a threat to Amber. Might be a hard case to make to the public, given how high profile the crime was.

        Normally, mobsters who turn are up on charges for mob related crimes – things they’re not likely to continue once they’re not in the mob anymore.

        1. Regalli

          Yeah, there was basically no circumstance where I don’t see Blaine IRL dying in jail eventually that wasn’t ‘dies before he gets to jail.’ Dude is just too full of himself and too overconfident about how untouchable he is NOT to pull some Seriously Stupid Shit, all the time, always.

    5. BBCC

      I respect this take and IRL I’d agree with it.

      In fiction though, I have no problem with murder being used as a consequence for severe assholery (depending on context). So if Asher did arrange this (as opposed to merely being notified for whatever reason – who knows, maybe Lester knew him growing up and did him a solid by letting him know when Blaine was iced for being too public by the mob, no arranging needed) all it really does is make me want to buy him cookies and beer.

  71. Qube

    he will surely be misHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA

    fuck that guy

  72. Kavonde

    I honestly feel a little better about this being a mob hit by a crooked cop than it being a murder by some cowboy vigilante.

  73. Needfuldoer

    “You are dead. Not big surprise.”
    -Heavy Weapons Guy

  74. acher4

    Is this for real?
    I didn’t expect this to happen.
    I was seriously expecting Blaine to use the system to get out, not him geting “run over” by the corrupted.
    I am… not sure how I feel about this. But at least… no more Blaine.
    Yeeee!!!eeee?

  75. nightshade

    fucking wow that was unexpected …..

  76. Nick

    So maybe Asher isn’t so out of his grandfather’s business after all. Or he went back in for this.

    Here’s what I’m wondering. Did Asher pull this because of his conscience, because he actually felt that this was the right thing to do? Or is this primarily Asher and/or his grandfather trying to cover their asses?

    1. Newllend(henryvolt)

      A little bit of Section A&B but mostly the ladder, he didn’t want any part of this to begin with but blank twisted his arm and the only thing that set his mind at ease was that Blaine said no one would get hurt. But unfortunately Blaine couldn’t keep himself from killing Ross, so now with a shit ton of time & money wasted, to much attention coming their way, and a death on their hands that whole mess became to much an issue to just forgive.

      So when it comes to who should take the rap for all of this between Asher and Blaine there’s no way Asher would be willing take the fall for the mess when Blaines the one who caused it and dragged him into it.

  77. JediMB

    Rip in pieces, or however it goes.

  78. GUIGUI

    Wait, why would Asher be involved in this one? Who would trust a barely adult into involving him in a hit-kill mission? Done by the police?

    1. foducool

      because he’s the closest one and loyal to the mob?

    2. Agemegos

      Dara had a good explanation above. At least, I thought so. According to Dara’s suggestion this message comes to Asher not from Lester but from someone friendly in his Gramps’ mob, to let him know that the operation to deal with Blaine has been completed and that he doesn’t need to worry about Blaine any more.

  79. foducool

    a miserable death for a miserable asshole
    unrest in peace you PoS lol

  80. espanolbot

    Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the wall…
    Mike: OW SOMEONE SHOT ME?!
    Mike’s Mum: He’s awake! It’s a mid-Autumn miracle!
    Mike’s Dad: Good thing these walls are so thin!

  81. Bicycle Bill

    Chew on this for a minute …..

    In one of Willis’s ‘you-ain’t-seen-nuthin’-yet!’ twists, Blaine actually DID wrestle the pistol away from Lester; the gun goes off harmlessly in the struggle and Blaine, now in control of the weapon, has Lester as his hostage and a standoff ensues.

    Tomorrow’s comic may be more interesting than any of us (well, except those people who can see what’s coming on Patreon) ever expected.

    1. RowenMorland

      Blaine walks down the hospital corridor twirling his… mustache, right up to Mike’s room. Ethan is all “Oh no!” and Danny who was running up to see if Ethan is alright trips over the floor and cartwheels into Blaine at speed taking him out by accident.

      1. RowenMorland

        The hat probably gets shot though.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Anybody can make a decent guess as to what’s coming, from the blurry Patreon freebie teasers.

      The big twists (like Asher today) are usually at the edges so they get cropped out, though. Nicely done, Willis.

  82. Sunny

    The shot heard around the web?

    1. Eldritchy

      E-Bullet

  83. Amelie Wikström

    He died as he lived, overestimating his importance to other people’s lives, underestimating how badly he could take advantage of them before they fight back.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Yup. This comment from almost exactly a year ago was prophetic.

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/gramps-2/#comment-1415510

      (CMasta, take your Internet point.)

      1. Amelie Wikström

        Hey, I might only have called it just before he killed Ross, but I did figure the mob would turn on him and everything.

        Next I predict Lester will get his comeuppance. Maybe some journalism will happen to expose the police department’s mob connections. . .Billie is still at the school paper, right?

        1. Needfuldoer

          “The dirty cop at the heart of this corruption scandal must be none other than… Red Herring!”
          – Billie’s newspaper article

          (It’s an A Pup Named Scooby-Doo reference.)

        2. Anon A Mouse

          Freddy’s reaction that one time it actually WAS Red Herring was priceless because he’d promised not to accuse Red Herring for a whole day.

      2. Regalli

        Congratulations to all who called it, but especially CMasta who did so BEFORE Blaine went all World’s Stupidest Supervillain with his armor and terrible kidnapping plot.

  84. Juanoku

    Karma hit like a truck

    1. Needfuldoer

      Act without integrity, no regrets!

  85. BenRG

    “Lester? Tell Yuri that it was just business, yeah?”

    “Yuri knows, Blaine. Yuri knows.”

  86. SpaceshipPilot

    Yuri’s reaction here is… interesting. She doesn’t look surprised to me. She looks angry. Like she knows exactly what that “BLAM” means, and who’s responsible.

  87. thumb

    Did not call it

  88. Shariku

    He died as he lived, causing more problems for Amber.

    1. JessWitt

      He’ll come back as a crappy poltergeist.

      But seriously though, Amber’s tuition’s at stake.

      1. Alex Boston

        Her new stepfather can cover it.

        1. JessWitt

          Hopefully so.

  89. DarkoNeko

    Why would Asher receive a message about it ? Isn’t he, like, a grunt that his (mafia boss ?) father is disappointed of ?

    …..would it imply that Asher asked his dad to kill Blaine ? Because of Sal ?

    1. Ellegos

      I mean, at the end of the day, Blaine expended Mafia resources and roped the boss’s kid into helping kidnap a bunch of kids (including a Representative’s campaign manager) so Blaine could dress up in a Halloween costume, and murder a guy with a hammer. A guy who was out on bail for going on a rampage across a college campus to kidnap kids previously. All of which blew up in his face spectacularly.

      He is now a liability and a loose end who cannot be relied upon to act in the best interests of the Mob. Also, Asher May have been pissed off enough to request it himself.

    2. Regalli

      He’s the grandson of the/a boss (‘my gramps owns you’,) and while he stole money from Gramps in an attempt to, he claims, go straight, (because Blaine’s ‘I could make him more disappointed in you’ says to me Asher wasn’t lying to Sal about stealing the money, but we have no idea if he had those intentions and called contacts once Blaine threatened him or if he’d never actually intended to leave and the money was for something else,) he’s clearly still family enough to someone important enough for him to be in the loop that the stooge who threatened him is dead.

  90. Booker

    I honestly didn’t want Blaine to die. But…Willis proves once again he can make a series of comic panes show it perfectly

  91. C.T Phipps

    I think the bigger issue is that it wasn’t done by the Korean Godfather.

    It was done by Sal’s old friend!

    Who is now a murderer!

    1. Newllend(henryvolt)

      More like an accomplice to murder… which he already was thanks to Blaine forcing him the help with his botched kidnapping leading to Blaine killing a guy.

  92. Josh Spicer

    I never wish for anyone’s death.

    But sometimes karma hits harder for others.

  93. Major Matt Mason

    Called it.

  94. Rabisch

    Asher is sure an interesting character full of surprises.

  95. raultsi

    or we could find Blaine isn’t the one who is dead, he killed the cop and yes, that was a pizza notification for Yuri.

    Be just like Willis to throw us all for a loop 😀

  96. hof1991

    Arranging a police murder is above Asher’s pay grade. The cops and the mob have plenty of motive to silence Blaine. Lester doesn’t need to be paid. He’d do this to cover his own crimes. Grandpa mobster would order it for the good of the family. But they know Asher had some liability here and let him know that there will be no further investigation. Rather than a long drawn out arc, this becomes a plot device that can be explored later.

    But I think more than a few cast members thought first of someone killing Mike. Amber, Ethan and Danny all have Mike and the danger he might be in on their minds. And those are the reaction shots DYW shows us. But this eliminates any danger to Mike. Blaine is a dead end and there’ll be “nothing to see here” for the police.

    1. BigDogLittleCat

      THIS. Calling a hit that wasn’t authorized from the top is a good way to get your own self offed.
      If Asher called the hit, that’s the least realistic part of this entire arc. Except maybe Joyce’s single handedly dragging flying AG into the van.

  97. SlothfulCobra

    Well at least that ends this storyline for sure.

    1. clif

      Snerk.

  98. JessWitt

    Good gods, he’s really gone.

  99. Shogeton

    The tragic thing is that the fact that Asher probably returned with bowed head to his grandfather to ask for his help because of this. So one person gets out of a shithead paternal figure’s shadow, one person gets back in it.

    1. JBento

      No, this is Asher actually doing gramps a favour. If Blaine talked, it wouldn’t be Asher going down.

      1. Shogeton

        Yep, but it’s still Asher who walked out of all the mob stuff, leaving it all behind, getting very involved in ‘protecting their assets’ to the point of being an accomplice to murder. I doubt he gets to do that without strings attached.

      2. Droewyn

        I don’t see Asher tipping off his grandfather about Blaine without the following happening:

        “And how are you involved? I thought you wanted to stay out of family business”

        “Ah, well, he kind of blackmailed me”

        “Oh? And where would he have gotten the ammunition to do that?”

        This is Asher being told to clean up his own mess. And come back to the family fold. And did you really think that I didn’t notice some of my money went missing? Do you think I am as stupid as that O’malley fool?

        1. thejeff

          He doesn’t have to talk about the blackmail, just tell him that one of his stooges came to try to drag him into some stupid plan. Doesn’t even have to admit he was involved. Then Blaine winds up dead and the blackmail threat is gone with him.

        2. Libby

          Too true. And Asher could just show his grandfather all the Tweets Becky made on a very well known politician’s account for the world to see. Asher would be able to just point out Blain tried to pull him into that cluster and his grandfather would make sure there are no loose ends. Asher may only get caught for pulling a fire alarm. His hands are dirty, but he was smart enough to leave no prints.

  100. Chaz

    Blaine died on my birthday! Thanks Willis!

    1. JBento

      Happy birthday!

    2. BBCC

      That’s one hell of a birthday present!

      Happy birthday!

      1. clif

        And it wasn’t even a Tuesday.

        1. clif

          But happy birthday. Hope the next trip around the sun is a happy one.

  101. Eric

    Plot twist: Blaine wrest control of the gun from the cop, and shot the cop. He’s now loose again.

    1. NinjaNick

      And he wears his uniform because he’s evil and demented.

  102. JBento

    Man, if Asher was smart about this he didn’t even have to ask for a family favour – in fact, the family now owes HIM a favour.

    All he had to do was to call gramps and go: “Hey grandad, courtesy call because even though I’m not in the business anymore, we’re still family. Remember that launderer that knows a bunch of dirt on the organisation? Turns out odds are he’s gonna get arrested with enough charges for about a gazillion years. Do you think he’s going to keep his mouth shut out of loyalty to you, or would you like to do something about that?”

    1. Mra

      Commentors seem to be split as to whether Blaine is being offed for blackmailing Asher or because he was drawing too much attention and becoming more trouble than he was worth.

      1. Apostate

        Little of column A, little of column B.

  103. Schpoonman

    Quick reminder that Sal and Marcie are still the two characters with major physical disabilities, so if your meter for terrible parent is physical harm then Linda is still on top.

    We could also not rank awful parents, but that’s probably expecting too much.

    1. March

      Linda did not cause either of their physical disabilities though. Sal was stabbed through the hand by Amber (and had to have undergone some surgeries for it, because she seems to have mostly full use of her fingers and feeling, she covers it because of the scarring) and Marcie took a fall that caused permanent damage to her throat. The surgery that could have repaired it was too expensive for her parents to have it. Linda was not present for the either event. Linda is also not Marcie’s parent. Her abuse has been towards Sal, and to a lesser extent, Walky, and has been emotional and psychological.

      1. BBCC

        And financial! Don’t forget financial!

  104. motorfirebox

    More like Blainemo! Blaine-n-mo. Blaine no mo’.

  105. bcb

    Until we see the body I’m not sure I believe he is really dead.

  106. whatthelewis

    Hm..while I would love to see Blaine dead in the dirt, I’m not really going to believe he’s dead until we see proof. I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the end of Blaine O’Malley.

    1. Eldritchy

      Well even if he survives it will be by shooting a cop, possibly mortally and escaping from the hospital. Meaning that he’ll be on the shitlist of Both the Mafia and the Police. So yeah that doesn’t sound like a healthy situation to be in. Plus he is injured.

  107. ADD

    Hey, don’t worry. There were cameras in Blaine’s room, so it was all caught on video.

    Which means that the cop will suffer the consequences of getting suspended with full pay, retire with full benefits, and then get hired in a police department in another city, eventually being given a medal and award for distinguished service about 15 years later.

    1. Shogeton

      I think you will find the cameras malfunctioned.

      1. Garry

        They were destroyed for resisting arrest. Standard protocol.

  108. UnDrewsual

    DOA: So many dead parents you’d think this was Disney.

    1. Mra

      Except the dead parents in Disney are usually presented as likable.

      1. clif

        Who doesn’t like a dead Toedad or a dead Blaine?

  109. Daniel M Ball

    Cheaper than the trial.

  110. SlothKing

    Who knew Blaine’s secret last name was Epstein?

  111. David

    I was “uh oh” when Lester and Blaine turned out to be on a first-name basis. But it didn’t occur to me that it would have required serious planning ahead to have some cop that Blaine knew be on duty and turn up for his arrest.

    1. Regalli

      Does put a new light on just how long it took the police to arrive, doesn’t it, given there was enough time for Becky to arrive, Ross to finish dying, another fight, Blaine to grab Joyce, Becky to give her speech, Blaine to drive away, the beginnings of a chase, and Sal arriving and picking AG up, and they still hadn’t arrived yet for that cutaway. That was… at least half an hour, we know, because Becky scheduled them for that time after she arrived at the house (built-in friends escaping time,) and possibly a little while before since AG had been on the line with 911 before Becky arrived. Not completely outside the realm of possibility, sure… but given this, it sure is interesting Blaine was given even more rope with which to hang himself, and even more injuries.

  112. Blue

    God, it’s like christmas.

  113. Mattyos

    *Schadenfreude by Avenue Q still playing in the background*

    Oh man, that’s totally unfortunate

  114. Bunnygurl

    RIP (Rest in pain) Blaine

    1. Buggman

      RIH

  115. Spencer

    I think this is for the best. Blaine can’t really do anything new anymore as a character, and like a good superhero film villain finding out the hero’s identity means he has to meet his end.

    1. Regalli

      Amber got to reject him and see the look on his face. Faz got to admit that he wants to be something better (and can’t meaningfully have that opportunity for growth so long as Blaine remained in his life in any capacity.) Blaine got the showdown with AG he wanted, full supervillain and all and, well, funny hownthat works out innit Blaine.

      Hell, he didn’t get a punch in per se but I’m calling it close enough that DoA!Mike fulfilled SP!Mike’s wish, too. https://www.shortpacked.com/comic/big-sister

      Blaine had nothing left to do but come back in five years our time and try this same stunt again after he cut a deal or go to trial. Now we know he can’t, and we get a shiny new ‘holy FUCK, Asher’ for it all with our copious helpings of trauma. And he’s always on-campus, even! (Oh, hey, just remembered: Becky and Dina and the others were all planning on visiting Mike later. They’re all going to come back to ‘BOTH kidnappers are dead.’ That’s gonna be an interesting one, too.)

      1. Regalli

        What the hell. Since I’m linking that arc already and there are about to be very few opportunities to do so ever again, one last time for the road, my favorite SP!Amber strip. (Recently matched/eclipsed by AmbG making peace to make that line come true.)

        Later, jerkhole. And burn in hell.
        https://www.shortpacked.com/comic/last-respects

      2. Spencer

        Yeah of all the ways I was expecting Asher’s character to go, getting involved in a murder definitely seemed out there. Even if it’s Blaine, I don’t think he’ll be a positive force for anything next time he shows up.

        1. Regalli

          No. And I think the fact that we now know this and the characters have, at most in Sal’s case, a vague idea his family’s in some shady business (but according to him, he’s out, and I’m not certain even she knows that shady means ‘high-ranking mob family’) with NO clue whatsoever he was involved in the kidnapping? Oh, that dramatic tension’s gonna be MINED. Since we no longer have ‘Sal doesn’t know Amber stabbed her’ and the secret’s out among most of the main cast now that Amber ‘is’ AG, with her starting to be a bit more open and clear that that’s inaccurate (beyond frustrating venting and the like,) we were well past due for a Massive Dramatic Secret like this simmering. (There is, of course, still Jocelyne, but she’s a fairly infrequent appearance and I think she’s coming out to Joyce relatively soon.)

          It’s gonna be AWFUL. I suspect we’ll be seeing some followup on the ‘shit he’s hot’ that’s been going on. And I will be SCREAMING THE ENTIRE DAMN TIME.

        2. Regalli

          * Frustrated venting. Point is she’s starting to acknowledge they’re a dissociative system, and hopefully that acknowledgement will include some continued getting along again.

    2. adam Black

      You are wrong, but i wish you were not.

      He can show up as a new alt in amber

  116. Bret

    So I haven’t read any of his other works before, and I don’t know if I missed this in this comic, but does Fez have a mental or physical disorder or something? Is there a stated reason why his face doesn’t change?

    1. Vulcanodon

      Faz appears to be adapted to a very abusive environment. My guess is his facial expression is a defense.

    2. Needfuldoer

      In his original incarnation in Shortpacked!, he was at least partially inspired by a picture of a smug-looking kid on the soda fountains at Fazoli’s restaurants. (That’s also where his name came from, “Faz Oh Lee”.)

  117. Ellegos

    Sooo… anyone else think this puts Amazigirl on a collision course with the Korean Mob? I’m guessing that Amber is going to pick up on the fact that it wasn’t actually a suicide. Would AG feel compelled to find out who did it. Or let things lie?

  118. Hell's Dragonfly

    Blaine done been RIPped. Boo, hoo, hoo, WAHHHOO!

  119. Underdawg

    When you’re not as tight with the underworld as you thought you were, and try pushing them around.

  120. Romanticide

    My guesses:
    I think Asher’s grandfather probably knows that Asher probably used family money to go to college. But as it is not much of a threat he is mostly letting it slide, besides this would mean Asher could be used to launder some money in the future with just a reminder that he does owe his life to his family… in more than one way. In many mafias is not unusual to send the sons or grandsons of the big bosses to college and stuff.
    So they let the kid roam a little and as long as he stays out of trouble everything is fine. Act disapointed to mostly save face.
    Asher probably presured by Blaine might have just mentioned in a call to family that guy is asking for favors and seem up to no good, just a heads up, to which the family probably knowing Blaine might have asked “don’t be coy, what nonsense is he trying this time” and made their desition acordingly and depending on what does Blaine really managed.
    As he really did make a huge scandal this is what happens, and now Asher is probably reminded that he may be out temporarily, but never really out.

    1. Regalli

      I think you’re spot on with all of this. They’re not putting the pressure on Asher yet about the money, this is a ‘we’ll take care of things’ (and very possibly a ‘go along with him for now, someone needs to keep an eye on that dumbass’) that has now been taken care of.

      The pressure on Asher about the money comes LATER. He’s got a longer term role in the plot now.

      1. Romanticide

        And we have lots of years to come, so time will see if we get to see consecuences.

  121. Roborat

    So much for my theory yesterday. I guess I have to wait to see the aftermath of this.

  122. Coco

    Faz’s permasmile while looking up makes him look like he’s having a Fazgazm.

  123. Username Taken

    I would hate Lester in real life, but as a fictional character all he’s done to impact my story is handcuff and shoot Blaine. Not bad for only three strips’ worth of work. Most valuable crook!

  124. Solenoid

    with the previous 1 and 2 positions of “worst father figure” now deceased, it’s now between Grandpa Mobster and Evil Grandpa Lessick. place your bets, everyone.

  125. Abbe_Faria

    Waiting to see where Yuri lands on the scale now that he is gone, though not really hopeful given she seemed to almost all in with aiding and abetting his abuse toward Amber and more then likely Faz.

  126. Curtis

    I just realized that the kidnapping arc started way back in March and its been a year since we saw Blaine talk to Asher, neither feels like it was that long ago.

  127. hash

    So he shot the cop and is running away?

  128. Victor Riley

    So… Asher is the head mastermind? Why else would he get a text saying it’s done?

  129. PB

    … Okay, I feel a LITTLE bad for Yuri. And I hope that that cop gets caught. But I stand by my earlier comments.

  130. The Coolest Child

    haha Caiaphasher

  131. NPZR

    So I guess he was DOA >.>

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