Co-conspirator
Posted on May 22, 2020 by David M Willis

224 thoughts on “Co-conspirator”

  1. OtterBoy1

    Too concentrated! We’ve been in the same scene for too long! I can’t handle all of the characters being in the same place! Where are the cliffhangers??? Willis you didn’t leave anyone to meanwhile to!!!!!

    1. Yumi

      I think he’s said that there will be no real “MEANWHILE”s during this arc.

      1. Regalli

        No B-plot, were I think the exact words (our one big cutaway, AG escaping, still being part of the A-plot,) and the twitter handle referring to a Bottle Episode also suggests that (as the term refers to TV episodes that only have one location and a limited cast of characters, to save on production costs in live-action. Much more complicated in drawn mediums.)

        1. Yumi

          I kind of assumed the the Twitter handle (in addition to being a Community reference) was a quarantine joke.

        2. Regalli

          That would also make sense. By coincidence it works both ways.

        3. Geneseepaws

          Asks Steven to play the Police; message is a bottle.

      2. Reltzik

        We did do some meanwhiles cutting back and forth between Amber/AG and the rest of the hostages.

        1. Yumi

          Regalli’s explanation was a better phrasing what I meant by “real ‘MEANWHILE’s.”

      3. Wereg

        Thank God. Those get old fast.

    2. Willo

      Sure there is, there’s Robin, or Mike, or Mr or Mrs Brown. Or Ruthless. There’s options. 😛

      1. HeySo

        Meanwhile, Ruthless: Hey, girlfriend of mine- y’know how you’re a reporter and all? Boy have I got a big scoop for you. Amazi-Girl’s father like, totally kidnapped a buncha people and may have done some other newsworthy criminal acts along the way. Oh, and your psudeo-adoptive brother Walky may or may not be over there.
        Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Brown:
        Meanwhile, Mike:
        Meanwhile, Sal: “I can hear the cry of the people.. someone needs me! UP UP AND AWAY!”
        Meanwhile, Robin: “I wonder if I can put more cadburry eggs into this.”

        Okay, so one or two of them might be somewhat useful. 😛

        1. HeySo

          Oh, this site’s lousy formatting rules. Keep forgetting it doesn’t use BBCode brackets like most every other discussion board. To fix:

          Browns: [Arguement]
          Mike: [Coma]

        2. Miri

          … It isn’t a discussion board, it’s a comments section. Which uses HTML. Which is, I think, more common in comments sections… [/pedantry]

        3. HeySo

          It really isn’t. Haven’t really seen HTML formating as a thing since like, the 90s, maybe early 2000s. Presently, I can’t think of a single other comment section that uses HTML bracketing. Moreover, I can barely think of any discussion mediums at all that still utilize it.

          On that note, I’m used to discussion board being the general term, while forum, bulletin board, chat imbed, comments section, etc, would be the specialized contextualizations. You’re welcome to provide references which recontextualize the terminology, but in the meantime, my intended application should have been fairly intuitive regardless of appropriate terminology.

          Given that, neither pedantry (which would apply if you were correcting my terminology [by providing the appropriate term for substitution], rather than simply opposing it, which you did not) nor semanticism (which would be concerned with situations where *intended meaning* wasn’t clear) would apply to the matter.

          ..
          [/pedantry] 😛

        4. HeySo

          Context correction:
          Haven’t really seen HTML formating as a dominant thing since like, the 90s, maybe early 2000s.

        5. JohnInCA

          Disqus is pretty common for comment sections, and it allows a sub-set of HTML tags, particularly for bold, italics, etc.

        6. Random832

          For a while it was conventional wisdom that it was “impossible” to guarantee that only a safe subset of HTML got through (this was always a ridiculous belief, but made *some* sense when people tended to do these things with search-and-replace instead of a proper parser), so it was considered “more secure” to replace all < brackets up front and then process tags for something like bbcode.

        7. Vulcanodon

          Still trying to figure out what is so hard about HTML formatting but easy about non-standard markup. It’s just one more thing to remember and I already know HTML.

        8. Demolition Fan

          Also HTML is a clearly specified standard, ratified by a multi-member committee, thus ensuring an expected usage and meaning, whereas other options (like BBcode) are not.

        9. Daniel M Ball

          so…what you’re saying is that HTML was Designed by committee.

        10. Marsh Maryrose

          You say that like it’s a bad thing.

          Which, to be fair, it can be, depending on the committee.

        11. Seregiel

          I think they are referring to Robin Williams’ sketch about the body being designed by committee but I could be wrong. It’s a hilarious sketch.

        12. Kamino Neko

          Allowing full HTML would give the userbase way more control of the site than they’re supposed to, and if you’re going to add in the layer that allows you to limit the tags anyway, might as well use proprietary tags so as to avoid confusion.

        13. thejeff

          Mostly that if you’re used to using one in comment forums, remembering to switch to another for this one is hard.

          HTML’s also a bit more complex than some, too no purpose since this is a limited subset anyway.

          And there’s no preview to make sure you got it right.

        14. Bicycle Bill

          That’s the biggest problem right there.  And then remembering which codes are allowed and which aren’t.  For example. Willis allows a tag for italics and bold, but doesn’t allow underlining.   ̲S̲o̲ ̲y̲o̲u̲ ̲n̲e̲e̲d̲ ̲t̲o̲ ̲g̲e̲t̲ ̲c̲r̲e̲a̲t̲i̲v̲e̲…..

    3. Heavensrun

      I guess we could periodically meanwhile off to Toedad’s corpse.

  2. Ana Chronistic

    No fair running in a van!

    Also your Adventure Sync steps don’t count!

    (Scary Dotty is scary, DAMN)

  3. butts

    no regrets

  4. OtterBoy1

    Blaine’s lookin like Super Meat Boy

    1. Lanie

      A quick Google search told me I was wrong, but for a moment I though you were referring to the All That skit from a thousand years ago where they did a parody rap about meat, which involved superhero costumes.

      1. HeySo

        A quick Google search told me I was wrong

        You as well? :/

    2. Strangeshapes

      I think it’s only now Blaine realizes he actually killed Toedad.

  5. Doctor_Who

    Did Blaine just abandon Faz?

    Not that I’m surprised he would, but that could have interesting consequences.

    1. Olivia Cheatham

      I think Faz is in the back with Joyce.

      1. porthos9438

        I don’t know why, but that comment just reminded me of Rorschach’s line in Watchmen. He doesn’t have Joyce trapped in there with him, they’re trapped in there with her. And she’s proven how strong her right hook is.

        1. King Daniel

          Her right hook didn’t stop Blaine a few days ago.

    2. Mehe

      I’m pretty sure Faz is in the van.

      And I hope he’s plenty scared right now.

      1. All-Purpose Guru

        He’s too stupid or self-absorbed to be scared.

    3. Regalli

      I THINK Faz was getting in the van in his last appearance (that one panel of him obscured by the van door,) since he’d previously been running towards it.

      But if he was abandoned, wouldn’t be the first time. Interesting options either way.

    4. Reltzik

      ALL of this could have interesting consequences.

    5. Foxhack

      Faz is driving.

      1. Foxhack

        Ah wait no, I thought Blaine had jumped onto the back with Joyce.

      2. Needfuldoer

        How can that be!

    6. Twitcher

      I’m starting to think he might. Blaine the numbwit might just use his galaxy-brain energy to try to pin this all on Faz. And incidentally, why was he using Faz for help? How was he going to explain this shit?

  6. Sirksome

    Wow. A bunch of people called this but it’s somehow still disappointing.

    1. Wereg

      Yup. No idea how someone with broken ribs can throw a person(albeit unconscious) into a van AND get into aforementioned van and drive away before the half-dozen people in sprinting distance can even move.

  7. timemonkey

    Sarah’s gonna kill that van with her bat.

    Or Joyce is going to wake up and wreck him.

    1. Needfuldoer

      At least it will be easier to find with one mirror smashed off.

      1. Opus the Poet

        Yep, there are a couple thousand or so white Ram Tradesman vans in southern Indiana in the age bracket of the one in the picture, 2011-18. I happen to know that because that is a source of an engine I was strongly considering for a car I’m building but discarded because the GM LS architecture V8 engine is less expensive and easier to find even if it’s much heavier than the Pentastar V6. But yeah, looked at a bunch of those trying to find a cheap engine.

        1. Needfuldoer

          The Chevy Express is the box cheap LS swaps come in. Just look at what Sloppy Mechanics did with a van engine, a Chevy Colorado pickup, a cheap turbo, and junkyard parts. That whole engine family is practically Lego.

          https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqqxeQgIg6f8QXcMvK4EliGdvmbu52vYq

          If I had the time and tools, I’d copy this truck or build a Buick Electra or Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon. Sleepers are awesome.

      2. Axel

        ooh, people thought Walky had a gun. what if he found a paintball gun? make it nice and noticeable

  8. Kyrik Michalowski

    So this is where Blaine takes a hostage and hopes he can get away with it somehow? He’s not going to be able to avoid a prison sentence just because he has a hostage.

    1. C.T Phipps

      I assume he thinks that no one will call the police because they’re in a superhero comic.

      1. Regalli

        Oh, like someone grabbing the van with a grappling hook or otherwise latching on is gonna attract less attention?

        1. Bicycle Bill

          Someone was hanging onto a car with a grappling hook and being towed along on a skateboard like a water skier at Cypress Gardens and no one noiced…..

      2. abysswatcher1993

        And all of this because Sarah-No. I am so done with this dabate. Yes, American cops are racist assholes, but saying that you have to protect yourself against predators, serial killers and kidnappers… that takes away responsibility from the authorities. This world is fucked up, but cynicism is just going to make thinsg worst.

        1. Regalli

          The police have been called, but they aren’t here yet for reasons unknown. Should they have called earlier? Yeah, that would probably have helped. But AG had a proven track record with hostage situations Sarah was counting on (underestimating how sleep-deprived she is,) and if Faz hadn’t gotten the jump on Walky, things would have remained stable. (Also, I have… suspicions about why no one’s shown up yet, given the ‘Mike discusses the corrupt police’ flashback occurred AFTER Sarah’s bit. Realism-straining, most likely, but suspicions nonetheless that would probably have been a problem no matter WHEN they called.)

          Police are an unknown variable. Hell, they’re at least five different ones. Sarah was VASTLY underestimating Blaine’s scariness and overestimating the magic AG can work, to be sure. But seriously you really want to tell me given Blaine’s actions here before that he’d react LESS violently and hostage-threatening to the police than he is to kids who can’t arrest him and he’s only now perceiving as a real threat?

          Shit would have hit the fan regardless. It was a bad call on Sarah’s and AG’s part, but a bad call made on not-completely-incomprehensible data points given the known superheroics a month ago.

        2. abysswatcher1993

          I know, but these kids aren’t the phantom thieves or thr power rangers. They are just college kids, and expecting them to be able to fight criminals is unfair. Without AG a different group of teens in a similar situation would have died early without intervention from the authorities.

          The risks were too big to not call for help, and this isn’t Walkyverse.

        3. Kali

          I mean, I’ve been seeing this stuff in the comments for a while now, but the moment that the kidnapped people (except Amber/AG) were out, and had the time to, it’s implied 911 was called. Yeah, Amber should have called, but we know why she didn’t, and we know why Becky didn’t call either.

          In short, yeah Sarah said they shouldn’t, but the second the call could be made, it was, so can we stop saying these kids are being dumb and really should have called the police, when they did?

        4. thejeff

          But AG was involved, so saying “without AG” doesn’t really make sense.

          I do agree with the general point of Sarah’s concern about being killed by cops being a bit much in the already life-threatening situation, but there were other reasons not to call them. Maybe not good ones, but understandable.

        5. cartoogle

          I don’t get the impression the police were called. Ambulances were called and Becky tweeted whatever it is she tweeted, and that’s it.

        6. BBCC

          The police were called.

      3. JohnInCA

        I don’t believe Blaine is really “thinking” at this point. It’s all lizard-brain here, folks.

        1. Bagge

          Now that’s a huge change of pace

    2. Sirksome

      Hey, he’s got a full tank of gas and a dream! This thing is still salvageable.

      1. Reltzik

        There’s 333 miles to the Canadian border, he’s got a full tank of gas, a half-catatonic hostage, it’s light out, and he’s wearing a mask.

        1. Ellegos

          “Hit it.”

        2. Matthew Evan Davis

          Unfortunately, much like Avalon in the Walkyverse Indiana has been running on slower time and when they hit the Michigan border things snap back to 2020 and it turns out the border is closed.

        3. Matthew Evan Davis

          And damn, use some punctuation there why don’t you, Davis? Stupid run-on.

    3. Dr. Gonzo

      I don’t think there’s much logic in Blaine’s decisions right now. He’s in cornered animal mode now.

  9. Chris

    Is that just smoke under the tires, or something more? (Looking particularly at the front tire here.)

    1. Pyrpyr

      I mean he has the “burning rubber” SKREEEEEE sfx going so I assume it’s that

      1. Bicycle Bill

        Sprinters are made in all three formats — front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive.  If it was a FWD vehicle, there wouldn’t be smoke coming from the rear wheels, and while it is true that there are AWD Sprinters in the real world, it is an expensive customer-ordered option so I presume they are relatively rare.  I suspect this is a normal RWD vehicle, and for further explanation see my comment below.

    2. Bicycle Bill

      I think that’s Amazi-Girl’s cape, which he dropped about five comics ago (although one wonders why Willis neglected to render it in blue or some other dark shade), and the black stick-like thing alongside it is probably Blaine’s bloody hammer, which he more-than-likely discarded in his hurry to make good his escape.  He was holding it in his left hand in panel 2, but we don’t see it in his hand when he tosses Joyce into the back of the van in panel 4, and he’s using his left hand sans hammer to grab the steering wheel in panel 6.  And no, I don’t believe he tossed it into the back along with Joyce, because if she regains consciousness while he’s driving then SHE would have the weapon and free access to the back of Blaine’s head.

      So the (immediate) hazard factor to Joyce on the “beat someone to death with a blunt object” meter has just decreased by a couple of notches, ain’t none of those kids going to be able to outrun a van.  The best we can hope for is that Sarah takes out a window or mirror or otherwise uses the bat to pound some identifying damage into the van to be able to connect it to the crime when it is found later.

      1. Miri

        “You got a tail light out” mayhaps?

      2. Miri

        Be interesting to see what Joyce (who isn’t currently restrained at all) finds in the back though.

      3. Reltzik

        Or Amber/Amazi-girl does a reprise of her car-surfing scene from Toedad’s first foray into kidnapping.

        1. Miri

          If she does, I hope Sal turns up to save her again…

  10. Axel

    then Joyce rolled out the back before he reached any deadly amount of speed, because there wasn’t time to make sure those doors were closed

  11. Mra

    stubborn mofo, ain’t he?

  12. auroki

    So weird observation. But has anyone else noticed that all of Joyce’ s moments of her in danger are when she is without a sweatervest on?

    1. Hex Hornet

      You may have something there!

      1. auroki

        Willis may be trying to tell us something

    2. Regalli

      They are a protective shield.

      1. abacuswizard

        And also have hidden alien-tech jetpacks.

    3. Merbrat

      Striped wool Plot Armor

  13. C.T Phipps

    Dorothy mishandled that one and should take note of it for future dealings with the GOP. Narcissistic sociopaths aren’t going to settle for lesser jail time when they think they can away.

    You need to leave them a way out or even a way to think they’ve won. Pointing out he’s screwed no matter what doesn’t mean he’s going to surrender. You need to stop treating people as rational actors when they are anything but.

    1. Chris

      She got him to do something other than kill Joyce. I’ll count that as a win.

    2. AntJ

      Lawyer chops weren’t gonna be perfect at 19

    3. abysswatcher1993

      The solution: don’t give them a choice. Don’t fucking give sociopaths a choice. Give them a chocie and they will either take their best chance or reject the choice with their own one. Take away every choice so you can corner them like rats and crush them. That is how you reform a society by taking down the most dangerous elemnts.

      1. C.T Phipps

        Given the choice between everyone winning versus just them, conservatives like Blaine will prefer to burn down the house instead.

        1. Mark

          Blaine is not conservative

        2. abysswatcher1993

          He is on his own side, and that makes him more dangerous. Crush rats like him through any means necessary.

        3. Reltzik

          Blaine’s socio-political leanings are unclear and largely irrelevant. Though everything you just said does apply to an unhealthy chunk of the present crop of conservative politicians in this country.

        4. Lumino

          Not Conservatives, Republicans.

          If you follow true conservative views, you’ll wind up being a Blue Dog Democrat because the Republicans are completely fucking insane.

        5. Reltzik

          Then we can’t really call them Republicans either because their attempts to suppress the vote (including, now, Trump declaring absentee ballot applications to be illegal) show that they don’t believe in a republic.

      2. JetstreamGW

        Blaine isn’t even sort of a sociopath.

  14. Hex Hornet

    When in doubt, beat a hasty retreat. Smartest (and sanest) thing he’s done all day!

  15. Moon

    GET HIS ASS

  16. purblebirb

    Is this where he accidentally runs over Yoshikage Kira’s head after he admits he’s a serial killer to the nurse?

    1. a/snow/mous/e

      Wow, so that was what the alt-text meant by “converge”!

      1. a/snow/mous/e

        Crazy, noisy, bizarre plot!

  17. DailyBrad

    Blaine looks terrified. May his remaining days be in fear.

    1. Chris

      Days?

      1. Ray Radlein

        Comic days

        1. Opus the Poet

          We still have at least 3 weeks and an epilogue to go to cover his final minutes. It has already been determined he can’t escape, now it remains just how much more he’s going to screw the pooch before he gets caught.

        2. Geneseepaws

          I’m reporting him to the RSPCA, if he tries that. Also: euwww!

    2. hof1991

      May his time in prison be measured in DOA days. A ten year sentence = the heat death of the universe.

  18. Illithid

    Called it.

  19. sharktrs

    Oh God, looks like he straight-up threw Joyce into there

    Looks like a sizable fall

    I hope she’s okay

    1. Chris Phoenix

      He already threw everyone down a full flight of stairs; some of them landed on top of others; and they were all fine. There’s no reason (in this comic) for Joyce to be injured by that fall.

      1. sharktrs

        Ah, that’s a fair point

      2. Nono

        Except it’s a cutscene, and fall damage is 300% more effective.

  20. abysswatcher1993

    What took them so long? In the time he opened the door to throw Joyce her friends could have reached him, and also starting a car isn’t an immediate process. When a car is really big like that ban you have to first heat the engine before starting, so at the speed Blaine did all that I am not surprised if he crashes against a tree when taking a turn. Also, if Joyce wakes up and beats him it will be entirely his fault every bad thing happening to him.

    1. Sirksome

      Maybe you could argue the timing’s a little wonky, that’s fair, but you could also argue Faz was already in the van and set things up for the escape too so I think it evens out.

      1. abysswatcher1993

        That is assuming Faz is competent, whioch he is not. His only sign of competency was freing Blaine, which wasn’t hard since Walky of all people was put it watch duty. That is a success by default and without effort.

        1. Regalli

          There was also the USB theft, which Amber doesn’t appear to have ever caught on to IIRC?

          Faz can follow orders, is the thing. Blaine having a getaway vehicle for himself and the one person whose presence inherently incriminates him was probably always part of the plan.

        2. Sirksome

          Yeah. You can question how Faz got over on Walky all day cause that’s a stretch to me but it doesn’t take much to open a door or start a car. I’m more worried about the consequences of minor Faz aiding a criminal/murderer. Like he’s more liable than the douchebros at this point.

        3. Regalli

          My guess is still ‘hiding in the cupboards, Faz is very fast, Walky probably doesn’t have super-high reaction times and AMBER had trouble keeping up with him.’ Once he got out Walky probably had a very short amount of time before he was being menaced with scissors.

          If Faz makes a heel turn soon, that’ll help his case. Also helping: Minor in the care of an abusive shitbag who was masterminding the whole thing. Douchebros could say no and have that respected. Faz could not.

        4. Jon Rich

          I doubt he’s more liable than the douchebros. They’re all 18 or over, in all likelihood; Faz is 15. They also joined up with Blaine of their own free will, while Faz at least has the ability to point to the fact that Blaine is his (step?)father, and thus actually has authority over him (and could harm him if Faz didn’t go along with Blaine).

        5. Miri

          My head cannon: The USB drive is Dina’s and is where she collates records of the trippy things that people who believe dinosaurs were around at the same time as people genuinely believe. Dina was fascinated and horrified and refused to contaminate her own computer with it. It’s also where her “are dinosaurs still around in secluded places today?” research goes (she wants to believe but is a scientist, damn it)… And finally, it has some bootlegged episodes of The Flintstones and The Family Ness on it, plus some vintage Transformers cartoons with the dinobots.

          The final item above is actually why it was in Amber’s computer when Faz swiped it.

    2. Mark

      Yeah what was everyone doing between the time Dorothy said run and a wounded Blaine was at the back of the van

    3. Regalli

      Faz appears to have gotten in the van three strips and Becky’s monologue ago, so it’s possible the engine was already started. (We also didn’t see the back of the van ever be closed after Faz got in – Blaine’s near the front. Now, why he didn’t shove her in the passenger’s seat after getting in the driver’s, fuck if I know.)

      Since he still had to get to the front door, though… fatigue and shock? They’ve been kidnapped for over four hours by now. Not a GREAT answer, or a satisfying one, but serviceable enough.

    4. Needfuldoer

      Gas engines in light commercial trucks don’t need to pre-heat like diesels.

      1. Opus the Poet

        Especially the one in the base model Tradesman van, the 3.6l V6. It’s the same engine as the base Ram 1500 except slightly detuned to not blow up the FWD transmission that was carried over from the luxury minivans with the same engine, that was originally built to (barely) survive a 160 HP 3.8l V6.

        1. Needfuldoer

          We have three ProMaster vans at work, all with the Pentastar V6. Two needed substantial valvetrain work, one of which needed both heads and everything contained in them replaced, before they hit 50,000 miles. We more than followed the maintenance schedule. I’m not impressed.

          Meanwhile, we had a V10 E350 survive over 350,000 miles, lax maintenance, and four spark plug blowouts. That Modular engine was a damn reliable boat anchor.

  21. synnerman

    Whoops, he stopped touching Joyce. The kryptonite is gone and she’s about to hit Super Saiyan 10 on the back of his head with something heavy.

  22. BarerMender

    Blaine must be pretty stout; he threw Joyce through the air with one arm.

    1. Needfuldoer

      I bet he’s been running on painkillers and adrenaline since he retreated upstairs after the first hostage interrogation.

  23. BBCC

    Okay, what are the odds on Faz making a heel-face turn soon?

    1. sharktrs

      100%

      There’s absolutely no way he won’t

    2. BigDogLittleCat

      I think odds are good. Blaine has now threatened/harmed the two people who have been kind to Faz, Amber and Joyce.

  24. BigDogLittleCat

    I’m calling it: Faz saves the day.
    Blaine has now threatened and kidnapped the one person on campus other than Amber who didn’t treat him like he was an unpleasant bag of trash they’d been saddled with.
    That pause on him while Blaine trashed Faz’s favorite person was not an accident.
    Not saying this’ll redeem him. He’ll probably always be a little creep, but helping the two people who have treated him well is to his own benefit.

    1. JetstreamGW

      Giving Faz way too much credit.

      1. BigDogLittleCat

        Probably!

  25. Gunslinger

    God dammit Dorothy you are smarter than that. That’s like, the third time she’s threatened Blaine with being out-numbered because she STILL hasn’t figured out that he’s not afraid of them, and that he’s not going to go quietly.

    “Drop Joyce now and run, and you have a head start on the cops who still want to arrest you. If you keep holding a hostage, they’ll KILL you.”

    1. abysswatcher1993

      One mistake of thinking rationally most of the time is ignoring that other humans don’t follow reason and will follow madness over and over because reason only helps the smart but madness drives the stupid and the dumb.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Blaine’s not thinking rationally, he’s reacting. Flailing like a wild animal trapped in a cage.

        “You can’t logic someone out of a position they haven’t logic-ed themselves into.”

        “Emotion will always prevail over reason.”

        More valuable lessons for the future politician!

    2. Kamino Neko

      He seems very afraid here…his reaction to the fear was not what she was hoping, however.

      1. Gunslinger

        He’s not afraid of them, he’s afraid of the police that are about to be coming for him.

    3. Rabid Rabbit

      And she really needed to stop telling Amazi-Girl she was cornered, too.

    4. CJ

      I wonder. Yes, usually Dorothy should know better (though knowing better and having the appropriate negotiation skills are two different things) but when you are afraid and higher cognitive functions start to shut down, you will likely do what is your most normal response to stuff, because the cognitive function to catch yourself with that is no longer there.

    5. Mark

      I like Dorothy as a character so I’m biased but i do agree with you on the point that shes coming at this from her pov in that what she says is the logical choice but Blaine isn’t being logical

      Having said that Dorothy will be all the more formidable once she gets a bit more experience under her belt

    6. Sam

      That’s not necessarily because she hasn’t figured it out, so much as she remains hopeful for the best case scenario that he will see sense, as most people would, as most criminals aren’t Blaine’s brand of spiteful and evil who will keep digging even when they’ve reached the point they can’t climb out the hole any more.

    7. JetstreamGW

      Did he smash Joyce’s skull with the hammer? No. Mission success.

      1. Gunslinger

        Is Joyce still at risk of being brained? Don’t celebrate too soon. Mission Success would have been getting her out of harm’s way.

    8. BarerMender

      To be fair, they do have a baseball bat. I’d be afraid.

    9. Gunslinger

      If you’re going to threaten, threaten from a position of power. It doesn’t matter if Sarah had a .357, Blaine is too arrogant to be afraid of them. He’s made that abundantly clear. He’s afraid of the POLICE, and actual consequences. You know, like how Becky did and he immediately shat himself.

      If you’re going to negotiate, wave the carrot. Get Joyce back and let him run.

  26. Rikunda

    Good news: Joyce is alive!
    Bad news: She is now trapped with a murderer and Faz.
    Worse news: Sarah has a bat! We are doomed!

    1. Johnny Austin

      Yeah…
      This would be the moment the police arrive.
      Sarah wielding a baseball bat and looking scary…

      1. JessWitt

        Crap, that would suck.

  27. Bagge

    I mean, he COULD have just left Joyce and jumped into the car and achieved the same thing, and also reduced the risk of getting shot by the police, but Blaine is nothing but not stupid.

    1. Mordecai

      Also just can’t pass up the chance to have more “power” over those he deems lesser

      1. Bagge

        Yup! That’s his main problem right there. also the stupid.

  28. Ron again

    Let’s hope Carol watches the news… This will be on there in a few hours.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      Her delusion will be so big she will try to rationalize everything in her favor, losing teh respect of most of her family.

      1. JessWitt

        And cause Hank to separate from her and their church.

    2. NinjaNick

      I can’t wait to see her reaction when Blaine killed her big toeheaded friend.

    3. Bagge

      I can’t imagine that the gossip machine of their church hasn’t been glued to Robin’s twitter since they learnt just who is running it. The moment that tweet hits the air, Carol will know.

      1. King Daniel

        I don’t imagine that Carol doesn’t already have some idea of what Ross’s intentions were; hence the call to Joyce earlier.

        1. Miri

          She probably didn’t think the plan would involve teaming up with friends of the guy who drugged Joyce and planned to rape her. Or that it would involve the kidnapping of a large group of students, superhero/supervillain shenanigans, murder…

          And in fairness I think Toedad asked if everybody was OK down there because he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the parts of the plan that he knew about either… (I would like to think he got up and went after Blaine – and thus died – specifically to give the gang a chance to escape though.)

        2. Rabid Rabbit

          To be fair, Carol has no idea about the almost-rape. Though if she did, she would doubtless blame Joyce for having gone to a party.

          The weird thing about Toedad is how he wasn’t actively malicious, in the sense that he didn’t do the things he did in order to hurt people. I mean, yes, he hurt them ridiculously, but the pain wasn’t the point. It was for their own good. So not being sure about hurting Mike, who was “just a boy,” asking if everyone is all right… Sure, he had to do these things for the sake of saving Becky’s soul, but it’s not like he wanted to be an asshole about it…

          As opposed to Blaine, who just enjoys the power rush he gets from hurting people.

        3. BarerMender

          I say again, it wasn’t for their own good. It was for his feeling of power. Fundagelicalism is all about power.

        4. Miri

          I assumed after the stabbing and it coming out that he had attacked multiple women, Joyce wouldn’t have been able to prevent her parents from hearing about it – didn’t she give a police statement about the party at that point?

        5. BigDogLittleCat

          BarerMender’s point is worth repeating: Ross did not do anything for anyone else’s good.
          Ross might have tried to justify it as “for their own good” or “saving Becky’s soul” but fact is, it was entirely from the perspective of Becky as his own property. He endangered her life. He was physically violent against her. His justification: “I am your father!”

          He felt he had the absolute right to kidnap and torture his daughter because he didn’t like who she is. Because she was his daughter. That she wants differently, that she’s an adult, is irrelevant. She’s his daughter and therefore he had the right to control her as if she were his property.

          A man who tells his kidnap victims that that they should be polite to him because he’s their “elder” doesn’t do things because he’s cares about others’ well-being. He’s motivated by his own ego and his goal is power and control.

          Let us please stop cutting these horrible people any slack because they think they’re doing it “for their children’s good.”
          That’s exactly what Carol thinks.

      2. Roborat

        I doubt the church members even know what twitter is, much less use it.

  29. C.T Phipps

    This is what you get for trying to steal Becky’s thunder, Archnemesis. She had this under control until you ruined it.

  30. abacuswizard

    Please tell me that somebody had the foresight to slash the tires or stuff a potato in the exhaust pipe.

  31. BenRG

    Yep, looks like Blaine is working on pure fight/flight mode and, unable to fight, is fleeing. Given his injuries, I’m more than a little worried about how far he’d be able to get that van before crashing.

  32. Buli-Buli

    So… Joyce’s home church. A small conservative group that operates out of a rented gym and honeschools its children… has not only had one of its members become a would be school shooter, they’ve worked alongside a man with mob connections to pay the members bail. Said mobster and school shooter went on to orchestrate a mass kidnapping, hostage-taking, blackmail, murder, and second-kidnapping…
    All involving the very public and relatively popular campaign manager of a US congresswoman.

    How long until the media labels the church a criminal cult? Like the Manson Family, Branch Davidians, or Family International?

    1. Mopey

      At the end of the day the church group is not a driving force in these events. And they’re not really atypical enough for a cult-label to stick. At most they’d be called something rather bloodless like “fringe group” but even that seems like a stretch.

      If anything Blaine’s mob connections would distract from them since that’s a lot more interesting.

    2. Reltzik

      It’d be… premature, to say the least. All the (obvious to media) bad stuff are the actions of a single man who the church can disavow while playing the “he always seemed like such a nice guy” tune. And, tbf, a single bad actor in a large group like that isn’t grounds, on its own, to condemn the group as a whole.

      Throw in how their beliefs are… well, not EXACTLY mainstream, but common enough as to not be unusual, and I doubt the cult accusation would get thrown around much (at least, not as anything more than a pejorative).

      1. thejeff

        Though bailing him out after the first kidnapping isn’t exactly “disavowing”.

        1. Reltzik

          Well no, but they could go the “we had no idea he’d do THIS” route. ie, bailed him out because he “seemed like such a nice guy” and then “were horrified by what happened next” and disavow him on the basis of new information.

      2. BigDogLittleCat

        They won’t go the “seemed like a nice guy” route. They’ll all assure you that Ross wasn’t a True Christian(TM).

  33. NinjaNick

    Okay, add attempted vehicular manslaughter to another endless list of charges. Blaine has lost what’s left of his mind. I predict he’ll be in the padded cell by the end of the storyline.

    1. NinjaNick

      Oh, wait. Looking at it this way, there wasn’t one in there…yet. He’s making an attempted getaway. Unless he does run over someone in the next few strips.

    2. SuperZero

      Huh? Who’d he try to hit with the car?

    3. Reltzik

      Wouldn’t be vehicular manslaughter. Felony murder rule still applies. It would be another count of murder.

  34. Needfuldoer

    Blaine’s pupils are back again, but then disappear just as quickly.

    That’s got to be a tell for when he’s scared or on the defensive, but wouldn’t that suggest we should see them in both of those panels? It has to mean something…

    1. Sam

      He’s about to crash because he can’t see, that’s what it means!

  35. Valerie

    Hey, wait! Isn’t Faz like 14? He can’t drive!!!

    1. Valerie

      Oh, nvm, I see that Blaine is driving.

    2. Some1

      I like how that is your main concern with this situation.

    3. NinjaNick

      The real question is: Where is Faz?

    4. Miri

      https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/us/5-year-old-driver-utah-trnd/index.html

      He may not be able to drive *well* but that’s not the same thing at all 😉

  36. Rabid Rabbit

    OK, so let’s see… Becky and Dorothy have both bongoslapped him with the fact that they’re smarter than he is; Dina’s attacked him; Walky’s sat on him; Amazi-Ber has beaten him up. Who hasn’t had a turn at Tether-Blaine yet?

    Well, I guess Joyce attacked him but has so far failed, and Sarah threatened him with a bat but hasn’t got to use it yet. So clearly it’s their turn. I think Sarah deserves it, since Joyce already got to punch out Toedad, and Sarah hasn’t had an opportunity to beat up a bad guy since Ryan.

    (Since Ethan left, he’s given up his chance of getting in on the fun.)

  37. Reltzik

    Is it just me, or is Panel 4 particularly uggly?

    1. mrnoidea

      I see what you did there.

  38. EvilMidnightLurker

    ACT WITHOUT INTEGRITY.

    REGRET EVERYTHING.

    1. SuperZero

      That’s a surprisingly good summary.

  39. Versen

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw2kKyJu9gY

  40. Acher4

    ..oh sh…

    It now dawned on me.

    Is that a “truck”… smaller, but still a truck.

    1. King Daniel

      Ruth beware

    2. Opus the Poet

      Yes, the Ram Tradesman is technically a truck.

      1. Needfuldoer

        The Ram Tradesman is a light pickup truck.

        Blaine’s van looks like a chimera of a Sprinter (front end) and a Transit (rear). At least it’s not goofy-looking enough to be a ProMaster/Ducato/Boxer.

        1. deathjavu

          Really, really hoping this van is in fact a Chrysler product, because then the odds that it will break down during the getaway increase dramatically.

  41. HaretaSora

    I can only imagine, at the end of this, how angry and beyond pissed off Joyce will be at her mom since her and her church group are what started this with wanting to get Becky’s dad out of jail

  42. Keulen

    I was kinda hoping that truck would fail to start or something.

  43. BenRG

    I’m wondering if we’re heading towards Amazi-Girl’s final caper at the end of which, both the girls in Amber’s head will decide to hang up the mask. I wouldn’t rule out Sal and her motorcycle being involved. And also Ruth stopping Blaine’s van by taking it out head-on in a rental. “Act with integrity. No regrets.”

    Basically, we are approaching the end of Book I – Innocents Abroad. We’re about tp start Book II – A World After Faith. That won’t just be about Joyce either; a lot of the characters are going to have had their childish belief in a black-and-white world of good guys and bad guys shaken. Life ain’t the MCU!

  44. LadyCaramel

    So what are the chances that Blaine will still get away? That one picture Willis drew of all of the “Villains” surrounding a globe(?) Cuz if Blaine does get away and bolts to Canada, what are the chances that he will meet Ruth’s grandfather? And plot.

    1. Reltzik

      US law enforcement isn’t so stuck up as to not be willing to call ahead to the border and say, “Hey, Canada? There’s someone coming your way that you really, really don’t want loose in your country… yeah, I’m emailing you the details and a picture now. If he gets into your territory, hold onto him for us a bit while we prep the extradition request, please?”

      Also, IIRC, Sir Grampus isn’t Canadian.

    2. BenRG

      Blaine would be beneath Clint’s notice.

  45. Ed Rhodes

    Nobody wrote this?

    “Run, you disgusting boy!”

  46. BenRG

    I’m still thinking that Blaine’s going to crash. Either someone (Amazi-Girl, Amber, Ruth or Sal) will force him off the road or Joyce will wake up and put him in a stranglehold (dumb but like her).

  47. Michael Lanting

    So Walky is tagged but I don’t see him in any of the panels. Does that mean he went and hid in the van? Or is he supposed to be that grey bit behind Dorothy’s left shoulder in panel one?

    1. Rabid Rabbit

      That’s his right shoulder, just over Dorothy’s left one. Apparently he moved a bit to his left between yesterday and today.

  48. Suet

    Joyce is gonna have a concussion,
    Amber is gonna have to do another holy roller,
    With exactly a month left of storyline to go,

    Suddenly all because they didn’t think of sabotaging the van they were once in.

    1. NelC

      When would they have sabotaged the van? They were tied up when they were in the van, and surrounded by the frat boys; when Blaine was tied up they wouldn’t have had any reason to do it; and when he escaped, approximately one minute ago, they were too busy watching him threaten Joyce to do something coldly rational like sabotage the van.

    2. JetstreamGW

      I really don’t think it’s realistic to expect anyone in this situation to pull off a Xanatos routine.

    3. Roborat

      Rolling around unrestrained in the back of a van, she is going to have more than a concussion.

      1. Chris

        Faz is also back there. I’m pretty sure he’ll be willing to hold on to her.

  49. Rabisch

    And that was the last time we saw Joyce… Starting next week, this strip will be renamed “Revenge Of Ages” and will talk about a group of young adults who travel the world in search of a kidnapped friend. ACTIONS! DRAMAS!! ADVENTURES!!!

  50. Sombrero

    This is building to the final scene where Imaginary Mike confronts the full-speed van driving away Blaine’s attention from Mike’s corpse, that was somehow abandoned in the middle of the road. The van trips on the corpse and goes off the road, killing Blaine. Joyce is saved because Faz’s body cushion the impact for her. Faz’s medical status is uncertain as the storyline closes.

  51. Vulcanodon

    Assuming Faz is in the van. He overpowered Walkie, sure, but wait until he finds himself facing a really, really pissed-off Joyce

  52. Huehuetotl

    This is why we saw Faz walking around the van the other day. Blaine sets a low bar, but Faz is the brains of the operation, tactically.

    1. Huehuetotl

      O no, what if Faz is Keyser Soze, and he misses having Amber around, so he planted the idea of making her drop out in Blaine’s head.

  53. Aragem

    Dorothy overplayed it. He was actually considering letting Joyce go until she mention him still going to jail. Should have said, “Let Joyce go and go. You’re wasting your head start.”

  54. Booker

    To modify a Fury Road quote
    Youre is relying on the judgement of a very stupid man
    You’re sitting on “some” horsepower of a standard issue fleet can.
    I’d say you’ve got about a five second headstart.

  55. Kitsune

    Does he have some candy in that white van?

  56. JessWitt

    Dang it, he really is that stupid.

  57. Raen

    Pretty sure the abduction and false arrest was enough for life BEFORE he killed Ross, and assuming, as he implied a few strips ago, that he killed Mike, Dorothy’s definitely got no leverage here.

  58. Roborat

    What kind of engine is in that van, to be able to accelerate like that? The ones I have seen can barely get out of their own way. Pulling away from a stop more closely resembles a barge leaving the dock.

  59. CMasta

    “Somehow I told you so, just doesn’t quite say it” -Detective Del Spooner

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