184

Hay
Posted on May 10, 2020 by David M Willis

184 thoughts on “Hay”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “YOU’RE AMBER THAT’S SO MESSED UP”

    aww Dina huggles

    1. Juanoku

      Wow is amber not being a shut-in that wild of a concept

      1. Pablo360

        frankly yes. I’ve been reading the comic since actually I have no idea when I started and I still don’t believe it

    2. Suitora

      Reassurance by light physical contact.

  2. King Daniel

    F to pay respects (to Becky)

    1. FaerwenofValenwood

      F

    2. Needfuldoer

      F

    3. Zee

      F

    4. Undrave

      F

    5. Regalli

      F

    6. Felix

      FF plus the one from my name

    7. Opus the Poet

      F

    8. Librain

      F

  3. ValdVin

    I’m surprised Joyce isn’t too tired to get this. Or is it something she was only too awake to see every other time?

    1. Fart Captor

      Amber told everyone there before she was released. Joyce is just finally has the bandwidth to react to that revelation

      1. ValdVin

        Ahh. Wasn’t sure how much Joyce believed that then. It’s not something everyone believes the moment they’re told.

  4. Doctor_Who

    Time and place, Joyce.

    …Although if there ever was a perfect time and place for Joyce to drop her first F-Bomb, I think that kneeling over the still cooling body of your slain abductor / father of your childhood friend whose murderer is the father of the superhero who rescued you and also the dormmate who introduced you to the wonders of Superman and Batman doing Butt Stuff warrants a good hearty “What the fuck”. “Hay” doesn’t really capture the insanity of the situation.

    Watch, it’s finally gonna happen because Joyce bangs her knee on a table or something.

    1. Screwball

      Naaa, her mobile’s out of fucking charge again…

    2. Rose by Any Other Name

      Beautifully said.
      And yeah, totally waiting for that end table shin-bang.

      … that was not intended to sound dirty, but it does, and I’m gonna let it stand.

      1. He Who Abides

        Hey, we don’t judge people’s weird creepy fetishes here.

        1. ktbear

          You don’t?? Oh thank God, I can finally relax…

        2. Captain Oblivious

          The fetish doppelganger reveals itself. ….

          Wierd!

        3. Deanatay

          Hey, stop that! HWA is right, no judging

      2. Reltzik

        If you want it standing, don’t bang it on the shin.

        1. clif

          Actually, I’m pretty sure what Rose meant was banging someone on the end table with the shin rather than being banged on the shin. If I’m wrong, I’m going to continue believing it anyway.

        2. a/snow/mous/e

          Obviously inferior to femur-banging.

        3. Opus the Poet

          Tibias are the second-strongest bone in the body after femurs, so are equally good for beating people over the head with.

        4. Me et al.

          In this and in the usual case, Rose most certainly was referring to the phenomenon of walking through a darkened room. Then during the inevitable connection of one’s shin to the end-table, one utters the epithet, “Fuck.” This is an expression implying sudden confusion at feeling pain, since the utterer has evidently forgot the location of the afformentioned end-table.

        5. Reltzik

          Yes, yes. I was deliberately (and I thought obviously) misinterpreting it for the sake of a funny joke.

          …. okay, that’s a lie, it was for the sake of a pun.

      3. Punaparta

        >end table shin-bang
        Drop the ‘shin’ and you get Nina Einstein.

        1. Schpoonman

          Would you believe that was the very first scene of Code Geass I’d ever seen?

          *clicking through channels* “Oh, Code Geass, I heard that was pretty good. Wait. Is she–? With the ta–? Wow, Adult Swim, I’m surprised you got this past the censors.”

    3. Lumino

      Maybe they are waiting until Toedad inevitably empties his bowels.

      1. clif

        That would be a reason to stop waiting.

        Though I’m thinking that having a story straight for the cops might be a good use of time.

      2. Needfuldoer

        Then the Super Adventure Club rebuilds him into Darth Toedad?

        1. Ray

          At least it’s not Phoenix Per-Dad

    4. Foxhack

      Trust me, humor that seems out of place is a perfectly normal response to seeing a parent pass away in front of you.

      At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

      1. Foxhack

        On that note, a lot of my extended family did NOT appreciate it when I tried to cheer people up during my parents’ wakes, ten years apart from each other.

        Especially considering I was supposed to be the quiet one.

        1. Zaxares

          It’s not your fault, although it’s not really their fault either. Everybody copes with grief differently. Some people cry, some people laugh, some people bottle it up and channel it into weird little obsessions like making sure the funeral HAS to go a certain way etc. Some people won’t feel anything at all and then out of the blue, several years later, they see or do something that reminds me of the deceased and THEN it all comes out.

    5. Norah

      I think it’s gonna happen next time she sees her mom.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Yeah, I bet Joyce’s first “what the fuck” comes out while Carol gushes about how Ross ‘WaS jUsT tRyInG tO dO tHe RiGhT THiNg!’.

    6. Bicycle Bill

      Banging her knee or shin isn’t going to be enough.  Even when Becky was kidnapped at gunpoint, all that drew from her was a “DAMN IT!”.

      But it was a meaningful, heartfelt, complete and total “Damn it.”

    7. K^2

      Easy for you to talk about time and place.

  5. Nono

    I bet my dad could beat up your- oh.

    1. King Daniel

      My dad beat up your dad

      In the faaaaace

      1. JA

        With their penises.

        1. King Daniel

          For a nickel.

        2. Jack

          The penis is his hammer.

        3. Needfuldoer

          “So, I see your Schwartz is as big as mine. Let’s see how well you… handle it.“

        4. Opus the Poet

          Rick Moranis was a world treasure…

        5. JA

          He ain’t dead, he still is.

        6. Roborat

          He just took 24 years off to raise his kids after his wife died, but he is back now.

        7. Needfuldoer

          He still is, but he also was.

          Harold Ramis was the Ghostbusters alum who’s since passed (2014).

    2. Miri

      That’s basically where my mind went too…

      I suspect though that may be a game that children with violent fathers who have hair-trigger tempers, no self control, no empathy, etc, try not to play…

      1. Pablo360

        that or that’s where it started and those kids just had no conception that their life was anything other than normal and, in fact, universal

        1. thejeff

          That was always kind of my impression. The kids with violent fathers would emulate that expression, since that’s how the world worked.

  6. Yumi

    Yeah, Mike was definitely there for real. He headed upstairs when the strip was outside.

    1. King Daniel

      And when we next go outside, Mike will have just gone downstairs again!

      1. Dean

        He’s like Chuck Cunningham in Happy Days , always just stepped offscreen.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Or the landlady from Cheers.

  7. Dafydd

    Well shit, that’s pretty ambiguous. RIP Toedad.

    I guess now Joyce and Dina are gonna have to go home for the funeral, and Joyce will finally have to decide which family members she’ll have to cut out of her life to truly grow…

    1. Yumi

      Did you mean Joyce and Becky, or do you think Dina would go with Becky for support? I both want and don’t want to see that.

      1. Dafydd

        I was thinking Dina would go too, out of wanting to support Becky. (Also, it would certainly provide lots of dramatic potential for Willis to work with.)

    2. Nono

      Don’t you mean unambiguous?

      1. Dafydd

        Yeah. I was just too tired when I typed it. 😉

    3. CC

      Mostly I’m surprised he’s still getting char-tagged

      1. BigDogLittleCat

        Soon enough he’ll get toe-tagged.

    4. Undrave

      I can see Joyce exploding if the congregation don’t feel even a tiny bit responsible for his death and somehow blame Becky. They trusted the first a-hole waving money in their face who claimed to be a Christian and Ross ended up DEAD at the hands of said a-hole. Anything else they might think about Becky is immaterial, his death happened because they let trusted Blaine.

      1. Regalli

        Oh, yeah. Her and Becky both. Some random stranger shows up out of fucking NOWHERE, offers to pay the rest of the (implied to be substantial) bail himself, and you don’t even bother to do a cursory Google search? (Blaine does not cover his tracks very well. While I don’t think he advertises how evil he is on Facebook, I can’t imagine his cover story would pass twenty minutes of scrutiny while he’s offering to pay that bail on a whim, value unseen. Hell, since as far as we know his claim to the church was also ‘Good Concerned Christian’, and I DOUBT he’s all that involved in the church, I don’t even think it could stand up to Facebook Stalking levels of scrutiny!)

        Seriously. Joyce is gonna be INCENSED. Becky’s gonna be at her fucking limit. It will be intense and AMAZING.

  8. Cattleprod

    When this hostage situation is over, let’s avoid the partisan blame game about whose father killed who.

    1. BigDogLittleCat

      Let’s not bicker and argue about who killed who.

      1. King Daniel

        There were good fathers on many sides, here. Many sides.

        1. He Who Abides

          And they spent three years with this whole “Toedad, Toedad, Toedad”, and it turned out to be a hoax.

        2. Deanatay

          Let’s not cast blame too widely here. This dad’s from a good family, lots of potential there. Bright fut – nevermind.

      2. Doom Shepherd

        And I want his only daughter to look upon me as her old dad, in a very real, and legally binding sense.

      3. FacelessDeviant

        Dont worry, I get your Monty Python reference 🙂

    2. bcb

      Of course YOU would say you want to avoid “blaming” anyone, because you know YOUR father is the one responsible. Why else would you say you wanted to avoid playing the blame game? It’s definitely not MY father who did it!

    3. Dean

      The real lesson was the dads who got killed along the way.

      1. Chris Phoenix

        All Dads Matter

  9. Kyrik Michalowski

    Amazi-girl/Amber taking responsibility for her dad murdering someone is very her, and that’s not a positive thing. Also I assume that Joyce is only pointing this out since she’s surprised that Amber is Amazi-girl, which why didn’t she believe it already?

    1. Jamie

      Yes.

    2. Regalli

      God, if this arc does not end with everyone involved in SO MUCH therapy, I will be very, very stressed.

      1. Opus the Poet

        You just gave away the ending of the comic, everybody getting together 10 years later after much therapy and maybe a few years in prison for some.

    3. Roborat

      I suspect she is blaming herself for not being able to prevent the death.

  10. Screwball

    Well, Blaine/Mystery Villain really stubbed that toe badly…

  11. poofdepoof

    I’m starting to lose track of the reveals and stuff… when was Amazi-Girl’s identity as Amber revealed to Becky?

    1. Doctor_Who

      >a href=”https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/03-when-it-crumbles/finishthis/”>Here.

      1. Doctor_Who

        Welp, screwed that up. I meant here.

    2. Mra

      She took off her mask shortly after taking out her guards and telling Becky about the hostage situation, to reveal herself as someone she can talk to. likely because Amber is someone who knows what it is like to have a terrible father.

      1. Jamie

        No, that’d be the healthy useful thing. Amber was taking off the mask in case Becky needed any superheroics done on her behalf. In my read.

        1. Captain Oblivious

          No no. Amber revealed herself so Becky could trust her, by knowing she wasn’t secretly Dorothy.

  12. CrazyJ

    No mention of the part of the sentence that they didn’t know yet, that the masked dude they have tied upstairs is Amber’s dad.

  13. Mra

    Well, I had been holding out hope that Ross might make it up until now, more to spare Becky from being an orphan and the others from the trauma of watching a man die, rather than any fondness I had for his unpleasant character, but now it is official and there’s no going back from it.

  14. Stephen Bierce

    And when I wind up in the hay/It’s ONLY hay (hey hey)–Lee Majors in The Fall guy

  15. BBCC

    Bye Ross.

    So I guess we’re saving the F bomb for Carol coming to visit, huh?

  16. Bagge

    Hard to know what to say in these circumstances.

  17. Lawzlo

    …So is Amazi-Girl just going to hang out here until the police arrive? Is she going to silently Batman out just as they get there, or is she actually talking to the police? Because they may have some questions for her, like about the vigilante thing.

    1. SuperZero

      She might change out of her costume first.

    2. Vulcanodon

      It does seem like this would be a good time to gtfo if she wants to avoid the police

      1. G97

        I honestly think this is the end of Amazi-girl. Amber is probably mentally and physically exhausted after tonight and her main source of trauma is most likely going to jail. I’m hoping everyone involved is given therapy but especially Amber as Blaine refused that comfort in exchange for self defence classes.

        1. King Daniel

          It might be the end of Amazi-Girl’s adventures in vigilantism, but DID alters don’t vanish just like that.

          (Nor, I gather, is attempting to make that happen a recommended approach.)

    3. CJ

      Well, in this case, she might get away with „I told them I was Amazi-Girl to get out and call for help. naturally, I don’t know who she is.“

  18. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Wait, so is Mike a psychopomp now? Like in “Dead like Me?”

    1. Caspar Mulders

      That is a truly terrifying prospect for starting off ones afterlife.

    2. Mopey

      He’ll ferry your mom to the afterlife for a nickel.

  19. Reltzik

    No, Becky. No, Joyce. She’s Amazi-Girl.

    It’s like none of the cast knows how to read the tags…

    1. King Daniel

      Willis has even previously commented on how they really should be looking at the tags.

  20. lightsabermario

    I know it would ruin the flow and drama of the scene to do so, but seeing as none of you are EMTs, you really should wait for said EMTs before declaring him dead and covering his face. It’s their job, and they’ve resuscitated people that have looked pretty far gone to the untrained eye.

    EMT when he arrives: “Ooo, look who knows so much, huh? Well, it just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY DEAD. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.”

    1. jmsr7

      Good point, death is a process.

      That said, not breathing and no heartbeat usually mean dead. Though you do have about 5 minutes before it’s irreversible brain death. Not that a bunch of 18 year olds would be likely to know that. Plus, EMT’s aren’t allowed to declare someone dead; they have to take them to the hospital for a doctor to do that. They’re supposed to keep trying to keep them alive. There are limits though. Looking for someone’s head after an automobile accident decapitation is a reasonable excuse to not even bother trying.

      1. BBCC

        Also, a bunch of 18 year olds aren’t really equipped to reverse a death from being smacked in the head with a hammer.

      2. Some1

        I suppose there is a 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% chance that the beheaded guy is secretly Deadpool.

        1. Regalli

          Wolverine can also regenerate from that, sometimes!

          It makes no damn sense HOW, but he can!

          (… Speaking of Deadpool, Wolverine, and regenerations, does Deadpool’s whole general deal mean he’s a Krakoan citizen in the comics right now? Or eligible to be one, anyway? Mutant stuff is complicated.)

        2. Justin P Yates

          Since Deadpool wasn’t born a mutant, instead gaining his abilities via the Weapon X Program, he doesn’t qualify for Krakoan citizenship.

        3. adam Black

          what about Mutates, like spiderman?

        4. Regalli

          That I know! Mutates don’t count (I think, in the context of the Hickman lore, they count as Homo Novis or whatever the other ‘potential future of humanity’ are,) so we have things like the Fantastic Four vs X-Men book at the moment, which is basically a fight over Franklin Richards, who is a mutant.

          (Don’t ask me how mutates are classed as a future evolution of humanity, but it’s long been established the children of mutates are considered mutants. I don’t know.)

      3. Captain Oblivious

        Yep. The valid reasons for a regular first aider (i.e not-a-doctor) to declare death are the D’s:
        Decapitation
        Decomposition
        Dickishness
        and (maybe)
        Da Plague (I’m not dead yet. He says he’s not dead. I’m feeling better…)

    2. Regalli

      AG appeared to still be on the phone with (almost certainly) 911 as of the last panel two strips ago – the screen in that comic was bright white, and it’s dimmed now. Which suggests that the scene change is covering up a couple minutes of timeskip.

      It doesn’t take long for permanent loss of brain function to set in. Especially since he was probably unconscious at least in part from head trauma. If the EMTs still weren’t there when he stopped breathing, I don’t think there’s any chance of him actually waking up, even if they restored vital functions.

      1. Regalli

        Also, the fact that they went off the call during that timeskip is probably a cue in and of itself. It was already on when Becky arrived in the basement and stayed on through her last words and four panels of prolonged silence. AG wouldn’t hang up until the operator said it was okay to stop trying, I think.

    3. Chris

      Last I heard, EMTs don’t get to decide someone is dead unless it’s blatantly obvious (think decapitation). In a situation like this, they transport, and the decision is reserved for the doctor at the hospital.

      1. brute

        welp. they declared my dad dead and he had gone in his sleep. so i’m not sure that’s a steadfast rule.

        1. Segnosaur

          Plus, in the case of something like murder, you may not want to move a body because police would want the scene as untouched as possible so they can collect evidence. Moving a body which is dead (even it it isn’t as clear as a decapitation) to rush a corpse to the hospital would be a problem.

        2. Wizard

          Several years ago, I came home from work only to find a couple of women screaming for help. Since no one else seemed to be helping, I went to check it out. They’d come to check on a friend of theirs who lived in my apartment complex, only to find him lying on the floor, not moving and with blood on his shirt. I called 911, and the cops and EMTs swooped in. I knew the guy was dead when the EMTs went in and almost immediately came back out.
          Worst part of the story? Turns out the asshole idiot who shot the guy was trying to kill someone else, and only murdered this guy by mistake.

    4. FacelessDeviant

      And performing first aid and CPR would even serve to lessen said death state.

    5. Mra

      They only have a couple of minutes window time where resuscitation is an option, and the EMT’s haven’t even shown up yet.

    6. Opus the Poet

      As The Guy who was declared dead and told the EMTs to be careful moving me because I had a broken leg, when they were getting ready to put me in the body bag, you can be declared dead in situations that have no other possible outcome (hit by/with a truck going 60 MPH (100 km/hr)) when you have no pulse or respiration and you have already started to cool in the rain.

      I don’t know the extent of Ross’ visible wounds after the second fight with Blaine, but I think the same thing may apply here, obviously fatal wounds and a body without P&R.

  21. abysswatcher1993

    Just a few hours Joyce was giggling with unbelief about Amber saying she was Amazi-Girl. I hope this is a lesson to not underestimate introverted people. I mean, only an idiot wouldn’t notice Clark Kent is Superman.

    1. jmsr7

      This has been covered before. The Clark Kent “disguise” involves a helluva lot of fine acting, not just putting on glasses.

      1. clif

        Also hypnotic vision if I remember my retconning. I think the title was something like the Master Hypnotist of Metropolis, where the title was a red herring except it turned out the the real (and unintentional) hypnotist was Superman, that being the explanation of why everyone saw a distorted view of Clark Kent that made his disguise work for all those years.

        1. adam Black

          Nah, the real story is Superman Kisses everyone he saves, preemptively giving them amnesia about his secret identity.

          Even Villians. Lex has seen so much tongue action its destroyed his ability to hold down healthy Hetereosexual Relationships with non Kryptonians. Not that he can remember.

          Perry White …. second base.

    2. Mra

      Given that Amber knifed Joyce’s would-be rapist, I would not think it would be that unbelievable.

  22. Kravis

    HOLY MOTHER FORKING SHIRT BALLS!!!

    AMBER is Amazi-Girl?!?

    What the hay, indeed!

    1. clif

      This again? Come on. We all know it’s Sal.

  23. Laladoria

    I’m kinda waiting for Ruth to bust in, way too late, to help everyone.

    1. ElectricBlue

      Oh shit yeah I’d already forgotten that Ruth knows (a small fraction of) what’s going on. I’m conflicted… I want Ruth to be involved in this storyline and help the others, but I’m worried that anything she tried to do at this point (now that the immediate danger is resolved) would just end up making things worse in some sort of horribly ironic twist 🙁

  24. Newllend(henryvolt)

    Joyce and Becky probably love her more now that they know Amber and Amazi are one and the same. That aside the cold and fortunate truth is that this is determine fate for every far right extremist out there who don’t themselves from flying to close to the sun. It’s almost a miracle he made it out alive the last time given his self-destructive actions.

  25. JessWitt

    Oh no don’t turn on each other, kids! This whole night’s already reached its nadir already.

  26. NinjaNick

    Blame it on Ballpeen Blaine!

  27. Axel

    People aren’t responsible for what their adult children do, you’re super not responsible for what your adult dad did, Becky.

    1. Axel

      **Amber

      1. MatthewTheLucky

        **both

    2. Axel

      also thank fuck I was worried he would live. at least we can eliminate one shitty dad and probably the only person from Joyce and Becky’s church who would literally kidnap or kill them (not denying that others would -try- to force them to go to conversion therapy).

      1. Regalli

        I really, really wish the congregation luck when they see Joyce and Becky next.

        They’re gonna fucking need it.

        And WE are going to need popcorn.

        1. Segnosaur

          I also wonder how faz and Blaine’s new wife (can’t remember her name) will react.

          Do they know how… Low… Blaine might go? Will they blame Amber for all of this (and thus become anti-amazigirl villains themselves?? The wife was pleasant enough talking to amber but was a party to blaine hiding in the car, and blamed her for money problems.

        2. Captain Oblivious

          To be fair to her, Blaine was telling Faz’s mom that he couldn’t afford Faz’s tuition because he was forced to pay Amber’s. Anyone who goes that far always regularly adds detail to further desparage the target.

        3. Regalli

          It’s been implied in Patreon strips that Yuri (that’s her name) is at least vaguely aware of Blaine’s real job. Uncertain about Faz, given how young he is. We haven’t really seen enough of Yuri to get a good read on her, but it’s been fairly heavily implied that Blaine is Faz’s biological father in this universe as in the Walkyverse, and that Yuri’s young enough that this would have involved grooming and statutory rape. (Side note: FUCK BLAINE. So much. The one thing I will say in Toedad’s favor, we have no indication he might have ever done THAT.)

          It’s possible, based off implications from the Walkyverse (Blaine got in trouble with the Korean mobsters he was working for for ‘messing around with their daughters’) that Yuri’s got mob ties herself, which would both explain some things about their relationship and raise questions about other aspects. If she does, then it’s probable she has at least SOME idea what he’s capable of – Blaine’s implied to be a money launderer or accountant, but I also consider the odds that he abuses her and Faz like he abused Stacy and Amber pretty damn high.

          Now, would Yuri know Blaine went full supervillain, paying an apparently-exorbitant bail and buying body armor for the sake of this madcap fucking scheme, plus assorted other expenses? There, I’m CERTAIN the answer is ‘no’, because if she finds out how much he’s spending on this, he can’t exactly claim that forcing Amber out of college so he doesn’t have to pay her tuition anymore is about helping family finances. I’m not sure how she’s going to react to ‘he killed someone’ (because again, possible mob ties,) but she is definitely going to be unamused to hear about this fresh bullshit.

          I can see Yuri going either way (antagonist or quiet fade-out,) but I’m pretty sure Faz is young enough that he wouldn’t be on board with kidnapping Amber, but didn’t have the option to turn down assisting Blaine when he asked.

    3. Regalli

      If you had any means of stopping Blaine from being the literal worst, AmbG, we all know you would have used them by now. Unfortunately, he’s a fucking cockroach.

    4. Keulen

      Yeah I’m finding it weird that Amber/AG feels like it’s somehow her fault that her dad killed Becky’s dad.

      1. Sam

        Abuse victims tend to feel responsible for things that are even clearly not their fault, especially in regards to their abuser hurting other people (because Blaine did start everything to regain a sense of control over Amber, he is basically obsessed with having that control again considering how far he was willing to go).

      2. BigDogLittleCat

        Amber seems to believe everything is her fault.

  28. ElectricBlue

    This is probably the most inconsequential thing I could comment on right now, but it seems odd to see “what the hay” spelled like that. From hearing the phrase out loud, I always thought of it as “what the hey”, but I guess it’s really just a phonetic substitute so the spelling doesn’t matter much.

    1. woobie

      It is “what the hey”. Kind of a soft “what the hell”, which Joyce won’t say.
      It’s a pun on the Fall Guy MeTV reruns.

  29. Hex Hornet

    “Sudden Realization” has Ninja Skillz™!

  30. Zatar

    Well I guess we officially know whose dad would win in a fight now.

  31. DarkoNeko

    Toedad “can’t…breathe…”

  32. Arianod

    I don’t think hay has got anything do to with it, Joyce.

  33. Simon

    Toedad is now officially Toweldad.

    Too soon?

    1. Schpoonman

      Hey, it’s not “Toedead”.

  34. Tan

    Dumbing of Age Book 10: Dude, Look Around, We’re All Sorry

  35. Peter Lewerin

    Mr. Willis, I started following your comics some 300 years ago or whatever, near the end of “It’s Walky!”.

    It strikes me that this is exactly the same kind of strip that got me hooked once upon a time, but so much better in execution. It wasn’t bad back then, but you have grown so much as an artist and a storyteller, without losing the voice or anything of the courage, strength, honesty, and heart.

    In the words of my ancestors, blessed be thine handiwork.

  36. Alan In DC

    Joyce’s reaction reminded me of a one-frame comic I saw: An eye doctor is fitting a middle-age Superman with a first pair of glasses and says something along the lines of, “Okay, these should take care of that problem you’ve been … holy s*** you’re Clark Kent!”

  37. Alan In DC

    (Joyce:) Oh by the way … I don’t want my jacket back now.

    1. Geneseepaws

      If you wash it out, I’ll bet Clifford would tak…. uooops, never mind.

      1. BigDogLittleCat

        It is red!

  38. Vulcanodon

    Becky doesn’t have to run now. She always had too much courage to run.

    Also she’ll inherit the house, which will be a financial resource for college. And she won’t need to represent awful congresswomen in elections.

    This arc has a way to go yet. I have the feeling the danger isn’t over; it’ll be from the police now. And Blaine will likely “escape”.

    1. Geneseepaws

      We don’t know who owns the house. Toeded May have put in his will that the church gets it, or the deed may already be held in the church’s name. And Totded just making the mortgage payments for the church.
      Apparently There is apocrypha that DW has seen action like that, IRL.

      1. Needfuldoer

        When the girls went back to La Porte after the first kidnapping, Becky says there’s a mortgage. Whether she’s just assuming or not remains to be seen.

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/mortgage/

        Willis’s story goes (and correct me if I’m wrong) that after his parents divorced, his mom sold the house and gave all the proceeds to her church. Said church was financially overextended from building an addition, and had to foreclose even with the donation, so it was like trying to smother a bonfire with the money.

      2. Vulcanodon

        Well that’s a bummer. Sure would be nice if something would go Becky’s way. At least she can be safe from her dad now. Even if he’s alive, he ain’t gettin’ out again.

  39. Kastor

    Wait
    I thought “What the hay?” was just a mlp/brony thing. Is that actually a colloquialism somewhere?

    1. DalNiente

      I don’t think I’ve ever seen it written down before, and I always imagined it spelled “hey,” but yeah. It’s a thing kids who aren’t allowed to swear say. At least it was when I was growing up, and that was the 1990s.

    2. ensiform

      Try to get out more.

    3. Vulcanodon

      I’ve heard it before in other contexts, and it’s in the Urban Dictionary. Though I do tend to hear it in AJ’s voice.

  40. Pylgrim

    Pretty sure that her point is that she is sorry that her being Amazi-Girl is what ultimately got her dad killed.

  41. Jake'm

    Y’know things are gettin’ tense when Becky drops the use of nicknames. Pretty sure she referred to her as Ambster for ages!

    1. Bicycle Bill

      Or for at least the last s⃥e⃥v⃥e⃥n⃥-⃥a⃥n⃥d⃥-⃥a⃥-⃥h⃥a⃥l⃥f⃥ ⃥w⃥e⃥e⃥k⃥s⃥ ⃥o⃥f⃥ ⃥D⃥u⃥m⃥b⃥i⃥v⃥e⃥r⃥s⃥e⃥ ⃥t⃥i⃥m⃥e⃥ ten-plus years that this comic strip has been running.

  42. Sirksome

    I don’t know. I feel like we’ve spent too much time around Ross’ corpse now. It’s kind of unsettling to just have a dead body laying there while they talk. Unless he’s still alive?…Still I’m getting creeped out by it.

    1. Needfuldoer

      I think only a few minutes have gone by since Becky and Dina came downstairs. A couple strips cut away to everybody outside, but in my mind that’s happening concurrently.

    2. ensiform

      The cloth over his head is a great clue that you’re onto something! He’s alive, even though they’re all saying he’s dead! You’ve figured out this strip.

  43. Rabisch

    Dina is Adorable. She’s with Becky in all her spirit.

  44. Needfuldoer

    Well, there’s Blaine’s murder charge. Doesn’t this mean the bros are now accessories to felony murder, since they were complicit in the kidnapping?

    1. Bagge

      Now, now. They are good students. Very good students. Good families. Very promising futures. There is no reason to shine a spoitligt here…

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/01-glower-vacuum/liability/

      1. BBCC

        I still want to throw something at the administrator there.

        1. Regalli

          God, yes. It pains me that that little bit part will never get comeuppance.

          (I also low-key hope to see The World’s Best Convenience Store Clerk again, for opposite reasons. I want good things for them.)

      2. Sirksome

        You joke but there is a very good chance some or all of the douche bros get off lightly. Probably not even jail time. Might even be back in classes by tomorrow.

    2. ensiform

      There are very fine people on both sides

    3. Shadotterdan

      I don’t know how the house caught fire I swear!

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