263

Imprinted
Posted on June 20, 2020 by David M Willis

263 thoughts on “Imprinted”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    discover? =|

  2. Doctor_Who

    Sarah the Nihilist Attorney: Thursdays at 8!

    Watch her win case after case by convincing the jury that this is all bullshit, and it doesn’t matter how many people her client killed because we were all sentenced to death the moment we were born anyway.

    1. Regalli

      I buy the cynicism from a lawyer (or lawyer-in-training – doesn’t take much studying of law to notice all the fucked up little loopholes therein.) Sarah just needs to work on her Dealing With Clients And Judges Mode. (Like Customer Service, while also projecting how much you Know Things about Complicated, Dense Subjects.)

      I also would not be at all shocked if Sarah’s eventual focus is civil law. Or something like IP where you’re not really dealing with laypeople.

      1. Inkyzuzi

        I think also the fact that Blaine personally knows a lot of cops (not to mention whatever leverage he has on them) enough to be able to confidently threaten Mike’s life just adds to Sarah’s case here

        1. King Daniel

          Counterpoint: Blaine is supposed to be a mob stooge (i.e. a low-rank peon), and the mob will not be happy with everything he’s just pulled.

        2. Abbe_Faria

          That seems to be general consensus that even if he doesn’t get any legal comeuppance, the mob is not going to be happy with how this stunt of his turned out. Best to look at this as Sarah’s coping mechanism for everything that just happened is to go into full “we live in a society” mode.

        3. Regalli

          Also she woke up at 4 AM to a fire alarm for this. She wouldn’t be in a great mood here even if she’d been on the rescue team and not a hostage.

          If I WEREN’T expecting Blaine to die mysteriously, I’d say realistically it’s somewhere in between the two – Dorothy is right that they have mountains of evidence, but Sarah’s right that Blaine has options. For a start, he could move to get shitloads of it excluded (the Mike stuff, for instance, could be considered ‘irrelevant’ to the kidnapping/murder as they’re separate incidents and prejudicial against the defendant. Lawyer wouldn’t even have to be in the mob’s pocket for that one, just a lawyer.) And given he has enough knowledge of the mob for him and the boss’s grandson to recognize each other immediately and apparently not a lot of actual power, a flip and a plea deal is a very real possibility there.

        4. Regalli

          That said, a plea deal would still involve pleading guilty (to a lesser charge, but still) and turning on the mob, which would definitely end Blaine’s life as he currently knows it.

          Or, depending on who finds out, just ending it. See previous ‘if I weren’t expecting a sudden mysterious death’ statement.

        5. thejeff

          There’s also the Representative and several well off and connected parents backing the kids, which will help.
          I’d expect the Mike stuff to be admissable, since he’ll likely be charged with that attack as well. Different charges, same trial.

        6. Thanatos

          But a lawyer could move to have the charges separated since they were from different incidents. That’s a legitimate request since he could easily be guilty of one without being guilty of the other and evidence from one would affect the other. It would likely be granted. And that separation would prevent even bringing up anything to do with one case in the other one. Not a total barrier, but it can make a series of evidence look more circumstantial than it really is.

        7. thejeff

          Separate incidents, but still linked together, since that entire incident happened when Mike found them staking out Becky’s place and the whole plot revolved around kidnapping her.

        8. Twitcher

          A little off topic, but I expect that when Walky’s grades are brought up, his mother will persuade the dean to let him stay at school, damaging Walky’s social standing among more ethical students and faculty.

        9. clif

          Well, his grades were Amazily okay, if not great, up to the kidnapping, so clearly it had an impact. Surely that should be taken into account.

        10. Lokitsu

          The big hurdle for Blaine is the murder charge. He might get away with self defense if his lawyer spins it right, but its going to be tricky. Although, Toedad being out on bail for assault and kidnapping(?) might play in Blaine’s favor.

        11. Droewyn

          But Blaine’s on record as having footed the bill in the first place. That’s all aside from the witness statements from every single kid.

      2. belladonnalin

        Also: Sarah is a Black woman in America.

        1. RedCat

          And studying law (iirc).

      3. Mr. Random

        I mean they’re not paying her, so she doesn’t need to put on her “face”.

    2. Zach

      Someone call Adult Swim, she sounds much better than Bird Man

    3. Jay

      Jesus… I mean, yeah, but… OK.

      *starts drinking heavily*

  3. Icalasari

    How far back did you have this ready, again?

    1. Midnight Jon

      to be fair, he could’ve had this ready on 9/10/2010 and Sarah would be exactly as correct

    2. TechheadZero

      Willis’s typical buffer is around three months, so probably mid-March.

    3. Jamie

      I’m gonna say December 4, 1969 for no apparent reason.

      1. Roborat

        Wow, prepared the buffer before he was even born, that is some serious planning there.

  4. Newllend(henryvolt)

    Well I’d say that’s a job well done, so who’s up for some swarma?

    1. abysswatcher1993

      That would be the most awkward Swarma scene ever.

    2. Corneel

      [google]Did you mean: shawarma?[/google]

      1. clif

        That’s what makes it awkward.

  5. Opus the Poet

    Someone has been reading ahead in the history book.

  6. Reltzik

    … so is the comments section reading DoA, or is DoA reading the comments section?

    1. cookie1995

      Why not both?

      1. clif

        Or Willis knows his audience so well that he doesn’t have to read the comment section and gets the same effect.

        1. Chris Phoenix

          Or Willis is talking about reality, and half the U.S. can’t handle it, so the remaining comments section also talks about reality.

          Still thinking about handcuffs over-tightened on purpose to make the victim react. Occasionally the victim breaks free and you get to shoot him. More often you just take him down and then charge him with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. Win either way!

        2. Usmagrad87

          Don’t forget the possibility of using a taser in your scenario for the sadistic pleasure of seeing what large electrical jolts do to the human nervous system.

        3. Illithid

          Half the US is highly insulated from reality.
          And they raise their kids that way, too.

          Despite my icon, I’m not black, but I know horrifying injustice when I see it. Sometimes, at least.

  7. Stephen Bierce

    Happy Octobeteenth.

  8. Mollyscribbles

    look, I’m not saying it’s not realistic, I just generally find it unsatisfying when fictional assholes can get away with it with minimal consequences.

    1. clif

      This is in contrast to how satisfying it is when real assholes get away with it with minimal consequences?

      1. Michael Haneline

        @clif I think that’s the point Molly was making? We turn to fiction because reality leaves us unsatisified?

    2. StClair

      Thus all these pages of fictional assholes getting beaten up.
      When reality disappoints, some turn to violent fantasies.

      1. Nono

        The problem is that we got that with the first Amazi-Girl vs Ross sequence, and then he got out anyway.

        Fiction being escapism only works when the bad guys stay beaten down.

        1. EnerPrime

          There are decades and decades worth of superhero comics that disprove that assertion.

        2. Jdorr

          Yes but generally even when a super hero comic villain does get away with it they still have massive setbacks and generally still go to jail for atleast a little bit(or the revolving door that is Arkham) and/or are usually the exception who half of hating them is that they can’t be touched

        3. EnerPrime

          He did suffer massive setbacks, though. Even if Blaine does get out of jail time (which is by no means a sure thing) he still got his ass kicked multiple times and burned his bridges with both the Brown’s church and likely whatever organized crime ties he has. And he can’t even pretend it’s not his own daughter that kicked his ass anymore. Even if Willis decides to let him remain a possible future threat, here and now he is defeated and has lost almost all of his power.

  9. Lines

    That’s a good attitude for a lawyer to have Sarah

    1. Fart Captor

      It kind of is? Optimism is nice but one needs to accept the reality of the challenges they face if they are actually going to overcome them

      1. clif

        On the other hand, convincing the client of the futility of their case is generally not the path to big bucks. The preferred route is to convince the client of their winning chances and let them find out otherwise after they’ve run up all the legal fees. And then of course, there’s still appeals to bill for.

        1. C.T Phipps

          It is if you want them to plea deal or settle.

        2. Sunny

          Eat Arby’s.

        3. Tan

          Blowing smoke up the client’s posterior about over-inflated chances is a good way is a good way to quickly become known as an incompetent lawyer. You tell them this’ll be an easy win and you lose, either you managed to fumble an easy win or you just plain have no idea what you’re doing. Either way they aren’t coming back to you and aren’t recommending you to a friend. You give them a realistic-to-slightly-pessimistic view of how bad things are for them and you get them the best feasible outcome (and make sure they know along the way that it’s the best feasible outcome), they can respect what you do even if they don’t like the outcome itself. Especially if they’ve been around the block with the legal system before.

          There’s a balance to this as you don’t want them to feel you’ve given up on them. But unfounded optimism definitely isn’t a long-term business plan.

      2. abysswatcher1993

        Never discard optimism when doing a defense. If everyone was a pessimist when fighting at courts the cases would end quickly because of defeatism. Even if you are guilty, you want your lawyer to get you a fair judgement, and a lawyer has to do what they were paid for. There’s no place for pessimism in business, nor in court.

        1. Fart Captor

          If pessimism meant people just gave up, Sarah would not be going into law. Or doing *anything*

        2. Victor

          94% of state and 97% of federal criminal cases end in plea bargain convictions. A high percentage of those are innocent people who feel like they have no alternative to a guilty plea. And many of them are right, because going to trial frequently results in sentences that are literally decades longer than the plea offer. We’re already there, pessimism has won.

        3. abysswatcher1993

          Just because that is reality doesn’t mean it has to be. Time for some anarchy.

    2. Bicycle Bill

      I do have to agree with Sarah to some degree here.  There may be consequences, but in many cases they are insignificant in comparison to the crime.  Case in point:  Blaine appeared, dressed in ‘armor’ and carrying a weapon (seriously, how many *normal* people walk around with a hammer the same way people walk around with a wallet or a cellphone?), which to me would clearly show some degree of premeditation … so murder, either in the first or second degree, would seem warranted.  However, due to the congestion of the courts and the willingness of a lot of DAs to get another notch on their gun butt (a conviction), this will most likely get plea bargained down to manslaughter or assault resulting in unintentional death.

      And then, of course, we have something called ‘indeterminate sentencing’, which means a person convicted of something might be sentenced to “up to ten years in prison”, for example … which always leaves the door open for early release.  Toss in the concept of “good time” where a prisoner can earn time off their sentence (usually one day out of four) if they serve their time and don’t make waves, and even ten years is now down to seven and a half.

      Not to mention the possibility of parole, once all the uproar dies down and is forgotten in three three or four years…..

      Yeah, I’m definitely right in there with Sarah on this part, anyway.

      1. Geneseepaws

        Except Blaine isn’t just arrogant, he exudes Hubris! and that is the one flaw that cannot be tolerated. He’s gonna get the book thrown at him, And… …uh, are we on book Ten or book Eleven, now?

        1. Mart

          This would be a good time for Willis to Kickstar an Omnibus edition then 🙂

        2. Silas

          Still 10

    3. Jay

      At least she won’t be surprised when the justice system disappoints her.

    4. Reltzik

      So what type of lawyer does Sarah want to BE, anyway?

      1. clif

        Effective.

        1. Reltzik

          By have an attitude that nothing of worth can be accomplished?

        2. clif

          Effective AND Realistic. Kind of a twofer.

    5. JetstreamGW

      How is it a bad attitude for a lawyer? If you go in assuming you’re going to have to fight tooth and nail… You will.

  10. Chris

    Dorothy, do you realize that you are a college student, not a police detective?

    1. Doctor_Who

      Dorothy barely realizes she’s not the president.

    2. AeromechanicalAce

      Dorothy is still in the Idealistic liberal kid Phase where she thinks Laws and Justice actually have something in common.

      Give her some time, she’s smart, She’ll learn.

      1. StClair

        and that Government has anything to do with either.

      2. abysswatcher1993

        Heh, you pessimist think that you are smart by moking those with good ideals. I may be jaded as fuck, but I know cynicism hasn’t solved any problem of society.

    3. Newllend(henryvolt)

      I’d still expect someone like Dorothy to be good at covering her bases.

    4. Reltzik

      It’s Dorothy. She thinks she can be everything.

    5. Hazel

      I identify with all three characters so much here. Dorothy, working hard to get all information to solve this issues and get some grasp of control. Sarah, knowing disregard for the systems that govern us. Walky, silent trauma.

      1. clif

        Probably plot twist. Walky is thinking about McNuggets.

        1. RedCat

          Hey, they have their wheelhouses, he’s got his.

    6. Fart Captor

      Since one of more of the *actual* detectives is corrupt and the rest are, y’know, cops, it’s not a bad idea for them to collect their own evidence that can be shared with the media to make it harder for the Blaine’s mob connections to weasel him out of prosecution

      1. Bicycle Bill

        Right. “Share with the media” and try Blaine in the court of public opinion instead of a court of law.  There’s so many things wrong with that concept that I won’t even begin to explain them all except to say that this would contaminate a jury pool so badly they’d have to ask for a change of venue to someplace like Lower Slobbovia.

        1. Fart Captor

          Oh please. Think for five seconds. “Contaminating the jury pool” is only a concern if he actually gets tried. It’s unlikely his connections can keep him out of jail entirely, but the obvious move would be to try to pin the murder on one of his henchmen

          If he doesn’t get charged with murder, releasing their evidence or threatening to do so is likely gonna be their best option to force the issue. Failing that, the court of public opinion is still a lot better than NOTHING

        2. King Daniel

          Even if one of the college kids he got to work for him gets the actual killing-blow pinned on him, Blaine’s still looking at felony murder charges; that’s kind of the whole idea of it after all, that if you’re committing a non-murdery crime and someone dies during it for any reason – presto, felony murder.

          Incidentally, this means all of the students Blaine roped into his scheme also potentially get felony murder charges (including even Asher, if his involvement is uncovered during the investigation).

        3. Bicycle Bill

          Didn’t Joyce et al witness Blaine using the hammer on Ross (this strip, and the one that follows it)?  It’s kind of hard to shift the blame when there are six eyewitnesses all telling the same story.

        4. Fart Captor

          Again, that assumes somebody calls those witnesses. If the DA or a judge is on the take they can simply not call them.

          Even without mob connections, skepticism of the legal system is always wise. People with that much power should never be trusted to use it justly if people aren’t holding them to it

        5. thejeff

          Theoretically – though in this case that’s not going to happen. Not in a case as high profile as this – with a Congresscritter involved.

          If it somehow did, I agree that would be time to go public.

        6. Reltzik

          Yes, but who is the DA going to call as a witness?

          Putting Walky, Dina, or Amber on the stand would be… ill-advised. Sarah probably won’t be very cooperative with the authorities running the prosecution. Joyce… has a bit too much baggage that a mob lawyer could get into, and the resulting outbursts from her could hurt her credibility with the jury. That leaves us with Dorothy and Ethan.

          Dorothy is an intelligent, self-actualized young woman with an eye on being president and has been identified as a Hillary Clinton Jr, and I’m sure that the red state crowd of the jury wouldn’t hear hours upon hours upon hours of testimony from someone like that and just….

          …. crap.

          I guess it’s all on Ethan.

          (Yes, I’m being at least 20% facetious here.)

        7. Steve C.

          That’s beauty (ugh!) of felony murder law. Doesn’t matter who did the deed. You can be the guy who “forgot” to lock the back door to a store that a robber conveniently found unlocked. If the robber kills a clerk, you could still be charged even if you were home watching TV when it happened if the police can prove your involvement. (Caveat: All I know about how this works I learned from reading Hunter S. Thompson.)

        8. Reltzik

          Eh… not unless you were an accomplice or co-conspirator in a felony.

          …. or a prosecutor convinces a jury that you were. I’m guessing that Thompson’s coverage of Lisl Auman is what you’re referring to. In that case, the theory of the crime was that she had intended to commit burglary with several friends (one of whom shot a cop), rather than just retrieve her possessions as she claimed.

        9. Steve C.

          Reltzik–we’re on the same page. I meant to imply that the person who “forgot” to lock the door did so on purpose.

        10. Arioch

          What I know from first hand-ish experience though is even weirder. Years ago, I was at my mom’s (I think I was still living there at the time) and we got a phone call about my mom’s car. It had been stolen from the garage, without us noticing. We found out because the police found it. The thing is, they had to warn my mom that it was suspected that it had been used in a crime as a getaway vehicle. They told my mom that if it matched the car in the footage, she could be arrested as an accessory to armed robbery because she hadn’t realized it was stolen until the police called and she had to open the garage.

        11. thejeff

          It’s not like this isn’t going to be all over the media anyway

  11. Kyrik Michalowski

    They hated her because she spoke the truth.

    1. mm-s

      But she persisted.

  12. Alex Boston

    There are also the other guys in, what for lack of a better word, I will call Blaine’s gang. I believe that at least one of them could be convinced to plea bargain and testify against Blaine.

    1. clif

      Unless, of course, the person who would be in a position to offer the plea bargain has no interest in convicting Blaine.

      1. Kyle Voltti

        Well given that the frat bois all have rich daddies and Blain does not… those frat bois will probably flip on Blain…. unless of course Blain slips on some soap in the shower.

      2. tim gueguen

        That would require Blaine to have some sort of pull, or his bosses to think he’s worth putting effort into saving. We’ve seen no evidence yet that he has the former, or is of that much value to his bosses.

        1. King Daniel

          If Blaine actually had any pull with the mob, he would’ve gotten some actual mob goons to help with his scheme instead of roping in a jailed fundamentalist and a bunch of college students (one of whom he actually had to blackmail into helping him).

      3. Miri

        I think this will have enough publicity that they have to be seen to be doing something. And if one or more of the young men involved have a rich, powerful parent, scapegoating them won’t work. Unless the corruption goes all the way to the top, Blaine is going to at least get a slap on the wrist.

  13. BBCC

    Too real, Sarah.

  14. Sirksome

    I feel like even a 2020 complete disillusion and confidence in our law enforcement and judicial system world it would still be a stretch for Blaine to get away with all this. He was just way to sloppy. A child could get a conviction. Now what he’s actually charged with or sentenced to is up for debate.

    1. tim gueguen

      He could try some sort of self defense ploy. After all Ross had already been arrested for attempted kidnapping, illegal use of a firearm, and probably a few other charges.

      1. Regalli

        He is still on the record for bailing Ross, a total stranger he only knew of through their daughters, out for a substantial amount of money. Because Blaine is a fucking idiot who leaves a massive paper trail. So he’s on the hook for the kidnapping and pretty clearly the mastermind, assuming he gets to someone competent and not in the mob’s pocket. (To be clear, big assumption.)

        His best bet’s probably flipping before Gramps decides he’s way too sloppy to hold up to investigation. Which will present rather more troubles, I think.

        1. Rectilinear Propagation

          Did he even bail him out or did he just give the church the money so they could bail him out?

          Maybe there’s a strip I am forgetting but I think the church is on the hook for bailing out Toedad.

        2. thejeff

          He picked Ross up from the jail.

        3. Chris

          In Becky’s tweet, she said she got Blaine’s name from the bail records.

        4. King Daniel

          They, apparently, gave Blaine the money so that he could bail Ross out.

      2. Miri

        I dunno. Bailing out a stranger, killing them, then arguing that they were the mastermind sounds like the sort of story full of obvious holes big enough for me to parallel park HGVs in (I can’t parallel park)…

        1. Regalli

          On the one hand, jury standards are just ‘reasonable doubt’.

          On the other hand, he kidnapped a random, Christian, straight, pretty blonde white girl. Who can testify about exactly what he said right before it happened, probably while clearly upset. So I’m pretty sure a bunch of random Indianans are gonna look at the obvious holes in his story and go ‘yeah, no, this is not a credible story,’ If someone offers Blaine a plea deal he’d be even more of an incompetent stooge than he already is not to take it.

        2. C.T Phipps

          In the 1970s, the Pretty Christian White Girl thing didn’t mean anything as the parents of Ted Bundy’s victims found. The police had to be harassed non-stop to look into any of them.

        3. Sirksome

          It’s really about how good a lawyer he has, what they charge him with and who testifies. Kidnappings a given I think. Basically everyone involved is a witness to that. Murder might be harder. No one actually saw Blaine finish Ross off and there was a significant struggle. Blaine will lie to make himself look better in that regard. Make it seem like he was defending himself. Plus Blaine can squeal on his mob ties for leniency because that’s how our justice system works.

        4. anonymsly

          Murder’s not hard at all. Felony murder means it doesn’t matter: Ross was killed during commission of a felony (kidnapping) so anyone guilty of the felony is guilty of murder. Roughly, I think. Accountant, not lawyer.

        5. clif

          But you don’t understand. Blaine only bailed out the Toe to help out the church group who never warned him what a dangerous criminal the Toe was. Then the Toe and Amazigirl, working together, forced him to go along with the kidnapping by threatening his daughter and beating him up, with most of the injuries he still bears. They forced him to recruit Amazigirl’s enemies so that they could be set up to take the fall. Amazigirl insisted that he wear this silly costume and pretend to be in charge. Then, after the original kidnapping, the Toe sent Amazigirl out to fool his daughter into delivering herself to save her friends, which she did, little suspecting Becky would send tweets. Blaine decided that things were getting too dangerous and attempted to rescue his daughter and stepson, but was detected by the Toe who became irrationally angry and attempted to kill him. Blaine defended himself when Amazigirl showed up, attempted to reason with the Toe and then killed him with the hammer, later covering Blaines head with the bloody cape. Eventually Blaine was able to escape with his stepson, speeding, looking for any police when Amazigirl swung in through the window and tossed him out of the van, mysteriously disappearing just before the police arrived. Yes, he should never have let himself be coerced into aiding the Toe, but he loves his kids, would die for them, and now he’s being set up by the true villian of the piece, Amazigirl.

        6. King Daniel

          Amber doffed her costume in public, and people were visibly running up while she still had the costume around her ankles. She even mentioned in yesterday’s strip that the secret identity had been rather shoddily-kept today.

          Fairly sure the days of Amazi-Girl’s secret identity are over, especially with Willis describing this chapter as a sort of “season finale” for the comic.

        7. clif

          Anyone can be made to wear a costume as Blaine himself was. And if the police really think that someone like his daughter could be Amazigirl, surely one of the other kidnapping victims would have said something. I mean they can’t all be lying to the police.

        8. Regalli

          Oh, yeah, he’d just need a fucking rhetorical GENIUS to actually sell that to a jury if that was his strategy. (Way more likely he’d play dirty.) Blaine’s not actually that slick, he just plays on people’s expectations of him as a Perfectly Normal Father and the social norms that accompany it, and then tends to pick gullible people to rope in. (Danny, Toedad) Once people start questioning the act he falls apart fast.

          Seriously though we have no idea what’s going to happen to him until we know what his bosses think of this stunt. They probably can afford a fucking rhetorical genius. They can also have him murdered with no witnesses, or all the evidence somehow vanishes.

        9. clif

          I was thinking more his lawyer’s strategy than his strategy. From a meta-level view, any development that leads to Amber’s being put away for Amazigirl’s activities is unlikely.

  15. AlexIsAlex

    Ooof Willis, I know you wrote this months ago but way to somehow still be timely for current events
    It’s almost like every single day things like this happens so it’ll always be timely…no no, that’d be to depressing if true

  16. tim gueguen

    So, how long will it be before Joyce’s mom and friends find out about this? More importantly how long will it take Joyce’s mom to ineptly spill the beans to Joyce, and hence officially ruin their relationship?

    1. Puckish Rogue

      Yeah this strip will get interesting when it gets back to Joyces experiences with her mom over this

    2. Regalli

      Carol already let on (in the call immediately before) that she knew Ross had been bailed and was vague but still clear enough that it was something she had a role in.

      I’m suspecting timeskip to the weekend again, but we know we’ll be seeing parents next storyline.

      1. Reltzik

        Keeners vs Browns, Round 2?

      2. C.T Phipps

        Hopefully Blaine will get out of jail by fingering the liberal communist socialist atheist group pretending to be Christians.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          Sure hope he’s got enough hands.

        2. JBento

          Liberal Communist Socialist Atheist group sounds pretty swanky, actually, even if you can’t be communist and socialist at the same time. Where do I sign up?

        3. clif

          Over at the Pagan’s for Christianity booth.

        4. DSL

          Is that the one right next to United Anarchists?

        5. JBento

          From the convention map, it appears to be sandwiched between the Vegan Vampires and the Ethical Republicans.

  17. Raen

    She’s not entirely wrong, but not entirely right, either. The system fucks the little people, minorities especially, but extreme shit like this does get dealt with. They should have called the cops hours ago.

    (Although I have to think, while we’re on the topic of current affairs, if the strip is running two years from now, I expect there will be obvious signs of it being post-covid, paired with obvious signs of it being pre-covid, with nothing in between. Kinda funny.)

    1. abysswatcher1993

      Sarah’s pessimism annoys me, but she is into something, and my theory of eldritch gods helping corrupt cops seems possible.

    2. StClair

      turns out there was a way to stop school shootings: a pandemic that closes all the schools.

      1. Reltzik

        Cure worse than the disease.

        …. disease worse than the disease?

        …. disease worse than the murder?

        Dammit, metaphors and reality aren’t mixing right here.

      2. C.T Phipps

        You know, the horrifying thing was it didn’t. There were still like 3 school shootings while schools were out.

        1. clif

          Wait. Someone shot a school? Someone shot a student at an empty school? Someone shot someone schooling at home at home while they were being schooled? I suspect there is something being lost in the translation here.

        2. Rectilinear Propagation

          Schools are closed for classes but a lot of schools are still providing meals for the children that depend on them. My area in particular has a lot of homeless students.

          I also didn’t hear about any shootings but there are still people going to school buildings in general, even if they aren’t there all day.

  18. Uly

    Wow, Willis, it’s like you knew somehow that cops would be murdering folks this summer.

    1. clif

      Willis is physic that way.

    2. Axel

      it helps when they do the same thing every single season

      1. Chris Phoenix

        every single season day

        Fixed that for you

        Everyone, please read Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop.

        1. Reltzik

          Thanks for the link. Hadn’t seen it before, very informative.

        2. Axel

          Yes sorry, that was supposed to mean the entire season every season

    3. abysswatcher1993

      Cops work for racist eldritch gods!

  19. Beau Kirin Maysey

    no, no, i think she may be on to something…

  20. RANdom

    I like how they’re both wearing Head Alien pajamas.

  21. DailyBrad

    Has she said what kind of law she is training to practice? I forget if it’s come up, and law obviously takes many forms.

  22. Barf Ninjason

    Not terribly surprised to see Sarah’s one of those “consequences and accountability!” people. “Beware of those in whom the urge to punish is strong.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

    1. Fart Captor

      What the actual fuck. Consequences and accountability are good things, especially when referring to somebody WHO KIDNAPPED A BUNCH OF KIDS AND MURDERED SOMEONE

      1. Bicycle Bill

        Ditto.  “Turn the other cheek” or forgiving your transgressors “seventy time seven” sounds great when one is reading it in the Bible, but when it’s your ox that has been gored, you’re going to be looking for someone to take responsibility and be held accountable.

    2. Regalli

      … He kidnapped six people, nearly killed (and intended to kill, and threatened to kill to extort his hostages) a seventh, extorted an eighth into helping, actually killed his accomplice in all of this, got a minor child under his guardianship involved (Blaine can quibble father or step all he wants, he is legally responsible for Faz,) committed assault and battery against at least three or four of the kids, kidnapped one of them AGAIN, and was then apparently driving with reckless disregard for human life as he tried to escape.

      And I’m leaving out the stuff that’s tangential to this particular incident, like the domestic abuse and the laundering ‘millions’ for the mob and the using Faz to dig up dirt and the implied grooming and having sex with a teenager. And the previous kidnapping attempt with Danny, come to think of it.

      Which of these actions do you think Blaine SHOULDN’T face consequences for?!

      Or if you mean the justice system needs to face consequences and accountability, please tell us all what number of people assaulted or killed by law enforcement despite not posing an actual threat you deem acceptable. Because where I’m standing, that number is zero.

      1. Regalli

        I worded the last paragraph ineptly (why do I keep writing comments on mobile at 1 AM,) but: If you mean you’re judging Sarah for thinking that, previous statement applies.

    3. Chris Phoenix

      Note Barf’s dangerous conflation between “punish” and “consequences.” A consequence of kidnapping and killing people should be that you get taken off the street and kept where you can’t do harm. Some countries have figured out how to do that without punishment, and they have low recidivism rates.

      1. Regalli

        Also this, yeah. Blaine should not be allowed to involve himself in any of these people’s lives, ever again, at all. That’s not a punishment in itself, that’s a natural consequence of his actions, in a society that values people not getting kidnapped and threatened with murder and just straight-up murdered.

        Blaine is, in fact, not allowed in Amber’s hall at all (which is why he needed Asher – I’m pretty sure he’s not actually supposed to be on campus period) as a consequence of him being an unsafe person to Amber, showing up anyway, chasing her while shouting threats down a hall full of people, and getting in a fight with the RA. Not a punishment! But he hates that this consequence exists.

    4. Axel

      “consequences and accountability” doesn’t even necessarily mean punishment (though if anyone deserves punishment, it’s cops and also Blaine)

    5. Delicious Taffy

      Nietzsche was a little baby back bongo, but you do you.

    6. JBento

      See, whenever I hear someone claiming that “consequences and accountability” are bad things, the first thought that occurs is “What fuckery did YOU get up to?”

      1. clif

        Nothing you can prove.

        1. JBento

          Pffft, proof is an inferior conviction method than spinning a good yarn for the jury.

  23. emeraldbeacon

    I have a sinking suspicion that Blaine will quickly be bailed out, only to be picked up by some “friends” who would like to “discuss Blaine’s recent activities” and how his “public indescretions” happen to “reflect poorly on his associates.”

    And then he “Epsteins” himself.

  24. abysswatcher1993

    I want ton disagree with Sarah since I hate pessimism and edginess, but maybe she is into something….

    Yaldabaoth from Persona 5 is a racist scumbag, or the police sacrifice black people to a lovecraftian god like in South Park’s most recent rpg game. Corrupt cops and eldritch abominations are a horrible mix.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      Like seriously, I fucking hate cynicism, but my theory that an eldritch god is helping racists hasn’t been disproven yet.

      1. Regalli

        The thing is, while unchecked cynicism is unhealthy (and Sarah does sometimes tend that way – the post-car chase ‘Joyce will change forever now’ bit is a good example,) some degree of it is just. Completely realistic. Especially given Sarah has at least some law classes, so she’s getting an idea of how the system works from the inside as well. (For instance: The entire concept of legal precedent helps work against, say, wrongful death suits involving police officers killing people, because if a higher-or-equal-ranking judge in the district decided X under Y circumstances then the judge seeing this has to rule X as well if Y circumstances are met. This is a foundational block of our legal system that you learn about by session three of your very first introduction to law class. Criminal jury cases are more matters of fact rather than precedent but things are still INCREDIBLY stacked there.)

        I think she is lowballing the advantages Joyce brings to the table (pretty, white, Christian, straight, basically the perfect victim for people to latch onto,) but Dorothy expecting things to work perfectly (all that evidence be admissible, none of it to get ‘lost’, no plea bargains, no lawyers throwing whatever they can at the wall to see what sticks) is also pretty unrealistic. Particularly since the mob is involved.

        Sarah doesn’t even MENTION the mob but seriously do not at any point forget THE MOB IS INVOLVED.

      2. clif

        To be honest, I’m not sure why an inhuman eldritch god would be racist. Unless it’s like a food preference.

        1. JBento

          The point of the eldritch gods was that they didn’t give a fuck about humanity, one way or another. That’s the basal principle of Yog-Sothothery.

        2. Chris

          Have you heard the theory that corporations are eldritch abominations? No physical body to harm, inhuman priorities….

        3. Eldritchy

          Their love for laws and contracts makes me think of the Fae

        4. Chris

          Because getting the vermin to kill each other takes less effort than doing it directly.

        5. clif

          Well, that wouldn’t explain racial preferences on the inhuman eldritch abominations part. On the other hand, if some whites were crunchy and good with ketchup, but most just tasted rotten, that would be a reason for using them as cultists to procure and sacrifice the more succulent varieties.

    2. Jay

      After the past few years, it’s hard not to be cynical about society and the justice system.

      1. Steve C.

        I suppose a little cynicism is understandable. It seems to me, though, that a lot of folks these days are using it as a subsitute for intellect. I’m not saying Sarah is one of them, but I think she does use it as a defense mechanism. (Which is suppose is understandable given what happened to her when she tried to help her previous roommate.)

        1. abysswatcher1993

          Just like Becky’s black humor.

    3. Cmasta1992

      Calling Yaldaboth racist is a fucking stretch. Surely you see the irony in using sarcasm to complain about cynicism

      1. clif

        Um. (Thinks about it hard.) No?

        Sarcasm is just kind of a general purpose tool that works with almost everything.

  25. Hotel Papa

    Dang! How much in advance was this strip written?

  26. Bagge

    Sarah is going to do well in her chosen profession.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      With her cynicsm and workaholic attitude… She is going to become black Sae Niijima.

      1. Clacker

        What would her palace look like? Her shadow would definitively use base ball bats as weapons…

      2. Rani

        Considering the Metaverse isn’t a thing in DoA, that’s a pretty ominous parallel. Considering what it eventually took to get Sae to not cross the moral event horizon…

  27. Romanticide

    This hurted so bad 3-6 months ago (and further back) when you probably wrote it down and it still hurts now.
    Still, better for Dorothy to have registered all those stuff instead of just nothing.
    If Blaine gets any time at all he might still get less than seven years I guess…

    1. abysswatcher1993

      Sarah may be right, but at least Dorothy is diminishing the impact through actual legal action. Better to prepare for a disaster than scream about the incoming disaster.

  28. Christopher

    Happy Juneteenth everyone!

  29. KSClaw

    I wonder what Blaine’s boss will think of some lowly stooge ordering around his grandson. I for one would find
    Blaine to be a waste of resources.

    1. clif

      Considering the leverage that Blaine used, I’m pretty sure his grandson is not particularly motivated to bring it to his grandfathers attention.

    2. Romanticide

      I have a feeling Asher won’t say anything if he can’t avoid it. Grampa might never know he was involved, but yet news will come of this “associate” doing dumb shit and might consider if his existence might bring them trouble too… and if that, which would be more troublesome… if those or the problems that would come with silencing him…

  30. Dark

    Sarah seems to be underestimating how serious Blaine’s crimes are.

    1. Fart Captor

      My dude, cops murdered a girl in her sleep and even though it wasn’t even the right house it took over 2 weeks of global protests to get ONE of the officers simply FIRED

      You seem to be overestimating how much the US legal system gives a shit about actual justice

      1. Rani

        The blue line of silence doesn’t extend to non cops, dude.

        1. Fart Captor

          No, but it illustrates how little the cops care about justice for people who aren’t white, rich, and connected. Non-cop rapists, murderers and other violent criminals get off easy all the damn time. A saw a story where a white daycare worker literally smothered a child and got only a couple months in prison.

          The justice system fails a LOT more than reruns of Law & Order would have you believe

        2. King Daniel

          Not intending to downplay those cases at all, but in the comic’s situation – even in the case of Blaine somehow getting only a month’s sentence for, but not limited to:

          Six counts of kidnapping
          One count of attempted kidnapping (Becky)
          Murder, either first- or second-degree (if he somehow foists the blame for the killing blow on one of his college-student henchmen, he’s still looking at felony murder, which in Indiana law is effectively equivalent to first-degree, so Blaine’s still actually looking at a potential state death sentence for that last bit, though Indiana currently has an unofficial moratorium on carrying out executions)

          …as I was saying, even in the case of him “only” getting put away for a month or two despite all that, he’s still basically out for the next decade or so of comic time. And that’s not even accounting for pre-trial jail time; the mob’s certainly not bailing him out, unless it’s to cap him before he can cut a deal.

        3. RedCat

          Joyce’s mother might have met him and at least knows about him wanting to bail Toedad out (Ross? was is name?), so maybe that would also help?

        4. He who hears Voices

          If she helps. that woman will probably quite busy otherwise considering the rest of the family might not like that she and her little church group took Blaines help in bailing out Toedad who proceeded to kidnap their daughter.
          If she would have helped anyway, after all helping a fellow Christian is “what god would have wanted” and everything else is a result of corrupting influences of course.

        5. RedCat

          If you’re referring to “Minneapolis daycare owner given no jail time after trying to hang toddler with noose” (-> google) the child survived.
          Doesn’t really change the stupidly light sentence she got considering what she did, but I just wanted you to know that.

        6. thejeff

          It works a lot more than only looking at the high-profile failures would have you believe. Which isn’t to say it’s not fucked up as hell and needs to be fixed.

          In this case though, between them, the kidnapping victims include white, rich (or at least well off) and connected, which makes the odds a lot better.

        7. Rectilinear Propagation

          And yet there are plenty of stories of non-cops getting away with murdering black people as well. (I’m not even counting the ones who called the cops on a black person so the cops could shoot them on their behalf.)

          If he doesn’t get away with this it won’t be because he’s not a cop, it will be because his victim was a white man.

        8. tim gueguen

          Those are usually cases where the murderer can claim some form of self defense. Blaine can try claiming self defense, but the whole mass kidnapping thing kind of gets in the way.

      2. Brasca1

        True. But Blaine murdered a white man with a lot of friends in his socially conservative community. And while he has connections he’s not important enough for his mobster friends to aid. He’s a liability they’re more likely to eliminate since Blaine would easily rat them out to save his life.

        1. King Daniel

          If Blaine gets off lightly from all this, outrage over that particular detail may be the one thing Joyce’s former community and Joyce herself will still have in common – albeit not necessarily for the same reasons.

  31. Puckish Rogue

    Ok Dorothy take a deep breath, relax, let the authorities handle it from here, you’ve done all you can do

    1. abysswatcher1993

      Nerver give the cops full power over a case. Justice shouldn’t be a passive thing where people are left to the marcy of a judge that could not have the best intentions.

    2. Romanticide

      accumulating evidence and neatly ordering might be her way of dealing with things and more reassuring to her than leaving it aside.

  32. NinjaNick

    Better thank those damn tea party propagandists for that.

    I hope there will be enough evidence to lock Blaine up for eternity. Forget the other consequences.

  33. Puckish Rogue

    Next strip sees Joe rush into the scene, Joyce falls into his arms and Joe realises his true feelings for Joyce and they walk off hand in hand

    Or not

    1. DarkoNeko

      h-hand holding ? how perverted

      1. Puckish Rogue

        Joyce has grown, shes now ok with hand holding but Joe better not put his arm around her shoulder…

        1. King Daniel

          whoa now, think of the children

        2. Puckish Rogue

          Don’t worry, they’ll make room for Jesus

        3. Delicious Taffy

          Yeah, in the children. Like a turkey.

        4. clif

          Still trying to work out how leaving room for Jesus leads to there being children.

        5. Delicious Taffy

          No, see, the kids are there the whole time. They gotta leave room for Jesus because they’re going to church to commit ritualistic symbolic vore, and if they eat too much beforehand, it’ll upset their stomachs.

    2. Axel

      jcf it’s late I thought you sthought that said Joyce’s hand falls off into joe’s arms

      1. Puckish Rogue

        That would be an interesting couple of panels

        1. SuperFroakie82

          Joe x Joyce’s severed hand is the true OTP we’ve all been waiting for

        2. Axel

          One of the goons got her with an anime sword and it took this long to dramatically slide off her arm

  34. RedCat

    Hey, YOU’RE in law, Sarah.

  35. Otl1973

    If he was arrested for money laundering, or some similar “white collar” crime, perhaps. But he committed murder in front of witnesses, and in conjunction to a multiple kidnapping. At this point neither the cops nor the DA has any realistic discretion, and the likelihood that they’d punt on a murder/kidnapping case to maybe get some low-level dirt on some mobsters is about zero. Given both the number of (good) witnesses and the physical evidence, there’s not a lot of daylight for Blaine getting off, or even much room for a plea. The fanciest lawyer couldn’t do much. (On the Mike incident, perhaps, but that is incidental to this.)

    There is capital punishment in Indiana, and there are 9 “aggravating factors” in a murder that can lead to a sentence of death, and Blaine fairly clearly met two of them:

    1. The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, cruel or depraved (or involved torture)

    2. The capital offense was committed during the commission of, attempt of, or escape from a specified felony (kidnapping, rape, sodomy, arson, oral copulation, train wrecking, carjacking, criminal gang activity, drug dealing, or aircraft piracy).

    So the best that he could likely hope for is a plea to avoid the death penalty – there’s no way he’s walking away. Of course, that’s real life, and this is a comic, so what will actually happen is whatever David Willis thinks will make the best story.

  36. Brasca1

    It’s good to have a healthy amount of cynicism, but seriously why work that hard to get a law degree?

    1. clif

      I understand it pays well.

  37. Rikunda

    Sarah is right…

  38. Chronos

    “It’s not *you* I’m booing, Sarah.”

  39. Geneseepaws

    At first glance, it looked like Willis had made Walkerton’s tee shirt, in panel one, to say, “Nicht,”. Which really means nothing, so it’s nothing to get excited about except that it dovetails so beautifully with Sarah’s Nihilism.

    1. Needfuldoer

      It’s the shirt about nothing!

  40. Nevermaker

    You know the world’s in a tough spot when you find yourself agreeing with SARAH.

  41. DarkoNeko

    Sarah, why do you not have Head Alian pajamas, you’re standing out.

  42. Eldritchy

    There is always the chance that Blaine’s “friends” will get him shanked in prison for being such a massive pain in the ass.

  43. foducool

    well I think Sarah is kinda right in this case
    seeing as Blaine “knows” a lot of people, I wouldn’t be surprised if the judge was lenient with him, in spite of the charges and evidence

    1. Eldritchy

      On the other hand he targeted an important member of Robin’s staff. I imagine she can pull some strings to make sure he doesn’t get that kind of chance again.

      1. foducool

        that, or Robin will make sure to stay out of this BS knowing how self-centered she is

        1. thejeff

          More likely Robin will use the sympathy the case generates to boost her reelection campaign – which will involve helping make sure Blaine is put away.

    2. UnDrewsual

      He may “know people” from working with organized crime, but I doubt he is as crucial as he tells himself he is. Most likely, he will try to use his connections only to find that they are all going to just leave him high & dry. Crap like this is more trouble than it’s worth.
      As for him talking about what he knows, it’d be hilarious to me if he actually tried to get some sort of deal only for the feds to tell him they already know anything he might be able to tell them and that he’s such a small fish he has absolutely nothing to offer in exchange.

      1. Eldritchy

        And if you connect the two his “buddies” might decide he is too much trouble and will organize an “accident” for him in prison.

  44. C.T Phipps

    Poor Dorothy will present all the evidence like Nancy Drew and the police will ignore it or throw it away because that’s THEIR job to do poorly.

  45. Keulen

    I’m wondering when one of the other characters will notice that Walky and Dorothy both are wearing Head Alien pajamas.

  46. Cmasta1992

    I agree with Sarah here in principle but I think its less likely he gets off and more likely he gets an absolutely unsatisfying sentence

    He gets hit for ten and is out in five

    1. EnerPrime

      Five years of jail still effectively removes him from this story, since there is no way Willis will ever let these characters reach graduation.

  47. This is a name

    Walky walking around with a mouth that says “….” but eyes that say “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

  48. kendermage

    Okay, legal debaters… I’ve read several of you say, “He’ll get X years in prison.” Since DOA is several years in production, but only several months into the school year, Blaine getting two years in prison will mean what a decade of our time before we see him again? Willis will have Blaine out on bond/parole in no time (for the characters) and up to shenanigans soon.

    1. clif

      Where soon is defined as a few years, but yeah.

    2. thejeff

      Two years in prison would be something like 100 years of real time. We’re almost 10 years into the comic and it’s covered less than 2 months. Less than a week per year.

  49. lightsabermario

    Now I just want a picture of Sarah emotionlessly eating Arby’s.

  50. hof1991

    This will not turn into a legal comic. We aren’t spending the next five years on pre-trial motions. I would be surprised if we see Blaine again. The police will get statements, the DA will take the obvious win and Blaine will get a long sentence. All off camera. No jury trial. No courtroom drama or cross examination. That’s not what DOA is about. It wouldn’t interest DYW or readers.

    What’s next is Joyce and her family. Amber getting help. College kids getting into hijinx. But mostly Joyce. There is a degree to which this whole arc exists to set up Joyce for what comes next – Joyce confronting her mom.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Are you saying we won’t get any David Tennant court drama?

    2. Needfuldoer

      Aw.

      If it was more Columbo and Matlock than Law and Order, I’d be on board.

    3. Reltzik

      We thought the same thing about Toedad, and yet here we are.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Absolutely. We won’t go full police-procedural, and it may not be for a while, but this isn’t the last we’ll see of Blaine.

      2. King Daniel

        Toedad had the legal loophole of Indiana’s state constitution mandating bail for any non-murdery crime…but it just so happens that Blaine has committed the one crime which you cannot post bail for in Indiana.

    4. Axel

      Idk, my bet for it going quickly is that he’s murdered by the mob.

      (my autofill wanted that to be ‘murdered by the ex-husband, Danny’ and I don’t know what I’ve typed for it to assume that)

      1. King Daniel

        Hey, we don’t know the full details of Blaine’s past

  51. Pylgrim

    I think Dorothy really, really needed to hear this. I hope that beyond this initial annoyance, Dorothy realizes that she cannot and shouldn’t put a bow to this story and believe it’s reached a happy ending. As an aspiring politician, this means that she’s still got much, much work to do, changing the system, before this story can be definitely chalked as a win of any kind (beyond survival).

  52. ValdVin

    Wow, when was this strip uploaded?

    2020 seems to be The Year of Sarah.

  53. OtterBoy1

    Now I really wanna see a sketch of everyone at a protest

  54. Deanatay

    THEY’RE STILL IN THEIR JAMMIES

    Fer Chrissakes, go back to your doms, shower and change clothes, and THEN pursue justice!!

    1. Deanatay

      Oh yeah and breakfast couldn’t hurt, either.

      1. JBento

        “You’d like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn’t you, Comrade Sergeant?’ said Reg encouragingly.
        ‘I’d like a hard-boiled egg,’ said Vimes, shaking the match out.
        There was some nervous laughter, but Reg looked offended.
        ‘In the circumstances, Sergeant, I think we should set our sights a little higher–‘
        ‘Well, yes, we could,’ said Vimes, coming down the steps. He glanced at the sheets of papers in front of Reg. The man cared. He really did. And he was serious. He really was. ‘But…well, Reg, tomorrow the sun will come up again, and I’m pretty sure that whatever happens we won’t have found Freedom, and there won’t be a whole lot of Justice, and I’m damn sure we won’t have found Truth. But it’s just possible that I might get a hard-boiled egg.”

        1. Kitsune

          Sounds like Death is about to have a Near Vimes experience again

        2. abysswatcher1993

          Vimes needs to chill out sometimes. Maybe rest in the lap of a certain dragon aficionado lady.

        3. JBento

          That, of course, is EXACTLY the problem in the quoted book.

        4. DSL

          In my head, I heard that whole speech hissed through Harry Callahan’s teeth.

      2. Reltzik

        No time for any of that, they have midterms!

    2. Kitsune

      Superheroes fight for justice in there Jammies all the time

    3. Rabid Rabbit

      I know it’s a typo, but I still love the idea of all three of them having to go back to Ally from Sunstone to be told what to do for a bit.

  55. Kitsune

    I live in Tulsa, I know where Sarah is coming from, despite the fact that I’m pigmentationally challenged

  56. JessWitt

    Shirt, I don’t wanna see Blaine’s busted mug again. Send him up the river and stay there.

  57. bcb

    Don’t worry Sarah: some of Blaine’s victims were white, so there might be actual consequences for his actions.

  58. ADD

    The funny thing is, I think Blaine’s connections to organize crime will actually work against him here. He thinks the fact that some police are in the mob’s pocket will help, but that really would only help him so long as he had not made himself a liability. The people he works for don’t like it when someone draws attention to them, and dressing up like a supervillain, kidnapping a bunch of people, and then murdering someone, is the kind of attention they don’t want from someone they’ve trusted with access to their books. I could see them making it very clear to the police that they are not interested in defending their guy. And should Blaine know where the proverbial “bodies are buried,” and dare to try to use that as a bargaining chip, I could see his bosses making sure that he has a little “accident” in custody before ever even making it to trial.

    Now, if Blaine was a cop, that would be a different story, and good luck getting him to actually face justice in that case.

  59. Sombrero

    I can’t be the only one reading this strip as saying: “Sarah, being a good law student and a realist, knows that the factual case against Blaine is so weak that it would be difficult to take him out of the picture for a long time even in an ideal world” or, in other words, “Willis (for the second time, remember Lester) leaves the door full open for Blaine’s return as arch-villain sometime in the future”

  60. Alan in DC

    Only a couple more days of this storyline y’all.

  61. Simarilian

    So Amazigirl’s cape is the Shroud of Turin proving Blaine’s actions.

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