196

Issues-at-large
Posted on January 12, 2015 by David M Willis

196 thoughts on “Issues-at-large”

  1. Camachri

    Not all mistakes! *tips amazi-mask*

  2. Anthusiasm

    *reaches through fourth wall to hug Amber*

    1. Disloyal Subject

      You’re right, that gravy does make some things seem odd.

      1. Anthusiasm

        I HUG YOU IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

  3. Yotomoe

    #Notallmistakes

    1. Solenoid

      #Highfive

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      #MistakeGate

      1. Jay Eff

        It’s about ethics in mistaking journalism.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          In this case assuming that journalism is just a euphemism for sex.

        2. Robin

          It’s about ethics in mistaking sex?

        3. neeks

          It’s about sex in ethics journalism

          I originally had that as “sex in ethical mistakes” but that sounded a little…non-consenty…

        4. tinfoil theory

          Ultimately it is all about sex in journalism, no matter which way you look at it.

    3. Ray Radlein

      actually it’s about ethics inerrancy

    4. Jenny Creed

      Actually it’s about ethics in human fallibility.

    5. Tenn

      May I play mistake’s advocate?

  4. Opus the Poet

    Amber makes mistakes, but does Amazi-girl make any mistakes that don’t get blamed on Amber?

    1. zaratustra

      “It wasn’t me, it was my superhero identity” is the fastest way to either the slammer or a padded cell.

  5. Crazy Dina

    What exactly is she referring to?

    1. Doctor_Who

      Her MMO character’s class build. It’s DPS is not as optimized at it could have been. It haunts her.

    2. Spencer

      Probably that time she kicked the shit out of her dad.

      Actually, now I’m curious. Does she associate attacking Sal with Amber or Amazi-Girl, and either way, is she now fine with what she did? Sal herself said they’d finish it another time.

      1. Deanatay

        Probably AG. Amber wouldn’t have tried to provoke Sal into attacking her – she’d have simply attacked. Amazi-Girl fights with honor. Amber fights out of rage.

        Is she fine with it? Probably not – it’s probably one of those ‘mistakes she’s not allowed’.

    3. Dean

      Maybe the way she referred to herself in both the second and third person in the seond panel?

      1. CF

        To be pedantic, “third person singular and first person plural”.

    4. Plasma Mongoose

      My guess is this comic:
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/dependable/

      1. Crazy Dina

        That’s what Dina’s refering to, but I don’t know what AMBER is refering to.

      2. nothri

        I don’t see how that conversation was such a huge mistake, though.

        1. Crazy Dina

          that was when she told Dina about it being okay to make mistakes (see panel 3 above)

    5. Taigan

      I figured it’s either her dad, or the time she let Joyce’s rapist go.

    6. Jen Aside

      CLEARLY it was deciding on prom hair and consequently never allowing herself to have Amazi-hair lest she give away her identity

  6. Doctor_Who

    Dina’s not done, she’s just going up to get a sixth bowl. Amber wonders how that girl hasn’t exploded in a burst of artificial flavors and chalk-like marshmallows yet.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      I hope she balances her diet by having lots of different types of cereal.

      1. Doctor_Who

        She gets a serving of all the major food groups: hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers and blue moons, pots of gold and rainbows, and the red balloons.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          What strange cereal do you Americans eat anyhow, that sounds like food and more like comedic props.

        2. Doctor_Who

          Sorry about the audio.

        3. Plasma Mongoose

          AH!

        4. Opus the Poet

          What I grew up with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc3rcodUuKg Notice there were only 3 different “charms” back then. And that Lucky was much easier to trick and capture.

        5. Disloyal Subject

          Fool him twice, shame on him. Kids gotta adapt, or find another cereal to feed upon. I favor Chex.

        6. Jen

          Opus, actually, there are at least four charms in there. You can see the moons in the cereal bowl. 🙂

        7. Chris

          Thought you’d go with this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNEvSOx7j4A

        8. Marc in MN

          An old timer like me remembers the days when there weren’t red balloons and purple horseshoes….

        9. Plasma Mongoose

          It still sounds like having candy for breakfast to me.

        10. Swoop

          It is. We feed it to our children. It’s kind of embarrassing.

        11. Crazy Dina

          -_- Find me something I can eat in the morning without having to prepare it (Cause I have like a 15 minute window) and tastes reasonable, and I’ll try it. Otherwise, stop complaining about what “we feed our children” and find something better!

        12. Jen Aside

          bowl of salad

          also some kind of granola bar

        13. Swoop

          I’m sorry I didn’t mean to offend you.

        14. Disloyal Subject

          It’s called “cereal,” and is available at most grocery stores, generally on the same aisle that stocks those sugary abominations we’re discussing.

        15. Plasma Mongoose

          Weet-Bix is pretty healthy, all you need is a few biscuits, something to sweeten it(fruit, sugar or honey) and milk.

        16. WaytoomanyUIDs

          Oats. 1/2 cup oats & 1 cup water. microwave for 2 minutes. Add milk and sugar to taste.

        17. tinfoil theory

          http://soylent.me
          It’s not people.

        18. Screwball

          I like a good dose of Energon in the morning, but the Human likes a bowl of toasted muesli, Purina brand is the only 1 toasted how he likes , with something like Plus Sport or Nutri-grain on top, all dry. Says he needs the fiber to help control his allergies, whatever they are, should look it up…

        19. gwalla

          A ceral that…doesn’t have a bunch of stale marshmallows in it? Crazy idea, I know.

        20. Crazy Dina

          No salad – I don’t get to snack when I get hungry two hours later because I’m in class.
          No milk – I literally feel sick after drinking milk that early in the morning.
          Soilent, maybe. I’ve been thinking about trying it, but am not quite ready yet. It’s a huge purchase, in case you haven’t looked. There aren’t restaurants or anything that you could waltz in and get just a taste, it only comes in week sized packages.
          Oatmeal? Had it for a while. Took too much prep and randomly changed tastes on me.
          “Cerial”… huh, I’ve heart rumors of it’s existence, but I’ve never actually seen any. Is it that stuff around the marshmallows that is great to suck on when I’m not supposed to be eating in class?

          I suppose I did promise to try anything reasonable, so about that museli and the Weet-Bix, what exactly are they? One looks like that stuff I put on Green Been Casserole with raisins in it, and the other, I’m not exactly sure.
          Remember, it has to both taste reasonable and be able to be made and eaten in about 15 minutes.

        21. Kryss LaBryn

          Well, what about just cereal that doesn’t have candy in it? Alpen is actually really tasty, and really filling, and my husband’s nutritionist (was seeing one for cholesterol) checked out the label and said it was actually really good.

          It costs a bit more than something like Corn Flakes for the box size (it’s a tiny box, comparatively) but you only need like about a cup of it as it’s pretty dense. Also tasty.

          Alternatively, scrambled eggs with toast. Put the toast in and start getting a small, ideally cast-iron frying pan medium hot. Melt some margarine or butter in there and when the pan is hot add two or three eggs and stir until they clump and don’t look actually wet but are still moist. Your toast will just be finishing up (eggs cook super quickly); butter it and have it either on the side or, ideally, with the eggs on top. Nutritious, sustaining, savory (don’t like starting my day with candy), cheap, and takes about five minutes (literally) to cook.

        22. Swoop

          “You can die healthy or you can die happy. Either way you’re going to die” enjoy the delicious poison. Don’t waste time with balance. That’s the devil’s path.

          Also I can’t remember where I heard that ant it is driving me crazy. Can anybody help me out here? I tried googling it, no luck.

        23. White Rice

          I don’t know about that one, but I know there’s a Russian saying (or so I was told) that roughly translates out to “He who doesn’t smoke or drink dies healthy”

        24. neeks

          Or of a heart attack or stroke because of excess cholesterol from all the crap we eat. Or diabetes! See? Even people who don’t go out of our way to slowly poison ourselves* can die unhealthy. Never give up the dream, people!

          *I do not actually judge people who partake in alcohol and tobacco. I’m personally mildly allergic to both, so I don’t partake myself, but other people are welcome to indulge without risking my judgment. Although I do avoid smokers if only to avoid feeling like crap for days after spending time with one. I do have a coke problem, though. (The beverage.)

        25. Opus the Poet

          I would rather die on my feet than on my knees sucking an O2 hose, but as I have already died riding a bicycle I can scratch that one off the list.

        26. Disloyal Subject

          I prefer the taste of healthy food. I win!

          Granted, I balance it out by occasionally eating cake for a week, so I guess I don’t win.

        27. Deanatay

          I like to state it as follows: A good life is the leading cause of death.

        28. democraticMayonaise

          there are hourglasses now.

        29. Random832

          It looks like there are diamonds in the box art, too, but according to this page, diamonds weren’t added until 1975.

  7. Nono

    I like to think Dina poured half her glass of Mountain Dew into the cereal and just slurped it down.

    1. Doctor_Who

      She’s a college student. How else would she eat it?

      1. butting

        Kahlua?

        1. Opus the Poet

          I believe IU is an alcohol-free campus.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          I suppose if the rules were to stop anyone, it’d be Dina.

        3. Bill

          There is no such thing as an alcohol-free campus.  Not even BYU.
          The powers-that-be may intend a campus to be alcohol-free; they may even insist, for the record, that it is.  But it never, ever actually happens.
          Just trust me on this one, OK?

        4. StClair

          Dry campus: see also, frictionless surface, ideal gas, perfect insulator.

        5. Just Here

          Or a dry navy. I can pretty much guarantee that there isn’t a ship afloat of any size that doesn’t have at least one still onboard.

        6. tyersome

          Also, the classics perpetual motion, perpetual growth, or free anything.

        7. cesium133

          The university I’m at is supposedly a dry campus. I guess the barf piles that show up on the sidewalks Sunday mornings are due to Alpha Beta Gamma’s raw seafood buffet…

        8. tyersome

          … or from the dry heaves?

        9. George

          Aren’t dry heaves ones that, by definition, *don’t* produce barf piles?

  8. Solenoid

    That last panel is less concerning if interpreted as a lingering sense of being disturbed at Dina’s earlier probing question.

    But, I’m given to thinking that it might not be that.

  9. Taigan

    Is she thinking about letting Joyce’s rapist go? Or beating up her father? Or something else?

    1. Tom T.

      My assumption is that she means letting Ryan (?) go. She just had that interaction with Joyce that reminded her.

    2. JWLM

      The mistake which has haunted her for years and years is stabbing Sal’s hand. That mistake can’t be fixed, ever.

      1. Taigan

        Not sure she regards that as a mistake. When she went after Sal again, she takes about getting it right this time. So… Maybe?

        1. JWLM

          I think that she wanted Sal and her friends to beat her up, not the other way around. I could be wrong, but I’ve always thought that ‘making it right’ meant something other than ‘finishing it off.’ She’s already beaten Sal permanently — why would she want to ‘beat her’ again?

        2. timemonkey

          Can’t be that, she had the chance for that and instead fought back and kept trying to goad Sal into a fight.

          My guess is she sees Sal as some form of evil she needs to confront without losing control, defeat her properly. What she fails to realise is that Sal doesn’t need to be defeated anymore.

        3. Rabid Rabbit

          On the other hand, there is that odd ‘Hurt me!’ line here: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/03-up-all-night-to-get-vengeance/beforesunrise/

        4. Solenoid

          That “Hurt me!” line has me agreeing with JWLM if I had to pick one over the other, but it could well be both.

        5. neeks

          I think I assumed she wanted to be hurt so she could prove self defense for when she fought back, but vindication for past actions through masochism works too.

          Well it doesn’t WORK, per se, but it fits as an explanation for the remark.

        6. tinfoil theory

          “When I kill you, it will be from the front, and you will be armed, so I can plead self defense..” – Mal Raynolds

        7. JWLM

          It’s not masochism, it’s *guilt*. Amber does guilt unbearably well, and the weight of that guilt is crushing her. She feels worthless, remember? She’s self-hating to the extend that she can’t recognize that hating her father and hitting him back was a good thing to do, not a bad thing.

          And that is destroying her.

        8. Deanatay

          Yes, because she wanted SAL to hurt her. Malaya was just an annoyance, and maybe a provocation to get Sal to lose her temper. Which ALMOST worked, until Sal’s little Jimminy Cricket (Marcie) interfered.

    3. Opus the Poet

      When you’re less than a month into the semester and you already have a list of things to be disturbed about doing, you might have a problem.

  10. Animal

    But some of the best adventures we ever have started with what most folks would call an irresponsible act (in other words, a mistake.)

    Consider this: How many great stories have ever started with the words “we were all sitting around eating some salad when…”

    But many a great adventure has begun with the words, “hey, hold my beer and watch this!”

    Trust me on this.

    1. Bill

      Also the last words of innumerable rednecks.

      1. Animal

        Including at least two I went to school with.

      2. Gamaran Sepudomyn

        “Let’s put it all together and see what happens” is also such a phrase.

        1. Animal

          As is (just a few from personal experience):

          “Oh, go ahead and light it. It’ll be cool!”
          “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I turned off the right breaker.”
          “Oh, hell yeah, that ice is plenty thick enough.”
          “Badgers aren’t dangerous.”
          “You know, if you pick up a skunk by the tail, he can’t spray you.”

          Just a few from the archives.

  11. Swoop

    Oh God. I was looking for the punchline but I only found sadness.

    1. StClair

      You’ve been reading Willis comics for how long?

      1. Swoop

        About three years. I’m a slow learner.

    2. Disloyal Subject

      Sadness isn’t the punchline?
      …I am a terrible human being.

    3. Tenn

      In this case, the punchline is where we all stand in line to be punched in the gut. Sadness is a common consequence.

  12. DrDarkheart

    Clearly the mistake she is referring to is eating Cereal with Mountain Dew I mean come on guys it’s so obvious.

    1. Swoop

      I know someone who puts water in their cereal. My father eats hotdogs exclusively with vinegar soaked spinach and garlic. My mom used to eat chicken hearts. They’re all monsters, but Mountain Dew In cereal is an abomination. It cannot be forgiven.

      1. Opus the Poet

        Fried chicken hearts or boiled with the rest of the bird for dumplings? It makes a difference.

        1. Swoop

          She ate them raw. I’m not joking. Her mother would give them to her as a treat for helping fix dinner. My mom’s family stopped giving a shit about what they ate a long time ago.

        2. Betty Anne

          Eh, not the worst thing I’ve ever heard of. My dad used to eat things that don’t even qualify as food, and others that are banned from eating these days. Even when I was still little he’d occasionally eat a raw hamburger sandwich or a bowl of bread and sugar with milk poured over it; as a kid he ate a lot of lard sandwiches. His family was very poor, and they just didn’t always have money for food, so they squeezed as many nutrients and fat as possible out of whatever they could get.

  13. horrorshow88

    Amber has some issues. We haven’t made any mistakes. I’m honestly just waiting for her to go through a full on psychotic break at this point, resulting in fully spilt personalities.

    1. alicemacher

      Technically, she says “We haven’t made any new mistakes,” but your point still holds. I’ve no idea how she’s holding herself together even to the precarious extent that she is.

    2. Swoop

      Maybe this is a villain origin story. One of the tragic ones. Pretty soon Danny will be frozen and Amber will be robbing banks and stuff to fund her search for the cure. Also Half of her face will be burned off.

      1. takashid

        Ms Two Freeze???

  14. Joker Two

    November 1st, 2013:

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/dependable/

    1. J42

      I misread “November 1st 2015” as the date Willis had already drawn strips up to like a boss.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        I understand, I thought Willis was also up to Nov 2015 already.

      2. tinfoil theory

        And someone thought it was the date this strip was uploaded to the server.

    2. Safgaftsa

      Oh my, that was so long ago.

      1. Robin

        I wasn’t even born yet!

        1. tyersome

          My parents weren’t even born yet!

          … am I doing this right?

        2. democraticMayonaise

          “My boyfriend’s so old he doesn’t have teeth.” – Carrie.

  15. CommunistCanada

    Found the Title-Text Comic: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/dependable/

    1. CommunistCanada

      Stormit! Got Ninja’d

  16. Lilac

    so who else immediately dove into the archives after reading the alt text?

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Communist and Joker, apparently. I might have, but I was busy.

  17. raeror

    does anyone else want to see joe joe dina? Just to see the reaction?

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Yes.

    2. neeks

      My eye twitched involuntarily when I read that question. I want you to know this.

  18. mididooom

    How is Dina drinking and speaking at the same time?

    1. BobaFett2

      Dina-powers.

    2. bunivasal

      Talking is a free action.

    3. Swoop

      She’s done with her cereal. She’s just sniffing the last of that sweet sugar aroma.

    4. Plasma Mongoose

      Ventriloquism!

  19. Random832

    Why is Amber talking about herself in the third person?

    1. BobaFett2

      Amber refers to Amazi-girl as another person, since that’s her secret identity. When dressed as Amazi-girl, she also refers to herself in third person, but I think that’s a superhero thing.

    2. Solenoid

      Because of the need to distinguish between the Amber and Amazigirl personas to people who are in the know.

    3. Rabid Rabbit

      Because Amber has so many issues she could be a comic bookshop.

      I’ll see myself out.

      1. StClair

        Yours is, IMO, actually the best answer so far.

    4. democraticMayonaise

      Yeah, I was wondering that considering she still has the cheek thingies. Is this, perhaps, a third? dun_DUN_DUUUUUUUUUUUN

  20. The Wizard

    The split personalities are real!

  21. Marc in MN

    Dina: Can’t we get some clear bowls? I can’t see who I’m talking to! 😉

  22. Em

    I feel like we’re seeing three personalities: Amber, Amazi-Girl, and this unnamed one talking right now. I do not think she has full blown multiple personality disorder since that is very rare AND I knew someone with it, and she is not exhibiting their behaviors. However, I do feel concerned for Amber. We know that Amazi-Girl is her outlet, her way of getting out her sadistic(maybe), violent side without feeling like SHE did it. I really don’t think that can lead to anywhere good. Where is that going to go? Will she be doing this after college when she has a career? Knowing Amber, she hasn’t considered that. While I like Amber, I am feeling less and less willing to be happy about her Amazi-Girl side. At first, it was badass and kind of cute. But now…while still badass, it’s going to fuck her up. Ever seen Kick Ass? Remember Hit Girl? Amazi-Girl really reminds me of Hit Girl.

    1. Paul

      As I keep saying, there are reasons we don’t have superheros in the real world.

      (Yes, I know there are people who like to dress up in superhero costumes and do public service. They don’t go around beating people up.)

      1. Disloyal Subject

        What about that Swedish renaissance guy? He committed some acts of righteous violence, but the people he defended spoke on his behalf in court and he got to keep at it.

        1. Paul

          Could you point me to a link? Googling “swedish renaissance hero” just gets me articles about Sweden and the actual renaissance.

      2. Frost Magi

        Paul I love your Gravatar too omg

    2. John

      It wasn’t Amazi-Girl who stabbed Sal; that was Amber. It wasn’t Amazi-Girl who flipped a table on Ethan and assaulted Joyce; that was Amber. It wasn’t Amazi-Girl who had to be dragged off Blaine after he was down; that was Amber. Amazi-Girl is her less dangerously, violently, fucked-up persona.

      1. neeks

        Did anyone else read that in the same tone as a political smear ad? I kind of want someone to make a parody video of that now. “Vote Amazi-girl 2015: the less dangerously violent and fucked up persona”

        1. Opus the Poet

          OK now I want to see Amber running against AG to see which one gets to have the one body they share on a permanent basis. AmaziGirl 2015!

      2. Bagge

        Yeah, but I think that’s almost by definition. Amazie-girl can do whatever she wants, but if she fucks up that’s not her anymore, that’s Amber. Amazie-girl is immune to critisism. That’s what happened during the fight with Blaine.

      3. Paul

        It wasn’t Amazi-Girl who had to be dragged off Blaine after he was down; that was Amber. Amazi-Girl is her less dangerously, violently, fucked-up persona.

        Amazi-Girl did put Blaine in the hospital, though.

      4. gwalla

        More specifically, Amazi-Girl is in control. Amber has a whole lot of pent-up rage and the only way she feels like she can get a handle on it is to not be herself. 🙁

    3. Fish

      I’m really excited that Amber/Amazigirl/unnamed is a system. I really really like seeing the representation.

      Every system expresses themselves differently, so, its not surprising that their behaviors and the behaviors of your friend don’t line up perfectly.

      Amber definitely has issues that need to be resolved (she has rage issues and flashbacks and it results in behavior that she later regrets), but it doesn’t seem like the system itself is a problem (no shown memory loss on screen, system members seem to care about other system members and doing well by them, etc). I am curious if they want integration, but if they don’t, then I don’t see the issue.

  23. Spencer

    This is only semi-related to the comic, but now that I think about it, by not revealing or even confronting Amber about Amazi-Girl, Dorothy kind of Dan’d it up, didn’t she?

    By hiding her identity and gushing about how she thinks Amazi-Girl is awesome (and subsequently, the WBDDB arc, where it seems the entire Girls Dorm is enamored with AG), she’s given Amber the message that Amazi-Girl is a perfectly sane and okay thing to pursue. Granted she’s completely unaware of what Amber did that very night (and if she did, there’s no way she’d hide it then, knowing some masked weirdo tried to assault her boyfriend’s sister), but I think some of Amber’s present personality is motivated by the fact that her Inspector Javert is completely supporting her.

    This is not to imply that Dorothy has done anything wrong or morally objectionable, and certainly not to blame her for Amber’s inevitable meltdown, which is why I described it as “Dan’d”; like how Danny tries to do something right and then it blows up in his face.

    1. Opus the Poet

      Dorothy knows Amber/AG beat up Blaine, but after the display in the dorm hall assumes it was for a good reason.

      1. Spencer

        They just had a conversation where Amazi-Girl stated that it wasn’t “her” who beat up Blaine, and Dorothy seemed content with that answer.

        Also, what display in the dorm hall?

        1. Greenygal

          Presumably the Parents’ Day incident in which Blaine was in a violent public altercation with both Amber and Ruth, and was subsequently banned from the campus. Dorothy has never indicated that she knows about this, although really you’d think it was the kind of story that got around.

        2. Yet Another Laura H.

          I read that as what the actual witnesses would say: “What display? I saw a man who was so psychotically angry and violent that when he tried to beat up this poor young woman, she dodged and he flew into a door frame. I hope he flies into several more doorframes on the way off this campus, frankly. That is NOT a nice man.”

          I can’t approve of violence or lying about it, but I can certainly understand it in this case.

    2. Allen Tor

      I think Dorothy’s more Amazi-Girl’s Commissioner Gordon or Jimmy Olsen then a Javert, seeing as how she’s being supportive and everything.

      1. Spencer

        Dammit, I should have went with Commissioner Gordon as my metaphor.

        1. neeks

          I was going to make a comparison to a moment involving commissioner gordon knowing batman’s identity and pretending not to, or not wanting to know because it was none of his business, but I realized I was thinking of characters from the tv show adaptation of dc’s green arrow. But maybe Gordon had the opportunity for someone to tell him who batman is and was like “nope, don’t want to know, whoever he is I’m sure he has his reasons and it’s none of my business” at some point in dc canon.

          Although regarding the “arrow” scene I was thinking of (season two spoilers ahead I guess), I guess in this context Dorothy would be both laurel and her dad. Figured out the secret ID (not intentionally a Freudian reference but oh why not) of the arrow and then decided the information was none of her business.

        2. gwalla

          It’s really more of a Ben Urich thing.

    3. Bagge

      I think you re right, and I think danning it up is a fitting description. It’s clear that Dorothy has a idea of what Amazie-girl is that’s not exactly true, but she likes it so much that she looks past some of the more disturbing things she knows about Amazie-girl.

  24. Weebles

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHqzDul9dZM

    Probably due to watching Gravity Falls, Dina’s voice in my head sounds like Candy Chiu’s. Yes, I’m aware Korean is not Japanese, but still. >_>

    1. democraticMayonaise

      grmbl, now people are thinking im weird cuz i sang the gravity falls theme song out loud before i clicked on the link.

  25. Weebles

    Speaking of which Willis, do your characters have ‘real life actors’ you’ve cast them as? Or voices, at least? ie “Oh yeah, Joe sounds like Paul Rudd’ or whatever.

  26. Idon'tcarenomore

    While all super-hero’s are screwed up in one way or another: I can’t offhand think of any of them that refer to themselves in 3rd Person in ordinary conversation.

    Batman and Superman do of course, when talking to The Chief or Perry White in ref. Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent. But, they are clearly aware of the fact that they are covering up their secret identities to protect themselves: when they promise to deliver a message or to thank themselves for whatever deed was done.

    Amber doesn’t seem to refer to herself in 3rd person just when attempting to cover her secret identity.
    She does it in bed with her boyfriend who knows her secret. She does it when referring to actions she herself has taken. It’s as if she can’t differenciate between the fact that she is that same person and that she is not talking about another person.
    Amber has made a lot of progress since the whole world fell on her head. She’s a strong person. But she still needs help.
    What she is doing is channeling her aggressions into her alter ego, but when she can’t be her alter ego (and that will happen eventually she has to grow up as they say and enter the ‘real world’): what will happen to her then?

  27. Idon'tcarenomore

    I saw Spencers Post after this one popped up at same time mine posted.
    I agree that Dorothy is supporting her and that it may well likely be giving Amber the wrong signals.
    I’m not so sure Dorothy would have published the fight though. After all, she did suspect that Amazi-Girl was at the fight where her own father had the shit beat out of him, as in a direct question “did you know anything about that incident in the parking lot?” AG said no she did not.
    Dorothy may or may not have believed her, but she did suspect or would not have answered.
    So a question that comes up is: she covered for AG. What did she get out it? Why exclusive interviews of course.

    So maybe Dorothy is not so innocent after all. She is ambitious and she does have plans. I think she knows and knows that it is wrong not to pursue it, but I don’t think she planned on hurting AG as I don’t think she knows how messed up the AG Amber thing is at this point.

    1. Spencer

      Dorothy’s really smart, but I doubt she’d be able to pick out Amber’s issues so easily. Besides that, when they had their first interview she gushed about how much she admired and respected Amazi-Girl and how she just wanted to tell her story. Throwing her under the bus like that would be inverse to what we know about her character.

      Amazi-Girl being the one who attacked Blaine would be the easy answer (and, y’know, it’s true), but Blaine himself is claiming that he was attacked by a large male, and AG told her that she didn’t do it, so to Dorothy, Amazi-Girl is in the clear. She figured Danny was there as well, and his angry response would support that, but she could easily rationalize that as him just not wanting to talk to her, period, rather than just because of the fight.

      1. timemonkey

        It’s also been made clear Dorothy has made several incorrect assumptions when it comes to Amazi-Girl and her motivations.

        If she found out Amber was really a dangerously unbalanced teen with uncontrolled rage she’d likely change her stance. She’d want to help but if Amber became a threat to someone I’m sure Dorothy would do the right thing and report her.

  28. JessWitt

    Ominous and unnerving last panel. Amber could be referring to all events mentioned above (Ryan, Blaine, Sal).

    1. Disloyal Subject

      All of the above?

      1. JessWitt

        Indeed, all of the above. There’s a lot unresolved here but Amber seems on her way to making things right.

  29. takashid

    “We”

    oh man I’m so worried about her state of mind

  30. StClair

    It sounds like Amber is pushing/dumping all of her passions onto “Amazi-Girl” … not just her anger, but also her sexual desire(s), and who knows what else. All intense feelings get sequestered into that identity, so that she doesn’t have to deal with them as “herself.”

    To say this is unhealthy would be a massive understatement.

    1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

      Ouch. Your comment made me realize how similar this is to Ethan closeting himself.

  31. Kris

    Don’t worry Amber. “It’s not who you are on the inside, but what you do that defines you.”-Batman

    That quote works for most situations. 😀

    1. tinfoil theory

      That is easy for a millionaire to say.

  32. Perish Song

    Heh. I accidently went to the November 1st comic of 2014 rather than 2013. It truly showcases a mistake that no one should be allowed to make.

    1. neeks

      Oh come on, at least provide a link for us lazier commenters…

      1. tyersome

        In the spirit of teach a netizen to fish … try this:
        google or equivalent the following “by David M Willis on Novemeber 1, 2014 ” …

        1. John

          There’s an archive by calendar link right up in the top bar.

      2. John

        Here. I’d forgotten that Becky’s been back that long. It doesn’t seem like it.

  33. Frost Magi

    Plasma Mongoose I love your Gravatar, May was my favourite femaleprotagonist in Pokemon.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Thanks, the last time I regularly watched Pokémon was when May was on.

  34. Frost Magi

    Female protagonist*

  35. Dorje Sylas

    So this is Amber-Kernel (the part that manages other running processes: Amber and Amazi-Girl). And she’s got a memory leak (an error where computer memory is not correctly released by software, i.e computer doesn’t forget things it really should).

    Amber-Kernel Panic imminent.

  36. pretty flacko

    No alt-text? IS THIS A FAKE VIDEO?

  37. Smith

    It’s not only the mistake we have done .. it’s the price we pay for it, mind you. Which, by the way it is not always proportionate. For the better or for the worse. Good luck learning that. Well, we can always shout: Damn you, Willis!

    P.D. Bad grammar is bad. Ugh.

  38. nooB

    what? no alt text on this page?

    1. Kim

      are you confusing that with ttoday’s date? 😉 I did at first

  39. averystrangeplace

    “AMBER has some issues. WE haven’t made any mistakes.”

    My god, she is six kinds of unwell. We’re about five minutes away from her going all Spider Man 2002, hanging her mask on the side of a chair, and having a conversation where it tells her to take out Spider-Dan.

    “The HEART, Amber! First, we attack his heart! By killing his issues of Robo Vac!

    1. Spencer

      Soon she’ll climb to the top of the dorm and then toss Walky and all his DVDs off the building, forcing Dorothy to choose.

  40. Halloween Jack

    Soggies may rule… but not in this strip.

    1. Paul

      No, they rule in Willis’ other strip:

      http://www.shortpacked.com/index.php?id=2189

      Triggered by the presence of Dina. I do not think this is a coincidence.

      1. JWLM

        *snif* And it’s the closing arc. *snif*

  41. ZORK

    Damnit, thanks to the alt text, I got caught with the “Let’s re-read old DoA strips” fever again.

    It’s not bad, but time-consuming.

  42. Bagge

    So, is people saying heart-wrenching things with small voice all alone in the final panel going to be a recurring thing? Because if that’s the case I’ll need more kleenex.

  43. Tenn

    I don’t think, and never did think, that Amber has genuine multiple personalities; she wants to, though, and she may be trying to uphold that illusion to herself until it becomes reality.

    But I’m not a psychiatrist, and I wish we would get some confirmation either way.

    1. Paul

      I think that may describe most of the alleged cases of “multiple personality disorder” back in the eighties and early nineties. These diagnoses have since been challenged.

  44. Tim

    If there’s anyone on the list who knows how to do so, making an amateur music video (AMV) of Amber/Amazigirl set to the script’s song “Superheroes”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIm1GgfRz6M
    would be TOTALLY awesome. I will probably be repeating this suggestion.

  45. Lord Geovanni

    Its ok Amber you didnt make the mistake and neither Amber nor Amazi-Girl got beat down by Sal

  46. Trismagestus

    “All of them?”

    http://www.shortpacked.com/index.php?id=477

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