Dumbing of Age Book Fourteen

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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BUFFER WATCH Comics are currently drawn and uploaded through:

October 20, 2026

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in a very special episode
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September 13/14, 2025 - Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland, Table F2


Roomies! It's Walky! Joyce and Walky!
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‹‹ First ‹ Prev Comments(196) Random Next › Last ››

JAWsome

Posted In: comic
└ Tags: dinosaur, lucy, mr monkey, walky

Discussion (196) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    March 25, 2021 at 12:04 am | # | Reply

    when’s farting

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      March 25, 2021 at 12:06 am | # | Reply

      They’re all farting constantly. Walky hasn’t added the little cartoon clouds and tooting sounds yet.

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 25, 2021 at 12:13 pm | # | Reply

        It’s the only logical explanation.

      • mrnoidea
        mrnoidea
        March 25, 2021 at 11:35 pm | # | Reply

        Sounds like a machine gun for farts.

        An AK-farty7

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      March 25, 2021 at 4:35 am | # | Reply

      SBD.

      The comic just ended before it got to Mr. Monkey or Dinosaur.

    • Pylgrim
      Pylgrim
      March 25, 2021 at 9:34 am | # | Reply

      How did you think the monkey got that sort of air?

      • Brighter Side
        Brighter Side
        March 25, 2021 at 3:55 pm | # | Reply

        It’s scientifically known that monkeys got mad ups, though only some of them need to use fart power to assist the jump.

  2. Proto_Eevee
    Proto_Eevee
    March 25, 2021 at 12:04 am | # | Reply

    I have a feeling Walky isn’t getting into the newspaper.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      March 25, 2021 at 12:21 am | # | Reply

      Always a Heathcliff…never a Garfield.

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        March 25, 2021 at 8:33 am | # | Reply

        Finally, someone tells the truth about Heathcliff!

        Really, Heathcliff makes Garfield almost look like Krazy Kat by comparison.

        • Lordhaw
          Lordhaw
          March 25, 2021 at 9:15 am | # | Reply

          To be honest I actually liked Heathcliff better than Garfield

          • Albi
            Albi
            March 26, 2021 at 9:10 pm | # | Reply

            Heathcliff said “ACAB,” so I like him more by default.

    • Diner Kinetic
      Diner Kinetic
      March 25, 2021 at 12:28 am | # | Reply

      which is a shame, because after this strip I actually like his more

    • Felix
      Felix
      March 25, 2021 at 10:46 am | # | Reply

      I’m going to make a wild guess and say that somehow they will end up working together.

      • Proto_Eevee
        Proto_Eevee
        March 25, 2021 at 11:14 am | # | Reply

        I doubt it, since Joyce is autobiographical here.

        • Rose by Any Other Name
          Rose by Any Other Name
          March 25, 2021 at 12:11 pm | # | Reply

          I dunno – both Joyce and Walky’s comics have autobiographical aspects here.
          Considering the time and effort being put into this arc, I would not be surprised if the answer ended up being “both”.

          • Clif
            Clif
            March 25, 2021 at 4:38 pm | # | Reply

            Lucy will be so pleased.

          • JA
            JA
            March 25, 2021 at 10:57 pm | # | Reply

            It’ll actually go to Booster, who decided to try out for the position last-minute on a lark.

  3. General Tekno
    General Tekno
    March 25, 2021 at 12:07 am | # | Reply

    Having read university newspaper comics, this would absolutely get published.

    • Anna
      Anna
      March 25, 2021 at 8:41 am | # | Reply

      True. My university’s paper was notorious for being a closed group. Every year they’d look for new contributors and ask for ideas…then they’d keep publishing the worst comics/stories ever, and steal the ideas. I heard a girl who later became relatively successful with her comics had tried offering them to the student paper as well – never heard back from them.

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      March 25, 2021 at 10:45 am | # | Reply

      They’ll BOH be accepted bc it’s content

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        March 25, 2021 at 10:46 am | # | Reply

        BOTH

        THANKX PHONE

        • Clif
          Clif
          March 25, 2021 at 12:20 pm | # | Reply

          You could have pretended that BOH was an Internet abbreviation we had never heard of and we’d never know the difference.

          • Ana Chronistic
            Ana Chronistic
            March 26, 2021 at 12:01 am | # | Reply

            They’ll BUST OUT HAPPILY be accepted bc it’s content

  4. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    March 25, 2021 at 12:07 am | # | Reply

    Wait, is Walky actually the underdog in this contest?!?!

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      March 25, 2021 at 12:12 am | # | Reply

      Not judging by the number of commenters who voted for him, he’s not.

      • Sirksome
        Sirksome
        March 25, 2021 at 12:19 am | # | Reply

        That poll was started very premature. Like betting on a horse before you’ve even seen it. New developments are happening in day by day simulated real time. I wonder if some people are re-evaluating their vote. Ultimately though I think it’s probably Daisy’s opinion that matters more than artistic ability or writing. The first one to add a hot young superwoman character with a chest window wins!

        • Bicycle Bill
          Bicycle Bill
          March 25, 2021 at 12:32 am | # | Reply

          “Ultimately though I think it’s probably Daisy’s opinion that matters more than artistic ability or writing. The first one to add a hot young superwoman character with a chest window wins!”
          ↑ ↑
          This.

          • RassilonTDavros
            RassilonTDavros
            March 25, 2021 at 12:34 am | # | Reply

            Daisy is going to give it to Joyce because of Julia and Doris’ relationship.

            • Sporky
              Sporky
              March 25, 2021 at 5:39 am | # | Reply

              Oh my god, that’d be next level

          • Clif
            Clif
            March 25, 2021 at 2:31 am | # | Reply

            I was expecting the arrows to point to chest window.

            • Bicycle Bill
              Bicycle Bill
              March 25, 2021 at 2:48 am | # | Reply

              If I knew how to properly format it, it would have.  

              • Clif
                Clif
                March 25, 2021 at 12:28 pm | # | Reply

                I think you’d have to use the code tag to get the blanks.

                ^^
                I have no idea how you got the arrows. I’d have to be on my computer and copy and paste them.

                • Clif
                  Clif
                  March 25, 2021 at 12:30 pm | #

                  and the code tag did not work to preserve the blanks. I guess the best you can do is use periods for spacing.

                • Clif
                  Clif
                  March 25, 2021 at 12:37 pm | #

                  And now I’m curious. Maybe if I had put the symbols inside the scope of the code instead of after.

                  ^^
                  vs
                  ……………………………………………………………………………..^^………………………………………

              • Jhon
                Jhon
                March 25, 2021 at 2:44 pm | # | Reply

                Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat with a
                chest window
                ↑ ↑

                • Jhon
                  Jhon
                  March 25, 2021 at 2:47 pm | #

                  No html involved. You just make sure that ‘chest window’ and the arrows both start on new lines.

                • Clif
                  Clif
                  March 25, 2021 at 4:04 pm | #

                  How did you get the arrows? More importantly how did you get the double space between them?

                • Jhon
                  Jhon
                  March 25, 2021 at 4:38 pm | #

                  I cheated. ( copy and paste )
                  No, it’s not a double space. But if you need one, you can use a non-breaking space — which tells the browser ‘I want a space here:     so don’t collapse it. I really mean it.’ (that should have been at least 3 spaces)

        • King Daniel
          King Daniel
          March 25, 2021 at 1:06 am | # | Reply

          The poll currently has 8,464 voters as of this typing, which (excluding “Favorite/Hottest Character”-type polls, which regularly see over 10k voters, the record being around 12k) already makes it the third-most-voted-in DoA poll of all time for “general”-type polls…and by a margin of just around a thousand votes from the #1 spot. And Joyce is currently over three thousand votes behind Walky, so looking at prior patterns would make it seem unlikely that even a sudden surge would make her surpass him in that regard. 😛

          • Reltzik
            Reltzik
            March 25, 2021 at 8:16 am | # | Reply

            People are allowed to change their votes after this strip, though.

            … wait, are they allowed to change their votes? I might be getting my website polling aps mixed up.

            • milu
              milu
              March 25, 2021 at 5:24 pm | # | Reply

              i don’t think it’s so sophisticated that individual voters are offered the option to “change their vote”. I have definitely been able to cast more than one vote though.

              • King Daniel
                King Daniel
                March 25, 2021 at 9:45 pm | # | Reply

                Unless there’s something I’m missing, the ability to cast multiple votes is ordinarily limited to specific polls which allow for multiple choices (certain of the Favorite Character polls, for example).

                • milu
                  milu
                  March 25, 2021 at 10:33 pm | #

                  i mean i’ve voted on the same poll on different days. Maybe because i accessed the page from a different device, or network or whatever, i haven’t paid too much attention beyond going like, “i’m allowed to vote again?! sweet”

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          March 25, 2021 at 10:34 am | # | Reply

          Panel 1: Lawyer standing around, dinosaur walks into frame.

          Panel 2: Dinosaur points and laughs at lawyer.

          Panel 3: Amazi-Girl With Chest Window swoops in, kicks lawyer in face

          Fixed it for ya

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            March 25, 2021 at 3:03 pm | # | Reply

            1) Dina standing around, dinosaur walks into frame
            2) Dina critiques dinosaur design
            3) Monkey and dinosaur slink off screen in shame.

            • Opus the Poet
              Opus the Poet
              March 25, 2021 at 5:50 pm | # | Reply

              But does Dina even exist in DOA’s Walkyverse? I mean we are two comic universes deep there, can a character migrate from one universe to another inside one of the comic universes? The metaphysics are confounding.

          • Clif
            Clif
            March 25, 2021 at 3:19 pm | # | Reply

            Indeed you did.

        • Julez
          Julez
          March 25, 2021 at 9:49 pm | # | Reply

          I’m feeling pretty justified in my early Joyce vote.

      • Yotomoe
        Yotomoe
        March 25, 2021 at 12:19 am | # | Reply

        Don’t more people feel compelled to root for the underdog? I’m sure the poll would be waaay different if we were betting on who we think WILL win.

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      March 25, 2021 at 12:34 am | # | Reply

      Sort of? Kind of deserves to be, honestly.

  5. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    March 25, 2021 at 12:07 am | # | Reply

    I am simultaneously laughing and mourning Mike all over again.

    • Clif
      Clif
      March 25, 2021 at 2:32 am | # | Reply

      Same

      • Deanatay
        Deanatay
        March 25, 2021 at 10:36 am | # | Reply

        But Mike’s not even IN this comic…

        • Clif
          Clif
          March 25, 2021 at 3:21 pm | # | Reply

          Mike is a force of nature. Trust me ; he’s in the comic.

  6. Jane
    Jane
    March 25, 2021 at 12:08 am | # | Reply

    Depressingly, this seems more suited to the format than Joyce’s comic, even if it’s… Well, that.

  7. C.T Phipps
    C.T Phipps
    March 25, 2021 at 12:08 am | # | Reply

    I think this is how Ax Cop got started.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      March 25, 2021 at 2:35 am | # | Reply

      One day, at the scene of a kicking, a dinosaur found the perfect schadenfreude.

  8. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    March 25, 2021 at 12:10 am | # | Reply

    Well Walky, it is better than I can draw that’s for certain. Not sure how I feel about the story yet but we need a few dozen strips before I can judge that.

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      March 25, 2021 at 12:11 am | # | Reply

      Also, I love that Mr Monkey and Dinosaur are tagged but the victim of the jumpkick goes unrecognized.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        March 25, 2021 at 1:40 am | # | Reply

        That’s Calvin’s dad from Calvin and Hobbes.

  9. Leorale
    Leorale
    March 25, 2021 at 12:11 am | # | Reply

    Please join me in rejoicing for the Return of Lawsome

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      March 25, 2021 at 12:13 am | # | Reply

      You mean JAWsome

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      March 25, 2021 at 5:15 am | # | Reply

      It’s beautiful. A rare bless you Willis for this.

  10. MM
    MM
    March 25, 2021 at 12:13 am | # | Reply

    The title had me expecting a shark. 🙁

    • RacingTurtle
      RacingTurtle
      March 25, 2021 at 12:41 am | # | Reply

      Someday a shark will be laughed at then jump kicked. It’ll be a special aquatic episode of JAWsome.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        March 25, 2021 at 4:01 am | # | Reply

        And the series will have jumped the shark.

        • Clif
          Clif
          March 25, 2021 at 3:23 pm | # | Reply

          Jump-kicked the shark, yeah.

    • Tobias
      Tobias
      March 25, 2021 at 7:43 am | # | Reply

      It had me expecting an Omori reference, to be specific. Though given the length of Willis’s buffer it’s entirely likely this strip was written before that game even came out.

  11. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    March 25, 2021 at 12:15 am | # | Reply

    *plays Aldo Nova’s “Monkey On Your Back” on the hacked Muzak*

    • CityKidd
      CityKidd
      March 25, 2021 at 8:48 am | # | Reply

      I’m thrilled someone else remembers Aldo Nova.

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        March 25, 2021 at 5:52 pm | # | Reply

        Life is just a fantasy.

  12. Robbie
    Robbie
    March 25, 2021 at 12:16 am | # | Reply

    I feel like walky’s gonna get picked because his strips are less complicated

    • Jhon
      Jhon
      March 25, 2021 at 9:45 am | # | Reply

      Lucy: Why does this outfit have a cutout over the cleavage? I can’t wear this. It’s cold outside!
      Walky: But it’s for Journalism! I mean, Art!

  13. BBCC
    BBCC
    March 25, 2021 at 12:17 am | # | Reply

    Looks like Walky misses Mike.

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      March 25, 2021 at 12:27 am | # | Reply

      Has Mike ever actually jump kicked anyone in this comic though? It’s possible, but I don’t think he has.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        March 25, 2021 at 12:46 am | # | Reply

        The character doing the kicking looks like him to me.

        • Sirksome
          Sirksome
          March 25, 2021 at 12:54 am | # | Reply

          Mike didn’t die. He just went to a different universe where he’s a monkey that jump kicks people and hangs with dinosaurs! A better use of his time.

          • Reltzik
            Reltzik
            March 25, 2021 at 1:15 am | # | Reply

            Witness Protection really went all-out.

            • milu
              milu
              March 25, 2021 at 4:56 am | # | Reply

              FUNNY COMMENT xD

              • Clif
                Clif
                March 25, 2021 at 4:15 pm | # | Reply

                If witness protection really moved Mike to another universe, that means Booster is free to learn all they can about Mike so that they can drop subtle clues to make Amber suspect they really are Mike, which will distract her from her and Jennifer’s plan to eventually record a confession from Asher. Amazigirl wants to see Asher behind bars, but Amber just wants to know who to thank for ordering the death of her father.

                • milu
                  milu
                  March 25, 2021 at 5:33 pm | #

                  “if 1 tinfoil hat theory = true
                  then all tinfoil hat theories = true”
                  is a meta tinfoil hat theory.
                  which is true according to itself

                • Opus the Poet
                  Opus the Poet
                  March 25, 2021 at 5:54 pm | #

                  JFK faked his death and also faked the moon landing… Too meta?

    • Sombrero
      Sombrero
      March 25, 2021 at 7:42 am | # | Reply

      Looks like Walky’s inability to cope with Mike’s loss will make Mr. Monkey a media star.

  14. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    March 25, 2021 at 12:17 am | # | Reply

    I mean getting a comic of yourself getting jumpkicked by a monkey is basically 2nd base. Befriending the monkey is 3rd.

    • milu
      milu
      March 25, 2021 at 4:58 am | # | Reply

      “Befriending” the “monkey”

      • Keulen
        Keulen
        March 25, 2021 at 5:17 am | # | Reply

        Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

        • Falconer
          Falconer
          March 25, 2021 at 9:18 am | # | Reply

          At this point I think it’s pretty clear that Lucy could be halfway through befriending Walky’s monkey before he’d even notice.

          Go crush on someone else, sweetheart. I hear that nice Jacob is single!

          • Clif
            Clif
            March 25, 2021 at 4:25 pm | # | Reply

            Mike can’t introduce them if he’s dead. Joyce can’t introduce them if she isn’t talking to Jacob. Joe doesn’t know Lucy and neither does Ethan. Sal wouldn’t be motivated. Walky is apparently oblivious.

            That leaves Danny, who doesn’t know either of them, but it’s Danny.

  15. StClair
    StClair
    March 25, 2021 at 12:17 am | # | Reply

    See, the joke is that it’s the sort of thing a literal five year old would find funny, and it’s being created by and for university students.

    Wait, that’s not the (intended) joke?

    • milu
      milu
      March 25, 2021 at 5:21 am | # | Reply

      Some 5 year olds are hilarious, honestly

      • Doom Shepherd
        Doom Shepherd
        March 25, 2021 at 3:30 pm | # | Reply

        Axe Cop is funny, so…

    • Sporky
      Sporky
      March 25, 2021 at 5:41 am | # | Reply

      The joke is that it’s the sort of thing a literal five year old would find funny, and David Willis wrote it in his twenties.

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        March 25, 2021 at 4:33 pm | # | Reply

        Well, aren’t his kids about the right age now?

      • Jhon
        Jhon
        March 25, 2021 at 4:46 pm | # | Reply

        Hush! We agreed not to talk about that!

  16. Pan
    Pan
    March 25, 2021 at 12:19 am | # | Reply

    So since the guy in the comic doesn’t have a unique tag is it Walky?

  17. Proto_Eevee
    Proto_Eevee
    March 25, 2021 at 12:20 am | # | Reply

    If Joyce’s comic is based on Roomies, then is Walky’s comic based on somebody else’s comic from back then?

    • Diner Kinetic
      Diner Kinetic
      March 25, 2021 at 12:29 am | # | Reply

      just google LAWsome

      It’ll be worth it

      • Nayann Martinelli
        Nayann Martinelli
        March 25, 2021 at 12:42 am | # | Reply

        My life is changed forever, for I read the webcomic to end all webcomics and your mom.

      • Proto_Eevee
        Proto_Eevee
        March 25, 2021 at 12:51 am | # | Reply

        LAWsome is the best thing I’ve ever seen

        • Sombrero
          Sombrero
          March 25, 2021 at 7:43 am | # | Reply

          You ain’t seen half of JAWsome yet.

    • Agemegos
      Agemegos
      March 25, 2021 at 4:37 am | # | Reply

      Willis’s:

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/blog/lawsome/

  18. Grimeyville
    Grimeyville
    March 25, 2021 at 12:21 am | # | Reply

    So the takeaway is that Walky and Joyce should work together right?

    RIGHT!?

    • Proto_Eevee
      Proto_Eevee
      March 25, 2021 at 1:50 am | # | Reply

      Walky would only bring her down.

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 25, 2021 at 3:27 pm | # | Reply

        I agree completely.

  19. Grimeyville
    Grimeyville
    March 25, 2021 at 12:21 am | # | Reply

    So the takeaway is that Walky and Joyce should work together right?

    RIGHT!?

    • Stanistani
      Stanistani
      March 25, 2021 at 8:16 am | # | Reply

      Joyce would only bring him down.

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 25, 2021 at 3:28 pm | # | Reply

        I agree completely.

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        March 25, 2021 at 4:36 pm | # | Reply

        No, don’t bring him down, Bruce.

  20. UniqueSnowflake2
    UniqueSnowflake2
    March 25, 2021 at 12:21 am | # | Reply

    Question: Is it “David *M.* Walkerton”?

    • RassilonTDavros
      RassilonTDavros
      March 25, 2021 at 1:26 am | # | Reply

      Hmm… if that’s the case, maybe the “M” could stand for “Mitchell?” That was Linda’s maiden name in the Walkyverse, though who knows if it still is here (Ruth’s and Dina’s last names got changed, after all).

      • He Who Abides
        He Who Abides
        March 25, 2021 at 7:26 am | # | Reply

        David Matilda Walkerton.

        • Sombrero
          Sombrero
          March 25, 2021 at 7:46 am | # | Reply

          David Mike Walkerton

          • RassilonTDavros
            RassilonTDavros
            March 27, 2021 at 10:12 pm | # | Reply

            David Martha Walkerton.

  21. butts
    butts
    March 25, 2021 at 12:28 am | # | Reply

    Instant classic

    • milu
      milu
      March 25, 2021 at 5:27 am | # | Reply

      gamechanger

  22. AbacusWizard
    AbacusWizard
    March 25, 2021 at 12:28 am | # | Reply

    I had previously been voting for Joyce’s comic but this has me reconsidering.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      March 25, 2021 at 10:40 am | # | Reply

      Truly, Walky is honing his craft to a razor’s edge.

  23. Thag Simmons
    Thag Simmons
    March 25, 2021 at 12:35 am | # | Reply

    That is an awful monkey Walky

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      March 25, 2021 at 12:40 am | # | Reply

      Dinosaur isn’t great either

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 25, 2021 at 3:30 pm | # | Reply

        The dinosaur is awful great. I agree completely.

  24. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    March 25, 2021 at 12:40 am | # | Reply

    What if I draw you making out with Mr. Monkey. He could use a love interest.

    • Kernanator
      Kernanator
      March 25, 2021 at 12:52 am | # | Reply

      And then they perform a double jumpkick on some asshole. Perfect!

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 25, 2021 at 4:46 pm | # | Reply

        Yotomoe can draw me making out with Mr. Monkey any time he wants. As long as I get a cut of any royalties.

  25. Nayann Martinelli
    Nayann Martinelli
    March 25, 2021 at 12:45 am | # | Reply

    Well, that is something, more than I expected an self-avowed lazy person to do, to be sure.

  26. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    March 25, 2021 at 12:54 am | # | Reply

    I would genuinely read Joyce and Walky’s comics on a regular basis. Lord knows I’ve stuck with some comics that had less going on.

    (Not an invitation to trash other comics in replies, just since that feels like “and then feelings got hurt” territory.)

  27. Moonie
    Moonie
    March 25, 2021 at 12:54 am | # | Reply

    This is honestly much funnier than Joyce’s

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      March 25, 2021 at 2:43 am | # | Reply

      Eh, for now I chalk that up to the genre. Slice-of-life has staying power but needs more than a couple installments to get going, gag-a-day works immediately but won’t hold the audience’s attention if it’s always just the same gag every day.

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 25, 2021 at 3:33 pm | # | Reply

        Repetition legitimizes.

        • Clif
          Clif
          March 25, 2021 at 3:57 pm | # | Reply

          Repetition legitimizes.

          • milu
            milu
            March 25, 2021 at 5:39 pm | # | Reply

            “How To Not Suck At Comics”

  28. Huehuetotl
    Huehuetotl
    March 25, 2021 at 1:02 am | # | Reply

    Dinosaur previously seen in book 1. Not tagged though.

    • Huehuetotl
      Huehuetotl
      March 25, 2021 at 1:03 am | # | Reply

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/notes/

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        March 25, 2021 at 1:17 am | # | Reply

        And also here (in a sequel to the strip Huehuetotl linked): https://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/05-media-rumble/mine/

        • Sirksome
          Sirksome
          March 25, 2021 at 1:37 am | # | Reply

          This is a really interesting strip to look back on now. You could even say it teased a DinaxWalky ship. Commentors seemed to think so. But over time their characters developed in a way that makes this strip seem a tiny bit surreal. It’s innocent enough not to be a mischaracterization but it’s like this was a early idea seed that didn’t grow. Would Dina even do something like this now? I’d say she probably dislikes Walky more than likes him. Does she still have the drawing? Very interesting.

          • Clif
            Clif
            March 25, 2021 at 3:36 pm | # | Reply

            Artist shmartest. It’s a dinosaur devouring a bowtied TA. What’s not to love?

  29. Buttery Commissar
    Buttery Commissar
    March 25, 2021 at 1:06 am | # | Reply

    Strong suspicion neither of them get the gig, and some third outlier nets it instead.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      March 25, 2021 at 1:51 am | # | Reply

      “Malaya? You wasn’t even in the competition.”

      “Eh, whatever.”

    • DaveM
      DaveM
      March 25, 2021 at 2:18 am | # | Reply

      Mary ends up being hired because Daisy finds her anime chick tracts to be hilarious, not realising Mary is being quite serious. Eventually they both discover the others real opinion and comedy happens (possibly sexy comedy).

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        March 25, 2021 at 5:09 am | # | Reply

        Comedy: Mary suffers all the grim fates she inflicted on characters in her tracts as punishments for their sins.

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          March 25, 2021 at 6:22 pm | # | Reply

          That actually happened to the guy who did Chick Tracts. Sort of, he died a slow and painful death from cancer.

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      March 25, 2021 at 7:40 am | # | Reply

      Booster does a daily strip of people being told what is wrong with them.

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 25, 2021 at 3:38 pm | # | Reply

        But occasionally they will subtly slip in one involving nickles and your mom.

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          March 25, 2021 at 6:26 pm | # | Reply

          Or just nickels and moms in general.

  30. Bagge
    Bagge
    March 25, 2021 at 1:50 am | # | Reply

    I want to see where Lucy’s idea is going.

    • milu
      milu
      March 25, 2021 at 5:11 am | # | Reply

      Actually if someone gets jumpkicked every time, having her just hang out with the t-rex and monkey subverts expectations. And that could actually be funny

    • hof1991
      hof1991
      March 25, 2021 at 8:47 am | # | Reply

      She reads Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, as should we all.

  31. Rycan
    Rycan
    March 25, 2021 at 1:56 am | # | Reply

    And to think that Walky is being the considerate one when it comes to incorporating his friends into the comic…

  32. NinjaNick
    NinjaNick
    March 25, 2021 at 2:30 am | # | Reply

    I won’t mind seeing a drawn Lucy jumpkick someone?

  33. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    March 25, 2021 at 2:39 am | # | Reply

    Why is Dinosaur laughing at Briefcase Guy before he gets jumpkicked? Is it the glasses and trenchcoat?

    Walky needs to work on his panel structure and timing.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      March 25, 2021 at 3:08 am | # | Reply

      Walky doesn’t know either. He as much as admitted to Joyce that the whole thing would be just random from day one.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        March 25, 2021 at 4:44 am | # | Reply

        I thought the entire idea for LJAWsome was “every day, somebody different gets jumpkicked in the balls”. That’s only going to last a few consecutive strips before it gets stale.

        This one would’ve worked better with a fourth panel and a little re-arranging:

        1- Briefcase standing in a void, Monkey running into frame
        2- Briefcase surprised, Monkey in midair
        3- Briefcase kicked by Monkey, Dinosaur walks into frame
        4- Briefcase on the ground in the fetal position, protecting the smashed remains of his nads. Monkey farts on him. Dinosaur laughs.

        That doesn’t fix the problem that Walky only has one gag written (the exact opposite of Joyce’s problem), but it’s a start.

        • Sombrero
          Sombrero
          March 25, 2021 at 7:55 am | # | Reply

          There are two main ways to avoid staleness in JAWsome:

          1. Mass appeal. Each day one widely hated public character gets kicked in the balls.

          2. Cult status. Each day one hugely lovable character gets kicked in the balls, and this quickly escalates to very daring heights (like kicking a small innocent child) until general uproar of the well-thinking forces Daisy to cancel the strip very early (say, after just 4-5 strips).

  34. BenRG
    BenRG
    March 25, 2021 at 3:08 am | # | Reply

    Joyce, seriously? You have nothing to worry about so long as you get the characterisation issues fixed.

  35. Chronos
    Chronos
    March 25, 2021 at 3:54 am | # | Reply

    …suddenly I realize Joyce and Walky are going to co-write the college comic.

    • Lone Duck
      Lone Duck
      March 25, 2021 at 4:42 am | # | Reply

      That’s my take too.

  36. milu
    milu
    March 25, 2021 at 5:08 am | # | Reply

    GENIUS

  37. Keulen
    Keulen
    March 25, 2021 at 5:20 am | # | Reply

    This makes me glad I voted for Walky in the poll.

  38. Kaffeeteria
    Kaffeeteria
    March 25, 2021 at 5:58 am | # | Reply

    Walky is just a shitty person.

  39. Common sense
    Common sense
    March 25, 2021 at 6:15 am | # | Reply

    Welp, his comics is already much more entertaining then Joyces.
    Sorry Girl. you made a good effort, but you simply couldnt step up to the high sense of Comedy and craftmanship that walky shows here.

  40. Nenja
    Nenja
    March 25, 2021 at 6:56 am | # | Reply

    … I really hope Joyce gets the job.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      March 25, 2021 at 8:15 am | # | Reply

      I dunno, her first strip wasn’t that great either. At this point I think the answer to the question “who should get the newspaper comic strip job” is “neither”.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        March 25, 2021 at 10:54 am | # | Reply

        It’s a campus paper strip. They’re really almost all bad.

        • Roborat
          Roborat
          March 25, 2021 at 4:44 pm | # | Reply

          Hey, Bob the Angry Flower and Bub Slug both started in my University Paper in the early 1980s. Bob is still running and Bub morphed into Betty, which is also still running.

          • Opus the Poet
            Opus the Poet
            March 25, 2021 at 6:29 pm | # | Reply

            Also the characters that became the Simpsons started in a college comic about that same time.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            March 25, 2021 at 11:34 pm | # | Reply

            Yeah, there are lots of good comics that started in college papers. But there hundreds of college papers with multiple new comic strips at least every four years. Probably a few dozen of which ever went anywhere.
            I stand by them really almost all being bad. Despite the exceptions.

  41. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    March 25, 2021 at 7:22 am | # | Reply

    Wow Walky…. Everyone can easly see Bill Watterson’s influence on you. This can be a success!

  42. Fist_of_Life
    Fist_of_Life
    March 25, 2021 at 7:37 am | # | Reply

    The idea of having Lucy in the comic, but actually getting dropkicked gave me an idea. They could have people submit their names into a drawing that picks a winner every so often. The winner’s prize? They get featured in the Walky’s comic and get dropkicked.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      March 25, 2021 at 8:13 am | # | Reply

      Could they submit other peoples’ names?

  43. Varangian
    Varangian
    March 25, 2021 at 8:06 am | # | Reply

    Briefcase Guy is kind of Jason-shaped…Man, EVERYONE is drawing people dark-haired, huh…

  44. LightPunster
    LightPunster
    March 25, 2021 at 8:29 am | # | Reply

    It’s a commentary on the absurdity of modern life and the desire to Return to Monke, or even Revert to Rex

    • milu
      milu
      March 25, 2021 at 4:57 pm | # | Reply

      (LightPunster & Milu (2021). “Insult To Injury: a hermeneutic journey into the paroxystic solipsism and post-baudrillardian nostalgia of David Walkerton’s Jawsome”, Bloomington University Tabloid of Terrible Scholarship, vol. 1)

  45. Didi
    Didi
    March 25, 2021 at 9:18 am | # | Reply

    Dina would be angry. This dinosaur isn’t accurate

  46. Tabris FireWater
    Tabris FireWater
    March 25, 2021 at 9:28 am | # | Reply

    Walky’s is roughly 15 million times better than Joyce’s.
    I’m not even joking. I really miss Lawsome.

  47. Jhon
    Jhon
    March 25, 2021 at 9:33 am | # | Reply

    gets out pins and notes and colored string

    Daisy needs a girlfriend. And she wants photos of a super-heroine as a focus for her fantasy life.
    Amazi-Girl has hung up the cape, according to Walky.
    Walky has dressed up as the hero ‘NightGuy’, possibly as a reaction to feeling useless during the kidnapping.
    When Walky mentions NightGuy to Daisy, she hears ‘NightGirl’.
    Walky is excited about making a comic, but struggling for a theme to base it on.
    Lucy has a poster of Starfire, and a crush on Walky.
    Mike, who could be relied upon to crush everyone’s fantasies to the ground, is dead.
    Booster, Walky’s replacement roommate, is into photography. And wants to show off by telling everyone how messed up they are.

    Ethan, now on a journey of self discovery, returns to find Indiana University lying in ruins.

    • SolomonK
      SolomonK
      March 25, 2021 at 11:43 am | # | Reply

      What theme or themes are explored in Dumbing of Age? Is there a forum where questions like mine are discussed?

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 25, 2021 at 3:48 pm | # | Reply

        Discuss away.

        The obvious theme is of young people growing up and becoming better people by virtue of doing dumb things and having to learn from the experience. It’s a universal theme because, in reality, the process never stops; you just graduate to bigger and better learning opportunities by doing ever more sophisticated dumb things.

    • milu
      milu
      March 25, 2021 at 4:14 pm | # | Reply

      OH MY GOD
      HOW DID WE NO SEE IT
      IT ALL MAKES PERFECT SENSE NOW

  48. jdorr
    jdorr
    March 25, 2021 at 10:24 am | # | Reply

    What if she befriends them to help jump kick people?

  49. Alex
    Alex
    March 25, 2021 at 11:48 am | # | Reply

    I hate to say it but this is actually way funnier than the Julia Gray characters staring at each other awkwardly.

  50. BenRG
    BenRG
    March 25, 2021 at 12:16 pm | # | Reply

    Jeph Jacques once had a side-continuity set around a verbally abusive songbird, a human and a variety of other weird creatures including an Orb of Shame and a Bandicoot that was also some kind of representation.

    SUGGESTION
    Rex and Monkey are the Lucy expy’s imaginary friends (or so she thinks of them) and the fact that something resembling them keeps on laughing at and jump-kicking people she doesn’t like is just a weird coincidence. Or is it?

    Something at least as bizarre sustained Girls With Slingshots for years!

    • Alex
      Alex
      March 25, 2021 at 1:28 pm | # | Reply

      I have trouble imagining Lucy not liking someone.

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      March 25, 2021 at 6:33 pm | # | Reply

      Pedro and Pudding Cat (Choo Choo Bear from Something*Positive in a crossover).

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        March 25, 2021 at 6:35 pm | # | Reply

        Speaking of that, what happened to the S*P crossover with Carla from SP! ?

  51. Diane
    Diane
    March 25, 2021 at 1:37 pm | # | Reply

    I can’t wait to see what Asher draws for comics. Because he totally would because Jennifer is going to the newspaper place, and doesn’t want Walky there so she has Asher do it so he has no reason to go there.

    I’m throwing stuff at a wall and seeing if it sticks, but I think it’d be best if NEITHER Walky or Joyce did the comic now.

    • Clif
      Clif
      March 25, 2021 at 4:35 pm | # | Reply

      But then we wouldn’t get to see more of Joyce’s strip and we wouldn’t get to see more of Mike Mr. Monkey.

  52. Segnosaur
    Segnosaur
    March 25, 2021 at 2:21 pm | # | Reply

    The big question I have is…

    Will Dina love the comic because it has a dinosaur in it, or will she hate it because the dinosaur does not have the correct anatomy?

    • Jhon
      Jhon
      March 25, 2021 at 2:31 pm | # | Reply

      Scroll up and you will find a link to a Walky dino doodle that Dina enjoyed.

      (Always read the comments before you post. When I neglect to do this, I often end up looking like an idiot.)

      • milu
        milu
        March 25, 2021 at 4:10 pm | # | Reply

        otoh in that strip (here’s a relink for convenience) though the T-Rex’s forelimbs are exaggerated, their overall posture is not shown and may not be faulty. But a T-Rex with a vertical spine??! SMH in Dina

        • Agemegos
          Agemegos
          March 25, 2021 at 10:54 pm | # | Reply

          Sydney Morning Herald?

          • milu
            milu
            March 26, 2021 at 12:09 am | # | Reply

            Yeah im not sure why i capitalized that.
            But just in case you actually didnt know what it stands for: Shaking My Head!

  53. Brighter Side
    Brighter Side
    March 25, 2021 at 3:54 pm | # | Reply

    I’m not sure if this wildly surpassed expectations or disappointed me. Either way, it’s a very Walky comic.

    • Clif
      Clif
      March 25, 2021 at 4:36 pm | # | Reply

      It could do both.

  54. Roborat
    Roborat
    March 25, 2021 at 4:46 pm | # | Reply

    Well I am going to go out on a limb here, and predict that Ryan North has nothing to worry about.

  55. Spencer
    Spencer
    March 25, 2021 at 6:24 pm | # | Reply

    I can’t believe David M. Willis referenced the seminal 90s classic animated series, Street Sharks, in the year of our lord 2021.

  56. mrnoidea
    mrnoidea
    March 25, 2021 at 11:29 pm | # | Reply

    Alternate comic title: Insult Before Injury

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