257

Sisters
Posted on October 28, 2011 by David M Willis
This is the last strip of Book One!  Now I have to go shove all of these into an inDesign document. Next, Book Two!  With a first storyline that I haven't titled yet, as of this writing.

257 thoughts on “Sisters”

  1. Mkvenner

    Awwwww.

    1. ViralBiae

      DAMMIT WILLIS, you just gave everyone reading your comic diabeetus.

      And Sarah kinda looks like Rochelle.

      1. NCP19

        I need help over here!

        1. katzgoboom

          MEDIC!

        2. JetFool

          I NEED A DISPENSER HERE!

        3. Elintepic

          Everyone knows TF2 here!!!! Yeayuh!

        4. SirConan

          This.

        5. Luke

          im downed

    2. calendarman27

      Ending the week with a nice frid’aawww strip

    3. isitsevenyet

      Me too! 😀

    4. aqua

      awwwwwwwwwwwwww

    5. Iceholder

      D’AAAAAAWWWWWW

    6. Commander Clash

      Aweness to the infinate degree…kitten before its eyes are open cute.

    7. Sammael

      aaaw-aa–aww– aww-aaw—
      I’m not c-c-crying, is dust in my eye!

      1. TheBenenator

        Perfect avatar for a Tsundere comment.

      2. MichaelHaneline

        For your information, there is just an inflammation in her tear gland.
        Her eyes are just a little sweaty today.
        They aren’t tears of sadness, they’re tears of joy, she’s been laughing. Ha. Ha. HA. HA.

        1. MichaelHaneline

          Ha.

    8. Plasma Mongoose

      HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!

      1. Minz

        BAHAHAHA That was brilliant. Kudos.

  2. Jack Napier

    Happy d’awwwwwww!

    1. zepherdossier

      so much D’aaawwww
      it’s like D’awwwson’s creek over here!

      only you know
      without all the suck.

  3. Kernanator

    Awwww, she really DOES care!

    1. arjay2813

      unfortunately its the kind of caring where someone will forget it the next day. except that while trying to comfort Joyce she’ll probably rollover onto sarah’s hand or get her in a bearhug, just to make monday funny, but i like this ending

      1. David Herbert

        And then on Monday Joyce wakes up with Sarah and assumes they had sex, killing the mood and making everyone giggle uncontrollably.

        1. Kernanator

          That’s the best kind of awkward.

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          Moreso if there were hands on places where they shouldn’t be. 😀

        3. Noidontthinkso

          Well that’s a disgusting concept.

        4. Jamal K.

          Your avatar says otherwise.

        5. Noidontthinkso

          Not an avatar I picked. Point is, one of the parties here is a drugged girl. Any inappropriate behavior is no less a form of rape than it was when the potential offender was Ryan.

        6. Jabberwocky

          Can you control where your hands decide to go while you’re asleep? Because I sure can’t.

        7. David

          http://youtu.be/kCqcMOB6STc?t=46s

        8. Noidontthinkso

          @Jabberwocky I assumed it obvious that unintentional remains unintentional. But considering the same poster said “it’s never to late to early in the morning to learn [what lesbians are]…

          That’s the context to my response to a specific person that` was not you. And to be clear: It certainly is the wrong time for a person to find out what a lesbian is when said person is drugged and won’t remember the evening.

        9. Joraiem

          Joyce might not even know what lesbians are.

        10. Plasma Mongoose

          It’s never too late or too early in the morning to learn now. 😀

        11. Ancestral Hamster

          Joyce: “Lesbians? Sure, I know what they are, they’re those pale green beans. My mother usually serves them with lamb chops.”

        12. Wandering meme

          No need. She knows what premarital hanky panky is.

          Just ask joe.

        13. A random reader

          On the first day of Leslie’s class, Leslie made a joke that mentioned lesbians. Joyce’s reaction of horrified embarrassment suggests she knows exactly what that word means.

          However, that doesn’t mean she understand everything involved. If she wakes up and thinks they were romantically involved, she might react horrified, thinking that means she’s been turned into one.

        14. ryan

          what kind of strange world do you live in where monday follows friday?

        15. begbert2

          Good lord, that’s a HORRIBLE thought. DAMN YOU HERBERT!

  4. Moonshine McGee

    This made me smile uncontrollably.

    1. Kernanator

      C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

      1. Moonshine McGee

        Actually, the nostalgia of Killer Instinct just made it worse.

    2. fellixe

      And Sarah’s heart grew 3 sizes that day…

      1. iSaidCandleja-

        And that’s when she died of cardiovascular disease. Joyce woke up with no memory of how she ending up sleeping next to a corpse.

        1. Kernanator

          Goddammit Candlejack, you’re such a dow

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          Then her brain will shut down…

        3. Wandering meme

          Ok then, just her penis.

        4. fellixe

          Which shall stand alone!

  5. The Sound Defense

    How many “d’aww”s in a row can one comment section sustain?

    Let’s find out.

    1. Kernanator

      Apparently only 3.

      1. Joraiem

        How many “d’aww”s can it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

        The world may never know.

        1. Kernanator

          Jora, you have made my day. Thank you.

        2. iSaidCandleja-

          Isn’t there a backgroud character named Tootsie? Cause I think she’ll help you find out.

        3. saturnwonder

          The world may never know

  6. David Herbert

    And now my teeth have rotted away because it’s so sweet.

    Curse you Willis! Your curse is endless happiness!

    1. A random reader

      Completely worth getting dentures for this.

      As long as you take care of them and your mouth, it can work to your advantage. No more cringing when you bite right into a popsicle or any of that crap.

  7. Lihes

    My heart melted… D’awwwww

  8. Platypus

    You all beat me to the punch, Awww.

  9. Plasma Mongoose

    The real question is; will she forget?

    1. Kernanator

      God, with your current image, your comment became about a thousand times more terrifying.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        BWAAHAHAHAHA! Now what were we talking about just now? *spacy*

        1. Kernanator

          ……About how my pants are now very, very wet.

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          If you were a female of the opposite sex, that would be very flattering. 😀

        3. Kernanator

          …Isn’t that a redundant statement?
          And no I am not, unfortunately for you.

        4. a99steaksauce

          its ok im still game.

        5. Plasma Mongoose

          The right ava really can make just about any statement better (or worse).

        6. Plasma Mongoose

          Not really cos females of the SAME sex are a whole different animal, people fall for these sorts of traps all the time. 😀

        7. vlademir1

          Not really redundant at all, since male and female are typically terms of gender identification while man and woman are typically terms of physiological and social sex identification… at least in terms of colloquial speech.

        8. Wandering meme

          I smell a tran-scam.

          I SMELL A TRAN-SCAAAAAAAAM!

        9. Plasma Mongoose

          Is that a new 4chan meme? I haven’t lurked there for quite a while now.

    2. Jacob

      Well, if Sarah hadn’t said anything she would have. Now that she said it, Joyce will never forget.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        But then Joyce will somehow confuse the issue by thinking that this means she is black now or something else equally weird.

        1. derp

          Ohmigosh! Is your avatar Puni from Dai Mahou Touge?

    3. Wandering meme

      I dunno. She forgot a lot of stuff in the last continuity.

      But odds are she will wake up with it. Smiling in sarah’s face. While sarah will deny like bill clinton.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        “I DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THIS WOMAN!”

        1. Wandering meme

          Drama button moment when they wake up! Don’t miss it!

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          My Drama Button is always within reach!

        3. Luke

          Same here, so is are the nuclear launch codes!

        4. shoeboxjeddy

          “That depends on what your definition of “is” is!”

        5. fellixe

          Joyce in one of Sarah’s shirts making scrambled eggs and singing.

  10. Wix

    Regardless of the universe, there’s always a rampant streak of memory loss when it comes to Joyce.

  11. A. Colunga

    Judging by Sarah’s hand orientation in the last panel they are not, I repeat, NOT spooning.

    1. Kernanator

      You SURRRRE about that?

    2. iSaidCandleja-

      Just wait 30 seconds.

    3. Plasma Mongoose

      Also no scissoring!

      1. Kernanator

        Daisy is so disappointed.

        1. iSaidCandleja-

          Daisy and Joe can both sense a wasted opportunity.

        2. Henry

          Daisy (*across campus*): “My pants suddenly just got tight for no reason.

          Roomate looks really confused.

      2. Wandering meme

        Also, no mike sandwich hatefu-
        *slap*

        What? Just talking ’bout mike?

    4. Michelle J Caboose

      Judging by Sarah’s body position in panels 1, 2 and 4, they are not spooning.

  12. Henry

    This strip just gave me diabetes.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      If only Doctor Who was here with a jellybaby… 😀

      1. Henry

        I’m kind of cold. Would he lend me his scarf, too?

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Looks like you already got his hat. 😀

      2. Doctor_Who

        What color you want?

  13. Joraiem

    Oh my god. That was. So freaking cute.

    I just… bluh. My brain just broke.

  14. alicemacher

    Bless you, Willis!

    That’s right.You all heard me. ^_^

    1. Kamino Neko

      Why? Did he sneeze?

      *runs*

  15. Originalslugboy

    Yay!

  16. Jimmy

    Wow, a smile and a tear drop….damn emotions!

  17. The Blot

    I’m really glad to Sarah step up and assume her role as a “main character”! I know you had been holding her back for this storyline, but it was definitely worth it. Another great read Willis!

    1. David

      Phew. Glad it’s understood. If Sarah had been so present in the past year, this wouldn’t have had the same power.

      1. fellixe

        It was filled with surprisey goodness!

      2. Thor

        Lovely, now give us more Dina.

        I INSIST.

        1. a99steaksauce

          and add a smiggin of drunk mike. everyone loves drunk mike.

        2. Wandering meme

          Except Not-drunk Mike, but not-drunk Mike hates everything.

        3. Asuka L.S.

          Mike looks very, VERY unsettling when he looks happy. Like, even more intimidating than when he’s glaring.

        4. Stolen

          Your gravatar makes me wonder if that was sarcasm or not.

        5. Plasma Mongoose

          Asuka L.S, your grav gives off a look of distain.

        6. PedanticJerkass

          Can we please not comment on the gravatars every single thread?

        7. madd

          Your gravatar gives the comment 35% more attitude.

        8. Plasma Mongoose

          PJ, somehow I think that is wishful thinking. ^_^

        9. taekwondogirl

          I would think someone with a username like yours would understand the way the internet works.

        10. Luke

          I agree, More Dina is needed. Now the Armour piercing question is …will she hook up with Mike? or at least find him drunk?

      3. Wandering meme

        Awesome work willis! Female bonding ftw!

  18. AliaPie

    so cute asdfihdasifhudaisfjdasfiuads

  19. Kamino Neko

    I hope Joyce does remember (and is not clueless enough to keep harping on it until Sarah regrets ever saying it)… It’d be good for both of them.

    1. Ryan Balis

      it will surely come to her alooooong time from now when she needs to

  20. Terah

    -Happy squee!-

  21. MM

    D’aww! You…Willis. No words.

  22. Wandering meme

    I salute you sir!

    Toying with our emotions, mind raping us with plot twists, making us laugh, cry, “aww”, and swoon, before finally giving us closure, just to do it all again next week.

    I deeply respect your “awesome”, sir

  23. Doom Shepherd

    Sarah was a good’un all along. I knew it.

  24. Ryan Balis

    Guess I’m gonna have to start saving for the first book.
    Oh Man! Sarah is so cute… when nobody is around ¬¬

    1. Jamal K.

      Well, I’m guessing that she’s one of those people that doesn’t want to be depended on much. I mean, I’m pretty much lazy just so I won’t have a huge workload around the house, leaving me more time for homework/music/TvTropes/etc.

  25. Ridureyu

    This is so sweet:-)

    So sweet that it temporarily stemmed the flood of “Sarah is EVIL!” posts.

    So, uh, “Man, Sarah is SO EVIL! How dare she be nice to someone!”

    1. Ancestral Hamster

      It’s all part of a cunning plan!

      1. Wandering meme

        Yeah, she’s luring her into a false sense of security so the hate can be that much more painful.

        “You always hurt the ones you looooove…”

      2. Clemsonuee

        And some of us have a punning clan.

    2. iSaidCandleja-

      Yeah, I really wanna see more of her backstory so we can learn what would make her act all mushy and sweet. Cause right now it seems like she is just being compassionate for no good reason.

      1. ryan

        why do we need a backstory to explain that? we already know she’s bitter because everyone resented her for narcing on her old roommate. it only makes sense that she would be nice before that incident.

        1. begbert2

          I dunno, some of us were *never* nice. Assume we are at your own peril.

  26. Thor

    If they are sisters, I’m thinking someone was adopted.

    My guess: Beef.

    1. Gargamel

      Why would either be adopted? Sarah is pretty light skinned.

  27. cmglothlin

    Awwwww.

  28. Dahlia

    <3

  29. NinjaNick

    How sweet! 😀

  30. Seven

    Platonic bed-sharing is so cute. Especially when it’s to prevent, y’know, death.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      and especially if it promotes shipping. ^_^

  31. Larson E. Jones

    CALLED IT!!!….five years from now….in a parallel universe…..made of cheese…..linburger cheese……wedged between Cheese Billie’s thighs…..I…..I’m not sure where I was going with this….

  32. Honey-Flash

    Lets say it all together now: D’awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…….
    ….and again!

  33. a99steaksauce

    that seems awful nice of Sarah.

  34. Daeva

    This…is the weirdest comic to read after going on a Bioshock binge. 0_o

    Now if we could just give Sarah a big ‘ol drill hand.

    1. ryan

      “Now if we could just give Sarah a big ‘ol drill hand.”

      *sees joyce and sarah in the same bed*

      oh, my!

  35. Don

    and what will her reaction to waking up in bed with another woman be?
    especially as she will not remember why she is there?

  36. Thomas

    And thus did arise such a mighty d’awww from a thousand throats as if quenched by the purest water from an oasis in the center of a searing desert of fire.

    So it is written.

  37. Asuka L.S.

    I had a whole “I told you so” speech about Sarah’s character set up, but I decided out of taste I should just say this instead:

    I’m relieved that I was right. This is a good dynamic, and I’m very happy to see it. I didn’t WANT Sarah to be a self-righteous jerk, I wanted her to be a well-intentioned big-sister figure.

    1. vlademir1

      Your Gravatar is beyond appropriate for that speech.

  38. Steven

    B’awwwwwwww.

  39. Noidontthinkso

    Alot of people seem to find the theory of date rape cute and sweet and worth smiling over when the rapist is a girl.

    1. begbert2

      That’s because girls are weak and passive things, and so if a girl date-rapes somebody, that somebody must have been willing and interested to allow the weak and passive rapist to continue. this is especially true when the person they’re raping is conscious, but still holds even when they’re not.

      The above goes out the window if their target is even *more* weak and passive than them, like a small child. There’s a hierarchy here.

    2. Brendan

      Wait… WHAT?!

      1. Noidontthinkso

        Comments like these:

        “And then on Monday Joyce wakes up with Sarah and assumes they had sex, killing the mood and making everyone giggle uncontrollably.”

        “That’s the best kind of awkward.”

        “Moreso if there were hands on places where they shouldn’t be.:D”

        Because yeah, it sure would be cute and giggle-worthy if the drugged Christian girl woke up thinking she had been raped by lesbian.

        1. 47

          Personally, the ones about mistaken circumstances don’t bother me that much, but the one about “hands in places they shouldn’t be is bad, as is the one about Dorothy “experimenting” with an unconscious Joyce.
          The fact that we’re just coming off a near date-rape storyline makes it worse, imo.

        2. Brendan

          Ah, I see. I thought you were just referring to the comments calling the strip cute.

        3. Noidontthinkso

          No. This strip IS cute. What isn’t cute is the place people take it to. So much rage when Ryan appeared to be planning to drug a girl and take advantage of her, and jokes about how cute it would be her female friend took advantage of her instead.

          Something seriously broken with some people.

        4. Joraiem

          Fairly certain everyone was joking, since Sarah’s obviously not going to do anything. That’s the thing – if it did seem like Sarah was going to take advantage of her, everyone would be yelling “WOAH NOT COOL.” But because that’s never going to happen, people just decided to have a little fun with it, because it’s a comic. Now that the tension is resolved, people want to have fun.

          So, are they broken for joking around, or are you broken for making it serious business?

        5. Noidontthinkso

          So it’s funny to joke about rape if it’s not likely to occur? So the idea that Joyce might have sex under the influence of roofies (or wake up thinking she did) would be just as cute and giggle worthy to everyone if this was Joe and not Sarah?

          To be clear: The ones who are broken are the ones who think rape is a laughing matter under any circumstances. They’re particularly broken if they think it just serious business when the offender is a male, but sweet when the offender is female. That’s just deranged.

        6. David

          Anything can be a laughing matter. For lots of people, laughter is the only and/or best way to cope with adversity, and rape is a pretty big adversity. If I ever got raped, I guarantee you the darkest corners of humor would be one of the few ways I’d even know how to react. When bad things happen to me, jokes are how I conquer the demons. It’s how I reclaim my power, or at least the illusion thereof.

          Mind, that doesn’t mean I’m going to engineer a story in which rape is hilarious, because that’s not really what I’m trying to accomplish here, nor do I have a reason to try to accomplish that, plus there’s a good chance I’d fail and I’d rather not risk venturing that territory. (There’s a difference between constructing a story in which something terrible is played as funny and reacting to something terrible in real life with humor.) But don’t say that there’s things you can’t ever ever ever joke about. It’s honestly not true.

        7. Noidontthinkso

          I’m engaging in hyperbole. Of course humor can be used to defuse any situation. But making squealing comments about how it might be a good time for Joyce to learn what being a lesbian is, when compared with the utter venom regarding Ryan’s potential intentions (long before clearly stated) is disturbingly hypocritical.

          Let’s try it this way: Replace the caring character with Joe. Add the comment: “it’s never to late to early in the morning for a passed out Joyce to learn the joys of premarital sex. 🙂 ”

          Sure…. any situation can be funny if handled right. The above is an example of a comment that is in disturbingly poor taste.

        8. Joraiem

          Actually, I think people would accept that comment as a standard Joe joke, because we do know that a) Joe is a sex fiend, but b) it’s just a joke, and he would never ever ever do that.

          It’s not a male/female thing here. (Well it is for the shippers, but that’s different.) Ryan was presented from the second comic he was in as (at least) wanting to take advantage of Joyce, and we know that Joe would never ever EVER do that. And yet, if Joe was in Sarah’s place, would there still be comments about him “joeing” her? I think there would be.

          There’s a scale here. The more ridiculous something is, the more likely it is to be used as a joke. If it’s something believable and terrible, it’s creepy, offensive, and just plain unfunny. If it’s unbelievable and terrible? Why do you think there are so many ridiculous dead baby jokes? (Of course, those aren’t funny for entirely different reasons, namely because 12-year-olds invent them.)

          I definitely see where you’re coming from, but none of these people would be responding in the same way if it was actually something occuring, and insulting them is taking this way farther than it needed to go. A “dude, not funny” would have been more appropriate.

        9. a99steaksauce

          Hypocrisy is easily a large part of being human and something people can easily delve into without even noticing. You must have been a hypocrite in some respect at some time in your life. Likely many more times than once.

  40. Acher4

    Cuuuuuuute!
    I love Sarah.

    1. Wandering meme

      Epic cuuuuuuute!

  41. Sagara S.

    d’awwwww i love sarah!

  42. John Harmon

    That was the longest week EVER.

    1. ryan

      i might be alone when i say this, but i hope we get to see saturday and sunday. weekends are important too!

      1. calendarman27

        i agree, i wanna see joyce try to find a church to attend. that will be iiiiiinteresting

  43. John

    Aw, excellent. I was right when I said she was acting like a big sister to Joyce!

  44. Asuka L.S.

    Holy crap! Sorry to break the mood, but Joyce was wearing a T-shirt under that sweater? Her puppies are healthy indeed!

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Healthy puppies are happy puppies.

    2. begbert2

      I’m not sure what your comment was intending to imply – did you think she was wearing padding or something?

      Most girls I know wear shirts under their sweaters, due to sweaters having a loose weave that risks opening peepholes when stretched. Like, around healthy sweater-puppies.

      1. G.S.Mercs

        I think they are implying that the shirt would usually make the healthy puppies even harder to notice through the sweater, but since Joyce’s puppies are so healthy they still stood out. I could be wrong though

        1. Asuka L.S.

          DING! G.S. Mercs wins the prize!

  45. turkishproverb

    Adorible

  46. Dave McCoy

    D’awwwwwwww

  47. Throg

    D’awwwwww. (obligatory)
    So I guess this means Walky and Joyce are NOT fated for each other in this storyline, huh? Still, such a nice ending to the Book 1.

    1. ryan

      that’s right. it’s walky/dorothy and joyce/sarah in DoA.

      1. Throg

        Yes on the former, NO NO WTF on the latter.

        1. begbert2

          If you have issues with romantic lesbians, you just might be reading the wrong comic author. Just sayin’.

        2. Fata Morgana

          I don’t have issues with romantic lesbians (still upset about Leslie X Robin breaking up.), but I do have an issue with everyone always thinking that any love between two people MUST be sexual. Because, like, what other kind of love is there, oh muh gawd.

          Can’t two people ever be close friends? Is that the world we live in now?

      2. y3k

        To be fair, we went around the bend in It’s Walky too, what with Joyce/Joe and Walky/Dina. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but it’s pretty early, and all we’ve got thus far is a fledgling surrogate sister relationship and Monkey Master depression. Anyone could very well still end up with anyone else, and I wouldn’t put it past Willis to throw us a curveball. Or seven.

        1. begbert2

          In the final accounting, Joyce will end up with Mike and Walky will end up with Sal.

        2. Xi

          Incest is only wincest if it’s twincest. Oh, shit, they are twins aren’t they….

          … gross…

        3. y3k

          Psh. I still ship Sal/tree branch.

        4. Mrelegos

          You mean the Power Booster Rod?

  48. Kelsey

    So sweet!

  49. Twee

    Yeah, I’m just gonna admit that I made squealing noises in the back of my throat.

  50. Pangoria Fallstar

    Dude, you have got to get some +1’s up in your posts. Not everyone has a group of friends they share with on twitter and FB.

    Also, …. daaaaw!

    1. TheBenenator

      I deleted my Facebook account back in January, and I don’t have/want a Twitter account, so something would indeed be nice. 8~J

      Great, now I feel guilty for asking and have to go look in the store . . .

  51. Dan

    More Hijinks Plz

  52. Phillip Wilde

    I’m so glad Sarah is likable in this continuity, considering how antagonistic she was in the Walkyverse.

    Also, d’awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

  53. LeaLeonis

    This is one of the rare situations when I don’t suggest turning it into something sexual. They just seem so perfectly alright as it is, I don’t think they could be any happier having sex (let alone they don’t seem to have any gay tendencies so far, but you never know about that).

    1. Noidontthinkso

      There’s also the fact that if this scenario turned sexual, it would be rape.

  54. Undrhil

    Everyone say it with me now: D’awwwww!

  55. Commander Clash

    Let’s face it, everyone in college, especially when starting out, would like to have someone to rely on as a big sister/big brother. Girls are more in tune to having someone watch their back IMO. Guys are, on average, always trying to play the macho self-reliant card. Look where that gets us.

  56. begbert2

    I find it a bit jarring how everybody suddenly likes Sarah now.

    1. Fonzelot

      I’m still not a big fan of her, but this is still a sweet moment.

    2. taekwondogirl

      I’ve always liked her. Most people haven’t been very empathetic towards her throughout the story because… well I’m not sure why they didn’t just step in her shoes but they didn’t.

      1. Michelle J Caboose

        At times I’ve found her a bit annoying (that’s right, just a bit), but I’ve liked this version of Sarah from the beginning.

        But that may have been because I know how it feels to be ostracized (in my case, it wasn’t anything I did or said — people I didn’t even know would just decide they didn’t like me before they ever even met me).

    3. John

      I vote for her every poll! I found her sensible/funny in her first appearance, if cranky.

    4. Valerie

      I think it’s just that most of us were quiet. Vocal minority sort of thing (though I don’t actually know if it’s minority/majority/even here). I was annoyed at her for not taking Joyce to the hospital, but aside from that, I’ve always liked Sarah.

    5. Rex Hondo

      I don’t know about “like,” but I always at least understood where she was coming from.

    6. Fata Morgana

      Why? I never hated her or said anything against her in the comics, but some of the things she’s said and done have gotten on my nerves. But of course I’m going to think it’s sweet if she shows a softer side to her normally cranky self. And she did protect Joyce, whom I like a lot, so I was already warming up to her.

  57. Fonzelot

    D’awwwww. :3

  58. Zuche

    Huh.

  59. emeraldbeacon

    Very cute, sweet moment… and yet, here I was somehow hoping for a splash panel of Ryan stumbling off into the night, only to bump into Amazigirl… hefting Sarah’s baseball bat.

    “Looks like it’s time to call in the pinch hitter.”

  60. Arkadi

    ^_^

  61. hasteroth

    d’awwwwwwwww
    well it’s good that everything is ok now (though I feel like something is going to happen with Dorothy or Billie soon)

  62. nothri

    Hey little sister look what you done?
    Hey little sister who’s the only one?
    I’ve been away for so long (so long)
    I’ve let you go for so long (so long)

    Its a nice day to start again…

    1. nothri

      It was either this or an incest joke, and I thought that would be somewhat inappropriate given what led up to this situation.

      1. begbert2

        Rape is the taboo topic of the moment; I’m pretty sure that incest is still acceptable, so long as it’s consensual.

  63. Professor Zoot

    Cut to stop cutting all these onions, or people are gonna think I’m some sorta softie {Sniff} . . .

  64. Plasma Mongoose

    So will we find Billie in someone else’s bed?

    1. Asuka L.S.

      AAAHHH! Osaka’s going to kill us all!

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Indubitably! 😀

        1. begbert2

          I must say, your gravatar-of-the-day is sure getting a good response today!

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          What can I say? Evil Osaka is made of WIN! 😀

    2. Rex Hondo

      Frequently.

    3. Aydr

      Actually we’ll find Billie in that same bed with them. Nobody will know how it happened.

  65. 47

    Is that a standard college bed? Fitting two people in a dorm room single bed is generally more cramped than Joyce and Sarah look there.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Looks more like a smallish double bed to me.

    2. Asuka L.S.

      I think you’re right. When I was at college we had to sleep on twin mattresses. The rooms themselves seem to be sized about right, but at least at my college we didn’t have wallpaper or plaster. The walls were cinder blocks painted white.

      Of course, we hadn’t had our dorm building renovated since the Carter administration, but still.

      1. 47

        While the newest dorms at my school have double beds, the room assignment method means that only seniors really live there. It’s a bit surprising to mee that we’d see sophomores and first years with double beds, but I don’t know anything about IU, so it’s possible.

        Bit more unlikely given that this is a top bunk, and I’m not even sure double bunk beds exist.
        If they did, I don’t think Rory and Amy would have been so eager to get rid of them, haha.

  66. madelgine

    Help, I have something in my eye! And whatever it is, I must be allergic to it, because it’s making my eyes water.

  67. Sili

    Book?! Want!

  68. Akari

    -sniff- That was sweet.

  69. lauren

    OK, maybe a bit of an unusual connection but this was an oddly familiar moment after I just got done watching the Arrested Development episode “Forget-Me-Now” 😀

  70. saturnwonder

    AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

    Overkill 😛

  71. Romanticide

    Aww this is sweet! 😀

  72. ALostProphet

    Well, here’s the end of the first book, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. Dumbing of Age is quite hard to review, honestly, because of the downright enormous and highly plotted storyline. Everything is very deeply woven, and clearly planned out far, far in advance. That makes it very hard to point out the plot holes and loose threads, seeing as how plenty have come by, and been explained as part of a storyline.

    First, art. DoA!’s artstyle is generally not very exaggerated in terms of basic design (mostly normal proportions with exaggerated heads), but does exaggerate greatly when characters have extremes of emotion. This usually works, but the exaggerated expressions can occasionally suck the impact out of a dramatic moment, such as Sarah’s reaction to being asked to socialize with Joyce and Dorothy. The backgrounds have decent variation for what is a generally static setting, with the recycled backgrounds being limited to places where it would make sense, such as dorm rooms. The only other problem I have with the art is the occasional dropping of background art, usually when focusing on a characters face, or for a non-standard panel. This is really distracting, and makes the strip seem unfinished, which is jarring for such an otherwise polished work.

    As for characters, depth has been handed out sparingly, usually after establishing the character with a strong first impression. The technique of presenting a simple exterior, and then pulling back to reveal a characters deeper motivations isn’t overused, with only Sarah and Roz as clear cut examples. Some characters are left underdeveloped, but my instincts tell me to trust the author will develop them further. Eventually.

    The core concept of the strip is simple, rebooting the extended Walkyverse! into a single continuity, leaving only human interaction. This was a major step forward for the author, stripping out the geek humor and shocking swerves typical of Shortpacked! and It’s Walky! for the simpler, and more honest approach. One-off jokes and bit characters are rare compared to the rest of the authors various works, leaving more room for realistic interactions. There are no breaks from continuity or fourth-wall humour, with only the occasional call-back to the Walkyverse! .

    The authors engaged with the audience pretty frequently, often stepping in to correct misinformation and answer legitimate questions, but he does seem to engage with trolls or overly critical fans a tad too eagerly. In my opinion, the swift application of the banhammer is the best solution. Trolling is a bit less frequent that in the comments section for Shortpacked!, but the mostly shared fanbase is eager to attack any displaying a hint of homophobia or a slut-shaming attitude, leaving the door wide open for thuggish behaviour.

    Storyline: 8/10, Very Good. Clearly a complex and carefully arranged plot, with only occasional “Idiot Ball” or “Because the plot says so” coincidences. Well written and engrossing.

    Dialogue: 7/10, Good. Usually succinct, but a slight tendency to drift into wall-of-text territory when a character has a point to make.

    Art: 7/10, Good. Expressive, with distinctive character designs, but not especially detailed, a la “Questionable Content”

    Humor: 3/10. Bad. I only laughed out loud at around one in ten strips, with about a fifth being amusing or better. A great deal of comics have no humor intended at all.

    Pacing: 6/10. Decent. Some strips seemed unnecessary, but only a handful were plodding or slow.

    Political correctness/ Offensiveness: 8/10 Very Good. A good array of groups and values presented without judgement or an issue being made of it. Joyce’s character handles the issue of offensive behaviour without malice interestingly, without outright condemning any group. The only exception being Billie, with her alcohol addiction being the butt of several jokes.

    Regularity: 10/10. Perfect: David Willis has not, to my knowledge, missed a single scheduled update by more than 60 seconds for the lifespan of the comic, the only exceptions being bonus weekend comics at the beginning and first anniversary of the strip.

    Overall quality: 7/10. Good. A solid, realistic, believable work from a veteran of the Webcomics industry. David Willis proves he can present believable characters and incredibly complex plots.

    My Enjoyment: 8/10. Very Good. I always anticipate the release, and I’ll take a minute out of pretty much anything to check my phone for the newest update and leave a comment or two.

    On a personal note, I hope to do more reviews, perhaps at the end of each day/storyline. I’ll repost this on Monday’s comic in case people miss this post.

    So, anyone agree/disagree?

    1. Asuka L.S.

      I’m of the opinion that 3/10 for the humor score is unreasonably low. I saw a lot more than 1/5 strips being amusing. Furthermore, I think that judging a comic’s humor should be based on strips that were intended to be funny, not the comic overall. When a comic undergoes a serious arc, I don’t see it as reasonable for that to begin detracting from the comic’s ability to deliver humorous punchlines. I think that DoA probably falls at least at a 7 when it’s trying to be funny.

      Also, I’m left to wonder why political correctness is a category to be examined at all. An artistic medium should not be restricted to what is inoffensive, and in fact some of the greatest art was intended to be INCREDIBLY offensive. While I greatly appreciate it when an artist approaches their subject matter tastefully, provided they can justify doing so on an intellectual level I won’t object to having subject matter addressed in a very rude manner.

      Maybe you examine this criterion as a way to warn the incredibly sensitive about the art’s relative level of potential offensiveness while not intending to reward pursuit of inoffensiveness? In other words, it’s more of a “Look, this could tick you off. You’ve been warned. Proceed at your own peril.” sort of thing? I can accept examining offensiveness for a practical reason like that.

      1. ALostProphet

        Ok, the rating on humour is my opinion of the strips level of humour as a a whole, rather than how funny it is when the author is trying to be funny. I’d give a serious film with effective, but rare, comic relief moments a 1 or a 2.

        I rate offensiveness because it takes real skill to handle some subjects without being unfair, and it can really take away from the enjoyment of something if i think theres prejudice or offensiveness present. It’s the same reason I lowered my rating of Phantom Menace because of Jar-Jar, and Transformers 2 because of Skids and Mudflap.

    2. y3k

      “the swift application of the banhammer is the best solution”.

      Yes, because emulating the Tim Buckley Method is such a winning option.

      Look, here’s the thing: ‘overly critical fan’ is about as vague a term as you can ask for, and in fact just sounds like a good all-encompassing term to use when shutting up any voice of dissension. I actually really like it that Willis holds his own in the comments; he’s not afraid to get dirty and defend his work–if he were to simply ban people, you’d easily get people crying out that he’s simply too thin-skinned…just before they too got banned. He allows freedom of opinion here, which I find far more healthy (to have arguments and discussions out in the open) than to have ‘shut up and drink your water’.

    3. Plasma Mongoose

      If I define humour as successful only if I laugh out out in real life, then most comedies including my most favourite ones would score very poorly as I am a tough nut to crack these days.

      If the subject matter is able to raise an amused smile and occassionally a muffled chuckle from me, then it is a success, if you catch me in the right frame of mind and I luled in real life, then that is an awesome bonus.

    4. Jackson

      LP, to begin with, I agree with your general assessment and a number of your specific points as well. Particularly, I agree with you about the strength of DoA’s realistic setting and tone; as a cartoonist, I love metahumor and fourth-wall crud, and I find it hard to stay away from them. I have a lot of respect for the commitment Willis has shown to the down-to-earth-ness of his characters and setting in this strip. But agreeing with each other is boring, so let’s get down to the parts where we differ.

      First, I don’t think the way and frequency with which the author engages with the community is relevant to a review. Yes, webcomics tend to have a higher degree of author/audience interaction. It’s still not part of the comic itself. (Okay, except with Homestuck.) What the creator says down here in the comment thread, in my opinion, is no more relevant to a review than a remark he might make in an email or during a convention panel. You might cite his asides in the review, but I can’t see the point of a whole section on author interaction.

      Second, while most of your categories appear to be numerical ratings of the strip’s quality, “Political correctness/ Offensiveness” and “Humor” appear to operate differently. Apparently, these function more like sliding scales of how potentially offensive or funny (respectively) the work is. According to your metric, an excellent dramatic work
      which tells the serious story that it set out to without ever cracking a smile could easily score rock-bottom in the humor department.
      Amidst all those other numerical assessments of quality, the humor “rating” could be misleading.

      Instead of numerical scores for humor and political correctness, why not give a qualitative assessment instead? This could be a couple of sentences or a paragraph on each, or even something as simple as: “Tone: Slightly serious” or “Controversial material: moderate.” I think it’d be clearer and more helpful to handle these categories in a similar way.

      1. ALostProphet

        Hmm. My score on humor is not an assesment of quality, no. A better measurement for quality would the humor value of strips with punchlines, or are at least intended to be amusing. I’ll amend that when I repost the review on Monday.

        I stand by my rating system for offensiveness though, because of my opinion that the inclusion of stereotypes or offensive material is usually a symptom of bad writing, and affects my enjoyment greatly. To repeat an example I gave to Asuka. L.S., The presence of characters like “Skids and Mudflap”, racially insensitive caricatures, in Transformers 2 did serious damage to my enjoyment of the film, with their “antics” being a poor mans substitute for effective comic relief.

        AMENDMENT TO REVIEW. In the case of the humor score, 3/10 would be for how funny the work is overall, and 5/10, Okay, would be the score of the strips that seem intended to be funny.

      2. ALostProphet

        Also, I’m reading through “Sketch Comedy” now. I’ll put a review up on twitter (link in my gravatar name) in a couple days.

        1. Jackson

          Cool. I look forward to seeing what you have to say.

  73. Gargamel

    Hmm the main thing I’m wondering about is whether this will result in the beginning of some sort of obsessive spiral from Sarah.
    It seems that Sarah sees Joyce as kindred spirit, although their reasoning is very different.
    Also I’m not sure if the Joyce/Walky relationship will actually happen in this world since Sarah will probably actively try to prevent it.

  74. XxEllaxX

    Sarahs pretty much irratated me until now, I don’t know why exactly she irked me but she just did. But I like her now.

    1. saturnwonder

      I honestly think she irked everyone at some point in the comic. She irked me most in the Walky and Joyce comic when she was the mean guy’s assistant in getting Joyce thrown in jail (though she toned the irkness down some when she ended up helping them).

      She’s an irky person lol she’s pretty cool all in all 🙂

  75. ALostProphet

    test

    1. saturnwonder

      For? It just takes me to your twitter account, not sure if it’s supposed to or not

      1. ALostProphet

        Yeah, it is supposed to. I’m just checking my gravatar is showing correctly. It is! Hooray! 🙂

        1. saturnwonder

          Awesome 😀

          BTW, LOVE the gravatar 🙂

  76. cwDeici

    Now RAPE her!

    1. alex

      the fact that you’re the last comment somehow makes that funny…

  77. Allyson Bradlynn

    Aww! Thats so sweet 🙂 Joyce said something a while ago about having brothers and wanting a sister (i think she did at least.. o.o ) But still~ sweet

  78. Pingback: Dumbing of Age - Dumbing of Age Book 1 Kickstarter!

  79. Aaron Bishop

    The end of this first book just took my emotions on a roller coaster ride.

  80. Pingback: The Webcomic Overlook #222: Dumbing of Age | The Webcomic Overlook

  81. nothri

    I think I officially like this incarnation of Sarah about 100 times more than on the Alpha timeline.

  82. Rory

    ::sniffles:: Fucking onions.

  83. newllend

    Wow, that more sweeter then those icecream poptart sandwithes at carls.jr

  84. Syngraphea

    Just reread this storyline after today’s comic. I had forgotten about this! So now I got to have teh feeeeeeels all over again. *sniffle*

  85. BrokenEye, True False Prophet

    “Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye! Hide me in the shadow of your wings!”

    Psalm 17:8

  86. liahansen

    DID YOU KNOW THAT THIS STRIP IS THE BEST ONE EVER

    also i just remembered how when Becky first slept in Joyce’s bed she was lying awake and put her hand on Joyce’s shoulder and im not sure of the significance but there it is

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