191

Targets
Posted on September 23, 2019 by David M Willis
I'm returning to (okay I already live here) Columbus, Ohio, this weekend!  Cartoon Crossroads Columbus 2019 (CXC) is located within the dreamy halls of the Columbus Metro Library downtown, and you can find me at the upstairs exhibitor area on Saturday, September 28, from 11am-5pm, and Sunday, September 29 from 1pm to 5pm! (yes, those are all the available exhibitor hours, i'm not skimping you) (it's a pretty quick and breezy convention, i enjoy it) I'll have books and magnets and myself at Table 26!

191 thoughts on “Targets”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    a regular gallery of rogues

    1. Doctor_Who

      I want Sidney Yus to show up and demand admission for no particular reason.

      1. Durandal_1707

        She’d be right at home in this storyline.

        1. Piotr W

          Sidney Yus is a woman??? I thought this character was male!

        2. not someone else

          I believe Sydney was using “they” the last time we saw the character in question , though it was “she” in Shortpacked. Might be nonbinary in this incarnation.

        3. Marsh Maryrose

          In Sydney Yus’s very first appearance in DoA, Becky addressed Sydney as “Ma’am” and co-worker Ken referred to Sydney as “she.”

          So far in DoA, Sydney Yus has never used any pronoun other other than “I,” except when Sydney Yus told Galasso, “I have been waiting for the day that Sydney Yus finds you again at their mercy!”

          Other than that, Syndey Yus overwhelmingly tends to refer to Sydney Yus as “Sydney Yus.”

        4. Clif

          And we should respect that.

        5. Baf

          The name “Sydney” is peculiar in that it’s switched from being a mainly male name to a mainly female one during my lifetime. The switch seems to have taken hold around 1980.

        6. Geneseepaws

          Jordan, Kimberly, Tyler, Makensey, Kimberly (if yer old enough)… Lots of them now.

        7. BarerMender

          Dana used to be strictly male. So was Joyce, but that was before my time.

        8. He Who Abides

          As was Wendy.

        9. ValdVin

          Peyton–it’s not just a Place or a quarterback anymore.

        10. ReFlex76

          Madison, Bryce, Tracy, Jamie

        11. TheWanderingMist

          Madison by all rights should still be male. It’s got freaking “son” in the name for a reason, it means “Maude’s son”. Shirley and Dorothy also used to be guy names, as well as Kelly. Riley is apparently unisex and Ryan used to be a girl’s name.

          For Sydney, though, I’ve usually seen it as “Sidney” for guys and “Sydney” for girls.

    2. Durandal_1707

      … is cheesy as hell.

      Did we really need to have all the villains get together to form an Evil League of Evil to harass a bunch of college students?

      1. Chaucer59

        Pretty word that the evil alliance is a pair of fucked up dads.

        1. Abbefaria

          Fucked up and petty, don’t forget petty.

        2. Ana Chronistic

          Badscruples and Company

          …idk ‘sall I got

  2. ian livs

    Oh… oh no

  3. JetstreamGW

    Wait wait, hold on a damn second!

    …

    Noodles and Company still exists?

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      Um…why wouldn’t they?

      1. Khyrin

        My understanding is all the Noodles and Company locations in (at the very least) Austin, Texas have closed. Source: My friends who picked me up in Iowa on the way to Minnesota were UNIVERSALLY cross that I hadn’t suggested Noodles and Company when they spotted one across the street from the gas station we were filling up at before leaving town.

        1. MM

          There are no Noodles and Company where we live, and my husband insists on going whenever we visit my parents, who have a surplus of them nearby. I don’t get it. I mean, yeah, they’re fine as fast-casual options go, but don’t you maybe want to try something different?

        2. JetstreamGW

          Yep. Every Austin location shut down years ago. Figured the whole company had gone belly up.

        3. Ana Chronistic

          I believe Cinnabon is the same for Maryland, if the mall announcement from last winter is accurate

        4. Dr. T

          Bloomington actually has two of them. The one in this strip is on the main strip might actually count as still being on campus (it is surrounded by a campus parking lot and there are offices on the upper floors of that building rented by the university).

        5. Marsh Maryrose

          Turns out that a couple of years ago, Noodles & Company closed 10% of its locations and it’s now regularly featured in “troubled restaurant chain” lists.

          Willis’s track record with eating locations does not bode well for Noodles & Company. And let us pray for Mother Bears.

        6. Dr T

          Mother Bears actually has expanded. They have a second location on the west side of town.

        7. Joe

          Might have been a problem with the regional management. All of the Papa John’s in my area closed down at once because the regional manager was arrested for like fraud or something.

        8. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Something similar happened with the Little Caesar’s around here.

        9. Kat

          Same with Jack in the Box in the Southern US. There was a big scandal about a chicken nugget or something and they had to close down all the locations and move when I was very young. Was surprised to find that they are actually a really good fast food chain when I went out West.

    2. JordanTG

      There’s one near where my grandparents live!

  4. Shane Wegner

    Why am I bothering college kids again? Isn’t that what an obsessed moron would do? “um, God wants you to” “oh that’s fine then”

  5. ValdVin

    “Will I recognize Mike Warner if he’s not flipping me the bird?”

    “We won’t a contingency plan for that.”

    1. The Other Mike

      If he’s not flipping you the bird, he may be fucking your mom. (He may be flipping your mom the bird while he does that.)

  6. jeffepp

    Why do I have the feeling that her ability to teleport will work against all their plans?

    1. Some1

      She isn’t aware of her abilities though. Last time we heard about it, she attributed it to Fuckface. She needs to learn that the inexplicable power was inside her all along.

    2. Bagge

      Also her ability to beat up evil dads.

    3. BarerMender

      Why do I feel Amber will beat the mortal hell out of anyone who threatens Ethan?

  7. Cattleprod

    Is Noodles and Company the McAwesome’s to Galasso’s Pizza (and Subs)’s Shortpacked?

    1. Stephen Bierce

      No. McAwesome’s exists here too.

  8. Stephen Bierce

    *plays some spaghetti Western soundtrack music on the hacked speakers*

    1. Stephen Bierce

      But I found THIS while looking for something else.

    2. Bicycle Bill

      Joyce, Amber’s father, and Becky’s father.
      The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

    3. Rognik

      spaghetti western music in a spaghetti restaurant? How meta.

      1. ValdVin

        Too bad they can’t have stored it in the late, great Spaghetti Warehouse.

        …I’ll show myself out.

      2. Stephen Bierce

        “We’ll head ’em off at the pasta.”

        1. Clif

          Consider yourself severely beaten with wet noodles.

  9. BBCC

    There are no words strong enough for how much I loathe this pair.

  10. DailyBrad

    I’m more inclined to think Blaine doesn’t know Amber is Amazigirl, if only because I feel like he’s suggesting targeting Joyce to smoke her out.

    1. DailyBrad

      that, and it looking like he wants her to leave college to get out of having to pay for it, rather than getting revenge for getting his shit kicked in.

    2. BigDogLittleCat

      Agreed.

    3. Ray Radlein

      Alternate theory: He knows that Amber will flip out if Ethan is threatened, and is hoping she will get kicked out of college for breaking Toedad’s neck.

      1. Khyrin

        Which brings us to the questions:
        1:Is Blaine unaware that Amber has straight-up hospitalized the last person who threatened one of her friends?
        2: If/when she publicly assaults Toedad, ‘Ryan”s lawyer will try to curve this in ‘Ryan”s favor. Will the public perception be “Amber, Defender of the Assaulted” or “Amber, Loose Cannon with a Defacto License to Batter.”

        (Assault is threatening harm, Battery is making good ON those threats.)

        1. Deanatay

          Why do you think he’s egging on his dimwitted accomplice co-conspirator to be the one doing the threatening?

        2. WonderRabbit

          That’s only true under very specific legal definitions in some jurisdictions.
          Outside of those (and in many other legal jurisdiction) assault can refer to the physical act specifically.

  11. abysswatcher1993

    Joyce is the glue of that group of misfits, in the same way Joker is to the Phantom Thieves. She even has her own persona, “Head Alien”, but in the ultimate form evolves to “The Cheese”.

  12. AntJ

    hello tags

    1. Madock345

      Faz? he’s in the far right picture so I don’t know if he’s actually there or not. Wouldn’t be surprised if he popped in off camera at any moment though.

      1. BarerMender

        He’s there. Joyce’s left elbow points at his mouth.

  13. Madock345

    Blaine still thinks he can use Toedad, but I don’t think it will work out for him. He’s way too dumb, focused, and indoctrinated. He’s going to do the exact same stupid things he did before because he’s incapable of change.

    1. Keulen

      I kind of hope Ross is too stupid for Blaine to successfully manipulate him into doing what he wants, but I’m worried since Blaine has gotten him to go along with his plans so far.

      1. Khyrin

        In fairness: Ross is just hearing him out so far. It’s not like you can say “no thanks, I’ll stay in prison rather than let this person post bail for me.”

        1. Sunny

          I haven’t looked it up for the USA, but I’m pretty sure you can say just that.

  14. butts

    “but just then, blaine and toedad had simultaneous heart attacks. they both died instantly, yet somehow experienced unimaginable pain on their way off of this mortal coil and into oblivion.”

    1. BigDogLittleCat

      And there was much rejoicing.

      1. Keulen

        Yaaaay.

  15. Jamie

    Man, it’s going to be awkward when Jacob, Harrison, and Joyce sit down next to them.

    1. Clif

      I like the way your mind works.

    2. Zee

      Oh god that’s gonna happen isn’t it

  16. Lawzlo

    This strip is the worst publicity that Noodles and Company has ever had!

    Even worse than the Noodle Incident.

    1. AeromechanicalAce

      Yeah, this plan is already way too complex for Toedad to not irrevocably screw it up at step 1.

      1. Clif

        We don’t speak of the Noodle Incident.

  17. bearfuz

    With parents like these, who needs Martians?!?

    1. Bagge

      With parents like these, who needs parents?

      1. BarerMender

        Preach.

  18. Piotr W

    Oh wow. It’s a regular Legion of Doom briefing…

    BTW. Does Blaine having these photos mean he’s been stalking Amber, Joyce etc.???

    1. Alethiolet

      insomuch as sending your stepson to dig up dirt on your daughter is stalking… Honestly, imo that seems worse?!?

      I feel like that last photo iis telling in that it appears to be Faz taking a selfie with his sister and his friends.

      1. thejeff

        That one actually looks like it might have been taken from the car when Yuri (and secretly Blaine) picked him up.
        The others are likely older. At least the one with Mike has Amber’s flashback hairstyle.

        1. Schmeedle

          Taken around panel one of this comic, I’d say. You can see Joyce is in the same pose. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/yuri

    2. Tom Speelman

      No, these are the photos Faz took when he visited.

  19. ADLegend21

    Still waiting on that bus to hit these two.

  20. Reltzik

    …. this is fine! This is fiiiine….

  21. Bagge

    Those two are big meanies

  22. Juanoku

    1) THIS IS NOW OFFICIALLY GONE FROM CARTOONILY EVIL TO CREEPY AS FUCK
    2) the, uh, Joyce in the announcer below, has a shirt that says slut.
    Nothing wrong, just wanted you to know

    1. Some1

      Maybe she has no idea what it means, kinda like those shirts in Japan with swear words on them.

    2. Bagge

      Billie aint no quitter

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/05-saturdays-all-right-for-slighting/reservations/

    3. Kamino Neko

      Well, Joyce and Captain Holt are not entirely dissimilar.

    4. Bicycle Bill

      This was after her “Grease” moment — “Goodbye to Sandra Dee”.

    5. Clif

      We’ve seen Joyce play at being a cool rebellious chick with an assumed attitude before. I do not believe I’ve seen a pineapple in a thong before.

  23. Falcon

    How did Blaine ever get the bail money for Ross? Ross fired a gun on college campus and attempted to kidnap his own daughter. Bail would likely be set at a hundred thousand easy, if set at all.

    1. BBCC

      Mob money and teaming up with Toedad’s church.

      1. Falcon

        Blaine isn’t part of the mob right? Meaning someone might be around to break Blaine’s knees later?

        1. Needfuldoer

          We know he’s a stooge, and it’s probable that Yuri (his current wife and Faz’s mother) is involved through family connections.

          How much weight can he throw around in the organization? That remains to be seen. I like to think he doesn’t have as much clout as he thinks, and they have to clean up after him.

    2. CJ

      People from Ross’s church helped, like Joyce’s mother (because it can’t be just imprisoning a man for shooting a gun in a college when he just wanted to save his daughter from hell).

      1. Newllend(henryvolt)

        Still can’t help but wonder if they would still be singing that tune if Ross did ended up shooting someone.

        1. CJ

          These people believe in eternal damnation. For homosexuals but not for murderers.

    3. Bicycle Bill

      I believe you can get a bondsman to put up the entire bond if you personally can put up 10% or thereabouts, and I’m pretty sure you get about half of it back if the suspect shows up (the rest is the bondsman’s fee/service charge).
      And if the suspect DOESN’T show up, you lose it all and Dog the Bounty Hunter comes looking for your ass to take the rest out of your hide.

      1. thejeff

        You pay the bondsman the 10% fee and you get none of it back. He gets it all back. Unless you don’t show – in which case see Dog.

        Or you put up the whole thing and get it all back when you show up – which is obviously a better deal if you can afford it. It’s a horribly screwed up system.

        You also lose it if the person out on bail reoffends while he’s out.

        In this case, Blaine has to be expecting to lose the money, given his plans. Which means he probably went to a bondsman.

    4. BarerMender

      Kidnapped. He didn’t attempt to kidnap, he kidnapped.

      1. thejeff

        Don’t forget the attempted murder.

    5. Kat

      This is a good point. Firing a Gun on a public college campus could easily be Attempted Murder. Kidnapping is a pretty serious charge even if it is your kid. She’s in college, ergo 18 and no longer a minor. You can’t just say “She has to come with me” anymore. I think we all need to take a moment to hate on Toedad’s lawyer, who did such an excellent job that Bail was even offered. If he’s charged with Attempted Murder, Reckless Endangerment, Discharging a Firearm on a school Campus, all over “my daughter wouldn’t come home with me because I disapprove of her life choices, your Honor.”; then that lawyer is the true MVP here. He put up one monster of an argument that Toedad wouldn’t go out and do the same thing again if the Court let him go before the Trial.

  24. Rotunda

    Last frame phone photo has Faz in shot at the right. It’s probably his selfie as Blaine’s spy to get a dossier on Amber and her friends. “Faz was delightful”.

  25. Cass

    This is making me curious about whether Blaine will actually successfully keep Ross under his thumb. In his own eyes Ross views himself a good man who is only trying to protect his daughter- if he’s “forced” to hurt people who try to prevent him from doing so he will, but his actual goal isn’t to rain hellfire down upon the heathens as he goes about his righteous task (hopefully goes without saying, but by tongue is so firmly in my cheek there). I feel like Blaine being so openly sadistic might come back to bite him; he might think that playing devout Christian is an instant win button to securing Ross’ support, but being Christian “wrong” can get his type to turn on you just as much as not being Christian at all.

    Wouldn’t make Ross any less awful himself, but I would honestly love to see Blaine’s attempts to play puppetmaster of his own Legion of Evil blow up in his face because Asher refuses to play along and Ross isn’t actually down for premeditated child maiming (unless you act properly grieved by the heavy act that God has called you to do at least)

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      Blaine is a lot smarter than Ross, but honestly that’s not saying much. Both of them exemplify the Dunning-Kruger effect.

      Ross is easily manipulated, and Blaine’s one area of competence is manipulation, so there’s that. But I’ll bet that Blaine is way over-estimating Ross’s value as an accomplice.

    2. Ron

      I would like to see Joyce out-Christianing Ross to turn him on to Blaine. Their relationship is unstable enough as you point out. If Toedad takes Joyce prisoner to exchange for Becky, it might actually happen. Tbe comic generally goes in an unexpectedly better direction than I predict however.

      1. BigDogLittleCat

        I want to see Carol’s reaction when this Good Christian Man goes after her daughter. Carol was a vocal supporter of Ross at that meeting.

    3. Dean

      I’m wondering whether panel 5 is Toedad starting to realise that he’s being manipulated.

      1. MM

        I think it’s more garden-variety impatience. Or possibly anger born of confusion. As others have said, it’s a lot of detail to throw at a guy who doesn’t seem real great at higher-level thinking.

  26. vlademir1

    1. I feel like it’s important to know when each of these photos were taken.
    The last one was clearly five days ago.
    The one of Mike and Amber is, based on Amber’s hair, fairly old.
    The one of Mike and Ethan is the one I can’t quite pin down yet.
    The one of just Amber looks to be a blown up version of the last one.

    2. Blaine, you fool, you’re fallen victim to one of the classic blunders: don’t plan your strategy around outdated incomplete information. Also don’t get involved in a land war in Asia, but like duh.
    I absolutely look forward to what he isn’t aware of and who he hasn’t accounted for, let alone accounted for correctly, biting him in the ass. Hell, he may be making a nasty enemy of Clint if Ruth ends up being involved in this. Clint may not care about Ruth, but he’s invested enough into her to have a problem with it if someone tries to harm her.

    1. Rabid Rabbit

      The fact he says “her little friend” suggests he hasn’t seen Ethan in a while and may not know how he’s grown up.

      He also doesn’t realize that threatening Amber’s friends doesn’t make her fall apart anymore, but get violently angry. Which makes me wonder if he’s somehow managed to completely miss hearing about the whole Gashface incident.

      Also, he apparently doesn’t know about Sal, and, by extension, the rest of the roller derby girls.

      This is not going to end well for these two, is what I’m saying.

      1. Felgraf

        I suspect Gashface McAsshole is next on his list of shitheads to recruit.

        I really hope I’m wrong.

        1. Dr. T

          Honestly, plot dictates that Ross needs to be freed for storyline purposes, despite the fact that his actions should necessitate denying him bail. That’s one thing. Granting Gashface bail would be a completely different thing, however. He’s in the ICU for having an assault with a deadly weapon go horribly wrong for him, stalking a girl (and threatening her), and threatening another who he had attempted to rape. That guy should not be let out on bail.

        2. thejeff

          This came up when we first heard about it: Apparently Indiana’s Constitution requires bail be set for anything except murder. It appeared to have been set unreasonably high though, since he couldn’t pay it it, even with the assistance of his community – which all appears to be reasonably middle-class. So he should have stayed put.

          As for Ryan, if he’s still in the ICU, that pretty much renders bail irrelevant, I’d say.

    2. Chris Phoenix

      If this were a different narrative, I’d love to see where Clint becomes an enemy of Blaine. But this narrative is about the kids. There probably won’t be much, if any, interaction between the adults except what’s necessary to add drama to the kids’ lives. Clint taking out Blaine would reduce drama, so it probably ain’t going to happen.

  27. motorfirebox

    LEGION OF NOODS wait, no. No no no.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      This is expert-level misdirection by Willis. You think it’s the Legion of Noodles & Company, but it’s really the Legion of Bicycle Garage, Inc.

      EXCEPT — and this is double-expert-level misdirection by Willis — it’s actually the Legion of Potbelly Sandwich Shop, the sworn enemy of Galasso’s Pizza (and Subs).

      (Potbelly’s sign is not shown in the comic, because it is covered by the speech balloon in the first panel, but it is totally there in Street View.

  28. Plasma Mongoose

    Mike is a wild card in the same way that several kilos of C4 is a bit of a hazard.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Several kilos of C4 is probably more predictable than Mike.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        True, plastique’s selling point is that it is safer for storage and handling than most other explosives.

  29. Rikunda

    I still don’t get this story arc… All of this just so he doesn’t have to pay for her school, which he chose to pay instead of child support…

    1. BenRG

      It’s about control. It’s about Amber dong what he says and what he wants and nothing else, just like Ross with Becky.

    2. Needfuldoer

      He doesn’t want to pay anything to Stacy or Amber, he conceded to paying for tuition instead of child support or alimony specifically because he didn’t expect Amber to enroll.

    3. Marsh Maryrose

      There’s no logic to it. He’s an abuser, and he needs to abuse. Amber has defied him, and in his mind, “she needs to be put in her place” takes precedence over pretty much every other aspect of his life.

    4. Bagge

      Blaine is a piece of shit… he is SEVERAL pieces of shit

    5. Miri

      With the expectation that her crippling social anxiety etc would prevent her from actually going to college. But it sounds like the bit where Ethan came out and Naomi revealed her awful meant she had to step up to support her BFF and get used to speaking up because it was that or let the one person who had always been there for her fall apart. Coming off the back of that, going away to college with said BFF (and Mike) down the hall must have seemed a lot less daunting than it did to the middle schooler who was so tied up in knots that the cashier knowing that she wanted to eat food was far too overwhelming…

      1. Jamie

        Also, she might be going in part specifically because it’s being paid-for by her asshole dad. The stabbing incident, after all, was propelled in large part by an effort to prove him wrong.

        Don’t underestimate spite.

        1. Miri

          That sounds like something Billie has said to Ruth at some point 😀 But yes, if he ever said to her that he didn’t think she’d ever even enrol/cope there/amount to anything then proving him wrong *and on his dime* would probably be rather satisfying!

        2. thejeff

          Possibly part of it, but mostly I think she’d just gotten a lot better since Blaine’s really spent any time with her. Thanks largely to Ethan, I think. And probably to just not being around Blaine.

  30. Needfuldoer

    oh no

  31. BenRG

    So, this is going to be Ross’s final moral test, isn’t it. Blaine is talking about roughing up, intimidating and generally destroying a bunch of kids to get their own way. If Ross goes with this, all his claims to being all about ‘saving’ Becky are obvious lies because, in the end, it’s about exercising power, just like Blaine.

    1. Bagge

      I for one think that whole gun-thing counted as his final moral test (FAIL), but there is always room for improvement I suppose.

  32. brasca1

    Yes, Blaine pit Ross against Mike I’m sure he’ll figure out a way for you two to be sharing a cell.

  33. CJ

    Does this mean Blaine has no proof that Amber is Amazigirl and Faz brought him information that didn’t help him (maybe on purpose?)

    1. thejeff

      As far as we know, Blaine doesn’t even think that Amber is Amazigirl.

      Seems to me though that this is all based on what Faz brought him. The ties between Amber and Joyce are what makes bringing Ross into this possible and that’s something he wouldn’t have known about without Faz’s visit.

  34. Mishyana

    Why does this feel increasingly like a concluding storyline? This is starting to horrifyingly feel like a concluding storyline.

    1. Cass

      Concluding the fall before the time skip into winter, maybe (I assume the “winter is coming” teaser didn’t mean ten years from now anyway)

  35. NinjaNick

    She wouldn’t hurt a fly, except for Toedads.

    1. Liquid Len

      So Toedad is getting kicked in the ‘nads?

      1. Matticus

        Kicked in the Toe-‘nads.

  36. Amelie

    I’m looking forward to when this blows up in their faces and Blaine goes to prison jail and Ross loses his faith. (I’m guessing that would be the worst that could happen to Ross. He’s certainly not competent to be tried as an adult.)

    It might happen because Blaine thinks he wants Amber to leave school so he can stop paying for it, when what he really wants is to totally control her life so he can feel important. That seems like something that could ruin the brilliant plan of aiming mindless murder-happy toedad in her direction.

    1. Jhon

      “Mindless” I’ll grant you, but hardly “murder-happy”. Consider his choice of gun.

      1. Seregiel

        Stupidity has nothing to do with intent.

    2. Jamie

      Losing his faith sounds like a sympathetic storyline, and that doesn’t sound like Wilis, honestly.

  37. Bagge

    I suppose there is one merit to Blaine’s plan.

    Threatening Ethan would make this entire fiasco very short indeed.

    Although I’m not sure he will like the “falling apart” part better this time than when he tried to threaten Danny.

    1. Bryy

      Ross was ready to kill students. Ain’t nothing shaking his faith.

      1. Jhon

        With a single shot rifle? A threat. Not a weapon for a murder spree.
        Not even a shotgun.

        1. thejeff

          It’s what he had. He still could have killed or at least seriously injured someone.
          He took a close range shot at Amazi-Girl. Don’t minimize this.

        2. Seregiel

          Also, don’t conflate intent and ability to execute. People can keep their negative intents after a failed attempt and increase their abilities for round two. That is exactly what this current comic is showing us, and your argument is becoming null as we watch.

        3. Jhon

          We don’t know what Ross has in his gun rack. But I’d bet money he has weapons much nastier than a single-shot small game rifle. Any semi-auto hunting rifle for instance. Willis went to pains to portray a rifle of distinctive appearance which the comment section quickly identified.

          During the campus confrontation he fired one shot into the air.

          During the car chase he pointed the loaded gun at Amazi-girl, finger on the trigger. Had she made a threatening move, I’m sure he would have shot her. But the car blew a tire and the gun went off (harmlessly). Amazi-girl disarmed him before he could reload. (single-shot, remember?)

          Yes, Ross is dangerous. But he is not bent on wholesale murder. He is focused. He wants his daughter back. Stay out of his way and nobody gets hurt.

        4. Bryy

          “During the car chase he pointed the loaded gun at Amazi-girl, finger on the trigger. Had she made a threatening move, I’m sure he would have shot her.”

          You’re literally defending him bringing a gun on to a crowded campus by saying he didn’t shoot anyone but could have if he wanted to.

        5. Kat

          I believe I understand the position he is going for. It’s similar to Soldiers in Afhganistan. A soldier is equipped to kill a large number of people, because he is a soldier. A soldier is presumably willing to kill a large number of people, because he is a soldier and because telling a hostile from a civilian is a complete Charlie-Foxtrot there. Soldiers do not go out with the Intent to kill every they see, and indeed do not. What one is prepared and willing to do is not what one intends to do. I see the moral difference in those stances.

          The legal differences are far smaller, and a loaded firearm and a few extra rounds are all that would be required for legal intent.
          /Two Cents

        6. Jhon

          Someone gets it. Bringing a gun onto a campus does not make one a mass murderer. We, the omniscient audience, are privileged to know things about Ross’ intent that a court would not.

  38. Tab

    “They’re all connected!”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czhmigoeddo&feature=youtu.be&t=613

  39. Felgraf

    Shit he thinks Joyce is amazigirl doesn’t he.

    1. Felgraf

      FUCK Blaine is gonna recruit gashface mcasshole next, isn’t he.

      1. Homer Sexual

        He’s gone from Druggo McStabbed to Gashface McAsshole xD

      2. JBento

        Pretty sure that one’s still in the hospital? There was a lot of stabbing (and yet, not enough).

    2. Newllend(henryvolt)

      I’d would find that absolutely Priceless if not for how dire this situation is.

    3. Bagge

      She WILL beat him up if provoked, so there’s a similarity

  40. Rabisch

    I don’t like where it’s going. But I really enjoy reading it. So, the next step will be Joyce’s kidnapping or?

  41. Yumi

    Well this sure is a birthday comic.

    1. JBento

      Happy birthday!

      (don’t complain about the strip you get; MY birthday is on February 14)

      1. Clif

        Lucky you.

        1. JBento

          I mean, if you like break-up strips, sure, I guess.

      2. Yumi

        I am old and I WILL complain.

  42. Guest42

    “You know maybe a conspiracy to go after a bunch of people literally young enough to be our children to convince your daughter to drop out is scummy.”

    Neither of them are going to say that, huh? Hope Mike arranges their accidents.

  43. JBento

    I can’t WAIT to see Ross or Blaine threaten Ethan. Either Danny’s gonna end him (possibly making that ship sail at full steam) or Mike’s gonna make him WISH he’d ended him. Popcorn all around regardless.

    1. Seregiel

      So instead of Walky throws a punch it’s Danny throws a body because he learned martial arts via osmosis and sexy times with his ex?

      1. JBento

        A punch will be enough. Blaine will fold as soon as he’s physically confronted, and I’m pretty sure Danny will be more than willing to make up for his last interaction with Blaine.

  44. Rowen Morland

    Blaine has determined the alpha character. The alpha character will be edited from the story.

    1. Formerly Glenn

      Next thing you know he’ll be cutting off his own nose and ears.

      1. Kat

        That guy creeps me out so much I’m pondering stealing him for a Superhero high school game I’m running.

  45. Pat Myers

    Imagine if he put this much effort into finding stable employment.

  46. BenRG

    The thing that strikes me is the degree to which Blaine’s view of Amber is so many years out of date. That will be his downfall.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      He has many other mistakes, like trying to get help from the grandson of a mafia boss who probably doesn’t truest Blaine, not following court orders, trying to control his daughter and blaming her for things he did, working for the Korean mafia, escaping from where was being detained, etc. He is just accumulating legal charges.

    2. BigDogLittleCat

      Right? He seems to consider her completely incapable. Did he not get the news that she disarmed and sliced up an attacker?

  47. Van Jealous

    “MEANWHILE AT THE LEGION OF NOODLE AND COMPANY”
    It’s good to hear the late Ted Knight’s voice again (even if it IS in the form of flyover text)!

    1. Anikiki

      AH, YOU BEAT ME TO IT!

      AND I was envisioning the Superfriends narrator saying that!

  48. Van Jealous

    That was NOODLES….not NOODLE….:-)

  49. Br44n5m

    Joyce’s pineapple shirt might not mean what she thinks it means

    1. ValdVin

      Genuinely asking, what does that pineapple shirt mean? (I am not-young.)

      And I like the Anti-Joyce vibe in that poster, as if her long-repressed id gets to do something “offscreen”.

      1. thejeff

        I’m trying to figure out what Joyce is supposed to think it means.

        It’s apparently a Brooklyn Nine-Nine joke. That’s really all I know about it.

        1. Br44n5m

          That’s more than I knew, thanks for sharing the nugget of info~

  50. Elsendor

    im so stressed omg

  51. avistel

    >Believe me, she’s not

    “If know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory won you will also suffer a defeat”

  52. demonchylde

    Why do I read Amber’s Dad in Chris Parnell’s voice and vocal cadence in my head?

  53. keithcurtis

    “If you choose to accept this mission (heh), Blaine will self destruct in 60 seconds. If caught, the Korean Mafia will disavow all knowledge of your actions.”

  54. Mr. Random

    …. Is Blaine cyber stalking everyone’s twitter feeds?

  55. thejeff

    “Believe me, she’s not”

    That’s the nicest thing Blaine’s ever said about Amber.

  56. Julius Cooper

    Living in Bloomington, I find it humorous that – when this comic started – that was not a Noodles & Co. I’m pretty sure it was still the Von Lee theater – but I’m old and neither the theater nor Noodles were impactful to my life (away – far, far away! – from campus)

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