267

Underoos
Posted on September 22, 2016 by David M Willis
sal2016aHEY! On Friday, October 14, 2016, from 5-7pm, I will be at Vintage Phoenix Comics in Bloomington, Indiana!  Yeah, it's my annual trip back to Indiana University, and I'm still makin' it, even though I gots double babies and everything.  It's................ the only thing on my convention schedule for the forseeable future, partly because I ain't doin' SDCC no more and ECCC falls during a trip I'm makin', and I will never ever ever win another SPX table lottery, and the other stuff I wanted to do this fall got canceled.  So, like, I guess, come see me then or whatever.   I'll have book 5s. I AM GREAT AT DOING PROMOTIONAL WRITING

267 thoughts on “Underoos”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    you’re standing on my neck

    1. Ana Chronistic

      funny thing, Willis, I got Book 5 + magnets on the SAME DAY as SPX, so it’s kinda sorta like you were there anyway??

      1. Bicycle Bill

        Which level were you at, Ana?  I’m still waiting on mine.

        1. Jen Aside

          guess

        2. Jen Aside

          shit, wrong e-mail

          guess

    2. Doctor_Who

      Exactly what I came here to post.

      Man, Daria is almost 20 years old. Older than the characters in this strip.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        So which character’s mother is she?

        1. Doctor_Who

          I suppose if she gained a bit of weight she might look like Amber’s mom.

          You know, I could easily see Faz as being Upchuck’s son, considering his personality around ladies. But assuming the characters’ origins are the same in this ‘verse, his dad is also Amber’s dad which means Daria married-NO.

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          I thought he was with that goth chick at the end?

        3. vlademir1

          Yes he was with Andrea at the party, but whether or no that lead to anything fall in the realm of fanfic and fannon. Last I was a regular in the fandom, it’s been several years, the favored pairing for Charles was more often Stacy.

      2. Ana Chronistic

        I’m guessing you mean the show is, ’cause Daria the character would be, like, 35+

        I could picture her being… Marigold Farmer’s mom =p (nah, I can’t actually picture her being ANY mom of a high-school-to-college-age kid, ’cause she would’ve had to get knocked up pretty much straight out of Lawndale)

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          AG could go see her at the clinic for sarcasm therapy.

      3. Deanatay

        Friend of mine told me yesterday she’d never seen Daria.

        I COULDN’T LET THAT STAND.

        1. Jon Rich

          I’ve never even *heard* of Daria.

    3. TheAnonymousGuy

      Progress! more please

    4. DarkoNeko

      na na naaaaa, na na.

    5. weedleplop

      Am i being a bit thick? where’s the Daria reference in the strip?

      1. weedleplop

        Right. got it. standing down.

      2. MrZombieScordo

        I’m missing it! Nationwide is on my side, with a helpful reminder?

        1. Schmeedle

          In “Is It Fall Yet?” Mystik Spiral dedicate a song called “Freaking Friends” to Jane and Daria.

        2. MrZombieScordo

          thank you

  2. AnvilPro

    Best friends Sal. Best friends.

    1. Wheelpath

      Enemies closer and all that jazz

  3. inqntrol

    I don’t think Marcie is pretty happy at the moment Sal.

    1. DarkoNeko

      that was my first thought, as well XD

  4. fishamaphone

    Hah! I knew Amazigirl was Andy Dick! I knew it the whole time!

  5. CriticalQuit

    Well, it looks like Sal’s off the shit list.

    1. Doctor_Who

      That’s progress, I hope. The self-loathing remains, however.

    2. brasca1

      Apparently helping her chase down a date rapist evens things out.

      1. Chief_of_Staves

        Therapist, AG! THERAPIST! Not THE-RAPIST! It’s like she isn’t listening to the comment section at all.

        1. Bicycle Bill

          Next thing we know, you’re going to be calling the act itself ‘surprise sex’ instead of ‘rape’.

        2. Chief_of_Staves

          No, no. No consensual sex is still rape, and rape is a no-go. Finding a decent and morally sound therapist would likely be much better for AG than hunting criminals, including Rapist Ryan and his Merry Bros.

          The joke was, in case you missed it, the spelling of the phrases.

        3. Betty Anne

          Spacing is, after all, important.

        4. EvilMidnightLurker

          I’ll take “The Rapists” for $300, Trebek.

  6. Cheshrin

    Mm, I love the smell of character development at 11 at night.

    1. Kitty

      This comment made me smile.

    2. Needfuldoer

      We’re fighting the frizzies at 11. Character development comes after Sports and the weather report.

  7. achallenger

    ‘damnit sal, can’t do anyhthing the normal way can ya?’ -marcie prolly

    1. Foxhack

      *signs aggressively*

      1. Chief_of_Staves

        Hulk signs aggressively too! Mostly like a baseball bat! Puny rod.

  8. Shiro

    😀 Friends!!

    I can’t wait for the next installment of this plot.

  9. nobodybasically

    I’ll never forgive Amazi-Girl for what she did to Phil Hartman.

    1. AndroidDreams

      yeah fuck amazigirl. he knows what he did.

  10. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Is the tree the same color as AG’s hair? I can’t tell, what with being a mutant and all.

    1. Agemegos

      No. Fiendishly green and red!

    2. Leorale

      Nope, you’re red-green colourblind.
      Btw, does that mean that maple leaves look pretty much the same to you until they fall?

      1. Dean

        Slartibeast can’t tell the difference because the ruby quartz visor makes everything look red.

        1. Chief_of_Staves

          Take off the visor around other people, everything still looks red, but for different reasons.

        2. AndroidDreams

          Roses are red,
          violets are red,
          EVERYTHING IS RED I MISS JEAN

        3. HMRC4EVR

          JEAN!

    3. ety

      I don’t think so?

    4. Archivist

      Her hair is a brown you get from dark red, and the bush is heavily desaturated green. Same shade of different colors with everything washed over with teal (or something?) for the night scene.

      1. ety

        I, for one, can actually see the difference here, but they are very close and I have all sorts of trouble with similar colors.

        1. ety

          On the second panel, you could maybe convince that the highlight on her hair for the part that is next to the bush is the same as the bush behind it…maybe.

          Of course, I wouldn’t believe you because I know from past strips her hair is red and I’d assume they were red and green respectively…

        2. Random832

          Well, if someone can’t see the difference, and we don’t know what time of year it is in the comic (shouldn’t it actually be fall soon anyway actually?), the tree could be red.

        3. Tan

          We do know what time of year it is. Early October.

    5. Tomas

      Thanks for reminding me about the young Prof. Xavier drunkenly hitting on college girls by calling them mutants.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Never worked for me.

      2. Chief_of_Staves

        You’d think having telepathy would help you connect to people.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Using mind-reading to get women into bed is ethically questionable. Weird pick-up lines less so.

        2. Chief_of_Staves

          As long as he isn’t making them think or do anything, and he basically just skims the surface to see if there is any mutual attraction or shared interests near the forefront, I am not very concerned. Anything more than that, yeah, serious ethical issues abound.

        3. StClair

          my headcanon for new (and by extension, old) Trek has Gary Mitchell doing this at the Academy with his amazingly high (for humans) psi potential. It’s easy to get people to like you, trust you, etc when you have good looks, a charming smile and always know exactly what to say/what they want to hear (true or not).

      3. Jon Rich

        That happened? The drunkenly hitting on teenage girls part, I mean.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Maybe not teenaged. I posted a youtube link but it went to limbo somehow.

        2. Tomas

          Go watch X-Men: First Class.

    6. Thevoiceoftreason

      Do you call the color you see red or green?

    7. DarkoNeko

      Being a mutant ? Man, I took my protanomalia wrong for all those years. Your version is more awesome.

  11. Stephen R. Bierce

    And A-G will keep on apologizing to Sal to their dying days, I’ll bet.

  12. Archivist

    Sal is the best Han Solo.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      How fast can she do the Kessel run?

      1. Archivist

        On that motorcycle? Fast enough to measure the time in a unit of distance, for sure!

        1. AndroidDreams

          he did the kessel run in the shortest route! most people avoid the meteor field!

        2. Orion Fury

          And the black holes.

        3. Jon Rich

          “On that motorcycle? Fast enough to measure the time in a unit of distance, for sure!”

          Best comment.

      2. Chief_of_Staves

        Estimated to the nearest meter, 10 parboils.

    2. Griffin

      She better not have a son.

      1. Orion Fury

        I don’t think that worked out well in any continuity.

    3. Willinwoods

      Can’t remember her ever stabbing first, though.

    4. Deanatay

      PLEASE don’t encase her in carbonite!

      (Not that I’m worried whether she’d survive the freezing process – I mean, she’s SAL – but I’d just miss that sweet sexy Tennessee accent somethin’ terrible.)

      1. Chief_of_Staves

        Sweet Southern Iced Torture…

  13. Leorale

    Wow, this seems like a major step towards health??

    1. Fridge_Logik

      Maybe, it feels more like a small step to me. But it still seems like a step at least.

  14. Urukak

    I don’t know who Andy Dick is but I’m afraid if I google him it will just make me sad.

    1. brionl

      He’s history’s greatest monster!

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sKMnhQWp6w

    2. inqntrol

      He’s just a movie producer/actor or something like that.

    3. Foxhack

      He’s a comedian who’s also a hell of a jerk.

    4. Fart Captor

      I laughed really hard at that alt text.

      Like, imagine if Pauly Shore and Carrot Top were a single, terrible person instead of two irritating comedians.

      1. Bibulb

        Yeah. … YEAH. EXACTLY.

        But WORSE.

        1. Orion Fury

          By the Gods, I’m afraid to look up what he did.

    5. Cybersnark

      He was the model for the Mark-2 Emergency Medical Hologram.

      Because waking up in sickbay isn’t traumatic enough.

    6. Roborat

      He should be burned, with fire, lots and lots of fire.

  15. Opus the Poet

    This looks good. No, really AG and Sal mending fences would be a good thing. For both of them.

  16. Tomas

    So she’s never going to tell Sal their common history.

    Good call, Willis.

    1. Splerk

      They’re clearly going to encounter one another again, though.

  17. Kernanator

    See? Superhero logic does apply!

  18. Kit Gossamer

    Is there anyone else that can’t help to think that Marcie’s glare a few panels back was out of jealousy?

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      Maybe or maybe not, it was a bit unclear in subtext.

  19. Leorale

    Extra stalker-y since Sal never told Amazi-Girl her name. Way to be creepy, AG!

    1. Spencer

      She might have learned it at some point. Like, say, if she picked it up five years ago and just plain never forgot it.

      I thought for sure learning Sal’s name was going to be an incredibly important plot point for Amber, because swirling voids of evil don’t have names. That’s a people thing.

      1. Griffin

        Maybe their moms have the same name.

      2. Leorale

        It makes perfect sense for Amber to know Sal’s name. (For example, they live on the same floor and everyone’s names are written on their doors.) But, since Sal doesn’t know who AG is, it makes it look like AG learned it all creepy-stalker-like.

        1. Cerberus

          Which given that she’s been stalker following her for days and Sal’s noticed… yeah, definitely came off super-stalkery.

      3. Reltzik

        Given their priorities, names are the last thing on their minds, really.

        “…. Names? Where we’re going, we don’t need… names.”

        1. Orion Fury

          “When this name hits 88 characters, you’re going to see some serious shit.”

        2. SgtWadeyWilson

          BTTF-GreatScott-IKnowThisisHeavy-1.21Jigawatts-Delorean-88mph-Doc&Marty4ever198520151885

          Yeah, that username would be some pretty serious shit.

  20. newllend(henryvolt)

    And it’s with the last person you would thought of Oh the Irony I love it.

    Also panel 2 is so funny to me, not because of the jokes but because it feels the those are the kind of smart ass quips you would get from Walky, I guess brother and sister are more alike than I thought.

    1. Tan

      Actually she had thought of it. She was genuinely worried.

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/highstrung/

  21. Arianod

    What a turn of events! 😮

    1. Orion Fury

      A sudden change of plot?

  22. Solenoid

    Hacked muzak suggestion: Bastille’s Icarus?

  23. Tacos

    Well this is progress. The self-loathing is still there though unfortunately.

    1. Spencer

      Ayup, and with being forced to recognize her dehumanizing of Sal, Amber has nobody to turn that hatred on except for herself, and further motivating her to box Amber out for everyone’s sake.

      1. Cerberus

        Yup. Growing out of viewing Sal as a person who had to be a villain. To the point where she was creepy stalking her looking for a justification to attack her and ruined a romantic relationship over it is a huge step forward.

        But finding a way to spin that around and blame it all on the Amber alter instead of having AG accept that she’s not a flawless golden alter is a small step backwards.

        Overall it’s phenomenal, amazing progress, but there’s definitely still that unhealthy edge that needs work.

        1. Charles Phipps

          Yeah, I wish Amazi-Girl realized she doesn’t NEED Amber.

        2. Fart Captor

          I’m pretty sure she does. Amber is the one who attends class and studies, because she’s the one with life goals other than “vengeance” (Which isn’t something you can major in at IU).

        3. Cerberus

          Well, the thing is she does need Amber. Amber is just as much a part of her as AG is and trying to “kill her off” will just make Amber rebel and lead to a more disassociated and less communicative situation. Plus, Amber isn’t just a garbage dump for “bad feelings” as much as AG and Amber would like to imagine her as.

          Instead she’s a repository for things like human connection, hobbies, empathy, fear, understanding what it’s like to be small, afraid, a victim, to face and accept your mental health limitations as part of you and your trauma responses as part of you.

          Amber has lots of worth, one of which AG adopted with grace, which is the ability to bend, to admit wrong-doing, to have flexible morality and not just gripe on people when they “technically” break the rules in ways that don’t hurt anyone.

          AG/Amber is going to have to accept that Amber has worth and isn’t just a “monster” and that AG has flaws and isn’t just the “golden alter” at some point just because it’ll be necessary for her recovery.

      2. Reltzik

        THIS sounds like a job for BOOZE!

        (… no. No it doesn’t. I just have a perverse love for identifying the worst thing that can happen. Not rooting for it, just identifying it.)

        (…. which isn’t that. Not by a long shot.)

        1. Orion Fury

          There’s only one problem solved by drinking booze.

        2. Reltzik

          Sobriety. And consciousness. And an ability to count.

        3. Cybersnark

          Mike.

    2. Fart Captor

      Yeah, if only she could forgive Amber as well

  24. JessWitt

    Best friends (who enjoy lurking) in high places.

  25. Spencer

    Um, excuse me, but are we ever going to acknowledge that Amber can probably try to recover the deleted photo?

    We better not have to wait, like, three months for this. I’m organizing my randos as we speak.

    1. David M Willis

      i hate you

      1. Reltzik

        So, in other words, it’ll get addressed right after the strips currently in the buffer are exhausted.

      2. Spencer

        #onlypatronswillgetthis

      3. Random832

        All you have to do is go over the SD card with dry erase marker right?

        Anyway, the chance of being able to recover something is actually pretty low, given that it’s just a single recently-taken picture, especially if it was in phone memory. It’s better if it was on an SD, but 90% chance all he’d have to do to overwrite it is take another picture after deleting it.

        1. Random832

          So you could pretty easily justify it being recoverable or not depending on what your plot needs and what you may have already written, is all I’m saying.

        2. Roborat

          That made me laugh. Nicely done.

        3. SeanR

          Nope. Flash memory uses something coined “Wear Leveling” to avoid burning out parts of the chip before other parts. Decent file recovery software will get it. Zero Assumption brand will even recover PICTURES for free. (I have no stake in that company, but I’ve used their product).

          Think of that next time you “overwrite” your porn stash on your flash memory stick.

          There are secure overwrite utilities, but what are the chances that scarface would recognize whatever app Amber chose to install on her phone? (Assuming Amber chose to put one on her phone.)

        4. ety

          I’ve mostly used “testdisk” but only cause I came across it like 8 or 9 years ago or something now and it solved my problem well enough then.

    2. ety

      Pretty sure Willis said on twitter that “glower vacuum” ends on December 23. It could be a while…

      1. ety

        On the other hand, it could not…

        1. ety

          Wouldn’t it be nice if the comments auto-updated?

        2. SgtWadeyWilson

          Yeah, this comment system has nostalgic charm, but considering how often I refresh this page anyway…

        3. ety

          For some reason the only time I don’t refresh is when I see something I want to reply to.

        4. Reltzik

          And yet, seeing a comment section with things worthy of a reply is kinda refreshing.

        5. ety

          I just don’t know if it’s really worth the load, though.

        6. ety

          …dammit I could have done that so much better…

      2. Fart Captor

        I’d say about exactly 3 months.

    3. Orion Fury

      It’s been acknowledged for days in the comment section, though I think you’re the first to summon Willis.

      1. Willinwoods

        Oh, is that like a Beetlejuice and/or Candyman thing?

      2. AGV

        That’s because Spencer aknowledged the shelude

      3. Lipke the Articulate

        “Release the Willis!”

    4. Guairdean Beatha

      Wouldn’t that depend on the make and model of the phone? Most of the phones I’ve had didn’t have a way to recover anything that was deleted. Does anyone know what kind of phone she was using? I’m not a phone aficionado and haven’t seen one that hinges on the side.

  26. Chief_of_Staves

    Won’t Marcie be SO proud of her? As soon as Marcue gets done kicking Sal in the shin over this, I mean.

  27. Bagge

    AMAZI-GIRL SAID SORRY??????? That is NOT being immune to criticism. This is very healthy.

    I don’t know what kind of friends Sal hoped to make at the Robin rally, but personally I think she scored.

    1. Reltzik

      Amazi-girl was immune to criticism in SP! We’ve never heard anything of the sort in DoA, I don’t think. Here, her superpower seems to be immunity to various flavors of Amber-meltdown.

      1. Sam

        This seems like a more useful superpower to prevent breaking down in front of people but not so much in the long-term.

        #2016BringBackAG’sImmunityToCriticism #RejectNewSuperpowers

  28. Edward Starsmith

    While it’s not too far of a stretch to see Sal as a crime fighter/super hero, I can’t see her as the sidekick for anyone.

    1. Splork

      Agreed. Thank you!

  29. Lipke the Articulate

    Woo! Friends!

  30. nerothewriter

    My secret sources have told me the biggest secret of the comic! Andy Dick is Amazigirl!!!!!!

  31. Pika256

    You had me at, “underoos”

  32. DrakenKaiser

    This Amazigirl-Amazigirl team up has been the best episode yet!

  33. ety

    When did AG’s hair become AG hair and not Amber hair?

    1. ety

      Okay, it started here-ish: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/03-the-first-step-towards-recovery/voice/

    2. Fart Captor

      After she rescued Danny as AG, and started hanging out with him as Amber:

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/03-the-first-step-towards-recovery/voice/

      1. ety

        Haha, I found it thanks 😛

  34. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Panel 1: Okay, I’ve been reading Willis comics for way too long, because I’m totally reading Sal’s line here as dark foreshadowing.

    Cause, yeah, that’s genuinely a concern and would have been even more of a certainty the longer he had the phone. Especially as he’s got a reason to go digging in to this superhero (slur for a woman) who “ruined his night out”.

    Panel 2: *Slow clap* for Sal here. Like, yes, it’s been implied, but I love that Sal just states it out in the open. AG has not been a hero to Sal. AG has been a weird rules-obsessed and kinda racist figure who has stalked and harassed her.

    And that’s not “the Amber alter” as much as AG would like to claim otherwise. That’s been AG’s actions, during moments she’s had full-control. Like, I’m so proud of AG’s growth (like seriously, her abandonment of the “Sal needs to be a villain even if I need to disbelieve reality itself” track is frickin’ HUGE), but she definitely needed a bit of a gentle reminder of why that track and her actions in support of that track were such a bad idea.

    Panel 3: Bob damn it AG, stop throwing shade on your other alter.

    Panels 4-5: Actual apologies, including an implied one for the stabbing… I’m really proud of AG here. This is such a major growth moment for her, especially when it seemed that nothing would shake her off her bad path once she sacrificed her relationship with Danny to the paranoid delusion that Sal was a supervillain.

    It’s still tempered with trying to throw a lot of the blame on Amber alter’s feet, but it’s overall a major leap forward in her development.

    Panel 6: Yep, Sal, you are. And with probably the person you least suspected you would. You can’t escape the socialization. It will find you. In the dark. In the night.

    1. ety

      I just felt like I’d mention, that I love your name and I love reading your “Comic Reactions” every time. ^_^

      1. trlkly

        Until you said that, I never actually made the connection. Love her, but it just didn’t click. And, yes, I know my Greek mythology.

        I literally did a face palm. Twice.

    2. Orion Fury

      Isn’t Amber a Computer Science Major? They don’t do well in the sun.

      Also: It. Is. Friend-ship.

      1. ety

        “Computer Science Major? They don’t do well in the sun.”

        I speak from experience. This is true. 😛

        1. Orion Fury

          I remember one day, like 15 or so years ago, I was hanging out at a friends place, in his walk-out basement. One of the guys thought we could use some more light, so he opened a window shade. My instinctive reaction, and not as a joke btw, was to hiss and fall back behind the couch (I was sitting on top of it). Granted it did elicit laughter, but that wasn’t the intent.

    3. vlademir1

      The Amber/Amazi-girl dynamic is rather built of two steps forward followed by one step back. AG has finally learned to accept Sal, but still can’t accept Amber and has moved even further from doing so (to be fair she has steadily moved further and further from accepting Amber since Danny made his choice between mask or no). Speaking of Danny, I wonder if AG will now to some degree try to reconcile with him seeing as his associating with Sal was kinda her main problem (Amber is a tougher call).

      1. thejeff

        Don’t put that on Danny. In the Slipshine, it’s much more nuanced than it might appear in the main strip. Danny’s never chosen between mask and no mask, not since he learned Amazi-Girl was Amber. He always tried to bring them both together, treating them as the same person, even when she denied it.
        He was thrilled to be dating a super-hero, but also openly frustrated by the secret identity thing keeping him from openly dating Amber.

    4. Joe Archer

      I still expect to see communication blackouts (red-backed flashbacks rather than overwriting similar to the Dina dino considerations) whenever Amber encounters Sal.

      When are we going to learn that Sal robbed those convenience shops in order to get money for Marcie’s medical bills?

      1. thejeff

        I never really liked that idea. I’d rather have Sal as the screwed up kid who was acting up, rebelling and causing trouble because of that, who’s gotten her life back under control, rather than someone who was always trying to do the right thing.

        Redemption arc, even if it’s backstory, rather than misunderstood champion of the downtrodden.

        1. Spencer

          Seriously. It basically says it’s only okay to have fucked up in the past as long as you fucked up for the right reasons.

        2. Joe Archer

          If Sal did all the robbery etc. for Marcie, where does this leave Marcie? Did she have a choice not to follow Sal to Bloomington?

      2. BenRG

        I’m wondering if the situation will occur when Amber goes into a PTSD blackout because of being near to Sal and unable to flee and Amazi-Girl openly takes over, the body posture, voice and even the messy hair. I think that would be a fascinating way for Sal to learn AG’s alter-ego and realise just how completely messed up she is.

        1. Regalli

          At least so far, the scuffed hair and voice aren’t things AG “needs” as such, just useful identity obfuscation things/I think once she changed to bluespeech while with Danny and Dina once she realized they were around and benefited from it and the definite differentiation between who’s in control at the moment. Or maybe she was wearing the mask and switched to blue, I don’t recall the exact. Posture, maybe. But looking back at it, her default is normal speech and not bluespeech, like there’s post-Slipshine free strips where she’s clearly still acting as AG but using normal speech even before Amber takes control again. And there’s a moment during the Toedad chase where it’s AG using normal speech before catching herself and not Amber seeing Sal and switching. The mask is a necessary/extremely comforting thing, Amazi-Girl and Amber are very much distinct alters with different names by this point, but while I think Amazi-Girl needs her mask and at least wants her suit I don’t think she needs the hair and voice. (Though she does really like the hair. Too bad she can’t use it as Amber.)

      3. BenRG

        Just a PS to my post above; maybe Amber will be in imminent danger when the freeze-up/hand-off occurs. Amazi-Girl then tells Sal: “I couldn’t let Amber die; she’s not a good person but she doesn’t deserve to die.”

    5. Cybersnark

      In the dark of the night, friendship will find her, (find her)
      In the dark of the night, just before dawn. (oo-ooh)

      1. Griffin

        I need a like button for this so bad.

  35. Professor Fate

    AG may be an emotional basket case, but she has a good heart. Sal is … Sal. Too sexy for her bike.

    Andy Dick is a huge one and an asshole to boot. He’s as funny as a broken leg and more irritating than Poison Ivy. His popularity is non existent and he’s a nuisance to work with. Which is why you seldom see him in movies or on TV.

    1. Orion Fury

      Which version of Ivy do you dislike?

  36. Reltzik

    “I think this might be the start of a beautiful frie– Louis? Louis, where’d you go?”

  37. AndroidDreams

    sals like, the anti-hero? she’s more batman than amazi-girl, who for all her broodiness is still straight laced. red hood? green arrow? ironman?
    …
    can danny be aquaman?

    1. Reltzik

      What’s anti- about her? She has a dark past but now she mostly wants to be left alone with friends and not cause trouble. The worst she’s done is try to nookie her way into a better grade. … oh, and throw Marcie under the bus just now.

    2. Joe Archer

      Sal cannot be a hero – there are no costume changes involved between everyday coolness and heroic activity, no secret identity (unless we count her monologuing in sibling communication only after Walky has left), and no change in awesomeness.

      Unless that curly-haired catholic schoolgirl we see at parents weekend is meant to be her alter ego. It involved a lot of squirming, though…

      1. John

        By day, she’s mild-mannered Canadian schoolgirl Ceilidh MacFarlane. By night, she fights crime as SAL.

  38. trlkly

    I’m loving this strip, because of this:

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/highstrung/

    1. ety

      Ahahahahaha, oh that is good.

  39. Heavensrun

    (thinks) Batman is honestly pretty straight laced. Sal is…man, hard to place, actually. I want to say…Nightwing.

    1. Orion Fury

      So eventually Sal will take on the mantle of Amazi-Girl? That’s means that Billie is right, she’s just playing the long game.

    2. Griffin

      I could see that.

  40. Morrison

    Who is older, Amber or Sal?

    1. BenRG

      They’re about the same age but that’s still a lot younger than their apparent emotional age, due to the various issues they’ve had to go through.

    2. Reltzik

      Well, I’d say we don’t know. They’re both freshman. But I’d guess Sal, because if anyone ever got held back a grade it would be Sal.

      … well, wait, that would also mean Walky was held back, and the golden child would never be allowed to have that happen to him.

      …. but still, Amber’s younger, because she’s been her for less and has given up some of her time to Amazi-girl.

      ….. it doesn’t work that way, does it? Dammit.

      Either way, Sal’s more mature. It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.

      1. Orion Fury

        I almost made a really bad joke here.

        1. ety

          I almost think I have some idea of what it might have been.

        2. Orion Fury

          Huh, so maybe that’s an almost racist comment then.

        3. ety

          racist…huh. hm, I was going with dirty…

        4. Orion Fury

          The joke was going to be multilayered, including dirty, but it would have probably let itself to racist as well.

      2. DonDueed

        Mileage doesn’t matter for Sal. She knows how to set back the odometer.

  41. Idontcarenomore

    Great, Sal is making a friend, and she will probably be the best one AG/Amber ever has had. She tells it like it is, not like people with ulterior motives do.

    1. Needfuldoer

      AG has probably spent more time with Sal than anyone else at this point, except maybe Danny.

      Wait, how do tonight’s events affect her relationship with Danny? If Sal isn’t the root of all evil, did she really ‘corrupt’ him?

      1. Spencer

        If Amber/AG continues to hate him I could see it due to him attempting to put an end to Amazi-Girl and valuing Amber over her.

        If not, I don’t think it’ll take her more than a day to apologize to him, but according to Willis’ twitter he’s not appearing at all this storyline, so… who knows. I think it’ll come up while she’s hanging out with Ethan, though.

  42. BenRG

    *Sigh* Oh Amber, Amber Amber! You’ve got to open up to someone eventually before you end up consciously trying to hurt yourself! Hasn’t Sal proven herself trustworthy (and, frankly, someone likely to empathise)?

    1. Reltzik

      Deeeesperaaaadoooooo…..

      1. Falling Star

        [Punch!]

    2. Fart Captor

      She’s already opened up to both Ethan and Danny.

      1. BenRG

        She hasn’t ‘opened up’ to Ethan; he very obviously thinks it is some kind of cute personal eccentricity rather than an ongoing psychological crisis. As for Danny, I don’t think that he ever really understood what was going on.

        1. Fart Captor

          Does she even understand what’s going on, though?

  43. AY

    I haven’t even thought about Andy Dick in years, I don’t know how to feel about this

  44. acher4

    Soooooooo, Amazi-girl is now in good terms with Sal, but Amber still isn’t?
    >.>
    <.<
    This will be quite interesting to see unfold.

  45. BrokenEye, The True False Prophet

    Hmm… Amazigirl/Sal teamup, but Amber still hasn’t made her superheroing debut as Spider-Car. What gives?

  46. Frederic Garber

    I’m probably not the first for this theory, but I think now I’ve been misinterpreting the red rage that Amber has for Sal. I think Amber has never been afraid of Sal, I think Amber is worried that Sal will want revenge for what Amber did to her all those years ago.

    I think Sal pulled that knife not to _rob_ the store, but because the clerk said something derogatory about her and/or Marcie. And I think Amber flipped out, went all “Blaine” on Sal, and stabbed her in the hand.(*) How else was Amber taught to handle a crisis? Video Games and Blaine say that you aggressively confront robbers with violence.

    I think she is trying to work through Amber’s growing feelings of responsibility for Sal’s life turning out the way it did (**). Amber/AG both feel, I think, that Sal would be just like Walky if it wasn’t for how Amber reacted all those years ago at the store “robbery.”(*)

    Notes:
    (*) When an outspoken black girl pulls a knife on a convenience store owner, it’s “clearly” an attempted robbery, getting Sal sent to Catholic Reform School (but not jail?)
    (**) Amber is not as responsible for Sal’s life events as she thinks she is. But Amber has a lot of issues, and some light Meglomania pairs well with her Control and Rage issues. Like a Cabernet and a bloody steak.

    1. BenRG

      I’m not certain but I’m pretty sure that Sal demanded money in Amber’s flashback. Any other motive wouldn’t explain her taking Ethan hostage and threatening his life if the clerk didn’t cooperate.

      1. Daibhid C

        Yep, she says “This is a holdup”, and when the clerk points out it’s bulletproof glass she takes Ethan hostage.
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/hostage/

        But Amber’s flip-out isn’t even a reaction to the event, it happens after it’s all over, due to being goaded by Blaine that she did nothing during the actual robbery.
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/freezeup/

        So yeah, no right side, just the tragic interaction of two people with problems.

      2. Gamaran Sepudomyn

        It’s repeatedly been confirmed that the reason she did that was because she was starved of attention by her parents. The robbery was her attempt to get her parents to give her any attention.

    2. ety

      I’d like to point out the following:

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/same/
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/hostage/
      and
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/freezeup/

      —

      “I think Amber has never been afraid of Sal, I think Amber is worried that Sal will want revenge for what Amber did to her all those years ago.”

      I disagree. Amber may feel guilty, however, it is entirely possible and quite likely that she also saw (past-tense for AG at least) Sal as a “Figure of Evil.”

      “I think Sal pulled that knife not to _rob_ the store, but because the clerk said something derogatory about her and/or Marcie.”

      It was pretty clearly an attempt at an actual robbery for some other sake, at least as far as Amber’s flashbacks have been concerned. Potentially, Amber misremembers it and it’s something along the lines of what you’ve said, but I think the “Sal tries to rob to help her friend” idea holds more weight.

      “And I think Amber flipped out, went all “Blaine” on Sal, and stabbed her in the hand.(*) How else was Amber taught to handle a crisis? Video Games and Blaine say that you aggressively confront robbers with violence.”

      Amber flips out post-crisis as a direct result of Blaine’s digging into her psychologically.

    3. thejeff

      Let’s not completely whitewash Sal and blame Amber for everything either.

  47. BenRG

    I’m guessing that, in Amazi-Girl’s corkscrew of a brain, because she’s established that Sal is okay, really (not ‘nice’ but ‘okay’) then hating and fearing her must be proof of some moral deficiency in Amber.

    I think I know why Dina is going to have to supply Amber with many hugs over the next few days. Having a voice in your head (or perhaps two voices) telling you that you are an evil person will not be easy to handle without having a full-blown episode.

    1. JBento

      Ok, this is killing me: are you and the BenRG with the Ethan avatar the same person? Are you two different people who use the same handle? Does this comment section even allow repeat handles?

      1. BenRG

        I’m the same person. I used to have the same gravitar for commenting on my home computer, work computer and tablet. However, since my work computer was changed (the old one struggled mightily to boot up in the morning), it’s given me that blonde as a gravitar when I comment from it. I can’t imagine why – the IP hasn’t changed!

        1. JBento

          Ah, thanks.

          (For the record, that blonde is Daisy, the University paper’s… editor? I think? who’s a lesbian in DESPERATE need of a girlfriend, or at least sex. We met her way back when – she was the one who set Dorothy on the track of AG. I don’t think she has appeared since)

        2. Jhon

          Daisy was tagged at the DeSanto rally.
          … everyone always forgets Daisy…

        3. thejeff

          According to a Patreon bonus strip, she was in the bathroom for the exciting part of the rally.

        4. thejeff

          The avatars aren’t based on IPs, but a hash of the email address.
          The hash is case sensitive, unlike actual email. You probably put in a different email, likely with just different capitalization.

  48. Keulan

    Holy shit, did Amazi-Girl and Sal just become friends? That’s kinda awesome.

  49. fogel

    I feel like Sal has shown more varied facial expressions in this one strip than all others before: it’s probably not true, but my impression is that she’s always in some variation on grim/frowny/scowley/disapproving.

  50. ety

    Final Panel here:
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/01-glower-vacuum/snap/

    Second Panel here:
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/01-glower-vacuum/landed/

    None of these are really “grim/frowny/scowley/disapproving”:
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/amove/

    or these for that matter:
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/nina/

    She’s even nearly smiling in the third panel here:
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/sweet/

    She’s got tons of range. Her “natural” face does appear to be a sort of downward curving mouth, though, and I could see that helping to give off the impression you have of her. The rest of time, when she does have a “grim/frowny/scowley/disapproving” look on her face, it’s usually for a pretty good reason.

    1. ety

      neutral…neutral might have been a better word for that :/

    2. fogel

      Ha! I was right: my impression was inaccurate, just as I figured! I really do count on folks here who know the archives way better than me.
      You are right, she was almost smiling when she was teasing Carla. (And I do recall her having smiled fully when she was chatting up Ethan at Joyce’s form party.) And I love expression when she’s listening to Jennifer asking Nina if the homeless people were sent somewhere nice.

  51. JBento

    @Lipke, regarding yesterday: I, too, would like to apologise. I had just come out of another discussion with someone who was trying to convince me how great this pope is, and my tolerance for the topic and anything related was at a low. This is, of course, no excuse, seeing as that discussion wasn’t with you. I am sorry, and will try to do better in an eventual next time (with you or anyone else).

    1. Lipke the Articulate

      So, in that case, we’re good?

      1. JBento

        I’m not entirely sure we’re legally allowed to be good on the internet, but I’ll risk it. Here, an apology in the form of binary cookies, as appropriate for a discussion in a digital medium:

        01000011011011110110111101101011011010010110010101110011

        1. Lipke the Articulate

          Ha, internet jokes!
          Although I’m not computer-savvy enough to do much more than assume that the binary makes it funnier.

        2. thejeff

          There are 10 kinds of people in the world.
          Those who understand binary and those who don’t.

        3. Lipke the Articulate

          Yeah, that joke alone is about the extent of my binary knowledge.

  52. Kaffeeteria

    I really like Sal. 🙂

  53. Zellgato

    Well. That was proably cathartic for her

    but Danny’s probably screwed. Or dina.
    or Sal since she was seen quite obviously

    1. JBento

      Danny might have trouble, though recent developments seem to have left him more disposed to defend himself effectively against Ryan.

      But Sal would kick Ryan’s ass on sight as a default, and Dina actually tackled a rather large fully grown man with a gun. Ryan’s chances against either are about negative 100.

      1. Anorak

        my theory is that danny ends up getting attacked but then ethan saves him

        1. JBento

          And then the ship sails at full mast?

        2. Heavensrun

          Is that a boner joke?

        3. JBento

          No, it’s merely a reference to how we have shortened “relationship” to “ship” and began to use nautical terms to categorise them (e.g., “that ship has sunk”).

          Unless you consider it a FUNNY boner joke. Then yes, it is, and that was my intent all along. Good on you for catching it. *cough*

        4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          “When correctly viewed, everything is lewd
          I can tell you things about Peter Pan, and the Wizard of Oz is a dirty old man.” – Tom Lehrer

    2. Fart Captor

      Why would Dina be screwed?

      1. JBento

        Presumably, because she’s Amber’s roommate.

  54. Sudden Clarity Clarence

    Is this the first time Amber/AG addressed Sal by name?

    1. BenRG

      I think so, yes. It’s symbolic, of course, of the fact that she no longer sees her as a dehumanised enemy other, ‘Her’. Now she sees her as a person; not a person she particularly likes but a person who she understands on a certain level.

  55. Hoop

    I’m tellin’ ya, man. Dragoncon. (or Anime Weekend Atlanta. or Momocon.)

    We have a reasonably nice guest room and we’d love to see Maggie & the kids.

    1. J. A. J.

      +1 for MomoCon!

  56. Rheios

    I want to type ‘{THAT PERSON} is actually an okay guy’ but, despite our vast philosophical and political differences, I can’t seem to.

  57. Roborat

    Wow, no cops or security on scene yet? Those must be the slowest responding organizations ever.

  58. Spencer

    To me, the significance of this storyline has been Amber’s vision of Sal being shattered, and now she’s forced to acknowledge Sal’s humanity, that she has been wronged by Amber, that she was being wronged by the crowd, and that she’s capable of good. Amber feels tremendous guilt for stabbing Sal, and now that she’s lost her vision of her as a corrupting monster, she’s forced to focus on her own mistakes, and what that’s going to mean in the future is probably going to be a lot of boxing Amber out for the good of everyone else.

    In other news I told a guy he was hot for the first time tonight. So, uh, yay me.

    1. David M Willis

      sweet

      1. Spencer

        Aww, thanks.

        It was a big deal to me, but at the same time it was completely quiet? Saying it felt natural with none of the huge build up I was expecting it would be, like I’d have fireworks the colour of the Bi pride flag exploding behind me or something. I just told him he was hot without feeling any kind of surprise to it; it was normal, and I’m glad it was normal.

        I actually, genuinely, thought about using Danny’s “you are like Super Mega Ultra Hot” line, but foolishly decided against it.

        1. David M Willis

          Just as long as you leave out the part about wanting to be ground up into his bathwater.

        2. fogel

          Congrats, Spencer, you go!

        3. Fart Captor

          These days they usually just add in the flag and the fireworks during post using CGI. Its much less distracting that way.

  59. nothri

    I WILL STOP AT NOTHING UNTIL WE ARE FRIENDS!!!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_7Pz85XJ7Q

    Whole review is good. Check out the 37:00 mark to understand the reference.

  60. Falling Star

    Andy Dick is a…well, it’s in the name.

  61. chris73

    Its a small thing I know but I’m glad Amazi-Girl told Sal to stop calling her “kid”, its demeaning and it minimizes the person as, presumably, Sal is an adult and so Sals opinion is more valid and important (I’m guessing that’s her mind set) then a mere kids is

    1. Lipke the Articulate

      I haven’t given much thought to being called “kid” since I was like twelve. In most of my social circles, “kid” is basically just another way to say “dude” or what have you. At the very most, I’ve used it to denote someone who’s younger than me- but never because age = value. I sincerely doubt Sal of all people would use it as a demeaning term either, considering.

      1. chris73

        Well yeah she does (maybe not to the extent I’m suggesting) but she uses it to (perhaps inadvertently) show that she is more knowledgeable, more “adult” then the rest of cast

        What exactly do you mean by considering?

        1. Lipke the Articulate

          Her massive issues with authority figures stemming from her childhood?

        2. chris73

          So why would that stop her from being dismissive of others?

        3. Lipke the Articulate

          She would gravitate away from using terms that express age or authority in a way to demean others, because many of her problems were caused by that kind of bullshit.

          Seriously, I’ve seen more neutral uses of kid than negative. How about, like, every buddy cop fiction ever, where the older one calls the younger one kid?
          Like, ever watch Criminal Minds? Morgan called Reid “kid” all the time. He certainly didn’t mean it in a disrespectful way. I somehow doubt he was using it to demean Spencer Reid’s supposed lack of knowledge. It was an endearing term, like “bro” or what have you.

  62. Tenchan

    And not just any friends, Sal: but an Amazi-Friend!!!

    1. Fart Captor

      Soon it will be revealed that Sal and Walky have magic rings

  63. Betrayer

    I have been waiting for her to apologize for stabbing Sal for so long. I guess this is good enough.

  64. Nazz

    Whyd she not like Sal again?

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