232

Yappin’
Posted on April 5, 2021 by David M Willis
The Dumbing of Age Book 10 Kickstarter is at $45K and thus a new magnet reveal!  There’s now a pledge tier to include a CLOSET COSPLAY AMAZI-GIRL magnet with your book!  Or you can do PICK THREE or PICK FIVE MAGNETS, or go all-in for COMPLETE MAGNET POWER! These are all the magnets unveiled so far!  Up next at $50 is the HOSTAGE SARAH magnet!

232 thoughts on “Yappin’”

  1. Thag Simmons

    I don’t see it

    1. Yenklette

      Actually, I do. I sort of noticed it yesterday, but assumed he’d always looked like that. But no, he’s definitely hotter than two comics ago.

      1. Thag Simmons

        Not really? His outfit’s better I guess but he looks more or less the same.

    2. Rose by Any Other Name

      I was saying his hair made him suddenly hot “yesterday” – that is, yesterday in comic. The new do works for him.

      1. Clif

        I don’t know how, but this is Booster’s doing, isn’t it.

        1. Vegetalss4

          Possibly Walky used Boosters shampoo from the shared bathroom.

  2. Ana Chronistic

    “I said he was …THOT”

    “wait, then what’s H”

    “…himbo”

    1. Yenklette

      Pfft, Walky’s not a himbo, he’s just a bimbo. A bimboy, if you absolutely must.

      1. Sirksome

        Walky doesn’t have enough mass to be a proper himbo. We’re talking about Kronk levels of beef here, but that dude is the hold standard. Also while Walky is immature I don’t know if he’s quite dumb enough either. True himbo status actually requires a lot of key elements Walky falls short in.

        1. James

          He’s also too much of an asshole, honestly.

        2. Jade

          Agreed; per a now deactivated tumblr user:

          a himbo must, MUST, be Kind, Beefy, and Stupid.
          only Kind and Beefy? thats just a hunk.
          only Beefy and Stupid? thats just a jock.
          only Kind and Stupid? thats just a decent man!

          He’s definitely not Beefy. I think he’s just lean (somehow).
          I don’t know if I would consider him kind, necessarily? Neutral/Chaotic personality-wise, at best.
          He’s not Stupid either. Used to being Smart without any effort, lazily coasting until he met a hill that he actually has to start pushing on the pedals for (he’s on a bike in this metaphor, work with me). But not Stupid.

        3. Needfuldoer

          I give it 5 years, 7 tops, before his teenage metabolism throws in the towel and his bad dietary habits start catching up with him.

        4. Svankensen

          IDK, I’m sort of a walky (hopefully I’ve learned not to be such an egoist). My metabolism has done nothing but improve. I do have constant stomach problems tho, so maybe it’s that more than anything? Lost weight without effort and turned suddenly hot in my late 20s. The secret is… luck?

        5. Demoted Oblivious

          Yeah, I’ve seen people telling a friend all through his 20’s and 30’s that “it was gonna catch up with him.” But between casual exercise and an ok attitude ‘it’ never did. However, his life went for a shit at 38 (very nasty divorce/custody losses) and now he health is failing. Near as I can tell it is due more to the trauma from that plus four more years of hair pulling b/s from his ex. His will to exercise at all, eat right, or even have fun has evaporated. Now ‘it’ has caught up, but it was never what was meant by those making the claim. Or at least I didn’t think so. Then again, maybe all those who were saying it were more like his ex than we thought.

        6. Disloyal Subject

          Some of us just adapt when that hits. I used to inhale a large pizza at dinnertime and go looking for more, but now I can split a medium with my kid and call it a night.

        7. ktbear

          Or maybe Beef levels of beef? Sorry, I had to.

      2. Mr D

        I find very odd how being a “himbo” is a positive thing.

        1. Nono

          It was always mildy positive (note that the terminology has generally been applied in a different context than ‘bimbo’). The ‘standard’ examples are generally characters like Kronk and Gumshoe, that are mostly regarded as kind and pure, with the side benefit of being masculine in shape and the dim-wittedness adding to the ‘aw shucks’ nature than anything.

          In a time when aggressive masculine gung-ho behaviour is seeming more of a turn-off, gentle and kind men are seen as good, whereas with women the trend is favouring more towards those that can take charge and handle themselves (Wonder Woman, etc.).

        2. Tus

          I see it as strong big (not always muscular, just typical ‘manly’ people) usually men that are also kinda silly and maybe not the brightest bulb but they’re endearing and try their best. And it’s sweet. So I see it as a positive. I know it’s cause people don’t associate bimbo as a positive term, and people think it’s just the male version of that, but I think bimbo can also just be a sweet feminine person so idk language evolves.

        3. Nono

          I’ve seen people suggest ‘herbo’ as the new female himbo. Which is just very funny to me, like the original term has too many negative connotations.

        4. someone

          That just makes me think of plants. Herb-o.

        5. Sirksome

          I’ve heard “shimbo” myself as in the she-himbo. Which I think works.

      3. milu

        The quintessential himbo for me is Chris Hemsworth’s character in the 2016 Ghostbusters. So ripped. So sweet. So dumb.

      4. Taavi De Vos

        He lacks the respect women juice for bimboy

      5. Ana Chronistic

        idk what else starts with H

        I guess hair?

    2. I am Nothing

      Maybe it’s more of a regional thing (Hail from the British Isles!), but I’ve never really heard the term “himbo” until now, so it’s kinda strange t’see an entire discussion on it.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Yeah, it’s an outgrowth of American “valley-girl”-esque speech/language evolution. Plus a dash of retort to patriarchal derogatory female terms.

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          *seems to be

    3. someone

      The bird-headed Egyptian god of knowledge? I’d rather see Dina in that role (birds are dinosaurs after all).

    4. Spencer

      As a member of the Council of Himbo the three most important ingredients are being dumb, hot and polite.

      Walky is dumb but not in an endearing way, he’s hot on accident, and he’s never been polite in his life.

      The Council of Himbo denies the motion.

  3. 0kami

    Hair is subjective, I guess.

  4. RassilonTDavros

    Wait, are we doing Joyce x Walky now? Is… is Throwback Monday a thing?

  5. Sirksome

    Vigilantism gives you better hair. Also I’m with Sal. Walky doesn’t deserve whatever this is.

    1. Devin

      IMAGINE our surprise. It’s gotten to the point where literally my first thought when characters started complimenting Walky was “Oh, Sirksome’s gonna have something to say about this for sure.”

      1. Clif

        I have to say that I thought his response was very measured.

        1. Sirksome

          Yeah I thought I did okay. Even I don’t like being a jerk to Walky for no reason…..well I DO like that, but it gets boring. To elaborate though I don’t think Walky deserves this reaction not in that he doesn’t deserve good things but in that he hasn’t actually changed in appearance, which I thought was the joke of this development.

        2. Eskeboi

          I think everyones reaction here is a classic example of change blindness mixed with delayed reaction. See Wally’s been hot since they came back from break but since all the girls who know him pretty much see him as an annoying little brother it likely took them a good 2 or 3 days to notice it. I think it’s deeper than just his hair tho. Remember guys walky is a mixed child so his chances of being hot was always higher than average but what if he started taking care of his personal hygiene. He now has 2 ex girlfriends and a positive relationship with his sister. Out of these 3 ladies SOMEBODY has to have taught about the importance of coco butter and deodorant. My money’s on sal since he came back hot after spending time with her over break. Plus she’s a black woman so her knowledge of moisturizer is likely thru the roof. Even if all walky did was steal a tub of coco butter from his sister over break that alone might be enough to make his skin glow giving him this whole lady-killer vibe. Granted Walky probably doesn’t care that coco butter is good for his skin he probably only uses it because it makes him smell like chocolate.
          Plus Willis now draws Walky’s lips so it has to beore than just his hair that’s changed, a little hygiene goes a long way.

        3. Demoted Oblivious

          And as minimal as it would be, Walky would have to do /some/ hygiene to differentiate himself from -Night-Guy-.

      2. MrSmith

        To be fair Sirksome is quite accurate especially in regards to Walky

        1. Fiddler115

          To be fair, Devin is quite accurate especially in regards to Sirksome. It’s just old and tired at this point. The fact that he was measured or accurate this time doesn’t change the fact that it’s just automatic at this point that Sirksome will always find something to dislike about Walky and will feel the need to tell everyone about it.

        2. Clif

          What is the comment section for if not to tell everyone about it? Admittedly, every single character seems to have a dedicated group that hates them rather than enjoys them for what they are and that can feel over-negative after awhile. But reading the comments is always a free choice.

      3. Demoted Oblivious

        Since our dialogues here are chiefly productive and largely avoid flame war degeneracy, and ALSO seem to avoid personal commentary about other commenters, maybe there’s a correlation? Perhaps it’s best to avoid personal attacks (no matter how tangential). What benefit, not how many posts but actual productive dialogue, has occurred around commenting on the likelihood that someone would be commenting because Walky is “hot now”.

        Props to Sal for not cutting him down though, and instead of just opting for sibling blindness.

    2. zee

      Hes been hot since the time skip I’m just glad it’s finally being acknowledged

  6. Proto_Eevee

    Yeah, but she DEFINITELY wasn’t saying he isn’t hot.

    1. plasticwrap

      DEFINITELY NOT. NO ONE IS SAYING THAT.

  7. Chris

    I have to agree with Sal here.

    1. Demoted Oblivious

      So you see Walky as a brother? Sal kind of has a biological imperative to not be able to perceive Walky’s attractiveness. On the plus side, she’s not cutting him down during his moment.

      1. a/snow/mous/e

        do you have to have an excuse to not be attracted to somebody now

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          Not at all. Especially since attraction is a positive phenomenon (I guess the opposite is repulsiveness). I was just curious if there was a reason Chris chose specifically to side with Sal vice just not find Walks attractive.

  8. BBCC

    Sal is every sibling ever.

    1. Sirksome

      Sal is also all the readers.

      1. Mr D

        https://64.media.tumblr.com/5528b270a8c40c41c07152e40865a7ac/tumblr_inline_mwmxvc2l1q1qz5q5l.gif

        1. Mr D

          (In case the gif doesn’t show up for some reason: My arm isn’t long enough for the jerkoff motion that is in my soul)

      2. Devin

        Narrator voice: “Sirksome did not speak for all of the readers.”

        1. Sirksome

          Uh…did I do something wrong? I’m not trying to speak for all readers. I just thought it was funny that Sal is immune to Walky’s new charm and probably sees him more like we the readers do, fairly unchanged. I tried to type a comment that reflected that but I don’t think I communicated it well. My apologies to you and any other readers that feel insulted by my assumption.

        2. Azhrei Vep

          Sirksome – “I’m not trying to speak for all Readers.”

          Scroll up a few on the chain …

          Sirksome – “Sal is also all the readers.”

          You sure?

        3. Sirksome

          I’m pretty sure. I don’t know how to elaborate on my comment better than I did above. I thought it was fairly innocent all things said, but I clearly made a mistake I apologized for. I’m not trying to take agency from other readers and commenters. I’m a little surprised I got called out on this but I think I’m just going to stop commenting for today. I clearly fucked up somehow and will use this experience to make better comments in the future.

        4. Mr D

          I think, Sirksome, is that at least a few of the commenters are tired of you ragging on walky every single time he appears. Because it gets old.

        5. MrSmith

          I’d also suggest that a few of the commenters are not tired of the ragging. After Walkys behaviour during the end of the last storyline I’d be quite happy never seeing his character again (not going to happen I know)

        6. Demoted Oblivious

          Mr D is correct. And yet despite that I also find it easy to ignore and gloss over, rather than engage in what appears to be an action of near personal attacks against you as some other commenter seems to be starting.

          But yeah also, a sure fire way of getting sunk in any discussion is claiming to represent an entire group of people. *Someone* will always not agree. Subsequently claiming that you didn’t, or didn’t mean to, especially in a written medium, is folly. But worry not, this is the internet and you are pseudo-nonymous.

        7. Sirksome

          ??? I don’t think anyone’s made a personal attack on me yet I try to give most comments the benefit of the doubt and hope to receive the same, but it seems I’ve made a mistake in my earlier comment. Probably misunderstanding the joke of this strip. Sincere thank you for the valuable insight. Even if I’m “pseudo-anonymous” I don’t want to use that as an excuse to be a jerk.

        8. milu

          fwiw i didn’t find your comment offensive or presumptuous, Sal said “he’s the same as yesterday” and it’s clear that a majority of us are not suddenly finding him hot (that includes those who thought he was already hot), and that’s how i read your comment.

          but in the context of your frequently expressed annoyance with Walky that was misconstrued as you saying he was unattractive. i don’t really care either way, but that’s what i’m reading here =)

        9. Demoted Oblivious

          Offers ‘high fives’ and/or ‘polite nods’ of mutual respect.

        10. thejeff

          At the same time, noting that you didn’t speak for all readers as your “Sal is all the readers” comment implies isn’t an attack on you or your comment, just an amusing way of noting that at least one reader didn’t agree.

        11. Clif

          Speaking with my inherent Cheese-given authority to represent and speak for the entire population of Earth, we hereby pardon and forgive any and all heinous offences which Sirksome may or may not have committed, save that he is required to read all Willis webcomics featuring Walky for as long as they are published.

          So say we all!

        12. milu

          hear hear!

        13. Fuzzy

          BBCC was commenting on Sal being flabbergasted that people think her brother is hot, while you read their comment as being about unable to see the difference in appearance (which is indeed the punchline of today’s strip). So people thought you were saying that the readers think Walky is unattractive (subjective), when you just meant the readers think Walky looks the same (mostly objective).

        14. milu

          oops, i didn’t realize this was still the same thread, sorry for the unnecessary clarification that you’d already made ^^

    2. brute

      my brother was a janitor at my high school for a brief period and yes, i was in sal’s place and it was WEIRD

    3. DinaJoyce

      Yup. My brother was in 8th grade (I’m just a couple years older) when suddenly all my slightly younger friends no longer found him annoying, wanted to spend time with him rather than with me (or used me as an excuse to spend time with him) and it very very slowly dawned on me (probably about the time he was asked to jump out of a cake for the birthday party of a friend who I learned had a crush on him) that my friends thought my brother was hot. I gradually came to accept this, but it was always a little weird.

    4. Keulen

      Yeah, it definitely weirded me out in high school when some of my friends said that they thought my two-years-older-than-me sister was hot.

  9. Newllend(henryvolt)

    It took some time but he figured out how to make the new dew work. So by Sheer luck Walky once again wings his way to succeeding.

  10. Stephen Bierce

    PRINCESS DAISY: NINTENDO!

    1. Needfuldoer

      It’s a cereal! Wow!

    2. Demoted Oblivious

      Is… is that a song, on the Hacked Muzac? Or /wheeze/worry/, what? I don’t know what to do here. Do I pour milk on it?

  11. timemonkey

    Meh, Walky will never be hot. No matter how good his hair looks. He looks too much like a child.

    1. Wereg

      Acts like one too.

      1. cbwroses

        I guess y’all forgot or choose to the ignore Dorothy’s assertion that he looks sculpted from caramel.
        Of course that was before the freshman 15. Who knows now?

        1. Clif

          On that occasion, Joyce agreed enough to blush.

        2. Wereg

          Didn’t forget about that. Some of us have seen Walky’s dick on slipshine and still don’t find him attractive.

    2. Nono

      What about Sal, his twin sister?

      Honestly I think Walky’s childlike appearance is more due to the way he carries himself more than anything. He’s messy, dirty, doesn’t shower as much as he should, and it’s not that uncommon to see him slouch or have bad posture. If he actively cleaned himself up (and he’s taken Dorothy out on a romantic date), I imagine he’d do okay for himself.

      1. plasticwrap

        Well that and the fact that he’s short.

        1. Fuzzy

          Nah, being short is fine.

    3. Reaver

      Right? I ain’t attracted to Babyface manbaby

    4. Yotomoe

      I dunno, I can see him possessing a bit of a Boyish Charm. Though maybe I’m just saying that cuz I’m the kinda guy who gets confused for being a teenager well into my 20s and I’d like to think I could still be hot, y’know?

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        As long as the age confusion isn’t due to man-childish behaviour but rather due to still being able to have fun, *hold onto that*. It is great to be able to be fun and playful and just have joie de vie. Best parents out there seem to mix responsibility with fun, and frankly it’s easier to learn responsibility than hold onto that fun aspect of yourself.

  12. DailyBrad

    You know what? I totally get it.

    Also, Sarah being the one to say it was a fun subversion. I guess she’s not exactly shy, but still.

    1. Tan

      I am surprisingly on-board for if this leads to a Sarah&Walky one-night stand.

      Sarah: Go shower and come back and we’re gonna fuck.

      Booster: …So do I need to clear out?

      Sarah: No photos or recording, no staring, no comments.

      Booster: Can’t do it. Be back in an hour.

  13. Fart Captor

    Of course he’s hot. His room has a Nintendo

    1. AGV

      Oof I got that

  14. Kyrik Michalowski

    I have to say, the reveal being that people were looking at him because of his hair is overwhelmingly anti-climactic. On the other hand it isn’t the worst explanation ever.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      Also Lucy will hardly be able to contain herself at this rate.

      Lucy, she’s thirsty and Walky is a tall glass of water.

      1. Keulen

        If she gets a bit direct, Walky might even notice that she’s interested in him. Maybe.

    2. Thag Simmons

      Are the opening pages of a new chapter supposed to be climactic?

    3. C.T Phipps

      Walky’s hair being why everyone stares is the new, “Mr. Scratchy is Mephisto.”

  15. butts

    can confirm, i grew out my hair during quarantine and it does go from “kinda longish” to “damn” pretty much overnight

    1. Mr D

      I had been growing my hair before the quarantine and it went from “I have to comb it a bit more often” to “I need a ponytail” in like a week.

      1. Nono

        See with that gravatar, now I’m thinking of Joe with a ponytail and it’s… not terrible??

        1. SadnessWithASmile

          See, Joe with a ponytail just immediately turns into Gaston in my head, and frankly, if Gaston were a more benevolent shade of “full of myself”, you gotta admit, he’d be a Joe.

      2. Opus the Poet

        My hair goes from “shapeless mop” to “wild mane” in about a week. And then after another week women ignore me like before. But for that week…

    2. Needfuldoer

      I just keep mine buzzed. Because of how thick it is, I just end up looking more and more like a poofy doofus the longer it gets. It also gets difficult to keep clean, and nearly unmanageable unless I get it soaking wet. (And then it’s difficult to dry, like trying to dry a kitchen sponge with a towel.)

    3. Anna

      Over the c-year, my hair has gone from “long” to “would reach my waist if the ends didn’t break and fall off”.

  16. cmasta1992

    Go take a cold shower Lucy.

    1. plasticwrap

      No. We want a Slipshine of this one. I’ll bet with all those hormones building up, she’s a sexy hybrid of shy first Timer and total “my hips are moving on their own” sex panther.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Oof, plasticwrap, you have some skill with words.

  17. mommert

    finally also admitting to myself that walky is hot

  18. Jane

    This feels like the setup to a light novel… You know, one of the ones where the main character finds out they’ve been subconsciously brainwashing everyone around them, and feel horrible about it. Or that the system’s been doing it for them, because they’ve been flagged as the main character. You know, that kind of thing.

    1. Needfuldoer

      “Character feels horrible about the brainwashing they were subjected to and inflicted upon others for a while” is kind of the overarching theme of Joyce’s story…

      1. plasticwrap

        No telling if she has such a condemning attitude toward her religious upbringing. I mean they taught her enough to survive at college, so…

        1. Needfuldoer

          Compare the present Joyce to the way she was for the first couple years of DoA. She’s come to reject a lot of the “vAlUeS” she was raised to wholeheartedly believe as unquestionable fact, when confronted with empirical evidence that they were just empty, hateful bullshit.

          I wouldn’t say her religious upbringing taught her to survive at college at all. Everything she’s learned has been through friends and her experiences.

          She misses the way “home” used to feel, but given the opportunity, she wouldn’t press a magic reset button and return to that time, place, and mindset either.

        2. zee

          I mean, not really. Remember the Ryan incident. If your kid is so sheltered that they don’t know it’s dangerous to accept a drink from a stranger at a party, or one that they didn’t watch get poured, then I’d consider that a big fat failure.
          (Hope this doesn’t come off as victim blaming, obv ryan is the only one at fault here. But Joyce wasn’t even given the tools to recognize a potentially dangerous situation is what I’m saying. And if your kid reaches semi independent adulthood and is too innocent to even do that, you fucked up.)

        3. thejeff

          The tool she was given was “Don’t go to that kind of party”. Which isn’t a great tool, but just close enough that she could have been blamed for whatever happened.

          She was also given a nasty rage and a mean punch. 🙂
          As well as the charm to attract protectors.

        4. Joy

          you don’t need charm to attract predators :/ they act like that’s why if you have it though.

        5. thejeff

          The charm attracts protectors – like bat wielding Sarah.

        6. Needfuldoer

          She was also Ethan’s beard for a few days. At least she figured out how terrible that ‘plan’ was on her own and pretty quickly.

  19. Sirksome

    As much as I’m dreading this potentially being a storyline where good things happen to Walky for no reason I would actually find it pretty funny if Willis took the time to draw his hair a millimeter longer for this.

    1. AGV

      I just checked and his hair does look a bit different from his last appearance

    2. Demoted Oblivious

      What does a single pixel scale to in these frames? Definitely bigger than a millimeter, but it looks less than an inch. I’d ballpark it to around a quarter-inch or so. (7mm)

  20. DJTsurugi

    I’m thinking a certain roommate has been a welcome improvement ~<3

    1. AGV

      Oh that could be, maybe Booster convinced him to brush his hair somehow

      1. DJTsurugi

        Or just brushed his hair for him, Walky doesn’t put effort in to things. ~<3

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          Oohh new catagory, “Slipshine Sensuality”.

          Walky borrows Booster’s Nintendo and sits down in front of the tv. Chatting casually while Walky completes world 1-1, Booster picks up a brush and stands behind Walky. While answering Walky’s question about the origin of their Nintendo, Booster lifts some of Walky’s hair and starts stroking the brush through it. An extended dialogue ensues about class, the merits of each original Mario world, and ‘secret’ identities, with Booster drawing their fingers and the brush through Walky’s glossy dark chocolate locks. After many minutes Walky slays world 8’s Bowser. Walky’s hair flows through Booster’s fingers and glistens in the gentle moonlight of the dorm window. Booster lowers the brush and with their other hand on Walky’s shoulder, gently kisses the crown of Walky’s head.

        2. milu

          hahaha well done, that was hot. until the kiss on the head? for some reason that seemed to squick me a bit =P

        3. Demoted Oblivious

          Hahaha 🙂 fair enough. For me it’s just affectionate, but if it’s something either of your parents did, then I can totally get the sudden turn. But then maybe it was meant to stay away from more obviously sexual intimacy. Or maybe squicking people out was my intent. 😀

          Alternative edit: “Booster’s other hand on Walky’s shoulder, they gently kiss the the tip of Walky’s exposed ear, their exhaled breath lightly blowing across his skin.”

        4. milu

          hah yeah, i like that one better =) i honestly have no idea why i find a kiss on the crown of the head such a turnoff, was it a thing my parents did??? maybe?? i don’t remember. but squick is in the eye of the beholder, so.

        5. DJTsurugi

          I love that this exists. ~<3

  21. Deathjavu

    There’s no way anyone can see a millimeter of hair growth at that distance. I think it’s more likely there was a gas leak in the dorm.

    1. Rotunda

      I think it’s humor on the author’s part: Walky’s hair didn’t change, but the socially-constructed notion of hotness changed overnight.

    2. Demoted Oblivious

      The American Academy of Dermatology says that hair grows about 1/2 inch per month on average. –Google

      So that implies a rate of ~.5 mm/day. So yeah no, you’re right. BUT as someone else noted, we have change blindness, so the hair would get invisibly closer to ‘hot’-length until one day (or night) it would appear ‘suddenly’ there.

    3. milu

      *feeling dumb* what’s gas got to do with it…??

  22. Rabid Rabbit

    Look, Sal, I know it’s a horrific thought, but Walky’s already managed to bang Dorothy, move on to Amber (and you caught him doing it, so you know it’s true), and… well, I don’t know if he’s noticed, but I’m getting a few… signs from Lucy.

    Just saying, sorry, but you may not be the only hot Walkerton twin any more. I understand if this makes you want to become a nun to escape from the fact.

    1. Yotomoe

      Just think, if they combined their powers they could rule this school.

    2. Thag Simmons

      I mean I don’t think this is completely unprecedented, and it’s not like Walky is even close to overtaking Sal

      1. Mordecai

        Sal “Reigning DOA Hottest Character Poll Champion” Walkerton

        1. I am Nothing

          I thought Dina won that Poll?

        2. Demoted Oblivious

          Regardless of the facts of your assertion, I want to back Mordecai’s stance on this. And I _am_ ashamed to admit that I didn’t look it up because I don’t want you to be right.

        3. milu

          Sal won the last “hottest lady” poll, but that was back in 2016. She was also voted badassest and would-win-in-a-fight-est. Dina was voted favourite DoA character on the last couple annual polls (though there hasn’t been one in 2020)

        4. Needfuldoer

          Wack’d did a best character tournament bracket poll last summer. It came down to Dina vs Sal, and Dina won.

          https://twitter.com/Wackd/status/1269117382120873986

          Sal still beat everyone else who appears in today’s strip, anyway.

        5. BBCC

          Rest easy. Sal always wins that one. XD

  23. Yotomoe

    HOLY SHIT I WAS RIGHT WHEN I SAID EVERYONE REALIZED HOW SEXY WALKY IS.

    1. Tan

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2021/comic/book-11/04-hompk/starin/#comment-1536294

      Congratulations. You called it like a boss.

      1. Clif

        The Adventures of Yotomoe, the Unlikely Prophet.

        And now I want to read the web comic. In the complete absence of any relivent information, I assume that the Yotomoe character is Cosby’s Fat Albert, but better looking and with a beard.

    2. milu

      Oh hey, you did! Its funny how most people were reaching for a rational explanation and you were like, my dudes, have you forgotten what being 18 was like?! When in doubt always assume horniness is the explanation

    3. David M Willis

      you get a muffin

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Can we crowdfund a muffin for Yotomoe? Yotomoe, can you access a Tim Horton’s, or better, a local mom’n’pop bakery/cafe?

  24. ReFlex76

    So basically: “Huh, his hair’s a little longer . . . I WANT HIS COCK INSIDE ME!!!”

    1. Yotomoe

      Get out of my head. I mean-

      1. AGV

        Make up your mind, you want it in or out?

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          Vulgaris, my inside voice says: “I think it’s both, repeatedly.”

        2. Yotomoe

          First one and then the other. In rapid succession.

  25. Tus

    I do like a good floofy hair… I was thinking it looked ESPECIALLY floofy but…. Well then.

  26. Dr. T

    They all know Lucy is horny for Walky. Well, Walky probably doesn’t (and Joyce might not either), but it has to be obvious to everyone else.

    1. Devin

      Yeah, Lucy isn’t exactly subtle.

  27. brionl

    After school special time: “The hotness was inside you the whole time!”

    “And hotness is half the battle!”

    1. Needfuldoer

      Lucy’s eyes got even wider after that first line.

      1. Clif

        Umm.

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          Was that a doubtful Umm? Or a slight inhale -pause- and then soft exhale, “uhmmMMm.” Just curious as we now seem to be shipping various commenters with Walky.

        2. Needfuldoer

          Well, that was more “hurr durr Lucy wants Walky’s hotness inside yaknowwhatimsayin”.

          A Takei-esque “Ooohh mmyyYYyyy” is also acceptable.

        3. Clif

          It was more of a “Wait. What? Oh. Ermm.” Umm.

  28. Orangey

    I don’t see it, I’m with Sal on this

  29. Kelli

    The progression of Lucy’s expression over the three panels is subtle.

    1. Rotunda

      Her mittened hands slowly rise to cover her mouth.

      1. Clif

        She wants to hide her mouth when she lies. Okay, technically it’s the truth, but it’s still a lie.

  30. BenRG

    Sal, he’s your pesky brother. You’re going to be hard pressed to be aware if he’s looking good even if you ere trying, what with familiarity breeding contempt and all.

    Lucy? Breathe, girl. It won’t do you any good to faint in front of your crush like you were still a 14-year-old!

    So, did Booster do Walky’s hair or something?

    1. Needfuldoer

      The last person to do Walky’s hair was Linda.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        My slash-fic above proposes an -alternative- hypothesis.

    2. plasticwrap

      Do girls really faint at their crushes? Is that like literally possible, to be so overcome by arousal that your circulation gets interrupted and you faint?

      1. AGV

        Eh, if one can faint with stress I’d wager that other emotions and excitements in extremis can do the same

      2. Demoted Oblivious

        Classically this was implied as induced due to the shortness of breath caused by being in a corset. With most people free of those, I find it unlikely, but nothing is impossible.

        And I’m bombing academically today and can’t be fussed to do a google search for data on this.

    3. Diane

      Ooh, maybe Booster sprayed Walky with a cologne because he stink? And this makes him attractive in a way? Cause yeah, don’t see the hair change or anything. Maybe it’s Walky being naturally smiling instead of shoving down how he feels crappy about his mixed feelings about his dead ex-roomie.

  31. JessWitt

    Will there be a poll for whether or not Walky’s hair is different from yesterday, in-universe?

    And my vote is yes btw.

    1. Clif

      No man can grow the same hair twice.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        To be flitfully pedantic, if one takes ‘growing a hair’ to be from the outer surface of the skin, then the hair could grow out to some length and get shorn or shaved, then the same hair could continue growing out to make the same hair.

        On the other hand, if one plucks the hair out at the root, it would totes be a completely new hair.

        Also, if you take ‘same hair’ to be consisting of a hair composed of the same molecules, then we’re back to the same point that you can’t (likely) grow the same hair, much like you can’t stand in the same river twice.

        Have you contemplated on the Ship of Theseus?

        1. milu

          i think Clif was paraphrasing the “river” quote (Heraclites, i think?)
          as i understand it, it’s not so much about any specific definition of a hair (or a river) as it is about reality being fundamentally about constant flux and change.

          The deeper irony of the phrase is that if you can never step into the same river twice, then the word “river” (or “hair”) doesn’t refer to the same thing twice, either. I actually really love that worldview. There’s something humble about it.

        2. Clif

          The deeper irony is that you can’t step into the same river once.

        3. milu

          whoah man that’s deep man

  32. Bogeywoman

    The twist no one saw coming.

    Possibly: tragic backstory+newfound purpose/goal=a modicum of self esteem that looks humble if you squint

    Alternatively: booster sprinkled some enby queer magic over walky in the guise of trading Nintendo time for hairstyling

  33. StClair

    “I want it!”
    “I need it!”
    “I really like his mane!”

    1. Keulen

      Lucy is all three CMCs at once right now.

  34. Clif

    Closet Cosplay Amazigirl – I am so happy.

    1. Clif

      Willis is the best and I take back all of the “Damn You”s.

      Well, not all of them. Mike’s still dead.

      1. Mravac Kid

        Willis gets the DAMN YOUs precisely *because* he’s the best.

        1. Clif

          Technically, I think there’s a continuity error since Becky nuked the closet from orbit, but I’m not going to complain.

  35. Diane

    Ah, the answer is obvious! He was in the room next door to Dorothy and repicked up her smell. Once again, he is attractive due to being in proximity to Dorothy.

    This is completely false.

    1. Clif

      That actually makes more sense than his hair being microscopically different.

  36. Varangian

    Walky’s hair was bitten by a radioactive horny toad while he slept, and now he’s inspiring boners all over the damn place

    He is: The Hornbringer

    1. milu

      ooh, maybe he has radioactive lice??

      1. Clif

        And birds. By strange coincidence, I’m told they have been known radiate together. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0141

        1. milu

          wha— you— that was a misleading descrip— and it’s radiation as in— UGH

          *dropping the sitcom-y act* …interesting article =)

          speaking of lice and science, have you ever heard of the Swadesh list? It’s a list compiled by a comparative linguist of words that are supposed to be the most stable in every language, so the least likely to have been borrowed at some point in the past, and the point of it is to do, well, “phylogenetic analysis” of languages and language families without getting sidetracked by vocabulary which might turn out to have been borrowed.

          Swadesh’s wager was that some words are basic and universal enough that no language can arise and evolve without a lexical item to refer to them, words like “I”, “sun”, “nose” and “sleep”. Sounds fair, right?

          And while Swadesh’s original effort has been criticized and updated several times over using better methodology than his (he used the methodology known as: guessing), one word that he got right, and which has consistently been included among the couple dozen most-likely ancestral words is “lice”.

          I think that says a lot about how successful a species the human louse is =)

  37. plasticwrap

    Huff huff goes the hormone train! All aboard! (OK maybe just the one)

  38. Bagge

    Of course you didn’t, Lucy.

    1. milu

      Lucy: Arousal Ninja

      1. Clif

        would also make a pretty good magnet.

  39. Sam

    I know what is different about his hair. Parts of it were drawn with bigger waves as lines before and now they are more subdued to borderline smooth curves so basically yes, it looks more intentional and cared for than before very mildly.

  40. Proto_Eevee

    I look very similar to walky, but with curly hair. Did that mac
    Mean I’ll suddenly very popular if I straighten my hair?

    1. Clif

      Try it. For Science.

  41. Rabisch

    This is crazy! Can’t wait to see Dorothy’s reaction. Because it will be interesting.

    1. Clif

      She knew Yale had a price.

  42. Vukodlak

    Is it me or does Lucy look like she’s ready to orgasm just by looking at him?

  43. Mravac Kid

    Lucy.
    Girl.
    Maybe you should.
    To his face.

  44. Lone Duck

    Honestly, I’m just glad that A. Walky isn’t having a panic attack, where he thinks everyone is judging him, and B. that Walky isn’t sporting his signature funk.

  45. Keulen

    I know the Switch is made by Nintendo, but it still kinda bugs me that Walky just calls it a “Nintendo”. To me, a “Nintendo” is an NES or SNES, not newer consoles made by them. Also, I feel like an old person yelling at those damn kids to get off my lawn now.

    1. Fist_of_Life

      I agree. Walky is wrong and should be ashamed of himself. Also, no need to feel like an old person yelling at kids…at least not alone anyway.

      1. zee

        In the same vein I’m getting the irresistible urge to call you both (and most of the comments tbh) boomers

        1. StClair

          to a GenX like me, there is no greater insult.

    2. RassilonTDavros

      I think it’s an attempt to future-proof against the sliding timescale.

  46. Fetch85

    Yeah, but Walky won’t keep it when he realizes it makes him look more like Asher.

  47. Spencer

    If Walky ever struggled and put the slightest bit of effort into improving any part of his life the entire universe might actually collapse in on itself.

    His new hot haircut was an accident, therefore we have been spared on a technicality.

  48. ValdVin

    I really enjoy all the talking between Sal, Joyce, and Sarah, amidst the silent progression of Lucy’s reaction.

  49. milu

    In the immortal words of Phoebe Waller-Bridge (goddess):
    “Hair. Is. Everything. We wish it wasn’t, so we could actually think about something else occasionally, but it is.”

  50. JMP

    ….I’m with Sal on this one. I don’t see any difference from his last appearance.

    1. Some Ed

      He’s smiling, so he looks prettier. Do you not understand how that works?

      It’s just that you normally don’t *say* that to guys, especially because some of them just look more dangerous. That’s generally because some guys are more dangerous that way… unfortunately, those sets merely intersect, rather than match exactly.

  51. Alex

    Did anyone predict this yesterday? Even ironically?

    1. milu

      Yotomoe. Im pretty sure not ironically

      1. Alex

        Why am I not at all surprised.

  52. Smooti

    He started to actually care about the comic, and consequently, the rest of himself, so like actually took care of his hair a bit this morning. Not enough for he himself to remember that he did, but enough for horny people to notice. I’m callin’ it as the difference.

  53. FacelessDeviant

    Looks okay, could use a beard though. Or just a scruff.

  54. C.T Phipps

    Joe: You’re prettier when you smile.

    Walky: Thanks!

    *they make out*

    *Lucy wakes up from her daydream*

    Lucy: What? Huh?

  55. Juanoku

    I don’t see it

    1. BenRG

      I think that’s the point. It’s also why Sal is having such a difficult time following this conversation.

  56. John

    “I am in no way saying that, in like a different universe where we fought zombies or aliens or alien zombies together or something, I would totally have premarital hanky-panky with him and marry him and have his babies. Definitely not. At all.”

    1. milu

      premarital hanky-panky is joycespeak. Lucy is not that stuckup =)

      1. milu

        or ok beckyspeak same difference don’t at me

      2. Alex

        Joyce and Walky were married in another Willis comic.

        1. milu

          hnnnn ok yeah that didn’t make much sense. sorry for ruining your probably very good joke John (haven’t read the other continuities)

        2. John

          Yeah, I probably should have attributed the dialogue. I figured that the fact that PMHP is a Joyceism would be sufficient to tip people off that it was meant to be Joyce.

          And, yeah, it’s a very literal description of what happened in that other universe where Joyce and Walky fought aliens together.

        3. milu

          oh it totally should’ve tipped me off. i am very scatterbrained today, sorry about that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

        4. Spencer

          I know I only started Willis’ comics with Shortpacked! but the idea that Walky’s story has been over for so long he’s been completely supplanted by his DoA counterpart instantly ages my bones to dust and scatters it to the winds.

  57. Madock345

    Walky has always been hot, TBH.

  58. JA

    I’ve grown my hair out as a pandemic project (and ok, it was also to have enough hair to do a crazy post-apocalyptic hairstyle if the world ended), and the consistent word from everyone is that I should keep it or at least keep most of it. Before I kept it no longer than two inches and it’s now approaching 10 inches.

  59. Jhon

    Let’s all play with Walky’s hair!

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