Science project
Posted on December 30, 2025 by David M Willis

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Tags: fuckface, jennifer, lon

336 thoughts on “Science project”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    All Cops Arenomatchfor Billingsworth

    1. Clif

      Also, technically correct is the best kind of correct.

  2. NGPZ

    Jennifer to the rescue?!?!

    An unlikely ally saves the day!!!

    1. Doctor_Who

      Head Cheerleader = Problem Solver for realz?!

      1. Tofusmith

        It’s her whole thesis for why she’s in the group!

    2. Needfuldoer

      An excellent callback to “Jennifer believes Sal is Amazi-Girl”.

      1. Longshot97

        HAH! Totally missed that. Sal’s never escaping those allegations now. Also, Jennifer, please text someone that you did so.

        1. Agemegos

          Using a one-time code.

    3. ZerglingOne

      Unlikely? I dunno. Her outward personality has always been a mask. She’s got everyone’s back as far as I can remember. IIRC, she likes to be seen/conducts herself as a helper in general.

  3. Ray

    Oh good save girl.

    1. Rose by Any other Name

      I know right, Malaya really killed it with the Schrodinger’s Lizard experiment.
      So to speak.

      1. deliverything

        Well, maybe she did, maybe she didn’t. Possibly both and neither.

  4. C.T Phipps

    Maybe Sal IS Amazi-Girl.

    At this point, there’s more evidence that she is than not.

  5. Tequila Mockingbird

    Whoever called “Billiefer ex machina” can take a bow.

    1. John Campbell

      Weirdly, my tablet called it. I typed “costume to ” and its autocomplete suggested “Billie” with no further prompting.

      1. Clif

        I did not anticipate Jennifer acting unprompted on her belief that Sal is AmaziGirl.

        Once again, reality has failed me.

      2. Arianod

        Maybe we’ve all been sleeping on autocompletomancy????

        1. Sarah

          On which Erfworld axes is Autocompletomancy??

  6. jeffepp

    The Groucho Glasses for the win!

  7. Dara

    PROBLEM.

    SOLVER.

    Fuck yeah BILLIFER!

    1. Rose by Any other Name

      Fuck yeah indeed.

  8. mindbleach

    … oh my god, this only worked because of her abject stubborn nonsense beliefs.

    1. C.T Phipps

      A reminder Billie has never SEEN Amazi-Girl has she? So she has no idea she’s white.

      (Mind you, any research would also reveal Sal and Amazi-Girl fought in public)

      1. John Campbell

        She has. She’s seen her, spoken with her, and ridden on her back.

        1. Rowen Morland

          Well plenty of people don’t know if Jesus is white or not after he carries them and there’s only that one set of footprints.

        2. apricot

          funniest possible response, thank you

        3. Radiance

          incredible

        4. Ray Radlein

          Interesting that she was able to correctly identify Amazi-Girl as a Nerd, yet still somehow believes Sal is AG

        5. Mturtle7

          In fairness, Jennifer knows firsthand the lengths to which a closet nerd can go to to keep their hobbies hidden.

      2. Rose by Any other Name

        Jennifer? Doing research?
        Ha! That’s nerd shit.

      3. Nono

        She has, she was at the party when Joyce was drugged.

        Also Amazi-Girl ‘saved’ her from punching Ruth.

      4. Lingo

        She has, though very little since Book 1. They literally had a face-to-face conversation in Book 1 after AG carried Billie away from a fight with Ruth. Billie must be “colorblind” or something.

        1. Thag Simmons

          I think she’s at least been heavily inebriated in most of her encounters? So her memory might be less than reliable

        2. Nono

          She was drunk for the first one but was sober and going to class for the second.

        3. deliverything

          Browsing through https://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/jennifer+amazi-girl/ I found only two occasions Billifer might’ve got a good look at Amazi-Girl.

          The first was https://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/04-the-bechdel-test/nerds/ when Amazi-Girl carried her; there was no indication that she’d been drinking, other than that it was book 1 and, back then, Billifer was basically always drinking when the opportunity presented itself. So… probably at least somewhat drunk.

          The second was in a party where she was distracted looking after Joyce (and had not only been drinking but had gotten pre-drunk before arriving). Not linking that directly to avoid my post going into automoderation.

    2. Thag Simmons

      Which it will only reinforce.

      I really love this bit. I really just love this character

      1. Kim

        That’s such a sweet comment! 😀 (And you are very correct to do so!^_^ )

  9. sultryglebe

    I was thinking how a Sal arrest would validate Jennifer but be awful. This is perfect.

  10. Pocky

    AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHH

    *breathes*

    HAAAA

  11. IntangibleMatter

    Shoutout to the commenter yesterday or the day before who said that Jennifer would use Sal getting arrested as confirmation of her being Amazi-Girl, you almost had it

  12. RexLatro

    So basically there’ll be no convincing Billie/Jennifer that Sal is not Amazgirl?

    1. Dedlok

      She will now feel justified in her reasoning!

      1. Sirksome

        Is she wrong? The proof is right there!

        1. C.T Phipps

          Sal’s web of lies falls before Billingsworth’s amazing skill as a reporter.

  13. Eiim

    Looks like Lon needs tagged in Dec 26 and 27

    1. Embe13

      maybe lon is a friend for fuckface and is in the cage.

      1. Embe13

        i posted before registering htat the beard cop calls bald cop lon

        1. deliverything

          Well, there’s no evidence the strip doesn’t contain two Lons.

  14. Sirksome

    Whoohoo!

    1. Jon

      Don’t trust a cheering Sirksome.

  15. Alongcameaspider

    On one hand Sal is safe

    On the other Jennifer is now even more convinced she’s Amazigirl

    Also weirdly considerate cops, I kind of expected them to be turning the rooms upside down

    1. Mitzi B.

      I love their weird respect for SCIENCE

      1. Vulcanodon

        Maybe he dreams of joining The Science Police on Ultraman!

    2. C.T Phipps

      Maybe Ion is like an archetypal Willis character that tried to escape his fundamentalist background by becoming a scientist but ran out of money and fell back into the life of a police officer instead but secretly yearns to come out as a gay anarchist rebel.

      Or maybe he’s just being lazy and knows the warrant (if it exists) only covered places the costume exists.

      1. Tequila Mockingbird

        Hell, I’d read that fanfic.

      2. Embe13

        lon is bald cop, we do not have a name for beard cop yet. but yes beard cop being a failed scientist woud be good

    3. Maveric1984

      As Ruth pointed out, they don’t have a warrant. They’re already on the knife edge of being sued for this illegal search & seizure. If they break shit, they’re fucked

      1. Erica

        They don’t need a warrant if the school granted them permission, which it probably did

        1. Dot

          They need a warrant to enter any individual domiciles. Dorm rooms have fourth amendment protections.

        2. thejeff

          If so, they should be in serious legal trouble. Sure, cops do this kind of thing and get away with it, but that’s because they do it to people who can’t afford good lawyers.
          That’s not the case on this floor. Most obviously Carla’s parents can put an entire team on it with their pocket change, but even the Walkerton’s have decent money.

        3. Big Z

          Yeah, in this case the school is functioning like a landlord, and most places your landlord can’t let the cops into your rental without a warrant or your consent.

      2. C.T Phipps

        They didn’t say they didn’t have a warrant. They just declined to answer someone who has no real legal standing to ask.

        1. Davus

          TBH, Ruth should have some legal standing to ask, I think, since she’s the RA and has the authority to kick people out, it would be reasonable for her to demand that she be shown a warrant or evidence that they have obtained permission from the school, since they are not being escorted by a resident, as required by the residence hall rules.
          “As a reminder, residents are responsible for their guest’s behavior and should accompany them whenever they are inside the residential facility.” [Emphasis mine]

        2. thejeff

          That would be a particularly weird legal twist: They technically need a warrant, but don’t have to show it to anyone who’s actually likely to be present.

          They do apparently have room keys (or some kind of master key more likely), which suggests that they do have some kind of permission.

        3. Big Z

          In IU’s specific case, IU appears to have its own campus police force and they would therefore be naturally allowed to be in the common areas for the same reason, say, Ruth’s boss can also show up.

    4. JA

      Them not tearing the place apart and disregarding the rights of students and ignoring requests to not touch stuff is the most unbelievable thing I’ve seen in all of DoA.

  16. C.T Phipps

    Oh no, one of the cops has a name. That means he’ll show up again!

    1. Thag Simmons

      I was going to say he wouldn’t be the first tagged character to make one appearance and disappear forever, but he’s tagged in two strips retroactively.

      1. HueSatLight

        He’s not tagged in the one where AG tagged his face. yet

    2. J-Earl

      Some are calling him Ion, but his name is L o n, as printed in the words of the bearded scientist wannabe.

  17. Taffy

    Everyone else go home. Billie is the new queen.

    1. Rose by Any other Name

      Was there ever any doubt?

      1. Taffy

        It helps that she’s committing obstruction of some sort.

      2. HueSatLight

        not a trace of doubt in my mine

  18. Bill Erak

    … Someone called it and I wish i’d believed it. For one, Jennifer’s bullshit pays off.

    Problem is, of course, no one will ever be able to correct her anymore.

    1. Archieve

      Guess will just have to assume the series ends with Jennifer none the wiser, too bad.

  19. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    So what you are telling me, is that Sal blinded them with Science?

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Err, Jennifer, sorry.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Malaya did.

  20. EpochFlame

    good job, jenny

  21. Cattleprod

    This reminds of the bit in Star Wars when the stormtroopers are searching Mos Eisley, and one of them knocks lightly on a door and declares ‘no answer, move along’ without even waiting.

    1. C.T Phipps

      The Empire can’t change that fascists are lazy AND stupid.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Like not leaving a squad at the Owens moisture farm to capture the third person who obviously lived there…

        1. C.T Phipps

          “Hold your fire, no life signs aboard.”

          Like…maybe someone put the plans there?

      2. Dandi_Andi

        You may call that lazy, but i say they care about their jobs just about as much as i care about mine. They’ve been out in the desert heat in those white, hard plastic suits for hours knocking on doors without results. I would also want to hurry up and get it over with so i could get out of that helmet and go get a drink.

    2. Kyulen

      ACAB, but many of them are also lazy and stupid too.

    3. David Welbourn

      Ack. I accidentally clicked the Report comment when trying to scroll. I didn’t mean it! I’m so sorry!

    4. Zero

      That’s super common in movies and TV because watching a character wait for several minutes is not interesting. It is often silly, yes.

  22. Maveric1984

    Avalon uniform!

    Man, I should go back and read that comic again. I remember loving it in 2002…

  23. Pinkie

    Am I reading this right? The “science experiment” is Fuckface and not the Amazi-Girl costume?

    1. Mitzi B.

      Yes, Jennifer somehow packed up the costume in her bag

      1. Needfuldoer

        Which implies she knew where the costume was, and was tipped off on the police raid early enough that she had enough time to get to Read and retrieve it before the cops arrived.

        It’s highly improbable that word got to her via Dorothy’s text chain first, because Dorothy only found out about the raid after other people saw police at the building.

        Maybe Asher really is the unknown number who texted Amber?

  24. Icalasari

    Well now this is just unrealistic. Cops on a revenge trip being considerate of science?

    1. NGPZ

      i mean cops always seem to act all nice at first,

      but mind you the cops pepper spraying journalists in recent years were very likely also the “nice cop” at school a few months back

      1. Tequila Mockingbird

        This is honestly one of the most disturbing things to think about for me. As a kid one of my friend’s dad was a cop. The school I went to had cops who seemed like chill bros and cool dudes. As I’ve gotten older, I cannot help but wonder… what were Officers X and Y and Z like on duty? What terrible things had they seen and done while also putting on a friendly face for a bunch of schoolkids?

        1. Jeff K!

          Dear Willis, please ignore any and all comment reports from me forever. It’s right where my finger scrolls on the phone.
          I’ve never intended a report.

        2. Taffy

          I reported you for reporting, and I also reported the comment you reported, just to make it more likely for your mistake to cost someone their life. When a comment is deleted, the person who wrote it dies, and now that blood is on your hands in the real world, Jeff. You murderer.

        3. Tequila Mockingbird

          Mein gott, Taffy… what have you done?! You have doomed me to fade away like Marty McFly! ?

        4. Jeff K!

          *screaming to the heavens ala Kirk*
          NOOOOOOO!!!!

        5. Yumi

          In elementary school, one of my best friends was like the sweetest kid ever, and both her parents were cops. My friend had her eyesight significantly damaged, almost going blind, because of medical malpractice, and my mom had to convince her parents to sue the doctor (who had flat out admitted to the parents he hadn’t done some monitoring he was suppose to). And yet… they were cops, going from the suburb we lived in to the bigger city with highly reported cases of police corruption for work.

    2. C.T Phipps

      Cops half-assing it is perfectly believable.

    3. ESM

      If we’re being “realistic”, the cops possibly wouldn’t know an iguana is against the school rules and certainly wouldn’t care enough to do anything about it. They’re here on their own this time, the school didn’t call them. And if we’re being “realistic” I also have doubts that them finding the superhero costume would even be admissible evidence in court for both “cape don’t fit you must aacquit” reasons and 4th amendment concerns.

      But we’re not being realistic, we’re being a gag-a-day cartoon strip that deals with political themes and while finding the right balance on the silly-to-serious dial is something DoA sometimes struggles with, I think it’s entirely appropriate for the iguana issue to be solved in a silly way because it was barely an issue in the first place, either “realistically” or in the comic trying to get us to care, and Jennifer raiding Sal’s room for the costume makes sense and pays off a running joke over a decade in the making, so that’s fine too.

      1. Thag Simmons

        Yeah, the version of this where they take the cover off is that there’s a moment of acknowledgement that that there is an Iguana and then they keep looking, which is less funny.

        1. Ray Radlein

          “…ayep, that’s Science, all right”

        2. Bittersweet

          I think that would be very funny actually

      2. SwampGoblin

        Let’s not forget Malaya’s poignant and VERY true comment that they only need evidence if they’re taking it to court. They don’t need evidence if they turn off their body cameras to brutalize a vigilante whose on the mend.

        1. thejeff

          But if they find the outfit, but not the person, then they’re out of luck.

        2. Yumi

          But if they know (or think they know) who’s it is based on the room it’s in, then the task is “find this (picture here) college student who lives and goes to school here.” Likely a pretty easy task for a police force, unless Amber goes on the run– which she could, but that would also suck for her.

    4. Thag Simmons

      Fortunately for all parties involved, Jennifer has shifted the tone back to gag-a-day comedy and the cops respecting Malaya’s obvious bullshit is funnier than the alternatives.

    5. Archieve

      Not as unrealistic as Sal thinking her closet was a safe place to hide evidence. That’s the sort of thing Joyce might do.

      1. C.T Phipps

        Early Joyce would assume the cops would understand and be sympathetic to stopping bad cops.

      2. Ray Radlein

        tbf, Sal might not have known that AG was injured fighting cops, only that she didn’t want to draw attention by going to the hospital with very hard-to-explain-away injuries; and if she didn’t know that their were cops involved, she certainly wouldn’t have expected cops to show up and search the dorm.

        Were there any strips where Sal was shown to even be aware of the protest and crackdown? She might have been otherwise occupied the whole time.

        1. Chris

          I’m honestly curious how a student at a Uni, even a large one,
          could NOT know there is/was a protest for weeks and that it was
          broken up by the police?

        2. thejeff

          It wasn’t for weeks. It was just starting.

        3. Pizzasgood

          For you, the protest was a months-long ordeal of love, violence, and betrayal. But for Sal, it was Saturday.

        4. Jon

          I think that’s one of the reasons people keep complaining about Joyce and Dorothy – they think it’s been some long stretch of time for them with “no consequences”. The protest, the police starting to riot, and The Smooch all happened on Saturday afternoon. Current in-comic time is Monday morning. The comic severely decompresses time, due to its strip-a-day nature.

        5. thejeff

          To some extent. Mostly not though.
          The pacing’s part of it, but more in sense that the focus on DoJo has been relentless with a high ratio of cutesy scenes to anything actually happening. If you already dislike the ship, the cuteness just grates and unlike previous cute relationships, the comic keeps the focus on them.
          More though, most of the complaints about consequences are about consequences for the cheating and mostly those aren’t just delayed but defused. Walky’s upset, which is nice, but everyone else seems to have basically ignored that. Maybe it’ll turn into something.
          We’ll get back to Joe eventually, but we already know he’s willing to ignore the cheating if he can stay involved with her, so stuff will happen there, but it’s only going to be loosely linked to cheating.

    6. HueSatLight

      There’s two wings, 4-5 floors per wing, and “dozens” of rooms per wing. Even dividing up the building, they are probably bored at this point and want to go back to playing candy crush or torturing homeless people.

  25. NGPZ

    at least the costume is out of view,

    but something tells me the worse is yet to come ?

  26. DiDi

    Billie, you precious dumbass!

    I have another reason to like you.

  27. Astariel

    Wow, kudos to those who called this! I didn’t think there was any way this was going to happen.

    Of course, now no one is ever going to be able to convince Jennifer that Sal isn’t Amazi-Girl.

    1. anon

      i mean, amazigirl could start a mini army of ppl dressed like her to confuse ppl but surely there’d be pics of amazigirl out there where she’s clearly lighter skin toned than sal

      1. Astariel

        Joyce already mentioned that to Jennifer, but she just chalked it up to racism.

      2. deliverything

        Amazi-Girl’s just that committed to her disguise. If you’re not changing your skin colour, hair length and body type when you switch between your superhero mode and your secret identity, are you even trying?

        1. anon

          I suppose, doing some camoflague or glow in the dark /full on body paint would throw some ppl off the trail. i bet amber would totally have some spare gray paint as a homestuck fan (never read it but i assume ti’d be within her ball park)

  28. The Rev

    Hell yes, something to cheer about finally other than the disaster lesbians

  29. Seralyna

    Okay this is. the funniest payoff to one of the longest running jokes in the entire comic. really great job

    1. Thing 2

      Indeed. Long running payoffs for the win. I’m aware that neurodiversity prevents some people following the long wait, but me, I love this. All praise to the long haul Willis!

  30. HueSatLight

    Never stopped Billie-ving

    1. Needfuldoer

      Hold on to that feeling.

  31. Dot

    This ammunition is gonna fuel her for years.

    1. Dot

      Great strip.

  32. Baxter

    JENNIFER WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!
    literally went :O upon seeing this

  33. Nono

    It’s Lin Stoppable!

    But where’s Jim Possible?

    1. Nono

      *Lon, darn it, I ruined my own joke.

      1. eh, whatever

        You created a new one! I was wondering if LIN STOPPABLE was a villain in Kim Possible who had a kerning problem and was really just the angular version of UN STOPPABLE.

        1. eh, whatever

          Like… ЏN STOPPABLE without the descender.

  34. Erica

    ooh, the science project is hiding fuckface isn’t it

    1. Dr. T

      Seems to be, so she did Malaya a solid as well.

      1. Dwampre Scorrigank

        I’m not sure it’s meant to be Billie that covered the cage, could be but my first thought was that’s just how Malaya leaves it when they’re out. Do iguanas like dark?

        1. thejeff

          We’ve seen the “Science project” bit before.

  35. tim gueguen

    So, what makes her think the cops won’t find some excuse to snoop in her bag?

    1. Alongcameaspider

      I think she’s expecting this to go in waves and by the time they get to her residence hall she’ll have been able to get it back to Sal

      1. Sirksome

        Also they’re raiding Read hall specifically and Jennifer lives in a completely different building. I know cops have a lot of unchecked power now but they still have to justify shit to superiors. Sweeping one hall is much easier to get away with than committing lots of time to searching multiple buildings with no warrant. Someone will start wondering what the fuck these guys are doing and why.

    2. C.T Phipps

      Isn’t she throwing it away?

      1. Taffy

        That’s a bed.

        1. Clif

          Throwing an entire bed away should certainly count as conspicuous consumption. I know her parents are rich, but geeze.

    3. Thag Simmons

      The Cops are after Amazi-Girl specifically and she’s known to live in this specific residence building. They probably won’t break into literally every girl’s dorm on campus, because it probably wouldn’t work and people would rightfully get pissed at them for it.

    4. John Campbell

      I think the last panel is Billie back in her own room in Forest Quad already. That looks to be a bed in the ol’ Dragons navy and gold there.

    5. anon

      i mean she is technically rich even if not ‘carla rich’ so she could porlly get connections too

  36. Newlland(Henryvolt)

    I forgot that she still probably thinks Sals Amazi-girl.

    1. I forgot

      This twist is so amazing XD

  37. Archieve

    Ugh, I just knew Sal being uncharacteristically bad at hiding Amber’s costume was going to be used to prolong the old “Jennifer still thinks Sals lying about not being Amazi girl” gage.

    1. C.T Phipps

      Amazi-Girl will freak out when she finds out Billie threw away her costume.

      1. John Campbell

        She appears to be just pulling it out onto her own bed, not throwing it away.

    2. Thag Simmons

      Sometimes we can have characters doing stupid things for the sake of a joke, as a treat.

      1. Staszu13

        Especially if their so doing rescues a popular character, and has nothing to do with certain other characters

    3. Taffy

      Ugh, consistency. Ew. Gross.

    4. Wraithy2773

      At least this time it’s an amusing (and helpful!) twist on the bit. 🙂

  38. JessWitt

    Head cheerleader, problem solver coming in clutch.

  39. Boop

    Jennifer making a strong case for being the goat of this book

  40. Thag Simmons

    Don’t love seeing the cop inspecting the schoolgirl uniform

    1. Newlland(Henryvolt)

      Less or more so than them roughing up college kids for protesting against their campus for funding wars?

      1. Thag Simmons

        That’s a whole new sentence man.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Just in case the dialogue wasn’t enough to ensure the audience knows they’re currently searching Sal’s closet.

      1. Clif

        Though it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen that particular schoolgirl uniform.

  41. apocryphascribe

    Oh this was WONDERFUL, 10/10 strip

  42. Jay

    Jennifer one again proving she’s best girl

  43. Throwatron

    Keep in mind this also implies Jennifer speedran breaking in to Sal’s place, speedran finding the costume, and then just calmly exited the building through a dozen or so cops. I really haven’t given her enough credit in the past.

    This also pretty heavily implies she was tipped off as well, which heavily implies the source was Asher, since he’s the only other one who would have inside knowledge about Sal and Amazi-Girl, but also the cops.

    1. eh, whatever

      Head cheerleader, problem solver.

    2. Astariel

      Why would Asher tip off Jennifer? They didn’t exactly part on good terms and she doesn’t have any connection to Amazi-Girl that he knows of. She doesn’t even live in the dorm that’s getting raided.

      1. Throwatron

        Partially because he’s implicated, partially because on some underlying level, he clearly cares about Sal. He knew Sal was the one hiding Amazi-Girl’s gear after he hooked them up with a chop doc. If Sal gets caught with that, it’s bad for her, which is bad for him. But, he happens to know a person who builds their whole identity off of doing shit like this, who could conveniently slip in and out, and solve the problem. He probably didn’t even have to offer her anything in return, Jennifer will do shit like this purely for the self-satisfaction.

        1. Clif

          How did he know that Sal hid the gear? And how would he know where she’d hide it? I’m doubting Sal had a follow up conversation.

  44. Thing 2

    Good thing locks are no problem for Jebillifer…

    1. C.T Phipps

      Sal has never used the door so we don’t know if it’s been locked or not.

  45. ESM

    It’s probably ominous foreshadowing that one of these cops is tagged. This is not the last we’ve seen of lon. It’s also probably ominous foreshadowing that he’s tagged “lon” when I copy and paste into this comment box with a serif front, and not “Lon” or “Ion”. Is that meant to be an I and it’s a typo or is his name “Lon” and he actually doesn’t capitalize it?

    1. ESM

      No one’s name is capitalized in tags, I’m an idiot.

      1. ESM

        I really wish I could delete or edit comments on here because sometimes I just post the dumbest shit.

        1. ESM

          And he’s referred to as Lon in the comic I literally just read ten seconds ago AND it’s the bald guy and not the beard guy who’s Lon so I was fucking up on literally every level.

        2. Tawnee

          But you were entertaining while you did it, so that’s the silver lining for the cloud.

        3. eh, whatever

          But that only deepens the mystery. Ion is a name (the Romanian version of John). What is “Lon”?

        4. anonymsly

          IIRC Lonnie is a pet form for Alonzo, Lawrence, Leonard, etc, which makes me think Lon probably is as well.

        5. John Campbell

          I saw Lon Cheney, Jr. walking with the Queen
          Doing the Werewolves of London…

        6. Yumi

          Hey, Jennifer still thinks Sal is AG, and look how well that’s working out for everyone. Sometimes fucking up on multiple levels comes back around.

        7. Needfuldoer

          She’s said it herself, she does dumb things the smart way and smart things the dumb way.

          She probably had no idea the costume was hidden in Sal’s closet because Sal’s stashing it for Amazi-Ber, she just defaulted to going there because “Sal is Amazi-Girl”.

        8. Yumi

          …Yeah.

          @ESM: Maybe it will turn out that the bearded cop’s name is Ion.

        9. thejeff

          She had to have some reason. She didn’t just happen to wander by at the right moment, see the cops and spontaneously break into Sal’s room in case they were looking for AG and the costume was there. Right?
          Someone called her and told her to find it, right?

        10. Yumi

          Well, I don’t think so, at least the “called and told her to find it part.” Like, maybe she heard (from who, not sure) that the cops were raiding Read Hall looking for evidence of “that superhero” or whatever. And then basic general assumption is that, hearing this, Jennifer goes, “Oh no, Sal (who I know is AG because I am brilliant) is gonna get busted.” So then she goes and intervenes on her own.

        11. Needfuldoer

          My read is that she got the same tip-off as Amber ahead of the raid, and decided to do Sal a solid and hide “her” Amazi-Girl costume before the cops found it.

          That’s the “smart thing the dumb way”.

          Why Sal hid the costume in her closet, instead of in Danny (her boyfriend) and Joe’s (Amber’s stepbrother) room? *I dunno noise*?

        12. C.T Phipps

          Eh, I mistook Jennifer’s bed for a dumpster.

        13. Clif

          It’s a good bet that she did the same back in her alcoholic days.

        14. StClair

          ouch but true.

    2. anon

      wouldn’t be surprised if tehy were related or distantly connected to the students if not a satfff

    3. Mindset

      Not to add insult to injury, but it’s not an I in the tag, for that matter. https://jsfiddle.net/mindset/u1x2cLrd/

  46. Opinion

    Man these more serious trips sure hit alot better when there isnt a total whiplash yuk yuk in the last panel.

    Great strip

    1. eh, whatever

      The serious and the yuk-yuk aren’t separate in real life either.

    2. John Campbell

      Yes, there are absolutely no yuks in this strip where Billie saves the day with her completely stupid continuing belief that Sal is Amazi-Girl, and the cops conducting an illegal search of the dorm don’t look in the iguana cage because it says “SCIENCE” on it.

      1. thejeff

        This one isn’t quite the whiplash yesterday’s was. At least not to me.

        And while Jennifer does save the day and it probably confirms her belief that Sal is AG, I’m not sure that the belief actually led to her doing it.

  47. Embe13

    and billie it is!
    and she;s even more convinced

  48. bwooom

    oh my god this owns. billifer forever.

  49. Anna Grant

    “Jennifer thinks Sal is Amazi-girl” is usually one of my least favorite running gags, but I can’t even be mad. This is very heartwarming.

    1. Throwatron

      all-time payoff of a bit

  50. Steamweed

    Cop: Yeah, no, I don’t care if it’s science. I gotta make sure there’s no costume in here.
    *lifts blanket
    *sees Fuckface
    Cop: Huh. Yeah, that’s science all right.

    1. JBento

      Fuckface needs to be wearing a costume.

      1. Steamweed

        Now that you mention it…have we ever seen Fuckface and Amazi-Girl together? I think not. Hmmm….

        1. Tequila Mockingbird

          Fuckface is of course, the adorable animal mascot/sidekick to Amazi-Girl. His secret identity is also known as “Fuckface.”

  51. Bryy

    Well, now someone’s gonna be more insufferable than usual.

    1. Archieve

      yep

  52. P!enapple

    Confirmation bias aside, It’s really sweet that she cares about Sal ❤️

    1. Bryy

      Time will tell, but my impression is she’s doing primarily this for clout. She needs to prove that Sal is Amazi-Girl, and she wants leverage against Dorothy.

      1. Nono

        Actually this is so that Jennifer can prove she pulls off the look better than Totally Sal.

        The campus will soon be kept safe by the Golden Dragon.

      2. Astariel

        What does this have to do with Dorothy?

        1. Clif

          She stole Jennifer’s rightful story beat on the paper.

  53. Francoinblanco

    Stupid question arent during search should be present owner or representative?

    1. Andy

      Doesn’t have to be from my understanding, but it probably depends on the type of warrant issued. They can have someone arrested, who lives alone, and get a warrant to search the rest of the possessions to additional violations or evidence.

      1. Francoinblanco

        If you have someone arrested true, but there they search Innocent until proven citizen room because there can be something

        1. Andy

          Reasonable cause is our case here, multiple sightings of AG near this quad and her activities at the protest.

    2. anon

      prolly an illegal search to begin with..

      wonder if htey’d bother arresteing meredith or any other pot smokers tho

      1. Staszu13

        Probably? It’s Indiana! Of course it’s illegal but the stupid cops don’t care

        1. thejeff

          Stupid indeed.
          This really should backfire on them.

          If this is illegal, they’re messing with people with money, connections and lawyers.

    3. thejeff

      If they’ve got a warrant, no. They don’t have to wait for you. What if you’re on the run?

  54. Andy

    Well, looks like we need to add iguana to the “can you lick the science” list, cus it’s official science now.

  55. Stormtide Leviathan

    YES…. YESSSSSSSSS this is exactly what i was hoping for!!!

    Also glad to see fuckface isn’t being found out either. Very glad the cops actually decided not to bother the “experiement”, would not have been at all shocked if that hadn’t been true

  56. GreyICE

    Called it. So hard.

  57. Kyulen

    I guess I should’ve expected Jennifer to be the one to take the Amazi-Girl costume before the cops found it, since she probably still thinks Sal is Amazi-Girl. I would be disappointed that there’s no drama from this so far, but much as I dislike some characters in this strip, I really didn’t want to see any of them get arrested by the cops.

  58. Kyulen

    I’m wonder which cop is Lon, the bald one or the one with the beard?

    1. Thing 2

      The bald one. Read the comic.

    2. John Campbell

      From the speech balloons, I’m pretty sure it’s Beardy addressing Baldy as “Lon”.

    3. HueSatLight

      Bald one or the mostly off-panel one in panel 1, since the word balloon comes from the left of the cage.

  59. Imogen

    Shoutout to Billifer knowing how to pick a lock. <3

  60. AshleyMagica

    This gets a big fat “noice” from me.

  61. Aroree

    Jennifer is best girl!!

  62. Claire

    CHEERLEADER PROBLEM SOLVER!!

  63. Doribi

    love how Jennifer pulled this off, Jennifer is officially in the ranks of favorite characters for this arc.

    1. Zaxares

      She fixes things. 😉

    2. Staszu13

      (Twin Peaks the Return reference time) Jennifer was always cool

  64. ADLegend21

    Jennifer Billingsworth you beautiful bisexual you!

    1. Jon

      I wonder if her pursuit of AG has gone from proving she can do journalism to wanting to be AG’s Lois Lane?

      1. ADLegend21

        a good question, eager to find out the answer!

  65. Vivvav

    Y’know part of me is a little disappointed we’re just diffusing the tension like that but the way in which it was done was so spectacular I’m actually pretty happy about it.

    1. anon

      I mean, amazi-amber is still on the ledge, so…

  66. Shakes

    Pseudo-siblings look out for each other ya know.

  67. Acher4

    ahahahhahaha.

    Now that was truly the best unexpected solution!
    Damn you Willis! 😛

  68. Fail Earnhardt

    Wow, what a great save from Billie that will no doubt lead to wacky hijinks with Sal later and OHMYGOD AMBER GET OFF THE LEDGE

    1. Qube

      Third Eye Blind did a song about that once

  69. Qube

    Billie ex machina? Deus ex Jennifer?

    1. YourCousinJay

      Guess it depends on which you prefer

      “Billy in the Machine” or “The God in Jennifer”

  70. Morrison

    Dang. How could this gag pay off this much

    1. anon

      I wonder about walky’s ‘night guy’ costume unless that just seems like jammies to them

      1. Ray Radlein

        It’s probably not in the girls’ dorm, anyway

  71. anon

    yay biliefer but surprised they’d respecct it versus risking an infection i guess

  72. Arianod

    In Which Billie Saves The Day

  73. Lys

    I knew it! I knew we were about to get the payoff to Jennifer believing Sal is Amazi-Girl. I love it!

  74. YourCousinJay

    Jen hype! Lets fucking go girl!!

    (someone tell Amber to get off of the side of the building please)

  75. Lee

    I do like that this led to a callback to “Billie thinks Sal is Amazi-Girl because she’s the worst(period)reporter(period)ever(period)”, and part of me would miss that gag going away, but for Billie’s sake I think I’d like to see this storyline resulting in Billie *finally* finding out.

    1. Lee

      Like, she deserves it at this point, right?

    2. Astariel

      She’s been told directly that Amber is Amazi-Girl and she just rejected it. I’m not sure what could possibly get through to her at this point.

      1. Lee

        Maybe Sal gets talked into very reluctantly (and with a very humorless expression on her face that I can already imagine) trying on the costume for Billie. When she sees that it’s like 7 sizes too big…

  76. Blibdoolpoolp

    “Yeah we’re conducting a warrantless search in violation of civil rights, but a paper sign suggesting whatever is going on under this large box-shaped object is collegiate level science is far too precious to be investigated further.”

    1. thejeff

      It really does undercut things.
      Like it’s fine if the fascist cops are also bumbling idiots who don’t really care about the job in general, but here aren’t they supposed to be motivated by looking for the girl who beat them up?

      1. John Campbell

        Amazi-Girl’s short, but she’s not going to fit under that cloth.

      2. DashWallkick

        It’s a punchline, it’s mean to undercut tension since it’s the follow up to Joyce’s fear about fuckface. I actually could see this being the other way around but then willis thought “no wait, the funnier of the two is Jennifer continuing to think Sal is A-G while saving the day.”

  77. Da Boy

    She is still wrong… but Heroically wrong XD

  78. foducool

    fuckface (aka science project) is safe, good

  79. Rimwalker55

    Alpha-Bongo comes through. 😀

  80. GUIGUI

    I hate that the stupidest misunderstanding has ended up giving a good outcome. But I am also relieved.

  81. Zamperla

    ……Willis. You beautiful. Beautiful genius. Are you fuckin kidding me. Of course. of COURSE.

    head cheerleader gets things done…………..

  82. Spacie

    Hooray fir Jennifer for saving Sal from the Lon arm of the law

    1. Staszu13

      Ok cue the Mr Peabody tuba fart for that

      1. Clif

        I miss the Mr Peabody tuba fart. Not as much as I miss Mike, but still.

  83. goggleman64

    Ahahahaha, I can’t believe you actually made the “Jen inexplicably thinks Sal is Amaz-Girl” plotline come back around

  84. Clell65619

    Seriously? They’re looking for Super Hero costumes on a college campus? Have they met the comics geeks that inhabit your average dorm? If they only find a dozen or so they didn’t search very well.

    1. Arianod

      I assume that they aren’t looking for “super hero costumes” in general, but rather they’ve looked at footage of the incident and know what Amazi-Girl’s suit looks like. After all, they’re searching for someone who’s beaten up a bunch of their colleagues, and cops tend to be surprisingly efficient at that kind of task.

      1. John Campbell

        You trying to tell me that Amazi-Girl doesn’t have cosplayers yet?

        (Tomorrow: They arrest BoB Guy despite his insistence that his Amazi-Girl costume was only for SDCC.)

        1. Clif

          Well, we can hope.

        2. Arianod

          Now, *that* would have been good XD

  85. Willoughby Chase

    One can never have too many leather jackets

  86. Big Z

    That “science project” reaction is the most “campus cop” thing I think I’ve seen since I left college myself.

  87. Stephen Nedland

    F#ckface is saved, thanks to, science?

  88. jeaux

    OK. As soon as Amber climbs back in from the ledge, I can breath again.

  89. Yumi

    Jennifer is a brilliant idiot, and I love her for it.

  90. HueSatLight

    Step 1 in Lucy becoming Amazi-Girl II.

  91. Willoughby Chase

    Jen: You owe me, Sal
    Sal: …
    Jen: That thing
    Sal: …
    …
    …

  92. Azu

    The prestige!

  93. nadamás

    That cop recalls his broken dreams of being a scientist, he has a full Ego style flasback. (They broke was because he was was too stupid, it’s why he is a cop now)

  94. Cmd1095

    Well I did call that Billie thinking Sal is Amazi-girl would play into this, I assumed it would be in a more comedic way but I readily accept this as well

  95. Caro

    oh my fucking god of course. of course. of couuuurrrrse. i love it here happy bleeding anniversary

  96. Mitzi B.

    I also hope this leads to more Fuckface appearances, since the last time he appeared was literally 15 months ago (irl time, not comic time)

  97. Mravac Kid

    The cops not looking there because they’re respecting a science experiment seems like the most unrealistic thing to yet happen in the comic. 🙂

    1. deliverything

      My headcanon: he doesn’t want to admit it, but the last time beard cop messed with a “science project” in a college dorm, it took him a week to wash the resulting smell off. He doesn’t want to risk that happening again.

      1. Makkabee

        I cannot fault your logic.

  98. Juanoku

    SOMEBODY BETTER PICK UP THAT PHONE
    BECAUSE I FUCKING CALLED IT

    1. Lys

      *high five*

    2. Quinn

      Hello? Who’s this?

  99. yak

    Phew, fuckface is safe.
    Anyway Jibbifarn is a good egg in my book. She can have this confirmation that Sal is amazi-girl, as a treat.

  100. Heavensrun

    (LAUGH) Jennifers *incredible density* saves the day.

    1. John Campbell

      Her brains were rendered super-dense in a laboratory accident.

  101. Leaflet Erin

    Whoever called Jennifer being the one to find amd take the Amazi-girl costume, good call!

  102. SpookyFox

    When I was in college the rule we all were told was that searches could be conducted on what was school property. So yes furniture/built ins that belong to the school can be searched assuming that the school had given permission. If your suitcase is in the closet however, that can’t be searched. If it’s hanging it’s fair game.

  103. Wendy

    The project is keeping Fuckface alive and happy. Which is so valid.

  104. sickolesbian

    the science experiment thing makes sense I guess because like, if they DO look, its like, well, that sure is science-y!

    even though i dont think cops would act like that, the would absolutely look under there.

  105. Micki

    Thank you, Billie — and thank you, science literacy!

  106. Dandi_Andi

    Now all we need is to make sure the cops don’t see Amber and her highly identifiable injuries. Do you suppose her plan may be to simply wait on the ledge until she hears her room being searched and to climb back in after they leave? That might work assuming there are no cops outside at the moment.

    1. Thing 2

      Pretty visible against the light there!

  107. SvenTS

    Now fingers crossed that the drugged up Amber (or AG) don’t try to ‘solve’ the already resolved problem and make things worse.

  108. Alan in DC

    What’s Indiana law say about cops coming in to look for a super hero costume, and instead finding fifty bales of high-potency weed in someone’s closest?

    I’m thinking *state* law here … in the alternate reality of this particular version of the college — where multiple murders involving students don’t even warrant a day off from classes — common sense local laws don’t seem to apply.

    1. Zero

      I don’t think that’s going to vary much by jurisdiction.

      The point of making evidence inadmissable if the cops broke any laws is to make sure the cops don’t break any laws. If they don’t break any laws, therefore, there’s no reason to disqualify evidence they find. If they happen to find evidence they weren’t supposed to be looking for, but they weren’t illegally looking for it… it’s fine. They can use that.

  109. quix

    Is Jennifer currently feuding with someone else such that she’d be putting the costume in someone else’s room?

    1. Clif

      This is clearly not Asher’s room, nor is it Walky’s or Ruth’s, so we should be in the clear.

    2. John Campbell

      From the fact that the bed is not a loft bed, and the color scheme of the bedding (Dragons navy and gold), I’m pretty sure that’s Billie’s own room.

  110. JepMZ

    LoL, of course

  111. Desincarnage

    I don’t have a witty comment to make. I just want to say I laughed out loud reading this.

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