115

Icebreaker
Posted on March 29, 2021 by David M Willis
The Dumbing of Age Book 10 Kickstarter is live! This book will collect "Year Ten," spanning the four storylines that start on August 18, 2019, and complete on September 9, 2020. This includes new commentary, behind-the-scenes artwork, and new character designs into an 236-page tome with luxurious glossy paper all bound up into a sturdy presentation.  Our biggest book yet!  And there will be a foreword by Seanan McGuire!
The book is titled Renounce Magical Thinking and Embrace Empirical Evidence, and it's the culmination of a full decade of Dumbing of Age stories!  This is the big one!  With kidnappings and van chases!  The Ending With A Huge Timeskip one!  
And, of course, as always, there will be more character magnets.

115 thoughts on “Icebreaker”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    so awkward incompatibility breakups = hotness

    Walky reminded me of “It’s our second third anniversary!”

    …already backed

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      Also already backed.

      Also… again… I feel weird not saying anything else. So, um… Amber’s hair looks nice.

  2. Sirksome

    Was Ethan’s hair really supposed to look like Bully Mcguire or is that a new development. Are we getting edgy Ethan?

    1. Sirksome

      Also what is Walky talking about with “First” Spiderman 3. As of 2021 which I assume he’s living in there is only one Spiderman 3 despite numerous Spidey movie franchises. Is Walky like…planning ahead so that future readers years from now get his reference or does the time scale plus no covid mean the new Spiderman Home series movie is already out in DoAverse!?

      1. Mordecai

        I think it’s cause we’re technically waiting on an already confirmed 3, that it counts enough to say that’s the “old 3” already. Even though it hurts.

      2. Thag Simmons

        Sliding timescale means for most of this comics existence there will be at least two Spider-Man 3s.

        The next MCU Spider Man is already confirmed and (if I’m not mistaken) wrapping up production.

      3. Needfuldoer

        If they want people to move on from Sony Spidey, they should stop rebooting him every other movie.

        1. Maikeruu

          Um, so when has it been rebooted more than once since Sony? They did the first trilogy with Tobey, then they did the Andrew movies, and now they let Disney work with them on the Tom series. There has been no reboot post Sony, also technically there is no post Sony yet, and with two then three movies for each one it isn’t every other movie even counting the middle series.

    2. Mordecai

      I hope so because I need Bully Ethan memes in my life, deeply.

    3. Undrave

      I feel like we missed a scene of Walky encountering Ethan… Last we saw him he was in that seat with Lucy, how’d he get here???

      1. Lars

        He took the elevator.

  3. King Daniel

    Guess Ethan and Amber aren’t much on speaking terms these days, huh

    1. Sirksome

      Not that I blame Amber at all for it but her dad kind got Ethan’s best friend killed. That can really sour a relationship.

      1. Mordecai

        Ethan: You want forgiveness? Get religion.

        1. Sirksome

          He’s gonna put some dirt in our eyes.

      2. Zach

        Her dad who she once beat down so hard that she put him in a hospital.
        I doubt he blames her

        1. Sirksome

          I don’t think he “blames” her in the sense that he’s all like “You killed Mike!” but Amber was very connected to what happened to Mike. Mike died trying to save her! And that’s a heavy thing to have hanging over their relationship. I’d be surprised if they’re even capable of talking to each other.

        2. Jamie

          And also, Amber is the third wheel of the trio of Ethan-Amber-Mike. It’s not exactly easy to stay friends with someone who is a constant reminder of a sadness, and Amber was really bad at staying in touch with Ethan before that; Ethan was always the one reaching out to her, and she mostly said no.

        3. Nono

          Amber also needed a break after defending Ethan all summer against his parents.

          Like, she still messed up later, but it’s not that terrible to need a break from that.

        4. Socks

          Quite frankly, besides his wacky “dating Joyce” hijinks, I think Ethan might actually be too normal to handle the level of constant drama happening in every other character’s life. His best friend died, as a direct result of the plot crises following the whole cast! I dont blame the dude for stepping all the way back.

        5. Dr. T

          He absolutely did blame her to a degree. AmaziGirl dropped Mike off at the hospital after his fall. She either deliberately withheld this information from Ethan for well over a day and lied about being so dissociated that she did not know about it or she had been so dissociated that she could not know something this major and refused to get help despite her condition. Granted, Danny’s words were obscenely insensitive, but Amber’s role had to be painful to him.

        6. Rycan

          Very good point. I’d forgotten about Amber’s full role (or lack thereof) in all of that.

        7. He Who Abides

          Danny’s words were exactly what Mike would have said if the situation was reversed, and would have been praised in such a scenario because “that Mike, what a guy!”.

          Before jumping down my throat, go back and check out the mental gymnastics commenters go through on Mike’s Greatest Shits. Bonus points if you compare/contrast those with commenters’ reactions to characters like Blaine and Malaya (similar characters who aren’t generational memes), or to how they reacted to Danny’s comment in the hospital.

        8. Sombrero

          It’s not what you say, it’s who is sayin’ it.

        9. He Who Abides

          Got it, manipulative abuser good.

        10. timemonkey

          Malaya is a thousand times more tollerable than Mike.

        11. He Who Abides

          And yet she/they/whatever takes way more shit for being blunt than Mike ever did for treating the rest of the cast as cumrags for his nihilistic misanthropy.

    2. Jane

      I interpreted that as “Amber and Ethan drifted apart once they got to college”, as opposed to necessarily talking about the timeskip.

      I mean, they weren’t really that close anymore last semester, were they? Amber was closer to him than most other people, but that’s not saying much – and she wasn’t really trusting him with her issues, either.

      That said, I also wouldn’t be surprised if the kidnapping further strained things, so I could see it being either way.

      1. Socks

        I interpreted the “sort of good friends” as referring to last semester’s drifting apart, and “and then we mostly weren’t” as updating us on the post-timeskip situation. I mean… we haven’t seen Ethan once since the timeskip, which is a change from the status quo of last semester, where he was, like, a main character.

    3. Thag Simmons

      I think it’s more just drifting apart over time.

      Sad, but it happens

  4. RassilonTDavros

    …Emo Ethan?

    1. JessWitt

      Symbiote Ethan

      1. Dara

        Seattle Krispy Kream Ethan

      2. Lingo

        Either way, I want to see it. Or any Ethan.

      3. Needfuldoer

        Ethan is a Trill conirmed?

    2. Lingo

      BTW I need Willis, or Yotomoe, or anybody really, to draw Dina as Emo Parker.

  5. C.T Phipps

    Becky seems to have read “not attracted to her” into Dina versus, “Sex is not a big priority.”

    Then again, understanding bisexuality was a hard thing for her.

    1. Jamie

      Eh. Speaking as someone who’s… maybe asexual? And honestly kinda confused about it? I have a hard time distinguishing that from inside my head. (There’s a lot of possible stuff going on and I’m not sure I’ll ever figure it all out. Mostly just gonna figure it out enough to be happy in my relationships and stop caring about it.) I honestly still panic a little when thinking about how to explain it to new people I’m interested in.

    2. Sirksome

      It’s been made pretty clear Becks is at least partially projecting her own insecurities on this. Hopefully she’ll talk to Dina soon, Amber’s obviously not the best choice for advice on this.

    3. Rycan

      I don’t think that Becky is fully cognizant that there’s a distinction.

    4. Keulen

      Yeah, I really think Becky is worrying about this way too much and she should just talk with Dina about it.

    5. thejeff

      No, it’s “Isn’t physically attracted like she is” that’s got Becky upset right now. It’s not a misunderstanding, though it’s likely an overreaction

  6. Buttery Commissar

    Wow, those are some very thin walls; I’d forgotten how hard it is to get privacy in dorms.

    1. Agemegos

      Walky just barged in to Amber’s and Dina’s room in the women’s dorm without knocking or announcing himself, right?

      In what construction is that okay?

      1. Clif

        If he was coming in the front unannounced it would be more of a problem, but if he was talking to Dorothy and visited the shared bathroom and heard Becky’s voice and came out that direction, then it’s not a problem unless Amber thinks it is.

        There are boundaries you have with strangers and boundaries you have with friends and people you have been kidnapped together with and they are not at all the same. Circumstances alter cases, as Ben Franklin said.

      2. Buttery Commissar

        Absolutely agree that it was wrong of him to wander in without a knock. I know it’s Walky and so unlikely to be malicious, but the action was boneheaded.
        That part had completely flown me by, as in the UK it’s common for dorms to be mixed gender – I roomed in a 50/50 split myself.

      3. He Who Abides

        When Amber’s in the hallway (her Beast Wars stickers are on the hall side of her front door, and there’s a whiteboard there too). That said, it shouldn’t be that easy for Walky to get in there.

  7. Bogeywoman

    K now I’m going to need a look at new ethan

    1. Bogeywoman

      OH THANK GOD THE VAMPIRE ROBOT IS FINISHED SUCKING MY PLASMA. THAT SUCKED.

    2. Needfuldoer

      If the clips of Spider-Man 3 I’ve found are anything to go by, he’ll have emo hair, all black clothes, and sleep-deprived Gowron eyes.

  8. MrSmith

    Panel 2…is that really the best way to describe the situation, to the person you’re talking to

    (I mean its a perfectly appropriate way to describe the situation but maybe not the best way to put it to Amber)

  9. Stephen Bierce

    SQUIGGY: Hello!

    1. JessWitt

      *audience cheers and applause*

    2. StClair

      that takes me back.

    3. Needfuldoer

      *Kramer bursts through another door, slap bass lick plays*

      *Robin pokes her head out of the closet door, concerned for Becky*

  10. Cass

    On the one hand it feels weirdly wrong to me to have more that one of the same character on my fridge, but on the other hand I love Joyce’s enraged face. Decisions decisions…

  11. BBCC

    I’m taking that comment to mean Ethan’s around but not talking to the group much. Which? Fair.

    And ohhh Amber.

  12. Nono

    See I’d have closer put Danny as Peter Parker myself, but if this means we’ll get to see Ethan soon, great.

  13. Socks

    Oh man, acknowledgement that Ethan has ever existed. I never thought we’d see the day.

    1. Thag Simmons

      Man can’t wait to hear what happened with Jacob in about nine months.

      1. Socks

        They’re roomies, right? Maybe their dorm room just, like… spontaneously ceased to exist, one day. Just blipped outta existence. And that’s why they’ve both disappeared forever.

        Real talk, I’m pretty sure Jacob’s just kinda outlived his usefulness re: our main character’s development, and we don’t need a more, like, mainstream Christian foil to Joyce’s fundie upbringing any more, now that she’s an atheist, so… yeah.

        1. Nono

          The boys’ dorm in general gets way less focus now. If Walky/Joe weren’t main characters it would cease to exist. Even Danny is kind of tangential these days.

        2. timemonkey

          Danny’s only real ties to the rets of the cast these days are Joe and Sal. Dorothy and Danny barely talk anymore and Ethan’s still not appearing and probably still mad at him. Until he gets a new relationship of some sort in the main cast Danny’s kinda stuck on the outside of the cast.

        3. Lingo

          They were roomies last semester. I could see Ethan deciding to apply for a change of dorms, to get away from Amber and/or painful memories. Maybe even Jacob switched dorms as well (to get away from Joyce and/or Raidah … I can’t remember if Raidah lives in this dorm or not).

        4. Rycan

          Ethan might have transferred to a different school, even.

        5. Lingo

          Maybe except it sounds like Walky has seen him recently.

        6. Lingo

          Plus he’s still on the cast page, whereas Mike and Marcie–someone who’s actually still around–has been removed (to make room for Robin, but still).

  14. StClair

    I’m pretty sure that Becky, especially in her current state of repression and self-denial, would find Dina hot in nearly any outfit and/or circumstances.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      Now I’m just trying to think of any outfit Dina could wear that would actually turn Becky off.

      …all I can think of is “Toedad cosplay.” I wish I hadn’t.

      1. Nayann Martinelli

        Thanks, I hate it!

      2. Lingo

        A bald cap?

        1. Schpoonman

          Ross had a full head of hair.

        2. Lingo

          Ugh no, I meant that Becky might be turned off by Dina in a bald cap. This is unrelated to the Toedad cosplay idea.

      3. StClair

        I admit, I had the same thought. Thus the “nearly”.

  15. Jamie

    1) I feel like Amber has longer hair? Can’t decide if I like it; just feels different.

    2) I can’t decide whether or not Amber has the emotional bandwidth to deal with this, even though I think she’d be quite good at it, actually. Because on one hand, timeskip has given her space, but on the other hand, timeskip was spent with the Rosenthals, so maybe not.

    1. Dara

      It definitely looks longer. Personally, I like it.

    2. Schpoonman

      She’s grown it out, yeah. It used to be just above her shoulders.

    3. Needfuldoer

      She won’t cut her hair until it completely hides her, like Cousin Itt.

    4. Deanatay

      Everyone’s hair is a little longer this semester.

      (Except Marcie’s, I gather – I don’t Patreon or whatever.)

      Maybe it’s Willis’ way of acknowledging the pandemic lockdown – barbershops were all shut down over the break.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Don’t forget Jennifer axing about a yard of ponytail.

        I think it’s mostly as a reminder that a good amount of time has passed between Season 1 and Season 2.

  16. Newllend(henryvolt)

    Gotta Wonder if the reason why Willis didn’t bring back Ethan at the start after the time skip is because he needs time to build up and prepare us for some sort of drastic change for him.

    As for comparing Dina to Ethan and his past failed relationship, I’m not 100% sure. Becky did point out one similarity but there are differences as well I assume that when Ethan was with Amber he was still discovering his true sexuality but still trying to make things with Amber work and he was with Joyce he didn’t get with her because he felt a spark of romance he just wanted a “beard” so he can pretend to have the same life he had before coming out. With both girls his affection for them wasn’t strong enough to go friend to possible life partner. Dina on the other hand is kind of different.

    Even though Dina isn’t sexually attracted to Becky it’s still clear she enamored by her and I don’t think she’s completely unaware of her identity. I have no clue where Becky and Dina relationship is going to go but I think they’ll still have a better shot than most of everyone else’s love life in this comic.

    1. Needfuldoer

      He’s become darkness, shrouded in darkness, and shoved into even more darkness. A darkness turducken.

      1. Deanatay

        Turdarken.

  17. Bagge

    Dinv would totally look hot like that

  18. Nayann Martinelli

    Poor Amber, caught between a red rock and a… pointy place?
    (Sorry, abortive pun)

  19. Hazel

    The… first… Spider Man 3….?

    1. Dara

      Pretty sure it’s about this.

      1. Keulen

        No, I’m pretty sure Walky’s referencing this scene from the 2007 Spider Man 3 movie.

  20. JessWitt

    Now I’m imagining Ethan becoming a masked vigilante just like Amber (and Bruce Wayne).

  21. Agemegos

    I didn’t see the first Spiderman 3, so I don’t understand what Walky is saying. What is it about Peter Parker in that old movie in particular that is relevant here?

    1. RacingTurtle

      If you wish to Google the visual, “emo peter parker” will get you what you’re looking for

      1. Agemegos

        Ethan now has greasy hair and looks ill?

        1. RacingTurtle

          Walky seems to think so! Not fair, Walky knows more about Ethan’s current status than we do just because he’s a character in the same comic

    2. Needfuldoer

      “Old movie”?

      [Saving Private Ryan aging sequence dot gif]

      1. Agemegos

        It came out fourteen years ago. When these kids were four or five.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Nah, that can’t be THAT long ago. I was around twenty when it came out and… oh no.

          *Ages to dust like the guy who chose poorly in Last Crusade*

  22. BenRG

    Poor Amber needs to have a sign on BOTH doors reading: “I’m not interested in your random personal problems. Please do not inflict them on me!”

    1. StClair

      Like that would do anything?

      1. BenRG

        At least she would have a justification in advance for getting snippy, sarcastic and dismissive. “Read the notice; they’re there for a reason.”

  23. RacingTurtle

    Oh, hey, Becky shares a potty with Amber now!

  24. ADLegend21

    you never go full Peter Parker in Spiderman 3

    1. Needfuldoer

      Gowron eyes are enough by themselves.

  25. Sporky

    Man, I feel bad for Dina. Dina loves Becky and has actually done nothing wrong, but Becky feels like Dina’s asexuality means there’s something wrong with HER because she doesn’t really understand what an asexuality is.

    1. Regalli

      Yeah, I’m hoping Becky proceeds to TALK TO HER GIRLFRIEND about this, because there’s a huge difference between ‘I’m not sexually attracted to you because I’m a gay guy and you’re a woman’ and ‘I don’t get sexually attracted very frequently, but I am romantically attracted to you and desire sex with you even when I’m not, and have been sexually attracted to you.’

      1. Agemegos

        Making this private issue into general gossip before talking to Dina is a way of sabotaging her relationship.

  26. GUIGUI

    when was it established that Danny didn’t find Amber sexually attractive?

  27. GUIGUI

    Wait, never mind, it was Ethan. Walky’s comment threw me of.

  28. Rabisch

    Finally they call about the elephant in the room. Good to know Ethan is still arounds.

  29. Spencer

    Bully Siegal lifts Thor’s Hammer.

  30. Needfuldoer

    Maybe Dina will appear behind the doors if they’re opened far enough to touch (so you can’t see behind them).

    Or would hat spawn an extra Dina, because it’s two doors?

  31. thumb

    Ha! The *first* Spider-Man 3. Technically, there’s only one of those at this exact moment. Soon there’ll be second third film. There are three first and three second films already.

  32. BenRG

    Never forget the low-quality 1970s live-action TV show and its associated TV movies (one of which included The Hulk, Daredevil and Thor, pre-dating Joss Wheadon’s ‘Avengers’ by over 2 decades).

    1. BenRG

      Sorry, that was a reply to thumb.

  33. Mr. Bad Example

    how surreal, that we’ve reached a point in reality where the phrase “the *first* Spider-Man 3” needs to exist

  34. Meagan

    Amber saying “There’s an icebreaker” and the expression on her face is my favorite thing that’s happened in this comic in a while.

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