April's second Patreon bonus strip is about Puppy Dorothy, because I said not to vote for her and a shitload of people voted for her anyway and upon reflection it was clear that they were all correct and I was wrong. 
April's second Patreon bonus strip is about Puppy Dorothy, because I said not to vote for her and a shitload of people voted for her anyway and upon reflection it was clear that they were all correct and I was wrong.
Discussion (304) - “Upset”
Charles Phipps
Joe, you are the worst wingman ever.
Orion Fury
Wingmen help get the girl, not keep her. I think.
Inkblot
A good wingman gets you the girl; a good friend is who helps you keep her. (At least, this is my experience.)
Durandal_1707
He may be better off not keeping this one, though.
Orion Fury
Plus, don’t wingmen, or even friends, need to be aware that you have a girlfriend?
nothri
No one ever accused Joe of being a good friend or a good wingman.
(I don’t much care for this version of Joe, in case you can’t tell).
Mlle Blackfox
He’s not a good friend, but he can observe when his friend is upset and asked how his friend was doing and was prepared to help Danny out in the way he knows how. /shrug
Poor guy gets vilified for being a jock-y person, but nobody ever asks how he’s feeling. Behind that girl-craze is a man that wants to be seen and understood as the person he is, not the person he presents himself to be. <\3
Cerberus
Both Danny and Joyce have as has Dorothy. He tends to rebuff words of support and mock the person offering them though.
Nyzer
Not really. Dan here is in a similar place to the initial Walkyverse Dan; he presents a shallow, jock-y persona because he DOESN’T want people to get close, probably as a result of dealing with his parents’ divorce just like in the Walkyverse. This Dan’s a bit more mature than in WV, but he also seems much more comfortable with his persona, whereas the WV version was chafing behind it.
Arian
*Joe
Deanatay
He’s AWARE that Danny THINKS he has a superhero girlfriend, I’m just not sure he BELIEVES in her.
Jordan
Unfortunately true. Until she can get her head on straight, he’s definitely better off not being in a relationship with her.
Palamdrone
A good wingman gets you the girl. A good friend helps you as best as he can and doesn’t bang your ex.
WolfLann
Which means he’s neither as he didn’t get him AG and he wanted to put Dotty on the “Do” list the second she dumped him.
Roborat
A really good friend helps you bury the body.
Some Name
Danny looks so defeated.
SmilingNid
He just shot his ol yeller even if it was for the best it still sucks.
Needfuldoer
His Ol’ Yeller shot him through the heart with his own gun and ran off, now he thinks he’s to blame for that. She was also his rebound from Dorothy, so that wound’s been torn open again.
Cerberus
Yeah, hell in comic, he’s been dumped twice at the same spot in a little over a month. And this time it was for doing the right thing and Amazi-girl even managed to blame him for it, saying that Amber needed him but he “ruined it all”. Danny’s gonna be a bit fucked up for a bit.
Spencer
Yeah, that was a combo of overbearing posturing, gaslighting, emotional browbeating, and laser focused attacks on Danny’s insecurities over being a good romantic partner that she’s aware of and just yesterday made a big spiel about how Danny should never be okay with people tearing him down. She couldn’t have been more her dad there if she actually put in effort.
I’m really hoping her next appearance in about a week dives right into how she feels about how she treated Danny, and hopefully after she’s calmed down a bit she can recognize that she both verbally abused him and did so as Amazi-Girl, her perfect safe alter who never makes mistakes and exists to protect that little shitty coward for whom anger is an unforgivable sin, because goddamn that was really not okay of her and I feel totally alienated from her and her struggles now.
JessWitt
Just like the Zodiac Killer.
Brute
nice.
Wheelpath
I’ve missed Joe
DAMN IT, don’t worry Danny, you aren’t broken up broken up. I will not accept that!
Inkblot
Amber seemed to make things pretty clear.
Orion Fury
Arguably, AmaziGirl did, but that’s probably just splitting hairs.
Cyberfox
No…Amazi-girl made things pretty clear. Amber can be more inconsistent and maybe flexible than Amazi-girl.
nothri
Glad somebody’s missed him.
Spencer
Weeeellll maybe.
On one hand the use of the same spot Dorothy dumped him in, this being their second break up, and the sheer venom of the verbal abuse Amber heaped on him in her Amai-Girl alter, I think, makes it pretty abundantly clear that this is meant to be at least an extremely significant stopping point for the characters, and it will be a long and laboured process before Amber gets back in his good graces, but it probably won’t be like Marten and Dora’s break up in QC, where they kind of just never really hung out ever again afterwards. Most of the 5+ years of Danny and Amber’s panel time has been spent exploring their relationship with each other, so even if this a permanent break up Danny and Amber are still going to maintain a really important friendship.
On the other hand, the stringency in which Willis insists that it was never Danny/Amber but Danny/Amazi-Girl, and the fact that the both of them are each others’ most important relationship in the comic, I think, also opens the door that they get back together at some point in the future. It’s not like breakups and romantic false leads haven’t happened before in Willis’ work, like how where two years of comic time were devoted to Robin and Leslie being apart, or how Joyce and Walky were basically the OTP from day one, but still went through other romances before ending up together.
meegan
it’s feelings time joe.
Demon-Something
In regards to Patreon: What the hell?
Jay Eff
I like how he just calls her “Puppy Dorothy.”
JetstreamGW
Well, I mean… It’s Dorothy. As a puppy. What else are you gonna call her?
Carriethedragon
I assumed that it was a preference for ‘Puppy Dorothy’ over certain… alternatives that may’ve been what drove his decision to be explicit. But maybe that’s just me being pessimistic about people’s ability to be respectful.
Nicster216
What happened?
Orion Fury
Puppy. Dorothy.
Kamino Neko
Puppymonkeydorothy. >_>
JessWitt
Purple monkey dishwasher.
Tacos
Purple People Eater.
Orion Fury
Last year’s was funny weird. This year? Weird weird.
Jordan
No. We do NOT bring up that abomination here.
Kamino Neko
Hey, Puppymonkeybaby kept me sane when I was in hospital with flu back in February.
N0083rP00F
For specific values of sane I would guess.
Bagge
Patreon spoiler: Puppy Dorothy is the BEST THING EVER!!!!
JQuire
I really, really don’t care for Puppy Dorothy. Something about an intelligent, opinionated woman being turned into a cartoon(ier) yapping dog …..
Cerberus
Oh shit, yeah, I can see that.
StClair
That was how I felt from the first thought balloon.
Way to dehumanize and infantilize your girlfriend, Walky. (Especially since she’s asking ’cause she’s concerned about you.)
Bagge
Yeah, that can be problematic…
Although, as a reader I don’t feel invited to view Dorothy as a little yapping dog – I feel invited to watch WALKY view her as a little yapping dog, ie, it has more to do with his relationship insecurities than Dorothy herself. Like in the non-patreon-strip where the joke was Walky’s bad way of dealing with his secret problems.
Or maybe I’m just rationalising the fact that I find her hilarious (among other things BECAUSE the discrepancy between an intelligent, opinionated woman and a yapping dog)
Falling Star
This is true.
And also a more hilarious interpretation.
StClair
It’s definitely all on Walky. Still not funny (to me), though.
JQuire
Yeah, it’s Walky’s POV….but it’s so jarring and unpleasant to see that even the step removal doesn’t help it for me.
Spencer
It is absolutely one of the grossest things Walky’s ever expressed in this comic.
It’s just that it was Dorothy’s head on a tiny puppy so it’s kinda hilarious.
JQuire
It was hilarious when it was a shrill and unpleasant woman in Mars Attacks….but Dorothy didn’t deserve it. *shrug*
Spencer
No, yeah, I absolutely understand why you feel uncomfortable about it, and I don’t want to try and take that away from you. I think it’s hilarious, because it’s both a really funny visual and also indicative of how Walky is a bit of a sexist tool.
No I Haven't Had My Coffee Yet
I don’t see how it’s sexist. If it was a girl deflecting a boyfriend’s questions that way, it would still be funny for the same reason. Sex has nothing to do with it. Of course we all see in art what we want to see.
Spencer
ikr
what does gender have to do with sexism when a dude equates his girlfriend’s attempts at reaching out to him as a yappy annoying dog
Kamino Neko
Joe, Joe…so close to actually being a good friend….
Cheshrin
It was funny for a second and then it was sad again.
Stephen R. Bierce
*plays Cameo’s “Back And Forth” on the hacked Muzak*
Stephen R. Bierce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2eU2CG3WN8 <- Am I talking about Joe or about Danny? You decide.
EvilMidnightLurker
That’s an interesting shirt.
Thomas
Can someone please explain Joe’s shirt? I don’t understand what’s on it.
SgtWadeyWilson
I think it’s just supposed to be a generic men’s shirt tattoo-like design…? If it had a dragon or a tiger I’d be positive it was.
Thomas
I suspect it’s meant to reference a G.I. Joe character, maybe Serpentor? But I did a search & I came up with nothing. Generic men’s shirt it is, then.
ChrisHerself
It looks exactly like a top pick bro shirt designed for bros requested by X company for bros so bros will buy the shirts at the store that sells bro shirts.
Bros.
(Used to work a t-shirt design company)
StClair
Bro?
Bro.
Tan
First appearance of shirt 5.5 years ago: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/fun/
ChrisHerself
Good lord you’re a robot
TrueVCU
He’s like one of those reddit bots, helpful but also oddly disconcerting
ChrisHerself
Mostly helpful!
Nicster216
The only thing leaking right now Joe is Danny’s heart…. should probably wear a gas mask for either scenario tho
Tacos
Danny should go to the hospital then. A leaking heart is probably bad.
Minotaur