It’s bad
Posted on September 14, 2025 by David M Willis


Tags: dorothy, hank, joyce

433 thoughts on “It’s bad”

  1. NGPZ

    HANK JUMPSCARE!

    how many fuckin drama tags are gonna get pulled in a row???

    DAMN. YOU. WILLIS.

    1. Icalasari

      Well, Joyce’s mother hasn’t shown up yet

      So

      We still have more tags yet!

      1. GholaHalleck

        That “Yet” fills my cold dead heart with glee.

  2. Doctor_Who

    Nono, you two are doing it wrong.

    You’re supposed to say something like “At least things can’t get any worse” and THEN open the door to reveal Hank.

    …Unless they’re saving that bit for Carol’s reveal.

    1. Throwatron

      i’m honestly holding out hope that Hank is a chill dad now and he’s just genuinely worried about his kids safety

      1. Thag Simmons

        I am not nearly so optimistic.

        1. Xujhan

          I’m cautiously optimistic on the grounds that Hank sucking seems to me like it would be really narratively boring. “Parents suck unimaginably hard” has been done to death in DoA and Hank is one of the only parents who isn’t just 100% cartoon villain. I’d be much more interested to explore ‘inexperienced but supportive’ Hank.

        2. Envy

          He loves his kids a lot and I think he’ll eventually come around, but I think his main source of anger right now is gonna be Joyce and (maybe)Jocelyne lying to him, and Joyce putting herself in danger at the protest. There’s probably also gonna be an element of him thinking that Jocelyne, as the older sibling, should be setting a better example or something.

        3. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

          Hank also seemed okay with Becky, or at least opposed to what Toedad and the rest of their church did.

        4. Clif

          Yeah, as long as Joyce knows the answer is, “I don’t know,” on account of not knowing where Jorden is, it’s all good. Even if she choses to interpret the question as to where her former brother is, she still doesn’t know.

          Alt-text Willis is so good to us.

        5. Qlx

          I’m looking forward to seeing how Joyce handles this as she tries to figure out how to not out Jocelyne while also not misgendering her

        6. thejeff

          Quite possibly and it could be funny, but such a rookie mistake. Not outing someone is more important and dancing around the topic gets obvious really quickly

        7. Embe13

          agree with thag, the “Brother?” gives me the heebie jeebies for some reason

        8. GholaHalleck

          Still holding out hope he thinks Jocelyn is Joyce in the paper. it would be so much funnier.

        9. Thing 2

          Yeah, I said that too. But I guess they should not go with “Yes Josh was kissing Dorothy”, it would cause so much trouble when Jocelyne says no, that was Joyce…

        10. GholaHalleck

          I was more in the vein of Hank thinking Joyce was at the protest and saw two random blondes necking, as in, he couldn’t tell who was kissing, but saw Jocelyn and thought it was Joyce,

        11. Heavensrun

          Jocelyn is *in the photo*.

          The FUNNY gag is that he says “I know he was at the protest, he was in this photo in the paper with those two girls that made out during the police raid!”

        12. morleuca

          I’m gonna chalk it up to inexperience. He doesn’t have the tools to understand and adjust to the situation. He’s gonna need to learn, and he’s gonna make the same mistakes everyone else makes. And he doesn’t really look angry to me, either. He looks concerned. Which is understandable, his children were involved in a protest that degenerated into violence. First step is to make sure they are all alright. Second step is to ask questions, learn, and develope understanding.

        13. Jon

          Jocelyne isn’t OUT, right? So Hank would have no way of knowing unless she’d told him.

        14. Heavensrun

          I’m pretty sure Joyce was the first person in the family she told. MAYBE Jordan, we don’t know much about Jordan.

      2. ExcretusMaximus

        Considering he called Jocelyne Joyce’s brother, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

        1. EmperorGreed

          I don’t think he knows yet, and even if he learned from the paper he wouldn’t know if Joyce knew

        2. Heavensrun

          I am *confident* he doesn’t know yet. There’s no way Jocelyn came out to their *dad* before talking to Joyce about it.

      3. EmperorGreed

        I expect he’ll Hank Hill it- be confused and stubborn at first but come around because he’s more invested in his kids than being right- partially because he’s done that once already

      4. Heavensrun

        I am absolutely certain Hank’s primary concern right now is his child’s safety. He thinks they were at the protest and is worried they got arrested or hurt.

        I mean, I’m not saying Hank’s guaranteed to always be in the right, but he’s been such a good dad to Joyce, *and Becky*, and divorcing his wife is definitely a move in the right direction, that was undoubtably an *incredibly difficult* thing to do. Let’s give him a *little* benefit of the doubt.

      5. Christopher

        I would hope that Hank is open about his kids’ genders and sexuality, but less so about one of his adult children going into the middle of a protest. That is my hope.

    2. Minivet

      That is a classic, but I think not doing it heightens the jumpscare element. I definitely giggled at the reveal.

      1. Minivet

        Autocorrect for “goggled”.

    3. StClair

      “It’s worse.”

    4. Tequila Mockingbird

      Aww hell no, we’re putting a ring of salt around the door to keep Carol from coming back. Back to the darkness from whence ye came, she-devil!

  3. Nono

    “Brother”?

    Please be talking about Jordan please be talking about Jordan

    1. thejeff

      While that would be awesome, if completely out of the blue, it probably just means he doesn’t really know about Jocelyne. Or longer shot, that he isn’t sure Joyce knows.

      1. DJTsurugi

        or longer shot, he just went from being a good parent in this to yet another bad one. ~<3

        1. Envy

          There’s almost no way Jocelyne told Hank before Joyce, and with all the protest photos having her wearing a big winter coat, he probably just thinks “Joshua” grew “his” hair out.

        2. Stormtide Leviathan

          She did tell Hank before Joyce. She texted joyce “I need to tell you before you hear it from dad.”

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/02-the-one-where-jocelyne-returns/dumbbrother/

        3. Stormtide Leviathan

          Or maybe hank accidentally found out, i guess

        4. Thing 2

          Zacly. A very valid reading. And everyone trying not to out her. But she should have told Joyce!

        5. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Maybe she did but DyW didn’t think it was dramatically relevant so didn’t show us that.

        6. thejeff

          That seems pretty sketchy. I mean, it might not have been dramatic in the moment, but it would be a necessary bit of set up for Joyce knowing now.

        7. Rogue 7

          Hank’s last text to Joyce was asking if a picture of Jocelyne was a picture of Joyce’s brother.

        8. Big Z

          Both of those things can be true:

          – Hank knows about Jocelyne
          – Hank has either decided THIS is where he sticks with stupid religion OR Hank has decided he’s not going to out Jocelyne to Joyce OR Hank is doing the typical “I just became okay with trans folks and I am still fucking up pronouns” thing.

        9. thejeff

          But very weird that Jocelyne didn’t tell Joyce that Hank knows

        10. thejeff

          Not just that he knows, but also how he reacted.

        11. morleuca

          Pronouns. Yuck. 10 active years in, I’m still fucking up my own pronouns. Both out loud and in my head.

        12. Big Z

          I don’t recall there being a lot of time for that, but I also didn’t go back to check. Closest we came to any kind of discussion of it was the phone message.

        13. thejeff

          I would have expected at least a “don’t worry that” when they went to the protest to warn her, but there was also plenty of time to talk about how Hank had reacted when they were hanging out after Jocelyne first showed up.

        14. thejeff

          It’s possible and I expected that was the case after that strip, but in that case it’s weird that Jocelyne never mentioned it to Joyce, even when learning that Hank had asked about the picture of her at the protest.

      2. jeffepp

        According to an half overheard conversation between Joyce’s parents, they are aware that all the boys are… very unlikely to give them grandchildren. So…

        1. thejeff

          When was that? It wasn’t the half overheard conversation I first thought of, when Joyce was home after the first kidnapping.

      3. Pinkie

        Or he knows and didn’t take it well.

    2. Erica

      Why would he? He doesn’t know Jocelyn is trans

      1. ANeM

        Jocelyn’s text to Joyce before she came out was “I need to tell you something before you hear it from dad.” So yeah, strong indicator he knows and Jocelyne was concerned about how he would portray it to Joyce.

        1. Random832

          Another possibility was that she was planning to tell Hank soon, wanted to tell Joyce first to ensure she’d be ahead of any worst-case versions of how Hank reacts, and then ultimately decided not to tell him.

        2. Random832

          Like, ‘ultimately decided not to tell him’ is entirely speculative but that really is the only way to 100% absolute guarantee you tell person A before they hear it from person B: to tell person A before you tell person B.

        3. thejeff

          Also possibly that the she sees Hank at least semi-regularly and now that she’s on HRT, he’s going to notice the changes eventually.

        4. Random832

          Right, “planning on doing something in the near-term that may lead to Hank finding out and saying something to Joyce” is very far from “has definitely already told Hank or Hank has definitely already found out”

          In particular, I’m pretty sure that if Hank had actually said anything to Joyce by this point, we’d know it – and I’d think that Jocylene would be less likely to have guessed wrong on whether that would happen if she’d already told him and found out what his immediate reaction was by that point.

          “He does know and is trying not to out her to Joyce” is also a possibility, though I think it’s a weaker one (if she told him and they’re still on good terms I’d expect him to know she was planning on telling Joyce)

    3. Derek

      Hank doesn’t any context except for a photo with the child he thinks is a son looking feminine

      1. KM

        Which to be honest is inconclusive on its own, you can look feminine and still use male pronouns.

      2. GholaHalleck

        Its blurry, he can think its Joyce! Come on Willis, give us this.

        1. Envy

          Well, since Jocelyne is in the background of the Joyce/Dorothy photo, I think claiming that she’s actually Joyce there wouldn’t exactly work

        2. GholaHalleck

          Neither are named, nor are their faces really visible.

        3. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Parent and people in general are *really* good at identifying people they know. Our facial recognition hardware is so powerful it makes us see the emotions in faces that aren’t even actually faces.

        4. deliverything

          Humans without Prosopagnosia, yes, but consider the following strips:
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-16/01-not-so-smooth-criminals/splash/
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-16/01-not-so-smooth-criminals/nonbathingsuit/

          Neither Daisy nor Jennifer recognised them. Admittedly, Daisy doesn’t know them all that well, and Jennifer’s quite possibly prosopagnosic. Still…

        5. Erik

          Except in superhero comics..

        6. morleuca

          Why have all the newer trucks become so angry lately?

        7. John Campbell

          Jocelyne is tagged in most of the strips where the front page of the paper is visible. There’s one where she’s not, and the hovertext explains that that’s because Joe’s arm is covering her. I don’t think that’s intended to convey “no she’s an unrecognizable background figure”.

        8. GholaHalleck

          I never said they were unrecognizable, I said she could be mistaken for Joyce.

    4. Bryy

      It’s been established that he isn’t.

  4. mindbleach

    I have no brother!

    Okay well there’s half a dozen others but y’know what let’s start over.

    1. Tan

      The correct and true answer is: “Not here.”

      1. Jon

        That would be both correct and true. Odds that Joyce has nowhere near the presence of mind to say that?

        1. Embe13

          she did the last time, so we can hope

      2. Amara

        So would “how would I know?” She doesn’t know the exact location of any of her siblings, even putting aside how dad hasn’t been told yet that his son to daughter ratio is not what he believed it to be.

    2. Li

      Only two. This universe only has four Brown siblings: John, Jocelyne, Jordan, and Joyce.

  5. General Tekno

    When it rains….

    oooof

  6. Doopyboop

    man Hank looks like he’s aged quite a bit since last we saw him. The power of divorce! …Also realistically probably just the glasses and shading. But I’m going to pretend the divorce sucked five years of life from him.

    1. Doctor_Who

      Carol won five years of his life in the settlement and they hooked him up to that machine from Princess Bride.

      1. Tequila Mockingbird

        Have an internet, friendly time lord. This cracked me up.

      2. Embe13

        they’ll have to visit Miracle Max!

    2. Lumino

      I was gonna say, man looks like her grandfather.

      1. Doopyboop

        He dresses like a grandpa too.

    3. True Survivor

      He’s been having a rough go of it. His wife left him, his kid got kidnapped and nearly killed by a family friend he spent years letting her be supervised by, his church went down dark paths he could not follow, and now its kind of just him and maybe the dog by themselves. All that in like half a year. Hank is a caring guy still trying to find away to be a better version of himself and yet the hits will not stop coming.

      1. Taffy

        Dog’s at a farm upstate.

        1. Embe13

          dark

        2. Taffy

          It wasn’t a euphemism. ?

        3. Embe13

          sorry high and silly, was thinking of the meme/trope in adult comedy media (i thinkit may have started in the simpsons) where after something sad is said someone nearby just comments “dark”

          and the phrase “at a farm upstate” is a sad phrase.

          dont remember whether or not the browns had a dog

        4. Doopyboop

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/home-sweet-home/ They have (or maybe had??) a dog named Snoop! The dog’s status is up in the air because of the house being sold, both Brown parents presumably being in apartments now, and I think there’s patreon strips about the doggo going to a shelter or something. Poor baby.

        5. Embe13

          dark

        6. Envy

          There was a follow up strip of a guy who actually has a big farm (kinda)upstate seemingly about to adopt Snoop

        7. deliverything

          Here are all 5 Snoop strips:
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/snoop/

        8. Smallmoon

          I prefer the How I Met Your Mother gag where Robin, a known gun enthusiast, is asked what happened to the multiple dogs she used to house in a New York City Apartment.
          Robin: Oh, I sent them to a farm upstate with my aunt.
          Friend: YOU KILLED THEM?!
          Robin (realizing what she said): Oh! No no…. My ACTUAL aunt has an ACTUAL farm in northern New York.

        9. Li

          A good gag. I really don’t like that Ted made her get rid of her dogs, though. Especially when they broke up so fast afterwards lol. And the writers just never mention the dogs again!

        10. zee

          Ted was such a bum dude lmao. I have to agree with Olayemi’s assessment, man’s a romantic terrorist

        11. Amós Batista

          The dog was the hardest blow on him?

      2. cbwroses

        Didn’t he quit her, and not the other way around?

    4. Cass

      No, you were right, his hairline’s receding more (pre-timeskip the.line where the hair on top of his head meets the sides was just angled a bit instead of the noticeable divot into it now) and judging by his jawline he’s lost weight (he always had a square jaw, but the lines leading to it were curved, not nearly straight on one side and slightly concave on the other).

      1. Embe13

        honestly he looks like a man who really isnt looking after his health. he is probably eating frozen dinners/fast food when he remembers to eat, and may only be eating once a day, stress and lonelyness are eating that man. and i hope he stays on the journey of a good parent, but man the use of brother *shudder*

        1. StClair

          yeah 😐

      2. GholaHalleck

        Art advancement or inoperable cancer, what will it be….

        1. Embe13

          wow, dark the 3rd

        2. StClair

          that’s where today’s entire strip is, yeah.

        3. Doopyboop

          He needs more sunken in features near his temples for it to be cancer.

        4. Sajuuk-Khar

          I commented WAY down but he does kind of have Walter White looks here

          He could be here to get Joss back to cooking meth with him for Asher’s grandpa

        5. Doopyboop

          That would be a pretty wicked way for those plot points to connect.

        6. Sajuuk-Khar

          I’m absolutely doing a bit but I wouldn’t be mad if Willis went for it, I could even see Gramps running a Korean fried chicken chain

        7. Doopyboop

          I want this bit to be CANON.

    5. Zaxares

      Stress can age somebody tremendously. If you compare photos of Obama prior to him becoming President and then just 8 years later, he looks like he’s aged 30 years. O.o

    6. SignSeeker

      Literally getting divorced right now, and what hair I have left has indeed suddenly gone almost completely gray over just a few months.

    7. Needfuldoer

      His cheeks are hollower, his hairline receded further, and he’s wearing glasses now. All contributing factors nudging him closer to Ruth’s grandfather.

      Oh no, Hank isn’t making a heel turn with this chapter is he?

      (Seriously what’s up with the “Animated Series Riddler” chin?)

      1. Cass

        Lol, I’m so used to Joyce-style eyes having glasses now that even when I was looking back and forth for changes in him I totally missed noticing them.

    8. Heavensrun

      Also it’s dark and he’s backlit. Nobody looks good backlit in the dark.

  7. Tan

    Hooooooo boy

  8. Shiro

    Oh I am so afraid :((((((( Tomorrow can’t come quickly enough

  9. Skyeribbon

    This is the cheating karma. ZERO CALM. ALL BLOWBACK. But also fingies crossed for Joyce’s parents’ divorce.

    1. Skyeribbon

      I have the memory of a boiled carrot

    2. Dawn

      Jocelyne potentially getting in trouble shouldn’t be included in cheating karma.

      1. Reltzik

        There IS the chain of causality where Jocelyne was on the front page of the paper, making it obvious to Hank that she was there and Joyce knew it.

        1. thejeff

          There’s a chain of causality, but that’s not what anyone who wanted cheating karma meant.

      2. Skyeribbon

        You are so right. I was looking through the short term lens of Joyce is just on the receiving end of a lot of stress.

    3. Dot

      Not to kvetch about this but I feel I must again point out that nothing since Joyce dumped Walky for Dorothy and he went off to McNugget himself has actually been related to the cheating and that these exact events would have played out exactly the same if Joyce and Dorothy had been single when they kissed

      1. Big Z

        Yeah. “Sorry-not-sorry” to all the people who have weird opinions about people who want to see the boys’ collective ongoing response, but I feel like what we need here is to see the boys’ collective ongoing response.

        On the other hand, you have to admit it’s nice that for once they got distracted from a problem by “another problem” instead of “getting real horny”.

        1. thejeff

          To be honest, I don’t think seeing the boys’ collective ongoing response will really help, since it seems to be “I hope I can keep some kind of relationship with Joyce” and “Sucks to have been dumped again”, which again, barely references the cheating aspect at all.

          I think that ship has sailed.

        2. Big Z

          I feel like there’s some room in both their responses for some continued interesting storytelling because we’ve really only seen the initial shock in Walky’s case, and Joe’s (presumed) last-ditch effort to salvage ANY relationship with Joyce out of the slow-motion train wreck that was “Joyce and Dorothy figure out they’re collectively bi.”

        3. thejeff

          Oh, there’s definitely room for interesting storytelling, but there’s room for that with Becky and with Hank showing up.
          It’s just not really related to the cheating any more than with Becky or Hank. They’re breakup (or potentially not break up but poly) stories instead.

  10. Elf grrl

    OH GOD OH GOD OH GO

  11. Dot

    “And why was Becky walking down the hall looking like she just got shellacked?”

    1. anon

      i wouldn’t be surprised if she went the otherway other wise he def would’ve stopped by to talk to her

  12. Nick Piers

    “Dun dun DUN!” – Elan, Order of the Stick

    1. Tequila Mockingbird

      [puts on his Obi-Wan voice] Now there’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time…

      1. bubba0077

        Comic is still going. Probably just past halfway through the last book.

    2. Embe13

      durkon taking control of his body from a vampire is just fucking great

  13. IntangibleMatter

    Place your bets now:

    1. Transphobic

    2. Doesn’t know better

    1. Taffy

      Since we’ve never seen him get told and I’m not trawling through the fucking archive to see if anyone mentioned it, so I’m gonna guess “Both, but he’s reluctantly willing to learn (which is better than being unwilling, so I’ll take it at this point).”

      1. Shiro

        Seconding, although the willingness to learn is more a hope that I have than an actual called shot. Either way I don’t think this is a rejection of Jocelyne’s gender though, I think she’s just still closeted with her parents

      2. apricot

        Thirded. Even if he does know and isn’t necessarily hateful, some parents are just really bad at this and need time to wrap their heads around the change

      3. NGPZ

        “Shallow understanding born of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding born of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is more bewildering than outright rejection.”

        1. cain

          What’s this quote from? Because oof, that describes my marental troubles extremely well.

        2. cain

          Ahh, MLK. That makes a lot of sense. ?

        3. cain

          Also, *parental, but “maternal” also fits, so whatever.

        4. Embe13

          did freud proud!

        5. Embe13

          sorry seeing
          “WHAT” (in flames) did freud proud makes me giggie

        6. Clif

          Cigars. Freud prouded cigars.

      4. Li

        This.

    2. Ado

      He looks unhappy, but I’m still putting my money on 2. This seems most consistent with his framing prior, and I can imagine other reasons for unhappiness.

    3. Proto

      I’m guessing the former, but I have a little hope for the future. We know Hank was okay with Becky being gay, but this appears be a bridge too far for him. I think it’s possible that he can learn to accept Jocelyne with time.

      Thank God Joyce’s mom isn’t here though, if she were, I’d be afraid she’d go Toedad 2.

      1. Marianne

        Toedad 2: Ecclesiastic Boogaloo

      2. Proxiehunter

        Yet. Joyce’s mom isn’t here yet.

        1. Proxiehunter

          Here’s a theory. Hank hasn’t wrapped his head around things and is still using the wrong pronouns but doesn’t think less of Jocelyne. He’s just here to warn that Carol found out.

    4. Tan

      My money is on “worried about his child who was at a protest that turned violent, unaware of Jocelyne being trans (yet).”

      1. GholaHalleck

        “Worried about child one, wondering why child two is wistfully watching lesbians make out at a genocide protest, unaware child one and two are swapped in the photo.”

    5. Megan

      same thing

    6. Manticore

      God, I hope that he doesn’t show transphobia. I can’t deal with more of that right now.

    7. Kyulen

      Could be a bit of both, but I’m gonna bet that Hank just recognized his “son’s” face in the school newspaper earlier and doesn’t even know that Jocelyne is trans.

      1. Leorale

        Yeah, this. Jocelyn is definitely not out to her parents, who like her best precisely because they know the least about her.

        The picture clearly showed they were both there, and that Joyce was smooching a lady. Did the picture clearly show that Jocelyn is in a dress/makeup?

        If the girl-getup is deniable, Hank’s gonna think that he has a son who needs a haircut and is getting into major trouble at a violent protest (including bringing along his baby sister, which is not cool).

        If Hank thinks that Jocelyn is running around looking like a girl, he may well think “trans” means cross-dressing drag queens who turn kids gay or something… which would be a major snowball of a problem if he suspects that Jocelyn is partly-or-wholly responsible for Joyce smooching a lady.

        So… why not both? Doesn’t know better, and is therefore transphobic AF.

        1. Envy

          Jocelyne was wearing a brown winter coat and a pink t-shirt underneath during the protest, and only the top half of her body was visible in the photos. From Hank’s perspective, it probably just looks like “Joshua” grew “his” hair out.

        2. Tan

          Gentle and non-accusatory reminder that Jocelyne’s name has an e at the end.

        3. thejeff

          But in that case, wouldn’t he be leading with the Joyce smooching rather than the tangentially involved Jocelyne?

    8. Fuzzy

      I have a hard time imagining he’s not transphobic at all, but I’ve got my money on “transphobic in the same way he’s homophobic”. Which is to say, he won’t be in the ways that matter.

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/humility/

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/deserves/

    9. Skewbrow

      Unlike his ex Hank is capable of learning. When put on the spot (now imminent), it won’t go down smoothly, but give him enough time… He will need more time than Joyce did, but I bet he will get accept the news eventually.

    10. FlamestAndLight

      it actually could be “doesn’t know Jocelyn told Joyce and so not outing her is the correct move”, but my money isn’t on that.

      1. thejeff

        The funny thing is the “brother” is definitely ominous, but there’s also almost no situation where he should say anything else. Unless he knows and is really sure that Jocelyne already told Joyce.

    11. Michelle J Caboose

      I’m thinking that, due to his upbringing, he’s just never had to think about it before, and is not used to having to adjust his thinking and speech. He seems much more open-minded than Carol or Toedead, so he may just need some time to figure it out.

      Also, keep in mind, he may or may not actually KNOW that Josh is Jocelyne now. He may think the “Josh” is “just” cross-dressing. And whatever he knows or thinks he knows, he doesn’t know how much JOYCE knows.

      If Hank knows the whole truth, but Joyce hasn’t been told anything yet, it would be a BIT confusing if Hank said “Where’s your sister?” to someone who believes she only has brothers.

  14. Proto

    It seems that Hank is okay with Becky being gay but this is a bridge too far.

    1. drs

      I’m not sure Hank has even been told anything about having a trans kid.

      1. Bryy

        Jocelyne sure implied that he knew.

        1. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

          With how much this family seems to avoid communication, I wouldn’t be surprised by it going either way. Jocelyne could’ve gotten a message to call asap and never responded, (just like Joyce assuming she knew the reason for Jocelyne’s visit,) while Hank’s been desperately trying to contact her about something else for days and doesn’t know whether to be annoyed or worried. None of these Browns have confirmed anything.

        2. thejeff

          That initial text did, but nothing else since has – even when Joyce came in a panic to let her know dad had seen the protest picture.

    2. Reltzik

      One too many spans thrown in the works.

    3. Jon

      Becky isn’t his literal kid. He can blame it on her parents. To most of the evangelicals I’ve had the misfortune of discussing such matters with, any variance like that is the parents’ “fault”, usually for not beating the children enough when they were small.

  15. Nono

    “Also why were you girls just standing in the dark”.

    1. True Survivor

      This made me smile. Thank you.

  16. Bittersweet

    Oh no!

  17. Cholma

    “JINKIES!!” *Joyce drops her glasses on the floor*

  18. Boh No

    *sound of Dorothy attempting to fit underneath the bed as fast as possible*

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Told you that asking Sal for window escape training would have been a good idea.

    2. Gigafreak

      They’re loft beds. Fitting under them is easy; CONCEALING ONESELF under them would be the actual challenge.

      1. John Campbell

        I’m now picturing Dorothy Spider-Manning on the underside of the bed.

  19. Ado

    It begins.

    Very happy to see Hank’s return. Albeit not under the most auspicious circumstances.

    A little daunting to comment so early. Usually I comment later and have a smaller expected discourse volume. Maybe I’ll save any discourse comments for later 🙂

    1. Ado

      Of course, because I compose posts slowly, 20 people already beat me anyway.

  20. HueSatLight

    John? He’s in India probably, only a couple of days left in January for him to leave.

    1. Nono

      It’s still January??

      1. HueSatLight

        This chapter is the 30th, assuming no calendar shenanigans. We may find out for sure in Fool’s Spring, since that would be Feb 1 according to the calendar for Fall Semester, but the chapter name is evocative of Groundhog’s Day (Feb 2nd).

    2. someone

      Last time we saw John, he was going to drive to India in his mustang. So he’s probably somewhere in the Pacific right now.

      1. Clif

        Those mustangs are hard to row.

        Also, it’s always been January.

      2. Amós Batista

        hahaha

  21. Thag Simmons

    I did not think this would happen so soon.

  22. Sirksome

    Don’t trust surprise dads. Like seriously this has never worked out for them.

    1. Taffy

      Hank’s changes of dying just skyrocketed.

      1. cbwroses

        Hank’s chances of committing unwarranted and unnecessary violence have also just skyrocketed, though he’s the next to last surprise dad I’d expect that from.
        No, I take that back.
        He’s tied with Joe’s dad for next to last surprise dad I’d expect that from (both of them behind Walky’s dad).

        1. Fuzzy

          What about Dina’s dad or Dorothy’s dad? They are both remarkably unassuming people.

        2. Taffy

          Dina’s dad has killed before, and he’ll do it again. He was fully cleared on all 3 counts of homicide, due to irrefutable video evidence of the coroner tampering with the bodies, and something the judge would only ever refer to as “broken glass shenanigans”. We can’t count him out.

        3. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

          Dina got her stealth abilities from somewhere. Now we know.

        4. Sajuuk-Khar

          “Saruyama Ryou” is just a cover name. Used to avoid detection by the la-li-Lu-le-lo. His real identity is none other than Shotgun Anaconda himself…!

        5. Sajuuk-Khar

          Dorothy’s dad?

          Oh, you mean Jeremiah “The Death Sound” Keener?

        6. Tan

          Neither Dina’s dad nor Dorothy’s dad have ever shown up as a surprise. When they showed up, it was prescheduled and expected.

        7. cbwroses

          Exactly my reasoning, though the suggestions of the Dina/Dorothy dads being killers is funnier.

        8. ESM

          Really? I’d put Walky’s dad way higher, he’s fully on board with the Nazi wife in a way Hank isn’t with his.

        9. cbwroses

          While kids tend to be influenced by both parents, it’s very clear that Walky takes after his dad and Sal after her mom (them being so alike is a major plot point in the other comic).
          And since Sal is the violent one of the two, the implication is that Charles is the significantly less violent one in the parental pair.

          Also, you’re comparing apples and oranges.
          Mrs. Walkerton is terrible in several ways, but she’s not the-artist-formerly-known-as-Mrs.-Brown levels of terrible, and so comparing Charles’ not falling out with her to Henry falling out with his wife isn’t close to a fair comparison.

    2. Reltzik

      How to avoid surprise dads: Use birth control.

  23. Bongoplush

    Is it just me or does Hanks face look kinda off in the last panel? Maybe his eye are too big? Idk something about his face just looks off and I can’t place why

    1. moon

      nah he always had those big blue blinkers
      i think he’s just wearing glasses when he doesn’t usually

    2. Taffy

      He’s wearing glasses.

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        He’s wearing EVIL glasses.

    3. Embe13

      oh thats hank, i thought it was clark kent

  24. Tequila Mockingbird

    When it rains, it pours, eh Joyce? Also, as of this writing, the kissing v consequences poll is 50/50. Come, fellow sickos, rally to me and let the kissy-face option prevail!

    1. Embe13

      51% sickos now

    2. Embe13

      the difference is 3 votes now

  25. Megan

    I would say I’m surprised Dorothy is letting that kind of toxicity slide and is so willing to play by its rules that she’d throw away Joyce at the drop of a hat, but also Dorothy is still filled to the brim with internalized homophobia, so I’m not surprised, actually, that’s fully in character for her.

    Anyway! Time to see if Hank can put his money where his mouth is and not fall back into the bigoted fundie he was introduced as.

    1. Annaphylaxis

      Throw Joyce away at the drop of a hat? What are you talking about?

    2. Reaver

      She didn’t say that, she’s saying this is why she was hesitant, she didn’t wanna hurt Becky and they ended up doing that.

      Even though Becky certainly didn’t call woman dibs and carrying a torch for someone doesn’t give you perma shotgun on their heart… but ya know that already.

    3. Bash

      She’s always let Becky’s toxic behavior slide. Becky has been jealous of Dorothy and Joyce from day one, and not so subtly hid it behind the “joke” frenemies routine. Dorothy’s plan for dealing with that was to be patient until Becky got tired of it. I don’t know if its homophobia, pity, or just plain conflict avoidance but I’ve always seen it as a character flaw.

      1. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

        Dorothy attempted to talk to Becky on numerous occasions and got blown off, while over time the behavior came off as more of an actual “bit” that Dorothy and the rest of the group grudgingly tolerated. Dunno what else she was supposed to do about it, throw a tantrum and force Joyce to choose between them?

        It really should have been Joyce’s job as the connecting friend to handle this, but it’s Joyce. She really put Dorothy in an awkward position as the newer friend.

        1. Archieve

          Agree, Dorothy is quick to assign Joyce’s chastity views as regressive thinking but not Joyce’s reliance on her as the sole decision maker even in situations where Joyce had the experience that matters.

      2. nadamás

        The fuck homophobes has to do any of that?

  26. JD

    hank you better be cool about jocelyn because you better believe estrogen is coming for your jamie lee curtis lookin’ ass next

    1. Bogeywoman

      Jamie Lee Curtis would be coming for his ass. She’s queen of the transparents

      1. JD

        well, that’s assuming hank isn’t cool with it. but i don’t currently have reason to believe he won’t be.

  27. C.T Phipps

    Hank reveals that Dorothy is actually a water clone and that the real Dorothy is lost in the multiverse!

    Wait, no, that’s Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

    1. Tequila Mockingbird

      No see, since Amazi-Girl is the superhero here, that would have to happen to her. Which means… is Walky the water clone?

      1. cbwroses

        Walky is already a clone of Sal.
        A clone made of nuggets.

      2. C.T Phipps

        Technically, as Night Guy, I think that makes Walky into Felicia.

  28. Animedingo

    I have a lot of brothers be more specific

    1. Clif

      But in this case, the lack of specificity is a good thing.

      For some value of good. But it’s important to maintain that lack of specificity.

  29. darkoneko

    Daddy came in a hurry because he was worried, huh

  30. Switchchris

    I FUCKING CALLED IT! I knew he was in town to try and get the sister and will probably see the newspaper or somebody will mention the kiss.

  31. Yumi

    I hope the next five or so strips also have dramatic punches from different story threads.

    1. Tequila Mockingbird

      We call this the Star Platinum approach to shitstorm escalation. ?

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA—

  32. BBCC

    FUCKSHIT. NOT NOW, HANK!

    And normally I would agree space is a good idea but the last thing Becky said was EXTREMELY worrying and I think someone should keep an eye on her. And now as I type this I go ‘Dina, duh’ and that sorted itself out.

    1. Ado

      It’s great that Dina’s there, but it’d be good to tell her what happened so that she’s more in the know about how Becky is hurting / what to look out for

    2. Bogeywoman

      As empathetic and emotionally intelligent as Dina is, this might be a topic Becky might be hesitant to talk to her girlfriend about,especially if she knows that Dina is looking after Amber. This seems like a moment

      1. Bogeywoman

        Goddamn it. A leslie moment. Becky needs her mum but she’s out of parents, so my money’s on leslie

        1. Embe13

          agreed, i am hoping for leslie, simply cuase her mom energy nears aurelia levels, (ambers mom may top her but that longshot of an appearance mean willis is listening to me)

    3. Xujhan

      I think it’s interesting seeing the spectrum of reactions to Becky’s parting line. Someone I know has expressed that they find it really difficult confiding their sadness to people in their life because said people jump very quickly to “sadness = suicide risk”. The threat of having to manage those reactions sometimes keeps my friend from reaching out when they otherwise would.

      Considering Becky’s family history I see why people’s minds go there, but with just the information at hand I think anything more than a gentle checkin from a third party would be likely to hurt more than help. I also don’t expect this is something Willis is going to actually explore; there are enough heavy topics being juggled at the moment and trying to add yet another one seems like it’s bound to be a disaster.

      1. Proxiehunter

        Becky didn’t express sadness. Becky expressed a wish to not exist.

    4. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

      HANK, QUICK, IF YOU’RE NOT HERE TO BE AN ASSHOLE, BECKY NEEDS PARENT HUGS. DON’T ASK WHY. And tell her that she is good and loved and man, our church was kind of horrible wasn’t it.

  33. Deckard

    What was that about a naked Dina- OH GOD HANK IS HERE

    1. AbacusWizard

      bit of a mood whiplash innit

  34. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    “John’s in India, and you never said anything about what happened to Jordan so why ask me?”

  35. Ado

    People are understandably focusing on more immediate things, but Dorothy and Joyce are not exactly bringing out the best in each other here. Joyce doesn’t even try to come up with an idea and instinctively self-minimizes and pre-emptively defers, and Dorothy takes this sole decision making moment to come up with the plan of “do nothing” (not even reach out to anyone who might be able to keep an eye on Becky with their concerns about her).

    1. Fuzzy

      +1

    2. Mal

      I noticed that in the last strip, too, actually. Not that Dorothy shouldn’t have said anything, mind, but that Joyce didn’t say ANYTHING. Not even a half hearted interjection.
      Becky is not owed Joyce, Becky has her own issues here, Becky could have handled this better in a logical emotionally mature world. Granted. But Becky is more of Joyce’s friend than Dorothy’s– even with the latest “I actually do care about you, Dorothy” revelation– and Joyce did…nothing after their babbled “It’s new, but also building up for ages.” On the one hand, she’s embarrassed and shocked and stressed. On the other, it felt very, very weird, to have Joyce not talk AT ALL while Becky broke down and left, while Dorothy did all of the reassuring and apologizing [even if they shouldn’t strictly have to apologize for being out and together] to try and reach out to Becky.

      1. Bash

        In an ideal situation, what should she say? All I can really come up are variations on “I’m sorry,” which I think would just make it worse.

        1. Mal

          That’s true, but it still felt odd for her not to even try. For Dorothy to at least try, while Joyce didn’t say anything last strip, and is now asking Dorothy for what they should do in this strip. It’s not out of character or completely nonsensical that Joyce did that or anything. Nobody has to take my perspective on it as gospel or super insightful analysis, but I did notice it. And, like Joyce looking to Dorothy for a decision here, as Joyce looked to Dorothy for a game plan to break up with the boys, as Joyce often looks to Dorothy with a rose tinted idea of Dorothy’s goodness and infallibility, I can see where Ado is coming from. Maybe Dorothy and Joyce don’t exactly bring out the best in each other, in spite of what they want to think. Or at least Joyce wants to think.

        2. Ado

          “And, like Joyce looking to Dorothy for a decision here, as Joyce looked to Dorothy for a game plan to break up with the boys, as Joyce often looks to Dorothy with a rose tinted idea of Dorothy’s goodness and infallibility”

          Yeah, it’s looking like a pattern

        3. Archieve

          It definitely sems to be a re-emergence of their codependency, Dorothy has a compulsion to take charge or situations to feel like she’s doing something and Joyce thinks everything Dorothy does is the best action so let’s her do everything, even her where she know her chosen family Becky so much better then Dorothy.

    3. Rogue 7

      Signed

  36. John Campbell

    “Either India or driving around somewhere in his corruptionmobile, I guess, I dunno, I’m not his keeper.”

    “Not that one!”

    “Oh, him! No idea. Haven’t seen him for the whole comic.”

    “Not that one either!”

    “Well, if you mean sisters, Becky just ran out of here in tears because she caught Dorothy and I making out. We’d better go find her!”

    1. Tequila Mockingbird

      I feel like Hank’s response to that would be to make the Kermit face. You know, the one where he is 200% done with everyone’s shit and scrunches his [i]entire[/i] face?

      1. Tequila Mockingbird

        Ahh… fuck. Right. HTML formatting.

      2. StClair

        Yes, I know that face.

      3. John Campbell

        “Oh… you mean Sarah? I think she’s off banging her new boyfriend. Or… um… Amber’s my boyfriend’s stepsister, so that’s kind of like my almost stepsister-in-law….”

        “Ex-boyfriend!”

        “erm……….”

        1. Embe13

          LFMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
          this thread!

        2. John Campbell

          “Anyway! Carla is, and has always been, my sister.”

          “Your brother!”

          “… No, she’s definitely a sister.”

      4. RassilonTDavros

        I love that face, it’s probably the single facial expression I most strongly associate with Kermit. I don’t think anybody has quite managed to do it justice since Jim Henson, sadly.

  37. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    “We have to tell Joshua that my long-lost illegitimate daughter that I never told you about was spotted at the protest here…”

    1. Ado

      lmao
      imagine

    2. Taffy

      JoAnn Brown, proud owner of a locally-adored pizza restaurant/video arcade in rural Illinois.

      1. John Campbell

        Sadly, her nationwide chain of fabric stores recently went bankrupt.

    3. QueenofSodor

      THE RETURN OF JOYCE LYNN

  38. Doribi

    She could be honest and give the location of one of her brothers, his fault for not being specific, also Jocelyne isn’t her brother.

    1. Clif

      “India,” suffers from the defect of immediately making clear which brother she is referencing. “Why, did something happen to him?” might actually work better. “I haven’t seen him in a while,” might work as well.

      1. Doribi

        ay, someone who thinks like me on that regard.

  39. Kyulen

    Sorry Hank, John and Jordan are not there.

  40. Vaishino

    Hank’s been on screen for a whole panel and he hasn’t said anything disapprovingly, I can’t believe he’s fine with the cheating or something. Where’s consequences?

    1. Taffy

      The old white guy with blue eyes needs to be *****ing these f***** ****s in their ***** with a f**g** k***e, like that s***e in ***** 2 l, until their c**a**s f*** **t i*v**t and th*y find out if H****n really is a c***s between a D*k***ke v***on and Ch***en ‘n’ W*n****h. That’ll show ’em.

      1. Taffy

        Couple minor typos. That should be “v***o”, not “v***on” and there should be an “and” between “f*** **t” and *I*v**t”. Also the title of ***** 2 shouldn’t have that “I” after it. What a mess.

        1. Clif

          It’s too early in the morning to think, so I’m not gunna try.

        2. Adam Black

          I have no idea what any of this means. Couldn’t decode 1 word

        3. Taffy

          Skill issue. All the clues are there.

        4. morleuca

          there’s several options for each.

  41. Joe Moose

    DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!

  42. RassilonTDavros

    Those new glasses make Hank look, like, about 20 percent more Ruth’s-grandpa-esque. Which I’m sure isn’t a bad omen at all! Really not quite sure how to read his facial expression here.

    Also his chin seems a lot pointier than when we saw him last, so either Willis’ art style has changed more substantially than I realized in the last five years or Hank hasn’t been eating as much since the divorce.

    1. Embe13

      the latter i would say

    2. Corey C.

      It’s been what, four IRL years since we saw Mr. Brown? Art styles change a lot in four years.

    3. Sajuuk-Khar

      Every time a white dude with glasses shows up they are completely fucking evil. Yes including Howard. You know what he did, Willis. In the future. You know what kind of blood will be on those little Canadian hands.

    4. Proxiehunter

      Pretty sure their particular fundamentalist cult was big on traditional gender roles. Meaning Carol would have been doing most if not all of the cooking. So he’s probably not eating nearly as well at least.

  43. Reaver

    OH NO! I FORGOT ABOUT THAT!

    *Goes to make some hella popcorn and get some heckin diet coke*

  44. True Survivor

    I like how this is another subtle parallel to when Becky came out to Joyce. One of her initial reactions after learning Becky was kicked out of college was to try try to call Becky’s father as she did not know what to do and “Dads know how to make things right.” Upon learning about Becky running away from home, Joyce suggests instead calling somebody else’s father.

    Once again Joyce does not know how to help Becky and behold somebody else’s Dad (her’s) shows up.

  45. Axel

    I hope Jocelyn is okay and I hope this is concern, not anger

    1. Erik

      That’s how I read his expression

  46. Axel

    Hank is looking a little rough, but I bet these past months haven’t been fun

  47. Icalasari

    SEE? SEE WHAT YOU ALL HATH WROUGHT!?

    …Pass the popcorn please

  48. cain

    Where’s the “both” option on this poll? I’m a trash goblin who loves mess!

    1. cain

      (for future readers, the current poll asks whether Dorothy and Joyce should be kissing more, or need more consequences)

    2. Dawn

      also want more of both.

      1. deliverything

        I checked the results to see which was lower and voted for that one. Is that cheating?

    3. GholaHalleck

      I’m okay with both. Everyone wins with both.

    4. Reltzik

      It’s the “more kissing” option, since them kissing doubles as a consequence.

      1. AbacusWizard

        Consequences just have to be results; nobody said they have to be *bad* results.

  49. dgf

    i mean, out of all the parents so far, hank’s one of the more reasonable ones (at least compared to toedad and blaine).

    carol, on the other hand…

    1. Bash

      But Joyce doesn’t care about disappointing Carol.

  50. AbacusWizard

    “REALLY NOT A GOOD TIME, DAD”

  51. Dean

    Maybe stand behind TWO naked Dinas.

  52. Shogo

    This is why we can’t do this! Becky’s feelings! And no one else’s!

  53. KM

    People, as far as we know Jocelyn is not out to her father so it’s too early to judge him for using male gendered language around him just yet

  54. Hacksaw

    Uh, where is Jocelyne? We haven’t her since Amazi-Girl said “Split Up”, have we?

    1. Embe13

      we havent, other than a mssg that shes safe

    2. Taffy

      She’s at a friend’s house, playing Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence on their PS2 while they cook her the most delicious fried chicken she’ll ever eat in her life. Later, they’ll make out while watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier (the extended edition with the deleted Godsmack scene added back in).

      1. morleuca

        a scene which they’ll miss, due to the aforementioned making out

    3. Axel

      I believe Joyce mentioned getting a text saying she’s safe

      I went and checked before hitting send on this, it’s here
      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-15/04-the-only-exception/safely/

    4. thejeff

      There was another text warning them about the photo in the paper.

      Which also means they didn’t even text Jocelyne to let her know about it.

  55. Poot-pootington

    a tidal wave of consequences

  56. Ray Radlein

    “Which one?”

  57. Nura Calise

    I honestly not sure how she should respond. She obviously shouldn’t refer to Jocelyn as her brother, by her deadname, or by male pronouns, but she really shouldn’t out her either. She might not know the not outing someone rule, and isn’t really in a head space to think about the consequences, so she probably will out her sister. Unless Dorothy is able to think fast enough to keep Joyce from outing her sister

    1. Bash

      If someone’s closeted it’s probably alright to refer to them by their former name and pronouns, especially if they’re not present.

      1. Lee

        It’s safer for sure but I can also see Joyce not putting that together. She wants to be a good ally but is still learning about the hardships for the community and might mistakenly think calling Jocelyne her sister is the right thing to do — at least when she’s already off-footed like she is right now.

      2. Ado

        As a trans person, agree.

    2. BYM!

      Iiiii think that Joyce is smart enough to know it is not for her to out Joss to their Dad. She already lied about the picture on the news, right (sorta)?

      1. anon

        @bym well she also is likely panicking and put her foot in her mouth before

        buuut…at the same time unless jocelyne is still fully off the grid it’s prolly a bad sign that hank isn’t able to reach her/call her or so (unless she’s been on hrt /voice training long enough for her voice to not be recognizable on the phone)

        1. BYM!

          Yes, know and do are different especially for these two lately…

          Somebody did point out that when Joss was texting Joyce about wanting to come out to her before she (Joss) said what she wanted to talk about, Joyce said that Joss said “Before you hear it from Dad”. Which is something I had not remembered and that may mean Hank is aware. It could’ve also just been Joyce spouting typical older siblingisms though, but that one in particular stood out a bit.

        2. BYM!

          And if Hank knows and is disapproving (which if he knows and is still using male descriptors for her seems likely) may more explain why either Hank would find Joyce before trying to speak to Joss directly to confirm her safety or why Joss maybe wouldn’t pick up the phone if Hank called.

        3. Nura Calise

          As a trans woman, I can tell you that estrogen does not change the voice. Unless you begin HRT before puberty effects your voice, you do not receive a feminine voice from HRT. That being said, you can train your voice to sound more feminine. I want to try a little harder at that.

    3. Envy

      It is generally morally okay to deadname or misgender someone for their own safety. If you have a trans friend that, say, isn’t out to their transphobic family, dancing around pronouns or names has a high likelihood of making them realize *something* is up.

    4. deliverything

      A simple “I don’t know” doesn’t include any identifiers of any sort. Probably accurate, too.

      1. thejeff

        But leads to followups, depending on what Hank already knows. If he’s just worried about his kid having been at the protest that got broken up, it’s going to be hard to just defuse it with “I don’t know”.

  58. Acher4

    Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell, fuck….

    At least it’s not the mother Brown. <.<

    1. anon

      be nice if hank was the one ot have a heart to heart with becky and bea good father figure

  59. Corey C.

    And now the other OTHER shoe drops. This is gonna be ugly, and Mr. Brown is the REASONABLE one compared to Ex-Mrs. Brown.

    Reasonable but still a super-religious conservative…

    Reason help us all.

    1. anon

      if he was willing to get divorced at his age, anything’s possible

      even before he showed signs of being good like telling dorothy’s parents that they ‘humbled’ him

      1. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

        Hank: “Oh hi, Dorothy. This is kind of awkward. I stayed in touch with your parents, and we ended up going out for Sunday brunch, one thing led to another, and, well, you’re sort of sisters, now?”

        Joyce: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

        1. anon

          tbf stepsiblings while it’s a bit awkward but i doubt it’d stop them

          and remembering that joe and amber are stepsiblings and joe pointed that out lol

  60. Sajuuk-Khar

    I’m not sure if Hank looks more like Blaine or Walter White in this new fit.

    He’s either here to abduct Joss or because THEY HAVE TO COOK.

    1. Lee

      PLEASE NOT BLAINE oh god

  61. Time Sage

    “Which brother”
    “Josh”
    “I can honestly say I haven’t seen anyone by that name. Except this one kid in my math class that smells like cheese, but that doesn’t count”

  62. mel

    DUN DUN DUN

  63. NinjaNick

    It could be worse, but it’s still not a good sign.

    1. anon

      hank has a better chance of being accepting than the mom at least

  64. JWK

    So, this is the chance. Joyce redeems herself, distracting from the Jocelyne issue, by telling Dad she is gay now. Showing she can stop being selfish for her new sister’s sake.

  65. ADLegend21

    [Dolly zoom in on my face] Her what…?

  66. anon

    would hope dad is being supportive but i guess saying ‘brother’ means he isn’t or he didn’t know but being divorced/it not being the mom is a step in the right direction

    (was the door locked? if it was becky she wouldn’t have needed to knock versus her maybe not wanting to walk in on them making out again tho other than some closer friends i guess most ppl would versus maybe amber/dina going in through the half bath)

  67. Sajuuk-Khar

    Over on the 18+ Patreon Willis has been posting progress on a pic of Lucy getting happily railed by Jacob, all “Take Me to Church”-style, and I like to believe that that is happening at the exact same time as all of this bullshit

    Like, everyone else in the friend group is having a day that varies from “the worst of their life” to “shitty”, meanwhile Lucy is having a GREAT time, she shows up to their usual walk-to-class spot glowing, hair sexily messed up, hand in hand with a blushing Jacob all “Good MOOOOOORNING :D”

    Everyone who makes it there just looks at her like she’s actual Satan

    1. anon

      well some of them deserve to be happy lol

      1. Thing 2

        Everyone deserves to be happy. Deserves? What is this deserves? Oh you have been a naughty boy/girl, Santa/God/author/fan base say you don’t get any treats today.

        1. anon

          @thing well yeah tho lucy did have to deal with some issues ending up with walky not really liking her as much as she thought but it ‘d be a bit heavy handed if every chara was currently miserable

          i assume despite sarah’s judegment of the ‘cheating’ she’s also still in a relationship high with tony

      2. Amós Batista

        Lucy deserves it, so much. She took so long to get lucky.

    2. Lee

      It’s what Lucy deserves.

    3. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

      I hope they make it part of their Sunday routine. Go to church, absolve their sins, good to go for more sinning.

      1. Astariel

        I think there was a sect in the Middle Ages that believed it was important to sin a lot, because otherwise Christ died for nothing. The Church stomped on them pretty hard.

        1. StClair

          “That’s not how ANY of this works!”

          “You’re supposed to feel constantly crushed by guilt and shame so we can use that to control you!”

        2. Thing 2

          Exactly. Shuck it off. Decide for yourself!.

        3. StClair

          “oh, you better believe that’s a paddlin’ heresy.”

  68. Kenny Williams

    Oh yeah, prolly shoulda have checked to make sure she was alright. Ehhh, we were too busy being horny.

    1. Astariel

      Jocelyne? They know she’s all right. She texted them last night, and then again this morning about the newspaper.

  69. Cmasta1992

    Oh shit we’re just dropping all the shoes. I would say good but Jocelyn falling into the splash damage of her sister’s nonsense sucks.

    1. Astariel

      Hank was texting about Jocelyne before any of her sister’s ‘nonsense’ started. In fact, if not for that, Joyce and Dorothy wouldn’t have gone to the protest and the ‘nonsense’ would never have happened, or at least not for awhile yet.

  70. Amós Batista

    God forbide me for talking about the sanctity of marriage, but Hank looks way better after divorce.

  71. Random832

    Does Hank not think it’s weird that the lights are off?

    I mean, we know why the lights are off originally, and it *kind of* makes sense that they didn’t bother turning it back on if they thought it was Becky knocking, but you’d turn on the lights before opening the door to an unknown person wouldn’t you?

    1. BorkBorkBork

      Nah. It’s daytime, there in a small dorm room, and the window is already open and letting in plenty of daylight. I mean, it’s been used consistently as a form of dramatic backdrop lighting for Becky, so it’s not like they’re fully in the dark.

      Besides, you’re not thinking like a boomer dad. If it was his daughter and a boy in the dark, then there’d be twenty alarm bells going. His daughter and her best friend? Hey, they probably were just talking or relaxing or watching TV or gossiping about whatever celebrity thingy is going on now. Nothing to worry about. Couldn’t be more wholesome.

      1. Thing 2

        Be aware that Boomers did the whole sexual revolution thing in their youth and some (at least in more enlightened countries) simply make sure that their kids are well educated about possible outcomes, and that they have access to contraception, sexual disease protection and councelling etc.

        1. thejeff

          Also, Hank’s not a boomer. He’s almost certainly Gen X.

          And the distinction here is far more fundie Christian than generational.

  72. Lee

    Oh boy…. I hope this is a matter of “Hank hasn’t been told” and not “Hank is intentionally misgendering Jocelyne”. I also hope the fact that Hank stood by Becky (I think?) means he isn’t going to be awful to Joyce if the penny drops/is revealed (those two are not subtle), and that if Hank doesn’t know, Joyce isn’t the one to accidentally out her by thinking she’s doing the right thing.

    1. Niklarean

      I would be shocked if he knew about it.

    2. BYM!

      Somebody did point out that when Joss was texting Joyce about wanting to come out to her before she said what she (Joss) wanted to talk about, Joyce said that Joss said “Before you hear it from Dad”. Which is something I had not remembered and that may mean Hank is aware. It could’ve also just been Joyce spouting typical older siblingisms though, but that one in particular stood out a bit.

    3. Mr D

      Meanwhile, I actually want it to be intentional misgendering BECAUSE he doesn’t know that Joss has come out to Joyce, and doesn’t want to accidentally out her.
      I hope.

      1. thejeff

        Yeah, it’s kind of funny that whatever he knows or however he feels about it, “brother” is probably his best choice here.

        1. Taffy

          That does open the room for a strip where they’re both like “Heeey… Joshuaaa?”, not sure if the other Knows™, and Jocelyne is like “Oh yeah, you can both drop that now. I’ve told everyone in this room.”

      2. Random832

        I think that’s a weaker possibility just because if he knows and he and Jocylene are still on good terms about it I’d expect him to know that she was planning to tell Joyce. But the evidence that he knows is also weak, I think it’s most likely that he just doesn’t know.

  73. Rabid Rabbit

    My, Hank, how you’ve grown.

    Seriously, when did he get to be a foot taller than his (younger) daughter?

    1. BYM!

      When the scene called for his presence to be ominous :p

    2. ResRam

      Also: considerably more ripped.
      Its not too common for a recent divorcee to actually develop shoulders he didnt have before.

    3. Proxiehunter

      Maybe he’s just standing up straighter now that he’s not dealing with Carol and her bullshit anymore.

  74. Niklarean

    These two need to get at least a second to breath, I’m not even surprised they’re not making the best decisions with the sheer whirlwind of events that have been occurring in the last couple days.

  75. Da Boy

    Oh shit it’s one disaster after another.

  76. Abel Undercity

    CAN THESE TWO NOT GET A MOMENT?!

  77. Rimwalker55

    This may be a smash cut to the other issues at hand, but this is why he may be the rescue.
    https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/deserves/

  78. Jernacious

    *Having told it to Becky while standing behind a naked Dina*

    Becky: “You bastards. Why are you telling this behind my girlfriend who’s also naked? Are you going to have her as well?”

    Dina: “That’s right, Becky. And you can live in the polycule of Dina as well. A Dina for everyone.”

    Becky: “Oh. Cool, sign me up, then.”

    Dina: “Excellent. Another member for the Dina wearing a Triceratops Hoodie plushie from Makeship.”

  79. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

    Wanted to give a shoutout to the news post: I love that the con booth map is marked with a blowjob cat.

    Also a shoutout to the new 15th anniv site banners, it’s cool to see the character design timelapse.

  80. WizardPantaloon

    Oh for fucks sake…

  81. YourCousinJay

    I wouldn’t be surprsised if Hank didn’t support Joss coming out as trans or thinks it’s only a phase considering where they’ve lived their entire life not to mention from our understanding Joss did slip under the radar for the most part during childhood so this would be a massive sudden realization.

    I do think he’d learn eventually tho given so much of Hank’s character is about not wanting to push away his children after already losing contact with one

    1. Needfuldoer

      Either that or Jocelyne is out to him, but he doesn’t know she’s out to Joyce as well.

  82. Needfuldoer

    [Dale Gribble voice] Hey, Hank.

  83. BorkBorkBork

    To show up this early, is not likely to be simply reactionary to the morning’s school newspaper.

    Theories.

    1. Hank heard about the violence at the protest and is concerned for how she fared. The day’s paper is a ticking time bomb.
    2. Jocylene texted something concerning to him before the protest, and Hank took it to mean that she was coming out as gay, and he’s here in the “I always knew and I love you” capacity, and he’ll be thrown for a loop when he sees the days paper and has to adjust to JOYCE being gay.
    3. He was already planning on coming down to be part of the protest, learned that it was broken up from the morning’s paper, and completely misunderstood the photo. He’s here to taken “his son and his blonde girlfriend” out to lunch, who Joyce clearly must know already because she was in the background of the pic. Shenanigans ensue.
    4. He’s here not to do something terrible, but because he knows Carol will and he’s trying to get here first to warn her.

    I have faith in Hank and in his journey. I don’t expect him to adapt quickly, but I believe he’s already shown kindness, compassion, humility, and the ability to be open minded. I do not believe in this moment he is intentionally misgendering Jocylene at all (but I do believe that the narrative tension will be built around expecting Hank to become the bad guy).

    1. thejeff

      I think it’s mostly 1. He already asked Joyce about the first photo of Jocelyne at the protest and news about that and not being able to contact her probably has had him worrying.
      I doubt he’s seen today’s campus paper yet. His reaction would probably be different. Of course, that ticking time bomb is piled up right next to the door.

    2. Needfuldoer

      5. He wasn’t able to reach either of his kids all day yesterday and saw the campus protest reporting on TV, so he drove up through the night to check on them in person.

      1. thejeff

        Except Joyce hasn’t mentioned lots of missed calls from Hank and I think Jocelyne would have responded when she got her phone back, if only to forstall a surprise visit like this.

    3. Adam Black

      I think it’s #4.
      I think it’s been #4 the whole time.

      Weve seen Hank trying to warn Joyce ( and Joycelyne ) about Carol before. I think she is in danger from the fundie Cult, Carol is going to try to do a toedad.

      And now maybe Joyce is too.

      Ugh. Joyce please call your ex bf. Get Joe involved. And Sal.

    4. Ado

      4 is spooky to think about.

  84. Dot

    Hank was cool about Becky, but that’s not always indicative of how a parent will handle LGBT people in their own family. Me being trans was a major point of contention between me and my generally liberal and pro-LGBT parents for a long time, and thing still aren’t great there. I think there’s definitely gonna be some tension here, he’s not gonna be immediately accepting.

    1. deliverything

      I hope things are better for you now, at least.

    2. thejeff

      Yeah, I expect there’ll be some tension and a lot of awkwardness, but I think Hank will get there pretty quickly.
      He’s certainly not going to take a Carol or a Ross approach to it and I think having that example to look at will help him come around.

    3. Adam Black

      I wish you are right.
      But we’ve seen this play out before.
      I think she’s in actual danger from her mother and Hank is trying to protect her.
      ( Ok that doesn’t explain the misgendering and I don’t excuse it) .

      I think she’s in trouble From the fundie Cult and they want to deprogram her like Becky.

      1. Cinnibar

        Unless the alt text is referring to getting even MORE of her family involved, and her brother with the sports car shows up.

  85. UncolaMan

    “I HAVE NO BROTHER.”

    1. thejeff

      “Wait? Is John back in the country?”

      or

      “You’ve heard from Jordan!? He’s in town?”

      1. DaisyFM

        I’ve already headcanoned all of Joyce’s siblings as being trans.

        Joyce is the only boy.

  86. superglucose

    “India, I think?”

  87. GUIGUI

    NO ON EXPECT THE SPANISH INQUISITION!

  88. Adam Black

    The B plot.

    It’s Carol. She’s been plotting probably to Toedad Jocelyne. Hank is trying to step up .

    Now she’ll see the student paper and Joyce might be in danger too

    1. Staszu13

      Too bad I can’t post a gif. It would be of the Wicked Witch melting

  89. Stephen Nedland

    Technically, Joyce would not be lying if she said her brother isn’t there. I mean, it’s been quite a while since we’ve last seen Jordan. I know Hank is actually looking for Jocelyn, but this is the time for Joyce to stand up, and protect her sister.

    1. thejeff

      But “technically not lying” is usually a bad approach because people ask follow up questions.

      1. Ado

        This and also, “technically not lying” doesn’t matter for a whole lot, besides may Joyce’s ability to bluff. If you want her to deceive, you may as well own it.

      2. Heavensrun

        I mean, also, like, it’s okay to misrepresent someone’s gender if it is in the service or protecting them from being outed against their will. “Don’t out someone” is more important than “Always use the right name and pronouns.”

        Just call her Joshua and use “him” when talking to Hank, until she’s ready to come out to him.

      3. Yumi

        Joyce’s technically not lying is already likely putting her in a bad position here, since now Hank is already in “you’ve lied to me about this” mode.

  90. Staszu13

    According to Google Maps, the drive from La Porte to IU would be about 3 and a half hours on a Sunday. Assuming this is late morning (nobody has had lunch yet) Hank would have had to have seen the online Daily Student early and headed straight out. Accurate?

    1. thejeff

      My guess is that he hasn’t seen it yet. If he was focused on this morning’s picture, he’d be focused on Joyce kissing a girl, not on Jocelyne.
      I suspect he spent the night worried about Jocelyne at the protest, somehow hasn’t been able to get in touch with her and came up because of that.

      1. Vulcanodon

        Hard to tell where his head is at post-Carol, but maybe he was just waiting for Joyce to come out. More concerned about the ‘son’ in a live-fire zone.

  91. S.R.

    Welp.

  92. Caro

    man, the lighting on hank is so powerful

    1. ResRam

      So are his new-found height AND shoulder width.

      I´ve seen recent divorcees shape up on occasion. But never grow half a head.
      Character revamp to elder hotdad is well underway.

  93. Serendipity

    well my heart just (figuratively) stopped for a second when the PTSD hit

    gonna lie down for a bit

    1. Adam Black

      Be gentle with yourself.
      ( Can’t tell if this is literal statement)

      1. Serendipity

        the PTSD part yeah

  94. Archieve

    The more i reread panel 2 the more I’m convinced that Joyce’s apparent indifference is her just turning her ritical thinking all the way off. Joyce your the one with over a decade of history with Becky, Dorothys standard conflict resolution scripts are not appropriate here. Ofcourse thst will first require Joyce to acknowledge that which may not happen for a long while.

    1. Archieve

      *critical

    2. thumb

      Or she doesn’t know how to fix this and is asking for a second opinion.

      1. Heavensrun

        Yeah, there *is* no fixing it, Becky just has to come to terms with it. The best you can do is make sure she has a support network, which I’m actually worried about, because she might not want to talk to her girlfriend, her Boss is terrible for shit like this, her surrogate moms might be in prison, and talking to surrogate Dad about it would out Joyce to her father.

      2. Archieve

        it’s kind of a reoccurring trend were Joyce asks Dorothy’s decision on all issues though. I agree there is no fix but Joyce seems to expect Dorothy to have all the answers.

  95. Wilde

    Absolutely tone inappropriate of me, but I needed it today…

    I tried somebody’s game from the other day of clicking random until I get a “Joyce being bi/queer” strip. It took eight for this one, which is a queer moment that starts out disguised as a ‘straight’ moment.

    hmmm, I wonder why that helped

    1. Heavensrun

      Y’know, it’s funny, I used to think Joyce’s moment of awakening would come when one day somebody teased her about Julia x Doris again and she gets mad and was sulking and drew them kissing on a whim and was like “Oooh. OH. Uh oh.”

  96. C.T Phipps

    We should cut to Jocelyn leading a riot that liberates all the prisoners at the secret Bulmerian detention facility she’s been kidnapped to. Because this comic has been too normal!

    1. Proxiehunter

      It’ll get less normal in a month or two when Carol finally shows up.

    2. Woof McGee

      It’s not the kind of comic.
      No consequences! No drama!
      Sickos 4evah
      Get Hank and Carol into the polycule.

  97. Rikunda

    No clue, Dad. I know where my sister is though.

  98. Biblioholic93

    Dun dun DAAAAAAAAAD

  99. Summer

    I’m calling that Hank hasn’t even seen the front page photo of the kissing yet because it didn’t go up online until after he started driving to the school. As far as he’s aware, he’s just trying to make sure Jocelyne is okay (without knowing that she’s trans or not yet getting words right if he does).

    That’s my current guess.

  100. Suet

    *vibe-checks hank’s style vis à vis others’* oh so you like oval wire glasses huh

    Beck? She’s no perdedor, so don’t you––

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