390

The coolest
Posted on November 19, 2020 by David M Willis

390 thoughts on “The coolest”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    WHAT A TWEEST

    …not really idk, it’s a surprise, but it’s also David “Killed Mike in a Casual Remark and Totally Skipped Hallowe’en” Willis

    also, everyone loves that Akira bike slide huh

    1. Dara

      it’s pretty fun tbh

      at least until you hit that invisible-even-after-i-hit-it slick spot and your bike just goes sideways. still don’t know what happened there.

      1. Dara

        (Sideways as in the other sideways as in disappears out from under you and ends up in a bank drive-through up against a wall somehow, engine still running and you’re just on the ground going “wtf just happen”)

      2. Miles

        Definitely don’t wd40 your tires to make them shine.

        1. Librain

          Well no, pig fat gives a much better gloss.

    2. Chris

      They’re tilted the wrong way for the bike slide. As drawn, there’s no way that maneuver doesn’t end in a fall.

      1. fridge_logic

        In fairness many homages to the Akira bike slide show the maneuver in a way that would end in a fall. Often by forgetting to have the character use a leg as a kick stand.

        But this is a bit more egregious if we’re to assume they’re in motion.

      2. K^2

        This could work if that frame is drawn just after the bike actually came to a stop, rather than still in motion, and it had barely enough momentum to tip over, with Asher getting ready to prop the bike with his foot.

        1. Roborat

          Yay, you win the no-prize.

      3. Alan in DC

        Cartoon Physics.
        It’s part of the curriculum there.

      4. mecklejay

        I don’t think it’s a slide in the first place. I think the screech is just from harsh braking.

    3. redfuzzy

      I totally missed where it was confirmed Mike was dead. Which strip was that?

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        “my dead roommate” is I think the first confirmation

        1. Chris

          Two days before that.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-11/01-this-bright-millennium/invited-2/

        2. AntJ

          “my roommate died” came two strips earlier https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-11/01-this-bright-millennium/invited-2/

        3. Seerow

          No body no crime. Especially when Walky is the only person who has vocalized Mike being dead, I can easily see him claiming that while Mike remains in a coma somewhere.

        4. clif

          Walky lied about it so he could get an A in math.

      2. King Daniel

        In addition to the above links, Willis changed Mike’s character entry in the cast pages to say that he’s dead now, and Mike is mentioned as dead in the current site poll.

        1. clif

          Would Willis be going to so much trouble to convince us if it wasn’t a trick?

        2. Reltzik

          Yes.

          But he would also go to so much trouble to convince us if it WAS a trick.

        3. Amara Rezby

          Where is the mike character entry? I don’t see it in the cast pages.

        4. King Daniel

          Here you go: https://www.dumbingofage.com/cast/attachment/2014castmike/

        5. CJ

          Ok, when you go back to the gallery following the link, Mike‘s not in the gallery.
          Like a ghost…

        6. thejeff

          There’s an entire “2014” cast accessible through following the character links from there. From the main cast page though, only the 2020 cast pages are available.

        7. Ana Chronistic

          funny that the poll was completely lopsided toward Skipped Halloween but then evened out now it’s almost perfectly even between all three options

  2. Nono

    Billie rides again!

    1. clif

      And she looks so dreamy. To think we were worried for nothing.

      Whatever she’s on must be good stuff.

      1. BenRG

        My worry is that it isn’t anything prescription. Rather, it’s ‘recreational substances’ provided by Asher’s grandfather’s ‘business partners’.

        1. Deanatay

          Or just booze.

        2. clif

          Now, now. I’m sure it’s just the effects of Asher being a masterful lover.

          Or maybe it’s just the motorcycle.

  3. Doctor_Who

    Seems Billie is the first person in 40 years to watch Grease and actually mistake it for cool and aspirational.

    No wonder Sal ditched the bike. As soon as this happened, motorcycles instantly became uncool. She rides a Vespa now.

    1. SeanR

      Does this make Billie a gangster’s moll?

      1. jeffepp

        Yes. Yes it does.

        1. Varangian

          I think she might qualify as a moll AND a budding femme fatale

      2. BenRG

        She wants to be because she thinks it makes her cool and socially powerful. She’s in for a sharp learning curve.

    2. Ray

      Sal switched to the Vespa because she started watching FLCL…

      1. Doctor_Who

        FLCL is the opposite of Grease because it will never NOT be cool.

        1. abysswatcher1993

          FLCL teaches that manic pixie dream girls can be assholes. Same for Ramona in Scott Pilgrim until she gives Scott a chance. Scott is an asshole too.

        2. C.F.B.

          Who isn’t an asshole in Scott Pilgrim?

        3. shork

          Knives and Young Neil

        4. Doctor_Who

          Knives “physically assault someone for “stealing” your boyfriend” Chau and Young “casually homophobic” Neil?

        5. Ana Chronistic

          Gideon

          The cat

          Who isn’t in the movie

        6. RowenMorland

          Lisa Miller wasn’t so bad.

      2. Bicycle Bill

        She switched to the Vespa because she watched “American Graffiti”.

      3. Cholma

        The guitar riff from the Pillows’ “Ride on Shooting Star” immediately played in my head when I read this!

    3. Needfuldoer

      But it’s the word! It’s got groove, it’s got feeling!

      (I hate everything about Grease except that catchy-as-all-hell title song from the movie. Damn you, Frankie Valli! The rest of the film is just trite, stereotypical Boomer/Greatest generation 50s high school vapidness, it didn’t need a catchy disco theme song!)

    4. Lars

      Sal switched to grapple hook and sipline. It’s easier to get from window to window with that.

  4. butts

    are you fucking shitting me billie what the hell

    1. BarerMender

      Seriously. What’s wrong with you, Billie?

    2. Dara

      The one worse choice that doesn’t involve incest.

      RUTH CONGRATULATIONS YOU DODGED A BULLET

    3. timemonkey

      Yeah, the teenaged alcoholic who almost killed herself and her best friend and then got into a depressed drinking fueled suicide pact with her new girlfriend making bad decisions is real shocking.

      1. Mariah Hardnett

        Yeah I mean once ruth got mentally healthy it was only a matter of time until she lost interest in her

        1. Bryy

          Holy fuckin’ SHIT, this is such a random pairing.

        2. Fay

          Well, Sal was friends with Asher growing up and Billie is from the same town. She theoretically could’ve known him, and reconnected once she realized he was hot now or something.

        3. brumagem

          I was salty about how nonsense her with Asher is, but that actually makes a lot of sense. She’s not stupid, just self-destructive!

    4. abysswatcher1993

      ESTOY TAN ENOJADO QUE ESTOY HABLANDO EN MI LENGUAJE PARA NO SER CENSURADO POR WILLIS! QUE PERRA!!!!

      1. FaerwenOfValenwood

        BOA IDEIA, CARALHO
        TÔ MORRENDO AQUI!!

        1. Sombrero

          QUE BEN, ATOPAR ESTE RECUNCHO ONDE BERRAR A GUSTO!!! O TELLADO DO LIXO!!!

        2. FacelessDeviant

          RUIDOS FUERTES!

      2. Svankensen

        Te fuiste a la chucha Billie.

        1. Lynx

          RESPONDIENDO MÁS TARDE QUE LA CRESTA pero que belleza más grande es ver este Chilenismo apropiadamente utilizado en una situación que, a todas luces, VALE CORNETA CHÚPALA BILLIE QUE WEÁ???

          *Ahem.* Thank you :’3

    5. not not albi

      My money’s on “actually found someone so totally cool (by her, and I cannot stress this enough, very questionable standards of what’s cool), and she backslid so hard from her character development the calendar (…and Ruth) felt it.”

      I really hope I’m wrong. I was rooting for her, damn it!

      …or, um, you know, just a really bad breakup, maybe? Yeah. That’s it.

      1. Reltzik

        Not a bad breakup. Billie still has her femurs.

        1. K^2

          Does she? We haven’t seen her walk yet. You can technically sit on a bike with a shattered femur. Not comfortably, but I think Billie would take it for the appearance.

        2. Reltzik

          A leg with a shattered femur is still a leg with a femur. If the bones had been removed entirely, her legs would NOT look like that.

        3. MW

          Thanks, now I have the mental image of Billie’s legs flopping freely in the wind, sounding like a trading card against bike spokes.

          I hate it.

  5. Sirksome

    Is Asher just a boy version of Sal? Not to be confused with Walky who is Sal’s character model gender bent.

    1. segnosaur

      I don’t think so. Other than perhaps a few superficial characteristics (both smokers, both ride motorcycles), they seem to have significant personality differences. Asher called the cops on Sal (when she was first arrested) as kind of a lark, and caved into pressure to help Blaine. I think Sal has far too much integrity/loyalty to do that sort of thing.

      1. foamy

        This’d be the Sal that tried to bribe her way to better grades with sex?

        1. CJ

          That’s not being mean to other people, that’s just trying to play the system.
          Still, not her best choice.

        2. Victor

          That’s not really fair. Sal wanted to get off. Her choice of human dildo just happened to be her TA. The words “you’ll do” were used.
          And Jason handed off her grading to another TA anyway. Back when I was a TA (not at Indiana, different schools handle such things differently), that would have been completely appropriate procedure if I’d hooked up with one of my students – as in, that was the handbook’s official documented way of dealing with it.

        3. thejeff

          She was then pissed at him when she didn’t get a good grade. She was trying to bang her way to better grades. She didn’t make it explicit, but it should have been clear enough for Jason. Who shouldn’t have gone ahead with the sex anyway.

        4. Demoted Oblivious

          That scenario gave me the impression that it was an expected side effect, rather than being the raison-d’etre of the hookup.

          Like how marrying into money doesn’t automatically make one a prostitute. The latter part only happens if one marries *because* of the money.

        5. thejeff

          She commented at the time something like “You don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be here.” Strong implication being that the tutoring isn’t working, let’s do this instead, then she won’t need to be tutored and they can both go.

        6. Heatth

          This is not, even remotely, close to calling cops on a friend and helping a dangerous man. Not all moral lapses are equal.

    2. Chris Phoenix

      I don’t see the Walky/Sal thing at all.

      Walky is a slacker who slides by. Sal is cool and fades past.

      Walky has much less self confidence than Sal.

      Sal deals with poor grades by trying (rather energetically) to get skilled help. Walky deals with poor grades by literally chewing up the paper.

      Sal sticks up for her friends, sometimes to excess. Walky… I can’t see him actually going to much trouble for his friends.

      I can think of more differences than similarities between them. They’ve both been musical at times; they’re both intelligent – that’s about it.

      1. YipeeKiYay

        I… think you might have misread that. Sirksome was noting that Walky is the genderbent version of Sal’s character model (i.e., her appearance), not personality.

        1. Chris Phoenix

          Ah. I assumed that “character model” had to do with someone’s character – as in personality.

    3. UnfrozenNeanderthal

      I wouldn’t go that far, but they do have a lot in common.

  6. Johan

    Lol alright then

    1. clif

      Never play poker with Asher. He won Sal’s bike AND Billie in a single hand.

      1. Reltzik

        I think you’re joking, but… IS that Sal’s bike?

        *checks archives, then looks at comic again.*

        Nope, Sal’s bike is blue, and this one’s red. … unless Asher had it repainted?

        *checks archives, looks at comic again*

        Nope, definitely a different model.

        1. King Daniel

          But what if he remodeled it to be a better fit for being Mike’s soul jar

        2. Stanistani

          Your diligence is appreciated.

  7. Ferret

    I legit didn’t recognize Billie at first with the new hairstyle and no glasses here.

    1. Nono

      She usually wears contacts, her new ones just hadn’t come in at the start of the semester.

      1. clif

        You didn’t recognize her because that’s not Billie. That’s Mike’s back up disguise in cast the Booster identity doesn’t work out.

        The real Billie is being held in a secret location in the hills.

        1. K^2

          And just like that, Willis had to commit another draft to the garbage bin for being too predictable.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Ever try to take off a full-face helmet with glasses on? It doesn’t work that way.

      Glasses off through the visor hole, helmet off, glasses back on. Installation is the reverse of removal.

      1. K^2

        When I hear my wife go “Ow, ow, ow,” behind me wile getting off from the bike, I know she forgot to take the earrings off before putting on the helmet. There’s not a whole lot you can wear under a helmet comfortably in general.

    3. Nevermaker

      Same: I didn’t read the last panel, checked the tags to see who the new girl was, and had my mind BLOWN.

    4. MacareuxMoine

      Same. And to me the clothing in the second panel still looks more like Billie than the her head in the fourth.

    5. Zee

      Meanwhile I knew it would be billie the second i saw yellow

  8. Icalasari

    …I’m really starting to hate that time skip we missed WAY too much

    1. Kim

      Aw! *tries to comfort*

      But! Look at it this way: what we haven’t seen might be more effective as unseen development, especially once we get some more scenes that play off it/them.

  9. y3k

    Goddamnit, Billie.

  10. Juanoku

    Billie…
    What the fuck are you doing

    1. Mr D

      Living her life after the 6 months we missed, apparently.

      1. clif

        Yes, but she did it without our approval. She should have known better.

    2. Proxiehunter

      Asher apparently. I assume Ruth wasn’t letting her indulge in her self destructive tendencies.

      1. BenRG

        Precisely. Asher, on the other hand, doesn’t badger her to be sober. He’s even introduced her to harder stuff.

    3. Rosicrucian

      Asher.

      1. jeffepp

        Yeah, I kinda thought that was obvious.

        1. clif

          Anyone’s mind who didn’t go there immediately has obviously not been paying attention.

      2. Juanoku

        See there’s the problem

    4. Sirksome

      It’s too early to assume anything. I mean sure the most we know of Asher is that he has loose ties to the mob and directly put most of Billie’s friends in danger including someone who she considers a step brother by creating the opportunity for their kidnapping. I’m sure this relationship won’t end badly when or if she ever finds out about that. Maybe he’s actually a really cool dude who supported her better than Ruth could in her overcoming her alcohol dependency!

      1. BBCC

        Not that loose – his grandpa runs it, though he claims he’s out now.

        I’m sure that’s true – as long as his grandpa allows him to be out.

        1. Eldritchy

          In all honesty who Wouldn’t claim they aren’t in the mob anymore? Asher is about as trustworthy as a Ferengi with an agenda.

        2. BBCC

          He also brought it up to Blaine who said his grandfather isn’t happy about it. Blaine is in a position to know.

      2. UnfrozenNeanderthal@gmail.com

        I mean in his defence we don’t know how much he knew about Blaine’s plan, and given how unbelievably stupid it was it would have been hard to guess

        1. Sirksome

          I guess that’s true but even if he didn’t know the full threat of Blaine he still sold out other people to cover his own ass which seems to be a trait of his as that was the second time he’d done it that we know of. In my opinion not a great characteristic for any personal relationship let alone a potential romantic partner.

        2. clif

          Asher’s grandfather died during the time skip. Asher runs the mob now.

        3. Eldritchy

          All things aside he took part in getting Blaine killed. He is very far from being a good person.

      3. BenRG

        The most likely relationship-ender in my view will be when he tries to directly involve her in criminality and the scheme is blown somehow putting her in immediate likelihood of danger. I do hope that Ruth is in a healthy relationship by then and can tell her to get lost.

    5. Varangian

      She’s being COOL, you friggin’ SQUARE, ever HEARD OF IT

  11. Newllend(henryvolt)

    My jaw dropped when I saw this on patreon last night.

    Like I knew Asher had some “Mr.Steal your girl” energy to him but for real….What the fuck.

    1. segnosaur

      Well, technically we don’t know if Asher “stole” Billie, since we don’t have enough information about what happened during the time skip.

      Its possible that Billie and Ruth broke up first (possibly due to more conflicts over drinking/partying), and Asher only got involved with Billie after she had been single for a while.

      1. clif

        After Billie broke up with Ruth, she felt the need for a boyfriend and so she bought the best one her money could buy.

  12. Spookyfox

    oh she really went off the deep end

    1. AntJ

      or she really reverted to her status quo because being better for Ruth felt like the deep end

      1. Bogeywoman

        So you’re saying she went back to the kiddie pool.

        1. K^2

          I think, mot clef here is “shallow”.

        2. clif

          You mean the key is that Mot Clef was Bogeywoman all along?

  13. Fre-kun

    WHAAAAAAAAT

  14. Fuzzy

    Can I change my answer from “We missed Halloween” to “Ruth and Billie broke up”?

    1. clif

      It was a deeply flawed poll.

      1. Sunny

        Indeed. It had no “All of the above”-option, nor a field where we could fill in the many other things we’re mad at D.Y.Willis for.

    2. K^2

      I had a feeling, so I voted for “Ruth and Billie broke up,” and was disappointed that it wasn’t the top result. I feel somewhat vindicated.

    3. Deanatay

      NOPE, MISSED HALLOWEEN STILL THE CORRECT ANSWER

      1. Diner Kinetic

        This twist would be fine if they were both dressed as teletubies

  15. BBCC

    I have so many questions and I still dunno how I feel about Asher, this is all very concerning.

    1. Newllend(henryvolt)

      I can’t sort out how I feel about him either, part of me feels like he’d the kind of antagonist Jason Statham would go against if they ever make a “Crank 3”.

    2. BBCC

      Also, every time we hear about Sal’s motorcycle, I can feel a Linda-induced rage headache on the horizon.

      1. clif

        Asher’s motorcycle now. I mean, like there could be more than one motorcycle in the strip. Come on.

        1. King Daniel

          What if the motorcycle is Mike, reincarnated

          I mean, c’mon, one letter is literally all there is between “Mike” and “Bike”

        2. clif

          Oooooo! I knew I liked you.

        3. Demoted Oblivious

          Close, there is one letter changed, but “M” and “B” are 11 letters apart.

        4. King Daniel

          And 11 months ago, the sequence in which the Bad Dads attacked Mike began – it all fits!

        5. SuperFroakie82

          Mike is Booster: Broke

          Mike is Bike: W O K E

    3. UnfrozenNeanderthal@gmail.com

      I mean on the one hand he did snitch on his friend to the cops to cover his own ass, he’s a mob boss’s grandson, he’s complicit in the abduction of multiple students and he had a dirty cop whack a guy, but on the other hand, he is pretty hot

      1. King Daniel

        …”had a dirty cop whack a guy”?

        (Also, considering the myriad characters in this comic who have awful family members, I don’t think we should be holding Asher’s grandfather against him when he’s explicitly stated that he personally wants out of that life.)

        Not disputing the hotness though. 😛

        1. BBCC

          He had some sort of involvement with Blaine’s death. Whether he ordered it or still has enough people who like him in the mob that they would inform him of it or if he went back to/tipped off his grandpa to Blaine’s shenanigans is not clear.

        2. BBCC

          Frankly, if its the first one, I wanna buy him cookies and beer. Fuck Blaine.

        3. Reltzik

          Was having Blaine offed a GOOD thing? Well, without getting into the weeds of is-murder-ever-right etc, sure I can see that position enough to understand it.

          Is someone who could so casually involve himself in an assassination on the basis of the target being a liability (rather than evil) someone we want anywhere near our beans? NOPE!

        4. BBCC

          In fiction? Yeah, Blaine being offed was a good thing.

          As for Asher, we still need to see the extent of his involvement, but I do think he probably either got back into the mob business or tipped off his grandpa.

        5. BenRG

          I no longer believe that statement. Asher is probably a skilled liar and I think that he told Sal what she wanted to hear, nothing else.

        6. BBCC

          I don’t think Sal wanted to hear that he called the cops on her, even if she’d figured it out already, but he told Walky who was sure to tell Sal.

          Blaine knew Asher was out and mentioned his grandfather was unhappy about it. It’s one of the reasons Asher was susceptible to blackmail. If Asher wasn’t out, there’d be no need to steal his gramps’ money and nothing to blackmail him with. Whatever else he is, that part is legit.

        7. UnfrozenNeanderthal

          He was at least involved in Blaine’s ‘“‘“‘“‘“‘“‘Suicide’”’”’”’”’”’ and there’s a decent chance he ordered it

        8. Sunny

          I think he was the bearer of news. Blaine gets suicided, someone lets Asher know, Asher lets gramps know. That way plausible deniability can be maintained.

        9. thejeff

          In that case, he likely passed along the orders too. And probably the word to gramps that prompted the order.

  16. Delicious Taffy

    No wonder Ruth is in a Mood lately.

    1. clif

      Hey, but Billie’s happy. That’s what’s important. Right?

      1. Delicious Taffy

        To Billie, yeah.

  17. Nah

    ….They probably already knew each other since sal and walky knew him right? All come from the same town?

    I’m wondering if she knows about his family business.

    1. Lingo

      Good point!

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      Sal not only knew Asher, he recruited her to be a lookout for one of his robberies.

      Whether Billie knew Asher then is another question. My impression is that Walky and Sal almost lived in different worlds at that point, and Billie hung out with Walky and not Sal

      1. Nono

        Billie didn’t even really hang out with Walky, she was being popular while he was being shoved into lockers.

        I can only assume that after the car accident, she was a little bit of a social pariah, but she was still in good enough graces with the Walkertons that when it came up that they were going to the same university, they ended up just going at the same time, possibly carpooling.

        1. Diner Kinetic

          IIRC Billie and Walky were actual friends before high school- specifically, they used to share a bedroom before puberty (as walky put it in that arc, for “obvious reasons”) and were seen playing on a playground in Sal’s flashback to meeting Marcie for the first time

      2. CJ

        Well, doesn’t it seem likely that Sal, Billie, Walky and Asher went to the same school at one point before the robbery? And now he’s grown up and hot, Billie was delighted when she ran into him?
        (Some people go for what’s bad for them with incredible accuracy).

    3. BenRG

      She knows and it was a major part of her decision-making in dumping Ruth in his favour.

  18. SeanR

    Okay..That wasn’t supposed to go there. Trying again.

    Does this make Billie a mob moll?

    1. Proxiehunter

      She’s got the hair for it.

  19. Proto

    Oh, I thought it was just gonna be that Billie actually got really bad grades and her parents yanked her out but this is… interesting.

    1. Sam

      Billie’s parents are too neglectful to care, they are fill the space of love with money types of people.

      1. KJ

        Based on what I know of families similar to Billie’s, they’d probably even approve of Asher as long as he has $$$

    2. CJ

      Billie‘s parents sound like the kind that would throw money at the problem, not do something that involves interacting with Billie.

  20. a/snow/mous/e

    if it isn’t mister steal-your-girl

    1. clif

      She’s not stolen. Ruth says she didn’t loose Billie. Clearly they’ve gained a third.

      1. Bryy

        She yelled it without provocation, so she totally lost Billie.

    2. Deanatay

      I mean, what does Asher have that Ruth doesn’t? Besides

      – A cool bike

      – Access to drugs

      – Certain… male equipment that Billie enjoys

      Other than that, nothing!

  21. TemporalShrew

    Well, that’s… fascinating.

  22. Newllend(henryvolt)

    So since we’ve completed the new cast poster now I’d like show you guys a draft I made for who I think would be a good pick to voice act for some of the characters. “Its like making my own fantasy football team in a way.

    Joyce- Eden sher

    Dorothy- Mindy Cohn

    Amber -Ashley Johnson

    Becky- Ashley Burch

    Ruth-Elizabeth Daily

    Billie- Kristen Storms

    Joe- John Maggio

    Danny- Will Friedle

    The rest:??? (I haven’t thought through the rest yet)

    1. Newllend(henryvolt)

      I was also Considering Patrick Warburton or H j.Benjamin for Joe but when I thought about it H J.Benjamin doesn’t seem like he could bring enough energy to the role and Patrick Warburton seemed like a better fit for Joes Dad instead.

    2. Proxiehunter

      You’ve got Chloe Price playing Becky and you don’t have Hannah Telle down to play Joyce?

      1. Newllend(henryvolt)

        I needed someone who seemed more high spirited and overly friendly. For some reason my mind went to “Star Butterfly”.

    3. Delicious Taffy

      Okay, your Ruth VA pick is really similar to mine (Peridot), and probably works a little better. Mindy Cohn is always a good pick.

      1. Newllend(henryvolt)

        Eh I was just thinking “How entertaining would it be that every time you heard Ruth speak you would hear a slightly older version of Buttercup from PPG” and I thought it was crazy enough to work.

    4. Emperor Norton II

      There are certain strips of Dorothy that are completely impossible for me to not read in a Tara Strong voice.

      1. StClair

        She has a lot of them, but from context, I’m assuming either Twilight Sparkle or close?

        1. Roborat

          Raven would be funnier.

    5. AntJ

      Walky – Ben Diskin
      Billie – Ali Wong
      Amber – Mary Elizabeth Winstead
      Sal – Maya Rudolph
      Ruth – Lisa Ortiz
      Danny – John Mulaney
      Asher – Chris Evans

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Walky sounds like Joseph Joestar?

      2. Bryy

        ….. welp this is great casting.

      3. Roborat

        You forgot Tara Strong. There is a rule in the voice acting world, if there is a female character in a cartoon, Tara has to be the voice, she took over when Tress MacNeille stepped down.

    6. Needfuldoer

      I’ve always figured Ruth sounds like PushingUpRoses from YouTube.
      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8S4wnzcIdK8

      Jacob gets Earl Alexander (Louis from Left 4 Dead. Malcolm Jamal-Warner or Jaleel White can play Harrison (we can splurge on bigger names for guest appearances).

      Everybody without a dedicated VA gets voiced by Frank Welker.

      1. Roborat

        I would suggest Rob Paulsen instead of Frank Welker

    7. Poskie

      Charlyne Yi as Dina!

  23. Stephen Bierce

    “Of course you realize, this means war.”–Bugs Bunny, paraphrasing Groucho Marx

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      To war! To war! Freedonia’s going to war!

      1. clif

        Freedonia has always been at war.

  24. Jamie

    …at least she’s still going to class?

    1. Bogeywoman

      Nah, they just wanted to show up, make a scene then act like they have better things to do. On Lucy will notice how performative an exercise it was

    2. BenRG

      Maybe but only enough to show off that she’s now far more important than the other students and doesn’t have to worry about performance anymore as Ashy-poo and his money will always be there for her.

      1. King Daniel

        …Billie comes from money herself.

        1. BenRG

          Why should she spend her money?

      2. Roborat

        Be funny if he was just giving her a lift to class, and they are not an item.

  25. Switchchris

    Ok, this was a punch to the gut for me. I really, really hope she isn’t dating that asshole. her and Ruth were a great couple (a little bit of a toxic relationship at the start but they were helping each other to be better).
    That guy is one of the worst guys in this comic that are still alive, I would rather she be dating Danny then this guy.

    1. Zach

      Danny would be great for her.
      You still upset that he threw a tantrum over someone morning their admitted abuser?

  26. Cheshrin

    …….She dumped RUTH for fuckin’ ASHER?????

    1. Proxiehunter

      Makes sense if she’s still trying to subconsciously (or not so subconsciously) destroy herself and Ruth wasn’t having that shit.

      1. regina phalange

        Plus I never fully bought that Billie got over not being as desirable to the popular boys as she was in high school. She was upset about it for dozens of strips–basically until she got with Ruth. …Which seemed equally as effective at making her feel attractive and getting her peers’ attention/admiration. But it was a group of “peers” she never really got comfortable with in the first place.

        I’m not saying this is all Billie was ever after, but…if the cool, handsome, motorcycle guy showed interest in her, I can see her being tempted.

    2. Axel

      we don’t know she dumped Ruth and we definitely don’t know she dumped Ruth for another person

      1. King Daniel

        We do know, however, that she and Ruth aren’t together anymore.

        1. Axel

          yes, I just don’t like the implication that the end of the relationship was one of them leaving the other for someone else, when there is not (yet) any evidence toward that, especially since there were lots of other reasons they could/maybe should have broken up over

        2. Axel

          this is not specific to this pairing either, it’s anything where there’s a breakup and people immediately start assuming there was cheating or, even without cheating, a homewrecker involved, and again, especially if there are other known reasons the breakup could have happened

          (if something’s been played for drama in a sitcom I probably don’t like it)

    3. Schpoonman

      Nah, Billie got dumped and because she is Billie she thought this would be a good idea.

      1. Fay

        My guess is Ruth gave her an ultimatum like, “I can’t be with you if you if you’re gonna keep doing self-destructive shit” and Billie interpreted that as being dumped.

  27. Zor

    I… legit didn’t think that was gonna be Billie holy-

  28. Robbie

    What the fu——

  29. crys

    man I don’t like this development but I love that hair on billie!

    1. Lingo

      Yeah she looks pretty great there. Didn’t recognize her.

  30. Bunny

    I’m guessing no one realizes that Asher is the reason they got kidnapped back at midterms?

    1. not not albi

      Oh, that’s gonna be fun ones that particular thing hits the fan…

    2. JessWitt

      Oh frick, this is gonna go real well in a few years.

      1. K^2

        So you think that will resolve by the end of math class, then?

    3. Lingo

      How would they even know though?

      1. BenRG

        Asher won’t be able to hold it in for too long. Eventually he’s going to tell Billie to impress her with his power over her former friends. He might even boast about having Blaine killed.

        1. Nono

          That’s quite a reach on Asher when we’ve not seen him exhibit any kind of gloating behaviour on that level.

          He seemed genuinely remorseful about what happened to Sal, and seemed to be on a good track til Blaine threatened him into pulling the fire alarm and then he returned the favour by getting Blaine killed.

        2. King Daniel

          And for that matter, it’s not even certain that he got Blaine killed – the text he got could’ve easily been from someone he knew (Gramps? A mob subordinate?) filling him in on the latest.

        3. Sunny

          That was my take, too. Asher was a link in the chain transmitting information. Asher’s grandpa passes orders to Asher with orders on who to pass them on to, then after Blaine gets suicided someone informs Asher who in turn informs his grandpa.

        4. clif

          Alternately it could have been a signal, not that Blaine was wacked, but that gramps was. Now there will be no future unpleasantness over scholarship funds and Asher has controlling interest in the family business.

        5. Zee

          Right??? I don’t understand where people are picking up these random character traits

      2. Wizard

        Because drama.

    4. CrazyJ

      or you know, that he had Amber’s father killed

      1. King Daniel

        When did we learn that? Was it in a Patreon bonus strip or something?

        1. AntJ

          “It’s done” https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/04-is-a-song-forever/blammo/

        2. King Daniel

          It could’ve been a coincidental text telling him that his pizza was ready /s

          (More seriously though, we don’t actually know that it was Asher calling the actual hit in there as opposed to, say, Gramps ordering it out of a “and this is what you get for pulling in my grandson and then failing so spectacularly” sort of thing.)

        3. Corneel

          Jumping to Conclusions is one of most hotly contest disciplines in the Commentary Olympics.
          (I agree with you that we can not conclude from that text that Asher called in the hit – and in most mob organisations calling a hit on a member would be something far above the authority of someone like Asher)

        4. Fay

          I also feel like Asher wouldn’t willingly involve himself to the degree that ordering a hit would entail. All he did was pull the fire alarm, people might not have even assumed he was involved.

        5. thejeff

          Though, would argue with the Boss’s grandkid. You’d just assume the word had come down from above through him. The cop isn’t going to get a face to face meeting with gramps to handle something like this.

          Most likely though, the order did come from above and Asher was just the conduit.

        6. CJ

          And that’s very reminiscent of https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/03-when-it-crumbles/gone-too/
          Where we also don’t quite know who or what…

  31. not not albi

    WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

  32. DailyBrad

    Hmm, interesting. I’ll reserve judgment for the moment, but, wow.

    I guess I will give her that her getting back together with Alice would have still probably been an even worse decision.

    1. thejeff

      A worse decision for Alice.

      1. DailyBrad

        Well, yeah, it’d be both of them in a toxic situation.

  33. AbacusWizard

    *record scratch* WHAAAAAAAAT?

  34. Emily

    ?

  35. Cattleprod

    I think 90% of my comments here have been “Billie looks weird with long hair”, so this calls for a “Not like this, not like this.”

  36. King Daniel

    Oh, and in case anybody hasn’t noticed yet: Billie and Ruth are pointedly looking in opposite directions from each other on the new-cast-banner.

    Somehow, I doubt it to be a coincidence.

    1. AntJ

      nice catch

  37. JessWitt

    Holy hell, Billie. Getting mixed feelings about her new partner.

    1. JessWitt

      Okay she’s dating the guy that got her friends kidnapped. Make that completely bad feelings about Asher.

  38. Alex Boston

    Ok now I wanna see Booster pull their analysis trick on Billie because damnnnnnnnnnnn.

  39. Gizen

    Is it just me, or does Billie look even paler than usual? Might just be because we haven’t seen her in a while tricking me, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a side effect of her self-destructive tendencies going off the rails.

    1. regina phalange

      I think her skin tone might be the same color, but her upper lip is definitely darker (it used to be closer to her cheek color–implying she’s wearing lipstick?), so it might be making her look paler.

      1. Fay

        She seems to be wearing lipstick in the cast lineup too. Her lips are a lot darker than everyone else’s.

        1. Fay

          Also, she might just be paler cause it’s, y’know, the middle of winter.

    2. Jhon

      It’s just you.
      Billie’s skintone is still 249,238,205.

  40. Alex Boston

    Or is it daaaaaaaaaaaamn?

  41. StClair

    Thanks, I hate it.

  42. Jake'm

    Oh there she is!

    Now to sit and ponder on what all is goin’ on.

  43. Beau Kirin Maysey

    Gonna deposit some ‘Yikes’ here and save the rest for any other illuminating developments…

  44. Lingo

    Oh man, I almost called this the other day! I thought we’d follow Lucy back to her dorm room in the last storyline, and then that didn’t happen, and I was thinking, “Well Willis didn’t even introduce Sal until the second storyline (aside from that sneaky cameo), so maybe he’ll do something similar here.” Ugh why didn’t I put the pieces together?!

    1. Lingo

      Here’s the original: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/coolest/
      Check out the parallels (and also the art evolution, wow)!

      1. Lingo

        Almost the same title, even.

      2. TemporalShrew

        Sal pulls this scene off better than either of them by not putting on the snide, shit-eating grin at the end.

      3. CJ

        Oh, and Joyce learned a shade of tact meanwhile 😉

      4. K^2

        Great catch. Thanks for the link.

  45. LiterallyJustSomeGuy

    Is it weird to be on the side of, “Drat, I wanted Sal and Asher to get together! What does Asher see in Billie, anyway?”

    I feel like this reaction makes me an odd one out.

    1. BBCC

      I think Sal and Asher would be interesting too. But I like Billie, she’s great.

    2. Jamie

      I mean, if you’re just looking for schadenfreude, this still works.

    3. thejeff

      If Asher’s a bad guy, Sal’s too dangerous and too confident. Billie’s easier to manipulate.

    4. Zee

      Nah that’s basically how i feel about it

  46. RacingTurtle

    welp

  47. Bicycle Bill

    Is that shadowing on Asher’s upper lip supposed to be a mustache growing in?

  48. IkaruSentinel

    Billie?! Whoa…she looks good. What…when did this happen?

  49. AntJ

    WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUCK

  50. Reaver

    Okay so some stuff you can’t just skip over THAT drastically…

    1. clif

      The evidence would indicate otherwise.

  51. Teddae

    dammit billie. also dammit willis for getting her with asher of all people
    (her hair rocks though)

  52. abysswatcher1993

    BILLIE HIJA DE PERRA!!!! NO PUESDES CENSURARME EN MI LENGUAJE, WILLIS!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

    Seriously, I know they don’t know Asher helped Blaine, but why would Billie choose that smug ass delquent over Ruth?! Is it the bad boy charm? Ruth can break legs! She tackled Joyce’s mom!

    1. BenRG

      Because he’s a delinquent with rich connections and personal power. This will make people look up to her and treat her as special. That’s all that she’s ever wanted. Oh, and Asher probably doesn’t badger her about staying sober like Ruth would.

      1. StClair

        all of this sounds sadly probable.

  53. synnerman

    Okay, I am definitely surprised. Holy hell. Is this a twist or a wrinkle in spacetime?

  54. brute

    billie is just a walking Yikes and i hope ruth finds someone better, or any healthier path, because holy shit

  55. Jay

    W H A T

  56. Bagge

    “Oh no, what happened to poor Billie?” I said.

    “Has she been forced out of school? Is she hurt? I she dead?” I said

    “What if she’s lonely or scared,” I said

    Boss move.

    Pure alpha bongo, move, Billie.

  57. Bagge

    I’m calling it.

    I’m shipping Lucy and asher.

    You heard it first here, folks.

    1. Bogeywoman

      I could board this ship

    2. Nono

      You know?

      I’m shipping Joe and Asher.

      You heard it here first, foks.

      1. Bogeywoman

        I could also board this ship (halfway bc of the avatar)

        1. clif

          I’m in favor of boarding up all the Asher ships.And then maybe setting them on fire.

    3. Reltzik

      Can we call this Ashlight?

      Like Flashlight, only without the Fl, because Lucy means “light” and Asher needs to be lit on fire?

      Actually, can we just light Asher on fire?

    4. Varangian

      The alpha bongo cheerleader queen is BACK, baby, she’s BACK IN THE SADDLE, look out IU, this girl is TOO COOOOOOLLLLL

    5. Zee

      I’m alright with this. Tough guy + ray of sunshine is always cute to think about

  58. Bagge

    I really want to do my usual ‘calling asher a piece of shit’ gag, but I’m really not sure it’s justified in this case.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      He knows what he did.

      1. Bagge

        He did Billie, ‘mIright?

        Hurrhurrhurrhur….

        Sorry.

        1. BenRG

          No, he nearly got everyone (including Billie’s surrogate family) killed by one of his grandfather’s employees. He then had said employee killed. Billie doesn’t know this yet but those facts make this a relationship that she can’t back out of.

    2. Rachel McCall

      There are things one can do that would justify people calling one a piece of shit in perpetuity. Asher has done several of those things.

      1. Bagge

        That is very true.

        But I also made it conditional on him standing up to Blaine. I said something to the effect of “I’m going to call asher a piece of shit until he says “fuck you” to Blaine.”

        and that he straight up had Blaine murdered.

        I don’t really know how to proceed

        1. clif

          Blindly.

  59. ADLegend21

    EXCUSE ME?!

    1. clif

      Be it known to all, and particularly to Sundry, that ADLegend21 is hereby officially and perminantly excused for all perfidy and all heinous atrocities they may or may not have commited, but most especially for those they did.

      Please note this this indugance is NOT extended to ADLegend20 and ADLegend22 nor should it be construed as any form of support for murder, mayhem or halitosis.

  60. Lone Wolf

    … This does not spark joy.

  61. Kravis

    Da fuck?

  62. Bogeywoman

    “Has she been forced into rehab?” I asked myself

    “Where is my broken baby bird gone” I weeped

    “Asher fucking dammit you little shit,” I jabbed, “I was so scared for you. What if you died, or wors, got expelled!”

    “Go to your room. And no Ruth after dinner for you.”

    1. Bogeywoman

      (Yeah, this was meant to be a reply to Bagge up above.)

      1. Bagge

        aaaaaalpha booooongo

  63. DSL

    One sees the combination of a long scarf around the neck and the spokes of the motorcycle wheels, and one is hopeful.

  64. Kater

    Oh no they’re both hot
    (Also-glances at cast portrait- did Ethan drop out?!)

    1. Sam

      It only contains main characters. Ethan could very well still appear.

    2. Zee

      Bisexuality: engage

  65. Eldritchy

    Out of all people… Billie took three steps out of the Abyss and then flung herself bodily even deeper…

  66. DSL

    One notes the scarf.
    One notes the spoked motorcycle wheels.
    One is mildly hopeful.

  67. Keulen

    Does this mean Billie is dating Asher now? What the fuck?

    1. BenRG

      Asher is a far better adornment for the Queen of the Dorm than that boring recovering alcoholic who won’t even go on benders with her anymore.

  68. NinjaNick

    Okay, Billie. Why are you with Doucher?

    1. BenRG

      Because he’s more exciting, lets her drink (and do even heavier stuff) and has a sufficient cool and dangerous reputation to give her power over others.

      1. Reltzik

        And maybe because all of that is guaranteed to piss off Ruth and while Billie protests that she’s had some non-revenge sex, she really hasn’t.

  69. Deadjolras

    Man, I love Asher. Thank you for reminding me.

    1. Zee

      Same tbh

  70. Needfuldoer

    Looks like Asher’s got himself a Japanese sport cruiser, like a Honda CB900. That looks like a parallel twin or inline four, not a V-twin, so it’s probably not a Sportster or an Indian. (Besides, we would have seen “BLUBLUBLUBLUBLUBVRRRRNNNNBLUBLUBLUBLUBLUB”s gradually getting louder over the last three strips if it was.)

    Also, Billie bob. RIP 5-foot-long ponytail. May it cause shot framing problems in our memories forever.

    1. Bogeywoman

      I vote it becomes an animated non-human character like Homer’s greenhouse of horrors hair piece or Thing Addams and is occasionally seen causing shot framing problems in Forest Quad

      1. Needfuldoer

        It sounds like Speed Buggy, but instead of sputtering it cough-revs like the Harley guys from that South Park episode.

      2. thejeff

        Maybe it can go hook up with Danny’s hat.

  71. KSClaw

    Billie what the fuck

    1. BenRG

      Points at comic title – Billie is now the banner-bearer for the message.

  72. BenRG

    So, Billie made a choice. She could stay with Ruth, who wasn’t dangerous and exciting anymore, wouldn’t let her drink and insisted on her going into therapy (as if there is anything wrong with her!). Or, she could go with Asher who is dangerous, exciting and cool. He’s got a criminal past and ambiguous mob connections too, which makes him ever cooler. I bet he goes to parties with dangerous and powerful kids and doesn’t badger her about staying sober. Hell, I bet he even lets her use (and even supplies) far harder stuff for her pleasure!

    Yes, Billie chose shallow. She wants to be admired, be irresponsible and to have social power. Ruth couldn’t supply that anymore so she’s been dumped. Instead, she’s gone with the mob heir. I wonder if she’ll realise her mistake before it’s too late or whether she’s doomed herself?

    Well, it will finally kill the ‘Billie is Amazi-Girl’ rumour when the college newspaper of her and Asher being loaded into the back of a FBI prisoner transport with AG and Sal standing in the background.

    1. Eldritchy

      Makes you wonder how will her father react to this… his daughter getting into a relationship with a mobster who might or might not get grabbed by the Feds. Would be interesting for her to get disowned…

    2. Nono

      Those are a lot of assumptions.

      1. Zaxares

        It is indeed, yeah. All the same, I honestly don’t think that Billie and Ruth’s relationship was terribly healthy either. Asher is something of a step down, but not by much. More than anything, I guess it just goes to show that people’s types don’t really change.

      2. BenRG

        Not at all. All throughout early season 1 (before she started with Ruth) Billie made it abundantly clear what she wanted. Then, when Ruth tried to get help, Billie started trying to pull back and impede her. So, here we are.

        1. Nono

          You’re implying that Billie hasn’t changed at all. That just because Asher smokes and rides a motorcycle he’s going to aid and abet her in alcoholism and ‘even harder stuff’. That the only reason she could ever be with Asher would be because of his connections or ‘bad boy status’. This is ignoring how much she’s been shown to genuinely care for Ruth, that she was going to therapy and quitting drinking before the timeskip, or how she publicly divebombed her reputation at her new dorm or defended Amber to the Walkertons.

          There are a lot of assumptions and bitterness here. The fact is, we don’t know how the break-up happened, but until we’re shown otherwise I doubt it’s just ‘Billie wanted to be cool, so she dropped Ruth like a hot potato and went straight to the first tough guy she saw and started guzzling beer’.

        2. Zee

          Yeah i noticed that. Like… yikes. Literally where have we seen implications of asher caring about any kind of drug other than nicotine

        3. thejeff

          Well, there is the whole “part of the mob” thing. It’s not exactly unheard of for that to involve drugs.

        4. thejeff

          Yeah, all through early season 1 – then we had character growth. And also saw deeper into why she wanted those things. Billie is seriously messed up, but she’s nowhere near as shallow as you’re painting her.

          We don’t know at this point how she and Ruth broke up or how or when she hooked up with Asher. We certainly don’t know he’s got her hooked on hard drugs.

  73. Acher4

    Whaaaaaaaaaaaat???
    THat’s Billie

  74. Reltzik

    Dammit Joyce, don’t you know about ironic timing? You don’t SAY something like that, especially not when we’re due for an inciting incident.

  75. GUIGUI

    DAMN
    YOU
    WILLIS!
    Seriously, this is “Funky Winkerbean” Becky level of switcheroo, there.

  76. Sombrero

    Asher should insure his femurs before it’s too late.

  77. Human Bean

    …’kay, whatever.
    I don’t know, ever since the Mike thing the comic started feeling different to me. Most new strips don’t feel exciting to me, I’m more… vaguely annoyed?

    By “Mike thing” I don’t mean the fact that he’s apparently dead now, I’m a bit sad about that but oh well. I just found it upsetting having to wait for so long before knowing what happened to him. Maybe for an archival reader it would be okay, but if it’s week-long wait where every new strip miiight be the one that lets you know what happened to the character, but then it doesn’t, too bad!
    I don’t mean to sound entitled; of course Willis is free to tell this story any way they want. I just hate it when I feel like an author is kinda yanking their audience’s chain, like, wouldn’t you want to know??

    Maybe I’ll be able to enjoy the story more now that the high-stakes, superhero stuff is over. I’m mostly here for the interpersonal drama and character development. Also, the comment section. I rarely feel like I have anything meaningful to add, but I very much like reading it.

    1. :0

      THIS. Yeah.
      I feel like everything is a bit off too, especially since every single story development has been skipped, and substituted by lots of “BTW” shockers.

      “Oh by the way, Mike’s dead”
      “Oh by the way, Ruth and Billie broke up”
      “Oh by the way, Billie’s dating ASHER, apparently?!”

      I know it’s supposed to shock us or whatever, but unless this is all a weird dream or something, the way all these events are being delivered makes me just go “…okay I guess”, and the comic doesn’t really appeal to me anymore like it used to.

      Actually, I think it all kinda began with the kidnapping arc? Until then, the narration was on spot, I really enjoyed it. But then it started to feel really… off, incoherent, and amateur, as if someone way less skilful took over the storywriting.

      (Idk, maybe it’s just me. Sorry for all the incoherent whining in this comment, I just kept all these thoughts to myself for so many months.)

  78. Nono

    Y’know, the sheer vitriol against Billie and Asher is… kind of scary. Billie’s not obligated to date Ruth, and we don’t know what led to their breakup. She’s not obligated to not date Asher (if they’re even dating). Especially since Sal seems to have made up with Asher on her own terms. We don’t even know how privy she is to any of Asher’s dealings.

    Is it a bit of an AH move to zoom in on a motorcycle on the back of her potential new fling right in front of her friends? A little. Is she parading him around Ruth? No. Is she parading him in front of Ruth’s friends? No.

    And if you’re going to judge Billie for dating someone who got her childhood friend sent to juvie… would you similarly judge Walky if he kept dating Amber?

    1. Bogeywoman

      I appreciate this comment. I usually find a lot of the Hate towards various characters confounding (at best) but this time I’m in there with it because I am a bitter, jaded saph* trying to do better who likes bitter, jaded graphs and ddislike Asher because he represents something of a trope that I feel obligated to dislike (and also he just gets right up in my ulnar nerve like the little weenus invader he is).

      Other than my obvious Man Hating Ways, I’m largely more… irritated and concerned with Billie because the framing is of her returning to old habits (by which I mean doubling down on Coolness because she needs other people’s approval that she is Cool and therefore important, and other unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with whatever her deal is).

      We don’t have enough info to confirm what anyone’s motives are or anything of the sort, of course, and I think this twist/pairing will make for some good story telling…
      However, I will continue to look like grumpy cat at any hint of Billie and Asher (and just about anyone not ruth) because as I have mentioned, I am a jaded, bitter saph who likes jaded, bitter saphs. Double however, as I have also mentioned I am trying to do better and so full-hearted appreciate the reminder that my bias is my bias and that this is a story am looking forward to love-hating.

      Many thanks.

      *Saph as in a sapphic woman/womanish person who is attracted o other women/femmeish people. I don’t know of any other word

      1. Nono

        Nah, no problem. Heck, I’m hardly Billie’s biggest fan, but there’s so much against her right now that I’m feeling a good chunk of it is undeserved.

        When people are assuming that Billie has just gone straight back to wanting nothing but to be cool and to drink they’re not much better than how Rachel was treating Ruth.

      2. Nono

        Also, everyone has their own biases! I’m aware that mine have coloured my own judgements from time to time.

      3. Seregiel

        The flip: She was finally in therapy and wanted to change. She didn’t want to be who she used to be and was upset at how she used to treat walky and projected her insecurities onto sal. She isn’t wearing her glasses and we know she hides them to appear cool …but I hate mine in helmets, so benefit of the doubt. In terms of transformations all we see is: she cut her hair, moved out of a suicide pact, reconnected with old associates and is actually smiling. We also know Billy self described as Head cheerleader, problem solver and found nothing nerdy about being a word geek. She probably isn’t allowed to drive due to DUI so motorcycle ride is helpful. She cut her hair which is often a symbol of leaving the old behind. Her regaining confidence could just be she was finally embracing therapy and moving on after 1)a drunk crash, 2)identity shift, 3) loss of friends, 4) location shift was probably all she needed to appear cool again. I highly doubt it was JUST being a cheerleader that made Walky put up with Billy or Alice fall in love with her. The Walkertons consider her a sister, but they dont have any other cheerleader sisters.

        Now do I believe that? Jury out. But everything people are saying is a sign of the apocalypse can also be a sign of genuine growth and contentment.

        1. thejeff

          Flip side to expectations: Billie got a lot better in therapy and without drinking. Ruth fell off the wagon – possibly multiple tries and that led to their breakup. Asher came along well after the fact.

    2. AGV

      This ^
      Also, feels like Asher is being given the “worst guy” treatment without that much to back it up

      He was coherced to collaborate with Blaine and was informed of his death
      There isn’t much else to say that he would be a worse partner for Billie’ than many of the other characters as of now

      1. :0

        I actually kinda like Asher as a character, but I think that its “worst guy to date” label in the comment section is more than well-deserved (for the moment).

        I mean, barrying any major plot twist, it’s kinda safe to assume that the guy is involved in both the kidnapping AND Blaine’s murder. Hell, all makes you think that he’s the instigator of the latter. If that doesn’t deserve a “best not to date” mark, I don’t know what does.

        (Btw I’m calling it: Bad cop who shot Blaine was Asher’s father :S)

        1. clif

          That would be interesting.

    3. Eldritchy

      Can’t speak for other people so this is just my take.

      While I liked Ruth and Billie I don’t hold anything against Billie for breaking up with her. If anything this might be better for Ruth because Billie was a bit of a bad influence on her, a spoilt irresponsible princess who is in great need of a kick in the ass from life to understand how she is mismanaging herself.

      The thing is that… of ALL people she picked Asher. The mob kid who had his hands in the whole thing with Blaine INCLUDING Blaine getting killed. Billie could choose slow improvement and healing, instead she picked a danger boy who will most likely ruin her life when the mob thing spills over.

      Billie could chose the path of improvement, of fixing her life, she chose more of the old destructive behaviour and is on a path towards ruining her life.

      That’s pretty much my take.

      1. Nono

        Again, I think there are just so many assumptions about Asher here. That he’s going to be a wrecking ball of a trainwreck that’s going to push her over the edge. That this is going to end up like every college girl who dates a ‘bad boy’.

        Like… this is two speechless panels in and people are already foretelling a whole life of misery, gloom and bitterness. I mean, chill people. She can date who she wants.

        People are coming down on this harder than they did Walky/Amber or Joyce/Jacob.

        1. Eldritchy

          He Was Involved In the MURDER Of Blaine. This is not something you get a “Kid who broke up with the mob” into. He is knees deep in this whole business and even if he is not enabling Billie’s bad behaviour this whole thing will collapse sooner or later either because of some other gang or Cops/Feds getting involved. This is not some silly, immature shenanigans that teens get involved in. This is serious stuff that involves people being killed.

        2. thejeff

          “There’s only one way out of the mob.”

        3. Eldritchy

          Feet first

      2. thejeff

        I dislike the breakup, especially off camera, because it seems a step backwards in character development. Billie had just made the major decision to stop drinking and go to her therapy for the sake of that relationship. She was breaking that “spoiled irresponsible princess” thing. (Which was largely a mask for her self-doubt and fears of being poison anyway.) Now we fast forward a few months and that’s all up in the air. Asher may not be a complete monster, but I doubt he’s going to be a good partner for helping her navigate alcoholism and therapy.

  79. NaYa

    ………WHAT.

  80. DarkoNeko

    . . . that’s not the “we lost Billie” I expected ?

    1. clif

      It’s okay. Asher found her for us.

  81. powerpowerpow

    Billie reminds me of that friend who constantly makes awful, awful decisions despite literally everyone in her life telling her she should try to do something else and that they’ve got her back. Funny thing is, it’s been obvious this whole time, but I never realised it until the haircut. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great look, but it reminds me so much of a certain someone I know.

    1. Nono

      “She’s a bad person who constantly makes awful decisions, and the haircut confirms it.”?

      1. powerpowerpow

        No, she reminds me of a friend of mine who makes bad decisions, who also got that exact same haircut. There’s a lot beyond just the new look, but it took the haircut for me to notice.

    2. Seregiel

      Orrrrr if we are extrapolating off one scene… we knew she was doing therapy finally and wanted the self improvement. Ruth relapsed and Billie knew their dynamic was still unhealthy. She chose to love herself more than her former suicide pact and thought it was best Ruth focus on herself too and she reconnected with an old associate. Its one page. I mean, Billie does make bad decisions (particularly in self loathing) but she was wanting to shed her old identity and didnt like the old her and how it treated walky. Is it still bad if she did become a new person who was more compassionate and willing to change?

      1. Segnosaur

        While its not impossible that a character would want to change, there are 2 problems with your suggestions…

        – While Ruth relapsed, Billie was never that eager to change herself. (Remember the argument they had over going to breakfast at a place that served alcohol.) Billie never ‘relapsed’ because she never too the problem seriously in the first place

        – Even if Billie wanted to improve herself (and improve relationships with friends), picking a guy with a criminal background (who was recently involved in a kidnapping plot against her fellow students) probably isn’t the best person to be involved with.

        1. thejeff

          By the end, Billie had committed to change. We saw her go through withdrawal and she’d planned to go to therapy – though I’m not sure she’d had the chance before the time skip.
          Her previous behavior was at least partly an attempt to drive Ruth away because Ruth was getting better and thus was no longer something Billie’s poison couldn’t ruin.

          Now, we’ve got no idea how anything after that played out. Who was behind the breakup, when Asher got involved, if either Ruth or Billie have relapsed. It’s easy to blame it all on Billie, but it’s far from clear that’s correct.

      2. powerpowerpow

        Fair point. Guess we’ll learn more in like 2 years when they’re finally out of math class.

  82. Yarner

    Let me just put this here:
    I need a radical change of plot (or something), because I personally feel rather depressed because of the new arc so far.
    On the one hand, it’s good that there are consequences, on the other, we got into deep soap opera (possibly even telenoveka?) territory with what’s going on here…
    I may be too old, but things just got really dark for me (especially with Mike’s death and all it entails for tge cast and the world of the strip).
    I’ll keep reading, but it’s taxing right now…

  83. Josh Spicer

    *stares*

    No.

  84. Varangian

    FUCKING LOL

    JENNIFER BILLINGSWORTH: BACK ON HER BULLSHIT

    1. Varangian

      I want to iterate I’m not even judging, just, god DAMN, that girl is Back On Her Bullshit

      Her shirt is one of those Bugs Bunny “Lord Forgive Me, Cause It’s Time to Go Back to Tha Old Me” shirts

      1. clif

        Billie, you accepted a ride from Asher when he happened to be going your way. But we’re not judging you.

        Much.

        1. thejeff

          Not likely, but it would be funny after all our build up and speculation.

  85. Rabisch

    I have like a milion questions. But Billie looks very happy.

  86. Vulcanodon

    I don’t know why she and Ruth broke up, that’s gonna be a sad story one way or another. But Asher is trouble.

  87. thumb

    oh . . . no.
    Billie didn’t want to walk the straight and narrow. Couldn’t handle it.

  88. FacelessDeviant

    Wow. The fact that Asher has the nerve to even show his face around where he helped kill two people is surprising.

    That he chose to hook up with a friend (sort of) of one of those people is astonishing.

    Asher is a scumbag.

    1. Anxi

      Billie definitely wasn’t a friend of ross or blaine – unless you’re referring to mike, in which case, that happened entirely before any involvement from asher.

  89. Hinonron

    Sal: “Joyce… at what point in our entire history together, did you come inta the idea that I look to YOU for my definitions of what’s cool an’ what ain’t?”
    Joyce: “…Yeah, that’s fair. My bad.”

    1. clif

      Sal: So do you think I should steal my bike back?

  90. Kaidah

    Sal’s motorcycle is still cooler. I personally prefer the look of a modern street bike to the more classic style. Also I preferred Billie with long hair, but in general I prefer how women look with long hair.

  91. Fetch85

    Oh good, Billie didn’t die in a DUI. I kinda figured she’d reverse Ruth from Roomies.

  92. Demoted Oblivious

    Shark jumping theory:

    Billie found out AG is in the wind. But Billie isn’t satisfied that things are truly resolved so she’s gone all Nancy Drew (cuz she’s not a nerd) and is with Asher because she found some clues that led her that way and she’s just trying to put it all together.

  93. Raptorofwar

    NO. Unacceptable. RUTH.

  94. Zee

    I’m very curious to see how this’ll go

  95. Varangian

    THEORY: I’m calling it now, Asher went into this with good intentions and wanted to like, make amends to the kids Blaine hurt in some small way

    Then Billie met him, immediately picked up on how dangerous and hot and powerful he was, which is absolutely her Bad Decisions Juice, and was like “heeeeyyyy I used to be a cheerleader and I will totally accept your apologies on behalf of all these nerds. Let’s hang out.”

    They got closer (friends), Ruth got pissy (reasonably), and Billie dumped Ruth because she felt trapped by her own feelings so LET’S GET THAT POWER HIGH!!!

    And now this.

  96. KJ

    I did not see this coming, but this actually entirely fits Billie. Chaos spiral is go

  97. Victor Riley

    So Asher didn’t get caught for being in the conspiracy. He pulled the fire alarm that forced everyone outside so they’d be kidnapped.

    Methinks that may come back to the storyline…

  98. Daniel M Ball

    Well, Billie, youth is when you get to make all the bad decisions that form the basis of the funny and embarrassing anecdotes of old age-assuming you reach it.

    I guess it’s just good that she didn’t elect to enlist.

  99. Dracke

    There is a Million Essays about morality going on, without knowing if she is even dating him
    Regardless Is not like her relationship with Ruth began in a healthy way…at a point it became healthy but relationships also end. especially when you are young

  100. bcb

    Oh my Cheese, this is NOT how I expected Billie to be introduced in this book!

    Asher gave the order to the Mobster cop to kill Blaine. And while Blaine was clearly evil, that does mean Asher isn’t as uninvolved in the mob as he previously claimed. This is going to end badly for Billie.

  101. Eldritchy

    I’ve been thinking… anyone else thinks that Sal looks like Nicholas D. Wolfwood with the way she is wearing that jacket?

  102. Elf Royalty

    hey y’know, the other stuff was understandable and not very upsetting, but this has managed to illicit a very negative reaction i was unprepared for. the vibes of this strip? ATROCIOUS.

  103. C.T Phipps

    Is it wrong I ship them?

    Ruth and Rachel ftw!

    1. Sporky

      It might be wrong that you ship them, but it’s definitely wrong that you ship Ruth and Rachel. Those two should not be anywhere NEAR each other.

  104. Bluesnake463

    And Billie loses 50 points

  105. Sporky

    Oh fuck off Billie

  106. TParadox

    I would like to change my vote in the poll.

  107. Doongus

    I always felt that Billie and Ruthless was a match made in hell and that they needed to get away from each other, but ASHER? REALLY? I can’t believe I’m unironically going to prefer Billie/Ruth to a canon pairing.

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