175

Shaved
Posted on May 17, 2023 by David M Willis

175 thoughts on “Shaved”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    apparently Joyce is a mild version of drinking from the wrong Grail

    (I mean, she just has to wait for 5 o’clock)

    1. Ana Chronistic

      *Joyce subsequently gets sandpaper-face-burn and has regrets*

      1. Schpoonman

        See, my guess was that her butt itches so when she returns the favor of Joe kneading her face with his butt she’ll scratch that itch.

      2. JA

        Some women like the stubble. Can’t explain why.

        1. DaisyFM

          Because it’s sexy.

        2. shrub

          Some woman (my wife for example) like the masculine look, seems Joyce does as well

        3. Ophidiophile

          I was just reading that many women are very attracted to manly men when they (the women) are ovulating, and the rest of the time, they might be more interested in guys like Danny. It will be interesting to see if Joyce’s feelings toward Joe last more than a week.

        4. Shrub

          Might well be true

        5. DaisyFM

          I like both, but I’ve never ovulated in my life.

        6. Andy

          I think this is more of an autistic response to a change in Joe appearance rather than ovulation changes.

        7. Freemage

          I retain a strong level of skepticism regarding such claims. As someone who has always had some degree of facial hair, whether a particular woman found me attractive or not was never, ever, dependent upon what week it was in her cycle–they were remarkably consistent either way.

          I think the thing that confounds (male) researchers is that women are far less likely to have a single ‘type’ that they all like, as opposed to dudes, who are more prone to have an idea that there is an objective hotness scale that all women can be measured against.

        8. Victor Riley

          Yeah, but you still have to shave every now and then… otherwise the stubble becomes whiskers. That’s the price of stubble… you have to suffer through short periods of no-stubble.

        9. David Alexander McDonald

          There are trimmers that will leave stubble.

        10. Needfuldoer

          A dull Norelco almost does.

          … Blades for those things are expensive, okay?

        11. Kimi

          I have yet to find out whether knees, ankles or faces are the worst to shave, as I fortunately don’t have to shave my face. I hate doing the knees though.

        12. Needfuldoer

          I’ve never done the other two, but ankles are probably the worst from a geometry standpoint.

        13. Needfuldoer

          The face isn’t bad. It’s annoying when the blade grabs, but it’s hard to mess up if you’ve got access to a mirror. Hell, I’ve electric-shaved while driving a few times. Going by feel isn’t that hard, and the rearview mirror is right there for a last minute double-check in the parking lot.

        14. Mr D

          I’d say the worst part of doing your face is that you’re doing it on the mirror, so that means reverse controls. horizontal reverse controls, even.

        15. Needfuldoer

          Reverse controls don’t bother me until I try to use trimmer scissors. Then there’s a lot of controlled flailing involved.

        16. Dave

          The worst to shave is the butt.

          The area above the groin is no picnic either, if only for how easy it is to end up with razor bumps. And nipples are a BONGO to shave without accidentally nicking them.

        17. Ana Chronistic

          Hairy ankles??

          *has sparse as fuck body hair so ended up starting and never stopping No Shave November since 2020*

        18. Pergola

          Hairy nipples?
          ( google has a thing about that )

        19. Ari

          I shave all three and I definitely think knees are the worst. My face is actually pretty easy but to be fair I have pretty sparse facial hair and shave it fully. It would be harder if I had a full beard.

        20. Victor Riley

          That ain’t real stubble. Still just a bit too long. The shortest guard on my trimmer don’t look like no stubble, and that goes by millimeters.

        21. Wizard

          Thanks to a combination of light skin and dark, moderately coarse facial hair, I tend to look slightly stubbly nearly all the time.

        22. zee

          It’s so much hotter than a clean face or a full beard

        23. Victor Riley

          Not on everyone. Some of us it just looks schlubby. On sharper features, sure… but us with rounder faces have to do one or the other.

        24. Angel

          @Ja: It’s the feeling/texture too ;P https://imgur.com/a/iMWifd4 (artist source: funsexydragonball)

        25. Liliet

          Sensory nice

  2. Thag Simmons

    Joyce has now unlocked her psychic powers

    1. Dara

      it’s the day this version of Joyce’s powers arrived!

      1. NGPZ

        Not just any powers! She just got a Stand Power. ✌️?

        By the way this music is awesome, thank you! ??

        1. Dara

          Kirby Krackle is good live too. When I was running a music festival I brought ’em in a few times, it was great.

    2. Angel

      i mean there are ‘beard oils’ and such so i can imagine some kinda ‘massage’ would stimulate nad make growth happen more

  3. Caro

    oh god it’s been so long. he just looks out of place in the New style

    1. Cattleprod

      It’s like what happens when I go back to read older comics, but happening in new ones.

      1. Thag Simmons

        It’s so weird to look at the designs in some of those old comics, you get so used to the later iterations it’s easy to forget the character didn’t always look like that.

  4. Drain

    Clean shave Joe (to the tune of baby shark)

    1. Mindset

      doo doo doo, doo doo doo do you

    2. saltchocolate

      Curses! Earworm hell!

  5. Caro

    he’s totally reading julia grey btw

    1. HueSatLight

      He has to look like Seth again.

  6. SeanR

    Give it an hour.

    1. Jamie

      Let’s just say 5 hours passed between those last two panels.

    2. Angel

      i’m sure fake beards are a thing if fake lashes are tho idk if the stubble would ‘feel’ the same lol (tho some times ‘5 o clock shadow’ can be litearl/grow back within the week lol )

  7. Reltzik

    And Joyce’s newest magical power is….

    1. Reltzik

      …. wait, is this Joyce’s magical power or is it Joe’s magical power?

      1. Needfuldoer

        It only works when they work together.

        1. Nono

          Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak gems stronger.

        2. Needfuldoer

          Counterpoint: Captain Planet.

        3. Mr D

          Fusion is the easiest way to defeat Majin Buu.

          Also why they never do it, would deprive them of the Challenge

        4. Taffy

          “Quit embarrassing yourselves! I’ve seen what you really are.”
          [Cue best scene in the show]

      2. Clif

        Question not the miracle of the stubble.

  8. DarkoNeko

    ….wow Joyce is a witch after all. She willed the stub back XD

    1. SeanR

      I suspect Joe is one of those who had a dead caterpillar level of stubble by fourteen. His beard is quite full at eighteen. The stubble will be back before the sun sets. Possibly before the sun has reached its zenith.

      1. jflb96

        I’m reading those numbers as ‘hours after midnight’

      2. thejeff

        I think we had a flashback moment of young Joe’s stubble suddenly appearing, but I can’t remember context.

  9. Schpoonman

    So is this a Chia pet thing or more of a pull-Goku’s-tail-out-so-he-can-go-SS4 thing?

    1. Taffy

      Why not both? Maybe Chia Pets emit large amounts of Blutz Waves. That would help explain why they have so many powerful entities in their lineup, like the Hulk, Weird Al, and Scooby-Doo.

  10. shadowcell

    Dumbing of Age Book 13: HNNNGHNGHGNGHNGHGNGHNNGH

  11. Nono

    Yeah nah stubble!Joe was way better.

    1. saltchocolate

      Agree. Keep pulling, Joyce. Joe needs to understand that “being sexy” & “having sex with every girl” don’t have to go together.

  12. RassilonTDavros

    The old Joe design with 2023!art is kinda surreal.

    1. Needfuldoer

      What do you mean, “kinda”?

      Come to think of it, when was the last time we saw un-unkempt Joe?

      1. Thag Simmons

        Uh… here, I think. At the very least it’s the last one before the alt-text says that Joe is now perpetually stubbly.

  13. Stephen Bierce

    –Shaving Cream/Be nice and clean
    Shave every day and you’ll always look keen!

    1. Dana

      Burma Shave?

      1. Laura

        Bryl-creem, a little dab’ll do ya,
        Use more, only if you dare,
        But watch out,
        The gals will all pursue ya,—
        They’ll love to put their fingers through your hair.

      2. shrub

        Somerset Shaving Oil is so much better

      3. Kimi

        The only reason why I know that quote is from an old comic called ‘once upon a table’.

        1. Ana Chronistic

          It’s usually* preceded by

          “A baby fell out of the window?
          You’d think that her head would be split?
          But good luck was with her that morning?
          She fell in a barrel of–”

          *the one time I heard it and somehow it earwormed itself into permanence

        2. Ana Chronistic

          Oh, turns out it’s Dr. Demento

  14. Sirksome

    As a guy who has to shave every 3 days this is real.

    1. SeanR

      Oh. Wow. Those were the days.
      I do know some people who, even in their sixties, can’t grow a full beard, but I generally think of that as a young person trait.

      I miss being able to clean up with nothing but a battery powered electric shaver. These days, it’s a blade or nothing. I’ve mostly given up and just keep the beard. Trim it to shape every couple weeks with a guard on my trimmer.

      1. CallynD

        I don’t want a beard, but my lack of ability to grow one is grating. If I have to shave every couple of days regardless, I wish it was a choice rather then a necessity because the sparse hair looks bad. I’m well into my 30s.

        1. Sirksome

          On the other hand, shaving constantly is annoying. It’s a bit disheartening to shave in the morning and already feel it coming back by night. Having to shave everyday for the “clean shave” look is tedious. I respect anyone who can maintain that routine.

        2. Victor Riley

          Growing the beard isn’t easy… the first 6-8 weeks looks horrible. Patchy in places, bare in others. It’s a mess.

          But if you stick through it, it will get to a point of looking pretty good, and then you can trim it.

          I thought I didn’t have the “ability”… but I just didn’t stick it out long enough. Then I had to try and grow one last year (for a play)… and I’ve actually kept it since. I still shave the neck though, to keep it looking neat.

        3. Laura

          That’s one thing I like about wearing masks. I can let my stubble grow.

        4. Theluxland

          I have a full beard since i was 14, and i’m 30 now. I can tell you i’m absolutely tired of shaving it constantly, since I have to do it pretty much everyday or I look like I didn’t shave for a week the day after. It’s so quick.
          These days i’m lucky to have a job that can make me keep a beard. I can trim it up pretty much every week and it makes me look much better but man, curses these genes!

    2. Taffy

      I was unfortunately born with certain genes that make me grow facial hair, but I was also born with genes that gave me ADHD and mild laziness. So I’ll grow a full, soft, admittedly attractive beard fairly fast, but I don’t give a fuck about shaving it except on the neck and cheeks. At least it helps keep the stupid backwards unsalvageable hicks ’round here from immediately calling me slurs for not looking manly enough.

      (By the way, if you’re a dude scrutinizing other dude-shaped people’s faces to make sure they’re masculine enough for your personal preference, you’re gay. You’re a little gay. Stop hitting on me at Walmart, it’s 9pm and you have a wife at home to come out to.)

    3. Liquid Len

      I’ve had a beard on and off over the last couple of decades (including the now-increasingly-on-old-guys goatee at times), but these days I’m clean shaven. Mostly because my beard is now snow white and shaving makes me look younger. The advantage is snow white on pasty skin means I can avoid shaving for several days at a time.

    4. Angel

      makes sense but i mean, other than lasering it off or a close shave from the barber, you aren’t exactly plucking it out/tweezing it by the roots (tho i’ve plucked some stray armpit hairs evne after shaving and those grow back as well, sometimes in the exact same spot lol), i suppose it can look good to leave it there and only shave it in the summer

  15. NGPZ

    Love that Joyce face last panel!!!! ?So cute!!!

    1. Amós Batista

      Me too. One of best face of her.

  16. BBCC

    See guys, he’s making an effort!

    1. SeanR

      Clearly the wrong effort.

  17. DailyBrad

    I mean, she isn’t wrong, he looks way hotter the other way.

    On the bright side, as a beard haver, that shit grows back QUICK, so she will not have to wait long. It’s called 5’o clock shadow for a reason, though black hair like Joe’s, he probably will be set by 2 PM.

    1. Kimi

      The joys of shaving legs if you have dark hair, are going to the beach, and your hair grows fast. I wonder what the point is sometimes.

      1. eh, whatever

        Ritualized torture, that’s what. Like an initiation rite, except you’re expected to keep it up instead of doing it just once.

      2. Yumi

        I used to shave my legs from time to time– in part because it was occasionally a preference, largely because I was insecure having visible leg hair but I’d want to swim and stuff– and my legs would feel so nice for that day and then be itchy and uncomfortable by the next day. I’ve learned to get past the insecurity around having body hair because the regrowth was not worth it for me.

    2. Mr D

      Man, I shave on Mondays and I have the 5 o’clock shadow on fucking Friday. It got to the point that I would just shave once a month and trim it halfway through.

  18. Jo_cubstar

    Poor Joe. She shouldn’t try to control him.

    1. Taffy

      She absolutely should. He’s going nuts right now, mutilating his own body in an attempt to appeal to her, and she’s using her healing powers to repair the damage.

      1. NGPZ

        Yeah. It’s like that relationship in Disney’s Encanto. XD

        1. Taffy

          I didn’t pay a lot of attention to that movie, tbh. The music got me tuned out because I hated it and didn’t wanna gripe while others were watching.

  19. brute

    i agree with her ideology but not her actions

    1. Holly

      Here, here!

  20. Architex

    Oh good, when I read “Shaved” on twitter I really thought were going to still be in Lucy’s room and things were getting more awkward haha.

  21. yak

    jeez joyce literally just wait a day and it’ll be back

  22. anonymsly

    This is weirdly sweet. Joe cleaned up thinking Joyce would like it, the clean-cut good boy image, but she wants his normal self. Enough to try trying to physically yank his stubble back into being.

    1. Rotunda

      Or maybe he just woke up feeling good because of Joyce, and put on a new appearance to celebrate. It happens.

      1. eh, whatever

        …Joe is extroverted, so maybe…

      2. DailyBrad

        It’s possible, but I also feel like he’s been prone to thinking Joyce wants a transformation out of him when she already told him that “Anti-Joe” would be boring.

  23. Dr. T

    That is the reaction my wife always has when she notices that I trimmed my beard. If it were up to her I’d have quite the beard.

    1. Kimi

      Bring braided beards back into style, like LotR dwarves.

      1. jflb96

        If I could get there without going through the Wild Man of the Mountains phase, I absolutely would

        1. Liquid Len

          For me, no, as I’d end up looking like Santa Claus

  24. UrsulaDavina

    It’s either stubble or Joe had alot of blackheads under his stubble and Joyce is squeezing them out.

    1. woobie

      EW

    2. Amós Batista

      Oh noes, Joyce will be the “pulling blackheads from my boyfriend face” girlfriend

      1. Dana

        Mine is one of those. It’s not so bad. At least she stops if I ask.

      2. Laura

        It’s actually quite intimate, if both parties are into it.

      3. BOOSTER SHOT

        This is it. This is the thread that makes me quit the internet

        1. Needfuldoer

          Indeed.

          No touchy! No touchy! No touch.

  25. Amós Batista

    Now I can’t unseen Joey’s face. He killed any memory from Joe.

  26. V

    Classic girlfriend moment :,)

  27. Reaver

    Eyebrowless Joe can’t hurt meee

  28. brionl

    KKKAAAAAAAAAAAA
    MMMMEEEEEEEEEE…

  29. Jay

    Is this Joyce unlocking her Author Avatar reality-warping powers?

  30. Siddlaw

    This is like that Schitts Creek scene. Which was also valid.

  31. Rabid Rabbit

    Clearly, Joe thought he might be getting lucky soon, and remembering Booster’s comments, thought he ought to make and effort.

    (For reference: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-11/02-look-straight-ahead/atlength/)

    1. Nicoleandmaggie

      Booster is 100% spot on. Kissing stubble is like thousands of tiny knives.

      1. Zaxares

        Ayeeep. I’m a guy and even I don’t fancy the thought of somebody running their stubbled cheek lovingly over the sensitive parts of my anatomy. XD

      2. Rose Red

        Yup. Tiny tiny knives.

        Hedgehog is my least favorite type of kiss. Naked mole rat is the best, but squirrel is acceptable.

      3. DailyBrad

        Fresh stubble, yeah. A couple of day’s growth is a lot less bad.

  32. Qube

    reminds me of my favorite joke comic about “beauty and the beast”:

    Prince Guy, Formerly Beast: Belle, it’s me! 😀

    Belle: *gun* Change back. >:(

    1. Taffy

      Beast is interesting and moody and sexy and has hobbies (brooding, botany, reading), and Adam is just some French guy with property.

  33. Mr.Morningstar

    Apparently she can

  34. Acher4

    The stubble appearing……….
    Does this seem to anyone else, like, a scene from a horror movie… or is it just me? <.<

  35. miz

    for those interested, joe was last seen clean-shaven in 2014: https://www.dumbingofage.com/skim-2/

    and stopped combing his hair after hooking up with malaya and giving up on having character development in early 2019:
    https://www.dumbingofage.com/blows-2/

    1. HueSatLight

      I was interested. I was guessing the shaving was tied to “this is what ladies want for hooking up”.

  36. Shrub

    This is a cute strip but I hope its just a one-off and not a portent of of how this relationship will go

  37. Steelbright

    There’s something so inherently chaotic about these two. Am i to assume that’s the truest sign of love in the Willis verse?

  38. Maggie

    So is this a Joyce doesn’t like change thing or do you think it will turn out to be deeper than that?

    1. Felian

      i’m guessing the “i don’t like change“ thing is most important. When you have trouble reading faces (i’m not sure if it’s been established that Joyce’s autism has trouble reading faces?), it can throw you off when the face has changed, too. The same facial expression does not feel like the same facial expression when there’s suddenly no stubble!!

      Good thing for Joyce, the stubble will always come back.
      Bad thing for Joyce, beards change all the time and it’s a lot of effort to maintain them all the time at the same length (or maybe it’s just me who rates the effort high because my ADHD brain can’t be bothered to grab a razor or trimmer every day!)

      1. Aslan

        Or she just thinks it’s hot

      2. vlademir1

        No, it’s absolutely a lot of effort at a base level. Not so much as that required for wearing makeup daily, but closer to that than to zero effort. If you go really deep on beard care it can easily reach half an hour to an hour daily.
        Hell, that’s before the effort required to maintain the equipment to maintain the beard. Dull razor, scissors, and trimmer blades can lead to incidents requiring even bigger removals

        1. Felian

          oh NO
          that’s it, i’m gonna grow a low-effort full-beard with room to store small snacks for later. 😛

    2. HueSatLight

      I’m guessing more than anything else: it’s funny.

    3. Angel

      well it is quite sudden/surprising but other than joe’s exes (tho has he had a proper ex versus casual flings/one night stands?) being like “shave before meeting up” i guess it might be standard for him, at least joe wouldn’t have to wait long, i cut my bangs too short one year and it feels like it took like 3-4 months to grow it partially back as an adult when i was trimming it once every 2 weeks or monthly during high school

  39. Suet

    Considering Jacob was clean-shaven, Joyce probably just likes Joe as a tad scruffy.

    It’s like popping a pimple! Multiple pimples at once!

  40. AGV

    “The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be… unnatural.”

    1. AGV

      Alternatively:
      “The attempt on my beauty standards has left me scarred and unkept “

  41. Adept

    Oh dear… This feels like Joyce wants Joe as a fetish fulfillment rather than a person.

    1. Taffy

      The fuck are you on about?

    2. vlademir1

      That is only true in the absence of any other context, such as the entire arc of the relationship prior to this point.

    3. Shade of Blue

      Hold up…… let them cook

    4. Angel

      i mean nothing wrong with finding certain aspects sexy but she wasn’t attracted to ethan for having a beard (even ’emaciated emo ethan’ doesn’t seem too stubble-y)

  42. Shade of Blue

    I love it. This reminded me of the octopus pie strip where Will shaves and it immediately starts growing back into stubble over the course of a few panels.

  43. Username Taken

    It always felt like Willis was setting this world up as a superhero origin story with the costumed crimefighting, and now Joyce has a super power. Stubble Lass?

  44. Big Z

    Actual footage of my partner if I were ever to shave.

  45. Taffy

    Joyce is extra cute today. Re-asserting her dominance preference is a good look, and maybe it’ll help Joe feel more secure.

    1. Angel

      off topic, but nice new icon lol

  46. Aslan

    Joyce’s Feral Era of clinging to ceilings, trees, and tree-like people continues

  47. Yeet

    your face, I smoosh it

  48. Holly A

    Mostly im worried that when he shaved his face he included eyebrows apparently

  49. egg egg

    I have the same reaction when people shave and change their hair.

  50. Jennifer Bak

    I vaguely remember something in the 80s about how either George Michael shaved once and his popularity went down or how his PR team wouldn’t allow him to shave because they were worried his popularity would tank.

  51. Guy Sensei

    Mr. Willis where can I read the Woody After Hours Ruth interview strips?

    1. Guy Sensei

      It is mentioned here where Joe begins his perpetual stubble
      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/twelvethirty/

      1. DailyBrad

        Man, I forgot how hot Penny is.

        1. StClair

          if only she wasn’t so bad, in every universe we’ve seen.

  52. Handley Ramirez

    God, it’s so hard to find the middle ground between clean-cut and dirtbag. I feel for Joe.

  53. ValdVin

    Hey gang, guess what I found today?

    A reversal in a cartoon ad from Peter Arno, most famously drawing for The New Yorker.

  54. YordleJay

    I forgot what joe looked like clean shaven

  55. AlaninDC

    I’m sure it’s been mentioned before, but if Joe decided to grow a full beard, he’d look like Bluto from the old Popeye cartoons

    1. DailyBrad

      Yeah kinda. Richard is basically Joe with a full beard and some grey. Richard does honestly look not unlike Bluto.

  56. Kazuma Taichi

    the sheer sadness in her eyes during second panel
    it’s like she’s been betrayed

  57. wakeangel2001

    so Joe is full of Play-doh huh?

  58. goggleman64

    I hope these two are as much fun to write as they are to read

  59. ADLegend21

    I love that she put his eyebrows back on.

    1. ValdVin

      Okay, wow, I didn’t even see he was missing them!

      I am a guy and when I think of shaving my face I don’t consider the eyebrows.

    2. Kyrik Michalowski

      So that is why panel 3 was so weird to me. I knew something was wrong about his face, besides the lack of stubble and weirdly combed hair. The lack of eyebrows didn’t occur to me until you pointed it out, but I could feel that something was kind of creepy about his face.

  60. Angel

    peeled joe 8D;

  61. vulcanodon

    This was my wife’s reaction when I started shaving my beard to wear a mask during covid 2020

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