176

Surprise
Posted on October 30, 2014 by David M Willis
poster-galassos1000logoA new poster is available in the store!  "At Galasso's" is 11x17" on glossy cardstock and features Becky, because.  It's technically  a preorder, as the posters are still on their way to me, but I wanted to give you all a taste of it anyway.

176 thoughts on “Surprise”

  1. Jen Aside

    to be fair, Becky probably talks about things other than how awful Joyce is

    1. Ahighfunctioningsociopath

      Yeah, she probably talks about how Joyce is like a little sister to her.

    2. timemonkey

      Sarah never called Joyce awful. Everyone else, sure, but not her little sis. She was just laughing at her general behaviour and beliefs. Totally different.

      1. Jen Aside

        Any superciliously advanced mockery is indistinguishable from malice.

        1. AgentKeen

          And there’s definitely been times when she could’ve tried talking to Joyce like this, but was being grumpy instead (specifically, she went with Joyce and Billie when they went clothes shopping). Not that Sarah doesn’t have reason to be grumpy most of the time, but I still can’t really blame Joyce for this.

        2. auo> mous

          That’s Arthur C. Malarke’!

        3. tyersome

          +2001 points

        4. Rutee

          “Yeah, the old testament god.”

          Besides, Sarah opens up a bit with Joyce. Just… not with JAcob. Because she (presumably) doesn’t want to sleep with Joyce.

        5. Lume

          I think we’re jumping to conclusions here

        6. Deanatay

          The fun kind! Yeah, that’s kinda what we do here.

  2. An Average Loser

    The sisterhood.

    1. Doctor_Who

      Of the traveling hoodies.

      1. timemonkey

        I misread that as ‘boobies’. XD

        1. Aolbain

          The implications of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Boobies” are just horrifying.

    2. Maveric1984

      Do they have to share pants?

      1. Yotomoe

        Sharing pants!? How Lewd.

        1. Doctor_Who

          They don’t HAVE to, but it’s fun!

        2. JessWitt

          Are pajama jeans roomier?

        3. Jen Aside

          you mean like these, amirite??

      2. AgentKeen

        At least for Billie and Ruth, they prefer no pants.

  3. thebombzen

    Maybe this is a sign…

    1. HiEv

      When you ask for something as generic as “a sign”, then anything can be interpreted as a sign, even things that nobody intended as a sign.

      This renders “a sign” as basically useless for determining what some supposed “signer” wants.

  4. MrPotamus

    Jealousy

  5. liahansen

    somebody’s jealous

  6. Idon'tcarenomore

    Love Sarah.
    And Sarah knew she was wrong and stopped that.
    Glad to see Joyce has a friend to cheer her up. Even if Joyce makes me nuts.

  7. chris73

    Joe needs to get in on this action

    1. Yotomoe

      Actually he’s got this pool…

      1. Doctor_Who

        Filled with pudding.

  8. auo> mous

    The Huggs Boson!

    1. tinfoil theory

      [inertia increases]

      1. auo> mous

        [mmmm ass created]

        1. Paradox

          [starts to attract things gravitationally]

        2. Dirk Strider's Splinter Hopeself

          *Singularity is formed*

        3. Atomix26

          Your icon is perfect.

          Also, your name is perfect for your icon.

  9. Emperor Kiva

    Good Joyce is happy. I’m not needed until tomorrow.

  10. Idon'tcarenomore

    Umm no, don’t think Sarah is jealous, just surprised that Joyce can talk about stuff besides getting a M.R. and Jesus.

    1. Dean

      Becky already knows all about that stuff, so they can just take it as read and move on.

  11. Mr. Random

    Either the next or in two strips, I call things get melodramatically, yet understandably, tragic.

  12. Shanunu

    You’re already leagues ahead of others by being able to draw two or more characters in one panel and make them look like theyre actually standing next to eachother. With the hugs, you’ll be nigh unstoppable.

  13. Plasma Mongoose

    Hugs are always hard when erections are involved. 😀

    1. Yotomoe

      Also Elections. You wanna hug them enough to think you care about the people, but not so long that they think you’re molesting them.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Makes the whole politicians kissing babies thing seem that much worse.

        1. ShaggyDonahugh

          Ya know, politicians are like a weird sort of celebrity aren’t they? Kissing babies, having scandals (both in political and private matters), almost killing other important people in crazy hunting accidents, it’s just a bunch of really good or really crazy actors.

        2. Ancestral Hamster

          It’s all staged. Just like pro wrestling.

        3. Cephalo the Pod

          IT’S ME, AUSTIN!!

  14. Mr k

    Next page: Becky either reveals that she’s in love with Joyce, or that she’s transgender. Joyce gets confused.

    1. arank11

      Or Becky judges Joyce for snuggling with Ethan and having sinful thoughts

      1. Leonou

        I’m considering the possibility that Becky actually is fine with everything Joyce has so many problems adjusting to.
        … An this sends Joyce into even more of a downward spiral as she realizes that most of her social awkwardness and inadequacy is self imposed.

        1. Bagge

          That’s what I think… or at least that Joyce will have trouble handling Becky’s lack of judging her. Joyce wants to be judged to affirm that her worldview is correct.

        2. Dani Kelley

          “Joyce wants to be judged to affirm that her worldview is correct.” DING DING DING DING. At least, that was me for years. Like…people who were affirming of my personhood and decisions and feelings were TERRIFYING to me. They hinted at possibilities that, if true, would completely change my life. It took 7-8 years, but I finally realized that they were right.

        3. Bagge

          I’m not really speaking of experience here, so I might be out of my depth, but what would be more terrifying for Joyce and other in her position? That she – a teenager, fresh out of home and with all these conflicting emotions and hormones and thoughts and things – is wrong, or that her parents, religion, ideology, childhood friends, idols and entire world building is wrong?

          If Joyce is wrong she needs to be judged for it, and Becky is someone who a) knows Joyce in and out, b) loves and trusts Joyce and would do the tough love of judging her if needed, c) knows just as much of the will of God (as presented to them by their community) as Joyce herself.

          If what Joyce is doing and thinking and feeling is wrong, then she needs to repent for it. She needs to be judged. People like Becky need to think less of her (but ultimately forgive her, because that’s what people like Becky does).

          But if Becky doesn’t judge her… if Becky doesn’t tell her that what she does is wrong… if Becky even supports her… Yup, scary. That’s how I think this will go down.

        4. Historyman68

          YES

    2. Yotomoe

      Why not both?

    3. Wack'd

      Maybe she eloped with her bisexual professor and is now exotic dancing.

      1. BabiesatemyDingos

        And their backup dancers are the Lust Wolves, of course.

      2. David M Willis

        You’re working really hard for that Walkyverse badge, huh?

        1. Rutee

          @Either of you who the hell is that behind Mr. Bowtie anyway?

        2. John

          It’s Wack’d. He got a cameo in the IW! redraw. With a character tag and everything!

        3. Rutee

          Neat! And now I see Sal has a long history of awesome that I am far too busy killing spiders to go read.

        4. Roborat

          Unusual hobby, but to each their own.

        5. Rutee

          “One sec, killing spiders” :3

          That said, FFXIV has no spiders, so they are metaphorical. I could say Boars, but I don’t live to win.

        6. Renadt

          How does one access some of the later chapters such as “kill your friends?”

        7. Wack'd

          Honestly, it just felt like a natural outgrowth of the rampant speculation that Becky had “strayed from the path” or whathaveyou. I do try to keep my references relevant, lest I become the Seth MacFarlane of this comment section.

          But if there’s a badge I’ll gladly take it.

    4. drai

      Becky was sent by Joyce’s parents (and/or at the behest of the religious leaders at Anderson) to bring her back into the fold.

      D: I hope not

    5. Dirk Strider's Splinter Hopeself

      Option 1 is optimal.

  15. arank11

    I’m surprised Becky isn’t asking why Joyce is just getting home this morning. You’d think that would kinda be a red flag

    1. Yotomoe

      1st, cuz that’s not one of the first things you ask a person after seeing them after a while. and 2. I’d probably assume it’s a morning class.

      1. Jen Aside

        A morning class she attended shoeless?

        I mean, come on, at least she should take off her SOCKS, too!

        1. Yotomoe

          So many girls I’ve seen wear cute shoes that are uncomfortable and take them off halfway into class cuz they can’t keep wearing them.

        2. Gadgeteer Smashwidget

          hell, I do the same thing, and I’m a boy who wears tennis shoes.

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Ditto. I wish it was feasible with the heavy shop boots I have to wear every other day for welding.

    2. Gangler

      She could pretty easily have stepped out for breakfast. Pretty sure we’ve seen people grabbing cereal in their pajamas at some point.

      Becky may have a loose understanding of the school accommodations.

  16. Mr k

    I bet that Becky just ran away from home.

    1. chris73

      Thats a big call

      1. ShaggyDonahugh

        I fold.

        1. Jen Aside

          I’ll see that call and raise you a “then dumped spineless boyfriend over the phone”

          no wait that would be weird

        2. ShaggyDonahugh

          I feel like this is a reference to something, but I cannot put my finger on it lol.

        3. Jen Aside

          then an “also, climbed in through the window”

        4. Disloyal Subject

          http://www.itswalky.com/comic/cutester/
          This ring any bells? (If not, then: holy cow, someone even less versed in the old iterations than me! I must be making progress!)

        5. Marie

          Don’t worry, I started reading DOA like 4 months ago and have tried but never gotten into the old ones. You’ll always have that

    2. Historyman68

      Oh man.

  17. Kernanator

    Yaaay, normal human interaction.

  18. Stephen Bierce

    We got chicken in the corn/In the corn/Whose corn?–My corn!

  19. Yotomoe

    Don’t worry, Sarah. Someday you’ll find a cold, aloof girl who hates everything too.

    1. ShaggyDonahugh

      Ummm….

      1. ShaggyDonahugh

        Eh, I ship it.

        1. Koms

          Ship Sarah and Mary?That’s a very scary ship.

        2. Historyman68

          Sarah/Sarah? Nah, they’d hate each other.

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Exactly; it’s been documented that the most epic of hatefucks are delightful spectacles to behold.
          Or so I’ve been led to believe. Slipshine has yet to receive my money, but they will.

    2. Aolbain

      Mai/Sarah?

      1. Khrene

        I personally wouldn’t ship it but…

        1. Disloyal Subject

          …I don’t follow. Are you saying that Azula being such a psychotic monster frees Mai to be shipped with Sarah?
          But RE: Mai/Sarah: I SHIP IT. Dear mercies of heaven I never knew I shipped it so hard.

  20. Barf Ninjason

    Once again, Becky has narrowly avoided partially blinding Joyce in a hug-related pointy chin accident.

    1. Dean

      Becky has been trained from a young age to avert her chin when hugging, just to avoid such accidents.

      1. Koms

        Stick ’em with the pointy end.

  21. Yotomoe

    “You know, for Fundies, our shorts sure are short.”

    1. Mkvenner

      Don’t worry if the repression techniques don’t work then there is always Everclear.

  22. Mkvenner

    What does she mean canceled? Did the Almighty intervene and make the Anderson lose its accreditation?

    1. shammers

      cancelled for the day. it happens in college. professors have something come up at the last minute, or they just decide to cancel because they “found” something more important to do

      1. Undrave

        Or the school received a bomb threat!

        1. Jen Aside

          YAY BOMB THREAT IMMA GO SEE MY PALS AND HAVE THE BEST DAY EVAR!

          what the hell kinda world do we live in now, srsly

        2. Disloyal Subject

          A fun one?
          ….wait, what does that response say about ME?

        3. Historyman68

          Oh god I hope DoA world doesn’t have GG.

        4. Jen Aside

          I thought DoA was so Willis could LOVE his characters again, not meaninglessly torture the shit out of them

          [there’s a difference between “I love Amber b/c she represents strength of character and overcoming adversity” and “I just wanna make torture-porn of Amber forever”]

        5. xKiv

          …
          Grevayard Greg hasn’t updated Gaming Guardians in ages now
          …

  23. Opus the Poet

    OK this pair is heavy on the cute, but as Sarah noted Becky seems to be the only person Joyce can relate to as a normal human being.

  24. JessWitt

    Candy corn is horrifying stuff. Becky in that sweatshirt is definitely not.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      I concur. And hunger for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and raspberries. (Strawberries are overrated.)

      1. Gadgeteer Smashwidget

        Strawberries are a sugary goddess of awesome and fun times.

    2. Jen Aside

      The worst part about Halloween is candy corn. Because candy corn is the only candy in history that hasn’t been advertised. And I think I know why. Because all the candy corn ever made, was made in 1911.

      And everywhere the candy corn companies send out men to into the villages and collect the thrown away candy corn. They wash it! THEY WASH IT! And then get it ready to sell for the next year.

      1. Rutee

        Who’s bit was that? I’m not mad I just genuinely don’t remember.

  25. MrSirk

    Remember kids if your Joyce is sad find a Becky!

  26. Nono

    I’m surprised people are so doom and gloom about the whole Becky thing. From what I can tell, this seems to be a positive and good thing.

    Sure, classes being cancelled errs slightly suspicious, but it does happen, and even if Becky was fibbing, it’s possible she genuinely wanted to surprise Joyce. And given that Joyce already has some religiously charged people that are close to her (her parents), I don’t think Willis wants to retread that storyline.

    As for Becky herself, I don’t know how she is in other universes, but in this one she’s Joyce’s best friend. I’d give the girl some credit and assume that Becky isn’t going to be a Mary.

    Plus the poster seems to show Becky interacting with the cast in a friendly manner and I wouldn’t think Willis would want to sell something of a character people are going to hate.

    1. takashid

      whats suspicious is that joyce has called Becky multiple times over the last few weeks wanting to talk. and not only did Becky never answer, but she never called Joyce back either. And now she shows up here as a surprise. i wouldnt be shocked to learn somethings up.

      1. TheZachariah

        Why would you assume that there would be as yet unknown drama underneath the surface of an otherwise happy development in this comic?

        1. Arkadi

          Why. Indeed.

        2. Willoughby Chase

          It’s the first scene in jaws. A girl is going for an innocent mid-night swim but beneath the waves …

          dun … dun … dun dundundun …

      2. Leonou

        Maybe Becky is that kind of person that NEVER answers phone calls and who you’ll have to actually threaten in voicemails before they call you back ?

      3. tinfoil theory

        OMG Becky has been replaced by a clone!

      4. Aris Katsaris

        I think I missed that happening. Can you provide a link or specific comic that you’re referring to where this was mentioned?

        1. timemonkey

          One time was during the dingdong bandit story.

        2. Aris Katsaris

          Thanks. Strolling through the archives I found a few more cases like http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/03-answers-in-hennessy/pick-u/

  27. Khaner

    Mr. Willis.
    There can never be too many hugs.

  28. Flight03

    Now kiss?

    1. Communist Canada

      “Has that Ever actually Worked?”

      1. fireindaarcade

        I mean if that’s the kind of attitude you are going to have, then no.

      2. Rutee

        Yes.

      3. John

        Only for Lucy.

        1. timemonkey

          She has the power!

    2. Aolbain

      Perfect gravatar is perfect.

  29. liahansen

    I love how well Joyce’s actions around her now line up with the way she acted in the first few strips.

  30. Undrave

    Joyce and Becky perform a hug.

    1. MrMyerst

      Lol, that’s gotta be a slipshine thingy now!
      The imagined juxtaposition is humorous, until you realise that there must be peeps out there with hug fetishes…
      Hmm, in retrospect, I think I’ve met some.

      1. cesium133

        I’m just going to leave this here and let you come to your own conclusions… http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/guard/

  31. Arkadi

    Sarah’s jealous.

  32. Björn

    Becky is starting to look like Danny to me. Back in the black/white Roomies! days, I imagined Danny having a more reddish hair color.

  33. Rutee

    Take note, Sarah, she behaves like a normal human being as well. Be less like a bongoy, misanthropic killjoy and you too may have people converse with you like a normal human. …or so I’m given to understand by watching other humans.

    But I sympathize with you. We can huddle in similar areas with our crusty exteriors and study alone semi-together.

    1. Deanatay

      bongoy, misanthropic killjoys unite!

      Separately. Far, far away from each other.

  34. Orangey

    Ahhhhhh I really like Becky but I know something is going to go horribly wrong between these two and I really don’t want it to

  35. Saaaam

    What’s gonna happen with Becky? revealed to be a closeted lesbian that’s been in love with Joyce for years? here to steal Ethan? place your bets!

    1. Aolbain

      She’s a closeted lesbian who is here to steal Ethan. Calling it now.

      1. Aolbain

        Seriusly though, I am hereby calling Walky/Becky.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          I – wh-
          Forget it, I’ll be back tomorrow. I’m too susceptible to shipping when I’m on an empty stomach.

    2. Roborat

      She is an alien wearing a Becky suit.

  36. Pizkie

    *looks at strip*
    *looks at chapter name*

    Oh boy, that title was never about Sal at all, was it…?

    1. Dirk Strider's Splinter Hopeself

      Holy balls, I just noticed.

  37. Bagge

    Yeah, it’s almost like Joyce can let her defenses down and be herself with Becky, isn’t it Sarah?

    Also: Oh my Gosh – Happy Joyce is adorable Joyce.

  38. Sam

    WHY IS THERE SO MUCH HAPPINESS. IS THERE GOING TO BE A TIDAL WAVE OF SAD. Billie is happy, Joyce is happy now, Ruth is happy, Sal was adorable then awesome…THIS CAN’T END WELL. D8 *Gets drama helmet to brace self*

  39. MrBurrows

    Dammit Willis! Did you have to take down the Dinobot poster?! I had it bookmarked so I could get it for my brother’s birthday (November 28th)
    Please! Bring it back!
    I actually will buy one, right away. Email me!

  40. MrBurrows

    So, Becky is running away, right? Trying to escapé overbearing parents, isn’t she?

  41. OmegaDez

    Was Becky a character in Previous Willisverse?

    1. AgentKeen

      She popped up in J&W! basically to be Joyce’s friend.

      1. OmegaDez

        Why are people saying it’s not gonna end well with her?

        1. Kernanator

          Because Willis has trained us to be suspicious of anything that looks like happiness.

        2. Hoboturtle

          Good, Good. He has taught you well…

  42. Aris Katsaris

    Typo alert: I think it’s supposed to be “You’d spend” (You would spend) rather “You’d spent” (You had spent).

    1. MrBurrows

      Knowing Willis’ writing style, I would say it was suppose to be “You’da spent”

  43. Halloween Jack

    I’m not saying that Sarah and Becky can’t be just friends, but between this and the At Galasso’s print, well.

    1. Bill

      Speaking of the “At Galasso’s” print, blow it up large and check the background (the benches).  Given what I know about Galasso in the ‘Dumbing of Age’ world, I have to hold in high esteem anyone who would have the chutzpah to tag the benches in his place.

      1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

        Amazi-Girl is apparently one of those people.

  44. Halloween Jack

    Let’s have a look at the evidence:

    “I’m insanely jealous.”

    “A place for you to become, y’know, a woman.”

    “I’ll miss you, Joyce!”

    “Becky, you told me you wanted me to ‘grow into a woman’ or whatever.”

    “How’s having a roommate? Has she replaced me in your heart, yet?”

    “Oh, I understand. Things are crazy here, too.”

    Plus, I mean, come on.

    1. liahansen

      I love that this is actually considered evidence in this fandom

      1. Halloween Jack

        Shippin’ ain’t easy.

  45. Minder

    Huh. My first thought is that Joyce’s parents probably sent Becky over to talk some sense into her about the whole “my best friend Dorothy, the atheist” thing.

    1. Bagge

      Or possibly one of her siblings sent her to check out their lil’sis to make sure she is doing OK.

  46. Slinx

    Sarah, you don’t converse like a normal human girl to anyone. Don’t talk. Also, I think Joyce tried to talk fashion with you once. You were not exactly encouraging.

    1. potatoaddict

      Sarah’s awkward in her own right, but at least she didn’t state her reason to go to college as “finding a good man to marry.”

      I for one enjoy her separation of sheltered Christians & functionable human beings. Then again I’m rather biased when it comes to people telling me how to think of God, & love itself.

    2. TheStranger

      To be honest, I think the reason Joyce converses “like a normal human girl” to Becky is because she’s “one of us.” She believes the “right” things, so Joyce has no fear of stepping on toes.

      Everybody at university is different in scary ways; Joyce, wanting to be liked, tries to step outside her comfort zone without actually leaving it behind, and so she appears less-than-normal in her interactions with those people.

  47. Joshua

    Joyce is the most inconsistent fundamentalist I’ve ever seen — and I grew up in and around them. I was the homeschooled, politically and theologically conservative, dating-is-a-curse-word guy.

    Joyce does have a lot of similarities to my own upbringing, but there’s an important difference: I’m a guy, she’s a girl. As much as it sucks, girls in fundy homes are less than guys, and miss out on a lot of opportunities that their brothers regularly get.

    Joyce wears pants, which is contrary to most fundamentalist girls, who are dresses and skirts only. Joyce is going to a public college, which is a HUGE no-no (even for a lot of fundy guys), because it’s a LIBRUL and DEMONIC place that fills young, impressionable kids’ heads with EVIL. Joyce is dating within a few weeks of beginning classes, whereas almost all fundy girls would be wanting him to call her father and begin a courtship (which is not quite an arranged marriage, but certainly is a lot more structured than dating).

    My point is that she’s not as fundamentalist as she seems on the outside. Evangelical would probably be a better label. Even so, she’s changing awfully fast for someone who was brought up in the way she was. When I was that age, I was convinced beyond all doubt that I was right. Ten years on I see how utterly wrong I was (and now hold almost completely opposite opinions), but at the time nothing could sway me. It took a couple or three years of college to make me start to think critically about what I believed; until then I was just regurgitating what I’d heard ol’ Brother So-n-so say.

    Still, it’s kind of amusing to watch it unfold. It all seemed so important at the time, and now it just isn’t.

    1. David M Willis

      A Christian fundamentalist is merely someone who believes the Bible is inerrant. “Evangelical” is often a synonym of “fundamentalist,” but it’s not a particularly useful label because it’s a term that has a different meaning in different contexts — kind of like how the word “theory” means either “guess” or “thus-far proven hypothesis” depending on who you ask.

      I grew up in a fundamentalist church surrounded by girls who were homeschooled. They wore pants. Many of them went on dates. The term “evangelical” wasn’t really used to describe our beliefs because that had the connotation of belonging to the Evangelical Free movement, while we were nondenominational. I’ve been to those churches, too — they weren’t very different. The idea of a distinction was probably more important to us than the actual literal differences.

      I write Joyce as having grown up in the church I went to for most of my childhood. Like most of the girls I knew, she’s homeschooled, she wears pants, she believes the Bible is inerrant, that dating isn’t a bad word, and that she belongs to a fundamentalist nondenominational church but not an evangelical one. Like a handful of them, she got sent to a LIBRUL college. Unlike a smaller handful of them, she’s not going to come home crying after a few weeks.

      As always, read #8 in the FAQ.

  48. Willoughby Chase

    That poster is one big tease 🙂

  49. Willoughby Chase

    > hugs are hard

    The foreshortening on the 4th panel is cool.

  50. Dirk Strider's Splinter Hopeself

    Danny and Ethan in the print. YESSSS.

  51. chris73

    Is Becky putting on Dannys flirt face in panel 2?

  52. Trolldrool

    Re-reading this page, it really looks like Becky is sporting a thick unibrow in two panels. And now I’ll never be able to unsee it.

  53. DarkoNeko

    Now I’m suddenly wondering wether Becky’s colour-blind

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