Topic: Damn You, Willis! (Dumbing of Age) PART 2 (Read 173502 times)

Welu · « **on:** 21 May 2018, 05:27 »

Since the last thread hasn't been posted in for a while, plus it's getting near the hundred page mark AND it's a new storyline time, I figured it's an appropriate time for Part Two.

This thread can also be used to talk about anything else of David Willis' work: Shortpacked!, Roomies, It's Walky, etc.

However when talking about works other than DoA or showing and talking about preview panels, use spoilers. Please and thank you.

Dumbing of Age has gone into flashback and it's starting out very creepy.

BenRG · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 May 2018, 06:38 »

I'm hoping that this current arc will finally explain how the cartoonishly and seemingly motivelessly evil Mike came to be who he is shown to be. I'm wondering if it's all going to turn out to be Ethan and Amber's fault.

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 May 2018, 06:41 »

Today's strip had me shouting a very loud mental "YES!"

Mike's "Origin Story", surely!?

Welu · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 May 2018, 07:17 »

That's a little more like the Mike we know.

zisraelsen · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 May 2018, 21:41 »

I hate Mike every time he shows up. From my perspective, his one character note reads "is a dick" and that makes him boring and unlikable. Am I missing something?

BenRG · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 May 2018, 23:39 »

Quote from: zisraelsen on 28 May 2018, 21:41

Am I missing something?

There is a huge fan movement looking for redeeming qualities and who are sure he is someone sad and lonely who just needs to find the right person to make him somewhat a better person.

(click to show/hide)

sitnspin · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 May 2018, 23:47 »

That and they think he does all these terrible things with the secret motivation of helping his victims grow.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Jun 2018, 11:48 »

Ben, please tag that Shortpacked spoiler. Thank you.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 Jun 2018, 07:12 »

Holy shit, that teacher hit him? Why do I have a feeling that teacher having no consequences for doing so will be a part of Mike becoming Mike? :/

BenRG · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 Jun 2018, 07:30 »

I suspect that these events taught Mike that there were two sorts of people in the world: monsters and monsters that hid behind the masks of people. He decided that he would dedicate his life to provoking people into tearing off their masks and seeing themselves as the monsters that they are.

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 Jun 2018, 07:32 »

Or he's an asshole who likes provoking people.

Welu · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 Jun 2018, 07:47 »

I want to clarify the reason there's a spoiler request for previous Willis work in the OP of the thread, like there was in the last thread, is because lots of people have only read Dumbing of Age, but are aware past Willis work has a strong influence on characters and relationships in the current work.
It doesn't matter if it's "years old" if you haven't read it, and catching up is difficult if you wish to do so since it's not all online in an easily accessible way and is almost two decades of work all together.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Jun 2018, 22:14 »

Thank you, Welu.

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Jun 2018, 00:44 »

Starting to get the feeling DoA is dragging things out ridiculously slowly.

BenRG · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 Jun 2018, 01:25 »

Willis has the instincts of a sitcom writer in many ways. He tends to write out significant conversations or interactions in long form. Unfortunately, he is also attempting to tell the cast's stories in as much detail as possible so that every chapter is a day. Consequently, the story progresses very slowly. He has had the occasional complaint about it.

FWIW, I get the impression that Dumbing of Age is a sort of self-therapy for him, so I don't think it matters so much to him what his readers think of his methods.

Welu · « **Reply #15 on:** 05 Jul 2018, 14:10 »

Today's strip, and that panel with Jacob looking dreamily while saying "I know." has me going oh dear. It's the first big moment for me that has me worried for his relationship with Raidah. Even though Sarah has been trying for a while to break them up, I thought Jacob was pretty set and happy with his current situation but this could be the moment where he starts realising he really likes Joyce. Also worried because he seems like he'll put himself through a lot of turmoil if he develops feelings for someone else while in a relationship.

BenRG · « **Reply #16 on:** 05 Jul 2018, 23:27 »

Ben's Opinion:
Whilst Jacob likes Raidah and sees her as a partner, there isn't emotional closeness between them in the scenes we've seen; it's more like coworker relationship. His attraction to Joyce is something else altogether: We've yet to see any indication that there is any depth beyond their mutual teasing but I think he sees her as a girl with whom he can have fun, something that I think is absent from his interactions with Raidah. Both options are suboptmal, IMO.

One can't help but be concerned Joyce may be setting herself up for heart-break if she's perceiving this as 'true love'. I don't think it is and, Joyce being Joyce, a friendship (and possibly 'friends with benefits') based purely on 'let's have fun together' would probably end up hurting her emotionally.

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #17 on:** 06 Jul 2018, 04:24 »

Quote from: BenRG on 05 Jul 2018, 23:27

Ben's Opinion:
Whilst Jacob likes Raidah and sees her as a partner, there isn't emotional closeness between them in the scenes we've seen; it's more like coworker relationship.

I don't think we've seen remotely enough of Jacob and Raidah together to make any judgement on what their relationship is like.

LeeC · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Jul 2018, 08:43 »

Somewhat random question/opinion request:

They are talking about the picture bible...but do you suppose Joyce has seen Life of Brian?

BenRG · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Jul 2018, 08:48 »

Quote from: LeeC on 13 Jul 2018, 08:43

They are talking about the picture bible...but do you suppose Joyce has seen Life of Brian?

Only the DVD cover as it was tossed onto a blazing bonfire!

LeeC · « **Reply #20 on:** 13 Jul 2018, 12:42 »

Quote from: BenRG on 13 Jul 2018, 08:48

Quote from: LeeC on 13 Jul 2018, 08:43
They are talking about the picture bible...but do you suppose Joyce has seen Life of Brian?

Only the DVD cover as it was tossed onto a blazing bonfire!

But why, he never said he was the messiah?

(you're probably right about the burning though)

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #21 on:** 13 Jul 2018, 14:10 »

It's still making a mockery of something her family takes Very Seriously. I don't think Joyce or any of the other kids in their little cult-adjacent group has seen a lot of popular media under the idea that it's heretical or corrupting. A key point in maintaining fanatical followers is making sure they never have a chance or reason to question what you say, so you need to severely limit their access to outside information.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #22 on:** 14 Jul 2018, 06:09 »

Is Amber surprised that Walky did a bit of detective work before she did, or did Walky break some sort of Twitter protocol that I'm not aware of? I honestly can't tell. (Also can't tell if this is public or if he direct messaged her, I haven't actively used Twitter in a few years.) Also, I'm kind of surprised Walky used his real name as his Twitter name.

Welu · « **Reply #23 on:** 14 Jul 2018, 13:23 »

I think it's that he's making contact outside of the context of the Garbage Roof that surprised Amber.

Theta9 · « **Reply #24 on:** 15 Jul 2018, 06:49 »

I love when Walky says "weenus". I've only ever seen Frank Zappa say "weenus" before.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #25 on:** 15 Jul 2018, 10:14 »

Isn’t it the skin that hangs from your elbow?

cesium133 · « **Reply #26 on:** 16 Jul 2018, 08:07 »

I see where this story is going (well, probably everyone does), and Willis would be evil enough to do this, wouldn't he? What better way to break both Dorothy's and Danny's minds at the same time...

Welu · « **Reply #27 on:** 28 Jul 2018, 16:25 »

I'm really liking the last few pages with Dorothy and Joyce. Seeing Joyce struggling with facing her thoughts and feelings, and Dorothy being openly disappointed but willing to talk through feels like a very real interaction.

Theta9 · « **Reply #28 on:** 28 Jul 2018, 18:26 »

Weenus

Welu · « **Reply #29 on:** 30 Jul 2018, 12:27 »

Holy shit, Mike.

Willis' alt text

(click to show/hide)

sums it up well.

LeeC · « **Reply #30 on:** 22 Aug 2018, 09:41 »

Wait...so like...wait...so...um....wait...so...is Amber...crushing on Walky?

I may be reading too much into her facial expressions.

cesium133 · « **Reply #31 on:** 22 Aug 2018, 09:49 »

I'm pretty sure she is. I'm not sure how Walky feels about it. And I do think Willis is headed in that direction. It would really mess with Dorothy, and it would give Danny a reason to move ahead with Ethan... just in time for him to find Ethan with Mike.

Theta9 · « **Reply #32 on:** 22 Aug 2018, 10:16 »

Quote from: LeeC on 22 Aug 2018, 09:41

Wait...so like...wait...so...um....wait...so...is Amber...crushing on Walky?

I may be reading too much into her facial expressions.

Does everyone Dorothy breaks up with, move on to Amber?

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #33 on:** 23 Aug 2018, 01:13 »

Quote from: Theta9 on 22 Aug 2018, 10:16

Quote from: LeeC on 22 Aug 2018, 09:41
Wait...so like...wait...so...um....wait...so...is Amber...crushing on Walky?

I may be reading too much into her facial expressions.
Does everyone Dorothy breaks up with, move on to Amber?

Nah...
Just Walky moves on to everyone Danny breaks up with..

Personally, I'm feeling very *Meh* about Amber & Walky.
And for the same reasons as I felt about Dorothy and Walky.

The dumping of Danny for reasons which don't seem to stop the next relationship to be with someone (Walky) who seems to at best no different and at worst, a worse partner. At least with Dorothy, she realised (maybe not consciously but the outcome was the same) that pretty much the same reasons she broke things off with Danny would eventually break up her and Walky.

I guess the difference with Amber is that it was Amazi-Girl who had the hots for Danny more than she did...(?)

Either way... this one is leaving me with a big "Meh!" going on.
(As much "Meh!" as a coupling of Danny and Ethan would raise, too)
(Which, really, is all down to me thinking the 'Original' Danny/Sal story was terribly sad, and that I'd love to see them together and happy in SOME rendition of these multi-verses!)

BenRG · « **Reply #34 on:** 23 Aug 2018, 01:42 »

FWIW, I've got a bad feeling that this is all about Amber trying to live up to her 'I'm a Bad Girl' self-identity issues by having a disruptive slacker boyfriend. Not only might this hurt Walky but I also suspect that it's a forewarning of a serious and perhaps climactic crisis for Amber herself.

(click to show/hide)

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #35 on:** 23 Aug 2018, 01:48 »

Quote from: BenRG on 23 Aug 2018, 01:42

FWIW, I've got a bad feeling that this is all about Amber trying to live up to her 'I'm a Bad Girl' self-identity issues by having a disruptive slacker boyfriend. Not only might this hurt Walky but I also suspect that it's a forewarning of a serious and perhaps climactic crisis for Amber herself.

(click to show/hide)
The next chapter of Dumbing of Age is called 'Flying to the Red'. This portends nothing that would be good for Amber.

Yeah...
The whole Garbage Roof thing bothers me on all sorts of levels.
Mainly insofar as I don't think Walky truly attaches the same concrete definition of 'Garbage' to himself as Amber does to herself.

Walky thinks he just needs some time alone and wasn't too happy with himself.
Amber truly believes she is worthless garbage.

This is gonna be a lot of things... I don't think "Fun" is one of them.

LeeC · « **Reply #36 on:** 23 Aug 2018, 06:22 »

Quote from: LeeC on 22 Aug 2018, 09:41

Wait...so like...wait...so...um....wait...so...is Amber...crushing on Walky?

I may be reading too much into her facial expressions.

Somebody better pick up that phone. Because I fukin called it!

Does Dorthy know Sal is Walky's twin sister? I know Dorthy and Sal have gone back to back with each other, but is Dorthy truly prepared for that kind of reveal?

sitnspin · « **Reply #37 on:** 23 Aug 2018, 09:38 »

Quote from: Theta9 on 22 Aug 2018, 10:16

Quote from: LeeC on 22 Aug 2018, 09:41
Wait...so like...wait...so...um....wait...so...is Amber...crushing on Walky?

I may be reading too much into her facial expressions.
Does everyone Dorothy breaks up with, move on to Amber?

As far as we know, she's only dated two people. That is not a sufficient sample size to establish a pattern.

BenRG · « **Reply #38 on:** 24 Aug 2018, 01:38 »

I'm told on the comments section of today's strip (8/24/18) that the next chapter was originally going to be titled 'Walking With Sal'. Given it's actual title, I'm willing to speculate that it will be about something I've long wondered about. Maybe the next chapter will centre around Sal and Walky acting as both guides and support as Amber finally journeys to the centre of her psychological problems and confronts her demons in the Red Panels.

Theta9 · « **Reply #39 on:** 24 Aug 2018, 06:40 »

Quote from: LeeC on 23 Aug 2018, 06:22

Does Dorthy know Sal is Walky's twin sister? I know Dorthy and Sal have gone back to back with each other, but is Dorthy truly prepared for that kind of reveal?

Do you mean Dorothy, or Amber? I don't see Dorothy giving half a shit about Sal's relationship to Walky.

LeeC · « **Reply #40 on:** 24 Aug 2018, 06:59 »

Quote from: Theta9 on 24 Aug 2018, 06:40

Quote from: LeeC on 23 Aug 2018, 06:22
Does Dorthy know Sal is Walky's twin sister? I know Dorthy and Sal have gone back to back with each other, but is Dorthy truly prepared for that kind of reveal?
Do you mean Dorothy, or Amber? I don't see Dorothy giving half a shit about Sal's relationship to Walky.

Yes, Amber. Sorry. The little one hasn't let me sleep much lately and my brain has been on the fritz.

I am laughing that I brought Sal up and was curious on how Amber would feel and it looks like I am getting my question answered.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #41 on:** 25 Aug 2018, 02:45 »

Well, she knows now.

LeeC · « **Reply #42 on:** 25 Aug 2018, 12:37 »

That middle panel with Amber's reaction...priceless

Method of Madness · « **Reply #43 on:** 26 Aug 2018, 07:29 »

Sal regrets telling Walky to be honest.

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #44 on:** 28 Aug 2018, 01:06 »

Hmmm...
Walky holds actual doorstop.
Which transforms into the "doorstop" burrito...??

Knife/Mobile Phone...??

BenRG · « **Reply #45 on:** 28 Aug 2018, 01:12 »

Right now, I think that Amber needs Walky the goof. The question is whether he can be Walky the supporter or Walky the carer if she needs him to be that?

LeeC · « **Reply #46 on:** 28 Aug 2018, 06:13 »

D'awww

LeeC · « **Reply #47 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 06:24 »

Joyce is exploring...and doesn't seem to be thrilled about it by the end of the strip. She looks to be conflicted.

BenRG · « **Reply #48 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 06:55 »

She's found a porn video of Joe, who is sort of her friend, having sex with Roz deSanto, who I think she despises. 'Mixed feelings' is barely an adequate description of her reaction.

FWIW, I think that she's going to beg Joe, as an experienced lover whom she more-or-less trusts, to 'break her duck'. Refusing her (as a friend should) will be the hardest thing that I suspect Joe will have ever done.

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #49 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 08:32 »

Quote from: BenRG on 30 Aug 2018, 06:55

She's found a porn video of Joe, who is sort of her friend, having sex with Roz deSanto, who I think she despises. 'Mixed feelings' is barely an adequate description of her reaction.

FWIW, I think that she's going to beg Joe, as an experienced lover whom she more-or-less trusts, to 'break her duck'. Refusing her (as a friend should) will be the hardest thing that I suspect Joe will have ever done.

But...
It *could* lead to an actual proper relationship.
You all know me... I hate the shipping thing...
But Joe and Joyce? Seems they would be good for each other.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Damn You, Willis! (Dumbing of Age) PART 2 (Read 173502 times)