FINAL WEEK! The Dumbing of Age Book 8 Kickstarter is still here, and there’s just 7 days left to put in your pledge!
This book will collect “Year Eight,” spanning the four storylines that start on September 1, 2017, and complete on August 30, 2018. This includes new commentary, behind-the-scenes artwork, 24 previously Patreon-exclusive bonus strips, and new character designs into an 222-page tome with luxurious glossy paper all bound up into a sturdy presentation!
Loading ...
Gotta collect ’em all!
Exémon
This post deserves more visibility.
This is an impossibly early Anna comment. It’s more visible than the sun at noon.
*Ana
Also, the sun at noon on a perfectly clear day.
Again I wish we could up vote comments.
If we could, I’d upvote yours.
Physics-thwarting hair.
Mike’s hair defying
gravityphysics is now canon.We always knew his hair was a wave. Now we know, it’s also a particle.
The Mike-on – fundamental particle of hatesex.
That must be Mike.
And the brown-haired guy whose “too nice” must be Danny.
Correct me if I’m wrong.
You got both counts.
I half-expected Ethan to say “Danny’s too good an egg”.
I wonder when “egg” will start word filtering into people.
Delicious
You say this and I just wonder if I missed a “Danny is an unrealized trans woman” fan theory somewhere, and if not, I immediately support it. X ]
Got it in one!
Honestly I didn’t make that connection until reading the comments.
Danny really is just a question mark with a cap floating over it…
Turns out physics has both a mother and a nickel.
I laughed far too hard at this.
Same.
Took me a few seconds to get this. You win.
Every good collection needs at least one christian beard!
100% of my exes were Christian beards. (To be fair, I have one singular ex.)
*switching from Bowie to Davy Jones and the Monkees’ “Star Collector” on the hacked Muzak*
I interpreted the ‘collection of exes’ in a much creepier sense, à la Steven Wilson’s “Index”.
David Bowie was originally named David Jones.
But will he pose them to recreate his favorite Beast Wars scene?
Damnit Ethan.
Lol Joyce
Oh shoot all these characters have met but not all at the same time WHAT WILL THIS COMBINATION BRING?
Joyce watched Dexter and Monkey Master in Ethan’s room with Walky and occasionally Jacob back when they were “dating.”
When two more Ex-bots are brought forward, they may all combine into the legendary EX-CALIBER
Ethan Pilgrim vs the World?
… humbly requesting a full fourth panel to make memes with.
And maybe one of him disliking stuff, too.
An entire rogues gallery of exes
That’s it, that’s the plural term for an ex.
Ethan the Himbo.
I would date a horrible jerk if he had magic hair.
Running my fingers through his hair would be fascinating, and dangerous.
Not that Mike’s actually all that terrible, it’s all an act he puts on for himself.
He’s easy to manipulate.
Just ask Dina.
With Mike there was always the question of who was manipulation who. And why.
not sure Mike would let you do that to his hair
Mike would probably cut his hair specifically to make you sad you couldn’t anymore.
Gotta Bang ‘Em All!
I can’t believe he can smile saying that
Ethan, I’m not sure that having a collection of exes is the best thing in the world. That being said if you aren’t looking for anything serious and you tell people that when you hook up with them, then there isn’t any harm. So long as you are using protection of course.
I mean. His protection seems to be talking about Transformers in bed. So…
Well, as long as he doesn’t end up having seven evil exes, then meets a new boyfriend named Ramone.
Joyce is an adorable ex! Ethan could do way worse, indeed.
And oh god yes, thank you, no more dating Mike. Over-gelling his hair can’t make him less of a dick. That has to come from inwards. 😛
So… many… inwards+dick jokes to make…
Too many to pick one, eh? 😛
It has to come from outwards, then inwards, then repeat for a while, than finish up by coming inwards.
I love this comment section.
Ethan, if you’re counting a guy you made out once with for 45 minutes as an ex, some serious collector is going to accuse you of cheating to inflate your numbers.
And if anyone else were to do so, that collector would be you.
Just saying.
Only if they’re not properly sorted.
Ethan’s goal: collect enough exes that he has to worry about big O notation to properly sort them.
What is the proper category for that? Snog? Fling?
Is there a term to rival the wonderful-sounding (but totally inapplicable) assignation or paramour?
Short-term makeout? Assignation doesn’t work because they didn’t set anything up, Thad just hit on him and then they
bangedmade out, and paramour implies a longer relationship, the way lover does.Bedpost notch
If N*tch were a bedpost, he would actually be more useful.
There’s something to be said for not bringing up a hated figure every time you’re given even the most oblique entrance. At this point you’re just making people talk about him again. I wasn’t thinking of the Minecraft guy and now I am. What accomplishes the goal of getting rid of him more effectively?
Ummm, I haven’t the foggiest idea who I am supposedly bringing up here.
You’re not bringing up anyone. Delicious Taffy is bringing up Notch, the internet mononym of the guy who made Minecraft. The term “bedpost notch” would be the oblique entrance in question.
One day a shelving unit will collapse and Ethan will be buried under a mountain of fallen exes. Will anyone hear his cries for help?
My collection is non existant as i have never had an ex due to never having a current
In that case, you lie. I did until I was 22….and it turned out sex was not nearly as enjoyable as I imagined. Kinda hyped it up too much for myself.
You just need a Keyblade to unlock the barriers sealing your hype away.
nah i tried physical intimacy once. It wasn’t especially enjoyable.
And thus a box popped up over Jacob’s head saying “It hurt itself in it’s confusion”.
This is getting dangerous.
Does Jacob have to duck to get that sign through doorways?
I love Jacob’s expression in that last panel. He’s just like “Well, this conversation took a *turn*.”
Even more so if it comes out Joyce knew Ethan was gay.
Going off this comic, he already knows.
Whoops I forgot. So much happens in this comic, not complaining.
It’s been a busy semester.
Recall, everyone, that Jacob is a guy who is looking for something serious and lasting.
I think that this is definitely going to affect his opinion of Ethan.
Also, Jacob kinda likes Joyce (even if he’s not entirely aware of the fact), and may not have made the link between “Ethan dated Joyce” and “Ethan’s gay” yet, which has just been brought home to him and may also affect his opinion.
On the other hand, he’s a fairly laid-back guy in most ways, particularly in “to each his own” terms, so…
“Ethan dated Joyce” + “Ethan’s gay” = Joyce is a man?!?
Don’t tell her! She’ll have an even harder time with the showers!
In what way did he not make that link? He said before he respected the space the two of them carved out for each other (i.e., a sexless romance). And he knows Ethan being gay was the reason for their breakup. He specifically said already that he doesn’t hold it against her. Although, he may not have known that she was trying to convert Ethan at the time.
Also: re, his opinion of Ethan being affected, pretty sure Jacob has already implied he doesn’t expect all of his friends to want the same things he does. A serious relationship is what he wants, personally, but he’s never told others what to do romantically unless they’re trying to snare *him*. Otherwise, how could he be friends with Joe at all?
You’re right. My bad, I forgot that strip. Oops.
Damn it, Willis, either give me EthanXDanny or EthanXMike!!! Or maybe all three in some sort of poly triad would be fine, I DON’T KNOW I JUST KNOW THAT MY HEART NEEDS THIS
Poly triad? Clinton + Elliot + Brun, please!!!
Stop shipping out my brother, only I’m allowed to do that and I’ve got exams this week.
Pfft, Claire, it’s called outsourcing. Outsourcing sitting your exams is immoral but outsourcing shipping your brother is… hilarious and wrong but not immoral or likely to get you kicked out of college without the qualification you’ve been studying for for years…
My god yes please those three! lmao
YES please. (Wrong comic, though)
QC is never the wrong comic. Neither is DoA.
Add one more vote for this triad.
This is what us humans call a “foreshadow”, or potentially a “forewarning.”
Ring ring calling Willis support!
Ever since I reset my browser history a few weeks ago, whenever I try to post a comment on my main PC Browser (Firefox) the comments get flagged for moderation and never reviewed.
Wanted to know if this was a random woops or working as Intended?
I think Ethan should call his collection of exes the Ex-Men.
Joyce and Amber might not appreciate that.
With the gloves and jacket Joyce can be Rogue! And Amber as Dark Phoenix would… Destroy galaxies really…
It took me a few tries to untangle that last sentence.
I guess the thing that really occurs to me here is that Ethan thinks Danny is ‘too good’ for him. I guess that’s worrying in a way.
Ethan Self Confidence: Improving, but not quite optimal yet.
Not so worrying. Ethan barely knows Danny. All he knows is that Danny is a nice guy with the patience to deal with Amber’s mental health issues without running away. He might have lowered self-esteem, but he also has Danny up on a pedestal. Also, he thinks Danny is straight. We know that Danny is bi-questioning, but Ethan doesn’t have that insight. So for now, he has relegated Danny to guilty crush.
Not quite. Ethan and Danny are friends too, and Danny’s already told Ethan he has a crush – they’ve just also agreed they’re not going to do anything about it because of Amber (who he’d just broken up with at the time).
Ethan knows Danny pretty well – better than he knows Thad or most of the other guys on the floor. And he does know Danny’s bi – they’ve talked about their mutual attraction.
TBH What I interpret ‘too good’ to mean in this context is like. He would be great to date, perhaps in fact too great to date, because that greatness would almost be a slap to the face for Amber.
(Personally I think that’s stupid and just because she has insecurities about ‘turning her exes gay’ doesn’t mean that fear should be legitimized in literally any way because it’s a stupid thing to think and they should just date anyway. BUT W/E…THATS MY TAKE…)
I feel exceptionally called out by that “dust them once a decade”.
PRIMUS STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT SAME WITH YOU UNICRON DAMNIT
You’re good enough for Danny, Ethan. He’s the good egg and you’re the, uh, granola.
Ethan is the goodest of them all. Maybe a bit too self-aware.
Really, I think that Ethan has gone too far to the other end of the scale. I suspect that he’ll mess up badly, realise that he’s hurting both himself and others and try to work out a healthier mindset. However, as always, that will take time.
Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to seeing what Jacob has to say about rebel!Joyce.
Agreed. I HAVE known people who are best described as “serial monogamists”, and are happy with their lifestyle, but from everything I’ve seen of Ethan, he’s not one of them. I really hope he doesn’t wind up internalising that sense of poor worth, because that will REALLY mess up his emotional stability down the line. :/
Personally I feel like this current stage is almost a similar thing to how Ruth is currently feeling. He’s spent so long denying this part of himself, now that’s it’s free he wants to try and make up for lost time somehow.
That, or he is still anxious about what it means for his personal identity to be gay and to date guys, so he is avoiding attaching any kind of deep emotions or commitment to anything.
Or, he’s just experimenting with the feeling of just being able to date guys freely?
Or maybe all of the above???
Joyce should dress like Squall Leonhart. I think that would be an endearing character trait.
First time we’ve seen Jacob and Joyce since she kind of decided not to go after him. Let’s see how that decision holds up.
It takes two to tango and I’m not sure of how strong Joyce’s resolve will be if Jacob decides to pursue a relationship with her.
And I’m not ready to bet that much on HIS resolve when she shows up in a leather jacket.
Jacob’s not going to overtly pursue a relationship – but he’ll likely start up with the flirting again.
It’s not like he ever stopped.
If he decides to pursue it, there’s literally no reason for Joyce to feel bad about it (Jacob is an adult who can make his own choices), so I kinda doubt that’ll happen.
Well, if he pursues it and hides it from Raidah, Joyce should still stay the hell away, but I can’t see Jacob doing that. If he decided to act on it, he’d break up with Raidah first.
Please, alt-text.
Ethan dusts his collection every weekend.
(I didn’t actually mean that as innuendo, but here we are)
uh-huh.
He also has long, intimate conversations with Classic G1 Bluestreak, who is the only being in this universe who understands him.
Ethan in panel 4… sounds a bit like… Joe.
A bit.
Just missing all the creepy parts.
I mean, I guess the “collection” is a bit creepy, but it’s missing any real hint of the predatory aspect, the ratings or the focus on sex in every conversation.
I wonder if Ethan…just isn’t interested in a relationship right now.
Or sex.
ITS POSSIBLE.
:O
Ethan’s right- Joyce is pretty great.
Ethan’s plan appears to be to make connections with people who are awesome, snog the cute guys in that demographic, and remain friends with them all… There will be so much LITERATURE inspired…
That is a horrible way of seeing relationships, Ethan! Like a gay Joe, or gay Charlie Sheen/Charlie Harper! There’s only loneliness and STDs from that path. I mean, I approve of monogamy and polygamy and having casual sex once in a while, but describing relationships as a collections seems so wrong!
Oh god, I hope Ethan uses condoms.
ITYM polyamory. Polygamy is… Not quite the same thing.
No need to dust when they are kept in a cabinet with a little fan and filter keeping the whole thing at a very moderate positive pressure relative to the local environment.
Oh, Ethan.
No, Ethan, do not do this, do not take the “Ramona Flowers” path. It will just end with 7 people who really do not like you anymore, and hooking up with an asshole. If you want to hook up with an asshole, just go back to Mike.
Well, let’s look at Ethan’s current exes
1) Amber – He and Amber are best friends and Amber loves him very much.
2) Joyce – He and Joyce are still friends
3) Danny (ex-crush, not ex as in dated) – Still friends
4) Mike – Still friends as much as Mike is friends with anyone.
5) Thad – Still friends.
I think he’s doing okay.
There’s no shame in not looking for somehing serious, if you’re up front with that and treat the other person with respect rather than just thinking of them as a one-night stand. You can date casually or even have casual hookups without being Joe.
(I dunno about Ramona; I guess she just has weird taste in guys.)
Heck, you can be respectful and have one night stand, as long as you don’t treat people like a piece of meat.
Right, yeah, that’s kinda what I meant. They’re more than just a one-night stand.
Mentally move that “just” in my first sentence from before “thinking of them” to after “as a”.
(Or “as”, rather. *sighs* Why no edit button? DYW!)
If you want an edit button, you have to shell out for patreon. 😛
The current comments system is pretty janky, yeah, but if it would take a lot of effort to implement a new system then I can understand it not being something Willis wants to do. Plus I have this nagging suspicion that a new system would mean losing old comments.
Willis tried to add an edit button to the forums but it didn’t work. So now it’s only patreon.
Why is Danny too good? Sure, he’s a good egg, but why TOO good?
Because Ethan has the self esteem of a walnut.
And hopefully Jacob says as much in the next comic. (More tactfully, of course: “Whoa, Ethan, what do you mean “too good”? You’re a great guy; don’t put yourself down like that!”
)
Leave it to Jacob to turn relationships into something nerdy.
Panel #4 “Ethan is but the herald of The Great and Mighty Faz!!”
Ethan Siegal
My name is Ethan Siegal
And there’s a million guys I haven’t done
But just you wait, just you wait