Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

QC Character Total Appearances

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Scruffy:
Wow, this is really impressive.  This has passed through my head once, but I never even considered going through it.  Kudos to you, this is very interesting.

raoullefere:
At 1000 we have

Faye   711   0.711
Marten   703   0.703
Dora   441   0.441
Pintsize   194   0.194
Raven   127   0.127
Steve   118   0.118
Hannelore   111   0.111
Ellen   62   0.062
Sven   56   0.056
Penelope   48   0.048
Tai   37   0.037
Natasha   33   0.033
Ms. Reed   25   0.025
Winslow   23   0.023
Amanda   22   0.022
Amir   22   0.022
Jimbo   21   0.021
Beatrice Chatham    16   0.016
Vespavenger   12   0.012
Meena   11   0.011
Angus   11   0.011
Mrs. Whitaker   8   0.008
Sara   8   0.008
Genevieve (Sven's Ex)   6   0.006
Mr. Whitaker   6   0.006
Mieville (Dora's Cat)   6   0.006
Dr. Corrine   6   0.006
Alan Turing, FBI   5   0.005
Lorena Torres (Realtor)   4   0.004
Martin's Boss   4   0.004
Jeph   4   0.004
Pizza Girl   3   0.003
Tequilla Monster   3   0.003
Dave   2   0.002
Peter Bianchi   2   0.002

After lagging behind, Faye surges into the lead. Pintsize is now definitely supporting cast, topping the list that includes Raven, Steve, and Hannelore. Sven and Penelope occupy the next level, while Tai leads the minor cast. Ellen remains an anomaly. The thing is, when she was appearing, there were fewer other characters to compete with for time. So, although she leads Penelope and Sven, if I started this at, say # 500, Ellen would be much lower (she's had about 14 appearances since then) in the standings. So is she supporting cast or a minor character?

I saw something similar happen with Sara in the early strips  before that pesky allosaurus et her. A real number cruncher would likely have a fancy-schmancy name for this sort of thing, but I wouldn't know. I'm simply obsessed.

tomart:
Yeah, I should've included Steve as a major. So it's shaping up to be

Major Characters:
Marten (pride of place for starting the whole shebang), Faye, Dora, Pintsize, Steve, Hannelore, Raven

Supporting Cast:
Winslow, Jimbo, Sven, Penelope, Tai, ...and ?

As you've suggested, there's more to the importance rankings than just appearances. If "Majors" are those who not only appear a lot, but are fleshed out and have their own strips and arcs, then "Supporting" might be those who keep showing up, and have a fair number of fans...

Actually fan feedback (and of course Jeph) can make minor, offhand characters into solid support personnel, and vice versa. Or someone who didn't seem important at first, into a favorite (Hannelore.)

So I would relegate Ellen to minor:  the way she dumped Steve makes her rather unwelcome 'round here, and her arc has played out.

Doug S. Machina:
So Faye beats Marten into second place, though you might say she's been doing that since they met.
Interesting that Hannelore has appeared less than Steve. I suppose that, as you said about Angus, her appearances tend to be more memorable. Also surprising is that Ellen had appeared more than Sven. It doesn't seem like it.

Only 74 to go. What are you going to do when The Work is finished?

Doug S. Machina:
Don't know what's happened here. Maybe i should tell a joke in this space.

"Three men went into a bar, and the whole scene developed with a hideous predicability..."
(Bill Bailey)

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