Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
Oh, Sven ...
Voltaireilicous:
--- Quote from: SrMeowMeow on 06 Feb 2009, 07:05 ---Oh, har. The way the characters all look at the "camera" when they deliver their punchlines in most strips.
And, to be clear, the problem I have with this comic (meaning this specific one, not the whole of QC) and all it stands for is basically that all the meaningless casual sex has a tendency to come off as the author's private fantasies and not so grounded in any coherent plot-line. Like...that comic where Faye is talking about having the alphabet trick done on her. I mean, Jeph's a guy, so that can't be personal experience - so, to me, it's just easy writing to titillate his audience (and himself?).
I don't know. I like the comic in general and I don't mean to dump criticism on it, but these are the two main things that interfere with my personal enjoyment of the comic.
--- End quote ---
The camera thing doesn't bother me at all, it's just a stylistic choice, so meh.
But I never found the sex scenes to be purely titillating. They build up the individual characters, and part of these characters is that they talk about, and have, sex. Which isn't that unrealistic. In fact, as a woman, I do tend to talk about talk about these things in front of men. So, I just think it's good characterization.
Pet Peeve:
Joined for this one message, because ya'll make me sick, and I'll never be visiting this pathetic subforum again.
The author is drawing and writing this comic to tell a story. It's not written to mirror the reader's relationships, or make them feel better about their insecurities, or to end in a way that makes them happy. If a plotline makes you unhappy, you are NOT allowed to say that it's a bad story just because of that. If you do, you need to seek professional help, because you're getting emotional validation out of a comic strip.
If you don't like the story, stop reading. But to claim because there's a sex scene (and a damn funny and story-appropriate one at that) that he's doing "fanservice" (especially stupid because there's only one minor character in the strip, and probably not one that freaky obsessives want to see naked), or that an activity is "out of character" when you don't *know* the character (you just think you do), makes you a worse-than-useless fan. What the hell is it with people who say "fanservice"? Losers.
I'm not saying that Jeph is Charles Dickens, but man, if Dickens had this horde of buttheads hounding him as he read each page, he would have never finished anything.
In a story, characters do things because a) the author thinks it will be fun, or b) because it advances the plotlines of that story. They don't do it solely to please the reader unless they're a hack writer, and in a lot of cases they SHOULD be doing things that piss the readers off, or at least make them uncomfortable. I think Jeph does a damn fine job myself.
P.S. Don't bother emailing me about what a bad person I am. Fake email address, and PMs will be laughed at because they prove my point.
radamanthys:
Sven is not every other angsty character on QC. He's a happy-go-lucky, arrogant person, and deservedly so. He's attractive, rich, charming, and talented.
Faye, on the other hand is the abrasive fat chick with psychiatric issues.
His's dalliances have been well noted. There is a very good reason Dora doesn't want Sven dating her friends. Faye understood the risk and has already internalized it.
Plus, Faye was (read: began as) a conquest. She was an impenetrable wall of negative emotion and sass. That's the thrill for guys like Sven.
However, it's obvious Sven does indeed have his own manner of feelings for Faye. It is entirely possible that his guilt is not over the manner in which it will harm their relationship, but for her fragile psychological state. Just because there's a lack of commitment does not mean that there is a lack of compassion. Up until now we have no idea what the true nature of his feelings are. And in all reality, the status control in the relationship lies entirely within his hands. Faye can try to call it off all she wants- he's already proven that his charm can break whatever emotional walls she puts up. And get him out of trouble.
If anything, Dora will be the one to kill him.
(as far as the general nature of the comic is concerned- this is a Sven arc, and this theme is Sven's life. He's a very sexual being. Compare it to removing the coffee shop from Dora's arcs It's not 'fan service' at all; it's good storytelling.)
SrMeowMeow:
--- Quote from: Pet Peeve on 06 Feb 2009, 08:26 ---Joined for this one message, because ya'll make me sick, and I'll never be visiting this pathetic subforum again.
The author is drawing and writing this comic to tell a story. It's not written to mirror the reader's relationships, or make them feel better about their insecurities, or to end in a way that makes them happy. If a plotline makes you unhappy, you are NOT allowed to say that it's a bad story just because of that. If you do, you need to seek professional help, because you're getting emotional validation out of a comic strip.
If you don't like the story, stop reading. But to claim because there's a sex scene (and a damn funny and story-appropriate one at that) that he's doing "fanservice" (especially stupid because there's only one minor character in the strip, and probably not one that freaky obsessives want to see naked), or that an activity is "out of character" when you don't *know* the character (you just think you do), makes you a worse-than-useless fan. What the hell is it with people who say "fanservice"? Losers.
I'm not saying that Jeph is Charles Dickens, but man, if Dickens had this horde of buttheads hounding him as he read each page, he would have never finished anything.
In a story, characters do things because a) the author thinks it will be fun, or b) because it advances the plotlines of that story. They don't do it solely to please the reader unless they're a hack writer, and in a lot of cases they SHOULD be doing things that piss the readers off, or at least make them uncomfortable. I think Jeph does a damn fine job myself.
P.S. Don't bother emailing me about what a bad person I am. Fake email address, and PMs will be laughed at because they prove my point.
--- End quote ---
I figure the chances of you not coming back to read and re-read your little rant are about zero, because this is clearly all about attention, so I'll ignore your disclaimer and just jump right in.
Your opinion of what Jeph is doing is great. So is mine. And Jeph can ignore my opinion, I don't expect him to change the comic for me, and I never said he should. I just pointed out two things that bother me about the comic. But to say that people are NOT ALLOWED to criticize a story arc because it's what the author chose to do - is moronic. I can do whatever I want. I can keep reading and ignore what I see as imperfections; I can stop reading if it bothers me. You can come on here and make angsty, attention-seeking posts. It's a free world.
And I think it is fanservice to just slap a nearly explicit sex scene into a comic to spice things up. Anyway, this was never about the story arc to me, I'm not saying Sven's decision is out of character or whatever. This is just something I don't like about this comic, end of story.
benji:
There is something particularly pathetic about registering for a sight just to tell it's users how pathetic you think they are.
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