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Angus

Hannelore

Steve

Pintsize

Dora

Tai

Faye

Marten

Cosette

Sven

Marigold

Some other minor character like Penelope who is almost gone as it is.

[Dust]

I'd honestly rather see some characters on the bus back into town. I really liked Dale and Amir, and I want an update on Deathmole (maybe see them jam w/ Sven?)

But, to actually answer your question: Probably Martins Mom. For some reason this recent visit from Ms. Reed just rubbed me the wrong way, which is funny, as the first time she visited I liked her a lot.

Have to concur here.

[jwhouk]

If Marten left, Angus would have to step into his shoes - and I don't think he could.

[Method of Madness]

If Marten's the Forman, then is Angus the Hyde?  (Which, of course, would make Steve the Kelso and Cosette the Jackie, but there is no Donna).

[Carl-E]

Had to google the reference.  I don't watch that 70's show, I had a hard enough time living through the 70's...

[helloandgoodbye]

  I'd get rid of Hannelore.

  It's not because she's popular.  It's just that I very rarely find the strips that involve her to be funny.  Her OCD as a running gag gets old after awhile, and I just find her obnoxious.  She's just too naive for me to take her seriously.  I find her to be too much of a woobie where you're supposed to go aww poor Hanners she's afraid of germs again.

  Obviously, Jeph would never get rid of her since he's so fond of her.  Oh, well.

  Anyway, I really hope Dora doesn't end up getting relegated as a minor character like Penny.  I feel her character is well-developed, and I like her brand of humor.

[jwhouk]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone tracked the 90 strips since "the breakup" as to how many have had Dora appearances? I'm thinking it hasn't been many, relative to how it had been the 90 previous.

[TheEvilDog]

I was bored.

Since comic 1801;
Dora has appeared in 14 comics
Marten - 49 comics
Faye - 33 comics
Hanners - 31 comics
Tai - 13 comics
Angus - 18 comics
Marigold - 9 comics
Veronica - 17 comics
Sven - 5 comics
Padma - 11 comics

Not every character (such as Cosette, Wil or Steve) was included, and guest/filler strips were not included either.

[Method of Madness]

Had to google the reference.  I don't watch that 70's show, I had a hard enough time living through the 70's...

I suppose that makes sense.  If you ever change your mind, though, don't bother watching season 8, that season never happened.

[cabbagehut]

I chose Angus.  I really don't like him as a "person".  I realize that he's not real, but I've known a few guys like him, and they always rub me the wrong way.  Faye genuinely disliked him at first and was really rude and unpleasant.  Angus just kept coming back again and again, despite the insistence of Faye that he was unwelcome.

To make matter worse, he came to bother her at work, where she didn't really have any way of avoiding him.  To me, that shows a huuuuge disregard for boundaries that is a big red flag.

Based on the writing, I'm clearly supposed to have rooted for him, or at the very least, not thought of him as a creepy stalker.  But I can't - he shoved his way into the story, despite obvious attempts to get rid of him, and that defines his personality for me.  He doesn't want to take "no" for an answer when he decides he wants something.  It's not malicious, which honestly makes it worse.  It's harder to call him on it.

Overall, I like most characters.  Even Sven.  He reminds me a lot of a friend.  Sort of a dick, but you knew that when you got into it, and he never makes any effort to change, or tells you that he will be.  But he's not enough of a dick to stop hanging around him.  What he did to Faye was SHITTY, and she was right to pretty much hate him afterwards, but other than the cheating bit, I didn't think he was so bad.

[FuseUnison]

You forgot the "Luv 'em all" option.

Obviously I don't like all of them equally, but I will not vote for a removal of any of them.

Agreed. 

Also, in various threads I've seen many people express a dis-taste for Pintsize.  I have to say, I REALLY like AntrhoPC characters and the mechanic they provide to QC, especially Pintsize.  Of course I may be a bit biased here.  I'm a robotics geek, and love the concept of the characters as much as the characters themselves.

[Method of Madness]

Pintsize is one of the easiest characters to just not include for a while, so even if Jeph got tired of him to that extent, I can't see why he'd outright dump him from the comic.

[gprimr1]

I couldn't see anyone except a minor character going away. Hannelore is adorable, Marten is the main character, and Pintsize is good when the comic gets too serious. 

[questionablecontentfan]

Faye. I honestly have no idea why people like Faye. I disliked her from the beginning and still do, despite everything she's been through. It just doesn't excuse what she did to Marten, and how she's treated people all along. She's just a terrible person and has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I would argue that she was created to be disliked, but apparently people here don't agree.

I also know she's not going anywhere. So I will have to continue to tolerate her presence in the story. Blegh.

I also cannot believe anyone wants Marigold gone. She is probably the only reason I put with with Faye's bitchiness...because she's in the comic too.

[Method of Madness]

(yawn)

Also, the Modify button exists for a reason, no need to double post.

[questionablecontentfan]

(yawn)

You sound tired. Maybe you should have some coffee or something.  

[DSL]

I get why someone might not "like" Faye or any other character, but I'd call her an important character for any number of reasons -- half of the relationship, for example, around which much of QC was based at the start. We Americans seem to need to "like" the characters in our stories, so even the champion puppy-kicker of all time has to have some sort of redeeming quality. I remember a handful of 1980s British TV comedies that made it onto American cable channels for a while -- something named "Shelley" and, of course, Patsy and Edina of "Absolutely Fabulous" come to mind -- whose appeal as characters were built around their absolute lack of appeal as people. Before that, John Cleese's Basil Fawlty was thoroughly unlikeable as a person, though brilliant as a character in a story. But I don't want to confuse with "like-ability" with a character's importance to a story.
Would I like having a Faye around me in real life? Can't always say yes. Would QC as a story suffer from her absence? I think so.

[questionablecontentfan]

Part of me feels like I should excuse it because of what happened to her, and also a bit hypocritical because I can be the same way (but not out loud like she is), but still. When she called Hannelore "crazy" and trampled over Marigold's feelings, and led Marten on, and threw Pintsize against a wall, threatening to bash her sister's head in, calling Raven dumb...it just gets really old after awhile. I just can't stand her. I don't think she's really gotten that much nicer. A girl who was sarcastic and occasionally mean who was even slightly less irritating than Faye would have been nice.

And the way she didn't want Marten with any other girls while leading him on? Yeah. That was a great example of why I do not like her.

I know my opinion isn't popular, but that's not really the point.

[Carl-E]

And the way she didn't want Marten with any other girls while leading him on? Yeah. That was a great example of why I do not like her.

It's also a great example of why she needed (and got) help.  Even she  knew it was an effed up thing to do. 

Can't say that for a lot of real life people. 

And, as a character, she may well have the largest amount of positive growth; she has  gotten less violent, she is  less callous towards her friends, and is much more stable than she was before, not to mention finally  being able to connect with another person. 

Nice?  Hell no, she's a barista. 

A good character in the story? 

Hell  yeah!

[Is it cold in here?]

"Barista" is an anagram for "is a brat".

Criticism of Faye is well grounded, but I can't agree that she has no redeeming qualities. Her crowning moment of awesome was selfless, brave (how many people would talk like that to their boss?), and loyal to both of the parties to the breakup.

[questionablecontentfan]

But her criticism of Dora is somewhat hypocritical (I thought), given how she herself treated Marten in the past. At least Dora gave Marten a chance and didn't lead him on. And interestingly enough, Faye was kinda the reason they broke up.

I'm not gonna pretend that Marten didn't act like an idiot about it for a long time (he did), but what Faye did was plain messed up.

I do think the comic could be fun and go on fine without Faye. Just because she is occasionally nice or occasionally sees the error of her ways doesn't mean she has any redeeming qualities.

I am going against the grain here, but I like Penelope. She's smart, funny and interesting, in my opinion. Also, she was so sweet to Wil when he had no clue how to ask her out. She gets picked on for being shy, which is something I can totally relate to. I'd be in favor of getting rid of Faye and developing Penelope's character more.

And I think Wil is adorable.

[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]

"Barista" is an anagram for "is a brat".

Criticism of Faye is well grounded, but I can't agree that she has no redeeming qualities. Her crowning moment of awesome was selfless, brave (how many people would talk like that to their boss?), and loyal to both of the parties to the breakup.

Counterproposal for crowning moment of awesomeness, specifically panel 4.  Fake edit:  I went to tvtropes to check the 'actual definition' of the CMOA, started to wander and found they also cited 1744.  I swear I'm not just parroting them 

On the subject of redeeming qualities, I don't know that it's really that important, as long as the character has entertaining qualities.  Faye can be pretty unbearable, but they all are at times.  The only two characters I would remove completely at this point are Veronica and Cosette.  I wouldn't mind if Veronica were present as the voice on the other end of the phone, but the last visit put me off daily viewing for a while.  Cosette doesn't really bother me but she doesn't really bring a lot to the comic and I think she'd be the easiest to ditch.

[DSL]

I agree, Senator, on the WTF confrontation being half of Faye's CMOA; the coffeeshop scene was simply Act 2, Scene 1 of said CMOA.
And (if I interpret some responses to my earlier post correctly): I didn't mean say the Pugnacious Peach had no redeeming qualities; she has many, chiefly characterized by a fierce, if occasionally clumsy, loyalty to a few select friends. I meant to say we American media consumers feel the need to like our story characters.
Heading back to the heart of the topic: if I were to say which character I wouldn't mind seeing off at the bus depot, it would be based on whether I thought the character contributed to the story line. I'm not going to say, if only because Jeph does seem to find something for everyone to do, often in ways that surprise and confound the forum, at least to the extent the forum admits to being confounded.

[srsbznss]

I apparently voted with the majority here. Cosette hasn't had any personal development. She's literally a running gag of perpetual stooges-like foils in anything she does. I don't hate her. I'd just like to see her disasters as smaller, more reasonable, and not quite so constant/only-thing-we-see-of-her.

Not every character has to have drama or even backstory. She's just a little too unrealistic.

[Method of Madness]

Penelope bothers me as an atheist, it's people like her that make us all look bad.  I know that was just that one storyline a couple years ago, but we really don't see her that often so it's what I remember her for.

[Skewbrow]

Today's strip reminded me that there is one QC character I definitely would not miss. RANDY! I f*@$ing hate the bugger. I want it on the bus, under the bus, steamrolled over, stake driven thru its heart, and the remains incinerated in a nuclear furnace.

[akronnick]

Shyeah!!!

Like that would make a difference!

[shiroihikari]

Warning: Incoming opinions.

I outright dislike Pintsize, so that's who I voted for.  

I'm also still pretty irritated with Dora and I almost voted for her. But that's probably because I never warmed up to her in the first place. I honestly would not be very upset if she were to exit the strip.

I like Hannelore but I would love to see something slightly different done with her other than "lol OCD".

I would like it if Marigold at least TRIED to work through some of her hangups.  Right now, she seems pretty content to just be miserable and that kind of bothers me.

However, I think that Sven actually has a lot of potential to be a decent human being, so maybe my opinions are invalid.

[mike837go]

A piece of personal advice:

Never, EVER discount the value of your own opinions!

Let people disagree. The way you feel is yours and yours alone.

-----
I will disagree about pintsize. Only because I belive an anti-social character is important as a contrast to the humanity of the other, more (likable)  characters.

Check into Shakspere's use of 'clowns'. 


I would not ever want something like him in my house neigborhood state.

-------

I do agree that Dora has worn out her welcome. Grow-up or get lost!

[jwhouk]

I think Dora's problem is that she didn't have any time to be a girl when she was growing up. That's just me, though.

[Carl-E]

I dunno - "princess spooky-spell" is pretty good evidence that even when she was  being a girl, she wasn't like the other girls.  Some kids like being different just for the sake of being different, and they never really connect with their peer group.  Some don't connect for other reasons - family, or (in my case) frequent moving. 

I don't know if she never had the opportunity, or if it was more along the lines that, faced with her peer group, she decided not to play along. 

Either way, it definitely leaves a personality that has problems! 

Especially when she finds herself a teenager who's "in" with a group that just wants to use her for access to Sven.  A group like that would only be able to exploit someone who's fairly naive and inexperienced, so again, it's evidence that she never really ran with her peer group.  And being exploited like that definitely  leaves a bad taste in your mouth. 

Regardless, her relative importance in the comic is definitely fading, and I think it may continue to do so until she's only a bit player, "the coffeeshop owner", in the lives of our merry band.  No bus, just a slow walk across the bridge to Amherst. 

[questionablecontentfan]

I am not sure how I feel about Dora at this point. I would find her unapproachable in real life. I wouldn't want to get rid of Hanners or Marigold as they are the girls I relate to the most and I would feel more connected to (if they were real).

I do feel bad for Dora being used because her brother's hot. That's shitty. I think it left her jealous of him a lot, and feeling resentful, which is totally understandable. That's probably why it pissed her off when Faye got involved with Sven.

Still, Dora and Faye...I just don't connect with them. But Dora is at least nice sometimes, where Faye is just an out and out bitch.

I like Pintsize, he's the cutest little perv ever.

I also think that people should be allowed to express opinions here without getting rude comments. If you don't agree with someone, just don't reply.

[jwhouk]

Would it be too much to ask which major character is likely to be put on a bus first?

Because despite the obvious (Dora), I'd wonder who would be in the second row of the bus.

[Method of Madness]

Not to be a smartass, but how would you define major character?  Have Marigold and Angus gained this status yet?

Modification: And if such a status can be gained, it can be lost, which means that Dora has been demoted to supporter (if she was ever really more than that).

[gprimr1]

I'm going to go against the trend and argue Hanners is a lot smarter than she may appear to be. In Comic 978, she discusses the Multi Worlds Theory of Quantum Mechanics. I don't know a lot of people who've ever heard of that theory, none the less can name it. While I genuenly believe she doesn't understand all of the sexual humor, I sometimes wonder if she knows more than she lets on.

As for Dora, I don't hate her, and I'd like to see her come back. She did make a serious of increasingly big mistakes, but I think part of the human condition is realizing those mistakes (even if it takes a while), righting wrongs and bettering yourself.

Pintsize is good to keep around for comic relief.

[Carl-E]

Method of Madness makes a good point.  The focus of the story is always shifting, and characters (major or otherwise) come and go. 

For a brief period of time, Penelope and Wil were major characters.  Definitely supporting cast, now.  I'd put Angus as a major, but that's an upgrade based on his and Faye's relationship.  Before he was seriously pursuing a relationship with Faye (and we saw more of his "home life" with Marigold), he was definitely just a running gag (I know, some people still  gag when he's around...). 

On the other hand, I'd argue that Steve has always  been a supporting character.  Even in the arcs with Meenah or Cosette, he didn't really have the feel of a major character.  I'm not sure why, though.  Perhaps because we never really saw him change or grow in any way, he was just always... Steve. 

Jeph has said that he has more ideas than he has time to explore, and so you never know when a character may be brought off the back burner to be focused on, have their story told, then put back or relegated to the dustbin of college Amherst allosaurus intestines history. 

It's really a wait-and-see proposition!

[jwhouk]

Okay, "Major" character was a mis-statement.

I've always believed that in any ensemble work, there are several levels of characters:

• Primary or Main characters
• Secondary or supporting characters
• Tertiary or Recurring characters
• Guest characters/One-shot characters

[Method of Madness]

Either way, what Carl said still holds, as Angus was recurring at best for a while, but has worked his way up to at least supporting, if not primary.  Also, Dora was primary for a while, but has probably slipped down to supporting.

[ElvisRevenge]

Penelope. She's a buzzkill.

[questionablecontentfan]

I sometimes wonder if she knows more than she lets on.

Yeah, she does. She may have serious OCD and anxiety issues, but come on. She's not five.

[gprimr1]

I remember when I was younger, people told me I shouldn't talk so smart or I won't have friends. I wonder if she has any of that going on.

[Method of Madness]

True enough.

[rambleon]

I'd say Dora, not that i dislike her but as long as Marteen is the main character I prefer him alone.  I mean QC is not real life, I don't want to see Marteen in a stable and happy relationship, buying a flat, having children and so on.
And I'd prefer to see more stories with Steve, they are usually more fun. I'm not that misogynous but sincerly there are too many female in QC and actually only one true lesbian   

[Blackjoker]

While this might sound a bit odd, Marten. Not putting him on the bus to get rid of him but sort of more him going on a personal odyssey or something similar. That and to see if his problem is merely that fate where he lives hates him or if his destiny in fact is entirely averse to being seized.

[Thiefree]

Although I voted Cosette, I'm more interested in discussing Pintsize's role within the comic.

He started out as an obvious comic foil, and has pretty much remained the light relief as QC moved onto other matters. Pintsize can't interact with the drama side of things, so instead we get little cutaways of him with Winslow and Roomba, or brief stories about his chassis. There can be no character development, not really, so if he's stale and annoying he's going to stay stale and annoying.

That said, he's been in the comic since strip one and there's a lot of sentimental attachment there. Is sentiment a good enough reason to keep a character around? Should characters stay by default or go by default?

Can anthroPCs fall in love? That would change everything.

[Thiefree]

Although I voted Cosette, I'm more interested in discussing Pintsize's role within the comic.

He started out as an obvious comic foil, and has pretty much remained the light relief as QC moved onto other matters. Pintsize can't interact with the drama side of things, so instead we get little cutaways of him with Winslow and Roomba, or brief stories about his chassis. There can be no character development, not really, so if he's stale and annoying he's going to stay stale and annoying.

That said, he's been in the comic since strip one and there's a lot of sentimental attachment there. Is sentiment a good enough reason to keep a character around? Should characters stay by default or go by default?

Note that they are listed on the TV Tropes page "The Artifact": "an unfortunate situation where a character or gimmick seems to no longer fit with the mood or design of a story according to a writer, but is kept because there seems to be no way for the writer to get rid of them without causing some serious disruption".

Oh, good find, and totally accurate. Though I do think there's potential for him to progress, even if it'd involve taking a couple of risks with the little guy on Jeph's part.

[tomart]

I'm going to go against the trend and argue Hanners is a lot smarter than she may appear to be. . .
As for Dora, I don't hate her, and I'd like to see her come back. She did make a serious of increasingly big mistakes, but I think part of the human condition is realizing those mistakes (even if it takes a while), righting wrongs and bettering yourself.
Pintsize is good to keep around for comic relief.

All of the above.  
I loved that strip where Hanners was daydreaming about particle physics, ultimate questions, deep thoughts, and when (Dora?) asked what she was thinking: "Oh, nothing."   And on the date with Sven, she outlined an impressive first-approximation analysis of heterosexual dating dynamics, assigning realistic weights to important abstractions...!  Someone once suggested she's probably the most intelligent character in QC; I agree.
And yet she can be embarrassingly naive about people, like that classic 1702 with Angus riffing double-entendres; Don't Break the Spell!    

I liked Dora a lot, early on, her flavor of snark was delicious, and she had an edge of maturity over Marten and Faye, but...  it seems she jumped on Marten too quickly, and has regretted it ever since.

And I love Pintsize's full-tilt pervy subversiveness!     And yes, he's been in the comic since  STRIP 1  - how many can say that?

On-topic, Veronica's second appearance soured and embittered me; and Cosette seems like a walking disaster with bad karma. Will Steve survive?

[Method of Madness]

As much as I like Pintsize, it seems Jeph just uses him when he doesn't feel like writing a "real" strip that day.

[tomart]

As much as I like Pintsize, it seems Jeph just uses him when he doesn't feel like writing a "real" strip that day.

Yeah, the ongoing fun and drama strips do have a more tangible reality, but i like his alternate realities too: YB, Sweet-tits, Pintsize/Winslow/Momo, HannerDad (I hope we get to see some of HIS wacky hijinks!)

[annietiger]

Marigold -- If she were to stop her whole "I'm different and no one understands me" thing, she could add a lot more to the story. As of right now, she's a little too steeped in her own isolation, though she's totally in control of it.

Tai -- She's so inyoface all the time and it bugs me a little. Plus, it bothers me how quickly she jumped on Dora after the breakup. Kind of lacking respect for Marten, eh?

[pwhodges]

Like Dora vs Faye, then?  (Except Tai's missed out, so far.)