Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT 2887-2891 (2-6 February 2015)

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WareWolf:
I may be stating the obvious here, and it's probably been stated before, but:

Jeph Jacques  is a goddamn genius storyteller. He can  get people so involved in his stories and his characters that they get into arguments (or at least vigorous discussions) about them. As a storyteller myself*, I am truly in awe.



*ten novels, five traditionally published and five self published. Im also the father of a trans kid, so I won't identify myself any further until they say it's okay.

jmucchiello:

--- Quote from: Emperor Norton on 05 Feb 2015, 16:47 ---The hallway does not have chair rail,
--- End quote ---
Panel 1, behind Claire is a chair rail and I'm pretty sure she's standing in the hallway outside the apartment.

explicit:
I think the way he develops characters is a lot better than his storytelling. Not saying his storytelling is bad or anything, but the strength of QC has always been about the characters to me. They seem real and they're relate-able. When I think about the comic I think, "I can't wait to see what the characters do next" not, "I can't wait to see where the story is going." It's a subtle difference for sure and ultimately leads to Jeph being great at what he does regardless, but I just wanted my opinion on that to be shown (don't throw rocks at me).

AprilArcus:
I don't like any of the purely happy, uncomplicated relationships in the strip. Dale/Marigold or Dora/Tai or Penny/Will either. Marten/Faye, Marten/Dora, Faye/Sven, Faye/Angus, even the mostly offscreen Tai/Experiments-in-non-monogamy all feel more interesting to me, because there is both attraction and conflict; push and pull. Witness:

* Faye wants Marten but misses her chance with him because she can't get over her fear of rejection and abandonment.
* Dora wants Marten but can't convince herself that he wants her back.
* Marten likes Dora but can't cope with her hot personality and is sort of just going with the flow instead of actively seeking out what he wants.
* Faye craves Sven physically but can't stand his personality.
* Faye establishes a connection with Angus that is superficially pleasurable and emotionally distant enough to be in her comfort zone, but not actually safe or fulfilling in any way.
* Sven falls for Faye in a way that completely contradicts everything he knows about his role in relationships.
* Tai craves monogamy, but pushes herself to be in open relationships because it's the cultural norm she's immersed in.These are dynamic relationships. There are two forces in conflict, both strongly felt, and not easily resolved. They produce a lot of interest and drama whenever they are on-panel. Whereas...

* Wil wants Penny and he just needs to get over himself and ask her out.
* Penny wants Wil but doesn't respect him unless he has a job, so he gets a job, and now she respects him.
* Marigold wants Dale and Dale wants Marigold and Momo sets them up and they fucked like rabbits.
* Tai wants Dora. Tai asks Dora out. They have a lot in common and get along great.These just don't hold up. They are one-note; there are no layers or contradictions or anything to dig through as a reader.

Marten and Claire were on the first list from strip 2205 to strip 2808. There was a lot to talk about! Marten was Zen and Claire was firey. Claire was driven and Marten was a slacker. Marten was musical and Claire didn't really appreciate his taste. Claire was way into Marten physically and terrified to make a move. Marten was experimenting with casual sex and being miserable about it. They seemed like a good fit on some levels and a bad fit on others, and so it seemed like there was some dramatic potential.

Since 2808, all the tension has gone out of the relationship. Claire seems to have lost most of her personaity. All pull, no push. I don't object to the relationship on principal because I don't think it needs to be written that way, but that's what we're getting so far.

hedgie:
There's nothing from preventing any of these relationships from going sideways.  Clinton would obviously be a potential thorn in the the side of Claireten, and with Dora/Tai, it still may be in the "honeymoon period".   Dora still has her control issues, even if she's working on them.


--- Quote from: explicit on 05 Feb 2015, 18:06 ---I think the way he develops characters is a lot better than his storytelling. Not saying his storytelling is bad or anything, but the strength of QC has always been about the characters to me. They seem real and they're relate-able. When I think about the comic I think, "I can't wait to see what the characters do next" not, "I can't wait to see where the story is going." It's a subtle difference for sure and ultimately leads to Jeph being great at what he does regardless, but I just wanted my opinion on that to be shown (don't throw rocks at me).


--- End quote ---
It's a slice of life comic, so the characters and world-building tend to *make* the story, rather than some epic plot.  It's like I could probably outline the whole plot of "Totoro" in one sentence, but it'd be seriously selling the film short.  It's the character interactions, and the world that really create the piece.

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