Emily and Raven were both examples of a kind of quirky genius trope - almost the "Genius Ditz" of TVtropes, but not quite. Maybe Cloudcoocoolanders.
Melon, so far, is just out there. No sign of anything behind the comic relief.
I think that's why I mind Melon less than I did Emily. She's just simple comic relief (that's comic relief that doesn't WORK for me, but it's comic relief). Emily, and to extent Raven, just don't seem... genuine to me. They have a formula - say something silly, say something crazy, and occasionally say something "profound" and "smart". It doesn't ring true to me.
It's the reason why this might be my least favourite installment of QC (or at least, in my top 10):
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2999It's like either a reply to a negative reaction, or a preemptive defense. It feels like Emily is talking about a reader that might read her as a character a certain way. To me, the character IS random, and that's her defining trait. And this comic is the essence of why it doesn't work for me. I don't think she's anything *but* randomly quirky, while occasionally acting like there's something more.
And it's not the worst character I've seen, even in this comic. But it's boring and one-note, while pretending it really isn't one-note. Clearly, Jeph wants her to be a weird person that's a complete character, but I just don't feel it quite works.