I can proudly say that i have been reading QC since issue 1111. AKA the April Fool's issue when XKCD redirected me to this wonderous and much more regularly available humour. i spent April's 1-3 reading the ENTIRE archive. and haven't looked back, except to reread. I have to admit though, when you do read through all of the comics, starting from the VERY beginning and coming through, its such a smooth transition that it wasnt until i looked back i realised just how far Jeph had come. it didnt happen overnight folks, Jeph's certainly put a lot of work into it, and he deserves a lot of kudos for bringing us this marvellous comic.
On another note, i think Dora's face in the last two panels really shows how far the art has come. only the slightest changes made her face go from surprised to that slightly cutsey loving look. excellent job.
PS i know im a lurker who comes on to say random points. its how we roll.