Topic: Interesting review by Patrick Alexander (Read 7704 times)

Jace · « **on:** 15 May 2009, 01:15 »

Under the comic is a review of QC and Anders<3Maria.
http://raymondo.chickennation.com/2009/05/15/raymondo-di-int/

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 May 2009, 01:43 »

"It really sucks that you have to deal with the consequences of being mean to people who care about you".

That's a line from QC. QC shows people making bad decisions and living to regret them.

That review is understandable if it's from someone who dropped in a few times and saw a few Hannelore strips, but it's inaccurate if you look at the whole archive and backstory.

plethora · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 May 2009, 02:20 »

What an overly-judgemental douche.

Jimor · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 May 2009, 03:04 »

I think it also comes from the fact that Jeph successfully pulls away from Pure Drama when it happens and gets back to Teh Funny. When that cycle has run its course, then things can get serious again for a while.

That's far more realistic IMO, particularly when you're talking about a group of friends who won't let each other stay in mopesville. Life has moments of joy amidst times of sorrow and pain amidst times of happiness.

The whole thing with Hannelore I think is very well done as well. Looking at it objectively, OCD is a condition that makes people do silly and ridiculous things. To ignore that as somebody's friend is possibly more insulting than having some occasional fun with it (and like all things in life, that's going to depend on the person in question). At the same time, they all are making an effort to draw Hanners out bit by bit, and in the end the reason she can grow more comfortable around them is knowing that above all else, they've got her back. God help the poor soul who does ever try to mess with Hannelore because this crew will eat them alive.

And that's true all around. Faye knows she made a mistake, for example, she doesn't need lectures, she needs her friends to be supportive, but at the same time not to treat her like a porcelain doll who will shatter if they look at her wrong.

So yes, QC is "mundane", but it's not missing out because it doesn't resolve each issue before moving on. Everybody's llives are filled with crises and problems that are mostly in limbo as we muddle through the day-to-day existence, cracking jokes with friends and coworkers and having our Anthro-PCs accidentally blow up the coffee table.

tl;dr Or what plethora said.

MrMonk · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 May 2009, 18:10 »

I seem to recall Jeph once saying that QC is about people being nice to each other.

bicostp · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 May 2009, 18:28 »

And this review is coming from someone who is currently prominently displaying a comic strip about someone puking in a bucket on their site. :\

Keebbles · « **Reply #6 on:** 15 May 2009, 19:53 »

I have a proper word for writers like that.

WANKER!

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #7 on:** 16 May 2009, 00:01 »

To pick only two major problems with that review:

It confused quality with genre --
And assigned QC to the wrong genre.

QC is humorous storytelling. The old saying was that some TV shows were 70% comedy and 30% drama, and others were the reverse. QC is in the 70% comedy category. That's got nothing to do with wish fulfillment, and I hesitate to imagine someone who wishes to have a life like Faye's.

NotAFanOfFenders · « **Reply #8 on:** 16 May 2009, 03:29 »

Fuck yooouuu, Patrick Alexander.

JD · « **Reply #9 on:** 16 May 2009, 09:34 »

I still like his comics regardless.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #10 on:** 16 May 2009, 23:25 »

Another error is confusing drama with bad things happening. A skilled writer can find and show drama in the daily struggles of humans. Others feel like they have to blow up a planet or ruin a character's life to achieve "drama".

There was more drama in the scene where Faye sits on Sven's couch and says her life is slowly but unstoppably coming apart than there would be in simply showing Something Bad Happening to her.

Alex C · « **Reply #11 on:** 17 May 2009, 01:09 »

To be fair, Marten is usually such a nice guy in the comic that I could see how someone could interpret him as being a bit of a Mary Sue rather than parsing him as a somewhat stereotypical nice guy protagonist and resident straight man. Beyond that, many people probably wouldn't find a Marten the Sitcom Protagonist explanation any more satisfying than the Marty Sue explanation. As was intimated earlier, this is largely a genre issue. Personally, I find it to be a problem since I like the light comedy and Yelling Bird cameos, but I certainly wouldn't go slaggin on some random reviewer just because he has a different but still coherent opinion than I do.

maddness · « **Reply #12 on:** 18 May 2009, 07:11 »

I could give a shit about most reviewer's opinions about anything. I rarely end up with the same opinion on the subject anyway. I like reading QC and that's all that matters to me.

MadassAlex · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 May 2009, 04:47 »

Quote from: maddness on 18 May 2009, 07:11

I could give a shit

*couldn't

maddness · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 May 2009, 06:49 »

No ... I could ... I just choose not to.

benji · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 May 2009, 07:46 »

Quote from: bicostp on 15 May 2009, 18:28

And this review is coming from someone who is currently prominently displaying a comic strip about someone puking in a bucket on their site. :\

Yeah, I noticed that too. Clicking around a bit, I don't think I'm very impressed with the reviewer's own web-comic. I also don't really think the author is a wanker or overly critical. He's a critic. That's the job he's taken on. Who the hell wants to read a critic that just gushed over everything?

I though the review was interesting. I don't think Jeph does drama all that well, but I don't know if I buy the reasons in the review. Most of Jeph's characters kind of live in their heads, and so Jeph's attempts to get them to respond emotionally to situations often come off as artificial.

~~mustang6172~~ · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 May 2009, 18:26 »

QC isn't set in the real world. It's set in a reality where anthro-PCs roam freely and all the women are just a little too pretty.

I wanna live in the QCverse!

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 May 2009, 23:38 »

I'd just as soon not. The "wish fulfillment" theory falls apart pretty quickly unless you wish to be taken hostage by kung fu monks, headbutted in the testicles and vomited on.

Babpacih · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 May 2009, 21:15 »

isnt every work of fiction a wish fulfillment by that guys definition.

Mr. Skawronska · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 May 2009, 21:06 »

Quote

Faye knows she made a mistake, for example, she doesn't need lectures,

Yes she does. Long, slow, boring, painful lectures about all of her social shortcomings stemming from her inability to entertain even the slightest capacity for empathy.

She also needs to be beaten. Repeatedly.

Quote

There was more drama in the scene where Faye sits on Sven's couch and says her life is slowly but unstoppably coming apart than there would be in simply showing Something Bad Happening to her.

Hmmm...that would explain the greater "fun factor" in one than the other, I think.

Quote

you wish to be taken hostage by kung fu monks, headbutted in the testicles and vomited on.

Sadly, out of those three, the taken hostage by kung fu monks is the one that hasn't repeatedly happened to me in the last three months.

I mean, the monks might be a refreshing change from the other two.

S

dps · « **Reply #20 on:** 08 Jun 2009, 22:47 »

Quote from: Babpacih on 27 May 2009, 21:15

isnt every work of fiction a wish fulfillment by that guys definition.

Yeah, I think that was actually my major problem with the review.

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