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Lead! Lead!

A Duck! *gasps*

[Rghfrgl]

 I definitely thought of QC when I first read that oglaf a while back. 

[BenRG]

Tai has always been an incurable romantic! The trick now will be to separate her fantasies from reality and stop her from acting as if her fantasies were reality. No rush though; I'm not expecting her brain to unlock from "Princess Claire and Prince Charming Marten" fantasy mode for a while.

Isn't it typical Marten to be fretting about breaking an unwritten rule that his manager has already admitted she does not understand and probably wouldn't apply anyway?

[neurocase]

Guess the people getting all upset about Marten not respecting Claire's boundaries should have waited a day or so, huh?

[anahata]

I thought Tai was going to squeee-splode there for a minute.

She's just building up the pressure...

[Thrillho]

Sometimes I think we get a bit over analytical in here.

[BenRG]

Sometimes I think we get a bit over analytical in here.

It isn't over-analysis, it's emotional investment, as I've already said. We're all so worried about whether Marten and Claire are going to work out that we're doing the forum post version of pacing restlessly whilst fiddling with worry beads!

[swapna]

Dunno why, though. They are so disgustingly cute together. Augh. There's no hope I really don't like Claire, but there's like NO way there's anything brewing at the horizon.

Back to dick jokes/AnthroPCs:
I'm with LackOfGrace here:

Not to derail from the current Marten/Claire speculations.

But is anyone else wondering what became of:
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2802
?

And, I might add,
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2818 ??

[Thrillho]

What's wrong with Claire?

[BenRG]

What's wrong with Claire?

This is actually relevant to a thought I've had about where this week's strips might now be going. It wouldn't surprise me if, instead of talking to Marten about professional boundaries and the like, Tai talks to Claire.

Think about it: Tai has known Marten for some time - a year or more, IIRC. He's shown himself to be mild-tempered, reliable and generally calm and reasonable. She can be reasonably sure that he'll conduct himself sensibly. On the other hand, Claire has had two meltdowns in the library due to someone hitting an unsuspected trigger of hers (one of them her brother, which says a lot about her inability to warn people of where her triggers might be). Add on top of that, Claire's misstep with Faye at CoD (which was at about the same time, IIRC). All this in the matter of a few months.

I'm not talking down Claire but, if we are sensible, we will acknowledge that she has emotional issues with which she struggles to an extent that in some ways is worse than Hannelore or Faye (although they do not manifest anywhere near as often). If there is one of this new pair that Tai may be reasonably concerned might need to be reminded that she needs to maintain professionalism at all times, it's Claire.

That will probably upset Claire but she does need to be told. Also, I think she might benefit from realising that, desire to work in a library or not, there is a reason why Marten has lasted long enough to get his moderate measure of seniority.

[edit]
In many ways this is why Marten is so perfect for Claire (and why he's such an excellent friend to Hannelore and Faye). He is gentle, patient and is willing to stick with people through their rough spots. This is the sort of guy Claire really needs to help her confront her issues in a constructive way.

[valkygrrl]

What's wrong with Claire?

Far too much awesome to pack into that tiny little body?

[swapna]

What's wrong with Claire?

Nothing - her character just rubs me the wrong way. She's condescending, rude and doesn't understand others nor does she try to. No, she's not the only one, yes it's OK for her to appear once in a while, but I could do without the Claire overdose at the moment. I don't know, she's too much like Clinton to like her - but that's just my personal opinion.

BenRG: You make some really good points! I hadn't thought of that at all, and it would fit very well. I don't think Tai's going to talk to her about it before the first problems arise, though - her attitude towards workplace romances is pretty relaxed

[ReindeerFlotilla]

She's condescending, rude and doesn't understand others nor does she try to. No, she's not the only one,

Not the only one is a massive understatement. If you think Claire is condescending and rude, how do you deal with Faye? Or Dora? Or Veronica?  Or Penelope? Tai?

Seriously. The only female characters in the strip who couldn't be described as condescending and rude are emotionally crippled, one dimensional recurring jokes, or suffer the curse of being too brown to be regular characters.

The only male characters are either 1 dimensional or Marten.

[MooskiNet]

Not the only one is a massive understatement. If you think Claire is condescending and rude, how do you deal with Faye? Or Dora? Or Veronica?  Or Penelope? Tai?

Seriously. The only female characters in the strip who couldn't be described as condescending and rude are emotionally crippled, one dimensional recurring jokes, or suffer the curse of being too brown to be regular characters.

The only male characters are either 1 dimensional or Marten.

Um, then what is it about the comic that you like enough to read it and make an account to discuss it?

That's actual curiosity, by the way, and not passive aggressive bullshit.

[osaka]

Mooski, I'm 150% sure that if all characters were normal the comic wouldn't be anywhere near as entertaining.

[MooskiNet]

Mooski, I'm 150% sure that if all characters were normal the comic wouldn't be anywhere near as entertaining.

Without a doubt; the criticisms seemed to leave little to be entertained by, though it's possible I read too much into it.

[DSL]

Hera on a Harley, it seems as though some of you like everything about the comic except for the comic.

[Neko_Ali]

Yeah well... The world would be a great place if there weren't all those darn people in it.

[osaka]

Yeah well... The world would be a great place if there weren't all those darn people in it.

You mean... Like France?

[ReindeerFlotilla]

Um, then what is it about the comic that you like enough to read it and make an account to discuss it?

That's actual curiosity, by the way, and not passive aggressive bullshit.

None of the characters are real. I don't mean they aren't well drawn (hahaha), just fictional. I can take what they do in terms of the author's intent.

Greg House is a horrible human being, but he's fun to watch. None of the characters in QC get anywhere near that level of douchebaggery. Most are still fun to watch.

I don't think any of the characters is actually condescending or rude, within the framework of the universe. Even if I did, I would still enjoy the strip if it were entertaining. Why wouldn't I?

[DrBear]

In the immortal words of Lucy Van Pelt, "I love mankind - it's people I can't stand!"

[MooskiNet]

It wasn't the condescending/rude bit that made me wonder - I like House, too - but the bit about one-dimensionality.    It's all good, though.  I guess I've seen too many instances of people having nothing to say except how much something sucks, and I brought that to the table with me.

My bad; thanks for the answer.

[allanjm]

"Emma" probably won't be to strict about professionalism.

Did they ever get the copier room lock fixed?

Poll Question: Pumice is a type of rock that will float on water. (At least until it absorbs water.)

[ReindeerFlotilla]

A character doesn't actually need more than one dimension. The constant advice to writers about that is just good practice. Jeph generally gets good enough mileage out of his characters without add dimensions. Possibly because he knows the depths of them, maybe some other reason. People get used to thinking of 1D as a criticism. But it is as important to know when to stay on the surface as it is to know when to go deep.

[Is it cold in here?]

Claire has subsurface complexities.

She is aware enough of other people to have figured out that Marten was a safe person to trust with a dangerous secret. I was taking that as proof she was a shrewd judge of character until she told Emily.

[Zebediah]

She hesitated before telling Emily, though. And then she decided that if Emily was going to be her friend, she ought to tell her. Granted it was a risk, but Emily's reaction vindicated that trust - and Emily hasn't spilled the beans either.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

Actually, Claire isn't the 1D character. I meant Emily. Or Penelope (rhymes with antelope),Gabbyabby (who?).  I don't assume Jeph hasn't got oodles of subsurface complexity for all of the above. But we don't see it.

So the characterization tends to be snark, more snark, snark and violence, snark snark snark baked beans and snark, crippling anxiety, or one trick.

All I'm saying is that if one finds Claire's snark distasteful, how does one deal with the rest of the cast?

[Indicible]

Yeah well... The world would be a great place if there weren't all those darn people in it.

You mean... Like France?

To which the Frenchmen reply: "merde".

Claire is generally mild-mannered. It's just her brother seems to be a bit of a creep (he managed to get Momo angry, remember?) and Faye... Well, she was on her best porcupine behaviour at the time. Claire is young. She has her issues, sure, but she does not explode at the slightest provocation, either.
(I would add that sometimes, family member are not a good measuring stick for relationships. Let's just say my mother and I manage to push our mutual buttons quite regularly, even though I am a rather calm, even cold-blooded fellow in general, according to all the people I work with and those I lived with.)

[ReindeerFlotilla]

Agreed, except Claire is only young compared to us old people. She's actually about the same age Marten and Faye were when the strip started.

[swapna]

All I'm saying is that if one finds Claire's snark distasteful, how does one deal with the rest of the cast?

At least they're funny? As I said, It's only my personal opinion. There are loads of characters I wouldn't want to be near in real life (Faye! Pintsize! Dora!) but who are actually funny to watch.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I don't see how Claire's snark is any less funny than anyone else's. Sounds to me like you have taken a matter of personal taste and wrapped it up in the trappings of objective observation. There's a difference between "Claire is condescending" and "I don't think Claire is funny." One is an opinion. The other is not.

[stinson6016]

Um, then what is it about the comic that you like enough to read it and make an account to discuss it?

Crazy to think about isn't it? It's almost like, to me, watching a TV drama, and reading the old comics are like the reruns.
But why do we spend so much of our lives obsessed over this? I've been reading it off and on over the years, then the past two years I got in to it really bad. Still took a year to notice the forum like and actually read the forum, and longer to post. I've read the archives so many times! I love going thru and watching how the art changes over time.
But what draws us back to this over and over again? That true store telling right there. There are people in the stories that we love, hate, want to see more of, want to see less of. It really does feel like you're there with the people of the stories. I'm sure we've all cried, or laughed, or even yelled at our monitors. I know I have.
I have to say I'm really wish I could tell stories like these. I'm like Penny, I want to write stories, but I don't want to do that hard work of writing stories till I get 'good' at it enough to sell any. Or learn to draw and tell me stories via comics. I don't want to put in the time to be able to do the job, I just want to do the job now.

Really trying to Clare-fy it

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I have to say I'm really wish I could tell stories like these. I'm like Penny, I want to write stories, but I don't want to do that hard work of writing stories till I get 'good' at it enough to sell any. Or learn to draw and tell me stories via comics. I don't want to put in the time to be able to do the job, I just want to do the job now.

Really trying to Clare-fy it

Go back and start reading QC from Comic 1.

Every 5 comics, hit the banner link to take you to the current comic, before going back to the archive.

Why?

Jeph didn't hit this level of art for 700+ strips. Even then, he wasn't satisfied. The art just keeps changing.

Jeph didn't hit this level of storytelling for nearly 400 strips. Even now, he's constantly fiddling with how he tells stories. His latest thing is less word = good.

The lesson, me thinks, is don't wait until you're "good." "Good enough" will do. What's good enough? Make something. show it someone else. Did they understand it? If yes, it's good enough.

Lesson two is, "You'll have time to be good at it when you're dead. Right now, it's time to be doing it."

[stinson6016]

man that makes me think of when I was in the navy, when working on the boat (I was on a sub and they still call sub's boats) when we would finish working on maintenance or a major repair we say 'that's g.e.' or good enough for government work. The Chief would get so mad at us. It's good enough, not the job was done perfect and we are all going to live another day because this valve isn't going to fail and kill us all while we are below water in a sinkable ship, nope it's g.e.
My problem right now is I can only get my ideas out with 'help' in the form of Jack.  Not the best solution I think, but it's the only way I can write on this board (sorry if I don't make sense some times).

[stinson6016]

Go back and start reading QC from Comic 1.

Every 5 comics, hit the banner link to take you to the current comic, before going back to the archive.

man on my chromebook I'm going thru the archives AGAIN (like third time this year?), I love the art work at that time of the comic. It's around the time Dora moved in with Marten around when Angus and Faye are just getting together.  I just want to shake his hand and say I love it! I love it all! I'm not going to say everything is perfect and pintsize or who ever doesn't get on my nerves but that's just like in real life too. I know people I'd go have a drink with and hang out with but they still get on my nerves some/a lot of times.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

Where you get your ideas isn't that relevant, in the big picture. Stephen King used to do everything while either drunk, or high on coke. After he quit, he was pretty scared he wouldn't be able to write at all.

I'm not advocating drinking, but it seems to me that--as long as you aren't hurting yourself or others--if a drink helps you open the doors, have a drink. But you should also practice opening the doors sober. John Cleese would tell you creativity is a skill. You gots to practice skills.

Cleese would also tell you that creativity is work and play. You can't be creative while working, and you can't create while playing. Play is for having ideas. Bouncing the off of things, seeing how they stick together. Play can be serious, but it's not solemn. Cleese calls this "the open mode." That's when creativity happens. But in the open mode, you can't build anything. That's work. So you have to stop playing, and start working. That's "the closed mode." What people think of as creativity--art--is the skill of moving between the open and closed modes. Create ideas in the open mode, implement the ideas in the closed mode, check the implementation in the open mode, make improvements in the closed mode.

If a drink helps you get in the open mode, now. Use it. Unless you're a alcoholic. then don't do that.

Maybe we need a thread on being creative in CHATTER?

[Aziraphale]

Go back and start reading QC from Comic 1.

Every 5 comics, hit the banner link to take you to the current comic, before going back to the archive.

Why?

Jeph didn't hit this level of art for 700+ strips. Even then, he wasn't satisfied. The art just keeps changing.

Jeph didn't hit this level of storytelling for nearly 400 strips. Even now, he's constantly fiddling with how he tells stories. His latest thing is less word = good.

The lesson, me thinks, is don't wait until you're "good." "Good enough" will do. What's good enough? Make something. show it someone else. Did they understand it? If yes, it's good enough.

Lesson two is, "You'll have time to be good at it when you're dead. Right now, it's time to be doing it."

For me, the comic is okay in the early going, but the storytelling doesn't really hit its stride 'til The Talk. I think getting that out of the way opened the comic to go in some different directions, and may also have shown Jeph that he could play against expectations and people would still stick with him. While the art's vastly improved around then, I think it hits a sweet spot (for me) somewhere in the 1500's, but that's just a matter of personal preference. There were times before and after that that I loved, but that kinda mid-period stuff was a happy medium between the early days, when I think Jeph was kinda figuring out how to draw,* and the more recent stuff that's a bit more stylized (though he's getting a lot more mileage out of facial expressions lately, which is also very cool).

*Not a knock against him; this is something he's said before.

Regarding creativity, there's an awesome book called "The Midnight Disease" that explores the link between writing and depression, but it touches on creativity more broadly (and on issues far beyond depression). It's a good read if you're interested in any of those things (or the intersections among them).

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I think the one thing Jeph had down from the start was patience. If he didn't know the talk was coming from strip 1, he still knew pretty early. He still managed to go ~500 strips before he finally got there. If he meant For Claire and Marten to be a thing from the moment he added her to the cast, he still waited 605 strips to pay out.

I'm not saying any of this to poop in Jeph's cheerios. It takes guts to do what he did, at all. "Here's my art!" That's bold. But it takes even more guts to say, "I'm going to do better tomorrow. And I'm not going to remove the old stuff, or redo it." I like QC as much because I can see that he's always working on it. Jeph doesn't phone it in.

[Estron]

Heh heh.  I just hit my QC bookmark to see if the Wednesday strip is up, and I actually read the title of today's strip:  "Please Try Again Later."  That's funny.

Or Emily-funny.

[bhtooefr]

Is Dora going to have to threaten Faye to get her to call her therapist?

[Gladstone]

I wonder what Angus is up to, and who he's getting advice from.  Marigold?  Momo?  MAY?

[valkygrrl]

I wonder what Angus is up to, and who he's getting advice from.  Marigold?  Momo?  MAY?

The Vespa Avenger got him.

[Gladstone]

The Vespa Avenger got him.

But she works for the government now.  She's been bureaucratized.

Wait a moment...Steve worked for the government too, for a while.

Do you...do you think they ever teamed up?

Dammit, now I want a spin-off.

[cesium133]

The Vespa Avenger got him.

But she works for the government now.  She's been bureaucratized.

Wait a moment...Steve worked for the government too, for a while.

Do you...do you think they ever teamed up?

Dammit, now I want a spin-off.

She went to Russia for a while and became Tortura.

[Zebediah]

I suppose stress-eating is marginally better than stress-drinking. But still... 

[stinson6016]

stress drinking is a downward spiral that leads to no good, better to stress eat you can always hit the gym in the morning

[ReindeerFlotilla]

Stress anything will probably kill you. The patterns always seem to make it that much harder to follow up and do the healthy thing after.

On the upside, death by stress eating is probably slower. It's doubtful Faye will become impaired and wander into traffic under the influence of too many muffins.

[Dalillama]

Stress anything will probably kill you. The patterns always seem to make it that much harder to follow up and do the healthy thing after.

On the upside, death by stress eating is probably slower. It's doubtful Faye will become impaired and wander into traffic under the influence of too many muffins.

That and eating a half dozen or so extra muffins a day will probably take longer to do anything to your health than an extra half bottle or so of bourbon a day.

[Natswash]

I wonder what Marigold's reaction to this whole deal is going to be? She's become more assertive over the time she' been featured, so it'll be interesting to see.
I predict Angus get slapped or hugged, then Dale and Momo will find out and the grape vine will tell everyone

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I wonder if we're even going to see Mar-bear's reaction.

I do hope so, but it feels like Jeph's keeping this focused on Faye.

Maybe this thread needs a ten page discussion about Marigold and Angus to... suggest... something.

[jwhouk]

Interesting start to the week so far.

By the way, Hi from Arizona.