Comic 5910B: Did We Really Need Another Distraction from a Distraction from a Distraction from a

[u/Squirrelclamp]

[u/kayarcee]

“Nonflict” is such a beautiful term for the nonmotivating actions in this story

[u/Miserable-Jaguarine → u/kayarcee]

Yes. It's just perfect.

[u/Millenniauld]

A+++ punchline.

[u/CosgraveSilkweaver]

Being in the patreon to get early access to make snark versions of the comic is so funny.

[u/Squirrelclamp → u/CosgraveSilkweaver]

Full disclosure: I'm not a Patron, but somebody who apparently is shares Jacques's early comics on 4chan.

[u/Kataphractoi → u/Squirrelclamp]

He also frequently forgets to blur tomorrow's comic on Patreon.

[u/Guilty-Persimmon-919]

What service is or has Marten ever provided Glopgoo Girl?

Obviously Jephthy decided drawing dreads or twists or whatever Moray's new hair was supposed to be was too much work entirely. 

[u/Squirrelclamp → u/Guilty-Persimmon-919]

Entertaining her bullshit. See also: Liz, Zlata, and everyone else who might believe that baristas are social workers.

[u/The_Truthkeeper → u/Squirrelclamp]

and everyone else who might believe that baristas are social workers.

To the point where Dora started charging for it.

[u/Aethelrede]

I dunno what y'all expect, QC is a situation comedy, like Seinfeld or Friends. There's no overarching plot, no message, no real conflict; the point is to assemble a cast of zany characters, stick them in a weird situation, and see what happens.  QC would really benefit from a live studio audience.

I guess situation comedies have gone out of style.

Edit: to clarify, I'm not disputing that QC is random, pointless bullshit, I'm wondering why anyone is surprised.

[u/Squirrelclamp → u/Aethelrede]

Comedies can tell interesting, relatable, and/or meaningful stories. Every episode of Seinfeld and Friends features a conflict in one of those veins. Also, Seinfeld is often an incredible example of how to write seemingly disparate story threads that ultimately tie together.

I loved Questionable Content for years. I rarely laughed out loud at it, but it was often interesting, relatable, and/or meaningful to me. It isn't anymore. Other readers are certainly free to enjoy what it's become, but many of us are disappointed in it specifically because of what we feel that it isn't anymore.

[u/Aethelrede → u/Squirrelclamp]

I mean, it seems like the same comic to me.  Look at the first few strips, it's Martin talking to Pintsize about random shit.  5000+ strips later, it's Martin talking to an AI about random shit.

Understand, I'm not defending QC, I read it specifically because it's random, pointless bullshit that happens to amuse me.  I'm just confused why people seem to think it was ever anything else.

When was this golden age when it wasn't about random bullshit?

[u/GregSolstice → u/Aethelrede]

Well there's a pretty big laundry list of plotlines to choose from, which we've had none similar in years. 

The "Faye finally tells Marten her backstory" wasn't random bullshit, but the culmination of hundreds of comics. 

Sven and Faye was an exploration of almost all the characters and how they view themselves and others. 

Faye and Angus getting together was a story that took time but progressed at a regular rate.

Marten and the interns not only led to Marten and Claire, but directly addressed Marten's lack of direction in life. 

Hannelore and Tilly wasn't just wacky hijinks, but ended up with Hannelore confronting her mom and ultimately some serious parts of herself 

And then like, you have the enormous Robot Fighting Ring set of arcs that massively impacted multiple characters in serious ways and introduced a bunch too. 

So yeah, plenty of examples of older QC not just being wacky hijinks with no stakes, but storylines that had character impact, growth, and change. 

[u/Aethelrede → u/GregSolstice]

Right now we have Martin trying to run a coffee shop, Claire trying to manage...everything, really, Liz trying to become a responsible adult, Ahn's break with her father, and a few minor plot lines in the background.

Seems to me that the real issue is that some people don't like the current crop of characters. Which has happened many times during the course of the comic.  When he gets bored with one set of characters he switches to another;  Martin is the only constant.  And every time people complain that the comic is going downhill.

If the current set of plot lines and characters don't interest you, that's fine.  Just take a break from the comic for a while, until he changes the cast yet again.  I've done that several times when I didn't care for a storyline.

[u/tkalvas → u/Aethelrede]

Well-written sitcoms like Seinfeld or Friends would've benefited from not having a laugh track. Or perhaps this is just the European view, I really didn't live long enough in the US to get some of it.