Q&A time!

Do'h. Too slow.

How are liking Canada? Will we see more poutine in the comic?

Whew ok I'm gonna call this Q&A here! Thanks so much for all your good questions!!!

Was Gabby eaten by the same Allosaur which ate Sara?

Is Shelby a good dog??

How has your workflow changed over the years? How has the tech changed the way you sketch and draw? Are there any newer devices you're looking forward to trying to see if they help?

Have you worked in any of the jobs your characters work? (Office gopher, coffee shop, bar, romance novel writing, space station...) If not, what's your research like?

How long have Claire and Marten been dating in QC time?

How much time has (roughly) passed since QC began in-universe?

How's Marten's band doing? ALSO: Any chance we can get a tag system set up at some point?

I found a picture of your characters with real guns. Claire (my favorite) had a PS90. Did you draw that? Did you draw any armed QC characters?

Any chance we'll get more of Sven's country songs?

I'm one of your very few Italian fans. Will you ever come to one of our billions comic meetings? LuccaComics, Napolicon, Milantoon?

How/why are new AIs made? Given that they clearly get to choose what they want to do as a career, you obviously can't be a manufacturer and say "okay we're going to make six AI-controlled helicopters" because you need to effectively hire six AIs to be pilots. So who's creating these new AIs? Are AIs actually breeding (we know they have at least some idea of a sex drive, even if Pintsize's seems to be more of a set of horrible bugs than anything seriously reproductive) or are humans churning them out, feeding them basic knowledge and then hoping they're going to decide to do something useful?

What do you think about how guitar technology has evolved over the years? Do you have some favorite innovations, and/or areas where you wish they stuck less with tradition and moved things forward more?

The fast forward after Faye got the robot job worked great IMO. Any insights into how/why you came up with it? Would you try it again?

Is there an origin story for how AI came into being in QC-world? Is AG set in QC's future? Roughly speaking, how far in the future is QC, or is it just a completely different timeline from here?

which character is the most fun to draw?

When Alice is done, are you considering another new comic, or will you give yourself some time?

Do you post your schedule for conventions anywhere? I'd love to say hi in person if you're ever in my area.

I'm pretty curious whether the move of QC towards having more significant AI-related plots reflects a change in your own interests -- presumably also reflected in the creation of Alice Grove? As a person with AI-related interests myself, who has been reading QC since before that shift, I'm curious what got you more interested in AI!

With the further development of AI in QC towards fully conscious beings, do you try to justify the abuse of Pintsize (his casual disassembly, throwing him at the wall, not worrying about needing a backup to restore his memories, etc )in early comics, or do you just admit you hadn't gone in that direction yet and ignore those when writing new material?

Maybe I am forgetting...but do any of the characters have any animal pets? If not, why? Seems like out of a group that large SOMEONE would have a critter :)

have there ever been any story arcs you wanted to do, but if you did them it would make it where other story arcs wouldn't be possible? (conflicting story arcs)

Are there any characters you really want to do something with, but can't think of a plot line for them?

If you had the chance to hang out with a QC character for real, which one would you pick? That is, I'm not talking about which one's your favorite, but which one you'd enjoy hanging with the most.

Your art has made several style jumps over the years. Why do they seem to end up happening all at once? Rather than a gradual change?

Have we already met our first Praeses (Praesus? What's the singular?) in QC?

Does Coffee of Doom offee cuppings and tastings? And does it focus on Eastern or Western Hemisphere beans?

What made Hanners decide to move to North Hampton specifically?

Is there any old QC strip/moment/joke that you're particularly pleased with? Like, you think back on it and go "That was a really good one"?

Might you come to a con in the UK at some point?

You mentioned that the next chapter of Alice Grove will be the last. What's next?

Starting with: I've been reading for years! Thank you for all you've done and for sharing it with us <3 Question: What are the best and worst parts about moving to Canada?

What is Steve's favorite brand of cereal?

Will Angus show back up?

Have you ever done a behind-the-scenes/how-the-comic-is-written-and-drawn article or video? If not, might you be persuaded?

One thing I've always been curious to know more about is the AI "Singularity".. Any thoughts on giving more of an origin story to MoMo/Pintsize/Bubbles/etc ?

The main reason I joined Twitter in the first place was to follow the conversation between all the QC characters. I guess that's not coming back?

I have loved QC for a long time, but wow... I couldn't have guessed that Alice would be so, so good. And different. What are a couple of inspirations for where that universe came from in your mind? Did writing 'sci-fi' for QC start you on the path, or did the idea exist before that to you?

What web comics are you addicted to? (As much as you hooked all of us on QC, something must have caught your attention too :) )

Are the worlds of QC and Alice Grove connected in any way?

Who's your favorite character from the non-current cast and will you bring him/her back?

What is your inspiration for the comics? Do you pull from real life events or do you imagine everything, how much of your personal life do you find yourself writing into the stories? Like, are any of your characters based on real life friends or acquaintances?

You have a very high number of amazing characters. How you do manage (or attempt to manage) giving every character screen (or I guess panel) time?

What's the most interesting character origin story? Not within the story, but how you came up with them.

When Padma left, you said she'd come back. Is that still the plan?

I've been reading since 2004. QC is the second webcomic I started reading and the only webcomic I still read with any consistency. Is there any plan to close up shop? If so, when? If not, what's the five year plan?

Is Brun intended to be on the autism spectrum? She is now my favorite character (with Hanners and Marigold as close seconds) since I identify with her social awkwardness and personality.

How far into the future do you have planned?

Inasmuch as know we have AI criminals (CW, May) can we also assume that we have AI 'rebels/insurrectionists'. Is it the rebels or the elite that are pushing for the robot overthrow of humanity?

If you were a ghost and could haunt anywhere in the world, where would you haunt?

You've shown us in the comic that there are new chassis shops for AI. In general, how do AI treat their old bodies? Are old/used AI chassis essentially treated like we treat our old cars?

Also, have you considered at all reviving the music column?

Cump?

Live streaming seems to be popular these days. Have you ever considered (or have you already done) a live comic drawing stream? Is that something you find interesting, or would having immediate feedback while working be annoying?

Have you considered bringing back any of the old QC characters that have kinda departed the series by now? I guess the real question is when is Pizza Girl coming back?

If you could go back and change something from the early days of the comic, what would you change? (sorry if you've been asked this a million times!)

I love to see the evolution of your Art over time. Did you follow drawing courses over time or is that mostly from practice? What are your recommendations for someone that just started drawing and would like to improve? Thanks! Love your work :D

I've really enjoyed the inclusion of AI as prominent characters. Do you have plans to include more AI as secondary/tertiary characters?

Have you ever composed anything for larger ensembles like concert/symphonic band, orchestra, or jazz big band? Would you ever consider it?

Have you considered writing more about your views on AI and ethics? seems like you have a lot to say. particularly loved the bubbles spookybot arc.

Hi, Jeph! Thanks for this! Claire is one of my favorite characters, and I identify with her a lot. I was wondering what your inspiration was for her, and how you go about developing a plan for future story arcs in general?

Whose hairstyle is your favorite to draw?

I love reading old QC, is there a way to create an story outline where you could link and jump to "timetravel" through the old stories

Are there ever circumstances where you look for criticism from people online? I ask not because I have any to offer, nor because I think that you should or shouldn't, but because you often seem to bristle at it in your Tweets. Is it just... exhausting from having so many people who are invested and want their views heard/recognized?

Will the end of Alice Grove fully explain why Alice and other have others have powers? I have only seen hints.

To follow up on Jonathan Ellis' question, do many of your story lines and/or characters come from your personal life? and if so, how has the comic and the stories within it changed those relationships if those family/friends see themselves in part in the characters?

Your style and, more apparently, depictions of the characters has evolved over time. How did you decide when you were done refining your style?

Did you know from the start of QC that you wanted to focus on the robot side and develop the place of AIs in this world ? Or did that idea come later in the life of the comic and, if so, when ?

I know you have already planned out how Alice Grove ends, have you done something similar with QC? Not that I want either to end but I am curious how long you plan on doing QC.

Your characters are wonderfully complex - how do you map/remember all of their histories and past storylines?

Pepsi or Coke?