QC Rerun Time 2025 #11

Also, this first frame reminds me of how much I love the friendship between Marten and Faye.

Having had a parent and grandparent who were both alcoholics/addicts, I was scared away from all drugs and alcohol as a teenager and stayed sober through my 20s and early 30s. I’m so grateful for that, because I sidestepped many of the mishaps that happen in those years, protected my health, and learned to socialize without any substances. (I was always first to hit the dance floor because I didn’t need to loosen up first.) In my 30s I finally got curious about what certain drinks tasted like and what would actually happen if I *did* drink, so I tried it, and I found that I was actually someone who can take it or leave it. (As in, I would buy a bottle of wine and it would always go bad before I got around to finishing it. Or I’d get a bottle of beer and forget it was in the fridge.) And I was so relieved to find that out. The couple of times I got only moderately drunk, I did *not* like it. Generally speaking I don’t like feeling that out of control. (But everyone has their thing, and the flip side of that, of course, is that I have control issues!) I enjoyed wine and beer occasionally in my 30s and 40s, but now I hardly ever drink because it gives me a headache. Still very grateful that the alcoholic gene skipped me.

The explanation here, especially the fourth panel, applies to a lot of addictive behavior. Gambling is a curse for me, not so much substances.

The bits of Jeph's journey that came through these comics were part of what got me over the hump into sobriety (8 years so far). Thanks Jeph

Those of you who've been addicted and become sober, do you think you are better for the experience than someone who's never been there? Or was the damage not worth the lesson?

14 years sober here and def agree, very rarely i will think a drink would be nice at whatever event but its not worth it and in the long run why ruin what i have going

What happened to #10? We’re just skipping that one?

Is it appropriate to congratulate you, Sir? (Is "Sir" OK as a form of address?)

Teetotaller here, so I don't REALLY identify with any of it, but glad you're in a better place!

It’s a sweet tooth for me. This hit in the feels.

I was at risk of becoming an alcoholic before I really knew what was wrong or what was driving the behaviour. I was lucky, in that I realized I was heading down that path in my 20's and was able to stop early before it became a habit or a crutch. But it took me another 20 years to see and realize what the damage was that was driving that early tendency I had to drink during the day for no apparent reason at all. Sometimes realizing there's a problem is half the battle, and other times it's actually quite easy to see that a behavior is potentially dangerous and should be stoped. Here, Faye is actually quite aware she is drinking to fill a void. She has that self knowledge. In my case I was able to stop drinking early, before I could even really see the void. Self knowledge is the hard bit. If you actually know why you're doing something, you're actual far further along he road to healing that you realize. The view back on why you did something, and how you were able to stop, is the best view of all Self knowledge rocks.

100% agree. I was smoking since I was 14 or so. Flash forward, I have now had four heart attacks and a stroke, along with other disabilities. Were they all caused by smoking? It seems likely that is was a major contributing factor, along with some shitty genetics thrown in there. So I quit of course. Probably 40 years too late. #1 Stupidest thing I have done in my life: Started smoking as a teenager. But who can tell a teenager that they are mortal and will suffer consequences? #2 Stupidest thing I have done in my life: Started smoking again after I had quit for a year (like 20 years ago). I finally did quit for good, waaaay to late.

I'm grateful that I've never become fully addicted to anything and whenever I've felt like I was getting too deep into something I was able to pull myself away from it, usually by replacing it with some other short-term behavior that helped to redirect me away from it. I've definitely come close at certain points in my life though. I have to be especially careful around flow-state things like certain video games that just latch onto my brain and won't let go. Dopamine's a hell of a drug.

Hangovers suck so hard. :(

It's still a struggle for me, I DO miss it. I think that's part of why this whole storyline kept making me cry. I know it's bad, I know it will kill me, and yet, there's still a part of my brain that's like "It's cool, this time it will be different."

I just say that I'm allergic to alcohol. That's half of an AA joke. The other half is: it makes me break out in handcuffs. That's only funny when you are long past it happening for realies.

I never got bad, but I realised that once I started drinking, my #1 priority was always "get drunker". That insight combined with the fact that I don't actually enjoy getting drunk particularly much means I haven't had a serious drink since... My mid-late 20's. I'm really glad I didn't get hooked.

I managed to get sober, so yeah. It is doable. I don''t miss the hangovers, or the self destructive behavior, or the guys I hung out and got drunk with.

The strips with Faye and Abyssinia at the therapy group are some of the QC's most memorable to me.

Jeph, this is such an illuminating description of what it's like. Thanks for this clarity. Thanks for helping me understand.

QC coping with and working through extremely serious issues (drinking, mental health, relationship breakdown, soggy cereal, etc.) is one of the comic's greatest strengths, with the comic becoming nearly transparent as aspects of Jeph's own life and experience are woven in. Still, even in serious strips like this one, I know Marten's hand and mug are hiding a "Teh"!

Big oof. Looking back on this comic with sobriety definitely hits different and resonates. Been sober nearly 7 years here. Best thing I ever did for myself.

Wow. Ouch. Well done. Never had an addiction personally, but this does explain how others have been.

This arc hit me SO HARD, but in a good way, as I was newly sober at the time (11 years, now) I think of Faye a lot on my rough days. <3

I was a daily reader when this first posted and I about shit myself at that last panel.

This storyarch provided me with insight I was able to pull from years later when my sister and husband became sober. It should be standard reading for those of us supporting people fighting addiction, because the cast really embraces supporting Faye without ever being condescending or patronizing. They weren't perfect, but they were caring. Does Faye celebrate her soberversary? Do her friends join in celebrating it with her? I would love to see an episode around that if they do.

Late stage uncontrolled alcoholism killed my father, and by the time his body stopped, we'd already mourned him. When they came to tell us that he was dead, we weren't surprised, just relieved it was over. People sometimes get weirded out by the fact I don't drink, but for me, it's almost a phobia. I come by the genetic predisposition to addiction on both sides. I won't know what drink is too much, except it can' t be the one I don't have. And I've *seen* it, all the way down.

I still remember this as one of the most beautiful, disturbing, and inspiring arcs. Hard stuff to read, but easier to swallow with that huge hope chaser.

Wheeeee happy holiday-themed mirth comic!

Funny how this has come up randomly. It's one of the most important strips in the whole series. Faye getting wasted and being sacked from the coffee shop was I think the single most significant event to happen to QC so far.

Eleven years, me. I absolutely miss IT. I miss none of the detritus, physical and social. But if I didn’t care about that stuff? Right back into the bars. Happily, I still care. And also, can sing in tune better without the sauce. So that’s a positive.

I know this comic by heart. This is such a beautiful and horrible description of alcohol addiction. I'm so glad Jeph was able to turn his experience into something that resonates with so many people

I haven't actually experienced addiction, but mostly because of people openly talking about their own experiences having allowed me to recognize the start of some patterns early on. I appreciate when you and others are frank about it either in your work or your posts.

Took my lead from you about 4 years ago, and I'm glad I did. And you're right, it does get easier, although I've had to reckon with socialising sober, and being uncomfortable in situations where other people are drinking. Thanks for writing such well-realised, realistic characters, Jeph, and merry Seasonal Area to you and yours.

That last line has stuck with me all these years.

I think I was a regular reader during this arc… this strip predates me picking up smoking 🌳by about a year… As someone who felt the hole for a long time before finding out that anything even could fill it, that “feeling like I have a reason to live” was something I was capable of, I have a lot of thoughts on this arc. Maybe in a few more years I’ll be able to feel good even without intoxication to look forward to.

This comic and this arc for Faye stuck with me when I originally read it in... 2015? And it stuck around in my head a year or two later when I was going through the worst of my drinking and eventually getting out before it became a Problem. Thank you for this arc, I think about it to this day.

I have slipped into a bit of addiction from time to time. Someone helping you straight en ouy makes it easier.

Wooo! EU friendly post time 😉 Faye sure has come a long, long way since all this.

I sympathize.