Q&A Time!
It's been a while since I did a Q&A thing here, and it feels like a good time to do one! So ask me your questions in the comments of this post and I'll do my best to answer them.
UPDATE: wow that was a lot more questions than I was expecting! Thank you! Here is a picture of Ollie being lazy at daycare:
Comments (365)
I was going to think about questions but I forgot.
I know I'm late, but I was just doing a random reread and I need to know ab out Chaos Loaf.
Oh wow, 5k. IDK how long I've even been here at this point, but somewhere around 2012ish, so its been at least a decade, wow. IDK what I would even ask, but I will agree with "Will we ever see Alice Grove in print?" Or any of the rest of QC in general for that matter. While I LOVE digital format, its easier to share physical media to friends and family
This was basically going to be my question! Whether you planned on ever doing printed books again (and why you had stopped). I love them! (so much I've bought them twice lol)
What would happen if Moray wore pants? Or is she (or all Morays?) averse to clothing?
I've been reading QC since the double digits! I'm curious if the characters will ever age significantly. I feel like I was a teenager when the main cast were early twenties, then we were the same age, and now I'm older than them. Maybe?
Also, best wishes on 5,000 strips. I truly love your work. (I miss Alice Grove, even). I started QC around 250, backed up to 1 and have been following ever since. I used to compare strips by the 100s to watch as you matured as an artist and I love where style has grown. While technique growth gets more subtle with excellence; where do you think you've most improved or gotten the furthest in the last 500-1000 strips.
Okay, I've gone back to the beginning and re-read the entire series up to that point (2000 and 4000) twice. It is certainly a wild ride going back to those early years. Fun to see how you have grown in it. Thank you for not only being an LGBTQIA+ ally, but for including us in your strip. Now for a question: What is your favorite cup-o-joe?
Sweet! I just upgraded my patreon pledge a few months ago in hopes you'd do another Q&A. Here's my one question: Have you read the manga My Wife Has No Emotion? It's about a guy who falls in love with his maid robot and "marries" her. It's a cute slice-of-life comic with lots of stuff about how humans and robots co-exist that reminds me a lot of QC. This is not Chobits, its a more grounded sci-fi wholesome story, nothing lewd. I think you'd like it, and fans of QC who like manga would probably like it too! If you have read it, I guess I'm just asking if you dig it, otherwise this is just a friendly recommendation to anyone reading who loves robots and loves the humans who love those robots. Keep up the good work! Loving everything about the Cubetown storyline. If QC was a manga and I was your editor, I'd be haranguing you about making a Cubetown spin-off, (or just move the whole cast to Cubetown for a long-ass arc).
(Sorry, this was meant as a PS to my above; didn't mean to double-dip) IMHO, weddings make for great reunions! We know one is coming up, but I can easily envision at least two others, and who knows? Maybe ten years down the road, a certain skin-ink specialist and an formerly f-cked up Canadien ex-pat?
Nothing wrong with rolling (or seismic) transitions. Trudeau's crew is no longer at Walden, but have spread all about the country, gotten married, had kids, gotten divorced, even died, and, via B.D. and Roland and Duke and Honey, they've followed the U.S. into much of the world. I just hope Martin and Claire visit stateside, on occasion; I still long to nurse cartoon pints at the most awesome Dirty Truth (ahem! Horrible Revelation). ;)
One more question (related to a response to today's comic (this is how my brain works BTW)): Do you plan on revisiting the ECTech space station?
By the time I found out you were doing a Q&A there was nearly 500 posts here, and I don't have the current mental capacity to formulate an original question. So I will say: congratulations on the pending 5,000th comic, and please give Ollie a nice pat for being a good boy. PS I do support the idea of more printed QC (and Alice Grove) to add to my ever increasing collection of books. PPS I actually just thought of a (possibly) original question: Do you read books (paper or ebooks, manga and/or graphic novels included)? What authors and/or series do you like?
is there going to be more robot nudity, as a nudist I want to know
1.Do you have a comic buffer? 2.Is your portrayal of AI entities in QC a statement of "this is how I want things to be IRL" or a statement of "this is how I think things will be IRL" or both/neither?
Do you plan to release Alice Grove in print? I'd definitely get it ASAP. Also, would you consider adding the DORD strips to it as an extra? (I know they are unrelated, but both are sci-fi comics focusing on sentient machines, so it's a good fit in my head.)
Happy Almost 5000! When did you realise your life was to be spent writing about AIs in coffee shops? Which character is most likely to be spat out by an allosaurus? And while I know you won't return to it and understand why it was retired, do you miss the older pintsize/yelling bird vibe you got to unleash on occasion? If I need to make myself laugh, "I said: SUMMON. THE... " is still one of my favourite images to invoke.
Now I'm nostalgic for Yelling Bird. Who knew that would be a thing?
Who has been your favourite background character to draw?
After all these years I'm still waiting for the return of Accordion Guy!
I just wanted to say I've been reading since 2003. I found your page while searching for free online arcade games as a young teenager. Penny Arcade was like the 3rd result. And I've religiously checked for a new strip ever since. Glad you've kept it going when so many others dropped off or concluded.
Apologies if this is a duplicate: who is your favorite character to write? Who is your THIRD favorite character to write?
I'm so happy that Claire has found her niche and am eagerly awaiting future storylines now that she's taking charge. Not a question, just a thank you.
Thanks for doing QC. It’s helped make me a more understanding and empathetic person.
Glad to hear COVID wasn't too bad for you. If Moray ever meets Marigold, May (Is the M thing a theme?) would definitely mock Marigold for having the same body consistency as Moray (and Moray might not get that it's teasing). Maybe they meet at the matrimonial? (Yeah, the M thing is deliberate.) Did you study art, or just practice it? I mean, did you take art classes or just learn by doing? I remember you used to have guest comics once in a while. I always liked to see other artists' take on your world and characters. Any future plans?
Is Raven OK?
Are we going to be able to buy print book editions of any of the more recent comics?
What is your favorite less used character?
Will Marten integrate his musical education and aspirations into his coffee shop idea? Live music, a sideline in instrument sales and repairs, or the like?
Are Marten and Claire getting married? After this new story ark in Cubetown I’d love nothing more
Having lived in Portland OR for the last 18 years, I still love your strip about Portlanditess. Are there any characters from the past that have not been in the strip for a while that you are planning on doing a where are they now strip?
How does QC time scale to real-life time? It doesn't seem like 20 years has passed in-universe since the first comic, but obviously some time has passed. What's the approximate conversion rate?
What work are you proudest of? Like strip, music project , arc etc alternately what character do you have the most fun writing?
Is Roko still having depersonalization episodes?
Do you intend to bring back sidelined characters with the new setting? Cubetown seems like a place we’d run into Raven and Emily.
Do you plan on ever doing other one-off projects like Alice Grove?
La li lo Fairy and Pizza Girl are my favorite characters. I know there’s not much narrative interest in bringing them back, but I hope that we continue to meet lots of new quirky random characters over the coming years. Cheers to you for an amazing 5K over the years, and cheers to the next 5K!
Is there a png I can print or a print I can buy of the "Work harder" kitty poster?
thank you for this absolutely phenomenal comic, and for constantly growing and evolving it, you're truly amazing! second best comic in my book, right behind Calvin and Hobbes (which is impossible to beat as you surely know). i hope you'll never lose the joy of writing QC
Is the cool-old-lady-run sex toy shop based on a real one in Northampton? A...friend of mine...yes...may have been to one which seemed very similar.
If Marten and Claire got married would she take his last name? That seems like she would think that was romantic even though (or perhaps because) it's kind of an antiquated notion. I ask because I used "Marten and Claire Reed" as an example couple name in an article I just wrote and I think it's cute.
They could take each other's surnames as middle names. Then Marten would finally have the second emperor of Rome as his middle name, just like his mother always wanted!
Speaking of which , how is Agent Turing doing?
Are we going to see Emily in Cubetown? Because it really seems like she would fit right in.
I suspect the NSA won't let her leave the country. For reasons you are not cleared to know.
Personally I'm curious as to how/why you moved to Canada
Why: because Canada is good. How: I put my shit in a car and drove there
Will Dora and Tai have an all-nude Betazoid-style wedding?
Is steve still munching on cereal?
on his boat
I always loved seeing the music recommendations that would come from characters in the webcomic, the text posts below the comic or in separate blog posts (Such as Atlas, Animal Collective and countless others), do you still post anywhere about music you're enjoying or have any of those past recs archived? I though a few of them have disappeared to site redesigns or dead links. Thank you!
What are Sven and May doing? And, more important, when are they gonna find the nerve to talk to one another again
How old is Bubbles?
69
With the amount of side characters that have been fully developed, and are living whole entire lives offscreen (enjoy your cereal steve), have you ever considered bringing on other writers / artists for a spin-off?
I could see working with another artist, but probably not another writer. Writing is (usually) the fun and easy part!
With the scale of the Cubetown plotline and the general wrapping up of major character plots (marriage, moving away, Bubbles and Faye settling into their life, pintsize becoming more mature etc) it feels like the mainline comic is coming to a close in the near-ish future. Obviously there are characters stories that don't seem like they have finished their arc though. But I do feel like there is a vibe. Is this your intent, or am I just way off the mark?
I get the vibe! But it's more of a transition than an ending. I've got tons of other ideas I wanna explore in QC.
Hey Jeph, Super long time reader. Wondering how your writing and workflow is currently with the Daily comics: Do you have plot lines/notes pre-scripted out long term, and/or do you delve into current whims etc? Also do you draw and post daily, or work through batches? Love the story!
I have rough plot points that I aim for over the long term (months/years), and lately I've been doing more of my writing in big chunks, 5-15 strips at a time, although I still do a fair amount of writing day-to-day. These days I try to be at least a week ahead of Patreon on finished strips. Ideally I'd be a couple MONTHS ahead, but I'm not Dave Willis.
I've been reading for a number of years now, and I am looking forward to seeing where the storyline goes. Thank you for all of this! From the writing perspective: Do you every find that you really want a story to go a certain direction, but the characters themselves just don't let you take them there, and how do you work with that?
Yeah, it happens from time to time, and you always gotta let the characters do what they want to. Otherwise it's gonna feel really forced and awkward.
QC has been one of the most consistent things in my life. And i was just thinking that with this recent storyline it may be a satisfying wrap up with marten moving. If that's not the case do you have any idea of when it might end?
bite your tongue! 😝
Were you yourself surprised by the scale the Cubetown storyline is reaching? I can’t remember any previous “take these characters apart” (e.g. the wedding, the visit to the station, etc) lasting for that long.
a bit! I'm more surprised by how excited I am to do more comics there. I wasn't expecting it to be this fun
Which ones are your favorite currently ongoing webcomics?
dumbing of age, gunnerkrigg court, oglaf, alfie, xkcd
How long have Brun and Millefeuille been married? Also, Yay and Roko, same question :)
[redacted]
Whats Steve up to? Is he still eating cereal?
on his boat
You like Anime, guitar and write slice of life - have you watched Bocchi the Rock yet?
currently going through it! I love that they actually draw guitars right
I love your work so much. They make me laugh and cry in equal measures. I put QC alongside Gregory by Marc Hempel. Have you ever considered doing a comic suitable for children?
oh gosh no, I like cussing too much
No question. Thank you, Jeph!
Seconded!
Is there any character you wish you spent more time with?
Tiny thing I've wondered for years: whatever happened to Tai's anchor tattoo?
lost it in a bet
First, Thank you for QC and posting new strips every week! I’ve been an avid reader since the beginning and can’t believe it’s been 20 years already! What are you planning with Pintsize now that Marten is moving away? I recall long ago that he decided to stay by the sidelines after Marten's social life became very abundant, but I do miss seeing him and his shenanigans. Also, will you ever reveal Bubbles’ backstory? I know that her memory of her past was wiped out with no chance of recovery, it still would be nice to know about her earlier life. Thank you again for keeping us entertained for all these years and looking forward to see more QC!
Pintsize will continue doing Pintsize things, I probably won't ever "reveal" Bubbles' missing memories.
Any thoughts about expanding your content into other media, such as anime, live-action or spoken-word? So many of your arcs have been so tight that they could work anywhere. For example, life on Station could be fun.
QC slam poetry when?
Any plans for non-QC (or QC-adjacent) comics? I really enjoyed Alice!
Can you please make Cubetown decide to make a permanent portal so people can go to Coffee of Doom and Union Robotics? (As well as going back and forth whenever, why ever they want to.)
Hi! I started reading QC when I was in grad school doing a PhD in neuroscience, making undergrads stare at optical illusions and trying to immanentize our cyborg future, that sort of thing. The professor I worked under turned out to be a real bully with a fragile ego. When results pointed toward something other than his idea being true, he demanded I just delete that data. I re-ran experiments obtaining the same result; he all but demanded I fake the results to make them line up with his idea. I wanted to publish the actual results, which were interesting in their own right. He (among other actions that were witnessed by others) called me into his office, screamed a litany of abuse, concluding that he wanted to punch me in the face. A few weeks later, surely unrelatedly, he announced that he had taken a directorship offer at a university on the opposite coast and would be moving the lab. That's a good example of how things work in academia. I managed to graduate over his objections and interference but I did not leave grad school with particularly good mental health. There's a point to this shaggy dog story... Jeph, I recently clicked on a link to one of your now-deleted Musk-impersonating tweets, and under the suspension notice was a reply with that familiar "this tweet is from an account you blocked." I clicked it and was amazed to discover that one of the last things you did on Twitter was to block my worst boss ever. For, amazingly, thinking you were _actually_ Elon Musk. https://imgur.com/a/1UsF0Wi Anyway I signed up for q&a to thank you for your shitposting and creating that moment. I guess Musk really gets his goat, by being so much more well-known for his Neuralink BS, while having basically the exact same personality. So my question is.... do you or anyone who's reading have screenshots of your whole Twitter exit? I want to collect the best bits and make a collage to send to the grad students over east.
I know someone definitely had screenshots, I can't remember who though!
Bit of a weird one: will you ever release the sixth panel of comic 4590 as like, a desktop wallpaper or something? Whenever I look at Yay in that comic I genuinely feel like sobbing, I just want to give them a big hug and tell them "shhh everything is gonna be okay" and AAAA
As an older mom, I feel the same way
Would you ever sell this "good poopin" poster again? https://questionablecontent.net/shirts/goodpoopin.png I would like to pay you money for one.
This!! I lost/tore my "good poopin" poster years ago and I'd love another one.
Given the very connected world of QC, there doesn't appear to be much connection with folks outside of the immediate locale, e.g., long distance friends/partners, esp. in the AI world. Is this more a function of the storytelling model than the world itself? Or are these characters abnormally real-world-only in their friendships given the world they're in?
It's mostly because just writing chat logs isn't really something that super interests me
now that you, too, are significantly older than most of them, has it changed how you view your characters and their world?
Yeah, they're all idiots with no chill lol
Is there any possibility that there could be a text description or alt text on each comic for blind people or people who use a screen reader that want to read Questionable Content?
If a system were set up for that, I'll bet we could get a bunch of us to help backfill it for all the existing strips. Oh damn, I have to reread QC...
As someone significantly older than you, I’ve always looked at your characters in a vaguely parental fashion. (My kids introduced me to your comics a couple of years after QC began.)
Same here
In case you do ever make it down here (not that I'd blame you if not) - besides Ellen Allien, are there other German/European (Austrian? :P) electronic music acts you like?
oh gosh, too many to count! I pretty much only listen to weird electronic music, a lot of which comes from Europe and Germany in particular. I dream of going to Berghain one day (this will never happen)
Any chance of a Questionable Content / DORD crossover? Both involve post singularity sentient robots, seems like a natural.
I would like to see the Indietits birds appearing in QC.
Will we ever see Yay's opinion of Pintsize?
they're gonna get married
Will Cubetown under Claire's guidance develop a portal or transporter that can make it easy for Faye and the rest of the crew (or maybe just for Marten and Claire) to visit their friends?
nah, teleportation is a bit too "game breaking" a tech for me to stomach in my sci-fi
Just one question: Butts?
Butts.
Since Marten started out as the primary protagonist, with him moving on with Claire to Cubetown are you considering branching their story out into a spin-off? New comic, new name, same universe?
nah, still QC, just with a new setting
Any plan to make Alice Groove into book like QC?
eh, maybe someday
I suspect you have a lot more detailed backstory and lore worked out regarding AI in the QC universe (i.e. the Gary Phenomenon and suchlike), most of which won't actually appear in the comic because it isn't directly related to the narrative. On behalf of the deep-lore nerds: Would you ever consider releasing some of that as a supplement to the comic, perhaps in short story form or some sort of in-universe historical document?
that might be fun to do someday. the advantage of NOT doing that is I have less lore to accidentally contradict ;)
Can you share the backstory for the origins/history of AIs becoming people and joining society?
Why _DO_ robots have buttholes?
Can you discuss your influences, both in and outside the cartoon sphere?
anime and bloom county
Can an AI fork its mindstate, and if it does is the new copy regarded as a separate entity? If so, which one gets to keep their stuff? Can they re-integrate?
No, but only to the extent of "no" that also means multiply-embodied AIs like Yay can't exist either. In other words, no, unless I decide it would be cool at some point in the future, lol
will pintsize ever be duct taped to a wall again?
How is Brun's old boss doing in Tahiti?
he died of bat flu
Do you have any favorite robots in real life?
roombas are cool
Did you get banned from the subreddit?
lmao I don't know or care
do you now or have you at any point had an idea about an ending for the series?
Neither of those were questions...okay are either Brun or Pizza girl going to get more screen time?
Brun yes, Pizza Girl ????
I would like more Brun content...also I'm secretly in love with Pizza Girl
Would you ever consider bringing in more writers & artists to expand the world and the stories of questionable content beyond what your admittedly prolific self has been able to do?
I'd definitely be willing to work with another artist, but other writers...not so much. The writing is the easy part, most of the time!
I feel like CubeTown has a need for Faye and Bubbles services. I could see the group moving to CubeTown to be closer to Martin. Out of all the side characters you create, which is your favorite?
right now it's Moray by a country mile. Love that slimy little idiot.
Will there be a nude beach episode?
Will you give us some slipshine or NSFW stories of the characters?
maybe someday. It would be fun to draw a porno comic, but I'm not sure my anatomy skills are up to snuff yet.
I've long suspected that Steve and Cossette got married some time ago but never told anyone. (Secret government agent stuff, y'know.) Am I too far off? Also, will the minister who officiated at Henry's & Maurice's wedding be back for Dora's & Tai's?
Based on how you were surprise of the development last time, did your characters develop sentience?! :O
:o
I'm also interested if you'll ever release more QC physical books. I love to collect physical copies of webtoons in case something were to happen and an artists work and it got deleted somehow
He said elsewhere he hopes to have more at some point this year!
Have any regrets about storylines/arcs/hooks you've chosen *not* to tell, over the years? Any darlings you've regretted killing, to use the writing term?
nothing really springs to mind! Anything I think is good ends up in the comic eventually, one way or another.
I apologise in advance for asking this, but I wonder occasionally: what happened to Shelby? Was it just old age?
Pretty much, she was 13, which is remarkably old for a Pyr. Her back end just went out one day- the vet thinks it was probably a spinal aneurysm, and she was just too old to recover.
Whatever happened to Sara McKinney's leg?
allosaurus
No questions, just wanted to say thank you for being one of the highlights of my day when i read your comics! Been at it for 12 years now, it's been an awesome ride! Congrats on 5000 comics!
Also, is it hard to keep track of all the characters sometimes? Do you keep a document with information on them or is it all in your head?
it's all in my head, somehow. I do consult old strips or the fan wiki if I'm unsure about something though!
Would you consider other NSFW images of the characters?
i'm sure it will happen
Have you ever considered having Angus come back and visit? Him meeting Bubbles would be interesting.
nah he's boring, to me
So it feels like you're reaching the end of the story, it began with Marten following a girl across the country and with the upcoming move, I see an end to the comic. As a long time reader, are you planning on ending it soon?
(Jeph has said that this arc is not a lead-in to the end of the comic, FWIW)
So, be honest with us. Why does Bubbles have a butt orifice? Secret location to hold military gear? Internal hardware access point? Or a nod to aesthetics from an organically minded designer?
boring answer: i thought it would be funny
Does it feel weird to be at 5000 comics?
extremely
What are A.I. creches like?
chaotic
I assume you don't regret leaving Twitter for sanity reasons, but has it impacted your work notably?
not really! or, if it has, not in a way that I've noticed.
Are there any AI/human couples with a child, and are we going to meet any like that? I'm curious what that life would be like now that we have a few AI/human couples in canon.
La li lu le lo?
the patriots......
given the prevalence of gsrm in the comic, we'd love to see your usual nuanced and consciously-inclusive take on a plural character sometime. Would that be something you could be interested in tackling eventually or is the concept daunting after decades of bad-faith or ignorant portrayals? Also, pintsize feet pics when /j
whoo boy, I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough to write that kind of character in a sensitive way. maybe at some point in the future though, I never say never.
Is the commission rate on the highest tier still valid?
What's the best way to get caught up on all the backstory of the series? Or is it best to treat it like a TV soap opera and go with the flow?
Best way to get caught up: start from the beginning. I know it looks like a lot, but trust me, it's actually super quick to get through.
Who/What designed the forms of the AIs/Androids? Why would they design the mouths to work like human mouths, why genitalia and buttholes? My working assumption is that it all started with sexbots.
they look like that because they think it's cute
Would you be interested in being a guest on Creators Corner on my wife's YouTube channel? (Heck if you're gonna respond to all the questions, might as well throw that one in there) We've had a bunch of other webcomic creators on: Paul Taylor of Wapsi Square, Rich Morris of YAFGC, Elli Stephens of Goblins, to name just a few. The shows are live with an open chat for audience comments/questions, and the channel is 18+ so you don't have to worry about swearing.
send me an email!
Have you tried the new Aussie Lemonade flavor of the juice monster? I don't like it as much as the mango, but my wife likes it better.
lmao I JUST DID THE OTHER DAY! It's pretty good. I'd say a solid B-tier among the Punch varieties.
How far ahead do you have planned? Per arc? Mini-arcs? Is it all improvised?
all of the above, somehow
What’s your pet situation at the moment?
ollie is a good boy
I've been really curious: Many AI's in QC seem to have some kind of experience of gender that's at least compatible with human experiences. But what's their experience of it actually like? Given its mixed cognitive/biological nature, is it similar to humans', or is it something else? I admit, I'm totally fascinated by QC's AI's and their relationship with humans. It's utterly wholesome and is totally what I want for human-AI relations in our world.
The way I see it, AIs feel similar to how people feel- some of them really FEEL like they're a specific gender, others don't, and there's a spectrum. Gender is a super complicated thing and I am in no way an expert, so I try to use as light a touch as I can when it comes to gender stuff in the comic.
Will you ever do a convention in the Boston area again?
maybe someday
I spent last weekend at ECCC but I always have a hard time actually starting conversations with people whose content I consume on the internet. From your experience what do artists like to hear besides "I would like to buy X"
I bet they like to hear, "I love your work, it makes me happy!"
Would you consider working at Cubetown, and what would your job description be?
Cubetown is probably the only place I would be remotely employable at this point.
Has a physical graphic novel of "Alice Grove" ever been published? If not, is it something you have been interested in doing?
nope, but maybe someday
Can we see a preview of Nora/Tai’s wedding attire? Or would that be bad luck?
oh god I'm going to have to draw WEDDING OUTFITS D:
How is steve taking the whole Martin moving thing? Does he even know?
steve is on his boat
So, one reason why I've loved your comic for over a decade is the representation of poc and LGBTQIA+. Are your characters based on or influenced by people you know? Or are you simply trying to make people like my friends feel seen? Thank you for this wonderful comic 🖤
my characters are 98% fictional. sometimes things that have happened to my friends work their way into the comic, but nobody is really "based on" an actual person.
Has anyone ever approached (or have you ever approached anyone) with an idea regarding making animated QC?
a couple times but it never went anywhere
Alice had the war hammer and access to what seemed to be a satellite that was able to turn the ground around Church into magma. Is it safe to assume he also had access to weaponry but was either disarmed or just relied on his fists?
yeah that makes sense to me
Which characters would play Dungeons and Dragons and what would their classes be
I feel like... all of them. Clinton: DM. Dora: Paladin and team leader. Faye and Bubbles: definitely tank/fighter classes. Hanners: Clearly an Elvish wizard. She's talented, intelligent, and gorgeous. Tai: Rogue. She will sneak up on you and clean out your pockets, and you'll never see her coming. Marigold: Ranger. Good with a bow, not so good with people. Claire: Cleric of Deneir, god of writing Pintsize: He would basically roleplay Dan Fielding. He would win half of their battles by seducing... someone. Marten: Bard. Because obviously.
How huge was the patron increase after you posted that NSFW pic of Bubbles? 😂
Obviously, he needs to do a photo series of the whole gang. I'm not asking for NSFW pics, but I'd love to see more candids and posed pictures featuring all the different characters.
Did you know what you were getting into by posting this?:) (83 comments in 17 minutes, let's see how far it goes)
it is...a lot more than I was expecting
Have you considered you might age the characters at some point, to have them approach a different aspect of life, or stay somewhat young?
I get more and more tempted to do this, the older I get! Maybe someday. Currently have too many other irons in the fire wrt the comic though :)
Is there a base on the far side of the moon communicating with the DORD? if not, why not!
too cold
I really enjoyed Liz's introduction! I think you mentioned that Liz's story was unexpected. Do you normally have a much more set idea of how something is going to play out? If so, what changed this time?
it varies wildly! some stories pop into my head fully formed and it's just a matter of writing them down. others take days or weeks or months to come together. I often toss random little things into the comic here or there to give Future Jeph something to get creative with- Liz hiding in the background for a bunch of comics before her introduction was one of those things.
Is Cubetown ultimately responsible for/running the simulation of the AliceGroviverse?
nope, no connection between the two comics
Who do you wish you got to spend more time with in the comic? Did you pick up a new skill or hobby during lock down? What niche hobby or craft do you want someone in comic to take up? How's life, I hope you are doing well.(?) Is it totally crazy that this comic has been going so long? This has been such a part of my life, I can't thank you enough for QC
I can totally see Marigold crocheting amigurumi.
Is there any event, person or situation that you wish you could retcon in this comic?
there are a few old comics I think are gross and would never make today, but that's just how life goes.
About how much time has passed in the comic from the first comic to now? Does any cast member have a fursona?
Imma say it rn. Headcanon: Yay has a fursona. They CLAIM its purely for information and connections they wouldn't normally have, but secretly theu actually enjoy the community.
In light of the sheer volume of characters and density of the world, I have to ask: whatever happened to Pizza Girl?
Well Penelope hasn't been around much, so I guess she's still off doing other stuff.
No matter how far along in the future, do you have an idea of how you will or if you ever will end this comic?
maybe someday, maybe not! 25 year old jeph would never believe I'd still be doing it at 42
I noticed a while ago that for a while, Roko had the same haircut as Alpha Hatsuseno from Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Was that intentional or a coincidence?
Never seen it, but anime is probably my main aesthetic influence when it comes to drawing hair, so it's not surprising to me
The latest arc represents possibly the biggest shakeup to the status quo in QC ever, with the closest thing the series has to a main character moving away. Can you share anything about long term plans for the format going forward? Are we mostly going to follow Northampton or Cubetown? Are you taking the opportunity to shuffle some historically main cast to into supporting roles? Are we ever going to see Sven kiss anyone in a romantic way?
Right now I plan to split the difference between the two settings as necessary- if I'm having a lot of Northampton ideas, I'll do comics set there, and vice versa for Cubetown. One thing I'd like to do is try and better integrate the Northampton cast- right now I've got a few separate groups of people there who don't interact much, and it would be nice to get them to know each other.
Apologies if this has been asked/answered elsewhere; I've been a daily reader since about strip 800 but this is the first time I've been in a place to support the Patreon. An observation I've had is that characters are almost "seasonal" in a sense, where they are really involved for a period of time and then tend to fade out of the daily story to varying degrees. With a major shift in scenery, do you anticipate maintaining both locales or focusing on one and using it as a chance to "clean up" the cast and focus on new characters (if following Marten and Claire) or sending that pair off into the sunset (as a lot of their growth narrative arc is complete) and focusing on the main cast?
I agree with your observation! When you have a cast the size of mine, it's impossible to give equal focus to everybody. I mostly just go wherever the ideas are. Sometimes that means a new character, sometimes it means catching up with someone we haven't seen in a while. I think M&C moving away will probably shake up some of the other character dynamics, but I'm not sure how, yet. Will be interesting to see!
With so many storylines, have you considered running parallel storylines? I would definitely contribute more to have a QC strip and a Cubetown strip
I'm more or less doing that already, these days. It's an experiment, time will tell how I handle having two different settings.
How big is your favourite thing?
>_>
What is your favourite "Canadian" food or beverage that you have discovered since moving?
it's boring to say "poutine" but poutine is also fucking good so
Why butts
I'll do you one better: WHEN butts?
Any music stuff especially catching your attention right now? (Inclusive of music you're listening to, but also any instruments, devices, or software you're having fun with)
this might be the year I finally get into DJing, it's something I've always wanted to try but have been intimidated by
Will Marten find some new bandmates at CubeTown? Out of universe, loved Clathrate - have you been writing more music? When you take time off, is there a "step 1" way you decompress?
dunno about band stuff, drawing instruments takes forever. Been writing new stuff for a couple years now, it's going slowly but I think it's good shit. What is this "time off" you speak of
anything special planned for comic #5000 (wow)?
not really! I was kind of hoping claire taking the job would land on 5000, but the timing didn't work out. oh well!
How have you been?
not bad
Will we get to see more of Brun and Millefeuille? I miss them <3
yeah I need to catch up with those two dingdongs eventually
I bought the 6 paper books you released a while ago from the beginnings of QC, do you plan to continue releasing books ? I love what you're doing and I hope you'll continue!
hopefully more this year!
These side characters have been fun and all, but when will we get back to the MC Steve?
He's still off eating cereal most likely.
Are you planning to come back to Gencon or any other conventions?
maybe someday, but not anytime soon
What’s your favourite kind of public transport?
I mostly just walk places when I can
Will you give us some kinda warning before you start any final arcs? Or is that going to surprise everyone, you think?
if I ever get to the point where QC is really heading for a final endgame, I think it will probably be pretty obvious.
How are you feeling? Optional bonus question, you ever mess around with one of those glass finger-slide cylinders on guitar? They look like a lot of fun, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Feelin' pretty good! Never really tried slide guitar, aside from occasionally messing around with a screwdriver or can of seltzer
How are you feeling? I know you had C-19 and just wanted to inquire if you're feeling better or if that crap is still lingering. Also been playing many games lately? Any favorites?
Oh yeah, I'm good. I had a suuuuper mild case. Felt crappy for about 24 hours, then just had to quarantine for a while to be safe. I got really lucky. As for games, I went on a huge Monster Train bender a while back to try and win with every clan combo on max difficulty. Once I got that done I've just been playing chill games like Vampire Survivors and Holocure
Will Dora help Martin setup the coffee shop and get trained?
Have you read The Expanse? I always picture Bobbie Draper as looking a lot like Bubbles and was wondering if there's an element of inspiration there.
I am so glad I'm not the only one! Seeing Bobbie in live action helped, but picturing her in her armor, my mind's eye would just bounce back and forth between Frankie Adams and Bubbles.
For the AIs who lack obvious noses, like Millefeuille, are their faces full 3D faces, just without noses, or screens that display eyes and mouths. I've seen folks claim the latter, but I've always assumed the former.
Whichever you think is cuter and/or more plausible, until I make something canonical out of necessity :)
Who is the best dog?
Or, Who's a good dog?!
I always wondered why Faye thinks of Pintsize as advanced tech. I must have missed the silver in his cloud;-)
If I recall correctly, his original body had lasers and stuff! When programming him, did they code him to have kinda silly ambitions so he wouldn't use it? Actually, how old *is* he?? Did he even have a purpose?
How have things been since you relocated out of the US? What is Ollie up to these days? Not that I don't enjoy QC, but Alice Grove really resonated with me on a different level. Any other side project in the works?
I love Canada and never want to go back to the US. Ollie is good, he's currently partying with some other dogs at daycare. I'd like to do another side project someday but I don't have the mental bandwidth for it these days.
Are you planning on releasing more volumes of QC?
hopefully this year!
As the most prominent breedable pair, will Dale and Marigold ever have kids?
dale IS submissive and breedable...
There have been a LOT of art and style changes since I started reading QC in 2004. What was the impetus for drawing the AIs in more human body shapes? It’s been really interesting to look at the body switching (pintsize, Winslow, etc) as an allegory for transition, but do you think it may also feed into the public pressure to blend in, or “pass”?
I have more fun drawing people-shaped robots, so that's what I naturally gravitated towards over time. As for body-switching as an allegory...it's fine if people want to explore that idea, but it's definitely not what I intended with the concept, so I don't think I have anything particularly insightful to say about it. I'd rather leave allegorical explorations of the trans experience to people who have actually lived it.
Mundane Question: What is the cast's favorite color? More serious question: Do you have an end in mind for QC? Part of me feels as if Dora and Ty's wedding is gearing up to be such, as it feels like plot threads are wrapping neatly, or at least are perceived to be so. If so, do you have plans for another webcomic? If not, how long would you like to keep working on QC? I have been reading since 2010, and have loved watching these character grow, as well as watching your skills as an artist and content creator improve as well. I also know I am curious as to what many a minor character is up to, but I am sure others will ask these questions. (Also, as a trans woman, thank you so much for Claire. I love her dearly and am thoroughly invested in her happiness)
I'm definitely wrapping up some of the bigger plot threads these days (I swear I'll get to that friggin' wedding eventually), but I can't imagine ending the comic entirely. I still have too many other ideas I want to do! I've always said I'll do QC until it feels like it's time to stop, and I'm not there yet. So we'll see I guess!
Have you considered doing an animated version?
if someone wants to give me a bunch of money for the rights to animate QC, i'd happily take it. but it's not something I'm particularly interested in pursuing myself.
It feels like Martin moving is a big step for the comic! Where you nervous about it?
EXTREMELY!
Which of your characters do you think would be the most fun to hang with?
I'm old and boring now so I think I'd probably have the best time just sitting around and watching anime with Marigold
Will we hear any more Deathmole?
I've been working on some new music for the last couple years, it's coming together slowly
What Elon did to you is wrong. How are you enjoying time off Twitter?
I don't miss it at all. Life is way simpler and less infuriating now that I'm not on that hellsite.
More robobutts when?
next time I feel inspired to draw some!
Would love to see you State side again sometime! Any plans to attend any USA cons?
I think my con days might be done, but maybe someday.
Which QC character is your favourite/the most fun to draw and write for? 💛
Lately Moray has been my favorite. The one I enjoy drawing the most is whoever I've been drawing a lot lately, because I'm not out of practice with them :p
What’s padma been up to?
chillin'
Will we see the return of Angus to add spicy drama?
Angus, now a big name journalist, comes to film the trashy expose which reveals The Truth About Cubetown.
Has your favorite character changed over the years? If so, who did it start with and who is it now?
Yeah, it shifts over time, for a looooong while it was Hannelore, then Marigold, then various other folks. Right now I'm having a tremendously good time writing Moray. God she's so dumb, i love her
How old actually is Dr Lizard?
She's 19
Hey Jeph! Donair poutine, or donair pizza? 😁🌯
I...don't actually like donair very much :/ but the vegan donair wrap at Wild Leek is among my favorite things to eat here in town!
Is Yay pan?
something something bread pun
When will you reveal that Faye and Bubbles are also going to move to Cubetown to repair AI's there?
Been thinking this very thing for a while now
Will Marty's coffee shop be guinan's coffee of doom?
Coffee of Hope
Favorite TV show you're currently watching?
I don't really watch tv! I do watch a fair bit of anime though, currently working my way through Spy x Family and lovin it
With Marten and Claire potentially moving, this comic is on very new ground. What was your inspiration for exploring this?
I'll go into more detail in a future newspost, but it's something I'd been thinking about for a long time, and when it finally came together in a coherent way in my head, I was like "okay, it's time"
Ollie welfare check?
he's good
Are Brun and Millie a couple?
a couple of DORKS
Pintsize was in the very first comic; how did the concept of "tiny computer man" to full AI society evolve in your mind during the course of the comic to today?
I was gonna ask this! Love how the AI world-building bones keep showing through. Just imagine Yay turning up at CubeTown in a custom Archeteuthis body...
What are the chances you'll do another more serious comic like Alice Grove someday?
I'd say "high," but "not anytime soon."
Since the singularity caused AI sapience back relatively early on in the comic, did that see a collapse of any industry or any other sigficant changes in the world we didn't get to see? Also, what is your favorite animal without feathers, scales, or fur! Don't need to answer the second one, is just for fun~
nah it just lead to little robots running around everywhere. and my favorite animal that meets those criteria would probably be the humble millipede
What ever happened to Pizza Girl
became Pizza Queen
With Marten and Claire moving away is the comic going to stay in Northampton move to Cubetown or be split between the two?
So far I've been having fun jumping between the two, so I think that's what I'll keep doing for the foreseeable future
With the current storyline and Marten and Claire planning a move, I’m wondering if that means the comic is nearing completion?
OR does it mean a spinoff, and thus two fabulous storylines to enjoy?
Coffee preference?
hot
How do you view QC now? Is it a still ongoing labor of love, or do you view it as a Job (that you obviously still put the work into)?
I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. I love doing QC, but like anything there are some days where I'd rather do literally anything else but draw a comic. That's just how jobs are!
More sexy May stories?
I am very curious what happens next with May, now that she's financially stable and can ponder other ways to fulfill herself.
How do you come up with names for new characters? They always fit so well!
most of the time they just pop into my head, or I try out various ones until I find one that "feels" right. My wife actually named Liz, as soon as she said it I was like "you're right, she's totally a Liz"
Will Sven and May ever get together?
I think the chassis donation thing took that prospect off the table, so probably not
Do you do any conventions?
Since COVID hit I think my convention-going days are done. I might do one or two somewhere eventually, but the idea of being in huge unmasked crowds for a whole weekend like that is not very appealing to me.
Hi, Jeph, great job on the current arc! My question: any plans for a new comic?
maybe someday!
With such a varied cast, have you ever thought about doing a spin off of one or more characters that aren't in the current rotation?
I'd love to, but I don't have the mental energy to do anything outside of QC these days.
Why *do* some AIs have buttholes?
because it's funny
Will Claire and Marten still be in the story, despite moving away?
yup!
How far ahead do you usually have the story planned?
I have general plot points or character arcs that I sort of aim for over the long-term, sometimes it can take months or years to get to them (I've been setting up the move to Cubetown for a WHILE). But as for the day to day comics, I'm usually only a week or two ahead.
How is Ollie doing?
he's at daycare right now, so he's partying with other dogs
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