Questionable Content

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Questionable Content is a slice-of-life comedy webcomic written and drawn by Jeph Jacques. The plot centers on Marten, an average frustrated 20-something indie rock dork, his anthropomorphic PC (AnthroPC) named Pintsize, and his somewhat mysterious and frequently moody roommate Faye. Other characters include Marten's friend Steve, Steve's girlfriend Ellen, Faye's boss/Marten's girlfriend Dora and her co-worker Raven.

Contents

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Synopsis

Questionable Content's style ranges between romantic melodrama, humor about indie rock music, and sexual or scatological humor. Frequent settings are the apartment shared by Marten and Faye, and the coffee shop where Faye, Dora and Raven work. The comic is mostly realistic, and action focuses on banter between the characters rather than major plot developments. The comic appears to be set in modern times, though the presence of self-aware, anthropomorphic robots (in the form of "AnthroPC"s) implies some sort of futuristic technology. Oddly enough, the AnthroPCs are the only signs of advanced technology in the series. The author once remarked,

Someone people do not often realize is that the world in which QC takes place is considerably stranger than our own. You'd think that with all the little talking robots running around everywhere that this would be obvious, but I am consistently surprised at how often people take it for granted.[1]

Questionable Content was first posted in 2003, and has scheduled updates every weekday. The site has an active, if small, community that take a strong interest in Jacques' life. In early 2004, the comic enjoyed a surge of new popularity thanks in part to the continuing refinement of Jacques' artistic ability: the comic reached 2nd on the webcomic rankings of BuzzComix.net in the month of April. At that time Jacques converted the strip to the widepanel format that is growing in popularity, and was accepted into the Dayfree Press. Offering an extra comic as incentive, and following a visual layout redesign, the strip later attained the first place rank on BuzzComix on June 2, 2004. It held that rank consistently until August 31, 2004, when it was given a place in the BuzzComix.net 'Hall of Fame'. The comic has also won the 2005 Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards for Outstanding Romantic Comic.

The comic is accompanied by blog-like entries which are often supportive of other comics and offer insight behind the strips. The creator is a self-described hipster and tries to keep the content focused on Indie style, including many references to bands, critique of Indie conformity, ridicule of emo, humour at Hot Topic's expense, and the "Theory of Hipster Relativity", <math>M = (BN^2)^{-1}</math>; "music equals the inverse of Band multiplied by band's Notoriety squared". A part of the comic's appeal is the background jokes, mostly one-liners written into the backgrounds of strips (most commonly on the blackboard at the coffee shop where Dora, Faye, and Raven work) such as "Tip Me Or I Will Kill Again" or on the t-shirts of characters in the strip (see Comments on the blackboard). Several shirt designs that were originally in-comic have been turned into real shirt designs for sale in QC's shop.[2]

In October 2005, a strip referencing Marten's blog gave rise to an actual weblog for both Marten and Dora. Marten's blog can be assumed to be the work of Jacques, but the author has repeatedly stated that Dora's blog is not his creation and should therefore not be considered canon.

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Main characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
  • Marten Reed - Marten is an introvert with a crisp sense of humor. A potential poster child for "nice guy syndrome", Marten has been single since the strip began and (prior to becoming romantically involved with Dora in recent strips) was very concerned about his current lack of a girlfriend. At times, even the slightest display of attention from a girl can cause Marten to become tongue-tied. Marten's favorite band is Mogwai. But according to his blog, if someone placed a gun to his head and he had to choose a favorite band, Broken Social Scene would be one of his top contenders. He is a college graduate (with a degree in Music Nerdery[3]) but his job title is Office Bitch.[4] Is somewhat inept around Tasers. When outside, he is constantly seen in identical black hoodies. He claims not to know how many exactly he has, but states they are "reproducing somewhere in the back of his closet."
  • Faye Whitaker - Faye is a smartass with a vicious shoulder-punch that she is not afraid to use. She moved to the area (from Savannah, Georgia) two years after a mental breakdown, likely resulting from her father's suicide a few years previous; she has a scar above her right breast, from crashing her car[5] while having her nervous breakdown. She moved in with Marten after burning her apartment building down trying to make toast.[6] Originally, Faye rarely used contractions in her speech, except when drunk, when both her contractions and original Southern accent emerge. More recently she has begun to loosen up and use contractions more liberally. Her favourite drink is a super-strong beverage known as "Midnight Hobo", which appears to be a kind of legal moonshine, brewed from pretty much anything that can be encouraged to ferment. Faye has issues with relationships with men because she had a very close relationship with her father until he committed suicide in front of her while she was still a young girl. Her father had never given any signs of suicidal feelings to anyone in her family, and subsequently she was left to wonder if part of it was her fault, or if she could have prevented it. It could be inferred that she now fears abandonment if she enters into another close relationship with a man. Once prophesied the rise of "emotional hobocore".
  • Dora Bianchi - Dora is an ex-goth who runs "Coffee of Doom", the coffee shop where Faye works. She enjoys Melodic Death Metal and Opeth are one her favorite bands. Dora does graphic and web design in her spare time and is probably a lot nerdier than she initially lets on. She enjoys teasing Faye, particularly about Marten, whom Dora also has a romantic interest in.[7] She went out with Marten as part of a double-date[8], but nothing happened, which she regretted immediately afterwards. By her own admission she suffers from a long history of social anxiety masked by aloof and sarcastic behaviour and projects her inner monologue onto her cat. Has been unwilling to make a move on Marten until his issues with Faye are resolved one way or another in the past; however on an unplanned date, Dora startled Marten with a kiss, the first ever shown in QC (February 23, 2006). After a period of awkwardness resulting from this, it now appears Dora and Marten are a de-facto couple.
  • Pintsize - Pintsize is an AnthroPC (imagine a cross between HAL 9000 and a hormonal pre-teen) owned by Marten. He (Pintsize's system includes a bit to store his gender) is used for comic relief and is the least "serious" character of the comic, frequently being used for throw-away gags or to add punchlines to a strip. His eccentricities include a strange addiction to cake mix, which led to a previous accident and, in a round-about way, to his elbows. It is a point of some distress to Marten that his computer has a more active love life than himself, as Pintsize recently successfully dated another AnthroPC, and achieved whatever the robot equivalent is of getting laid. Since then, Pintsize has discovered that his date's pink colour scheme was misleading, and that the anthroPC in question was, in fact, male. Pintsize is, to Faye's great amusement, easily subdued by duct tape. When Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham bought an AnthroiMac, Winslow, shortly before she was first introduced to the narrative, Pintsize welcomed him by sending horse-related pornography via ethernet.
  • Raven - A recovering goth friend of Dora's, Raven works as a junior employee at the "Coffee of Doom" with Dora and Faye. Her jobs include cleaning the "Cave of 20 Asses" (Dora and Faye's charming name for the bathroom) and greeting customers with a smile (much to Faye's chagrin). Describes herself as an "Emo cutie" and has 7 piercings, and is known for her less than keen intellect. Despite this however, she is prone to moments of exceptional insight, probably due to her oversimplification of many complex problems. Has trouble differentiating between hair products and intimate lubricants. She dislikes her given name, Blodwyn (Welsh for flower), and prefers to be called Raven, which is her middle name. Had a tattoo [9] in Japanese which read Princess, but later it disappeared. Despite being regarded as the cute, hyper, ditzy one, she used to be 20 pounds heavier back in college and very much a dank depressed goth girl.
  • Steve - Steve is Marten's drinking buddy and an all-around nice guy. Unlike Marten, he doesn't always suffer a brainfreeze around females. He has found a girlfriend in Ellen, a young waitress and student, after overcoming his initial reservations about the age difference between them, but they split up recently - he was bothered by the way Ellen was too 'clingy' in his opinion - and went for a long drinking binge, only to be rescued by Marten. He later was reunited with Ellen. Details of them settling their problems are still unknown.
  • Ellen - Ellen is a teenage marine biology / philosophy double major who works as a waitress and got into college early. She has been dating Steve ever since he overcame his initial reservations over their six-year age difference. She has also recently befriended Dora and Faye, who seem committed to making sure she doesn't mess things up with Steve too badly. Although when first encountered, Ellen was seventeen years old, she has since passed her eighteenth birthday.
  • Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham - Name long unknown, and obliquely mentioned by an estate agent 202 strips before actually appearing, Hannelore was until strip 528 known only as "OCD Girl". Marten met her while on a drinking binge after Faye's revelations, when he inadvertently went into the ladies' restroom of "The Weeping Demon" and began urinating into the sink. Hannelore commented on what she had overheard Marten talking about, and over the course of following strips, it was revealed that she is a severe sufferer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, compelled to count the hairs on her head, wash her hands, and go through regular therapy. Most recently, she has suggested Marten go home with her to play Scrabble, a proposition which he initially misinterpreted. He was eventually beaten in Scrabble by 114 points. Seemingly has extreme dislike of sex due to its unhygenic nature - another symptom of her OCD. Counts stuff for a living, and appears to live upstairs from Marten in an empty apartment with her AnthroMAC, Winslow. Appeared to have been stalking Marten and Faye, a fact which indirectly led to Marten shocking himself with a Taser when he found out, but this was apparently due to her fear of seeming weird if she just randomly introduced herself when they moved in below her. When bored makes what may well be accidental voodoo dolls.
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Secondary Characters

  • Scott - Scott is Marten's boss. He is surprisingly laid back, especially considering the hatred that Marten expresses for his job. He takes a relaxed attitude towards the office dress code, keeps the "company therapist" (a bottle of bourbon) in his desk drawer, is open and honest about his homosexuality, and is solely responsible for the creation of Marten's infamous "Office Bitch" business card.
  • Sara - Sara was first introduced as a barista who secretly harbored a crush for Marten, and, at the time of Faye's moving in with Marten, coincidentally worked alongside Faye in the "Coffee of Doom". Shortly after her introduction, however, Jacques abandoned her storyline, claiming that she was boring to draw. In Number Thirty: "Sudden Realizations," Sara simultaneously introduces herself to Marten and explains that she will not date him, describing an epiphany she had that lead her to the conclusion that she was only attracted to his image as a "Cute Indie Boy," and not as a person. There have been very few follow-ups on her since this exchange: when she was said to have had a brief relationship with Steve (in which her awkwardness in the bedroom was likened to a cubist painting, Guernica), and again in an ironic aside comment made by Raven several hundred comics later (which is clearly a nod to those pestering Jacques about Sara's absence). The F.A.Q. of QC now explains that Sara's extended hiatus from the strip is due to her having been "eaten by an Allosaurus."
  • Alan Turing - Alan works as a Special Agent with the Robotics Defense Agency. He tried to confiscate Pintsize, whose new, jointed chassis (complete with working laser beam), was apparently government property, but was foiled by Dora, who we later discover beat him up frequently in grade school. (Reference to famous British mathematician, Alan Turing.)
  • Amanda Whitaker - Amanda is Faye's (somewhat inept) younger sister. She had a falling out with their mother when she announced that not only was she failing out of all her college courses and switching her pre-med major to modern dance, but also a lesbian (to be accurate, she didn't "come out" but was instead "found out"). Fearful of her mother's impending fury, Amanda used her mother's credit card to fly up and see Faye for some advice and consolation. Her former lover was "Lil Sis" from Diesel Sweeties. However, it seems matters have been patched up when Mrs Whitaker realised this development meant Amanda was very unlikely to end up pregnant out of wedlock.
  • Natasha - Roommate of Ellen. Has many tattoos, favours black clothing and piercings, and believes that neglecting her personal hygiene is "way hardcore". Has a fondness for the name "Deathmøle".
  • Sven Bianchi - Dora's tall, skinny older brother. He claims that he is powered by a miniature black hole, since he eats much more than should be able to fit in his frame. Raven has a crush on him and Dora goes to some effort to prevent her acting on it. He is a famous songwriter in the world of country music, but admits that he is not proud of this newfound success. He appears to be left-handed, shown by the layout of his guitar. [10]Has shown an interest in both Raven and Faye, and appears to be somewhat open about his sexual appetite and high turnover of love interests. Seduced at least one of Dora's friends when they were in high school.
  • Amir Afridi - New boyfriend (or something) of Natasha. Not much is known about him at this point beyond the fact that he waits tables at a restaurant. He also has Macho hairy forearms and likes Converge. Amir has a scar on his genitals due to bass-chafing during a session of rocking out with his cock out. Natasha had thought this to be the result of a botched circumcision. He met Natasha in a Converge concert's mosh pit when she kicked him in the face, dislodging several of his teeth. Apparently, he found it awesome and it was rad that Natasha still had his teeth. Is apparently as hairy as a gorilla wearing a wool pullover.
  • Pizza Girl - Masked bearer of delicious goodness, wearer of traditional superhero garb. Jacques has repeatedly stated that Pizza Girl is not Sara, although they are both blonde and seem to have similar builds and facial structures. Is she the product of a misguided boss and his sales gimmick, or is she truly the hero that she appears to be? She hasn't spilled the beans yet.
  • Pretentious Record Store Dude - as he is known to Marten (or Nappy McTurtleneck, as dubbed by Faye), represents the obnoxious record store employee we all know. He achieves a level of self importance and surliness which surpasses that of even the most disdainful of baristas (possibly why Faye cannot stand him).
  • Jimbo - A former construction worker acquaintance of Marten's from the local dive bar "The Weeping Demon." Until recently Jimbo wrote elaborately worded, though entirely filthy, romance novels. However, he was caught sleeping with his publisher's wife and rendered unable to continue his career path.
  • Makeout Hobo - A mysterious bearded man, who often imparts wisdom on those who ask. He travels around the country in his van and makes out with ladies.
  • Veronica Reed - Better known under the pseudonym "Veronica Vance," Marten's mother was once a famous fetish model, and now works as a professional dominatrix. She seems to cater to most sexual preferences, including letting several of her clients call her 'Mommy' and pouring hot wax on a prominent politician's 'sensitive areas'. She is undecided as to which girl would be better for Marten to pursue (Faye or Dora), and was interrupted in weighing up the pros and cons of each by stumbling across Pintsize wearing fetish gear, including a gimp mask. As a side job, Miss Reed works on a website, making "erotic films" of herself stomping on fruit in high heels. Her Vance persona was something of an idol of Dora's.
  • Tequila Monster - A recurring hallucination of Steve's. He appears whilst Steve is in a drunken stupor, attempting to drink away his memories of ex-girlfriend Ellen. In Jeph's own words, the monster is "a seven-foot tall purple weasel with blue spots and a sombrero". The mind truly does work in mysterious ways.
  • Winslow - Hannelore's AnthroMAC. Pintsize has been "taunting" Winslow by sending images of horse pornography, which Marten explains is more a welcoming sign than taunting.
  • Mieville - Dora's black cat and sole roommate. Reportedly has murderous tendencies (at one point causing Raven to hit her head on Dora's bathroom sink) and likes listening to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and watching The Wizard of Oz while "high on catnip" (see "Dark Side of the Rainbow"). Tolerates Marten, which is apparently a sign that the cat does not see him as a romantic "threat" to Dora. Named after fantasy author China Mieville.
  • Mrs Whitaker - Mother of Faye, and widow of Mr Whitaker. Lives in Savannah, and was raised a strict Baptist and hence prohibited her late husband from drinking alcohol. Is very protective of Faye, quite possibly due to the events that occured to her in the aftermath of her fathers death. Has a system of discovering if Faye is being held against her will by asking her the codephrase "are the peaches ripe?" Was previously unsupportive of the lesbian status of her younger daughter, Amanda, but became more understanding when it was pointed out this greatly reduced the risk of her becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Has a weakness for sweet tea, and has been told by her doctor to quit drinking it.
  • Mr David Whitaker - The deceased father of Faye. Seen only in flashback, he had an extremely close relationship with his elder daughter, and his gunshot suicide – witnessed by Faye – contributed greatly to her current trust and intimacy issues. Used to pour a little bourbon in his Vanilla Milk Shake, a fact that remained unknown by Mrs. Whitaker (who, been raised a Baptist, forbid any kind of alcoholic beverages in their family) and was shared with his daughter Faye as their "little secret". Reason for suicide is seemingly unknown to all who knew him.
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Comments on the blackboard

In a manner similar to that of Bart Simpson of The Simpsons, Questionable Content features an occasional blackboard gag, a quirky or out of place remark scribbled onto the menu board behind the girls at the "Coffee of Doom".

  • General remarks
    • Please do not poke the barristas.
    • Starbucks is for assholes.
    • We are surly because you suck!
    • Zombie Monkey wants your coffee.
    • Today is Free Beating Day - for more info, please annoy the nearest employee.
    • Tip us or we will kill again.
    • Bright Eyes: so emo it hurts. (on a poster in a CD store)
    • Tip or Die.
    • Warning, real world lies beyond this door.
  • Mock items to order: (occasionally referred to as "specials")
    • We stab you so you can call in sick.
    • "Fuck you, bladder!" - 60 oz. coffee
    • Shot of espresso and a punch in the mouth
    • Emospresso
    • Vodkoffee!
    • Latte of DOOM
    • "Yum!" Triple Chocolate Mocha
    • "Eww!" Triple Pork Mocha
    • Spam, Spam, Spam, Coffee, Spam
    • Red Bull and Peanut Butter Smoothie
    • Espresso in Espresso
    • NO-DOZ 20oz
    • We Prank-Call Your Boss
    • Tea of Doom
    • Triple Brownie Espresso
    • Triple Espresso Brownie
    • Pseudomocha
    • Wedgies!
    • A sharp blow to the back of the head
    • Tea (tea is for wimps)
    • Regular ol' coffee (with snakes)
    • Regular ol' tea (with more snakes)
    • Snakes (with spiders)
    • Spam, Spam, Spam, Mocha
    • Electroslash Frappé
    • Black Metal Mocha
    • Specials - We're remodeling. Make up your own damn specials.
    • Coffeetea
    • Chaicoffee
    • Gincoffee
    • Noogies!
    • Rockin Latte
    • Fried egg Mocha
    • Latte w/bourbon-flavored syrup
    • Sextuple Expresso
    • We hit you with the broom
    • We hit your stupid friend with the broom
    • Mass Brooming!
    • Quadruple Espresso Monstrosity
    • Carnivorous Plant Latte
    • <DICK>< Cookies
  • At one point there were caricatures of all of the "Coffee of Doom" employees, complete with short descriptions, courtesy of Raven.[11] Faye was not appreciative of hers. Sara's and Faye's were removed to make room for a diagram to show Raven the proper use of Astroglide.

The menu to the right of the chalkboard has similar but nonrotating gags, including a drink size labeled "WTF", "Frappuccino© Ripoff" and the text, "Want something, but you don't see it on this menu? Tough."

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QC Time

Although the comic updates daily from Monday to Friday, the demands of continuity and a plot mean that a sequence of events covering even a few hours may take several strips (and therefore days, weeks or months of real time) to play out. Although the exact length of time covered by the events in the strip has never been declared, it is commonly accepted to be "several months". Additionally, Jeph stated in a LiveJournal comment: "I've never sat down and exactly tabulated, but I'd say right now it's been no more than six months." (13 January 2006)

However, upon further analysis of the archives, it may be discovered that there are only 30 definite plot days (as of 5 February 2006). There are also 6 spots where indefinite time periods may be inserted, after days 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 14. Indefinite time periods being where it was not specified that the day-to-day transition was to the next day, but multiple days could have occurred. This also makes the assumption that the 25 guest comics were completely out of the timeline.

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Criticisms

While most of the humor in QC has universal appeal, the occasional strips dedicated to indie rock humor tend go over the heads of those not immersed in the culture. At the same time, the comic is also criticized by those familiar with hipster culture, many of whom see the constant music references as nothing more than namedropping designed to make Jacques seem "hip" and worldly to fans that don't know better.

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See also

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External links

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Translations

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Jeph Jacques' Guest Comics

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Interviews with Jeph Jacques

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