stoutfellow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stoutfellow) wrote2006-03-11 02:17 pm
stoutfellow) wrote2006-03-11 02:17 pm
"Questionable Content"
Fourth on my short list is Jeph Jacques' Monday-through-Friday strip "Questionable Content".
Setting. This webcomic deals with a handful of twentysomethings in - I've always taken it to be New York, but I don't think it's ever been said. (I'm pretty sure it's on the northeast coast, somewhere in the megalopolis.) Most of the strips take place in the apartments of the cast or in a coffee shop they frequent, and much of the plot is relationship-driven.
Um. That sounds familiar, doesn't it? Don't worry, though; this is nothing like a certain recently-ended sitcom. For one thing, the characters - despite being literally two-dimensional - are less caricatured than the Friends were...
Cast. The most central members of the cast are three in number. (We've been given last names for some, but not all, of them, but they're rarely used, so I'm not going to bother.) First, there is Marten, a rather passive but very nice fellow, of the starving-artist variety. He is fond of indie music, and is trying to escape from his tedious, dead-end job by launching a music-review blog and playing in a wannabe band known as Deathmole. (He didn't name it that and rather dislikes the name, but was outvoted.) When his new friend Faye accidentally burned down her apartment, he allowed her to move in with him; they have since relocated to a larger apartment.
Faye is a transplanted Georgia girl - from Savannah, to be precise. Her normal speaking mode is precise and careful, avoiding even contractions. When drunk, she reverts to her native dialect, but avoids it otherwise to avoid the condescension of the locals. She and Marten are strongly attracted to each other, but, as a result of a personal tragedy some years ago, she feels unable to get involved. This hasn't stopped her from snarling and spitting at any other woman who looks interested in him, however. (She tends to avoid those memories, and the thoughts that trigger them, violently; Marten has suffered numerous minor injuries as a result, but has borne them patiently.) Recently she revealed the details of her past to Marten, and told him not to wait for her to get her head straight.
Dora, the owner of the coffee shop, is the third central character. Dora has a distinctly bawdy sense of humor - enough so to make Faye, no shrinking violet herself, cringe and flee. She, too, is attracted to Marten, and has teased Faye unmercifully about her pushmi-pullyu attitude; Faye's recent revelation opened the door for her, and it looks as though she and Marten will be a couple, at least for a while. The rearrangement of affections hasn't broken their three-way friendship, though; Dora was actually willing to allow Faye to veto the relationship, but Faye, in search of good karma, gave her permission after some perfunctory growling.
Also in the mix are Raven, a slightly ditzy ex-goth who works alongside Faye at the coffee shop, and Pintsize, an AnthroPC - basically, a computer with arms, legs, head, and quirky attitude. Pintsize belongs to Marten, and varies from cute, through obnoxious, to downright dangerous at times. (His built-in laser has now been confiscated by the government...) Less central still are a variety of friends, neighbors, and relatives.
Art. The art has varied quite a bit, but remains rather stylized. The characters are less angular and more natural-looking than they once were, but their postures are sometimes a bit off. Still, Jacques has become fairly skilled at depicting body language and facial expressions. Also worth noting is the blackboard at the coffee shop; the various things that get written on it are often amusing.
What I Like. First, the humor. It gets a little rough at times (there was the sequence with the vibrator, and the visit by Marten's mother - she of the, um, interesting occupation, and... well, there are quite a few examples), but there are gentler and subtler scenes as well. Pintsize's antics lend a touch of slapstick, and Raven's general befuddlement is often good for a chuckle. Marten's air of bewilderment at the complexities of his relationships with Faye and Dora provides yet another kind of smile.
Second, the humanity of the characters - Pintsize excepted, of course. We see Dora wrestle with herself (best two out of three, and she lost the tiebreaker) over making a move on Marten; after she kisses him and he responds, her first thought is of Faye. Get this: they decide to tell Faye immediately, breaking every rule of sitcomhood! The consequent sequence of talks - Marten and Faye, Faye and Dora, Marten and Faye again, Dora and Raven - is human, warm, and above all sensible. Faye's mix of resignation, anger, fear, and, yes, love is entirely credible, and the reactions of the others are equally well-depicted.
Third, though most of the music-oriented humor goes right over my head, there's also a good deal of amusing banter about culture and society; Pintsize's screwball contributions to these only add zest to the wit.
Overall, the selling point of "Questionable Content" is that Jacques has created characters that one comes to care about; Faye's revelation of the source of her trauma was stunningly depicted, and the genuine dilemmas that the three core characters have had to face as a result have been sensitively drawn. Even Pintsize's quirkiness has been used, at times, to nice dramatic effect. And anyone who can make his fans eagerly look forward to Monday mornings is certainly doing something remarkable!
Setting. This webcomic deals with a handful of twentysomethings in - I've always taken it to be New York, but I don't think it's ever been said. (I'm pretty sure it's on the northeast coast, somewhere in the megalopolis.) Most of the strips take place in the apartments of the cast or in a coffee shop they frequent, and much of the plot is relationship-driven.
Um. That sounds familiar, doesn't it? Don't worry, though; this is nothing like a certain recently-ended sitcom. For one thing, the characters - despite being literally two-dimensional - are less caricatured than the Friends were...
Cast. The most central members of the cast are three in number. (We've been given last names for some, but not all, of them, but they're rarely used, so I'm not going to bother.) First, there is Marten, a rather passive but very nice fellow, of the starving-artist variety. He is fond of indie music, and is trying to escape from his tedious, dead-end job by launching a music-review blog and playing in a wannabe band known as Deathmole. (He didn't name it that and rather dislikes the name, but was outvoted.) When his new friend Faye accidentally burned down her apartment, he allowed her to move in with him; they have since relocated to a larger apartment.
Faye is a transplanted Georgia girl - from Savannah, to be precise. Her normal speaking mode is precise and careful, avoiding even contractions. When drunk, she reverts to her native dialect, but avoids it otherwise to avoid the condescension of the locals. She and Marten are strongly attracted to each other, but, as a result of a personal tragedy some years ago, she feels unable to get involved. This hasn't stopped her from snarling and spitting at any other woman who looks interested in him, however. (She tends to avoid those memories, and the thoughts that trigger them, violently; Marten has suffered numerous minor injuries as a result, but has borne them patiently.) Recently she revealed the details of her past to Marten, and told him not to wait for her to get her head straight.
Dora, the owner of the coffee shop, is the third central character. Dora has a distinctly bawdy sense of humor - enough so to make Faye, no shrinking violet herself, cringe and flee. She, too, is attracted to Marten, and has teased Faye unmercifully about her pushmi-pullyu attitude; Faye's recent revelation opened the door for her, and it looks as though she and Marten will be a couple, at least for a while. The rearrangement of affections hasn't broken their three-way friendship, though; Dora was actually willing to allow Faye to veto the relationship, but Faye, in search of good karma, gave her permission after some perfunctory growling.
Also in the mix are Raven, a slightly ditzy ex-goth who works alongside Faye at the coffee shop, and Pintsize, an AnthroPC - basically, a computer with arms, legs, head, and quirky attitude. Pintsize belongs to Marten, and varies from cute, through obnoxious, to downright dangerous at times. (His built-in laser has now been confiscated by the government...) Less central still are a variety of friends, neighbors, and relatives.
Art. The art has varied quite a bit, but remains rather stylized. The characters are less angular and more natural-looking than they once were, but their postures are sometimes a bit off. Still, Jacques has become fairly skilled at depicting body language and facial expressions. Also worth noting is the blackboard at the coffee shop; the various things that get written on it are often amusing.
What I Like. First, the humor. It gets a little rough at times (there was the sequence with the vibrator, and the visit by Marten's mother - she of the, um, interesting occupation, and... well, there are quite a few examples), but there are gentler and subtler scenes as well. Pintsize's antics lend a touch of slapstick, and Raven's general befuddlement is often good for a chuckle. Marten's air of bewilderment at the complexities of his relationships with Faye and Dora provides yet another kind of smile.
Second, the humanity of the characters - Pintsize excepted, of course. We see Dora wrestle with herself (best two out of three, and she lost the tiebreaker) over making a move on Marten; after she kisses him and he responds, her first thought is of Faye. Get this: they decide to tell Faye immediately, breaking every rule of sitcomhood! The consequent sequence of talks - Marten and Faye, Faye and Dora, Marten and Faye again, Dora and Raven - is human, warm, and above all sensible. Faye's mix of resignation, anger, fear, and, yes, love is entirely credible, and the reactions of the others are equally well-depicted.
Third, though most of the music-oriented humor goes right over my head, there's also a good deal of amusing banter about culture and society; Pintsize's screwball contributions to these only add zest to the wit.
Overall, the selling point of "Questionable Content" is that Jacques has created characters that one comes to care about; Faye's revelation of the source of her trauma was stunningly depicted, and the genuine dilemmas that the three core characters have had to face as a result have been sensitively drawn. Even Pintsize's quirkiness has been used, at times, to nice dramatic effect. And anyone who can make his fans eagerly look forward to Monday mornings is certainly doing something remarkable!
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I've liked the comic since thegamian recommended it to me: Now I can explain why!
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Ah, well. It was no more than a literary conceit, anyway.
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