questionable content

A sample QC panel, featuring characters (L-R) Faye, Marten, and Pintsize. Author(s) Jeph Jacques Website questionablecontent.net

RSS web feed Current status / schedule Updates every weekday Launch date 1 August 2003 Genre(s) Humor/Slice-of-Life

Questionable Content (abbreviated QC) is a slice-of-life webcomic written and drawn by Jeph Jacques. It was launched on August 1, 2003; the thirteen-hundredth strip was posted on December 22, 2008. Jacques currently makes his living exclusively from QC merchandising and advertising, making QC one of the few self-sufficient webcomics.

The plot centers on Marten Reed, an indie rock aficionado; his roommate, Faye Whitaker; and Faye's boss, Dora Bianchi. Supporting characters include employees of the local coffee shop and anthropomorphized personal computers. QC's storytelling style combines romantic melodrama, sitcom, humor about indie rock music, and sexual or scatological humor. The artistic style has notably changed over the lifetime of the comic, as Jacques has been constantly refining his drawing methods. Whereas earlier strips were focused at a niche audience of indie music fans, the comic has since become more story- and character-driven. Contents [hide] 1 Background 2 Publication 2.1 Style 3 Synopsis 3.1 Setting 3.2 Characters 4 Recognition 5 References 6 External links 6.1 Translations //

Background Jeph Jacques, creator of Questionable Content, makes his living off the comic and related merchandise

In 2003, Jacques worked at a local Easthampton paper answering telephones. According to Jacques, the large amount of free time and access to the internet led him to read webcomics "as something to do".[1] Jacques stated that of the webcomics he read, "I've always been really interested in music, and indie rock specifically, and I never saw any other comics that dealt with that aspect of our culture. I felt like there was a niche there that would work."[2]

Publication

Originally, Questionable Content was updated twice a week, and later bumped to three strips a week.[3] In September 2004, Jacques left his day job to begin updating Monday through Friday,[4] and kept this schedule even after a knife accident that sliced an artery in his drawing hand in 2005.[5] QC's thousandth strip appeared on October 26, 2007.[6] Unlike many other webcomic artists supported by their work, Jacques has not expanded his business outside of the comic and related merchandise.[7]

According to Jacques, at one point he would have sought newspaper syndication for Questionable Content, but the thought no longer appeals to him because he does not want to surrender editorial freedom.[8] Instead, Jacques is planning a Questionable Content book.[8]

Style

Both the methods of storytelling and the artistic style of the strip have changed considerably since its inception. Originally, Jacques intended the strip to be about "a depressed lonely guy and his robot", but the introduction of