Questionable Content
What kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t start posting up my favorite web comics? Because I can’t think of any good order to do them in I’m going about this in a rather random fashion. The first one to come to mind is Questionable Content by J. Jaques.
Some comics I read in the hopes that on any given day they’ll have a good one, some I read because they used to be really good and I hope they’ll get better. Others, like QC, haven’t ever really disappointed me. In the early days of the archive you get to see Jeph’s art style in its more formative stages, but the quality of the writing easily makes up for any of his early art’s failings. Over time his artwork has improved and is one of the better drawn comics I read.
What really keeps me going, though, are two things. One is his ability to mix comedy and drama in a way that’s actually funny and interesting. Thus it isn’t just a loose plot to support jokes, or a constant tear jerking oh-woe-is-me drama fest. The other is that the characters are actually interesting. Even people who have only showed up in a few frames have a life about them, and the regular cast are real people who grow, learn, and of course do incredibly stupid shit.
I also like how he gives me a view into the world I find constantly surrounding me working at a college: youngeons. The students here are over a decade younger than me and honestly I don’t want to be one of those old fucks who can’t relate to people who are of a different age than him. I try to at least be aware of what is going on with people of other “generations” (in quotes because a generation is really 30 years, but in our day and age 10 years makes a hell of a difference), and QC is one of the ways I do that.
Like all good comics he has an rss feed (and don’t miss his QC Livejournal). I highly recommend linking to it (publishes weekdays like clockwork), and catching up on the archives. Enjoyable at every turn!