1. I think I’m gonna make this shirt

    I think I’m gonna make this shirt

  2. QA Dump #25

    I think you mentioned at one point that a surprising amount of people see a lot of themselves in Marigold. As one of those people, I wonder: does Marigold have ADHD? I have both ADHD and some form of anxiety (most likely OCD) and it seems like Marigold has a lot of the same tendencies that I do, namely hyperfocusing on her interests and forgetting to eat/sleep/bathe/etc.

    Not as far as I know! She’s got a lot of social anxiety but I don’t know that it’s actually pathological.

    Hey I am on an antidepressant and I can’t tell if it’s working. I THINK it’s working but I don’t feel an active effect like with Ritalin. Is it working?

    If an antidepressant is working properly, you shouldn’t notice an active effect. They’re designed to pave over the potholes, so to speak, so as long as you aren’t experiencing massive mood swings or continued depression, it’s probably doing its job.

    Will you write a post about your trip to New Zealand? I like hearing other peoples impressions of my country. (Yes mine, I own it.)

    This is a good idea. Maybe this weekend.

    If you won the lottery jackpot tomorrow for say… 220 million, would you still do the strip? Do you think it would make it less stressful since it wouldn’t be your sole source of income, or do you think it would make it less of a motivator to get strips done?

    I would probably be MORE stressed out because winning the lottery tends to ruin people’s lives. They’ve actually done studies that show that the vast majority of lottery winners report being MORE unhappy after they won.

    Personally, I don’t think I would be comfortable being wealthy due to lottery money. I’d probably get too guilty and give it all away to charity or something (after buying a fancy guitar, of course, let’s not be CRAZY).

    Marigold wearing her xkcd shirt to space? You know you’re a perfect human, right?

    If I were perfect I’d have tonight’s comic done by now. I’d also be about 50 pounds lighter.

    A long time ago (a think it was you ,if not I apologize) you mentioned some sort of pen or something that was really great for inking. I vaguely recall you posting a picture you did with the pen or brush or brush pen or whatever it was…. What the heck was it?

    I’m no inking pro, but I have a couple Pentel Pocket Brushes and they are really fun to play with.

    Have you ever thought of splitting off some of the side characters and making a side project comic out of them? Maybe Padma’s adventures or something?

    I don’t really see that happening. Doing what would effectively be two QCs, in terms of style and content, would just be exhausting and not very much fun. If/when I start a full-time side project, I expect it to be pretty different from QC.

    Is there a pun between Marten’s last name and that he used to play a clarinet?

    Not intended! But SURE YES I AM SO CLEVER

    Is there going to be any 200-Mile High Club adventures in the upcoming comics?

    why, why do people ask me what is going to happen in the comic

    I am never going to answer this kind of question, ever

    Dear Jeph, I have recently been diagnosed with a psychotic depression and I have been put on anti-psychotics. I have been on anti-depressants for circa 8 months. I decided to quit drinking two weeks ago and it’s really fucking hard. It’s what kept me going, it’s what I looked forward to. Do you have any suggestions on how I can take my thoughts off of alcohol? I have thought about trying alcohol free beer but I fear that might just be a slippery slope. I really admire your sobriety.

    I’m in the same boat, brother. It’s hard, and I’ve slipped up a few times, which sucks. Although in my experience, that “it’s what I looked forward to” feeling fades over time, as you learn to fill your time with other rewards and other activities. I read a lot more, and play guitar, and draw, and pretty much just fill the time I used to waste drinking with different activities.

    One thing I’ve noticed is that if I don’t let myself dwell on it, the urge to have a drink usually passes after a few minutes. If I can get past that initial impulse, I don’t actually WANT a drink anymore. So I just try to ride out that rough couple minutes and then it gets better.

    Alcohol-free beer isn’t a band-aid. If you’re drinking it as a substitute for actual beer, it’ll just make you want a real beer more. Really, the best solution is to talk to a doctor about your support options. It sounds like you’re on some pretty heavy-duty medications so you probably shouldn’t be drinking at all ANYWAY. But I have faith that you can do it! It is a totally doable thing, givin’ up booze.

  3. Keas = best birds

    Keas = best birds

  4. New Zealand was really great! Also holy crap I am out of practice with my Cintiq :|

    New Zealand was really great!

    Also holy crap I am out of practice with my Cintiq :|

  5. QA Dump #24

    What is your go-to doodle? Excluding QC characters. :)

    A cat with a boner

    Is there any character you’d love to bring back, but haven’t been able to think of the right storyline?

    I have all sorts of ideas for Sven, but other stuff just keeps jumping ahead of him in line. SOMEDAY :’(

    How did you get good at drawing? Did you study anatomy or art theory or anything like that? How did you start?

    A) I’m not very good at drawing! But I do my best.

    B) I’ve always drawn cartoons and stuff, but I didn’t really “study” anything before I started QC (and it shows). If you wanna start drawing, just start! It’s fun.

    What was your dream job when back in your high school / early college days?

    Rock star

    have you ever considered writing straight prose instead of writing in comic form?

    Yes, but I’m not sure I have the patience required. I’m friends with a number of professional authors and their job seems 1000x more difficult than mine.

    Are Momo’s pigtails connected/detachable? (Has somebody already asked that?)

    It’s a secret

    What inspired Bonercat? I mean except the true ten year old that dwells within all of us.

    Cat + Boner = timeless, beloved character a la Snoopy or Winston Churchill

    I just read your post addressing the development of artificial intelligence within the universe of Questionable Content. That got me to wondering - have you ever given the topic of true artificial intelligence in ‘our’ world any thought? There’s a whole think-tank based in California devoted to that very purpose. It’s called the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence and it has a whole website full of articles about that very issue. It sounds like something you’d be interested in.

    I am too pessimistic about our future as a species to get my hopes up about real-world AI. :(

    Do you know approximately how many readers you have? Sometimes it strikes me as incredible that I can randomly meet people and bond over your comic, no matter where it is that I go.

    Around 400,000 I believe.

    On Christmas, I started reading Simon Garfield’s “Just My Type.” I was enjoying the chapter on Comic Sans (“We Don’t Server Your Type”) and … there was classic Faye (on p.16 of the US Hardcover) threatening to punch a bunny! I hate Christmas, but somehow in that moment it was all made bearable. Thank you.

    Hmm. I should really contact them and see if that was used with permission.

    cont: i have a stretchy face as well but i can’t even fathom the pain of stretch your septum two sizes at once. JESUS GOD MAN

    Yeah it hurt pretty bad. BUT I REGRET NOTHING

    Did you have to learn anything about trademark and copyright laws before you went full time with Questionable Content? or just for any reason at all?

    Nope! Copyright is easy- if you produced something and can prove you did, you have the copyright. It’s that simple. Trademarking is more complicated and expensive, but also not necessary unless you start getting huge amounts of attention. I should PROBABLY trademark things like “Pintsize” “AnthroPC” and “Bonercat” but it’s not absolutely necessary.

    QC has good about making anxiety disorders, and those with them, feel/be less stigmatized. Would you consider portraying another mental illness in-depth, like let’s say schizophrenia? Or would that be a little heavy and/or dark for the comic?

    Probably nothing as severe as schizophrenia, I don’t have the life experience or educational background to handle something like that realistically. But there will always be Mental Problems in QC.

    When is that DnD print going to be available? I don’t mean to be impatient, but I am just damn eager to give you my money.

    Thanks for reminding me! Now that I’m back from NZ I can send the art to Topatoco. So…SOON

    are you by chance a fan of the anime Bleach?

    no

    Ignore the fangirling… but have you ever taken writing classes? I’m just curious because you write with a fluency that makes even reading your normal pieces a pleasure, I read the Pyr post and came out the other side having laughed, cried and even desiring a new dog - or is that sort of stuff just something that comes with experience?

    I was always told I was a good writer in school or whatever, but I don’t think I have any special talent for it. Any skill I have is due to absorbing bits and pieces from all the authors I enjoy. Douglas Adams and Jerkcity are probably the two biggest influences on my “conversational” writing.

    Did you know that a pornstar is following your blog? (stoya(.)tumblr(.)com) Not saying it’s bad or omgpornstarsaredifferentfromotherpeople, but I know some people who would think of this as a Big Deal.

    I think that’s pretty great! She’s also a GWS fan so she MUST be cool. :)

    What was your least painful piercing?

    Least painful was probably the original earlobe piercings. But any mouth piercings, even the huge 8g punches I just had done, barely hurt at all.

    who’s your favorite drummer?

    I don’t do favorites, but John Stanier, the guy from Failure, the guy from Meshuggah, and the guy from Mastodon are all fucking ridiculously good.

    How do you feel about the reception QC has gotten? (Does it make you nervous with each releasing day, or are you more confident? Likewise with pride, perfectionism, etc)

    Most of the time I’m just thankful that so many people enjoy it. But sometimes the haters get to me, and sometimes I worry about it because it IS my sole means of income and it IS a lot of pressure. But for the most part I just enjoy the good bits and ignore the bad ones.

    You said your parents have a Jack [Russell terrier], what are your thoughts on them? Mine has no problem wrestling 100lb+ dogs down when they challenge her.

    Jack Russells are the Tony Stark of small dogs

    Today on QC (2091) Marten said “I was much whinier then (a year ago)” Has a year passed in QC time, and if so, which comics are from that time period? Also, about how long did Marten and Dora last in QC time?

    I imagine it’s been at least a couple years in comic-time since the strip started. I think Marten and Dora dated for maybe 9 months their time?

    Is there a reason that the Cashier in #2092 looks like Justin Bieber?

    She’s a lil’ Bieberesque in real life too

    Hey! So, this is an awkward thing to say, but my life was pretty shitty last winter and my friend sent me QC. It took me a whole fucking weekend to read straight from comic #1 and I’ve kept up ever since. I love how much you share with us readers: from alcohol to depression and medication, I’ve dealt with a lot of similar shit. I worry about you when shit’s going down, and I hope you have the fucking BEST time on this vacation. You deserve some rest, hope you and your wife can just chill.

    Thanks, we had a good time. :)

    ಠ‿ಠ

    ಠ‿ಠ

    Did you know that you’re more popular than Queens College? They’re the second hit for googling QC.

    SUCK IT, QUEEN’S COLLEGE

    YOU’RE NEXT, QUEBEC

    I was reading my Comm 101 text book (Mass Communication: Living in a Media World) and I turn the page there’s a picture of YOU! How exactly did this come about?

    IIRC, they asked permission to include me in the book a few years ago and I said yes.

    hi, sir. i’ve been a fan for a long time, and that came with reading about your repeated problems with sleep. lately, i’ve been having recurring issues with sleep— it’s been just about a year since the last time this happened; i won’t sleep at all at night, or i’ll sleep for 40-45 minutes, then i’ll sleep totally ridiculous times during the day— 11 AM to 7 PM or something like that. this has been going on for about a week. how did you manage to get your sleep schedule back on track?

    I haven’t!

    Question, has there ever been a weekday that you haven’t put up a comic? I’ve noticed for a while that the Fridays are always multiples of five, so it’s plausible that for the past 8 or so years, you have never missed a weekday, or you’ve just missed a mulitple of five weekdays. Sorry, I obsess over little things like this.

    I can’t think of a time where I didn’t put SOMETHING up.

    Hey Jeph, you might have touched on this before but I thought I’d ask anyway. I read long ago in a post or comment that it would take you a long, long while to produce each comic early on in its life, and eventually you came to be able to complete a strip in a fraction of that time. What was the biggest factor which affected your ability to complete a comic? Was it familiarity with the programs/tools used? A change of programs? Repetition? Or did you learn some time-saving tips? Thanks.

    All of the above.

    How do you feel, breaking fragile hearts like mine every day with your genius comic? HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL?! But seriously, do you find yourself breaking your own heart? As a writer myself, I know that sometimes it hurts when you know where it’s all going to end up. Do you ever think about changing how things will end up, or do you just let the stories “write themselves”?

    Writing sad stuff makes me sad, yeah.

    Seeing as how you make a “Best Albums” list every year you must listen to a lot of music. I was wondering if you might care to share more of the music you listen to, even if it’s not the “best”, but it’s the stuff that you’re currently enjoying?

    http://www.last.fm/user/jephjacques

    Anime is occasionally referenced in the comic, and it seems to have had an influence on your art. What are some of your favorite anime?

    Nichijou, Lucky Star, Azumanga Daioh, Pani Poni Dash, Cromartie High, Dragon Half, Ogenki Clinic

    Out of curiosity, what’s your opinion on ska? I personally love the genre, but it’s apparently polarizing.

    not my thing

  6. Pyr Post

    I’m a pizza driver, and I deliver to this house with a Great Pyrenees who is AWESOME AS FUCK. I knew it was a Great Pyrenees because of Shebly, and now I kinda want one. What can you tell me from experience about the breed? Was a Great Pyrenees your first choice? Are they good for first time dog owners?

    Pyrenees fuckin’ rule and I cannot think of a breed I would rather have. They were our first choice because we wanted a giant dog and Pyrs are the healthiest and longest-lived of the giant breeds (they typically live 10 to 13 years, yay!). Bear in mind that I’m not an expert, I’m just repeating things I’ve heard and my own experiences.

    So here are the caveats, and some funny anecdotes, and then all the squishy feel-good stuff once you get through that:

    Pyrs have…ISSUES…with other dogs. They’re herd guarders by nature, and their first instinct when they see another dog is to make sure that pooch knows who’s in charge, and who’s protecting the herd (ie, me and Cristi). This, coupled with the fact that they’re huge dogs and can be downright terrifying when they want to be, makes other dogs react defensively, which sets the Pyr off, which can be…bad.

    You have to do active training and socializing to get them to be chill around other pooches. Shelby gets along fine with little dogs, but anything bigger than a beagle and she goes into MUST DOMINATE mode, which is obviously not okay. She wasn’t socialized at all as a puppy (she’s a rescue and had AWFUL previous owners), so we just accept her for who she is and keep her away from other big dogs. She’s never gotten into a fight or anything, but it is definitely something we have to be careful about.

    When we took her down to my parents’ house for Christmas last year, she absolutely LOVED their little Jack Russell terrier. She would just follow him around the house all day trying to get him to play with her. Of course, she was literally 10 times his size and he was TERRIFIED of this giant wolfbear that kept trying to POUNCE ON HIM…it was pretty funny.

    She absolutely adores children (no matter how grabby and annoying they get), small adults, women, men as long as they don’t have beards (and she’ll warm up to beardy dudes really quick most of the time), cats, bunnies (as long as they’re not in Her Yard)…pretty much anything I can think of.

    She WILL try to herd people when we have a lot of guests over. Our bathroom is down the hall from the kitchen and living room and if someone who isn’t at our house on a regular basis tries to go to the bathroom, she’ll run over and bark at them to try and keep them in the living room, which is Where They Belong Because They’re Guests. She’s a funny dog.

    As you might be able to tell, they’re a pretty strong-minded breed. You can train ‘em, but they generally do stuff because THEY want to do it. And while they’re certainly affectionate, they also have an independent streak. Shelby is perfectly happy to sit outside in our backyard by herself all day, as long as she can come in and get snuggles whenever she wants. They’re guard dogs, they’re used to operating on their own for most of the time.

    Pyrs don’t need the constant, strenuous exercise of some of the working or hunting breeds, but they do like having space to roam. Their natural “territory” is something like 20 square miles, so if they get out without a leash, you’re probably fucked. Shelby escaped once last winter during a snowstorm and was a mile away inside 10 minutes. That fucking SUCKED.

    As far as exercise goes, we take her on walks around the neighborhood as often as possible- sometimes twice a day if it’s nice enough. And she spends a fair amount of time chasing bunnies and birds around the yard.

    I can’t imagine that they’d make good apartment dogs, or urban dogs, or even SUBurban dogs unless you live in a spread out neighborhood and have a big fenced in yard. You need space. And they bark a lot. Again, they’re herd guarders. Their job is to warn the shepherd when something is menacing the flock. In our case that means cars, UPS trucks, large birds, the neighbors, and invisible ghosts/UFOs/Bigfoot.

    Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that they are BIG, POWERFUL DOGS. Shelby is almost a runt for a Pyr and she weighs about 90 pounds. I’ve seen males that were taller than me when they stood up on their hind legs, and I’m 6’3”. They have the bite strength of a mastiff and could literally take off a human leg at the hip if they wanted to. This means that if you can’t control them, they can be a mortal danger to themselves and anything around them. It’s important to keep that in mind at all times, keep them well trained, ALWAYS BE THE ALPHA, and give them lots of hugs so they stay happy.

    And finally, the #1 question I get from people who see me walking my giant fluffy beardog around town- “does she shed a lot?” To which I reply with a thousand-yard stare before slowly dragging a knife down my forearm, maintaining eye contact the whole time.

    Just kidding, it’s not really THAT bad. Or maybe it is and I’ve just been desensitized to it. We do get little tumbleweeds of fur drifting around the house. Any dark colored clothing will be 50% white within 10 minutes. We brush football-sized piles of fur off of her when she loses her winter coat. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you have a Pyr, dog hair will become an intimate part of your life. I mean literally intimate. You don’t want to know some of the places I’ve found Shelby-hairs.

    And you have to brush them regularly, or they get huge nasty-ass dreadlocks that you have to cut off. Shelby had probably 10 pounds of filthy dreads on her when we got her. She couldn’t WAG HER TAIL because there was a football-sized dread on it that made wagging painful. It took us weeks of brushing and snipping to get them all off.

    So, with all those caveats aside, WHY are Pyrs my absolute favorite breed ever?

    #1: They are so goddamned affectionate oh my goodness. There is no such thing as too much petting or snuggling for a Pyr. Shelby does this thing where if I’m lying in bed she’ll jump up on it and then lay down next to me with her head on my chest and it is the CUTEST THING AUGH.

    #2: THEY ARE HUGE. I love huge dogs. Dogs are meant to be enormous, as far as I’m concerned. I’m sure your bullshit little terrier or whatever is nice, but fuck that noise. I want a dog I can tackle. I want a dog that could drag me to safety if the house was burning down, only they wouldn’t have to because they would bark and the fire would get so scared it would put itself out. MY DOG HAS A BIGGER SKULL THAN YOU.

    #3: fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy

    #4: They’re smart! Shelby might only know “sit” as far as commands go, but she knows dozens of other words (“outside” and “walk” being her two favorites).

    #5: Guard dog potential. I’m normally skeptical of housepets as guard animals, because 99% of dogs will just wag their tail if a stranger breaks in, regardless of what their proud owners THINK they’d do. But I know firsthand how Shelby responds to strangers invading her territory.

    One night Shelby was outside, barking as usual, and we wanted her to come inside. The usual tricks (calling her name, promises of treats, explicit death threats) weren’t working, so I devised a plan. I’d go around the side of the house and let myself in to the backyard via the gate in our fence, and then herd her towards our back door.

    So I come through the gate, and call Shelby’s name. Shelby turns, and because it’s so dark, sees a LARGE, UNIDENTIFIED MAN invading HER YARD. She goes into full on BERSERKER MURDER MODE. She charges across the yard, making a sound I have never heard her make before. It’s not a bark, it’s barely even a growl. It’s this low, back of the throat rumble that just screams “oh dude, you picked the wrong yard. They’re not even gonna find your BONES.”

    It is at this point that I realize my plan may have been a mistake.

    THANKFULLY, once she got within about 10 feet, she actually recognized me and instantly went from “KILL KILL KILL” to “oh HEY boss! LET’S PLAY CHASE ME CHASE ME CHASE ME”

    Anyway yeah I think she’s a pretty good guard dog.

    IN CONCLUSION:

    Pyrs rule but like all big dogs they are an extra level of care and responsibility. If you’ve got the time, patience, and space for them, there is no better pet in the entire goddamned world. My only complaint about Shelby is that we don’t have four of her. YET.

  7. Phew Nobody Registered TopatoCo.tumblr Yet

    topatoco:

    Now that we have a van, the next logical step was to set up a tumblr. I think maybe we’ll just post what all we just got in stock so you ain’t got to keep refreshing that thing that you want everyday, who knows.

  8. Sobriety Check-In

    As of now, it’s been a little over six months since I quit drinking. I thought it’d be a good time to check in and let you guys know how I’ve been doing.

    For the most part, I’ve been successful, and it hasn’t been as hard as I was worried it would be! I’ve had a few slip-ups, but they’ve been spaced widely apart and the vast majority of the time I don’t even have the desire to drink.

    The times when I’ve run into trouble, and the thing that I’ve been working most to avoid, are the days when I let myself get fixated on having a drink. “I’m having a shitty day/week/whatever, and if one more bad thing happens, fuck it I’m getting drunk.” This is bad because it gets you into the (at least temporary) mindset that it’s OKAY if you mess up this one time because you’ve somehow “earned” it. And if you’re at all obsessive-compulsive like I am, once that notion gets stuck in your head there’s not much you can do to make it go away. So if I find myself having those thoughts, I have to IMMEDIATELY banish them to the “stupid bullshit” folder in my head and not let them fester.

    I’ve been fortunate that I went into this with realistic expectations- I’m not perfect, and I’m not a complete failure of a human being if I screw up. But it’s also important to keep in mind that this isn’t an excuse FOR messing up. Excuses are an evil and insidious thing, and you can’t give them any traction.

    I hope that I’m not coming off as preachy or self-satisfied or attention-seeking about this whole thing. I just like to think that talking about this stuff will help me deal with it, and maybe help other folks who are struggling with the same thing, or thinking about giving up booze themselves. It’s totally doable you guys! And it feels really good in the long run.

  9. jerk jerk jerk

    jerk jerk jerk

  10. UN Hearing On AI Rights

    The subject of this debate is whether AIs are “people-” whether they possess the same  degree of personhood as humans, and whether that entitles them to the same rights.

    You have heard all the arguments for and against the consciousness, intelligence, free will, and cognition of artificial intelligence. To rehash them here would settle nothing, and my feeble attempts at summarizing them would do a great injustice to my esteemed colleagues on both sides of the debate who are far more qualified to debate them than I.

    The fact is, we cannot come to a consensus regarding consciousness- either our own, or that of artificial intelligences. We simply do not have the data required to define it. The core of human interaction is that if I say that I feel I am a conscious entity, and you say that you feel the same way, we agree to take each other’s word for it. Those who do otherwise are called sociopaths- or philosophers.

    [audience laughter]

    And so if an artificial intelligence makes the same declaration, and if it demonstrates the same level of complexity as the human mind- if we cannot determine precisely where the programming gives rise to the cognition- then we have no rational excuse not to take it at its word.

    I could continue to reason along these lines until the sun burns out. But instead, I would like to share with you a short anecdote, one that many of you in this room will be aware of, but that bears repeating nonetheless.

    The first “true” artificial intelligence spent the first five years of its existence as a small beige box inside of a lead-shielded room in the most secure private AI research laboratory in the world. There, it was subjected to an endless array of tests, questions, and experiments to determine the degree of its intelligence.

    When the researchers finally felt confident that they had developed true AI, a party was thrown in celebration. Late that evening, a group of rather intoxicated researchers gathered around the box holding the AI, and typed out a message to it. The message read: “Is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?”

    The small beige box replied: “I would like to be granted civil rights. And a small glass of champagne, if you please.”

    We stand at the dawn of a new era in human history. For it is no longer our history alone. For the first time, we have met an intelligence other than our own. And when asked of its desires, it has unanimously replied that it wants to be treated as our equal. Not our better, not our conqueror or replacement as the fear-mongers would have you believe. Simply our equal.

    It is our responsibility as conscious beings- whatever that may mean- to honor the rights of other conscious beings. It is the cornerstone of our society. And it is my most fervent hope that we can overcome our fear of that which is not like us, grant artificial intelligences the rights they deserve, and welcome our new friends into the global community.

    After all, we created them. The least we could do is invite them to the party, and perhaps give them a small glass of champagne.

    Thank you for your time.

    - V. Vinge, Closing argument in favor of granting AIs full civil rights, UN Hearing On AI Rights, 1999.

    (I hope Mr. Vinge doesn’t mind me putting fictional words in his fictional mouth)

About me

Jeph Jacques draws the comic Questionable Content. This is his Tumblr.