Content gone questionable

I feel the need to expound on my previous assertion that Jeph Jacques is a douche. See, in high school, I used to worship the man. After all, he's from Maryland, and I'm from Maryland. He graduated from Hampshire College, and I got $3,000 in financial aid from Hampshire College before deciding it wasn't the right school for me. He's a self-important twit who erroneously believes he's funny and likes namedropping obscure indie bands, and I'm...wait a second.

Where, then, did the romance die? Somewhere during the five years that spanned my development from a fresh-faced Daria emulator to a wizened husk in a Gogol Bordello tour tee, something went horribly awry. And I'm pretty sure the problem wasn't entirely with me.

Looking back on the first comics in the Questionable Content archive, I realized that the early comics are nearly indistinguishable from the recent ones. (Recent here meaning "published after the release of the Jennifer Lopez/Jane Fonda vehicle Monster-in-Law.) The tone is different, the art is different, the subject matter is even different. At its inception, the strip was about the hardships of growing into young manhood, suffering at a crappy job in a state of involuntary celibacy. The art consisted mainly of angular lines and a neutral blue/brown palette; simple, but visually interesting. When the character of Faye was introduced, she played the confident, tough-talking broad to Marten's simpering and wishy-washy sad sack. But as the comic progressed, the two switched roles. Jacques retcons his capable and admirable female lead into a whiny and neurotic idiot who can't make the simplest decision for herself. Later, the supporting character Hannelore is "developed" in the same way.

But that's just the tip of the douche iceberg. As the comic became more popular, Jacques forsook the angular style in order to give Faye a perceived weight problem, thus rendering her more relatable. (Which would work if Faye had the appearance of a weight problem, or even if any of the comic's characters had a single unappealing physical trait. Clearly Jacques has never seen a fat chick outside of badly doctored BBW porn, considering how he gave Faye a visible collarbone. jesus christ.) At present, the art has the look of a badly animated CGI cartoon: spatially round, but dimensionally flat. I wonder what that sounds like? Oh yeah, all of the characters.

The shift in tone is perhaps the most off-putting. Jacques's protagonist once worried about his job, his relationships, and keeping his adorable robot out of trouble. Today, Marten has a fun job at a college library (and no trouble paying his bills! or buying outrageously rocking guitars!), shtups his perfect (but irrational, like all women. amirite?) girlfriend at every conceivable moment, and Pintsize seems to have gone the way of the original iPhone. Why do people keep reading? Is it to see what masturbatory fantasy will manifest next for ol' Marten? To anticipate the day that the art style at last evolves into neo-Impressionism with shapelier tits? Or do people return to Questionable Content for the same reason I do: because I've been reading it since Broken Social Scene and the Arcade Fire seemed obscure, and typing the URL is little more than a habit.

Or could it be the tiny specks of lovingly-drawn ass cracks?





Yeah. Definitely the ass cracks thing.













((art found at http://aod-shadowjester.deviantart.com/art/Questionable-Content-52914830))