Directember: Octo-Camo
Added 2024-12-23 21:45:28 +0000 UTCI have started drawing comics again! It feels good to be back on the horse. However I also came down with a head cold, so it's a very snotty horse at the moment.
As I said in yesterday's post, writing trash fires like Liz is super fun! Years ago I was doing an interview with someone and I said sometimes characters "just wander in from the cold" to describe how they show up, basically out of nowhere, and instantly establish themselves as a key character in whatever I'm doing with the strip at the time. I think I got the phrase from Berke Breathed of Bloom County and Outland fame. Hannelore was probably the first one to display this phenomenon, but it's happened repeatedly since then. What's interesting to me is that the characters who show up this way never really seem to fall by the wayside. Someone like Sven, for instance, has had some key moments in the strip, but I'll go long stretches without being able to focus on him because there are other things I feel more compelled to explore. It's not that I dislike writing him, he's just a lower priority most of the time. For some reason (part of the reason is I like drawing cute girls, let's be honest). Anyway, the point of all this is Liz was definitely one of those characters- maybe the most instantaneous "oh, okay yeah she is a big part of the comic now" vibe since Hannelore. The difference being that Hanners is a perfect angel who has never done anything wrong, and Liz is a malnourished sewer opossum who has never done anything right. And I love her for it.
Comments
I loved Liz from the start and was super grateful you let her run wild in the series
PsychOut
2024-12-26 00:44:02 +0000 UTCI resent that “only got Marten” statement, for multiple reasons. A) Marten is so VERY much therapist material. 2) He’s had lots of opportunities to practice, from rehabilitating Pintsize, to supporting Faye, Hanners, etc. C) She’s also got Claire.
Melissa Wilson
2024-12-25 04:30:53 +0000 UTCThis hits a lot of us right where it hurts: When we admit to seeing Hamilton Beach appliances in stores before Jeph was born.
ValdVin
2024-12-25 04:15:13 +0000 UTCtrying to remember one of the recent posts, but it was about how chaotic it would be if Liz and a certain other character got into mischief together, no one would be prepared for it. ~<3
Mitsuki Ayane
2024-12-25 04:07:59 +0000 UTCAlso, I want the Gecko to meet Bubbles. I wonder how long they might perch on her before achieving terminal velocity and enter orbit around the moon.
legobil
2024-12-25 00:58:46 +0000 UTCAnd not really a real estate agent either…! Like a crossover between that and a mobster, one that won’t physically hurt you.
legobil
2024-12-25 00:56:59 +0000 UTCGrumph. I tend to get a bit depressed when people cite things (e.g., Bloom County) which I think of as relatively recent as if they are something from the walls of Lascaux. Not their fault. But grumph.
Ursus Ridens
2024-12-25 00:50:40 +0000 UTCYeah -- we probably all love Liz so much with the unspoken wish that she may become, well, nicer -- which I think has been (slowly) happening for the very reason you suggest.
Ursus Ridens
2024-12-25 00:45:24 +0000 UTCYou mean that she might wind up carrying unregistered laser arms without serial numbers but with a faint smell of popcorn? Hmm.
Ursus Ridens
2024-12-25 00:42:38 +0000 UTC"Malnourished sewer opossum" is, as a moral description of a character, a sort of poetic triumph. (As a physical description, probably not so much.)
Ursus Ridens
2024-12-25 00:40:47 +0000 UTCRandom thought: do we know if Veronica and Aurelia have met yet? Have they talked about their respective careers?
Diptych
2024-12-24 14:12:33 +0000 UTCBut he's already explained himself! https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3329 /me said, with a dismissive "La li lo!" while snatching the tophat back.
Amelia Lewis
2024-12-24 13:46:48 +0000 UTCThere it is! Oh my goodness! I was like, what are they on about? There's no ... oh!
jonesnori
2024-12-24 12:36:26 +0000 UTCSfsgggsgdhjhgg I JUST saw it and only thanks to these comments. Amazing xD
enchantedsleeper
2024-12-24 09:20:25 +0000 UTCWhy not both?
enchantedsleeper
2024-12-24 09:15:33 +0000 UTCWe saw Steve recently at the wedding...
enchantedsleeper
2024-12-24 09:12:41 +0000 UTCCooking off alcohol isn’t nearly as effective as people think. Assuming a mixture of mostly bourbon would be 40% ABV, it would take a whole hour of boiling to reduce to 10% ABV, and 2.5 hours to reduce to 2% ABV. And keeping alcohol boiling for long isn’t the safest thing in the universe.
Dissociated Women Incorporated
2024-12-24 08:30:23 +0000 UTCOne or two
Jeph Jacques
2024-12-24 08:04:50 +0000 UTCLmao I did not know this
Jeph Jacques
2024-12-24 08:03:38 +0000 UTCIs there enough difference to make a difference?
Clifton Royston
2024-12-24 07:36:16 +0000 UTCIf she can wangle a trip up to Station, I'm sure the doctor would make her some.
Captain Button
2024-12-24 06:16:38 +0000 UTC"Going to be"? She is legally Marten & Claire's daughter now.
William Cole
2024-12-24 05:58:14 +0000 UTCWould be cool if Liz did have laser arms but like Pintsize, only discovered this by accident… when she lasered Hannelore Von Schwartzpunkt in the eyes, thus curing her nearsightedness!
Miyaa
2024-12-24 05:16:19 +0000 UTCPeople have been warned against getting Liz arm lasers for birthdays and such, but they haven't been warned against getting her specific components, or things that contain them. One day she'll get a hand-me-down Hamilton Beach popcorn popper, and her eyes will light up and she'll run off cackling.
Halloween Jack
2024-12-24 04:52:17 +0000 UTCWouldn't the boil evaporate out the alcohol? Maybe missing the point but everyone's different
jarwain
2024-12-24 04:49:16 +0000 UTCJeph has been sober for a while now, though.
Carl Fink
2024-12-24 04:39:53 +0000 UTCSTEVE! What's he doing these days? Did he get that job working for Cubetown security?
BobC
2024-12-24 04:09:39 +0000 UTCPfft. Kick the booze up to 4 oz and omit the rest!
BobC
2024-12-24 04:07:40 +0000 UTCOh gods I had forgotten that! Yes that's an excellent choice for Jeph to answer to, I mean, justify, I mean, explain himself. :D
Michael Steamweed
2024-12-24 03:55:36 +0000 UTCYeah, given that booze wouldn’t be appropriate here, definitely something like that. Alternatively, since it hits different, 2oz ginger juice alongside a twist of citrus. My own preference is yuja-cheong (yuzu in honey or sugar, available at many Asian markets) with aforementioned ginger juice and a slug of lemon juice, *maybe* mixed with black tea instead of hot water depending on time of day and mood.
Wednesday
2024-12-24 03:21:29 +0000 UTCThrow in a few stars of anise, too! That would also be a bitchin’ blend of ingredients to use to make cranberry sauce… assuming you had 12-16oz of fresh cranberries to dump in the pot & 20-30 minutes to simmer them into delicious oblivion.
Melissa Wilson
2024-12-24 02:48:39 +0000 UTCTo clarify, I don't object to his being a gecko. It's the Real Estate Agent side of him that skeeves me out.
Doc Gumby
2024-12-24 01:51:58 +0000 UTCOh yeah, new characters. Give 'em a cameo and they’ll take a miniseries. I started a novel and kept trying to introduce a villain, which would become sympathetic so I’d try to bring in another villain, ditto - I got like five new characters that way before I finally got a decent villain. Now I have eleven sympathetic characters, one villain, and no novel. -sad face-
Holly Nelson
2024-12-24 01:45:04 +0000 UTCSame here. Nice catch!
John Van Aken
2024-12-24 01:31:17 +0000 UTCOr, lemon or& lime instead of the booze (for the vitamin c boost and help for the throat.)
Carrie
2024-12-24 01:27:18 +0000 UTCI've always thought geckos are cute AF.
Carrie
2024-12-24 01:23:39 +0000 UTC"Back off! I know Barry Mandibles and Debbie Hairy!"
ValdVin
2024-12-24 00:31:33 +0000 UTCHow dare you sully Cheshire P. Gecko's good name ? I do hope he becomes a repeating character !
Etienne M.J. Dubourg
2024-12-24 00:18:21 +0000 UTCthe fact that Liz is frequently referenced in the Dumbing of Age comments because she's as much of a trash fire as any of those characters speaks to her incredible character. ~<3
Mitsuki Ayane
2024-12-23 23:47:20 +0000 UTCLet's hope the gecko is not a repeating character. *ew*
Doc Gumby
2024-12-23 23:34:19 +0000 UTC8 oz apple cider, 2 oz bourbon, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 oz crystalized ginger, 5 whole cloves. Combine everything in a small port or electric kettle and bring to a boil. remove from heat and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove spices, pour into mug, add freshly grated nutmeg and consume. Should help give relief for the symptoms
Eric Johnson
2024-12-23 23:31:36 +0000 UTCI know they’re being chosen at random, but I kind of hope tomorrow’s is this one. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3327
Taigan
2024-12-23 23:11:34 +0000 UTCTherapy *might* do her some good, but I honestly think being in the close company of Marten and Claire will be much more helpful than any therapist would.
awgiedawgie
2024-12-23 23:11:22 +0000 UTCI feel like Liz needs access to a really amazing therapist and possibly tying to a chair so she will actually talk to them but unfortunately she's only got Marten instead. But better Marten than Pintsize.
mathw
2024-12-23 23:04:59 +0000 UTCWell we can mark this as the countdown to when the sewer oppossum gets ILLEGAL arm lasers.
Rich Holmes
2024-12-23 23:03:09 +0000 UTCI completely forgot about the gecko AI for a while...
Hugh Eckert
2024-12-23 23:00:40 +0000 UTCI didn't notice it either time!
Rich Holmes
2024-12-23 22:59:03 +0000 UTCDid we ever find out if the gecko was a genuine real estate agent, or just an opportunistic grifter?
Dean Reilly
2024-12-23 22:58:33 +0000 UTCOh, the gecko AI is in, like, a hundred or so episodes. But well camouflaged. Hard to see 'em.
Michael Steamweed
2024-12-23 22:56:47 +0000 UTCYeah, I can think of two. Huh, maybe three. Huh!
Michael Steamweed
2024-12-23 22:55:38 +0000 UTCI never noticed the gecko bot in panel 2! I just saw it this go-round! :O
Michael Steamweed
2024-12-23 22:54:34 +0000 UTCLiz is an amazing dumpster fire of a little sister. Total Louise Belcher vibes if Louise was a sewer possum
JMK
2024-12-23 22:47:45 +0000 UTCI've known folks like Liz...where you know that there has to be something redeeming in their make-up. But there isn't. Perhaps that was just self reflection.
Ben R
2024-12-23 22:46:30 +0000 UTCAwesome! Also I really enjoyed directember, definitely do it again next year!
Tao Gold
2024-12-23 22:36:43 +0000 UTCGecko Bro here looks like my migraine prodrome in the last panel, I don't know if this is a good thing or not but I love him X-D
BrenaMarie
2024-12-23 22:35:23 +0000 UTCOh man, Bloom County! My dad had a big collection of Bloom County compilation books, and I used to read them all the time when I was a kid. ...probably explains somethings about how I turned out as an adult, heh. I can definitely see some hints of BC in QC, like large numbers of the cast being fantastical (talking animals vs. AI) but otherwise just normal people trying to live their lives. It's also where I learned a lot of things about the American political process, like what caucuses are.
Jayne Lindgren
2024-12-23 22:31:28 +0000 UTCLiz became a good way to showcase Faye’s growth as well.
Craig L
2024-12-23 22:18:13 +0000 UTCLiz has definitely become one of my favorite new characters. I loved her appearance as someone spying on Marten before being property introduced.
SilverbackRon
2024-12-23 22:11:48 +0000 UTCwait a tick, now that i think about it - there ARE cute girls in this!
Boots McGoot
2024-12-23 22:11:11 +0000 UTCI was hoping to get some insight from this as to whether we'll see the gecko AI again, but I guess it'll remain a mystery xD
enchantedsleeper
2024-12-23 21:58:18 +0000 UTCLil is going to be the goblin that gets adopted into the family and flourishes isn't she?
FuzzyDragon Cosplay
2024-12-23 21:56:49 +0000 UTCI wonder how many people are now signing up to be part of Jeph’s new indie band, Malnourished Sewer Opossum.
That Blair Guy
2024-12-23 21:54:34 +0000 UTCAlso she lives in Canada. Arm lasers are restricted weapons.
David F
2024-12-23 21:52:39 +0000 UTCLike anyone would trust her with that, you think she could even pass the safety class without the instructor just red stamping NO on her application.
Michael
2024-12-23 21:50:57 +0000 UTCoof i feel ya on the head cold
Logan Nix
2024-12-23 21:50:21 +0000 UTCI was so afraid Liz was just around for a one shot cause I IMMEDIATELY fell in love with her.
Aerin Moriarty
2024-12-23 21:50:11 +0000 UTCBack to the Gremlin and Martens potential future. I am quite intrigued as to where it goes.
Tannerbot
2024-12-23 21:50:00 +0000 UTCThis was one of my favorite QC character designs ever, I hope he reappears at some point.
Motyka
2024-12-23 21:49:35 +0000 UTCShe's not a sewer possum she's a gremlin
Michael
2024-12-23 21:49:27 +0000 UTCJeph "supports women's wrongs" Jacques
Bee Screams
2024-12-23 21:48:41 +0000 UTCWell we can mark this as the countdown to when the sewer oppossum gets arm lasers.
Randall Norman Pick
2024-12-23 21:47:57 +0000 UTC
