Jeph Jacques's Blog, page 22

Holiday Deadlines Approach!

beatonna:

Just a friendly reminder my good friends, we are in the safe zone for gift orders, but time flies!  So our friends at Topatoco have broken down shipping times to give you a sense of what is safe to ship when:

And once again, a link to my store and a sample of its fine wares:

Just click and off you go!

Turkey Day Q&A

Hey Jeph, I just started on Cipralex and the side effects (nausea, headaches) already have me feeling shitty. In your experience, how bad do an antidepressant’s side effects have to be before it’s no longer worth it?

It’s a personal choice, really. If you’ve only been on a drug for a week or two, I’d say stick with it and see if the side effects subside (they often do). But I’m not a medical professional so I recommend you talk to your psychiatrist about it.

Hi Jeph, I was going to tell you that your banner ads were displaying adult oriented stuff again, as I know google doesn’t like that at all, but it seems to be back to normal. hope all is well!

Yeah, I talked to one of my ad networks and they cracked down on some of that junk, it would seem. Which is good!

What subjects do your characters have degrees in? I know you’ve mentioned this information for a few of the characters, such as Faye, but what about the others?

blood

is marten based on you?

He was when I started the comic, but over the years we’ve become very different. I wouldn’t say we’re anything alike, at this point.

As somebody who has NEVER BEEN to Massachusetts, how faithful is QC’s version of Northampton to real life (aside from obviously exaggerated bits)?

I think it’s pretty faithful, although some of the geography in the comic is different than reality.

I know you graduated with a music degree, do you still make any compositions for fun?

http://deathmole.bandcamp.com :D

I could go into this a lot more indepth, but frankly; don’t you think it’s time to start moving to fewer updates with more comic book style paneling to allow for a higher density in story content?

No.

So I’m thinking about finally getting a tattoo. Do you have any tips for a first-time tattooer? (Tattooee?) Esp. someone with anxiety, because I know you’ve dealt with that and I don’t know if that impacted your decision or not when you first got tattooed, but I’m mainly just curious if you have any advice for me.

Assuming you have a design in mind, make sure you eat something before your session and don’t worry too much! It will be uncomfortable for the first 5 minutes and then the endorphins will kick in and you will feel really neat! Unless you’re doing something crazy like tattooing the back of your hand.

Are there people on Mars in the QC universe? Will the main cast ever go to Mars?

more like YOU’RE on mars

When I was younger I’ve always wanted to do comics. How do you get the faces to be so exact on each panel? It’s probably just practice, but I can never perfectly replicate what I’ve drawn.

practice practice practice practice

How do you approach having your characters fall into a relationship? Do you kind of just let it happen because it felt right to you, or is their fictional-love a carefully planned out story of romance, and facekiss? MartinxClaire, MartinxEmily. Darigold/DalexMarigold I feel are developing nicely. Never5get tho, they all bang in the end. Also, Samantha arc next forrealz.

All of the above, really

Auctioning off a Laptop and some QC goodies!

Auctioning off a Laptop and some QC goodies!:

I could use some extra cash so I’m selling a laptop and a bunch of cool QC stuff!

My 10 Favorite Albums of 2013

Not a single “indie” band on the list this year. That might be a first. I’m just tired of things that sound like Pavement I guess!

10. The Range- Nonfiction

A lot has been made of The Range’s sourcing of mysterious audio clips from YouTube to feature in his tracks, but that tends to overshadow the refreshingly unadorned melodies and beats on this delightful album. If you’re into Tycho, Discuss, or really any sort of melodic, groovy electronic stuff, this record is for you.

9. DJ Rashad- Double Cup

Full disclosure*: I am almost completely uninformed when it comes to footwork as a genre. That being said, “Double Cup” is a tremendously accessible introduction to the style, and it stands on its own as a stirring example of an artist transcending a sound to create something more.

8. Jon Hopkins- Immunity

Shoegaze has thoroughly infiltrated electronic music. From Apparat to Fuck Buttons to Jesse Somfay to, yes, Jon Hopkins, the gauzy textures and buried vocals are everywhere. Hopkins spices things up with thoroughly chopped percussion, muscular bass where necessary, and his own haunting piano melodies (he’s a classically trained pianist, and it shows). Opening track “We Disappear” and closer “Immunity” are the standouts, but the album is strong all the way through.

7. Daniel Avery- Drone Logic

After a stellar contribution to Fabric’s long running “FabricLive” mix series (he did #66), Daniel Avery has delivered an absolute mission statement of an album. Throbbing acid and old-school house beats demand your attention, and constantly shifting subtleties reward close listening as much as they beg you to dance.

6. Machinedrum- Vapor City

I completely dropped the ball on Machinedrum’s first album “Room(s).” It sat almost unlistened in my music library for months, only for me to rediscover it and become utterly addicted. “Vapor City” is a worthy followup, melding breakbeats, dubstep, footwork, and a host of other touchstones together to create something unique and immensely engaging. The best track on the album also has an absolutely killer video.

5. The Field- Cupid’s Head

The Field has been a mainstay on my top album lists since his debut. For his latest, Axel Willner goes back to basics, forgoing the live drums and bass of his last two records. He also takes a considerably darker tack than we’ve seen previously, with standouts “They Won’t See Me” and “No. No…” melding his trademark blissed-out samples with an almost Boards of Canada-esque menace. It’s another refreshing change of pace from Willner, and hints at yet another previously unexpected direction for his work to go.

4. Fuck Buttons- Slow Focus

Fuck Buttons’ last album “Tarot Sport” was an absolute MONSTER. But where that LP found the duo employing their bewildering array of circuitry to evoke a sense of triumph, “Slow Focus” finds them exploring aggression, anxiety, and darkness. Album standouts “Brainfreeze” and “Hidden XS” are absolutely punishing, trading the Olympian peaks of their last album for Stygian depths.

3. Russian Circles- Memorial

Instrumental metal mainstays Russian Circles are going black metal. From the frigid album artwork, to the searing tremolo-picked guitar lines, to the theme of grief, loss, and remembrance, this is the blackest they’ve ever gone. It’s also the best album they’ve ever written.

2. Daft Punk- Random Access Memories

What is there to say about this album that hasn’t been said already? From the crafty marketing to the retro mission statement to the crazy guest list to the fact that it’s A New Daft Punk Album, nothing released in 2013 has felt like this much of an Event. The sound is gloriously warm and retro. The pop hooks glimmer like nothing I’ve heard in years. NILE. FUCKING. ROGERS. “We’re up all night to get lucky:” congratulations, now that song is stuck in your heard.

1. Disclosure- Settle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ASUImTedo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TUIciKQzxI

That’s all I have to say.

*pun completely intended

Signed QC Books!

If you want a signed QC print collection for the holiday season, now is your chance! We’re doing a limited run of signed copies over on topatoco. Click these links to head directly to each book:

QC Volume 1

QC Volume 2

QC Volume 3

I have no idea what the next Deathmøle record is gonna sound...

I have no idea what the next Deathmøle record is gonna sound like, but I’m writing some fun riffs.

Yelling Bird whiteboards. They’re a thing you can buy now.

Yelling Bird whiteboards. They’re a thing you can buy now.

gunnerkrigg:A double poster of City Face I’ll be taking to...

gunnerkrigg:

A double poster of City Face I’ll be taking to Thought Bubble next week!

girl-in-the-library:So somehow I was able to put together an...

girl-in-the-library:

So somehow I was able to put together an event where Jeph Jacques of “Questionable Content” fame came to talk to us here at Brandeis!

I did not get too many photos during the actual Q&A portion of the event itself, but if my estimating skills are anywhere near decent, we probably had about 60ish people in the room at the event’s peak.

Jeph is super cool and super chill and super funny - and I think everyone who came had a great time. I know I did.

So thank you to everyone who came out and asked great questions, and thank you especially Jeph for coming to talk to us and hang with us!

IT WAS FUN and I only murdered a few students

QApocalypse

Hey, I was just wondering if you ever use the QuestionableContent Wiki, and/or if the articles therein generally conform to your own understanding of your universe. -JK

Never used it, but it seems decent enough I guess?

Do AnthroPCs store everything that happens to them in long-term memory? Or are they programmed to forget things, like humans do? The reason I’m asking is that they have emotions, and if they have perfect memory of every painful experience in their lives, how can they stand it?

This is a good question! BUT I think it would be better addressed in the comic itself. A lot of the questions about the sci-fi aspects of my comic are things I know the answer to, but would rather incorporate into the comic than toss out elsewhere.

I suddenly want to see your take on different art styles, especially realism. (It’s Gordon McAlpin’s fault, he did that horror movie arc and the style change was so weird I want to see other people try.)

I wish I had that kind of skill, but my current abilities basically range from “how I draw the comic” to “how I draw the comic, but worse”

I hope this has not been asked too often before but, do you speak german? i stumble across the occasional german phrases and ask myself if you know what you write or if you have just looked it up on google translator :D i liked fickenfreude the most :]

I studied it for three years in high school, but have forgotten 98% of what I used to know. It’s a really fun language though so I like to throw little things in auf Deutsch where I can.

Hey Jeph, I saw your tweet about being one year sober and wanted to say congrats! I think you’re a lot more inspiring than you realize. Have a great day. :)

Thanks :). I can honestly say I don’t miss it at all, and that’s a really good feeling.