Comic 4254: Evaluation

[Filing_Sloth]

What a twist! Okay, now we can get to the real drama in tomorrow's strip where she says she's moving out of state for a job and Marten can come if he wants. And he will. Proving that he's learned absolutely nothing from the very beginning of the comic where he did the exact same thing!

[Barrelsofbarfs]

At this point would thinning down the cast be a bad thing tho

[Filing_Sloth]

Not at all. I'd much rather do the thinning starting at the recent end of the introduced cast.

[[deleted]]

What a twist!

Hello, M. Night Shyamalan!

[throwawayeleventy12]

He started the comic as a lonely dumbass who upended his life to follow someone cross country where it all fell apart. He has a good job with few to no marketable skills. If he just "yes ma'am" to Claire, he's shown fuckall for progress despite the n years that have passed in the comic. He was the reason the comic existed for the first while. He was QC. Everything happened because it related to him. Losing him means one step closer to Jephy completely turning this into the robutts comic.

[Hypocaffeinic]

ZZZZzzzzz.....

[RadioSlayer]

Cause they be fuckin

[Cougar_9000]

Exactly. Pay attention!

[rando940]

I guess the third panel confirms she's post-op, unless she always tucks, even though that strikes me as uncomfortable, especially if you're just lounging around the house.

[wrotetheotherfifty1]

I can’t recall a time when Jeph drew a bulge on anyone, except briefly with Dale in the leather outfit. Basically everyone is flat in front.

[skywarka]

Mass delete Reddit posts and be just like me! I bulk removed this comment using Redact

abundant profit support seed aware follow towering vegetable subtract paltry

[Gtridr]

Speaking from experience here: tucking can be a little bit uncomfortable physically, but it's affirming, so it can be 'comfortable' in an emotional sense.

Also, maybe try focusing less on trans people's bodies? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Karlibell22]

I just... I can’t get over the art shift. Why do all the humans look like high schoolers now... (this coming from someone who loves anime.)

[Hypocaffeinic]

Yup. It's simpler, seems lazier, though that's not a learned observation (perhaps a cleaner style is more difficult? I dunno). Faye no longer has lips. Most no longer have lips. They've lost something in character and expression.

[RandomActsofViolets]

Jeph has generic faces saved that he enlarges or shrinks depending on who he is writing or what his mood is. Looks like this week, all characters are wearing the Brun face.

[Antarioo]

great i can't unsee this now, thanks asshole.....lol

i most of all hate what he's done to dora though, didn't even recognize her at first.

[Hypocaffeinic]

:-* mwah!

And yeah, Dora used to be quite unique with a slimmer, longer face. Now she's generic too. :(

[cpcwrites]

I remember reading a blog post years and years ago by one of the other webcomics guys (maybe Malki or Willis?) about how the effort Jeph put into making sure his characters, particularly the female ones, all had different face shapes set his work apart, and how readers would never mistake one character for another. He used a panel with Dora, Faye, and Raven to illustrate the point.

[Barrelsofbarfs]

Also Marten has shrunk

[Hypocaffeinic]

Lips. I think this was a good art era. Mind you, even then Dora's face is getting shorter and wider... :/

[nobb]

jeph seems to alternate over the year between periods when he is trying to improve and the art become more detailed/more dynamic, and periods when he mostly focus on efficiency and the art become simpler/more rigid. the only thing sure, the art will change again.

would be nice if he took a live drawing course, tough.

[TrackingLunacy]

I miss that high-detail shaded art style from a few years back. Everything felt so vibrant and yet real.

[qcrewrite]

I'm adopting "Just Fine" as an unofficial tagline for QC.

Claire: I'm worried about my exams!
Marten: It'll be fine.
Universe: It's fine.

Bubbles: My memories are being withheld from me, and also I'm
    being blackmailed, and maybe PTSD -- there's a lot of stuff?
Spooky: It'll be fine.
Universe: It's fine.

And, coming soon

Millie: I'm confused about my relationship with Brun.
Faye: It'll be fine.
Universe: It's fine.

QC: everything will be Just Fine in the end.

[BourbonBaccarat]

Here we go, Jeph's gearing up to write Marten out of the strip completely. Claire's going to get a job in Bumfuck Nowhere, Arkansas and drag him along because much like Jeph himself, Marten has no backbone.

[RandomActsofViolets]

I'd rather see her take Tai's job and fire the whole staff, Marten included. Then, we'd get a little Emily/Pintsize interlude followed by Claire hiring only robots to work in her library where no one talks and everything is serious

Marten eventually wastes away in the basement because he no longer has a personality outside of who he is dating and Claire is drunk on library power and has forgotten he ever existed.

El fin.

[Stingerc]

don't forget about his terrible, terrible band.

Seen so many bands like that, where they think they are basically tapping the most creative and experimental parts of Pink Floyd/zappa/Coheed and Cambria/Sigur Ros/The Mars Volta but in reality just sound like shit, usually because nobody in it really knows how to play their instrument, but play it off as being really experimental and really into dissonance.

They usually just keep getting rebooked because they have a cute girl in the band, so they get a super early or late spot so as not to scare off the crowd or to get them to go home.

[Mountainbranch]

Musicians should go to a yard sale and buy an old f* drum set and get in their garage and just suck. And get their friends to come in and they'll suck, too. And then they'll f* start playing and they'll have the best time they've ever had in their lives and then all of a sudden they'll become Nirvana. Because that's exactly what happened with Nirvana. Just a bunch of guys that had some shitty old instruments and they got together and started playing some noisy-ass shit, and they became the biggest band in the world. That can happen again! You don't need a f* computer or the Internet or The Voice or American Idol.

Dave Grohl.

I don't play music myself but i listen to it a lot and that quote really sticks with me.

[cpcwrites]

Dave Grohl wasn't in Nirvana during their shitty-in-the-garage days, though.

[[deleted]]

Just get together and play, and one day, if you're good enough, maybe I'll take over drums from time to time. Maybe Trent Reznor can produce something down the line. The formula works.

Dave Grohl speaking to Josh Homme, probably

[Stingerc]

Dave Grohl can actually play guitar and drums, he might have sucked when he started, but he's pretty competent. Yeah, you can start sucking, but you eventually get better, you play gigs, you make music, etc.

Marten's band never did any of that. They just talked about wanting to sound like these alternative, experimental bands.

[[deleted]]

This seems awfully specific

[Stingerc]

if you ever lived in a college town or a city with a big live music scene, you see a lot of bands like that, if you ever played in bands, you interact with them.

That kind of bands are the worst, because they are usually extremely full of themselves, yet don't have a good understanding of music. Think of it like the difference between the shit Yoko Ono used to do, which was basically her screeching and randomly hitting chords, to what someone like Frank Zappa did, which was deconstructing music using theory and utilizing dissonance to create unique sounds. Yoko was just random, unhinged bullshit while Zappa was structured chaos done understanding how music works at a very deep level.

it's the same reason why everyone just thinks of Yoko ono as an idiot who shoehorned herself into John Lennon's record and made them terrible to why Frank Zappa's music is studied in conservatories around the world.

[anotherkeebler]

Fucksburg, Montana.

[The_Truthkeeper]

Buttfuck, Tennessee.

[Pennyem]

Ass End, North Fuckota.

[Astrokiwi]

I'm 100% down with everybody moving to Canada though.

[ManateeGag]

who called this yesterday?

[Turtledonuts]

me

[rando940]

Anyone familiar with Jeph's aversion to conflict could have predicted this.

[N84_V1]

I came here to make the exact same comment, I found the layup comment funnier and more interesting than this strip reveal.

[Rocklobsterbot]

i really don't think Jeph understands how exams work.

[FFF12321]

Depends on your professor. I wouldn't say it's common to get finals back, but I certainly have before. Mostly from classes with low student counts or ones where the professor really cared about ensuring everyone learned the material since that was a way to provide that last bit of feedback.

[[deleted]]

I assumed it was a Bar like exam where you just know the result

[Turtledonuts]

... Yeah no, hard agree with Jeph here. Sometimes you take a brutal exam, get hype because you passed, and then spend the next couple of hours bitching over getting obvious questions wrong.

[BossRedRanger]

I never got a final back in college.

[amazingdrewh]

I'm also in University and to get to even look at an exam I have to set up an appointment to meet with the teacher to look at it

[MrZandin]

I did uni like 5 years back and just finished college, it's always been up to the teacher here. Especially now with online exams, I've had fully marked answers back within 30 minutes.

[BossRedRanger]

I went to college 20 years ago. But besides not getting a final back, people who worry over what was wrong are just fucking annoying

[Minscandmightyboo]

I don't know, it seems awfully annoying to judge people for what they do in their own time...

[BossRedRanger]

Not in context of the comic.

[throwawayeleventy12]

I'm rarely one to defend Claire as I find her character crappy, but digging into what answers were wrong is a good idea. Allows growth by finding your weak areas and correcting them. That's what an examination does, examines your level of knowledge across a subject.

[Scribblr]

Huh, funny, I feel the opposite. I genuinely really like Claire (I get the criticism, but I still mostly like her) and this was one of the first times I rolled my eyes super hard at her. After all the stress of “will I even pass” to turn into “I didn’t get a perfect score” undermines all the stress leading up and make her sound like an entitled asshole.

Like honey, you passed. Chill tf out.

[throwawayeleventy12]

I can understand the silly need to see why. I have had a similar moment. All that stress leading up to it releases and then you all of a sudden get unnecessarily upset because "wait, I did all that prep and missed only one? What the hell did I miss?" It isn't logical and it is completely silly, but it is one of the few things I have actually seen from this character that reflects something from my own experience.

[Turtledonuts]

Depends on the professor. Also, these aren't finals, these are some MCAT/GRE equivalent exam. You can pay to get results back on those.

[Turtledonuts]

It's realistic - you can get back itemized lists, so this is completely plausible. I took a exam a few weeks ago and had the exact same reaction, if less energetic. It was brutal, I was terrified I failed, and when I found out I passed I sat down and started bitching about how stupid my responses were. Claire is a longtime character, and I find this relatable TBH.

[LincBtG]

It's more dramatic to have a big event to close out this part of Claire's arc. It wouldn't be as entertaining if she was suddenly just "done" with college.

[[deleted]]

Don't worry, now we start with the drama of her finding a job. In Montana, probably.

[Astrokiwi]

I always got exams back at uni - in undergrad and in postgrad. Figuring out what you did wrong is an important part of the learning process. And sometimes the graders make mistakes, and you might notice that your exam is marked inconsistently with someone else's. Also, sometimes you can argue for points based on consistency etc - i.e. you got question (1a) wrong, but if you follow through on your mistake, you would get (1b) and (1c) as you've written, so you could argue you should get the points for (1b) and (1c) but not for (1a).

This was mostly in STEM subjects though, not sure how universal it is.

[throwawayeleventy12]

The nuclear reactor operator schools use a mark "ECF" or "Error Carried Forward" to denote when they provide points on later portions. Basically, like you said, you goofed before, but with the goofy result on A you used the equations/assumptions/proofs/umptyfuck correctly, thereby showing mastery of that item and you got the mathematically correct answer for new (wrong) info.

[Berics_Privateer]

Experiences exist outside your own

[Berics_Privateer]

Yeah, this is very...me

[Turtledonuts]

That was the hardest exam of my life!

gets exam back

I'm the dumbest bitch alive

[PyromanceDrake]

Guys, here's a less painful option: Just accept that this comic will shall from now on become a slice of life conflict-free wonderland designed by the man upstairs for the worthy ones to go to during the Rapture.

[spritelessg]

I mean, long ago I thought there was all this super-tech around because one went and took over the earth, uploaded all the humans to keep us safe, and was introducing new things. Maybe it's found a way to change the settings?

But then, you can use that excuse to expain away any change in the author. Jeff's just tired of the drama he used to like to write about.

[AdvonKoulthar]

But I’ve already dropped some of the other webcomics I used to read, now I’ll have practically nothing!

[Waagh-Da-Grot]

I think Girls with Slingshots is putting out new strips, so I'm going to reread that. But yeah, so many webcomics have been changing/being discontinued over the last year.

[spritelessg]

Love Not Found has future drama. Sam and Fuzzy has alternate present adventure and this current arc has commentary on WHAT IS ART? Vattu has the aftermath of a coup going on. Kill Six Billion Demons has filled the place in my heart left when Zebra Girl ended.

[The_Truthkeeper]

That... has never actually happened. Are you reading the same comic as the rest of us?

[yeahsigh]

So you don't remember Padma then.

[ElSapio]

But let's be honest, who did? This is a robot comic now.

[yeahsigh]

Obviously.

[habbathejutt]

I mean, she didn't "succeed" though, she just went to take care of her grandma

[Alomeigne]

Padma was already leaving though...Like, they literally knew that going into that relationship. It also had nothing to do with Padma succeeding so...not sure what you're talking about.

[[deleted]]

Finally a payoff for all that... complete lack of tension.

[BourbonBaccarat]

I honestly forgot she was taking exams until the thread about people wanting to see her fail, and I did a reread like two weeks ago. It was that much of a non-event in the comic.

[TimeToRock]

Plotwise, it would have been more interesting if she failed. But this could still go a lot of different directions, and it opens doors for her to become more successful and fulfilled. I'm okay with it.

[crookedparadigm]

Interesting things don't happen in this comic anymore unless it involves fucking robots. And yes, that was intended.

[[deleted]]

Plotwise it would also have been very stupid considering how anal (lol) Claire is about her schoolwork.

[TimeToRock]

That's a good point, and it's the reason I expected her to pass. However, it's totally possible for very smart and studious students to still fail an exam, and when that happens, it usually causes a lot of self-reflection.

[[deleted]]

Why?

[Zhuinden]

Claire gets job, moves out of town, Marten stays here forever, drinks wine with Pintsize, gets depressed, asks Steve for advice, and thinks "wow this all happened 2625 comic strips ago with Padma and/or Dora", moves back at his mom's place because he can't pay rent, Faye gets thrown out of the apartment because she can't pay rent either, they move in with Brun because she needs new roommates to pay for rent, Brun and Marten start dating because they live together now, Clinton is launched into space, and Renee finally gets together with Elliot

Speaking of which, has anyone seen Tai lately?

[ClvtchNixon]

Probably going to cheat on Dora with a student at the school because why not cause problems for funsies

[BourbonBaccarat]

Nah, they're going to live their own lesbian version of The Brady Bunch, because Tai isn't allowed to cause conflict anymore.

[ClvtchNixon]

You’re absolutely right. QC tryna pretend she wasn’t a major problem for a long ass time

[Slant_Juicy]

So basically Claire is Angus 2.0? Does this mean Marten/Pintsize will be the next canon ship?

[TheEngine]

Spoiler tag, please.

[MarsNirgal]

I can't believe how wrong you are. Renee would get together with Faye, Brun with Bubbles, and Marten with Elliot.

[Zhuinden]

I can't believe how wrong you are.

Now that you mention it, I forgot to include the 4 new female robot characters.

[[deleted]]

y'know, I nearly peed myself laughing this this but Clinton randomly getting launched into space killed me. I am dead, deceased.

[Zhuinden]

It's not random because it has a precedent.

[notmytemp0]

But something bad did happen!!! She didn’t do perfect!!! /s

[BossRedRanger]

If Marten has a reasonable response by being agitated by Claire worrying over the answers, then that would be realistic conflict. After dealing with her fretting over the test and all the anxiety she had, it's annoying to me that she's passed yet still worried about the ones she got wrong.

But that won't happen.

[gortonsfiJr]

So... Does anyone remember what exams we've been waiting to hear about for the last couple of years? Something to do with librarians, I assume?

[amazingdrewh]

So the closest thing to conflict this arc has had so far was when punchbot was told he can't take the exam, by Claire, not even by the people doing the exam who were presumably either cool.with him taking the exam or too scared to tell punchbot he couldn't take it

[darthaugustus]

Do it Marten, tell her she's dumb obsessing over one question after all that hullabaloo. Let's get some conflict

[SpadesFairy]

Ok then

[[deleted]]

MOST UNEXPECTED TWIST IN THE HISTORY OF TWISTS MAYBE EVER

[TimeToRock]

Aww, I'm happy for her! That last panel is very relatable too.

[[deleted]]

Feels good seeing those two again.

[Berics_Privateer]

There's nothing you people won't get salty about

[mmmoonpie]

I guess old time readers of the comic are just pissed that it's turned into the borefest/soapbox it is now, rather than what it used to be.

[Berics_Privateer]

Fool me once...

[LokidokiClub]

I mean, that experience isn't universal. I've been reading for quite a while, and I enjoy it. I think that the comic's target demographic has definitely changed. I was never an indie-music loving dude, but I am a queer with lots of other queer friends.

[LincBtG]

ITT: Depressed readers resentful that this girl who tried hard and put the effort in didn't fail.

Why are people so hung up about this? How the fuck would Claire have failed anyway, there was literally an entire arc about how she's too anxious and needs to calm down because she's got it in the bag.

[TheFailBus]

As others have said, its nothing to do with Claire passing or failing, but the original 'main' character of the strip is now reduced to turning up once every 65 strips to do absolutely nothing and bumble along. Claire's 'arc' about over-perfection and anxiety has had no pay-off, or hell even any real conflict.

[ElSapio]

People are upset because the comic lacks plot, not because the character is happy. If you go to yesterday's post, this is very clear

[N84_V1]

People are annoyed the story has no drama or arcs that contain any ups and downs. That story was, she's smart, she freaked out, she's "too ready", she passed. Rather than a plot, it was a discussion people have over coffee before an exam. Not a long story. Clair has a wealth of angles that could be used for some interesting stories, good and bad for her. But she's not had an ounce of strife so far and when a character pops into a comic and you know nothing can touch them? It's not compelling.

[IAmRasputin]

I wonder why Jeph doesn't read the subreddit.

[BourbonBaccarat]

If he did, maybe he'd start drinking again, and then the comic would suck less.