I have to admit I’ve been enjoying the space-based aspects of Questionable Content (which may explain why I didn’t particularly enjoy Jeph Jacques possible “homage” to South Park with a quick glimpse back to Faye on Earth). Perhaps part of this lies with my enjoyment of science fiction, which QC definitely qualifies as (what with the Anthro-PCs and other robots that inhabit the comic, and the particulars of Hannelore’s upbringing. But I must admit, watching Marten and his friends visit with Hanners as she returns to her father’s space station has helped drive home the science fiction aspect of the comic in a way that casual robot insanity fails to do.
Part of this undoubtedly lies with the expanded cast of characters Jacques has created for this storyline. While Jacques is no stranger of creating fascinating characters we only see once in a blue moon (or those who’ve been put on a bus and shipped off to Florida for marine biology internships), he’s inhabited this station with an interesting crew that will likely never be seen once this story comes to an end. Lieutenant Potter is a case in point; it would have been easy for Jacques to have Lt. Potter be a one-shot character, but instead he’s expanded the storyline and expanded on her so she’s more than just some overzealous military officer who was humiliated for doing her job.
Perhaps what I’ve liked most of all is how casually Jacques has depicted the science fiction aspects of the comic (and yes, I know space stations are currently viable, but not to the scale of the station shown in this storyline). Little things like Lt. Potter pushing off the ground and floating weightlessly by a window (which, realistically, does not depict stars; there’s too much light in that room for them to be easily seen) or her comments on how zero-g sex isn’t as enjoyable as it sounds (seeing that it’s a threesome including Sir Isaac Newton’s inertial laws) help to ground the science fiction aspect of the comic into the fabric of the comic, acting as background for what truly matters: the telling of a good story.