2901 So Good It Hurts.
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Gears update: Still MIA.
As I was looking around the socials today it struck me that someday, if it survives, my comic will be a little time capsule of the banality of life in a time in America that is probably never coming back. I’m sure there are more lauded examples that will survive, and be praised for their insight, or whatever, but I’ve always made a point to make sure my work illustrates the pointlessness of everyday life in a way that isn’t narrative in the same way most media is. It rambles around, doesn’t get to a point, plods along, and has no particular endgame the way life actually is. No one beats the game. You are born, things happen, and you die. Then you are forgotten. At best you can hope to guide the flow of life in a positive direction, but there isn’t an endgame when you get to see the good ending. I’ve felt for a while now that people have allowed themselves to adopt the mindset that their existence has narrative structure. That’s not to say that I have zero narrative structure, but more like I’m not rushing to a a goal because I believe that ultimately we are all simply wasting time until we die. Making the time more enjoyable for other people should be the goal for everyone. All of this nonsense I do it me trying to use what meager skill I have to do that. I provide a little moment three times a week where you can look in on this nonsense world and not worry quite so much about the very real, and often dire, world you are really in. That’s also not to say that I live by this ethos all the time. I’m just a human like everyone else and I get moody and lash out because I’m also in the shit with everyone else. Still, I set aside time every day to make an effort to improve the march to the grave for as many people as I can, in whatever way makes mine less awful too.
When I was working retail one of the only things that ever made me feel happy about it was helping people find distractions. As good book, movie, game, or whatever, recharges a person’s ability to go out and be good to others. Helping someone find that is noble in a small way. A little way to take pride in a menial job.
There are about 340 million people in the US. If every one of them did one thing every day in an attempt to improve life for other people it would make quite a difference, I expect. It’s very difficult to see the slow change brought about by small actions. It’s kind of like starting something like this comic. It’s very daunting if you look at all the things you have to do to make 2901 of anything. The magnitude of it can stop you in your tracks, but you just have to forget about all the things you’ll have to do eventually and focus on the first line. Believe in the power of the first action and take it.
My mother often asks why I do various things and my reply is often that “I live in hope.” I’m perpetually walking toward a future that I want to exist. If I give in to despair, and decide that what I am doing will never get me there, I may as well simply lay down and die. I may have a stroke in the next few minutes. Everything I was will cease, my work will be incomplete forever, and I will fade into nothingness, but I hope I won’t. It’s generally better to hope for the best I think.
Anyway, I hope I’ve improved your journey in some small way. I hope you will return on Friday for a little more of whatever it is that you enjoy about my work. Please consider supporting my efforts with the various options I have provided. Until next time, paint the corners.
15 Comments
I can’t even remember when I started reading your comic Jackie. I know I’ve been here long enough to watch your art improve time and again. It’s been a small, but consistent part of my life for a long time. And I admire your commitment to your comic, and to making the world a better place through it, one page at a time.
My job is support. And watching people smile when I come in to fix their printer (or PC) because they know that Help has arrived, is probably the best part. Knowing that I’m making my corner just a bit brighter makes it all worth it right now.
And you inspire me to try to do just a bit better. Thank you.
I’ve been reading since the b&w and remember how amazing the transition was to colour. It still remains the gold standard in switching, so you do yourself a disservice.
In other news, we now know what a truly sated Carol looks like
I’ve been reading the comic since high school, Jackie, and I can’t tell you how much that message resonates with me. It’s been a struggle to find anything with gainful employement even after getting two degrees, so I’ve been keeping myself up with other creative endeavors instead of getting bummed about no job.
I do genuinely hope that we’re all still around to witness whatever your planned ending for Between Failures is.
Jackie, I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t remember when I started. I know I found it after I stopped reading Questionable Content. But I can say that it’s my favorite web-comic. I look forward to reading it every week.
Strange.
I know exactly when I started (#654, the Great Sibling Beanbag Fight), and I found QC after Jackie mentioned it here.
But yes, Between Failures is also my favorite. Possibly at least partially because it’s the longest-lasting of the ones I’ve followed long-term.
After yesterday, I might be dropping QC… Jeph decided to break up my favorite couple, and I’ve realized for a long time that there is nothing even resembling an average, normal relationship in the whole book.
Every couple is some variation on a lesbian pairing. or AI. Or both.
In my mind, QC was strongest during the period when Martin and Dora were dating. After the breakup the strip just seemed to start going downhill.
I mirror the same sentiments as the others. I cannot remember when I started, but I do know it wasn’t as far back as B&W, but it has been too long to remember. And this has been the most consistent, fun read I have. I do not mind the meandering, it suits me mentally and is always a pleasant break from the world.
I worked in inpatient mental health for 30 odd years. When it works at its best, to the outside world, it looks like the person goes in, stays a while and comes out better. It is really a lot of little steps and gestures. There is the picture of going in and the doctor puts you on the right medicine and every thing is fine but that is seldom the real story. You really don’t “fix” anybody. At best you help them be better than they were. but that is worthwhile. There are people who don’t get the credit they deserve. Like the cooks, housekeepers and maintenance people who keep the place running. All of those people who do what might be called “menial” jobs. Just by showing up every day they make the world a better place. Creators like Jackie are, at least for me, semi-anonymous. It is doubtful that I will ever meet him or any other comic creator face to face or have a conversation outside of a comment section or online forum but they all contribute a little something to my day.
Related to todays comic one of the things I love about a good ice cream float is the layer of frozen soda that forms when the ice-cream is really cold.
occasionally I’ll check in on the most recent comic as i’m currently reading it for the first time and this description hit me like a truck. thank you for creating this art for so many people to love and Identify with.
I love the bit about superchilling soda so it flash-freezes upon opening. Genius!
One time, I did that with porter, by accident, when we sat it out on the cold side of a window in midwinter. Sadly, flash-frozen beer is no good at all! :D
The description of this comic inspired me to write this comment.
I started reading the comic a bit before the start of the pandemic, so like either late middle school or early high school. This comic was a big part of what helped slow down the progression of stir craziness and depression during quarantine. The characters lives feel so very real to me, and living vicariously through them helped to remember that there was a world outside my house.
I’m in college now, and I think that now I can walk and drive and live, it’s helped me remember that the people I walk past on the street aren’t just people that might bump into me, but folks with their own lives, fears, and hopes.
I agree wholeheartedly with your thoughts on life. I got into the philosophical theory of absurdism, ‘s all about acknowledging and simultaneously rebelling against the concept of a cruel and uncaring universe. I don’t think it’s possible to have a meaningful life, but that’s not necessarily synonymous with a happy or fulfilling one. Living your best life, and helping others to live theirs feels like the most logical progression from there.
Thank you for all the work you put in, I hope you enjoy making Between Failures as much as I enjoy reading it!
Oh no! Haha guess you were right about the food being a (relative!) weakness for ya Jackie, because I was 100% sure the nipply cherries were Carol’s. Er. Were Carol’s dessert.
But you’re still better at drawing food than I am at reading comprehension, since it’s rather explicit that Evrina is saying the one with sprinkles is for Thomas.
Honestly, if I may speak for my fellow perverts, I think my mistake and the general belief that it was Intentionally Titties and not just ice cream scoops, stemmed from how excited Evrina was to serve them, and how also excited she was about Carol’s bust. I, at least, was more in tune with her pervert side than her actually proud of her dessert creations side.
I’m a cook, the thing that I enjoy is bringing quality food to people at work who primarily subsist on pizza and fast food. The amount of joy they find in things that I find simple is entertaining but also somehow fulfilling. Recently I’ve been working on food for people with restrictions, mainly gluten because of my sister and her kid. When I find a good recipe, they get so excited and that makes it all worth it.
Webcomics as an art form / publishing media / whatever are going to such an interesting moment in cultural history to study a hundred years from now. Our grandchildren are going to be doing data archaeology as a study learning so much about the day to day lives of people. Honestly historians are going to love you Jackie the daily minute to minutes of people normal live aren’t covered all that much in most histories and it really helps to be able to put the big events in a cultural place by knowing what the people that aren’t famous are doing.
As for myself I came to your comic a long time ago on a link from Websnark, if you remember that. I love how your art style and story telling has evolved. Everything was already in place right from the start but the slow steady progression is amazing if you go back to the beginning. No sweeping shift just the steady progression of an artist getting better and better from practice, practice, practice. I don’t know if you can see where you were and where you’ve gotten to, because it always hardest to see your own growth but really it’s a quite the trick and you’ve become one of my favourite talents to watch.