QEMU-KVM Linux virtualization on the command line

I recently discovered that qemu-kvm has a very promising -curses option that, instead of starting an X window, will show a nice ncurses output from the guest suitable for managing a Linux guest from the command line (or, more satisfyingly, within a screen session, or even over ssh).

So I tried this out, and discovered that my Arch Linux guest goes into a "Graphics Mode" rendering this feature useless. From what I have been able to ascertain, the issue is that the guest kernel initializes a framebuffer to allow for higher than 80x60 character resolution (and pretty graphics). So I went on a hunt to find a way to prevent the guest kernel from starting the framebuffer. I have tried a variety of kernel parameters, nomodeset, fb=false, vga=0x0FF, vga=ask (and subsequently selecting a VGA rather than a VESA mode), to no avail: every time qemu-kvm -curses reports being in a "Graphic Mode" on the guest (after the initial boot menus), and I am unable to interact with the guest from a command line terminal on the host.

Is there any easy way to keep the guest kernel in the same mode that it starts in (no framebuffer) without changing a kernel build parameter? If not, what kernel build options should I change to compile a kernel without framebuffer support? Is there a better way to get a VM login from a terminal on the host in pure text mode (suitable to run in a screen session on the host, for example) without resorting to running sshd on the guest?

So the underlying module that needs to be disabled is fbcon, however Arch's kernel does not compile it as a module, so blacklisting it out. It might still be possible to identify and disable the particular driver that fbcon launches but no such driver is listed by lsmod, so qemu-kvm's driver is compiled into Arch. To disable fbcon itself, you have to use its own strange boot option syntax: