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You have to feel for the guy... kinda
 (From Fur Will Fly. Click on image to see full-sized image.)
And so the mysterious Jacob is finally revealed.
You do have to feel badly for him, at least a little. Here's a guy who knows he's a screwup. He's working a job that he hates, and stays in only because of the money (and how many people are in that boat?). He screws up his relationships (and is wise enough to realize his own stupidity is the blame, not the other person). And as for his past with Tammy....
When Tammy was pregnant, some seven years earlier, Jacob was in his early 20s. He was probably even more shallow then, and a bit of an idiot, and saw a baby as a deathknell. It was forcing him to become a dad, to become a husband, and he wasn't ready for that. He panicked. He fled. In doing so, he alienated Tammy, Page, and Stewart (though I think Stewart hated him already as he was in love with Tammy back then - Page probably hated him too as she saw through his looks and saw a jerk).
Naturally when he tried returning into his daughter's life, beginning with a sense of responsibility, perhaps, they spurned him. And he didn't bother intruding. Back then it probably was a sense of "I need to be a dad to this child. I'm responsible for her being here. She should know her dad." Once Tammy and her friends said to go bugger off, he probably just shrugged and turned away, continuing to send child support checks to do the "right" thing... and it started to fester.
Violet is the one good thing that's happened in his life. It's the one worthwhile thing he's done. And he's being kept out of her life. It isn't fair.
I hope that this continues. I don't want Jacob to be another 2-dimensional character. I want him to be something better than that, to be a character, not just an antagonist. Yes, he's going to make mistakes. Tammy's made mistakes while raising Violet. Stewart has made mistakes in being a dad to her. We all make mistakes. And children need both parents in their lives. Even if the parents are divorced or never even got together.
Sometimes it's not possible. And sometimes the biological parents are unavailable or unsuitable... but this doesn't seem to be the case here.
I hope Brian does the unexpected and lets Jacob into the cast of characters... as a person, not a caricature or nemesis. All dads, divorced, adoptive, or otherwise... deserve this.
Robert A. Howard
------------------------- I thought wizards had a high Will Save...
 (From Order of the Stick. Click on image to see full-sized image.)
Order of the Stick is one of those comics that need to be seen to be believed. It is an artistic stick figure webcomic. That's right, it's stick figures. Artistic stick figures, at that. And yet it somehow seems... right for the comic, which is an amusing blend of a role-playing game and parody of the D&D d20 system.
Rather than try to explain how you can have artistic stick figures, I'm going to direct you to the site to see for yourself (in case the thumbnail strip doesn't give a good enough idea). However, OotS does prove one thing: Good storytelling can overcome mediocre art. I mean, we're talking about stick figures here... this isn't what we normally think of as "art" for comics (though we've had comics out there that are nothing but disembodied faces, so what do I know? *grin*).
Story is part of what OotS is about. We've already seen Roy's back story, with a wizarding father who was slain by a lich (Xykon). We've met Elan's evil brother, found out about Haley's dad being imprisoned... and seen a relationship start between Durkon (a dwarvish priest of Thor) and a priestess of Loki (it kinda fell apart because she's married and her husband isn't dead yet) (yes, I know Loki and Thor are kind of enemies in many D&D campaigns, blame Durkon for not taking skill points in Religion *grin*).
However, humor is another huge part of OotS's charm. The characters make fun of the d20 rules and their inconsistencies. They point out inconsistencies, such as a character spending years to learn to be a 1st level wizard, but being easily able to gain a wizarding level if they are a different class... or a halfling having to take an extra round leaping in the air to reach his foe. It's twisted, amusing, and fun.
Meanwhile... I suspect I'm not alone in realizing they've left V's robes behind. I mean, what's our little elf going to wear when Durkon casts a Dispel Magic on V... (I suppose the group at least will know what gender V is now... unless they do one of those jokes about elves looking girly even when they're guys... which when you think of it, is more than likely for this bunch. *grin*)
So either start at the beginning of the comic or at the start of the current storyline.
Robert A. Howard
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