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All the Best Pokémon Trainers Have Daddy Issues

Cartoonist Maré Odomo is releasing a hard copy of his web comic Letters to an Absent Father, a Pokémon-based series which posits that Ash Ketchum’s quest to become the best trainer in the land is really an attempt to make up for his father’s absence in his life. Each strip begins with the words “DEAR DAD,” and are signed “LOVE, ASH.” Castration anxiety, anyone? It’s a seriously Freudian affair.

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Originally created for Cory Schmitz‘s video game art and culture magazine, EXP, Odomo’s comic strips expanded into a larger personal project. The four-page mini comic, priced at $3, is cleverly formatted to fit inside any Pokémon DS game cartridge case. For an additional $2, Odomo will personalize your comic with the drawing of your choosing! Holy Weepinbell!

You can order Letters to an Absent Father directly from Odomo’s site.

(via Game Life; title image via Maré Odomo)

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