original_post:_11/24/2006____________________________ This mention of Tommy’s dad getting out of jail and leaving later got some readers speculating that he could return as a “bad guy.” That was never really going to happen. I made it one of the rules that I wasn’t really going to ever show faces of parents. I wanted the strip to strictly deal with peers. The only parent that we ever really meet is Trenton, who’s offspring is shockingly revealed late in the comic’s run. I like this strip because Emily is really asserting Tommy to come back, and showing she wears the pants. She’s not scared of his temper, and she’ll love him, even if it requires tough love.