Letters To An Absent Father is a series of short comics by Maré Odomo loosely based off of the Pokémon anime. Each strip consists of Ash writing a short letter to his father about his life and adventures. Each strip begins with "Dear Dad," and the first few strips end in "Love, Ash", before switching to "-Ash" as time goes on.
The comic has a sentimental, childish tone to it, fitting Ash's ten year old mind. Ash may or may not be actually sending his letters to his father, which on adds to the somber nature of the series. All strips can be found here
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Letters To An Absent Father provides examples of:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the anime, neither Ash or his mother Delia seem concerned with where his father is. Letters To An Absent Father is themed around Ash's mixed feelings towards his dad. He loves and thinks highly of his dad, but misses him and has lost some respect for him by the end of the comics. Delia is also affected by Ash's father's absence to the point of considering dating, which Ash takes rather poorly and yells at her in front of his friends.
- Bittersweet Ending: The comics end without any explanation as to where Ash's father and whether or not Ash will ever meet him again. Not only that, but Ash appears to lose some respect for his father, as he gradually drops the "love" in his letters' sign-offs. Still, life goes on and Ash vows to be the best father he can be if he ever has children.
- Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: Invoked. The last strip has Ash vowing to be the "very best" father he can be to his potential children, due to his own father never being there for him and his mom.
- Coming of Age Story: The comic's overall theme is Ash dealing with the constant absence of his father and how it affects their relationship. Other things Ash deals with in his adventures include: His mother Delia being kidnapped, saying goodbye to one Pokemon and nearly losing two others to otherwise fatal situations, and the trials of growing up.
- Composite Character: The main character is mainly Ash from the anime, yet one of the strips treats him as Red from Pokémon Red and Blue. Ash never went through Victory Road, beat the Elite 4 (plus Gary), became champion, and secluded himself in Mt. Moon. Ash's also not as solitary as the Ash in this comic (aside from in the later I Choose You alternate universe films).
- Demoted to Extra: Misty and Brock make appearances, but neither has any lines.
- Disappeared Dad: The comic is themed around Ash sending (unanswered) letters to his father, who left on a Pokémon journey and hasn't been seen since. It's deconstructed and played for drama - while he does love his father, over time Ash starts losing respect towards his father for not coming back, and while he does miss being at home, actually being there also reminds him of his father's absence. The thought of his mother 'replacing' his dad with another man also gets him upset to the point of getting into a heated argument with her. Eventually, he vows to be the best father he can be if he ever decides to have children himself.
- Mythology Gag: Ash talks about the time when his Butterfree left with his mate, as well as the time when his mother got kidnapped by an Entei.
- Parent with New Paramour: One strip has Ash's mother Delia telling him she's dating someone new because she feels lonely. Ash gets so upset by this that he has a heated argument with her and locks himself in his room, reducing Delia to tears and leaving his friends Misty and Brock feeling very awkward.
- Puppy Love: Implied. One strip has Ash writing to his dad asking how you can tell if a girl (referring to Misty) likes you, indicating he may have developed feelings for her.
- So What Do We Do Now?: One strip has Ash wondering what he should do next after finally fulfilling his dreams of becoming a champion, so he writes to his dad for advice.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Though Ash loves his dad, he also misses him a lot and wants him to come home. It's heavily implied that Ash's letters are his attempts to connect with his dad. Eventually, Ash loses some respect for him and vows to be a better father than he was.
