It’s Mister Crowbar! South Philly’s weapon of choice!

When I lived in Ithaca, I lived with a man named Frank. Frank was cheerful and friendly. Girls described him as cuddly. He was always smiling, always laughing, always friendly. A man of singular humor and a touching gentleness.

And, though I was a hefty boy, Frank could casually lift me over his head.

It wasn’t just being burly. Frank was an urban kid, in a rough part of Philadelphia. He was (and is) tough. He got mugged once in Ithaca (in the same alley immortalized in these strips) by a guy with a two by four. Frank’s response was to calmly punch the mugger in the chest, once, step around his quivering and whimpering body, and walk to the police department to report the incident.

It was useful having a guy who could have credibly made his living as a pro wrestler or a mob enforcer as your housemate. Even if most of the time, he was smiling.

I say all of this to make conversation. Any resemblance between Frank and any given characters in the above strip are of course purely coincidental. However, for those wondering — sure, Malachite could pull out a sword and kickass magical death powers and probably take Jack. Except, of course, that he’s incognito. And while he’s a damn good hand to hand fighter as well? So’s Jack. And Malachite knows it.