Ben Kowalski
From Templar Connect
| Benjamin Kowalski | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Other Names | Ben | |
| Age | 21 | |
| Residence | Abby Hall | |
| Occupation | Writer for the Templar Crusade | |
| Relatives | Jakob Kowalski, Miriam Kowalski | |
| Affiliations | Unknown | |
| First Appearance | ||
| The Great Outdoors, page 1. | ||
- Benjamin: Hebrew, "Son of the Right Hand."
- Ben's a recent transplant to the city of Templar, Arizona from Yakima, Washington.
- Quiet and unsocial by nature, Ben would probably be mistaken for a brooding loner if he weren't so thoroughly deferential and harmless-looking. [1]
- - Spike
Contents |
About Ben
Ben is the main character of Templar, Arizona. As of the beginning of the comic, he has been living in Templar for two months, after running away from his parents and his hometown of Yakima, Washington. He is on medication prescribed by his psychiatrist, Dr. Alice Bright, also of Yakima. He doesn't drink alcohol [2], perhaps a condition of his prescription.
Ben appears to have a negative self-opinion. He will frequently decline invitations or opportunities before really considering their merit [3] [4].
Ben writes for the Templar Crusade for a living; he endures frequent verbal abuse on the job from his editor, Andrew Pierce.
Ben lives in the Abby Hall apartment building in the Riverside neighborhood, along with Reagan Mancuso, Scipio Spencer, Gene Carmichael, Dr. Eli Bash, and Heather Anne Morgan.
"Ben the Writer"
Ben writes articles for the Templar Crusade, a job he feels he gained by luck [5]. He was hired despite lack of a high school diploma or any writing experience.
He remarks that his choice to become a writer is a strange one, feeling he is not as passionate about it as he should be [6]. He is unable to enjoy classic literature such as Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations and prefers what he calls "gimmick books," a taste that he feels is a hindrance to his career.
Backstory
Ben was born in South Korea and was adopted by Jakob and Miriam Kowalski.
He suffers from an unspecified mental disorder. He dropped out of high school in his senior year and, for reasons as yet unclear, ran away from his home in Yakima, Washington. He has not been in contact with his parents since. He continues to take a prescription for his disorder, but no longer receives therapy.
In his first two months after arriving in Templar, Ben was mostly a shut-in; since the start of the comic, he has slowly been integrating into an odd social circle.
Relationships
Ben can be quite reclusive and is not known for his social skills. Despite this, he has made firm friends with neighbors Reagan Mancuso and Scipio Spencer.
Though he has only met her once so far, there is the hint of a romantic spark between him and Heather Anne Morgan.
He seems to harbor some kind of resentment towards his parents, having left home leaving no indication of his whereabouts and breaking off communications. However, he does seem to feel more fondly for his mother than his father. [7]
Appearance
Ben is very short. This often creates the impression that he is much younger than he is. Scipio believes that he gives the air of a celebrity.
Apocrypha
In Templar's original form, in which all the characters were anthropomorphic animals, Ben was a panda.
In another pre-creation idea, Ben was going to be blind. (The Great Outdoors, p. 93).
He pays for his apartment through the sales of his erotic fiction; he is currently writing his fourth novel.
