Harvey

From Candypedia
(Redirected from Lucy's dad)
Harvey
GenderMale
SpeciesCat
BreedKhao Manee
Family
OccupationRacecar driver
DebutDinner Time, page 19
September 16, 2011 (2011-09-16)

Harvey is Lucy’s father, a racecar driver whose job keeps him on the road for most of the comic. His wife Carol swoons over him on television, Lucy is rather less impressed, and when he finally walks on-panel he offers a near-stranger the guest room before the chapter is over. He may not be home much, but his fan mail is.

Personality

Harvey is more often charming on television than embarrassing at home.

Harvey is the easygoing dad of the household, all big grins and an arm around whoever happens to be closest. He lets Carol do the hugging and the crying and then steps in with the practical thing nobody thought to ask for, which usually involves a spare room. He is cheerful in a way his daughter finds a bit embarrassing, and he is away racing far more often than he is home to be embarrassing in person.

Harvey solves problems by opening doors, quite literally. In Love Again, he turns the family’s gratitude toward Augustus into an actual offer of a bedroom.[1] The BCI story Open Fire echoes the beat with Jordan’s friend Matt, whom Harvey invites to move in after learning that Matt’s parents plan to throw him out.[2] In both stories, he moves straight to the practical offer once he hears that a teenager needs somewhere to stay.

Harvey can get stern too, though he never gets far from a grin. His welcome to Augustus comes with the conventional warning “No funny business, though”, and he drops the matter as soon as Augustus answers.[3] In Open Fire, he glares at the news of what Matt’s parents have been doing and instructs Matt to tell Jordan if he ever feels unsafe at home.[4][5] That BCI story also makes him a needler around his own sons. He coaches Jordan’s driving from the passenger seat with mixed results, laughs with an arm around him on the hike, and tells the two bickering brothers they should be taking notes on Matt’s hot dogs instead of arguing.[6][7]

He is also, for most of the comic, somewhere else entirely. Carol watches him on TV with hearts in her eyes, and years later she is still gushing over his results, fan mail and next trip home.[8][9] Even Sam, in Open Fire, explains his own love of flying as a way of finding a path that isn’t his father’s.[10] Veronica has said outright that having one parent barely around takes a toll during a kid’s developmental years.[11]

Appearance

Harvey settles into the family gathering in New Year’s Resolution.

Like the rest of his family, Harvey is a white Khao Manee cat.[12] His signature look is his work gear: in Dinner Time he appears on television in a red and white driving jacket plastered with sponsor logos, pulling off his helmet after qualifying.[8] Off the track he dresses casually, turning up to the New Year’s party in New Year’s Resolution in a purple sweater.[13] Veronica has also confirmed that the family member a fan spotted wearing an Alolan Muk t-shirt is Lucy’s father.[14]

On the design side, Veronica has noted that Harvey, Jordan and Sam all had blue eyes in the original version of the story, and that heterochromia was added to Lucy alone once the Khao Manee breed was settled on.[15] Her father and brothers were simply born with the eyes they have.[16]

Significant events

Harvey makes his debut in Dinner Time without setting foot in the house. Carol knocks on a withdrawn Lucy’s door to ask whether she wants to watch her dad on TV, and downstairs he is on the screen after qualifying, smiling and removing his helmet while Carol watches with a lovestruck look.[17][8] He stays off-panel through the family’s hardest stretch. In Ten Seconds to Midnight, Carol, Sam and Jordan discuss a major step for Lucy without him in the room; in Breaking Up, Lily says her father is still on his way to the hospital.[18][19]

Harvey is home to discover that Lucy’s ordinary return has become a family emergency.

Harvey appears in person in Love Again, when Lucy brings Augustus home and the family learns he is the boy who saved her life.[20][21] Harvey offers him the guest room until graduation, and Augustus moves into the downstairs bedroom that day.[1][22] The BCI story Open Fire gives him a much larger role, following a family camping trip with Jordan, Sam and Jordan’s friend Matt.[2]

He is home again for the New Year’s party in New Year’s Resolution, toasting with Carol on the couch while Lucy is sent to check the oven.[13] By Made Fresh he is back on the circuit, and Carol is counting down the days until he is home.[9]

Major relationships

Augustus

Harvey’s welcome includes one entirely conventional warning.

Augustus walks into Lucy’s house expecting nothing, and Harvey hands him a home before he can get his jacket back on. In Love Again, Harvey stands at the back of the room looking moved while Carol hugs the boy who saved his daughter’s life, and then he does the practical thing.[23] As Augustus tries to excuse himself, Harvey steps up beside his wife and explains that Lucy has told them about his circumstances, that it really wouldn’t be a bother, and that “You could even stay with us ’til graduation if it helps.”[1] Veronica’s commentary on the page reads “Just go for the jugular, Lucy’s father.”[1] When Carol storms off over the state of Augustus’s jacket, Harvey calms her down and then turns back to ask whether he wants to see the room.[24]

The one condition Harvey sets is about Lucy, and Augustus disposes of it in a sentence. Arms crossed and grinning, Harvey warns him “No funny business, though.” Augustus replies that, no offense, she’s not his type, and Sam chimes in with his approval.[3] Veronica’s commentary declares the AugustusxLucy ship sunk before it left the marina.[3] Augustus is living in the downstairs bedroom by the end of the chapter and is still there, orange juice in hand, come Made Fresh.[22][9] Asked whether the family would ever legally adopt him, Veronica said they aren’t the type to seek a legal form for something already established and understood.[25]

Carol

Carol adores Harvey from a distance, and up close he takes it entirely in stride. She watches his TV interview in Dinner Time with hearts floating around her, and by Made Fresh she is pressing his fan letters to her cheek while gushing about how amazing he is and how soon he’ll be home.[8][9] Their wedding portrait sits on the side table, and in person his main job is keeping her steady. When she comes back fuming about Augustus’s filthy jacket, he puts an arm around her with an “I know, dear, I know.”[26][24] At New Year’s they are on the couch together, arm around her shoulders, laughing along with an elderly relative.[13]

Harvey’s racing income is what lets Carol stay home. Veronica imagines him as a mid-tier racer, earning enough to make that work but not a great deal more.[11] The gag anthology Ships Ahoy, Season Three plays the romance for laughs: asked how he is always so fast, a racing-suited Harvey answers that he just thinks of who is waiting for him back home, and Carol swoons on cue.[27]

Lucy

Lucy has more to say about her father than to him. Their main-comic scenes give them remarkably little direct conversation, though he acts on her word when she vouches for Augustus and smiles up at her from the couch at New Year’s.[1][13] She keeps track of his results well enough to know he made the podium, but her response to Carol’s gushing is a flat “Oh brother.”[9] The Ships Ahoy gag has her calling him “so lame” over his sappy interview.[27]

He is on the road for nearly all of her worst stretches. He is not in the room when Carol, Sam and Jordan discuss a major step for Lucy in Ten Seconds to Midnight, and when she is in the hospital in Breaking Up, Lily can only tell Mike that her father will be there soon.[18][19] Veronica, asked about his career keeping him from home, agreed that having one parent barely around takes a toll, especially during the developmental years.[11]

Minor relationships

Matt

In the BCI story Open Fire, Matt turns up as Jordan’s friend for a weekend, and Harvey treats him like one of the boys from the first morning. He draws him out on the drive, praises his campfire hot dogs, and thanks him for coming along.[6][7][28] Then Matt breaks down over how long it has been since a family was kind to him, and Jordan explains that Matt’s parents are bigots who have threatened to kick him out.[29][4] Harvey interrupts the apology that follows with the news that the downstairs bedroom is empty.[2] Matt protests “You don’t even know me..” and gets back “I know enough.”[5] The story closes on a group hug and Harvey’s verdict that looking out for each other is what camping is all about.[30]

Quotes

You could even stay with us ’til graduation if it helps. Harvey, giving Augustus a home in Love Again

It really wouldn’t be a bother if you stuck around. Harvey, understating things a little in Love Again

I know, dear, I know. Harvey, consoling Carol about Augustus’s jacket in Love Again

So.. wanna see the room? Harvey, wrapping up a life-changing offer in Love Again

No funny business, though. Harvey, giving Augustus a conventional warning in Love Again

Cheers! Harvey, toasting with Carol at the family party in New Year’s Resolution

Trivia

  • His name is spoken on-page in the BCI story Open Fire, where he introduces himself to Matt, and Veronica has confirmed that Lucy’s parents are Carol and Harvey.[31][32]
  • The racecar career dates back to the version of the comic Veronica drew at seven years old. She has refused to pin down a racing class, explaining that he goes around in a circle like Mario Kart.[33][34]
  • In the what-if story Another Intervention, he and Carol tearfully agree to Lucy’s deal to keep a room for Augustus in exchange for her accepting the transfer.[35][36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Chapter 95: Love Again, page 45
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Open Fire, page 15 🔒 (members only)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chapter 95: Love Again, page 47
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Open Fire, page 14 🔒 (members only)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Open Fire, page 16 🔒 (members only)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Open Fire, page 6 🔒 (members only)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Open Fire, page 11 🔒 (members only)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Chapter 65: Dinner Time, page 19
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Chapter 128: Made Fresh, page 37
  10. ↑ Open Fire, page 9 🔒 (members only)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 “Ask response on Lucy’s father being a mid-tier racer”. 2026-06-08.
  12. ↑ “Ask response on Lucy’s family’s breed”. 2017-06-01.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Chapter 119: New Year’s Resolution, page 1
  14. ↑ “Ask response on the Alolan Muk t-shirt”. 2017-10-19.
  15. ↑ “Ask response on Lucy’s family’s eye colours”. 2017-11-21.
  16. ↑ “Ask response on whether Lucy’s eye will change”. 2017-10-21.
  17. ↑ Chapter 65: Dinner Time, page 18
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Chapter 73: Ten Seconds to Midnight, page 4
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Chapter 75: Breaking Up, page 20
  20. ↑ Chapter 95: Love Again, page 29
  21. ↑ Chapter 95: Love Again, page 30
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Chapter 95: Love Again, page 48
  23. ↑ Chapter 95: Love Again, page 42
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Chapter 95: Love Again, page 46
  25. ↑ “Ask response on whether Lucy’s family would adopt Augustus”. 2026-05-01.
  26. ↑ Chapter 95: Love Again, page 43
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Ships Ahoy, Season Three, page 6 🔒 (members only)
  28. ↑ Open Fire, page 12 🔒 (members only)
  29. ↑ Open Fire, page 13 🔒 (members only)
  30. ↑ Open Fire, page 17 🔒 (members only)
  31. ↑ Open Fire, page 5 🔒 (members only)
  32. ↑ “Ask response on the names of the cast’s parents”. 2026-01-10.
  33. ↑ “Ask response on whether Lucy’s parents are divorced”. 2016-11-22.
  34. ↑ “Ask response on Lucy’s dad’s racing class”. 2017-03-29.
  35. ↑ Another Intervention, page 11 🔒 (members only)
  36. ↑ Another Intervention, page 12 🔒 (members only)
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