Death in Comics: Gil Thorp (part 2)

In June, 2016 readers of Gil Thorp saw high school student Boo Radley die in a tragic car accident (see Part 1). What I think was particualarly well done is how the creative team of Neil Rubin and Rod Whigham followed up that event.

They concentrated on the aftermath, showing the impact of Radley's death on her friends and family, and also the family of Barry Brader, whose father caused the wreck. Like real life, it's complicated and messy. Barry and Radley's boyfriend True STandish are on the Milford baseball team. And that affects the team itself. Radley was on the girl's baseball team. Gil Thorp coaches the boy's team, his wife the girl's. And -- considering the constraints of a daily narrative strip -- I think Rubin and Whigham realistically explored the impact such an event would have.

Sure, we call the daily comics the funnies, but they're not always so. Sometimes they aspire to be more -- and in the case of Boo Radley's death -- succeed.