Judge Parker - The Wurst Story

I've written before about the imaginative ways writer Francesco Marciuliano and artist Mike Manley approach a daily adventure strip. They've taken Judge Parker from a somewhat staid dramatic strip into the realm of international intrigue -- and then some.

Most recently I wrote about the sequence surrounding the off-stage death of a supporting character, Godiva Danube. It's revealed that the purpose of Danube's death was to lure April Parker and her father (both ex-CIA agents) back into the country. Their former employers, a rogue branch of the Agency, wanted them eliminated.

And you thought the daily funnies were just for kids.

It's revealed that April and her father's handler, Wurst, set them up. But not by choice. What happens next is the subject of this sequence from August, 2018,

It's a sequence that would have worked in any current spy movie. Once he knows his sister is safe, Wurst takes his revenge. And it turns out his sister is in the business, too.

Two people die violently in this sequence, but it's implied rather than shown. And, given that only one strip is revealed each day, Marciuliano and Manley artfully keep the tension high and the pacing tight.

Artistry such as this is why I keep reading the daily comics page.