Funky Winkerbean - Death of Bull Bushka

Death in comics is rare -- but it's less rare in Funky Winkerbean. It's what keeps the comic interesting for me. Anything that could happen to someone in real life could happen to someone in  Tom Batiuk's comic -- like dying of breast cancer or being a victim of gun violence.

The character of Bull Bushka has undergone many changes in Tom Batiuk's Funky Winkerbean. He was part of the original cast of high school students when the strip launched in 1972. He was the star of the Westview High football team and often bullied the nerdy Les Moore.

In 1992, the strip moved from high school to post-college. Les Moore was an English teacher, and Bull Bushka the athletic coach at Westview. They were colleagues, and Batiuk revealed the Bull's bullying was a reaction to his own father's abuse.

Bull retired from coaching, and over the past two years has been dealing with brain damage. Damage incurred from multiple concussions while playing football. Bull's behavior became more erratic, culminating in this sequence from late September to mid-October, 2019.

Note how Batiuk skillfully weaves together three different story arcs -- the highway patrol's discovery of the wreak, why Bull was in the car, and the gradual realization by his wife that something wasn't right. And all with just three panels a day.