The Genius of Gil Thorp

Jack Berrill's long run on his Gil Thorp was square-jawed, serious as a heart attack, and told lengthy stories about high school sports. Sports haven't always been depicted extremely well in American comic strips, and they really weren't in Gil Thorp, either. Gil Thorp was one of those strips where things moved along through dialogue and declaration rather than by dramatic event. Visiting Milford High was like going to a school where you never heard anything except from eavesdropping on people near your locker; the second-most important character in the strip was probably the PA announcer, without whom you'd rarely know who won the game.

I liked the look of Berrill's cartoons, and I always enjoyed that many of his characters seemed a strange mix of healthy and homely. Berrill was a master of pushing his story along. I've written about it before, but my memory is he used to do these jaw-dropping strips between major storylines that would go from one sport and one storyline to another in like 30 words or less. They would go something like this:

Panel One
Some Guy: Too bad about the basketball team, Coach.
Gil Thorp: They're young, and losing at state will teach them humility.

Panel Two
Some Guy: Is that Kevin Stockwood pitching?
Gil Thorp: Yes, although I'm afraid there may be problems at home.

In other words: lengthy transitions are for kids.

I was pleased to discover through Milo George that Tribune Media Services is once again offering one of their weird limited-edition Gil Thorp books. These used to be done by someone who was just a really big Gil Thorp fan, although this might be something more official; I'm not sure.
 
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