Judge Parker
Encyclopedia
Judge Parker is a soap opera
-style comic strip
created by Nicholas P. Dallis
that first appeared on November 24, 1952. The strip's look and content were influenced by the work of Allen Saunders
and Ken Ernst
on Mary Worth.
Most stories revolve around Driver, his wealthy client and now wife Abbey Spencer, and their two adopted children: volatile Neddy (who left to study art in Paris) and her precocious but sensible younger sister, Sophie. The family lives with their maid Marie at Spencer Farms, where Abbey raises Arabian horses. Some of the cast may not be seen for some time because Judge Parker stories tend to be long; an apparent week in the plot may last for months in publication time. The characters have gradually (and gracefully) aged over the years. Alan's son Randy, now grown, is Driver's law partner, and a 2006 storyline focused on Randy's campaign for the judicial seat from which his father is retiring, ensuring that the "Judge Parker" name will continue. The February 15, 2009, strip stated that Randy would be "the new Judge Parker."
who also created the comic strips Rex Morgan, M.D.
and Apartment 3-G
, used the pen name "Paul Nichols" when writing the strip. Shortly before his death, he retired in 1990, turning over the scripting chores to his assistant Woody Wilson. The strip's first artist was Dan Heilman
, who left in 1965 and was replaced by Harold LeDoux. LeDoux's last strip ran on May 28, 2006.
Comic book artist Eduardo Barreto
replaced him; his first strip appeared the following day. Barreto suffered a near-fatal injury in a car accident in Uruguay
shortly afterwards and was unable to illustrate the strips for December 2006; as a result, Rex Morgan artist Graham Nolan
did the strip for a week, and John Heebink took over the following week. Barreto resumed drawing the strip in January 2007. Barreto fell "gravely ill" from meningitis
in early February 2010 and had to withdraw from drawing the strip for "the foreseeable future". Barreto's son Diego drew the strip for the week beginning February 8, 2010, with John Heebnik stepping in again on February 15, 2010, for four weeks while Barreto recovered.
Artist Mike Manley assumed the art duties permanently beginning with the four weeks beginning with the March 15, 2010, strips. Initially announced as another fill-in artist, Manley revealed that he'd been given the ongoing assignment on February 23, 2010. The syndicated held a "two-man tryout" with Manley being offered the full-time job over Heebnik after Manley turned in his second week of art for the strip.
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
-style comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
created by Nicholas P. Dallis
Nicholas P. Dallis
Nicholas Peter Dallis , known as Nick Dallis, was an American psychiatrist turned comic strip writer, creator of the soap opera-style strips Rex Morgan, M.D., Judge Parker and Apartment 3-G...
that first appeared on November 24, 1952. The strip's look and content were influenced by the work of Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Mary Worth and Kerry Drake...
and Ken Ernst
Ken Ernst
Kenneth Ernst , known professionally as Ken Ernst, was an US comic book and comic strip artist. He is most notable for his work on the popular and long-running comic strip Mary Worth from 1942 to 1985. With his realistic style, uncommon in those early years, Ernst paved the way for soap opera...
on Mary Worth.
Characters and story
Alan Parker was a widower with two children, Randy and Ann. Later, Judge Parker married a younger woman, Katherine. Initially a dashing figure who solved crimes and chased criminals, Parker became an upstanding and serious judge who rarely strayed from his courtroom during the 1960s. Instead, the spotlight began to focus on handsome, successful young attorney Sam Driver, and Parker was almost entirely phased out of his own strip.Most stories revolve around Driver, his wealthy client and now wife Abbey Spencer, and their two adopted children: volatile Neddy (who left to study art in Paris) and her precocious but sensible younger sister, Sophie. The family lives with their maid Marie at Spencer Farms, where Abbey raises Arabian horses. Some of the cast may not be seen for some time because Judge Parker stories tend to be long; an apparent week in the plot may last for months in publication time. The characters have gradually (and gracefully) aged over the years. Alan's son Randy, now grown, is Driver's law partner, and a 2006 storyline focused on Randy's campaign for the judicial seat from which his father is retiring, ensuring that the "Judge Parker" name will continue. The February 15, 2009, strip stated that Randy would be "the new Judge Parker."
Artists
Dr. Dallis, a psychiatristPsychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
who also created the comic strips Rex Morgan, M.D.
Rex Morgan, M.D.
Rex Morgan, M.D. is an American soap-opera comic strip, created in 1948 by psychiatrist Dr. Nicholas P. Dallis under the pseudonym Dal Curtis. It maintained a readership well over a half-century, and in 2006 it was published in more than 300 U.S. newspapers and 14 foreign countries, according to...
and Apartment 3-G
Apartment 3-G
Apartment 3-G is an American newspaper comic strip about a trio of career women who share Apartment 3-G in Manhattan. Created by Nicholas P...
, used the pen name "Paul Nichols" when writing the strip. Shortly before his death, he retired in 1990, turning over the scripting chores to his assistant Woody Wilson. The strip's first artist was Dan Heilman
Dan Heilman
Dan Heilman was the first artist of the Judge Parker comic strip. He was born in 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio.Having served in World War II, Heilman became an assistant to artist Ken Ernst on the Mary Worth comic strip, and to Roy Crane on Buz Sawyer. In 1949 he was the artist for a comic strip called...
, who left in 1965 and was replaced by Harold LeDoux. LeDoux's last strip ran on May 28, 2006.
Comic book artist Eduardo Barreto
Eduardo Barreto
-References:...
replaced him; his first strip appeared the following day. Barreto suffered a near-fatal injury in a car accident in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
shortly afterwards and was unable to illustrate the strips for December 2006; as a result, Rex Morgan artist Graham Nolan
Graham Nolan
Graham Nolan is a comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on The Phantom Sunday strip. He is currently the artist on the syndicated comic Rex Morgan, M.D....
did the strip for a week, and John Heebink took over the following week. Barreto resumed drawing the strip in January 2007. Barreto fell "gravely ill" from meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
in early February 2010 and had to withdraw from drawing the strip for "the foreseeable future". Barreto's son Diego drew the strip for the week beginning February 8, 2010, with John Heebnik stepping in again on February 15, 2010, for four weeks while Barreto recovered.
Artist Mike Manley assumed the art duties permanently beginning with the four weeks beginning with the March 15, 2010, strips. Initially announced as another fill-in artist, Manley revealed that he'd been given the ongoing assignment on February 23, 2010. The syndicated held a "two-man tryout" with Manley being offered the full-time job over Heebnik after Manley turned in his second week of art for the strip.