Comic Book Coffee, number 106: Judge Parker, drawn by Mike Manley and written by Francesco Marciuliano, published on January 17, 2021.
In this installment of the long-running comic strip, Abbey Spencer and Sam Driver are having a melancholy cup of coffee. Abbey is reflecting on how empty her home feels now that her adopted daughters Neddy and Sophie have moved away, her efforts to open a bread & breakfast were ruined by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the town’s corrupt Mayor is running things into the ground.
Born in 1961, Mike Manley has been a comic book fan since he was a kid. He entered the field in 1985, drawing Robotech Defenders for DC Comics and Transformers for Marvel. The next year Manley drew several issues of Conan the King for Marvel, following which he briefly assumed art duties on Mike Grell’s creator-owned series Jon Sable Freelance at First Comics. In the late 1980s Manley worked as an assistant to Al Williamson, who was one of his major artistic influences. Manley co-created the Marvel character Darkhawk. He has worked on a diverse selection on series over the years, displaying a variety of styles. Beginning in 1996 he worked in animation as a storyboard artist.
Manley took over drawing the daily and Sunday strips for Judge Parker in 2010. In 2016 he also became the artist on the daily strips for The Phantom. Both series can be read on the Comics Kingdom website.