Comics Coach Gil Thorp Brings New Artist On The Field

Gil Thorp, the veteran funnies-page high-school coach, is getting new help on the sidelines.

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Rachel Merrill takes over the drawing duties on the long-running comic strip, set on the playing fields of the fictional Milford High School starting September 30 — the first time “Gil Thorp” will have been drawn by a new artist in more than 16 years. Rod Whigham, who has sketched the adventures of Thorp since 2008, will step down from the role.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better collaborator than Rod Whigham. He’s an incredible draftsman and storyteller. It’s the end of an era on the funnies page,” says Henry Barajas, who has been writing “Gil Thorp” since July of 2022. “Rachel is the perfect artist to step in and take over the daunting task of following Rod after his historic run. She’s striking a perfect balance between honoring the art that preceded her and simultaneously making her mark on this historic comic strip.”

Fewer people read newspapers than did several decades ago, but for the ones that still do, any change in a regular feature is not to be done without plenty of planning. This is a medium, after all, that includes “Gasoline Alley,” a comic that has been around since 1918 that shows its founding main character, Walt Wallet, tooling around at the age of 124. Readers often balk when a favorite column or comic introduces too many elements too quickly.

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And yet, there have been plenty of overhauls of mainstay comics in recent years. “Nancy” and “Mark Trail,” two funnies-page warhorses, have essentially been rebooted, with new art and retooled characters and scenarios. Even “Blondie,” which has been published in newspapers since 1930 and is considered a hallmark of so-called “legacy” comics, is not immune to updates. The artists behind the comic recently introduced a new pastry chef who may be the strip’s first regular character of color in years.

During Barajas’ tenure, “Gil Thorp” has sought to maintain its tradition of diving into social issues. The writer has made certain to make the comic more contemporary, however. There have been storylines about abortion, gender identification, and alcoholism. In one notable development, Coach Thorp’s spouse left him for a relationship with another woman. Barajas on occasion nods to a favorite songwriter, Aimee Mann.

Merrill has contributed to The New Yorker, Bright Wall/Dark Room, Vinegar Syndrome, and Southwest Review. She has worked as a storyboard artist for brands including Ulta Beauty and NBA x Meta, and in the animation industry, where she worked as rotoscope artist for the independent film “Quantum Cowboys.”

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