Judge Parker, 1/13/25

A comics tic meant to telegraph character emotional state that I always find a little odd is when they rub the back of their neck in embarrassment, as Sam is doing in panel two here. I get that they have to do these somewhat exaggerated act-outs to convey what's happening, but I'm a little puzzled as to what he's embarrassed about, exactly. "Sorry I just assume you don't follow my advice or the law"? "Sorry I'm about to accuse your family members of complicity in various crimes"? "Sorry I forgot to tell you that the police have established a 24/7 perimeter around the town because they're obsessed with capturing your daughter specifically, or maybe because we just live in a panopticon dictatorship now, but either way you should be a lot more subtle with your criming"?

Mary Worth, 1/13/25