The Retaliator

(Eclipse, 1992)
™ and ©1992 Valarie Jones. Art ©1992 Tom Simonton and Gary Yap

A little girl with a blackened eye plays with some broken dolls. Her world-weary, bruise-laden mother calls her to dinner. Verbal abuse issues from the husband and the threat of physical abuse hangs heavy in the air. Like an avenging angel, a stranger with a large knife enters. With a calm demeanor, the stranger retaliates for the helpless victims with deadly force. As we learn from the police investigation, this was not his first act of vengeance.

During the course of a psychiatric therapy session at the Child Welfare Administration, we discover that Dr. Tannen, who knows the stranger as Johnny, is well aware of his activities. Is Johnny retaliating for himself, or is he the agent for a frustrated social worker? The fact that Johnny’s information about domestic abuse comes from confidential files of the welfare agency raises more questions than answers.

— George Haberberger

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