That is one buoyant log, for sure! Not many logs float on top of the water, especially with people standing on them. Maybe it’s a specially designed artificial log to make the competition even harder. “Yeah, sure.”

I think it is significant that Jules Rivera pointed out that Connor (and the other Grungey Boys) knew about this event early enough that they invested time in practicing. Unlike Mark and Cliff, who seem to have assumed they could just show up without practicing or even without knowing what the events were going to be. That’s a lot of hutzpah. Rivera points out that Mark won the competition. Are they the only competitors? Did Rivera skip over the preliminary heats? Did anybody else even sign up for this contest other than the Grungey Boys, Mark, and Cliff!?

Art Dept. This might be the first time that Rivera drew a strip where nobody was talking. Instead, all we have are narration boxes, which actually do a decent job of providing useful context. Being the history and comic strip buff that I pretend to be, I couldn’t help thinking back to the early day of “comic strips”, where where narratives were the standard. Here is an excerpt of one early example: “That Admirer” by James Sullivan (1879), the English satirist and artist. Storylines and/or dialog would appear below (sometimes above) the panels. Speech balloons, as we know them today, became popular about 20 years later, especially with the appearance of Richard F. Outcault’s The Yellow Kid. Okay, that’s enough with the lecturing!

My wife hates it when I do that.

I suppose that I shouldn’t be surprised that Cliff is the one that has to keep Mark focused. After all, he’s the guy who held Mark’s hand in the doomed Men’s Survival Fishing camp (“For Men Only”) when Mark was feeling like a failure. Why is it that Jules Rivera seems to take delight in portraying Mark as a distracted hick, unable to figure things out and unable to even get good sartorial advice?

And how is it that only Cliff knows the Olympic events schedule? Weren’t they all briefed ahead of time? Didn’t Mark and Cliff even discuss their game strategy? At least he knows how to deliver a funny line. This is sure one odd Olympics. Perhaps you are wondering: Is this Woodsman Olympics really the point of this story? Maybe Mark intuited something more important, after all. Maybe Tad Crass is the nexus. Maybe he has been hawking a phony “How to Win the Woodsman Olympics” book. And maybe Connor—not the sharpest axe in the logging camp—bought Tad’s book and read it.

Art Dept. Don’t look too closely at the art today, especially Cliff in panel 2 … no, don’t do it. Just focus on the text. SO STOP! I told you to NOT LOOK TOO CLOSELY…..ah, you did it, anyway. What now!? You want me to explain what that bubble portrait of Mark is about in panel 3!? Heck, just ask Cliff. He knows everything!

“Whatta crowd! Whatta crowd!” (Okay, I’m a Rodney Dangerfield fan.) There must be at least a few dozen of people here who had nothing better to do than watch people in weird costumes power-saw logs. I can’t see a reason why Mark and Cliff cannot spot Cherry and Rusty, unless they decided to take the van back into town and do something actually fun.

And yeah, I also noticed Cliff’s suddenly-enlarged 10-gallon hat.

Well, we’re not seeing Cricket Bro; instead, it’s the reappearance of Tad Crass. For those of you who are relatively new to the strip or the blog, or who simply have poor memories, Tad Crass was the con artist who wrote a fake camper’s survival book that current Trail rival Connor purchased and tried to follow, resulting in him having a nervous breakdown in Lost Forest (“Rusty and the alien invasion”). Crass later showed up in person as owner of a company that tried to hide a data center in its back lot (“Horsin’ Around”). This is the new world Mark tends find himself in: con artists, fraudsters, and corrupt politicians. But no poachers, no arsonists, and no kidnappers.

Still, Mark’s question has legs. Just what is Crass doing here, unless he is the event’s sponsor. And what’s his game?

Commenter Hannibal’s Lectern offered an interesting interpretation for the Sunday title panel: “I’m going to take a wild guess and say the title’s supposed to look like a seismograph trace, which ties to the earthquakes mentioned in the penultimate panel.“ There is a resemblance, even though the gridlines aren’t correct. Still, it was better than my idea, which was “I dunno.” Also, I like it when people know what the term “penultimate” means. Call me an elitist, if you like. My wife sure does.

Let’s move on to the storyline: Looks like we spend a bit of time watching the Tails enjoy some of the hotel’s perks. The contest begins “tomorrow”, but how many daily strips will it take to get to the story’s “tomorrow”? No idea! Lounging around the hotel could consume the remainder of the week, as Rivera seems to block out story scenes into weekly “chapters.” We might find that Rivera uses this week to get in more hotel hijinks with Cherry’s gambling, more jousting with the Grungey Boys, and maybe an insight into how Cliff is spending his time.

I have absolutely no idea how wet feet will help Mark in the contest, unless it is somehow useful in a logrolling event. But then, wouldn’t he use special shoes? I’m just really ignorant of these details!

That insect in panel 4 appears to be a damselfly, a close relative of the dragonfly. But that’s just a guess. I’m going by the way the wings are held to the side, which is the preferred position of damselfies when perched. And I have the feeling we just met the topic for next Sunday. Anyway, I was going to make one of those cheap snarky jokes about a “giant damselfly” ready to drop down and attack Mark and Rusty. But my “better self” prevailed. Aren’t you happy!?

Art Dept. Sometimes I can’t tell if Jules Rivera had a bad day or just had better things to do. While the overall panel layouts today are fine, I’m really put off by the amateurish depictions of Mark (and even Rusty). Check out this clip from September 2021 (the Zeeba Mussels story) for comparison. You can draw your own conclusions. I wager that those of you who pooh-poohed Rivera’s drawing back then would find it more preferable to what we’ve been seeing lately.

Well, I’m trying to figure out how Cliff’s hand works in panel 2. First off, the angle of arm-to-face looks awkward, and the hand looks too small for his face. Now, consider the hand, itself. Clearly, it cannot be Cliff’s left hand. So it is his right hand, which puts his thumb on the outside of the palm. Agreed? Okay, let’s move on. Consider what is supposed to be his thumb. How does the thumb wind up flexing below the palm, where it looks more like a broken finger? Don’t take my word for it; try it yourself, or ask a friend to. Perhaps Cliff is one of those rare people born with an underdeveloped thumb (thumb hypoplasia).

Let’s get into the story. Jules Rivera omitted the conclusion of yesterday’s face-off, so we’ll never know if the security guard was as reluctant to get involved as he looked, or if the Grungey Boys wanted to avoid the law and so quickly left. It seemed like it would have been a good opportunity for Rivera to get in some cheap laughs. Today we learned the likely reason why Cliff didn’t back up Mark against the Grungey Boys (panel 2). Does Mark think Cliff’s memory isn’t very good or did he forget Cliff’s own involvement in that doomed fishing class he mentions in panel 3? It might have produced a more effective panel to have Mark start off reminding Cliff of Connor’s accident and then show Cliff jumping in to finish the rest of the explanation, demonstrating that he did remember. A more dynamic panel results, though it would mean getting rid of the narration box.

Those of you who dislike the way Rivera employs narration boxes (count me in that group at this point) will probably not appreciate the box in panel 3. In fact, it doesn’t make any sense to me! Shouldn’t it say something like “Now Mark is not letting Connor off the hook” or maybe “The Grungey Boys are not letting Mark off the hook.” What is Rivera trying to say!? Help me out, people!

I’ll give Rivera some credit for Mark’s non-violent (if temporary) solution to this otherwise put-up confrontation. At the same time, I share the readers’ disappointment that Mark doesn’t just simply beat the crap out of these guys. And where is Cliff hiding, anyway? How come he isn’t backing Mark up? Some pal he is. If I was the snarky type, I might suggest that Cliff is likely upstairs helping Cherry settle into her room. However, there are other web sites that already indulge in snark like that! I like to think that we maintain a higher quality of self-indulgent doggerel here at The Daily Trail. I also like to think that I am 6 feet tall and look like George Clooney.

As we’ve been seeing, Jules Rivera has devoted the week just getting Mark into his hotel. Perhaps next week Rivera might spend the same amount of time in the casino with Cherry, as Mark tries to find something to do about—I mean, with—Rusty. Cliff will possibly spend the week coaching Cherry on the strategies of Doubling Down. Oops! Strike that snark; I said I wasn’t going to do that!

Well, now that I have given Mark his due, it’s time to look at the rest of the story. It does seem somewhat embarrassing that the Security of this resort has to run around in goofy tricorn hats while wearing modern jackets with gold badges. That security guard—if he really is one—certainly does not look or act the part. He reminds me of Ranger Shaw, who trembles any time he is asked to actually do something. I’m on tenterhooks awaiting Saturday’s wrap-up for the week!

Once again, continuity becomes an unwilling victim to Jules Rivera’s storyline. It was only yesterday when these two groups ran into each other, with Mark making an immediate identification of The Grungey Boys to a glum-faced Cliff. Today, it is confident Cliff taking the lead, as if he didn’t hear a thing Mark said. This seems like the repeated retelling-in-more-detail sequence of a few weeks ago, when Cliff first called Mark to tell him about the Woodsman Olympics event.

The story follows the usual movie plot of rival figures meeting up and trash-talking before the action begins. The silent standoff cliff-hanger for the day leaves openings for several ways this can continue. But, it’s early in the story, so I’m guessing we’ll see an interruption or just a parting of the ways for now.

Art Dept. I give Rivera extra credit for Mark’s smooth talking guy in panel 2. It’s nicely composed with a degree of movement suggested by Mark’s diagonal pose, reinforced by the cool blue background. It deliberately contrasts with the confrontational Grungey Boys in panel 3, where Connor’s anger is again reinforced by the same hot red background we saw yesterday. But the distorted anatomy and shifting proportions of the three figures detracts from its intended impact. Connor has nowhere near the visual impact he had in yesterday’s strip.

Mark and Cliff are just giggly little boys, laughing at their funny hats and how “unique” they are. Swell.

So, I’ll give myself partial credit for guessing we’d see one of Mark’s regular foes. But the Grungey Boys!? The Three Stooges of Lost Forest?! This is making me even more suspicious about this contest if these clowns can get in it. The Grungey Boys must be taking steroids, because how did they get to be so tall and dominating, compared with Mark and Cliff? Mark is supposed to be at least as tall as Honest Ernest. Mark and Cliff look like the kids that get beat up in high school movies. What gives here? This disparity deflates my defense of Mark in a response yesterday to a comment by reader Daniel Pellissier about Mark’s “manliness” creds. I can’t catch a break!

Did you notice that Connor has adopted some of the facial features and bravado of his presumed mentor, Honest Ernest (panel 1)? It is also interesting that we still have no clear idea who that third member of this gang is. Else, I forgot! On the other hand, at least we can give this grungy trio points for adopting a flashy visual identity. All Mark and Cliff have are those goofy hats.

Art Dept. In general, I’m disappointed by the ongoing simplification and flattening of figures and objects. Panels 1 and 3, especially, lack vitality in their boring linework. However, I’ll give points to Rivera for panel 2, with those strong colors and simple, but bold, shapes. Aside from the lack of detail, the panel 2 exudes a 1960’s Pop Art aesthetic. That red background really pops!

Mark seems to have an OCD-like fascination for outlandish hats, especially of the “Stetson” variety. He no sooner arrives in some “west of the Mississippi” state, then he pulls some kind of Urban Cowboy headgear from out of thin air, like a magician auditioning for a job a Caesar’s Palace. Well, there is one thing we can all agree upon about Mark: Gravitas is not his strength.

Jules Rivera kept today’s strip simple and focused, so Mark could deliver his cornball wit and sartorial excesses without the interruption of his other traveling companions, Rusty and Cliff. I wonder if Rivera will devote one of this week’s strips to a panoramic view of The Strip, or focus on the downtown hotel/casinos. I expect this week will be devoted to getting these Forest Olympians situated in their hotel so they can conduct any preliminary sightseeing and gambling before the Big Event begins.

Well, I’m thankful that Cherry has cleared up the timeline. So it appears that Rusty’s humiliation is a small diversion in the Woodsman Olympics adventure. Let’s see if he learned his lesson and doesn’t post his photos online this time.

“Don’t fret, Rusty! You’ll see some actual wildlife in Vegas you can photograph, even though you live in a freaking forest already filled with it. In fact, wildlife shows up almost every day in this strip (as we see in panel 3), if only you would look out the window and notice!

“Oops. Too late, Rusty! You drove right passed that squirrel who was already posing for his close up.”

No doubt, we’ll see the family checking into one of the casino resorts come Monday. Which one will it be? It certainly won’t be the classic Sands Hotel and Casino, famous for hosting Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack, along with countless other bigtime bigshots back in the days when men wore suits and women wore dresses, gowns, and furs. And everybody smoked like chimneys. The Sands was demolished in 1996.