That jawline…  He continues to remind me of Dr. Zaius from the original Planet of the Apes!

Ready?  With clenched fists and flexed biceps, I’d say Marlin is itching for a scrap!  And what the hell does Jim have in his right hand?  A pointed stick?  The one from Monty Python fame?

We go from wide-screen, 2.76:1 Ultra Panavision yesterday to the somewhat standard 3 panel presentation today, and well,, that’s about as exciting as it gets…

The evil Marlin is grimacing over “something you don’t see all the time,” while Cherry throws her sympathies toward the “poor cat…”  While an off-camera voice (Mark?) completes the color commentary!  It’s about now in a James Allen “Storyline” that we have to start asking “Where is all this going?”  I’m sure he hasn’t the foggiest notion and awaits inspiration from who knows where in order to direct the arc of this tale.

Please… for the love of syndicated comics, hire a writer!  There have to be aspiring scriptwriters somewhere that would love to take a crack at this!

On what I am not quite sure…  Sorry Campers, I was away on Bidness for a couple of days… Unlike Mark, I actually have a job!

Which is what normal people do, which is what gives them the right to actually go on a real VACATION!  Seriously, weren’t mark Cherry just on one?  In Hawaii?  When they were rudely interrupted by Abbey Powell and her ant problem?

Dusty and Cherry’s attempt at humor falls flat and, despite some off camera laugh track being applied, Mark is also interrupted but he sound of the big cat, come looking for the other ham-bone!  But what was Mark going to say?  “I don’t think you… know what normal is?”

Today we are treated to a single panel of the Bengal Tiger getting tossed by the Rhino… I’m sorry, did I miss a frame or two?  I am just thankful that I was able to return with a triple-header, and didn’t have to comment on each of these individually!  I am now back for the dailies, campers, see you tomorrow!

And I do mean little…  Ha!  I get it!  The clowns are a bunch of lushes and can’t be trusted!!

But really, where do we go from here?  Where’s Dirty Dyer?  With that little plot element left hanging, it’s the only thing we have to look to for any excitement…

Let’s start out with the fact that Cherry is driving an Escalade.  Really?  Let’s say they buy pre-owned… a 2017 will run you 85 grand…  No to mention the 22 inch wheels with the extremely low profile tires (30’s?) makes no sense anywhere other than Southern California…  Where the hell would a freelance writer and a stay at home mom come up with that kind scratch, even if they had nothing in the way of living expenses?  Sort of reminds me of the people on “Storage Wars…”  They make more money “starring” in the show and gathering in endorsements than they ever would picking through the remains of abandoned storage lockers…  hence the reason they all drive brand-new vehicles…

Now let’s focus on Cherry’s impossibly thin waist…  Who is she?  Barbie?  Wearing a corset?  In panel two said corset has her doubled over in pain as she makes her way toward her smiling husband.

Ha, ha!  I get it! another Clown Car Reference!  Except that the clowns we were aware of were staggering around all zombie-like with their back-sides peppered with rock-salt!

And what’s with the continued “Mr. Trail?”  Not a single, “Please, call me Mark…”  What a pompous ass!

Your false modesty is nauseating… Not to mention your constant need for validation…

Oh, B as in B, S as in S…  To steal a phrase from a local radio personality…  Safety is not Mark’s Middle Name, but rather more like, “I’ve walked into a hazard and I can’t get out in less than 6 months.“

Nighty night, Jumbo!  I’m guessing that’s not the Elephant’s real name…

Enter stage left one Marlin Creed… who feels compelled to point himself out in a small crowd… rather than extend his hand in greeting?

Marlin looks like he wrestles bears before breakfast… and his assistant Jim (no last name) doesn’t look very excited to be there at all!  And judging by the look on Marlin’s face, he’s not excited to have him there…  But wait… Here’s the irony in all this:  We are channeling Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler, except that in Wild Kingdom, Marlin Perkins was the Milquetoast and Jim Fowler was the rough and tumble sort…  I see what we’re doing here…

I can picture the little artist’s model elephant on the drawing board being posed and turned about in order to provide all the angles necessary to continue drawing this sequence.  No small feat, I suppose… when one considers all the angles we have seen over the last week.

Cutting it close?  Really?  Was there ever a doubt?  Not so much.  What Dusty really wants to say is “Here, Mark, would you like my badge?”  It would seem that at least one of the characters here is redundant…

That was 4 feet, at least!

But isn’t this the job of the authorities?  Mark are you qualified and certified?

I see another magic, ropeless canvas tent just over Jumbo’s trunk…  I agree- gotta get me one of them!!

Somehow the elephant knows what is about to hit him, and is looking to neutralize the threat.

So yes, here we are… Suffering through another extended aspect of an artificially elongated plotline… I will say it here…  Serial comic strips don’t have to resemble movie storyboards that capture scene and action in 2 second intervals…  Maybe if we were looking at a comic book where we could get to the inflection points more quickly, and linger over the passages we choose, then that would help lessen the tedium.  But for me and the handful of faithful that look to the daily strips for constant intrigue, that’s probably an unrealistic expectation.

Have a good weekend everyone!