Not many comic strips have multiple story lines running at the same time. No matter how much one might dislike Rivera’s approach to Mark Trail, you have to give her credit for attempting this complex balancing act in the restrictive format of a daily comic strip. And I think she is correct in not spending more than a few weeks in one story before jumping back to the other. However…

I’m surprised to find that Cherry seems to have put her Sunny Soleil palm tree problem behind here as she now has “free time” for her Roundabout Project, whatever that is. She is certainly in a pretty good mood and doesn’t mind stopping for a quick snack at a local diner as she jauntily steps out of the cab of her truck with the really big tires. I might be wrong, but Cherry doesn’t look like somebody who needs any kind of caffeine pick-me-up!

• Critics (including this writer) have remarked on Rivera’s sometimes harsh drawing style. And I was puzzled for some time at what was going on in panel 1. What…oh, okay. Her arms are behind the potted shrubs. Got it. But what is “below” or in front of her? Are they some kind of motion lines? No…oh, I finally get it. Those are garden tools seen front to back, in a foreshortened view. Okay, but it might have been better to show only one or two long-handled tools to make it easier to understand. For me, anyway! Otherwise, it’s a fair attempt at a take on the “lord overseeing his domain” composition.
• Also: Is that a snake on a rock or stump in panel 3? Can’t tell for sure.

Okay, count me curiously yellow to see what the Roundabout Project is and how Jules will link it into the Sunny Soleil storyline.