“They thought he was just an Outdoor Nature Cornball. They found out he is a Man with a Certain Set of Skills, which don’t include fixing fences, installing light switches, or imitating bird calls!”

So, is this “Mark Trail: Nature Vigilante” now? We’ve come a long way from Mark’s former boy scout approach to righting wrongs, haven’t we? It’s one thing to twist an arm to get cooperation, but I think Mark is taking that to a new level. And I’m not sure I like the direction it is going.

First of all, Mark seems already sold on an application that seems to be a standard practice in many occupations, including animal welfare. And we never learned the practical, operational qualities of this app, which is to say, what’s special about it and how would it be used in a realistic setting? Furthermore, if it is designed for wildlife, what are you going to do if the air is not prime for the animals? Somebody going to go round up about 3,000 water buffalo and take them into a climate-controlled habitat for a bit? Mark never bothered questioning the practicality of this program. Frankly, I’m siding with Cricket Bro at this point, based on his responses and Mark’s actions.

Did Aparna or Reptilionnaire or Mark even think to simply ask Cricket Bro to buy back the application? I mean, if it isn’t a money-maker, why wouldn’t he let it go for a relatively small charge and the possibility of some royalties if the product ever hits the market down the road and makes a profit? They could have started with something like that, before starting instead with grand theft and battery. If all of this is caught on security cameras, I don’t think even Father Trail will be able to keep Mark out of jail and a bad date in court.

From the artistic side, I’m thinking…another day of quickly-drawn images, not like yesterday’s panels. In short, with last week in mind, perhaps some inconsistency in the work. As far as I know, Rivera does not have an assistant. Of course, as I noted before, it could be a case of employing style to represent the mood or temperament of the situation. But that is sounding like a stretch at this point.

Well, it’s nice to see that the boys shared a moment together.

Thoughts, anyone?