<Sigh!> A second week devoted to this cookout!? Can there be any importance in this extended interval before we get to any hoped-for action and intrigue? Well, I don’t see any storm clouds approaching or alligators crossing the lawn, so ho-hum. In fact, today’s panels look “mailed in”, as the saying goes, without much thought or design. A shame, as Rivera can clearly do a lot better. Sometimes I wonder if she is already getting tired of this gig. Well, I hope not.

And I hope Rivera remembers that this is an adventure comic strip that focuses on nature and the environment, and not simply a comic strip that focuses on nature and the environment. Mark Trail is one of the few surviving adventure comic strips still produced, so it’s time for adventure!

And exactly how did Happy get RepRap’s contact info? Anything public would surely be a drop box at an agency or just a virtual trashcan. I suppose Happy knows people. Anyway, I’m wondering if Rivera has the moxie to show Reptilionnaire actually performing. This could make up for not showing the video he and Mark made.

In Panel 2 Mark assumes Reptilionnaire would not have shown up just out of friendship. Is Mark being cynical or just revealing his opinion about their friendship? All I can say about panel 3 is that it is a good capture of what an old fart might actually think is a funny rap on rap.

Oh, has anybody noticed that Happy Trail wears the old double-pocket pink work shirt that Allen’s Mark Trail wore? Well, that’s pretty much what he wore in his first appearance, too, although it was more of a dark mauve. Well, too bad you cannot see that in the b/w newspapers. This leads to me ponder “if I was the clothing supplier to comic strip characters, I’d go out of business really quickly, as they usually wear the same clothes. Comic Strip Land must be really stinky.”

Rhyming and rapping Reptiliannaire makes his surprise (to Rusty) visit, thanks, no doubt, to Grampy Happy, Mark, and Cherry. And he came with his ‘70s-era boom box backup band, too. Will we see a performance?

Moral of the story: Kids, have some faith in your parents once in a while.

Rusty is going through hard times? He’s not the only one, I think. Okay, this is something of a minor squeak to most adults. But if this is truly a “Rusty” story, then we have to accept that this could be a big deal to the kid. I remember one of my major disappointments as a kid. I was 12 and wanted to see The Beatles perform in Washington DC back in 1964. I was too young, my parents said, and it was a 4 hour drive one way. And I could not go on the bus, either. I was devastated for several days.

I never got over it. I became neurotic, a loner, and eventually turned to crime and eating Hostess Cupcakes. I started stalking Lois of Hi and Lois fame. She was a dish.

Well, only the cupcakes part of that confession was true. I did get over it. Still, it was traumatic for a teenager-in-training. In short, those negative vibes we see in panel 4 could very well express the anxiety and conflicting feelings “Russ” is experiencing.

I thought I’d try and show today’s strip as close to a newspaper format as possible (they are not all exactly the same, of course). I think it is good to keep that in mind when we’re looking and critiquing the panels. That is, when the strips are published online, they tend to be so much larger than they are when printed, and cartoonists, by and large, draw with the understanding that they will be significantly smaller than the original drawings. So here is the same strip, as seen on the Comics Kingdom web site:

The proper “focal point” for viewing a drawing is important. The famous 19^th French artist Georges Seurat painted small dabs of complementary and contrasting colors laid side-by-side and overlapped so that, when seen at a proper distance, they visually blended into other colors and shapes. This was a deliberate technique on his part.

My thought is whether we should continue to post and view these panels in their online size or the newspaper size. I think in the latter case, a lot of complaints about artistic style or quality are minimized, so to speak. That is, images do not look so stark or odd. And that is likely deliberate, as Rivera is well aware of newspaper size reductions. Anyway, is this a valid observation or am I just talking myself into a rhetorical corner?

Hey, I almost missed it:  Mark is wearing a short-sleeved version of his standard red-and-black checked shirt. Maybe he really does have a closet full of them for all seasons.

Okay, so “Happy-Jolly Cookout” it is! Happy and Jolly, huh? That sounds like a bad comic team. Still, the positive vibes are flowing all around. But for how long? We spent last week on the road, so will we spend all of this week at the cookout? If so, I’m expecting something to heat up besides the shrimp, or this story is going to start looking like a proposal for a Hallmark movie. Hey, at least Cherry is working the crowd. Rusty has grabbed Grampy Happy, so I wonder what Mark is doing? Chewing the fat with Jolly Roger, perhaps.

We’ve seen or expressed concerns about long storylines, not only with Rivera, but even during Allen’s tenure. Whence cometh this impatience? Methinks it is partly the influence of various events, such as the quick-cut music videos of MTV back in the early 1980s, which spawned a revolution in video and TV editing. The Internet had a bit of influence, too. We are now conditioned to expect fast storylines, quick action, heightened drama, and headaches from trying to keep up.

Stories do take time to develop. Adventures during the golden age of comic strips commonly took 4-6 months, or even longer. Then again, there was no TV or Internet back in the 1930s and 1940s.

BUT THIS AIN’T THE 1930s! I expect a lot of readers are going to start getting impatient if this story doesn’t pick up real soon! As for me, if Rivera can develop a good storyline with some depth, complexity, and adventure, I’m okay if she needs more time to tell the story. It’s okay to snark on Cricket Bro or Zebra Mussels, but let’s not overlook “the bat cave”, “the black ferret story”, “the circus comes to Lost Forest”, and “the great yeti hunt”.

For a guy who tends to have a cynical mindset much of the time, I have to admit that it’s nice to see that Rivera gave Rusty enough maturity when it mattered, hissy fits notwithstanding. Does this event move the story along? Well, I’m not sure what the story is just yet. But it so far follows the conventional narrative of pleasant times before the storm. Like virtually every story ever created. After all, who could like a story where everybody got along and nothing challenging happened? 

Poor Mark continues to be haunted by the ghosts of California past. We have to prepare for the return of Mark’s Palm Springs flaky friend, Reptilionnaire. Maybe we’ll get a double whammy and find out that his new manager is Dirty Dyer, finally returned from his Caribbean training sessions.

Ain’t easy being a dad. In situations like this, you can lose no matter what you do. While Rusty is having his melt-down and Mark is biting his tongue, Cherry could remind Rusty that, being such a big fan of Reptiliannaire, he should have already known about the show before they left so they could plan around it. Wait, that’s what a dad would say.

Okay, Grampy Happy could change the cookout to Sunday. Easy enough to do. Or, Mark could contact Reptile Dude and invite him to the cookout at his Dad’s place after the show and maybe do a rap or two for crybaby Rusty. After what Mark did for the Herp Hacienda group in California, how could Reptilionnaire refuse Mark’s request?

Well, I wish Rivera had made Rusty a bit more mature than this, so he could actually get involved in more sophisticated situations. I don’t think this version of Rusty could have handled the Mayan Artifact Crime Caper as well as Allen’s version.

Look! The Trails have settled down to driving on the highway. Perhaps the FAA texted and ordered them to drive like everybody else.

So maybe a story focusing on Rusty might be premature if this is what we’re going to have to endure. He seemed to be older, or at least more mature. But now, he’s backsliding.

On the other hand, there are a few cute puns in panel 2.  Regarding panel 3, I get a distinctive Japanese manga vibe in its composition and style. HOWEVER, while an expanded “PLEASE” whine is standard in this kind of situation, it cannot end with an expanded “EEEE”, since the final “E” is not vocalized. Rivera makes the word sound like Please-eee. Sorry, but noooooooopeeee!

Finally, I don’t think there is a sub-genre know as lizard rap (but correct me if I’m wrong), so I think Reptiliannaire has a lock on that title. But there are rap/hip-hop songs that mention reptiles. There is also “Rap Lizards”, a podcast by three lively hip-hop nerds who discuss music and production of curated hip-hop albums.

Cherry was nice enough to help casual (or new) readers make the connection between Rusty’s favorite rapper and Mark’s work, so we can all be on the same page.

Fort Lauderdale!? Didn’t figure Grampy Happy lived that far south! Say “goodbye!” to the Portland visit. But, as the family hovercraft skims past the mirrored gators, Mark and Cherry face a typical family travel conflict. How will they resolve it?

This story started out as a road trip to Portland, Oregon. Yesterday, it became a “fun family trip to Florida”, and I thought they were just going down there to pick up “Grampy Happy”. So, for a vacation that is supposed to be no longer than two weeks, how are they going to get all of this done? Do they plan a mere 3-hour visit to Portland before having to turn around?

And then I spotted what I’m sure you did in panel 2:  Mark has a flying car! That should help them avoid traffic jams and toll stations along the way. Gotta love it! Mark Trail Meets The Bob Cummings Show.

Apparently, Rusty isn’t up on the common-sense rule of not bothering the driver, as he shoves his smartphone into Mark’s face. But he has reason enough:  One of Mark’s major time-wasters is about to reappear in his beat-down of a life. And why not? Practically every other main character from Mark’s California story has already checked in. This could be an interesting and funny adventure.

Ah, family road trips:  Are they not the invention of a sadistic, satanic entity that might show up in one of Rusty’s stories? I grew up in Virginia and one day back in 1965, as I was just starting high school, Dad came home and said that the government was sending him to California for some technical training that would last at least 3 months. And it started in two weeks. So Mom and Dad took us six kids, a dog, and a few suitcases, stuffed everything in the family Ford wagon (no AC!), and drove all the way to Los Angeles in 4 days. And only Dad knew how to drive! It must have been hell for him.  But we made it. Heck, I almost got ulcers driving three of our boys from Minnesota to Virginia!

I recall that we hit a dog one night on an unlit road some place in Texas. Just over the California state line we passed by state cops investigating a dead body on the side of the road.  One time I got to sit on my Dad’s lap so I could “steer” down the highway. Nobody had seat belts then. Mom was not happy.

As for panel 1, maybe Doc has a focus problem. Or maybe he’s warning us readers to be careful.

Well, most of the Trail family is going on vacation, anyway. Good ol’ Dad is once again a mere bit player, here to see off the stars of the family and sit in continued loneliness. Doc. Davis will stay in what appears to be a much more shrunken house than they’ve had in the past. And pancakes continue to be the new running gag.  Cherry shouldn’t worry about Doc “holding down the fort”, since she and Mark are away from the house much of the time, anyway.

On the aesthetic side, Rivera’s nicely organized scene in panel 1 reinforces the running dialog. Neither Mark nor Rusty offers any conversation as they walk away from the primary focus of today’s strip, Dad and Cherry. So, I wonder if Rusty will bring along that crazy doll somebody shipped him from Mexico? It might come in handy against that specter guy. Okay, cue Willie’s song….

This past week featured Rusty and his sleepover buddies sharing stories about cryptids (the Yeti, Loch Ness Monster, Benny Hill, etc.). Rusty is so enamored over his own cryptid creature (“Wilbur, The Seaside Specter”) that he pledges to hunt it down when he and his family arrive for a vacation in Oregon (which is where the “Seaside Specter Guy” conveniently haunts the coastline). We don’t know yet why Mark has an itch to go to Portland, but with this past week of strips devoted to the lad, it seems we are getting prepped for another Rusty Adventure! Now, do you think he will get another female friend (like Mara) to help with his investigation? Before you submit your response, take a moment to love today’s educational nature strip!

It appears that the title panel is composed of “alligator hearts”. Given the theme, it makes sense. I’m thinking this is not the kind of alligator story we would normally see in a Mark Trail Sunday strip; and that’s a good thing.  And it is informative. Not that I didn’t think gators mated, but I did not know the details. I think I missed that episode of “Nature” on public television. But I’m still not certain how gators culminate their mating: Missionary position? Flatiron? Doggie?

I did some simple-minded searches and found loads of examples of alligators crossing yards, pools, neighborhood streets, golf courses, etc. All quite common sites, especially down in the southeastern states.  One gator crossing a golf course in Naples, Florida was at least 15 feet long and walking on all fours, not dragging his stomach along the green! It was a mini–Jurassic Park in action! Yet another reason why I will never move to Florida. I don’t support random shooting or hunting gators for sport, either. They have a right to live. But NIMBY! So, Mark’s point is well taken:  We have expanded into their world and should not be surprised to see them strolling down our Main Street. The underlying Sunday story here is human encroachment into the few remaining wildlife preserves in our world, such as the Everglades, the Bayou, and the Amazonian rainforest.

It’s one thing to have fun (such as it is) telling spooky stories. It’s another to start believing them.

So this looks like events are leading to a new spin of the “Dr. Camel Search for the Yeti Adventure” that I referenced a few days ago. Exactly how Rusty intends to carry out this goal will be interesting to see.  At least, Rusty only has one coastline to search. Shouldn’t take too long, right?

I suppose this might be the kind of thing that an over-imaginative kid might wish to undertake. Is this what the week has been about:  setting us readers up for a “Rusty’s Seaside Specter Guy Adventure”? And I bet Mark never clued Rusty in on how things worked out for the late Dr. Camel.

“No natural phenomenon has been proven to curse eyeballs”? Well, that depends upon what one means by “curse”, I think. Eyesight lost from staring at the sun (a natural phenomenon) would certainly be a curse to the owner of the lost sight. But that’s lame sarcasm on my part. Either these kids are taking LSD or they must lead pretty boring lives to be frightened by this stuff. Still, they’re using their imaginations instead of just passively watching movies. It’s another Mark Trail Education Moment.

During Allen’s tenure, Rusty did star in his own adventure, along with an older female counterpart, Mara, during a family trip to the Yucatan Peninsula (started April 2018). It was a good adventure for Rusty. Obviously, the vignette here is not meant to be taken as anything more than boys being boys. So, I hope Rivera gives Rusty a better story down the road. Anyway, I think this sleepover bit has been stretched farther than current industry standards support.

Ooooh, I’m scared, all right. Scared this will continue the rest of the week! It seems Rusty’s role has so far been almost limited in this reboot to sleepovers with his buddies. Still, it’s better than what Rusty used to do in the pre-Rivera days, which was pretty much nothing.

I’m still hoping Rusty will get an actual girlfriend and try to finagle more interesting sleepovers. He can leave the cryptid stories to his pals, Lumpy and Beaver

What the dickens!? I’d have thought one reference to the modern version of ghost stories would get the point across. But it looks like we’re going to hear more. The suspense is gripping.

Don’t confuse Rusty’s character with the recent “Thomas the Tank Engine” fan video also called “The Seaside Spectre”. Or the 1912 movie “Specter of the Sea”.  Let’s hope that daytime comes really fast.