Did Mark bring all of Dad’s business records with him? Or maybe this is Dad’s laptop. Whatever, Mark is a bit naïve if he thinks a manual scan of records is enough to clear his Dad. When did Mark become an expert on legal business contracts? I think a forensic dive carried out by a professional would be a better idea. But time is short, so Mark takes it on himself to perform the analysis. Will a granola bar endorsement be limited enough to keep Dad in in the clear? Why don’t we ask the talking beaver!?

Readers of the new Mark Trail will remember how Mark used to have conversations with a snake and, on occasion, other animals.  These two-way chats have not been seen in the strip for a long time. Now it is different:  Having animals talk on their own without a human interactor is a new twist; and I think it is a mistake.

Conversations with animals gave Mark a kind of psychological outlet to think things through. Did he actually have conversations, or was it just a psychosis? The ambiguity was a nice hook. But this is wrong-headed, as it presents—as factual—talking animals. But this is not Get Fuzzy or Pearls Before Swine.