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.

Well, be careful what you wish for, I reckon. I wondered if we’d get more of Rusty, and here he is. That must be Ian in the middle, who balances the composition of the panel and the sleepover arrangements.

Aside from a comics syndicate that scrimps on proofreading, we have another “here’s looking at you” member of the animal kingdom checking in. I suppose this episode falls under the category of story padding, as it would be more interesting if this sequence had anything to do with the main event, whatever that turns out to be.  This certainly does not look like it will lead to anything more than three kids staying up until 3 AM. On the other hand, a little bit of home life is one of the things we were just starting to get during James Allen’s tenure, so it’s good to see that continue under Rivera.  And let’s face it:  This Rusty is not the clueless sheltered kid we have endured for so many decades.

I reckon that Rivera is on some kind of “animal in your face” kick, since she has consistently introduced animals into the foreground that “break the fourth wall” to look at us; they are often not even integrated into the scene. It’s a gimmick that I believe has run its course and I’ll be happy to see our animal friends return to their proper place as normal components of the landscape, where they can be shot at or run over.

Apparently, Mark is on his way to Florida to get Pops, so Rusty takes the opportunity to get some palling around time with his friend, Robbie. Cryptids, as some of you know, are mythical creatures that most of us recognize as not real, such as the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the Yeti, or Huckleberry Hound. But there are plenty of people who do believe (Recall Mark’s Yeti adventure with Dr. Camel, the “cryptozoologist”, starting back in September 2019.). There is also an actual active market in cryptid kid-lit, just as Rusty says.

(Note: If you missed out on Mark’s “Hunt the Yeti” adventure, just click on the September 2019 link in the Archives section and begin your education!)

Okay, everybody:  Stand up and take a slow, deep breath. Hold it for three seconds…now exhale slowly while extending your arms outward. Now wave them around like a crazy person for a bit, and whoop if you like. Why? Because we’re done with the zebra mussels and starting a new adventure.

But just a two week vacation? If Mark is driving down to Florida and back to get Dad, that’s one to two days right there. It will take three to four days to drive to Oregon, meaning it’s also an additional three to four days days back. And there goes the first week and some of the second. They could do it faster if they drove non-stop, in shifts. But if they want any hope of enjoying the trip, they should fly (business class).

We should expect Doc and Rusty to join in. That’s a lot of airline tickets! But wait…will he have to get permission from the County to leave the state before his trial comes up?