Seems to me that Mark could simply jump onto the foredeck of the boat as it moves out. What’s the big deal here? This would still qualify as a dramatic conclusion to the escape. But I am seriously concerned that Rivera appears to have dumbed down this mise-en-scène. I told you I’m serious, so I get to throw serious terms around. Sure, it’s just a fancy-shmancy name for “all that stuff in the panels.” But there are standards to uphold…!

Now what’s with these supposedly dangerous alligators? They behave more like some kind of honor guard or a ring of admirers, for all the danger they have presented. Since gators can’t normally climb vertical or obtuse planes (e.g. the sides of the boat), I don’t see much danger to the kids, other than boredom or exposure to the elements. Well, perhaps Mark is making the best of a bad situation and playing up the (not really) danger angle in order to give the kids some excitement, instead of getting bored waiting for a rescue. Didn’t anybody bring along a cell phone?! Incredible!

Well, I was truly wrong in thinking that Cherry would appear on the scene by today.

Design-wise, Rivera has crowded the panels with redundant caption boxes. It used to be that she used them rarely, and with more finesse. Here, they only perform a pedestrian role of repeating what we can already see. It’s not as if we cannot follow the art, even as she has resumed some of her sketchy style, as seen in panels 1 and 3.