Turns out that Rivera may just just be playing around with the “Mark Crashes Boat” meme, so “Krash!” now means “boat runs into gator!” From the size of the wake behind the boat in panel 1, I think Mark is running at a pretty fast clip, possibly too fast for nighttime boating.

Like many parents, Mark decides a lie is easier than the truth. But what’s the big deal here? The boys are old enough to deal with a bit of reality, unless Mark is worried one of them might turn him into the game wardens for running over an endangered animal. But if Mark wants to maintain that lie, he should be slowing down a bit. Perhaps he isn’t because if he did, they’d see how calm the waters are and then realize that he was telling them porkies. If you don’t know what that phrase means, you can bloody well look it up. I learned about it from an old British cop show.

On the graphic front, Rivera’s art has been pretty consistent in style and quality the past few weeks, in spite of the opinion many have about the quality (or lack thereof) of the art, itself.  But I do share the fear of the art becoming more cartoony over time. Don’t think that’s possible? Check out the panels on the left:

Those panels are from January 2021, just two years ago. Quite a difference, right? Looking back through our archives can be pretty educational. Notice how much more “painterly” the art looks, especially in panel 2, compared to current images. The shirt even looks like a real shirt, the way it lies on the body. Notice how the collars roll and how the shirt pattern tends to flow along the torso, The fire in the background actually creates reflections on Mark’s face. Amazing! But back then, Rivera clearly spent more time on the strip and created lots of creative scenes. Why did it change? I don’t know. My best guess has been the time commitment versus the deadlines.

Ian isn’t the only person confused. Mark creates a false comparison based on a faulty premise: “If the narwhal turned out to be real”. It is the unicorn that is the mythological creature that Mark (Rivera) should have said, of course. The narwhal(e)’s existence was not questioned in the past. Mark’s giving the wrong idea to these kids.

But what I had hoped would not happen, did. I suppose that every Mark Trail artist has to have a krack (or krash) at the “Mark Destroys a Boat” meme. And it would have to take place in some alligator-infested waters (unless that is a set of custom luggage floating in the river). Well, it would be a real bummer if it turned out that Mark ran over the last surviving bassigator!

Jokes aside, “krashing” a boat in dangerous waters is a bad deal. Did Mark run over an alligator? That could land him in real trouble with federal authorities! I wonder if this is this going to be a turning point in the story where we see some actual danger and suspense, rather than the usual outlandish situations.

A question to readers: Do you think my posts are too long, too short, or about right?

I wonder: Are the insects in panel 1 some kind of metaphor for Rusty and Robbie?

So you didn’t want any friction on your father-son event, Mark? Whose bright idea was it to invite the other kids along? And why agree to do that if your aim is to build up your relationship with little carrot-top?

Ian’s memory is a bit off. Unicorns were not inspired by narwhals, though the tusk of narwhals during the European Middle Ages was thought to come from unicorns and possess medicinal/magical power. Anyway, the narwhal reference is a blessing for Mark who hopes his recitation on the subject (perhaps we’ll read more about it on Sunday) will distract the kids while Mark glides across the water to. . . someplace.

Robbie’s jealousy is not based on Rusty’s supposed popularity with girls after all, but on academic performance! Wow, didn’t see that one coming! But Rusty missed an opportunity to patch things up with Robbie by being sympathetic. Instead, he chose to twist the knife. Clearly, this will add additional friction and conflict, common ingredients in any adventure.

So, I missed something earlier. In the December 28 strip, Rusty greeted two friends, one being named Robbie, who is Rusty’s rival. I thought his name had not yet been mentioned. But maybe I only saw it subconsciously when I came up with a possible Rob Bettancourt-Mark metaphor. Still, I would have made the connection anyway, it was so obvious.

I dunno though, from his exaggerated expression in panel 3, Rusty seems more interested in the girls in the front row applauding him, rather than the general class appreciation. Would that mean Robbie is merely jealous of Rusty’s growing popularity?

Okay, Rivera, it’s getting tedious. For one thing, “see you later Bassigator” makes no sense, since Rusty is trying to find the cryptid, not wish it farewell. Yeah, I know. . . humor.

Mark still plays the Clueless Dad role. Sure, the old Mark Trail was likely clueless, as well. But he never had to worry about it, since the old Rusty was mostly a cardboard cutout.

I have questions:  Just where is Mark taking the boys? Do Bassigators have favorite watering holes? And why invite a bunch of Rusty’s friends, when failure could result in great embarrassment to Rusty?

Finally, why did Mark state that they would be back soon? Doesn’t he think the boys might now realize that this hunt is phony? I sure hope that Rivera’s plot does not have one of Mark’s friends plant a fake Bassigator for them to discover.

“I’m a woodsman.” So what? I think “I’m a sailor” might carry more weight in this situation. Hey, maybe Popeye could make a guest appearance. Anyway, it’s been a week and they still have not left the dock! Furthermore, exclamation points are running riot!

But this is the local river or lake (not sure which), so Mark’s heroic pledge seems as pointless as Cherry’s need to track their movement. Oh, it’s humor. Well, we are at a juncture in the plot. If this were a book, we’d be reading the last page of a chapter where somebody states, “So, what could go wrong?”