Gah! More story-padding! I thought we had enough of this last week. I think the mallard agrees. So, when will the story move on to Florida, already!? And who gets to come along?
Last Friday, I mentioned the police notices and likely warrants for stuff Mark did down there a few years ago. This occurred in Jules Rivera’s first Mark Trail adventure. I bet you long-time sufferers, er, readers, may not remember what the strip looked like back then. It really was different in several ways, and for the better, in my opinion. Rivera clearly put her mind and time into the strip, delivering inventive layouts, impactful action, and some serious storytelling. Check out these two submissions from January 20th and 23rd, 2021:

I’m not going to go into the story, as you can pick it up on your own. Just study this a bit. It is really good storytelling art! And definitely not the pedestrian layouts and silly characters we usually see these days. I mean, “screwball” is fine once in a while, right? In fact, in several ways, this first story was sometimes screwy, but presented in a more creative and dramatic style! This even beats anything her predecessors did. I just don’t understand, from today’s standpoint, why Rivera turned from this approach to what we see today. Wouldn’t you rather see this kind of work? I don’t mean the violence, per se. This stuff just drips of adventure.