Other than an unusual perspective in panel 4 that makes a table for four look like it might fit the Partridge Family, Rivera has decided to play it straight this week and avoid outlandish dialog and actions.

Commenter “Be ware of eve hill” picked up on Georgia’s apparent lackadaisical care & treatment for the bees. Another reason they should have called on the services of a professional beekeeper.

But it looks like we might not get The Adventures of Cherry Brockovich (as commenter Daniel dubbed Cherry) after all, unless something unusual turns up in the Saturday strip. As we keep seeing images of Honest Ernest’s rash-provoking lawn-treatment bottle, I’ve a feeling we’ll be seeing him again.

Actually, I think Ernest is a pretty good character. He has a kind of goofy malevolence layered over a simple-minded self-assurance. His braggadocio also helps make him a classic old-school villain. It fits into the way this strip is slanted along a lighter, outrageous “alternate  universe” version of Mark Trail. For example, Honest Ernest is like the whacky version of The Joker (Cesare Romero) on the 1960s Batman TV show, as opposed to the more serious and sadistic versions of The Joker seen in more recent movies (e.g. Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Joaquin Phoenix). Honest Ernest doesn’t think he is doing anything wrong and continues to get frustrated by Cherry’s actions, while he’s simply trying to make a living.