As commenter Downpuppy pointed out, Rivera almost certainly based this adventure on the infamous Ohio train derailment and chemical spill earlier this year. That’s fine. But I’m not sure what the deal is about Rex’s oddly glib attitude. That might explain Mark’s perplexed look in panel 1, by the way: “You call discussing a train derailment and chemical spill, a bungled controlled burn that led to an explosion, and a likely environmental disaster just a chat?!”

Moving on, I suppose some people really do move in the middle of the night. But what’s the point:  Does it move the story along or initiate a related subplot? Or maybe it’s just to represent the fact that insignificant things happen in any context.

Somehow, Rivera will have to make Mark and Happy stand-ins for the investigative press as they try to get to the bottom of the environmental threat.