I don’t know:  Do you think Rivera is deliberately trying to make Mark look like a bona fide clown? We all know that Mark is talking out of his ass here, since he has done virtually no research or investigation, other than take photos of dead fish.

Now, if Rivera wanted to parody self-declared “online journalists” posting their nonsense and misinformation on the Internet, she could have created a character to do that while having Mark criticize that person’s lack of professionalism. This would also reinforce Mark’s own standing. Instead, Rivera has made Mark the online half-baked potato.

So, is this what Mark’s vaunted journalism really amounts to? Who knows, maybe in this story the accident really was caused by careless railroad workers not doing their best. But Mark didn’t take the time to actually do an investigation, did he?!

Art Dept:  Since when does the back seat of a muscle car (panel 2) suddenly have the space of a Mercedes Maybach? It’s usually just the opposite. I reckon it’s just another case of “artistic license” so Rivera could fit in Mark, the phone, and the text balloons. I think it could have been resolved in a more realistic manner, such as showing Mark a lot closer, like Happy in panel 3.