Well, who could have seen this coming!? And what a non-surprise it is. Yet I have to admit that Mark’s expression in panel 3 is classic comedy. I wonder what that mysterious yellow light is outside of the front door where Rusty and Andy are exiting. Notice that Rusty and Andy even cast shadows on the floor. Could the front yard have motion lights? By the time Mark makes it to the front door in panel 4 the outside is dark as night, as one should expect. And he casts no shadow at all. Spooky, I tell ya!

Perhaps the special light in panels 1 and 2 is just artistic necessity so that Rusty and Andy can be seen against the night sky. Let me indulge myself a bit by imagining—based on Rusty’s belief in an alien crash—that it is a special light from an alien ship hovering over the cabin as it beams up our youthful investigator and his canine companion. Now, that would be one hell of an adventure!

(And I see that Downpuppy offered up a comment yesterday about Rusty’s penchant for getting kidnapped in the pre-Rivera stories!)

Art Dept: Interesting to see that Rivera shows Mark wearing full pajamas apparently made from the same cloth as his shirts. Maybe Mark purchases the material in bulk and has somebody in town making his shirts and PJs.