Gawsh, ain’t it just swell how chummy everybody has become!? I know, I shouldn’t be so cynical. Still, Rivera’s scripting doesn’t help. Mark’s acceptance of blame in panel 3 is minimally appropriate, but panel 4 gets me. I’m not sure if it’s the strange “You’re not my dad” statement or Rivera’s pandering, specious comment that “Mark is everyone’s dad!” Since when? In what way? I don’t think Mark is quite that prolific. Still, Mark reacts as if Eli told him he’ll sell him revealing photos of Cherry. Otherwise, just what is the point of Mark’s over-reactive expression, anyway?
Let’s give Rivera points for continuity, as Connor shows a bandage on his right thumb, something that would be difficult to see when printed in a newspaper. Otherwise, the drawings look cluttered and stiff.
The Daily Trail 
Looks like Exploding Eye Syndrome has spread from Milford.
LikeLike
Rivera must be catching your posts.
LikeLike
Do you notice the difference in attention to detail in the art work here versus the current “drawing” in Mark Trail?
https://safr.kingfeatures.com/api/img.php?e=gif&s=r&file=L01hcmtUcmFpbC8xOTc0LzAxL01hcmtfVHJhaWxfYncuMTk3NDAxMTQuZ2lm
LikeLike
Sure, I get it. I sympathize. I used to read it back then. Good thing you used Dodd original work as a comparison (though I believe Tom Hill did a lot of the work), rather than his less-talented successors of that adventure book style. It’s a good style when done right and Dodd/Hill were good. OTOH, the current Phantom looks v. good and is better drawn than the original strips.
Of course, the older strips had more drawing and publishing space to work with, which helped a lot. Still, the strip was failing in terms of newspapers and reader interest. I’m glad to see Rivera shake up the strip, its o.f. morals, and its limited range of stories. So Mark now works in the 21st century with larger issues (at least some of the time). While the earlier stories used humor and “wacky” situations to provoke and challenge characters, it seems to me that the stories have drifted from interesating plots to more wacky and self-satirical jokes. Stories that COULD have had real drama, danger, and depth (zebra mussels, political corruption, surviving in the wilderness) wind up as sitcoms.
LikeLike
blah! blah! blah!
LikeLike
George, I respectfully disagree that Rivera is shaking up the strip. You by now know my opinion. Her strip has bland, very poor artwork and lame story telling. The entire point of the Mark Trail Comic strip was Dodds and Elrods artwork. The stories may now be outdated. However, the art work is what made the strip a success for years and years. It was exactly what made all of us “Trail Heads”. Rivera has turned the strip into an unreadable comic that I simply have no reason to read anymore. I would rather read James Allen’s rendition as he at least took time to spend some time on the art. Granted, he copied and pasted a bit. The whole point of the strip from inception was an outdoor, nostalgic and escape from the realities of our life. I simply do not see this strip continuing in it’s current form. It is geared towards teens to pre-teens who will never look at it. I just don’t see newspapers carrying this strip for the foreseeable future. There is no audience that I can imagine even looking at it. This is my opinion. I’ve read Mark Trail since I was a kid. I’m just so disappointed in the current rendition.
LikeLike