For whom is Cherry’s question in panel 2 so awkward? That’s somewhat rhetorical, as it is clear that Cherry exhibits no reluctance or uncertainty. Just the opposite. I have no idea why Cherry is being so “catty” to Violet. And disingenuous, to boot.

As I recall, in the January 20 strip Cherry pretty much shut Violet down in order to bring on her dad and his cat (an animal we have never seen around the cabin or anywhere else, come to think of it).

For the first time, I have some sympathy for Violet.

Art Dept. Every once in a while, Rivera surprises me. Today, it is the drawing of the harp in panel 3. What sticks out is how the strings are defined. Rivera could simply have drawn the usual singular lines, as we also see in the excerpt above. But in today’s strip, the underside of the harp is black. Again, not a big deal; just draw the lines. Instead, Rivera has taken the extra effort to highlight the parts of the strings that would normally be hidden by the dark underside for a cool effect. That’s pretty good attention to detail and design, especially for the small size of a comic strip panel.