So today we have Mark being made to act like a school kid on his first field trip, playing dress-up and spouting inanities. Rivera’s apparent predisposition to using punch-line panels like normal gag-a-day strips is disappointing. It suggests that Rivera just cannot maintain any kind of serious position, even within the panels of a single day. When you take a serious adventure strip and convert it into a semi-serious, absurdist adventure strip, it just seems unnecessary to obstruct continuity with corniness. It’s like putting sugar in a bowl of frosted flakes. 

Tuesday’s strip does not improve things. Mark is still made to act the clown, once again upsetting any notion of seriousness with schoolyard puns. Of course, it doesn’t help that the artwork appears slipshod. Even Clayton’s body seems to expand (panel 2) and contract (panel 3) for no reason. I could say more, but I’d rather you do that.

Art Dept. Did anybody else notice the thick black vertical line appearing between the panels? I looked back and they started in every daily strip starting February 29. I have no idea why they are present. Anybody have a guess?