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?
The Daily Trail 
Hoovez is the worst name since the Oneders.
Also too, outdoors in Utah, you should wear a hat. High altitude, low humidity – the sun will destroy you.
Anyhow, old Mark was quite good with horses. I recall him having some stabled at Lost Forest, and going on long trips with his pal Johnny.
We shall see.
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I agree with what you’ve said George over the course of the past few days about the artwork and storyline. She’s regressing.
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I would prefer if Rivera stopped using gag-a-day elements in the strip as they come across as eye-roll inducing and are neither funny nor cute. Instead, I would appreciate it if she continued on in the spirit of the strip. It’s supposed to be an adventure strip.
Especially now that Vintage Mark Trail has disappeared from the Comics Kingdom roster. I’ll never find out if Mark turned in that poacher, and how Andy’s conflict with the wolverine ended. I just started reading Vintage Mark Trail last fall, for crying out loud.
Hasn’t the black bar always been there? It’s there to… er… um… divide the strip in half?
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The heavy black line/bar that shows up between only between panels 2 and 3 (today) is neither consistent nor ancient. So far there appears to be no consistency for where it appears. Perhaps it is an accidental artefact that occurs when placing the panels.
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It is highly probable that the black bar is glitch in the system due to the recent website reboot of The Comic Kingdom.
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