Nice to get those comments! I’m back home, so my posts should appear more regularly. In a touch of irony, regular reader Downpuppy made a pithy comment regarding Mark’s missing cowboy hat that I poked fun of. Apparently not wearing a hat in Utah can lead to a bad end. Consider me educated on that topic!

Clayton the Wild Horse Caretaker (who wisely wears a hat!) lays out his case for Mark. For possibly the first time, we have evidence of Mark Trail actually working as a journalist, recording Clayton’s testimony! I’m willing to give Mark a pass today regarding his response in panel 4. It’s not necessarily a pun, nor an obvious joke. It could be a sincere reaction.

It seems that Jake is less concerned about the issue of the wild horses’ geographic ancestry or the BLM’s periodic roundup of the horses than he is about the horses’ ultimate care.

Art Dept. After five days, the black bar between the panels has disappeared. A shame; its appearance held promise and the hope of millions that Mark would finally get to wallop the living #(@! out of some malefactor.