One thing that Rivera gets more or less “right” is Rusty, at least in comparison to his traditional persona. Traditional Rusty was mostly a cypher, a one-dimensional character, even when showcased in a few stories by James Allen. Rivera’s Rusty is more complex, with mixed emotions, high energy, and a definite outgoing personality sometimes undone by a propensity to get himself into trouble. In short, he’s a real member of the Trail family! If anything, he is probably more like a typical precocious kid in any number of TV sitcoms. Still, at least he has a life and his own personality.

Art Dept. Even though Rivera normally eschews atmospheric effects, they are used to good effect here. In Panel 1 Rusty and Robbie are spotlighted, while the rest of the room fades into shadow. To reinforce this focus, the surrounding students are backgrounded in purple, an effect Rivera has used many times in the past for the same effect. In other words, panel 1 provides the context in which the two “friends” are sitting and talking, so that panels 2 and 3 are more comprehensible. Self-obvious, perhaps; but I think Rivera did a good job in panel 1.

Every wonder why the main characters in comics wear the same clothes, day after day? Hmm….