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Monthly Archives: July 2024

Non compost mentis?

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Okay, Cherry has a point:  Meat sources attract various animals, even bears. Bad news! But Cherry can also be blamed for not taking better measures to reduce animal attacks, such as locking down the bins, fencing them off, or even possibly making more balanced mixes of compost material to minimize smells. Will this point of contention (or one like it) come out in the story this week?

Sure, we can criticize Rivera for not appearing to know about these things, but that might not be the case. We must consider this situation from the viewpoint of plot. It was clear early on that Violet’s unusual fried chicken binging was emphasized for a reason; and that reason was to enable this conflict between the two women and the composting project. Stories need conflict.

This bear-attacks-compost plot device reminds me of Mark’s earlier dealing with a bear snacking in unsecured garbage bins at a mountain retreat site (see the strips for March 17 and 18, 2023 in the “Bear Necessity” adventure).

Otherwise, I’m waiting to see Cherry’s fluency in “Bear-speak.” And that may be a fact, as many of us should recall seeing (in reprint) early strips (April 1946) by Ed Dodd of Cherry Davis playing with her pet bear, only to have Mark arrive on scene thinking she needs to be saved.

Would you call this strip unBearable?

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An advisory notice: I am not a professional comic artist critic, though I play one on the Internet.

Well, just when I thought we would have some decent continuity with Cherry’s story, we get today’s load, uh, upload. Hoo-boy, this is another big disappoint. Go ahead, zoom in on panels 1 and 3 (for example) and tell me what you see. I’ll wait … As much as Rivera has turned out some good art over her nearly 4 years drawing and writing the strip, she has also posted her share of dreck. Like today. Again, I don’t know why, but there it is.

Is Rivera just trying to see how much she can get away with? Does her Syndicate not even care? I’m almost to the point where I’d just as soon put this strip out to pasture and start following Garfield. And you all know how much I just love Garfield.

The Daily Trail is probably the only online daily review of Mark Trail. Well-written sites such as Comics Curmudgeon and Joseph Nebus only cover the strip periodically, if very amusingly. This site’s creator, Dennis Williams, carved out a good niche for himself by focusing on just one strip and maintaining a nearly-daily schedule for some seven years. You can go check out the archives here and enjoy his writing.

Yes, I get discouraged with the strip, as you all do. I wonder how much longer I can keep hoping for improvements. How much longer can I keep thinking of new things to say and avoid becoming just another snarker, like those cats over at Comics Kingdom.  Well, it’s fine and fun to write snarky comments, but focusing solely on that was never my intention.

In my naiveté, I thought Rivera would settle down and take this strip seriously, like her predecessors did; like I do. There is a possibility that Rivera does take this seriously and deliberately writes and draws this strip to make some kind of a point; whatever that is. I know several long-time followers of The Daily Trail moved on after Rivera took over. Shy of something dramatic happening, those former readers aren’t likely coming back. In any event, I’m just trying to work through all of this, while being transparent, as is our current social virtue. This isn’t “good bye and thanks for the fish“, but I am raising a flag. All comments appreciated.

Somebody forgot to lock down the compost bins!

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While Cherry poses for a re-do of “American Gothic”, Violet meets the biggest fan of compost bins. So caught off guard is she that her Inner English slips out. Panel 3 echoes a memory of regular reader “Downpuppy” (you’ll have to look at the June 19th comments for the relevance here). And, as a follow-up to my response to a comment by “be ware of eve hill” yesterday, it looks like Rivera managed to tie this sequence back into the compost story, which is one reason this post is short. Well, that, and I have to prepare for my Italian book club session tomorrow.

Anyway, there’s a chance for some drama and danger here. How will Rivera handle it? Get your guesses in early!

Violet’s Guide to Working with the Hired Help, Chapter 3

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As Boss, it’s your job to maintain order with, and dominance over, the hired help. Never let the opportunity pass to remind them that you are more competent than they are. Today’s example shows how Violet casually points out Cherry’s apparent carelessness, only at the end of the work day when the employee is most vulnerable. Excellent tactics! Observe how Violet puts on a guise of studied informality in her pose and expression as she glibly makes her rebuke. “Hah! Hah! Just a small thingy, Cherry. Hah! Hah!” This ensures that your contractor goes home feeling somewhat incompetent and even more subservient the next day. Of course, Violet’s comment could have waited until morning, but a boss must always keep workers in their place.

Well, if you remember, when Rivera began this strip, Cherry had an independent gardening and landscaping business. The Sunny Soleil Society was the company charged with enforcing the HOA rules for a community where Cherry was doing a job. Along the way, Cherry wound up working exclusively for the SSS. Its HOA activities were forgotten as Rivera decided to focus on the interaction between the two women. And there have been notable interactions. But it would be nice to see Cherry get jobs someplace else now and then. Some new characters and plots would freshen up Cherry’s stories.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Mark confronted the three so-called “Grungey Boys” (a name never explained) who had dropped off a stolen fax machine in Lost Forest in order to smash it, as they had done to the other electronics. They claimed to be working off steam about work, but Mark was more concerned that they never cleaned up the debris, which was hurting the forest.

Rusty and Andy had actually gotten there earlier, but were spotted by these three stooges.  As they were harassing Rusty, Mark made his surprise entrance in true revenge mode.

Connor (the one who looks like Larry the Stooge) snuck up behind Mark (somehow) and locked Mark’s arms to disable him. Connor’s technique proved faulty and Mark had little problem escaping. The scuffle was brief, as Ranger Shaw and a colleague drove up at that moment to detain the three “Boys” and hand them over to law enforcement. So, another dangerous forest gang has been taken off the trail.

Is this the end of the story, as I wondered yesterday? It seems to be, but it leaves Rusty’s part of it entirely unfulfilled. So, I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see. If you have the time, check out my Thursday blog wherein I make several suggestions on how Rivera might turn this strip around and give it more respect. I should know, of course, because I post a blog!

A 2016 article at science.org backs up much of this, but points out that stink bugs and earwigs are attracted to yellow lights. “Warm” LEDs may be a better, overall choice.

My friend Lynne Guini, owner of “Lynne’s Light Farm Factory”, told me “Yellow light? Hey, who knows!?! They’re bugs, ya know? Why not just buy one of every kinda bulb and post them around your patio or your deck. Some might work, some might not. Who knows!? At least, you’ll have one heck of a back yard light show! And I can give you a great deal on lights bulbs. Just give me a call. Let me light up your day. Or night!” Lynne can’t resist the urge to make a deal in any situation, at any time of day or night.

Mark Trail cleans up Lost Forest!

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Poor Rusty, having to see his father act like boys his own age. And it’s not the first time, of course. I fear what he may be like when he grows up. It’s common for boys growing up to oppose their fathers, so maybe Rusty would become a hedge fund manager or insurance salesman. Or he could become a full-time bounty hunter with a Reality TV show for publicity. “What’s that? It’s already been done, you say?” Okay, salesman it is.

I wonder if Jules Rivera has ever seen any of the old b&w episodes of “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon”, which always ended with a close-up of the good sergeant kneeling beside his lead sled dog, Yukon King, and stating something like “Well, King, looks like this case is closed.”

But is it? Today’s installment displays the usual characteristics for the end of one of Mark’s stories, and … wait a minute: This was supposed to be Rusty’s story! Will we go back to Rusty and his revenge science project or has Mark, once again, hijacked Rusty’s adventure for his own glory?

Anyway, a note to Rivera: I believe the convention is that the wink goes on the eye closest to the person (or dog) you are winking at. Otherwise, they might miss it.

Oh boy! A chance to ride in a Ranger’s car. Woo hoo!

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Well, I haven’t received a Cease and Desist letter from Rivera’s syndicate (yet), so I reckon I’m safe to continue blogging. So, back to the story…

…and it’s from there we go to …just about anywhere else. Yuck! You know, those three dudes (panel 1) almost do match the classic 3 Stooges. And I’m sure glad that Rivera decided to label the bat that Ernest now wields with the word “Block” in panel 2, after apparently giving the sledge hammer back to Curly.

But wait! Shouldn’t the label on the bat be something like “HIT” or “BREAK BONE”? I believe that when a bat hits an arm, that sound is not “Block.” I just wonder how this incident will play out with Cherry and Violet, once they hear the news.

What I want to know is, where does Ranger Shaw take on the Grungey Boys as Rivera touted in panel 1? Was he disguised as Andy? Oh, Rivera might mean those guys at the top of the hill who just showed up in panel 3. Yeah, they were a big help. Maybe they’ll arrest Mark, too, for impersonating a warden.

A plea for reinvention

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Hoo boy.  

I’ve read posts from Rivera that imply she doesn’t make a lot of money from this strip. Of course, the main way to earn more money is to increase readership by getting into more newspapers and generating additional financial streams. To do that, Mark Trail has to appeal to more readers. Rivera’s current strategy does not seem to be paying off. I’m going to suggest that Rivera change her approach in a few ways to give some respect back to Mark Trail and maybe put more bucks into her bank:

  1. Eliminate the continual self-mocking and corniness. A little goes a long way and their novelty wore off long ago.
  2. Put more effort into the drawing. That is, take it more seriously. Rivera’s earliest work was very good.
  3. Put more realistic drama and danger into the strip. Make the stories real adventures. If Rivera wants to employ a light touch here and there, that’s fine. It need not always be deadly serious. Borrow and adapt plots from good stories. It’s a common practice among writers.
  4. Mark does not need to return to his goody-two shoes persona. If Rivera wishes to continue his eco-vigilante profile, there needs to be some offsets, whether they be moral conflicts Mark has to work through or more legal consequences.  There have been a few such instances in the past, and I encourage her to make those consequences more consequential.

Rivera has made numerous improvements to the strip, and I have highlighted them many times. But they get pushed aside by the strip’s failings. With regard to the drawing, there is no reason to return to the old-school illustration style of Ed Dodd (as many Trailheads would like), nor mirror the kind of lifeless drawing seen in some contemporary soap opera strips. Rivera’s original drawing style (i.e. September 2020) had plenty of naturalism—even if it was stylized—and an appealing, contemporary edge to it.

Mark’s huffing and puffing fails to do the job.

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I suppose that if I was taking this seriously, I’d chastise Mark for putting himself in this position through his bombastic and pointless machismo. I reckon he decided that trying to reason with these stooges was not worth it. Well, how did that strategy work out, Mark? And where the heck did Ranger Shaw run away to, anyway?

Let’s face it, Mark has no authority in Lost Forest to stop anything or anyone. Yet once again, Mark takes the law into his own hands. That is, Jules Rivera once again paints Mark as an impulsive eco-vigilante, more ready to duke it out than help educate and reform.

The least Mark can do is hand out copies of his Sunday nature talks before using his fists.

Art Dept. However, I am taking it seriously, up to a point. Looking more closely, it’s easy to see how the art has deteriorated just over the past several days. Panel 2 and Panel 3 are hard to view for any length of time. Mark’s face still looks like he’s recovering from the metaphorical drubbing I used to describe him yesterday. And panel 3 is just bad, the kind of scribbling that one would see in public school.

The question that keeps haunting me is whether Rivera is drawing like this deliberately to parody the strip. I forget which reader it was who commented on the pointless narration boxes Rivera likes to use (Mark? Downpuppy? Daniel?), but it’s hard to find a more pointless example; as pointless as that “GRIP!” sound effect. Let’s hope they beat the crap out of Trail. Maybe he will learn a lesson or two.

Mark puts a velvet glove over his iron hand. For now.

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“Scummy boys”? That’s telling them, Mark! Why bother with that superior brain Rivera gave you when you can hurl insults? And what happened to your concern about Rusty’s safety or the threats to your family? Oh yeah, the trees.

To be fair, Mark does soften his approach after panel 1. Here is where Mark could sympathize with their frustrations but emphasize the need to haul the objects away after smashing them. Will he do that or continue to pontificate, infuriating these dudes even more? Still, they are not poachers or arsonists, just frustrated, dumb schmucks. They need education, not vilification.

Time to set an example, Mark. And Rusty is watching you.

Art Dept. Rivera continues to rely on lazy graphics by pasting artifacts, will-nilly, across the ground without regard to perspective or terrain. The effect is more like an elementary school drawing. I generally like Mark’s depiction in panel 1. It’s a strong image due to its closeness and diagonal composition. However, there are problems with the head. Mainly, his face looks like it met Tyson Fury’s two fists of justice and didn’t go away happy.

Time to play “Who’s got the biggist?”

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Ah, little boys with their toys. This reads like a cheap action movie from several decades ago, where the so-called actors were likely local yokels picked up in a gym. All of this macho preening is nothing new here. Rivera’s Mark Trail is a continual parade of comical bullies, childish taunting (on both sides), and quick fights. Again, nothing terribly new here, but sadly, nothing terribly new.

It is interesting to see how Connor, the whining, accident-prone camper preoccupied with the fear of divorce, suddenly exhibits a boastful, almost menacing manner (panel 2). In fact, he looks more like Honest Ernest with that trimmed Fu Manchu and movie-villain eyebrows. Yes, it’s quite a change from his look of shock in panel 1.

In fact, I think it really is Honest Ernest and the syndicate colorist misidentified the figure as Connor. Note that the shirt is buttoned up to the collar, whereas in panel 1, Connor has his shirt unbuttoned. The really confusing part is the hair, which looks a bit more like Connor’s.