Oh my. I wasn’t around in 1946, but what I saw of early Mark Trail (and summarized on Mark Trail Confidential) was that the bear in question was, in fact, Cherry’s “pet” bear that Mark mistook for an attacking bear. And they weren’t bonding too much at first, until Mark handed over a pile of cash he got from winning a nature photo contest.
Now, is Cherry seriously pushing to have Rusty tag along with Mark to search a house filled with lions!? That sounds like grounds for a child endangerment rap.
And how could Mark justify taking Rusty along as his partner/backup? Sure, he could suggest to Bill Ellis that Rusty would function as a staked goat to lure the lions out of the way, perhaps. That puts both Cherry and Mark in the pokey for child endangerment, and Rusty in the hospital. Or the ground.
I dunno. It all sounds so weird. Maybe Mark and Cherry want to break free from their restrictive lifestyle and start anew, on their own…and in another country that doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States.
The Daily Trail 
I think we are approaching a very sad stage here. As you all know, newspapers are struggling. I am one of the few who get a paper. Mark Trail (as I’ve said before George) has gotten so beyond the realm of readable. I hate to repeat myself. If you look back on the wealth of our cartoonists in the past, there is a sincere effort in artwork and imagination. Aside from a few strips, it has become a lost art. In the Star Trib where I live, there may now be 8 strips I enjoy. I loved looking at the comics as a kid. I looked forward to it every morning before school. Mark Trail now looks pasted on crap. Trees with no definition or branches. A story line that makes no sense and goes nowhere. Nothing even resembling a Mark Trail comic. I’d like to submit a contest for the readers of this blog. How long before this strip is removed due to lack of interest and just plain awful imagination. My bet is she lasts less than a year. I would think there are some very talented folks who can take the mantle of this classic strip and rejuvenate it to where it needs to be. I hope so. I’m not sure why I care so much! I think why is because it was such a unique and classic comic. Enough said.
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Strib subscriber here for decades!
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Strib subscriber here for decades!
And, I hope the strip lasts another year. I just paid the host fee and domain fee for this site for the coming year!
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In that case, I hope it does too!
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