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Monthly Archives: October 2024

Wesley Wingit found lying down on the job!

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Okay, some phony drama in panel 1: “…a strange voice nearby…” Strange, as in, “it doesn’t sound human,” or that Sammy doesn’t recognize Wingit’s voice? As we have seen, this overall “bioluminosity”, or some other magical cave lighting, washes out any real semblance of mood.

Still, it’s clever of Mark—whom we saw in the James Allen days becoming quite the mountain climber—to let Rusty have the honor of climbing the wall and discovering Wesley. Now he can claim that Rusty did, indeed, function as his assistant. That should justify Rusty’s portion of the flight and hotel expenses.

Spotter is also spot on with his survival question in panel 3. But how does Mark (Rivera) respond? And what about that suspicious envelope alongside Wesley?

Art Dept. I’ll give Rivera credit for the dramatic perspective view in panel 1. Well done! I only wish the dialog had matched. And how about those kayaks!? Isn’t it interesting how closely the real Wesley matches Mark’s memory bubble that Rivera has shown several times?

What’s the difference between a cave and a tree? Apparently, nothing!

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What’s that hackneyed cliché, “the plot sickens…” That groan in panel 1 may lend some weight to regular reader Daniel’s quip yesterday about a possible guest appearance by former adventure story co-star and cave-clickbait, Caria. Mark might have second thoughts about Rusty looking into that convenient hole in the wall to see what is going on in the next passageway.

Meanwhile, Rivera continues pitching this comic strip to . . . uh, well, I’m just not sure who. This does not strike me as the kind of strip a “younger reader” would find appealing. For one thing, the Wackiness Level is just not high enough, if that is what Rivera is shooting for. Rivera’s early statement about wanting to get Mark involved in more current environmental issues has only intermittently been attempted over the life of the strip. Showing Rusty as some suddenly “aware” boy affecting a TV sitcom eyewink as he delivers his punchline (panel 4) strikes me as uncharacteristic of him and smarmy.

Wooo! This was one scary close call, wasn’t it!?

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Interesting. A wave from nowhere rushes through the cave; a cave that seems well lit. Perhaps that’s just more artistic license. This sequence could have displayed some real drama, had the cave been dark and we could only see indistinct forms, thanks to the helmet lights.

But once again, any sense of actual drama is trivialized. To make the point, Rivera organized today’s strip in a joke-a-day format, as she often does (panel 4).

Another story day lost to self-pity

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This is at least the second time Sammy Spotter has whined about only being a bird watcher, rather than the film’s animal wrangler, as he was originally described (can you guess the date?).  Like me, you might also be wondering just what view Mark has seen that merits his excitement. Maybe he just likes dark cave entrances.

Some of us might be sitting around the digital fireplace right now (preferably Nick Offerman’s 10-hour marathon), pondering just how this Wesley Wingit character got trapped in the cave in the first place (assuming Mark is correct). Did Wingit get a foot trapped in a giant clam? Did a cave boulder suddenly roll atop him, with a rising tide? Maybe Wingit got lost in a maze of twisty passages, all alike. As this is a family strip, I doubt he will show up as a floater.

Anyway, if the rescue gets complicated, Rivera could resort to a Gilligan’s Island dux ex machina, where the castaways simply made various props and costumes show up as needed.

Pointless Comments

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Yes, now that Mark has taken care of his extracurricular, time-wasting duties, they finally get around to entering the cave where they assume Wesley is somehow trapped. By the way, did Mark and Sammy consider the possible reason for Wesley’s entrapment and the possibility that they, too, could get trapped for the same reason? If so, Rivera did not choose to tell us.

Except for panel 2, today’s strip is full of comments that are pointless or patronizing.

Either Sammy Spotter (panel 1) is really slow in finally figuring out why they rented all of that gear or Rivera believes her readers are! On the optimistic assumption it is the former case, perhaps we might have to change our mind about Sammy being the criminal mastermind that I theorized last Friday. And Mark asking if Rusty is ready to explore the cave is a bit late in the game. That question should have been asked back at the beach, where Rusty could have declined and retreated to the hotel.

Panel 3 shows Mark patronizing Rusty, who is just a kid enjoying an adventure. That doesn’t mean he isn’t mindful of what they are doing. Rusty’s comment in panel 2 is quite appropriate for a kid his age. Rivera got that part right. If Mark wanted Rusty to express an “adult” point of view, why did Mark treat him as a kid and leave him back at the hotel beach in the first place?

Anyway, Mark is only “rescuing” Wingit because he is getting paid to do it. Apparently, that is the right reason. Lesson learned?

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Two hands clapping to commenter Daniel for his clever geographic pun in Saturday’s comments. Moving on to this story’s progress: Mark revealed to Sammy Spotter that he found a camera and a production script in the mansion, both of which might hold clues to Wesley’s whereabouts. Mark said nothing about the lions to Sammy, which is surprising, given their physical and geographical status.

Sammy’s review of camera photos led them to a nearby cave on a nearby waterway, suggesting Wingit might be inside. This hypothesis was reinforced by notes in the production schedule. Whether Sammy should have had his own copy of the production schedule was never brought up. In any event, they discussed the situation while at the cave’s entrance, whereupon Mark found some keys he believed were for the mansion. This was more confirmation for their cave hypothesis. And then crazy set in.

Mark realized it was time to pick up Rusty from his surfing lesson! That’s strange, as earlier in the story, Mark was content to let Rusty stay on his own at the hotel. But he didn’t mind letting Wesley sit/float/sink in his cave while he retrieved Rusty. Sammy thought this was odd. So do I.

This brings up an important point: Is Mark taking this assignment seriously or maybe just doesn’t know how to set priorities? The situation sounds ludicrous:  Mark investigates a house filled with lions while his son takes a surfing lesson near (I presume) their hotel. In the middle of his assignment, Mark has to leave to get Rusty (But what if the lions ate him!?) and then bring him back to the site of the mansion. Now all three of them are going to explore an unknown water-filled cave to look for Wesley Wingit. What could possibly go wrong with that!?

Today’s nature supplement is straightforward and interesting. The normally customized title panel has a sleek look to it. Heck, Mark even forewent the usual lame-o bad pun ending for an acceptably groaning dad joke. Still, it’s an improvement.

Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to deal with Wesley!

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Okay, so being trapped in a cave is not a really big deal for Mark, huh? We can interprete his behavior in different ways:

  1. Mark is a super dad and cares for his own kid above anybody else, even his assignment
  2. Mark is an irresponsible dad and thinks it is just fine to bring Rusty into a possibly dangerous environment
  3. Mark figures Wingit made his own mess, so feels no great responsibility to save him
  4. Since Wingit is no longer in the mansion, Mark’s primary mission is complete, anyway

Who knows which is right and whether another reason will float to the surface of this turgid pool?

Art Dept. Today’s strip displays signs of assembly line drawing, though I might be misreading things. Mark’s face in panel 2 looks like it was put together from stored parts, like an identikit or Mr. Potato Head, especially the mouth, which doesn’t quite fir the angle of the face. By the way, Mark’s watch in panel 1 disappears in panel 3. In fact, panel 1 is the only time Mark’s watch has even appeared.

Less obvious is the “lineup” composition that Rivera likes to use (panel 3) for groups. You can find numerous examples in the strip if you care to go back and review. Of course, part of the reason for this is important: Rivera needs to visually clarify which characters are speaking in a group. One downside is that the composition can sometimes look unnatural and awkward.

Today, Mark and Sammy stand side-by-side in the foreground, talking to Rusty and the surfing instructor standing in the middle ground. This arrangement forces Mark and Sammy to look back over their shoulders.  Clearly, a more realistic and still clear composition would have been to show Mark and Sammy facing Rusty, with their backsides to us. Not a difficult composition, even for Rivera.

Also, how and why did Rusty change his clothes from the relatively short time ago when he began his surfing lesson?

Mysteries (in my head) abound

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Nice find, Sherlock! I wonder if Mark used keys to get into the lion mansion? We did not get to see that particular action, nor were keys mentioned earlier. Of course, such trivial items are not usually a subject of discussion in a story like this, unless they turn up in an unusual spot. I checked back and in the September 14 strip the narration says Mark broke into the mansion. I must have been distracted by other matters to not notice that detail. How did he break in? There didn’t seem to be any damage to the door. Does Mark carry burglar tools?

Still, I’m suspicious. It seems that Sammy has been directing Mark the entire time, including to this cave. Part of that is to be expected, of course. As Sammy discussed back in the August 29 strip, Wingit’s movies are just a scam for studios to take tax writeoffs, while earning him a good payoff. Sammy complained that the discovery of lions in a house of actors would create a studio-ending scandal. But this is surely false, because the tradition in Hollwood is any publicity is good publicity. Well, except when people really get killed.

Why does Sammy have no idea what the movie production schedule is, in spite of the fact that he is part of the production team? That is strange. And today, they just happen to walk to a spot where Mark spots a set of house keys on the ground.

Art Dept. The “moonlight” reflection effect in the water is nicely done, but not very convincing, considering we are looking at the entrance to a (dark) cave. Hmm, panel 3 shows us part of the lion mansion in the background. That’s interesting, considering that the mansion was also in the background of yesterday’s strip, when Mark and Sammy were on the other side of the water, above the cave’s entrance.

Could it be madness?

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Sure, Mark. You must investigate this rash assumption in order to earn your fee. But there’s no need to yell!

Why should people assume Wesley Wingit is trapped in a cave? First he’s believed to be trapped in a mansion; now it’s a cave. What’s next, trapped in the wait line to ride the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland!? What is this obsession with a “trapped Wingit”? Is Wingit some kind of a Wingnut? (Okay, I beat Rivera to that pun I’ve been saving up.)

But maybe all of this is just bad press from Wingit’s detractors. Or detractor! Sammy Spotter is the only person from the movie studio we have heard from or seen. As I recall, he was Bill Ellis’s sole contact for this assignment! It could very well be that Spotter is behind some kind of unexplained criminal scheme. Or maybe this is a revenge conspiracy. Mark does have several enemies in California, including the wealthy Rob “Cricket Bro” Bettencourt, who could be financing this operation.

(Wait, Sammy did not use Wesley’s full name in Panel 4. He may wind up with a reprimand and a fine from SAG for his improper name credit.)

I confess that maybe I’m guilty of suggesting a level of subtlety and complexity not present in this silly story. Maybe I’m just wishing that there was something more, something complex and devious. Something interesting.

Mark suffers a flashback!

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The guys seem so fascinated by director Wingit’s full name that they can’t help but repeat it in-full, every chance they get. Somehow, Mark jumps to the conclusion that, because Wingit would be shooting a scene in a cave, he might now be trapped in it. Why would he think that?

The cave reference Rivera refers to in panel 4 is to a “Journey to the Center of the Earth”-style adventure of a pursuit that took place in a southwest Texas cave. It appeared between Dec 2015-June 2016 when the strip was drawn by prior Mark Trail artist, James Allen (refer to our story category “Arachnid, Ho!”).  The adventure has since become an in-joke for its many cliffhangers, inane dialog, and seemingly unending length (the story and the cave).

It turns out that there really are numerous natural caves on Catalina Island, though most seem to be shallow. On the other hand, there are also several now-inactive mines of greater depth cut into the island rock to retrieve minerals such as silver, lead, and zinc, such as the BlackJack Mine. There is also a shallow “cave” blasted into the mountain below the landmark Holly Hill House. The town of Avalon initiated this to force the original home’s owner to allow public access across his land to the beach. Perhaps one of these will feature in Mark’s search.

Gadzooks!?

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What ho! The first thing out of the mouth of a smiling Mark Trail has nothing to do with layabout lions or missing actors, but bragging about his finds like a kid at an Easter Egg Hunt. Useless animal wrangler, Sammy Spotter, is positively giddy that he can discover where Wesley Wingit might have already been (assuming this is really Wingit’s camera).

Now, is Rivera getting philosophic on us? “We have to know the past in order to know the future.” In Panel 3, Mark’s comment completes the second half of that axiom. Nevertheless, it is possible to speculate on future actions based on past events. Except for future investment performance, of course.

Okay, what about that production schedule document? Since Wesley Wingit is the director, surely the producer(s) and studio also have copies of it. So they could have looked it over to check for location shots and send people to scout them out on the specified dates, right? Will the guys finally realize this? Did the producers even think about it?

<Sigh!> One thing we’ve learned for sure:  So far, Sammy Spotter has proven to be about as relevant as “Gadzooks!”