I see some hasty drawing today and a somewhat different-acting Mark Trail. Even his expressions look different. What gives!? Mark began his questioning of Smalls in his standard, outspoken manner. But suddenly, he allowed himself to be shooed away like an unwelcome survey taker or somebody trying to sell you a new roof. Or maybe a … sorry, I’m getting sidetracked.

Now, is Rivera trying to shape Mark into a more controlled nature journalist/advocate? Or is this incident just a one-off? At least we are pretty certain that Miss Mavis is a teacher, not just a parent. And Mark is the only other adult chaperone!

Art Dept. There is something odd about the art today. Mark’s facial expressions don’t line up with how we normally see Rivera portraying him. And as for panel 1, that is my biggest shock. There are several noteworthy features: 1) the bushes exactly frame the lower half of the blue jay, rather than flow naturally behind the bird. 2) The extreme flatness of the scene is jarring. The “white” polygonal shape suggests architecture, but also doesn’t. It’s just a flat, irregular white shape. The steps and backdrop seem to float over it, as if it is somebody’s partial recollection of an event. The upper profile of the white shape mirrors the flow of the bushes. That continuity, in itself, is good classic technique.

But the overall effect of panel 1 reminds me of those old postcards that used to be popular, showing a state profile filled in with various motifs and symbols of the state. Could Rivera have actually had something like that in mind when she composed this panel? Well, maybe my imagination is getting the better of me.