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The NOAA presentation continues 

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Rivera wastes half of the space today (panel 1) by having the docent repeat what she said yesterday. Not that explaining NOAA’s goals is a waste of time, itself, especially given the pernicious scapegoating that some politicians and groups are touting about NOAA. They link it to the “climate change alarm industry” and think it needs to be downsized, broken up, and brought to heel. Will Rivera take us down that path? 

Art Dept. Panel 3 shows us another case of Rivera’s reliance on (and appreciation for) the symmetrical composition of a figure with upraised arms flanked by two other figures. We can see this organization at least as far back in Rivera’s work as the scene of Tess Tigress welcoming Mark, Diana Daggers, and Rex Scorpius to her compound in the “Puff Piece Zoo” story (9/6/2022). 

The composition of Tess Tigress and her companions at least has a functional story purpose for the arrangement, being that of a formal greeting. In today’s episode, the composition in panel 3 is largely meaningless, insofar as the information in that panel could have been presented with almost any arrangement of the figures. The best that I come up with is that Rivera is giving the reader a compositional illusion of standing in between Mavis and Mark, looking on, while the docent and the students pointlessly stand in a line, facing Mark and Mavis. 

Hee-Hee, Hah Hah?

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At times I wonder if Rivera is actually drawing this strip or whether there is a “ghost artist” behind the scenes. Sure, we have criticized Rivera many times for her artwork and storylines. Frankly, her stories are not much sillier than James Allen’s were, when it comes down to comparisons. 

And I must wonder whether Rivera is just seeing how far she can go in this strip as far as absurd drawing is concerned. In today’s strip, every panel is an exhibit. 

Panel 1: In addition to the slap-dash drawing, the composition of two children in profile framing the central figure as if this were some Renaissance painting of the Virgin Mary adored by the painting’s donors is corny. 

Panel 2: The speaker appears to have aged about 10 years. The background composition is poorly thought out. Half-length figures would have worked more effectively. The children look like stiff, badly made puppets or dolls. Without the color, Mark and Miss Mavis seem to be missing their lower torsos.  

Panel 3: The most successful of the four panels today, insofar as drawing goes. Drawing a foreshortened arm can be tricky for any artist, and I’ve seen worse. Rivera has done this better in the past (sorry, I don’t have the time to find an example. Maybe you can!), but it is enough for us to understand. As for the dialog and behavior, it is egregious, making Mark act as if he is an impulsive jerk. This is not new; Rivera often has Mark react impulsively and foolishly. It is one thing to show Mark over his head in new environments (which is fine, because it shows Mark is not the heroic archetype he has traditionally been portrayed as); but it is another thing to show him lording it over school children as if he has no control. 

Panel 4: As Mark is properly chastised by the docent, we face yet more perplexing and frustrating artwork. We have seen many times before that Rivera cannot draw human figures in the background with any degree of authenticity. Deliberate or not, I cannot say. I noticed that Teacher Mavis has suddenly shrunk, whereas she has been drawn as nearly the same height as Mark. This is careless and insulting to Rivera’s readers as if she draws these figures with so little regard.  

Any reactions from you? Please leave a comment!

Cool! The class looks at all the sea animals! 

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Hoo-boy.  ”Let’s look at all the sea animals!” Really!? I thought this was Middle School, not First Grade. And what reason does teacher Mavis see that leads her to believe Mark is the reason for Rusty’s extemporaneous facts-spouting? It’s bonkers. 

Art Dept. The comic syndicate clearly has flexible standards when it comes to acceptable artwork. Panel 3 is especially problematic, as a close study will show. By now, I hope everybody knows that if you click on the posted strip above, it will (or should) expand. You need to click your browser’s Back button to return to the full blog page.  

Take two bromides and call me in the morning! 

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Science more important than politics? Does he mean politics, literally, or just as a synonym for government? Without politics/government there would probably not be enough money or other support for creating those smartphones and airlines.

As we leave Cherry and her comrades still sitting around the table trying to figure out what to do with a family of kittens, at least we see that the kids on Rusty’s field trip have been promoted to full color students! Clearly, they must have absorbed some amount of knowledge and awareness on their trip. What have they really learned? Rivera’s point of this story is not really about knowledge acquisition. Then is it about looking at the outside of buildings? If so, a class slide presentation could have been cheaper and easier. 

Otherwise, what is this “National Science Museum” of which Rivera writes? Does she mean the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History? Does she mean the Smithsonian Institution museums, in general? And what is that building?

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat 

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A phone call between Cherry and Rusty served as the transition back to Lost Forest where we found Cherry in a brainstorming session at Squirrelly Sally’s bakery shop, along with Doc Davis, Violet, and Sally, with her omnipresent squirrels. For a community-centered approach to solving the homeless kittens problem, there weren’t many locals.  

The group only just started when the bakery door slammed open to reveal Honest Ernest, who stammered to Violet that he would be happy to “rescue her, er, rescue the kittens” and build a cat shelter. Cherry’s own reaction was curt and tinged with cynicism. Hardly a surprise, there. Meanwhile, Doc Davis gave Ernest a welcome pat on the back and encouragement for his volunteering.  

Frankly, even if Ernest builds the kitten coop, they have to be fed and care for. We’ll have to wait to find out the details. But there’s no waiting for the Sunday Nature Chat! 

As usual, Rivera provides an interestingly customized title panel. Today’s info may or may not be new to you, but credit Rivera for focusing on just one feature; or maybe two. I did some more reading:  The “blueness” comes from scattered light due to the internal structure of the feathers. This feature was first analyzed by Robert Hooke in 1665 and later explained by Isaac Newton. Crushing a feather destroys that structure and the blue disappears, leaving behind the natural pigment. That will be a fun experiment to try (with the feather off of the bird, of course).  But I do wish Rivera would reduce Mark’s appearances to just the first and last panels. Then there would be more room for the subject matter.  

 

Quiz Results and Honest Ernest’s Offer

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I received some really good answers to the quiz, all correct. So, thanks for playing!  Commenter Daniel plugged in the answer first, with a possible reason for the discrepancy. Commenter Be Ware was second and posted the “Bakery” lettering in the original ƧᗡЯAWꓘƆAᗺ (mirrored) script. Maybe she has a font that mirrors typed letters or found a web site that does it (like I did). Very cool. 

But no extra credit for missing Tuesday’s strip, where the door has no lettering at all on the window! Oh, did I neglect to mention Tuesday? Shucks! Well, what happened to curiosity and good old suspicion (of me)? Anyway, this was fun, so let’s do it again sometime! But now it’s time to get to today’s episode: 

Is Cherry just being catty or does she have a valid point? (See how I slipped that pun in there, without resorting to a contrived phrase or any grammatical jiu-jitsu?) I agree that Doc has the more positive position here, though he doesn’t have the history with Honest Ernest that Cherry does. Will Rivera let Honest Ernest actually accomplish something positive and helpful for once, or is he destined to once again fail? That is, can a comic strip character evolve or occasionally act in a different way?

Rivera joins the Misplaced Dialog Balloon Club 

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One of the longstanding sources of artistic humor in Mark Trail is the dialog balloon that seems to point to the wrong speaker. Often, this turned out to be an animal or tree. In this case, we have an extreme example in panel 3. It’s difficult to call it” ambiguous”, because the tail of the top dialog balloon deliberately points to Honest Ernest, instead of Violet. It would be interesting to know if this was truly deliberate or if there was some editing going on at the syndicate. Or, it could have been the case that the top balloon had different dialog that Ernest actually said, but it was later changed without redirecting the balloon tail to Violet. 

Otherwise, Rivera finally moves the story along by throwing in a plot twist of a sort with Honest Ernest’s dramatically clumsy entrance, most likely in an attempt to get back into Violet’s good graces and welcoming arms. 

Art Dept. The composition of the group in the background in panel 1 provides a good symbolic purpose, as it supports the narrative by focusing on the group as a whole, rather than the individual participants. However, the squirrel is too big and obscures the effect. Ernest’s clumsy dramatic entrance in panel 2 is also a good effort, though his anatomy is just not right. And once again, the included squirrel is spurious and detracts from the mood.  Rivera cannot seem to stop herself from continuing to parody the pre-Rivera Mark Trail tradition of including animals irrelevant to the storyline. 

Quiz: How close are you observing details? Check out Wednesday’s strip (“In case you missed yesterday, let’s review.”), then compare it to panel 2 and panel 4 today.

Is Rivera getting all metaphorical on us? 

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Yes, it is clear to me from today’s strip that this story is a metaphor. It isn’t really just about the kittens needing a home. The key is panel 4. Figured it out? You probably got it a few days ago.  This is about homelessness, of course, but homeless people. We have NIMBY responses and temporary camp proposals. Cherry’s lament of ”We need something more permanent. What if other kittens come to town…?” nails it for me.  

Of course, there are precedents for using animals as stand-ins for human actions and problems, be it Aesop, the ancient Egyptians, or George Orwell. There are significant differences, too. These animals are not anthropomorphic. Perhaps Rivera is simply making a point that communities need to, and can, come together to help resolve the problem of homelessness.  

Am I over-interpreting this story? Let me if you think differently.  

But my main concern is Rivera’s inability to avoid trivializing story continuity and importance with her need to insert irrelevant and base humor.  

In case you missed yesterday, let’s review. 

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I’m thinking that ”Mom” must have given the group another 24 hours to come up with a solution. They don’t seem in that much of a hurry. In any event, I found Cherry’s remark in panel 4 flippant, even though it was set up in panel 2. It is as if Rivera has been reading Pearls Before Swine. 

So, was any progress made today? Even though Cherry set the agenda yesterday, today is essentially just a paraphrase of yesterday. Which is to say, a day wasted for the sake of a pointless pun. Rivera should be more cautious about self-congratulations. At least Stephen Pastis has the good sense to make himself the butt of the joke. 

Art Dept. This must be Rag on Rivera Day. Her drawing looks really slapdash. It is apparent that drawing figures in the background is a greater challenge. Poor ol’ Doc looks like he is on something possibly illegal. And he sure has lost some weight. Good for him, of course.  

Annnnd it’s from Washington we switch over to Lost Forest! Take it away, Cherry.

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Wow, just how long is 24 hours in Lost Forest? Or how much activity can Cherry cram into one day? This is like that popular crime series, 24, where you just have to suspend reality to accept all of the stuff that happened to Agent Bauer in one full day.

Anyway, I am otherwise glad to see that the phone call was the transition I had hoped for. I have to say that this is not much of a collection of neighbors, given that there are only four people, and two of them share the same house, er, cabin.

I’m glad to see that Squirrelly Sandy changed from her previous red shirt, unlike most of the other characters who always wear the same clothes. Maybe that points to her transactional status in the strip. Maybe Squirrelly Sandy remembers what happens to Away Team members in StarTrek who wore red shirts (usually security).

This just in from our nation’s capital:  Rusty is having a good time.

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I suppose it is fairly realistic to note that adolescent kids will find goofiness more interesting than old airplanes and space modules that you are not allowed to enter or touch. I was probably more like Ian in elementary and middle school. I remember, as a third grader, being very popular because of my spot-on impersonation of Curly from The Three Stooges, especially during lunch. But I digress….

I hope we are not going to have another week filled with pointless prattling taking the place of any pretense of a story. To be fair, there hasn’t really been a story as of yet, other than a few incidents. My main hope is that today’s strip is a segue to Cherry’s crisis about the “abandoned” kittens, a story that has been on hold for about three weeks. At least that story has a focus and a plot. Let’s get to it!

Art Dept. Do you see the sketchy outline of Rusty’s lower face in panel 2? He looks like an Amish-in-Training, trying to grow a beard. I also noticed similar line work in the faces of Cherry and Rusty in panel 1. Deliberate or an oversight? No idea. Could just be my imagination, running away with me.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Mark, Rusty, and his classmates, led by presumed teacher Miss Mavis, are touring Washington, D.C. to soak up some history and politics. What happened this past week?

They happened upon a press conference outside the Capitol, led by none other than Ohio State Senator Smalls, now running for Congress. Smalls made several statements on hot-button issues that Mark hotly disagreed with. As Mark did with the senator last year, he openly challenged Small’s statements. Surprisingly, Smalls did not appear to recognize Mark, though I don’t see how you could forget the person who exposed your illegalities and got your butt arrested. And Senator Smalls was even more worried when Mark began exposing that corruption to the attending journalists.

Here is where things ran differently from the Ohio press conference. Instead of getting into a physical altercation with security, Mark played nice and voluntarily left the scene when directed. The security staff also expelled Miss Mavis and the students. It was an overreach, but nobody challenged it.

Mark didn’t even threaten to use his Two Fists O’ Justice! Why this apparent change? Had Jules Rivera been criticized for violence in this strip? There is actually very little of it. Could this decision been based on Mark not wanting anything to happen to the students? Well, they still got chased away.

Anyway, I believe Miss Mavis possibly missed a teaching opportunity when she proclaimed to her retreating students “There goes my politics lesson,” because I think this incident was a good lesson:  A citizen had his say and then the authorities stomped on it. Fortunately, Mark was well enough to make this Sunday nature discussion.

We have another well-conceived title panel, at least as far as the logo is concerned. The horseshoe crab is common up and down the Atlantic Coast and even the Gulf of Mexico. Growing up, I used to see their carapaces on the beaches in Virginia quite a lot. Yes, they can be found along the Potomac River.

The horseshoe crabs are especially abundant on Delaware Bay during Spring mating season, when they appear in the thousands to nest. Apparently, commercial fishing use them as bait, depleting their stock. Their value in medical research lies in an element of their blood called amebocytes, a type of coagulant. After they are bled, they are released to their natural habitat. Unfortunately, the loss of blood makes them more vulnerable and can lead to premature death. There are efforts to find viable substitutes.

The Moving Mark Shouts, and Having Shouted, Moves On ….

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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.

What’s up with Mark’s capitulation?

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The Mark Trail strip for Friday continues the story of how Mark escorted Rusty on a school field trip to Washington, D.C., only to run into Ohio State Senator Smalls holding a press conference announcing his run for Congressional, in Washingtion D.C. Mark immediately started provoking Smalls with questions and demands, just like he did when he first encountered the corrupt politician.

I’m not sure where those two journalists from yesterday went to, nor if they are even bothering to record this likely illegal action by the Senator and his “security staff.” (Do you recognize the cop on the left?) Well, for journalists, this group looks pretty incompetent and uninterested. I don’t even see any cameras!

So, what was the point of this scenaro? Did Rivera just want to get in a few kicks about politicians threatening to eradicate government agencies? Will Mark try to followup on this confrontation in another venue?

Well, we did discover that Mark will not always resort to violence. That’s an improvement! Perhaps he realized fighting in front of the students was not a good look. We also learned the name of the other adult, though not her role. Will Saturday give us anything new?

Mark gets noticed by the local press

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As I live and breathe, this time some journalists do, in fact, get involved in Mark’s confrontation. And once again, Senator Smalls calls on Security to solve his problem. Interestingly, Mark has yet to reveal his Secret Identity as a Wildlife and Environmental Journalist. At least, I think that is what he is.

Do you think these two journalists are caricatures of actual journalists or known persons in the Real World? They have a certain individuality about them. And they certainly stand out from the purple cartoony figures standing behind them.

But the bigger picture here is that—once again—Rusty serves only as the kick-starter for another one of Mark’s adventures. Rusty will certainly continue in his secondary role, unless Rivera comes up with something unusual for him to do. Maybe he’ll panhandle on the street for Mark’s bail money!

Mark sets himself up for more trouble

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Mark—or rather, this story—is skating on thin ice. Or, perhaps my reaction is. Mark’s smugness in panel 3 is obvious, but maybe not justified. I’m not convinced that Senator Smalls recognizes Mark, in spite of Mark’s retort in panel 3.

Mark could have replied that he is, in fact, a journalist. But he didn’t! Why wouldn’t he reveal his bona fides as a wildlife and environmental journalist to justify his questions?

It’s possible that Smalls thinks Mark is just another troublemaking tourist. The fact that Mark is dressed in blue jeans and a red checkered shirt might have something to do with him standing out from the crowd, even if it is a crowd of journalists.

Will the Capitol Police show up at this point and try to haul Mark away? Will he try to fight them off?

Mark challenges Smalls to dismiss protecting children

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I forgot to bring up Mark’s comment in yesterday’s strip, where he said “What you’re doing is wrong and un-American!” Well, what Senator Smalls was doing was giving a speech, which is decidedly not un-American! Mark should have said “What you are saying is wrong and un-American!” Closer to what he probably meant, but still not accurate. Wanting to dismantle a government agency might be stupid, thoughtless, or even just political theater, but it ain’t un-American. However, declaring you support arresting or executing the people who run a government agency for your own political gain has a much higher chance of being declared un-American, depending on which people you poll. For all his faults, I don’t think Smalls will go that far.

As for today, how is it that Senator Smalls does not recognize the very person who violently interrupted his press conference in Ohio, exposed his corruption, and finally got him arrested? I mean, Mark is even wearing the same clothes!

Mark puts the senator on the spot, once again!

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The crowed for Senator Smalls seems to keep shrinking. Maybe those that left felt a change in the air and decided to get out of the way, quick.

Anyway, Mark’s heart is in the right place. But Mark should have realized he would be setting an example for the students. He should have at least gone through the motion of first raising his hand to ask his questions before going full-on Mr. Activist. But that’s old news at this point.

Art Dept. Speaking of old news, I noticed that Rivera decided to not only revive the scenario of Mark confronting Senator Smalls, but to use a similar composition  (panel 1). Did it look familiar to you, too? Let’s take a look:  

Here is the panel from July 22, 2023, when Mark and his father first confronted the senator. The general composition and Mark’s image in today’s strip is close to the July panel. But whereas prior Mark Trail artists would have simply “cut-and-paste” the same figure for convenience, it is clear that Rivera free-handed today’s version for a different reason. And that’s fine; “reuse” is  something artists have done for thousands of years when faced with the need to duplicate the same subject. I believe it is a deliberate decision by Rivera to compositionally link the two confrontations across time.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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You saw them brave wild lions, survive dangerous sea currents, and ignore plot holes in their hunt for a missing movie director (“Lions and Crickets and Caves, oh my!”). Now see them come together again, as they take on the complex and sometimes-brutal forces of Washington, D.C.!

Mark and Rusty are off on another father-and-son adventure: a school field trip to Washington, D.C. While touring, Rusty’s class happened upon a politician giving a stump speech to run for a senate seat in Congress. Mark recognized the speaker as State Senator Sam Smalls, the corrupt Ohio politician in bed with the railroad responsible for a dangerous chemical spill and explosion.

I noted this week that Rivera injected some actual current political content (about NOAA) into Small’s speech. While hearing Smalls talk, Mark became apoplectic at the same time that Rusty became entranced. A parent or teacher (it’s unclear to me) tried to shush Mark, but he was having none of it. Mark began to interrupt Small’s speech and openly challenge him. Readers may recognize the similarity to Mark’s interaction with Senator Smalls at a press conference following the exploding Ohio train crash (2023). That interaction led to violence and a police chase.

Will this aggressive interaction bring about a meaningful debate or just lead to another communications breakdown, followed by a police pursuit and/or arrest?

It’s true that some politicians (including the fictional Senator Smalls) and special interest groups want to split up/cancel NOAA, for political purposes. The Project 2025 report is one such entity.

However, not all Republicans agree. A House bill introduced by a Republican in 2023 (H.R.3980 of the 118th Congress, ‘‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act of 2023’’) aims to split NOAA from its dependent position under the Department of Commerce into its own, independent federal agency. The justification is to remove non-scientific oversight by Commerce and give NOAA its own statutory authority as a federal agency. This sounds commendable.

But it is very different from other, largely-Republican politicians and resources, including Project 2025, which calls for privatizing and splitting up NOAA, while removing its climate change research mandate. I noticed that H.R. 3980 actually supports NOAA’s climate research authority. That might explain why the bill is languishing and may never make it out of committee under the current House makeup. There is more to this than I can get into.

Mark moves into his Justice Mode!

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Some current politics are getting injected here, but if you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry. Be happy. Mark is so uptight in panel 2. Is it something Rusty just said? After all, business does create jobs and that is good. Maybe Mark has an aversion to normal jobs. My guess.

Or I think Mark is upset about by what Smalls said in panel 1. But what, specifically? Perhaps he has a visceral reaction to “AI Tech.” But we know he’s already upset about that NOAA crack.

Now, here is where the unnamed Woman in Purple might have it right: Mark cannot hold his temper and act in a more formal, acceptable manner. Just like in the Ohio press conference where he first confronted Senator Smalls, Mark again rudely interrupts the speech with a boisterous outburst and strong arm gesture. I wonder if Smalls recognizes Mark yet?

Today’s Tip o’ Destruction for the kiddies: Mark’s reaction is always the approach to take when the other person wants to settle in for a clearheaded, intelligent discussion or debate. Don’t accept that! Put the person on the defensive and keep them there!