If all that gray stuff in the trees isn’t Spanish Moss, it might just be a lot of sleeping sloths, able to maintain their arboreal perches. Pretty sure they aren’t cold iguanas.
So, that box on the shore must contain Max, yes? The box is not even open! Didn’t anybody bother to check on Max’s condition? What kind of manatee minders are these clowns? Also, I wonder what hardware Mark is referring to in panel 2 that is different than the hardware they had to have needed to lift the box out of the truck and set it safely on the shore?
Am I being too picky here? Possibly, but if Rivera is going to have Mark suddenly get all technical, why skip over details? For example, how did they get the box out of the truck and onto the shore? Unless Max is a baby manatee, these animals get big and very heavy, requiring a bunch of people and special equipment, as we see in this photo of a manatee being transported from Miami to SeaWorld Orlando in 2023 for veterinary examinations.
Sure, this is just a comic strip, not a documentary. And I’m being a picky know-it-all. But as I wrote previously, Mark Trail (the strip and the person) is based on the love and protection of nature in all its aspects. You can’t just wave your hand and declare “Let there be a deus ex machina!”
Now, as far as the plot goes—and it seems to be moving once again—the so-called “Bear Bozos” return for a second attempt. Apparently, neither Skeeter nor Rita bothered to check the highway behind them! Probably because they were too busy browsing the Internet.
By the way: Does anybody know what the “Bear Bozo” on the right is holding? Is he attempting to shoot a spitball at Mark? Throw a Japanese shuriken? Or maybe throw a kiss to Mark? Get ready for action!!
For the source of the photo and related article, see https://tinyurl.com/6ywf7d9d)
The Daily Trail 
The box has the hardware they need to get Max from the truck to the water.
You’d think there would be more people there, and they would have the rear of the truck by the water, but that stuff is just standard for this strip.
LikeLike
DOH! Ah, tools/equipment are in the box: A toolbox. Makes perfect sense, Downpuppy! It was staring me in the face all the time. I got carried away by a false premise.
Your point about backing up the truck also makes sense, of course. Perhaps Rivera/Mark will make the point that the shoreline is too infirm to safely mount the “hardware” right there so they could not back up the truck.
Or Rivera could mount an aesthetic counter-argument: “They could have backed up the truck, parked farther away from the shore, thus leaving room for equipment assemblage. However, the artistic needs of the composition overrode the authenticity requirement.”
Hey, maybe Mark will convince those two bear bozos of their erroneous presumptions, and get them to help launch Max back into his environment! We’ll see.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not too picky at all, George. I had many of the same questions. How did “Mark and Friends” get Max and his crate out of the truck? Just the three of them? I’m guessing they wished really hard.
I believe the Bear Bozo on the right is smacking/punching the palm of his right “paw” with his left fist, like when people threaten to punch someone.
Why are the Bear Bozos still wearing the bear costumes? At this point, “Mark and Friends” can recognize the Bear Bozos on sight. Are the zippers stuck? Why not just wear a mask if you don’t want to be identified? It seems to me that the bear costumes would be cumbersome.
How do the Bear Bozos show emotions through the head of the bear costumes? Fear the other day, now anger.
After the selfie the other day, I have to ask, are the bear costumes part of the pair’s social media personas? “We’re the Bear Bozos. Catch us on Instagram. 500 followers.”
Does Rivera think her readers are so dumb, that they won’t be able to identify who the bad guys are unless they remain in their bear costumes?
So many questions. Too much silliness.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“So many questions” is a popular commiseration of Trailverse readers, I believe.
Some of this must be assigned to “the needs of the artist” to provide easy identification or evoke various sentiments (such as emotional bear masks and wearing costumes), overriding the concerns of mere realism, or always wearing the same clothes: e.g. Bear costumes, lumberjack shirts & jeans, etc.
I’ll accept your interpretation of the bear gesture. As with Downpuppy’s interpretation of the box, it makes more sense!
In fact, the corrective responses from you and Downpuppy actually restore some semblance of reality and practicality. Sometimes I get too cute for my own good!
Thanks!
LikeLike