I’m concerned that people in this adventure strip seem to have trouble knowing which way to face when communicating. In panel 1, we see Mark doing the Big Wave as he faces the waterfront. I thought he was still waving at Max. But no! Mark is waving at the two hapless kidnappers who are, technically, behind him, to his left. In fact, Skeeter and Rita are also looking out, across the water. This is the same orientation problem that we saw yesterday.

I’m floating a theory that ol’ Max the Manatee might actually now be ol’ Max the Ex-Manatee! Take a look! Go on. Look! In panel 1 he seems to have floated back to the shore and shrunk by a good ten feet. He looks more like a child’s pool float. What gives?

I do not understand the need to bring Max back, nor show him suddenly next to the shore, compared to his position yesterday (panel 4), after the gang said goodbye. Why is Max in the panel at all? The real point of panel 1 is to trash-talk the two failed kidnappers. Furthermore, the rest of the conversation is about climate change, not Max or the endangered status of manatees. This just reinforces my earlier conviction that this story told us next to nothing about manatees, their issues, and their need for guardianship by qualified professionals.