Well, Cherry’s adventure seems to have ended last week with a thud, along with a drop in my blog’s stats for the week. Perhaps I was a bit too optimistic in my thinking Rivera was actually considering going “serious.” Or perhaps it was me, failing to take Rivera on her own terms, rather than mine.
In any event, it’s time for some of the usual end-of-story cleanup. Will Mark actually wind up at the Lost Forest airport when Peach and Olive are departing? I just don’t understand why Rivera doesn’t coordinate with me!
Apparently, Mark has already ditched Rita and Skeeter, based on the fact that he is back with his car rental. And we’re back with Rivera’s oft-used 3-panel gag layout. I don’t know if Bill expects Mark to write something up or which magazine will publish it, but I hope he isn’t expecting any photos.
Thought experiment for the day: Ever wonder what Bill Ellis does after work or on weekends?
The Daily Trail 
Has Mark ever been shown writing something? While Bill Ellis may care about the manatee, isn’t Mark supposed to provide him magazine content?
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Indeed, Daniel. Good question. Did we ever see Mark writing up an assignment prior to Rivera? Nothing comes to mind. Not much during Rivera’s tenure, either, though she at least hints at Mark writing or recording his articles.
On 1/31/2021 (during the “Zeeba Mussels” assignment), we see Mark shooting videos for “Fish Magazine”, which editor Rafael Suave went on to praise. At the end of the “Puff Piece Zoo” story about Tess the Tigress, Mark spends several days online with Bill Ellis, going over his story (from 11/28/22 onward). And starting on 5/23/23, Mark and Bill Ellis again spend several days going over his filed report of his investigation of the Sid Stump’s Water Bear Country resort (“Bear Necessity”).
In the end, Rivera has occasionally given us a small peek at Mark’s actual journalistic duties, but not much of Mark plunking away on his keyboard.
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