So, Mark and Cherry feel the need to butt in and get their pound of flesh. Seems rather petty to me, and not in any way useful. Not that I have sympathy for Psycho Rick, who is definitely being portrayed as a pathetic loser.

And I have a some questions about Mark’s diatribe in panel 3.

1. Exactly when did mark contact this editor, as he only just got back from Florida?
2. How did Mark figure out which magazine and which editor to contact?
3. Why would any magazine editor pull an article on the say-so of a nature journalist with, uh, only about 500 followers? Sure, the hunt was rigged, as Peach originally stated, but where is the evidence? As an editor, I would want more verification.

I’m confused here. Cherry and Mark talk to Rick as if he was some local punk, trying to pick a fight with them in a bar. Then Rivera has Mark spout some cornball mano-a-mano nonsense in panel 2. Curiously, while spouting his eye-to-eye declaration, Mark is shown farther away from the cell. Based on Mark’s declaration, I would have expected Rivera to show an actual face-to-face, eye-to-eye closeup of Mark and Rick. It’s a curious disconnect.

Also curious is panel 4, where Mark suddenly says he’s fine with letting The Authorities take care of Rick. What was all that macho talk about, then? This panel reminds me of stories where the bratty little kid catches an older sibling swiping a cookie and says “I saw you! I’m gonna tell Mom, and you’ll be in big trouble!”

Anyway, just what is Rivera trying to accomplish with this extended jailhouse confrontation? And how many more days will this verbal beat-down visit continue? Alas, Rivera likes to start new stories on Mondays, so I hope we’ll see something else filling out the rest of the week. Maybe we’ll find out whether Olive, Peach, and Dirk have left for their homes, or are meeting with the Lost Forest Prosecuting Attorney(!), to give testimony.