Four panels it takes for Mark to just say “Ok. You two handle it. I’m outta here!” And that is because Rivera again sacrifices plot for her distracting humor. At least Duke had the decency to actually inspect the water heater up close to confirm his initial long-range analysis!
Art Dept. I wonder if Rivera uses a “model sheet” for reference? That’s a page of images, poses, and expressions for each main character, referenced to ensure consistency. Panel 3, for example, gives the impression that Mark must be almost 7 feet tall, based on his arm. Or Cherry must have shrunk to 5 feet. Either way, it’s a bit disturbing. Even the figures seem awkward, as if standing around and posing.
Feel free to comment on my analysis or on the strip, itself.
The Daily Trail 
It doesn’t take a “team” to replace a water heater “while <Mark> is traveling”. One guy over ~2 hours should do it. Methinks Cherry will have her eyes trained on other things while Mark is gone.
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Welcome, Triteon. You’re right, of course. Unless there are some significant issues, a couple of plumbers should suffice. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire De-Bait Team showed up and held a fish fry.
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