Well, I reckon regular reader Daniel P. and I were both wrong. Those uniformed individuals look to be animal control officers. At least, that’s what I’m going with, since who else would have a cage on hand? On the other hand, why would two—presumably trained—animal control officers need assistance? Some questions just can’t be answered, like some punchlines (panel 4) shouldn’t be delivered.

Art Dept. Well, today has to be a first. Has anybody ever seen a full-face image of Mark? I certainly don’t mean the common three-quarter faces we usually see, but an actual look-in-the-mirror face (panel 2). Let me know when and where, if you recall. I also don’t mean background occurrences, either. It has to be a foreground, “portrait”-sized image.  

Mark’s full-face is a bit dodgy, as the mouth slants while the jaw remains centered. Still, this face breaks new ground in another way, as Mark “breaks the fourth wall” and appears to interact directly with us, his readers. This fourth wall narrative technique goes back at least to ancient Greek tragedy, with its Chorus being the narrator to the audience. The technique has been used ever since, in theater, movies, and animated cartoons.

But I think one of the most inventive uses of this “break the fourth wall” narration technique was in the early seasons of The Burns and Allen TV show (1950 on).  George Burns would sometimes literally step out of the set (or stand in front of it) and talk to the live audience about the episode in progress. Then he would walk back into the show. You can find episodes on YouTube. If you are lucky, you might find an episode or two where Burns goes upstairs in his garage to turn on his TV and watch some of the very show he is in. Genius! It was just surreal.