Let’s recall the point of this story: Mark was assigned to attend an AI conference at the request of Cricket Bro, so he could present a counterargument to AI being compatible with the environment. Fine. However, the actual panel discussion was held only within the last two weeks of the story, where there were few, if any, actual points of discussion. So if readers were looking for good information or arguments on AI and the environment, then as the Dread Pirate Roberts once said, “get used to disappointment.”

Still, there were a few things missing: Where were the usual questions from the audience? And whatever happened to Sid Stump? Was he just making a cameo appearance? And what does Rivera’s dreadful pun even mean?

Art Dept. Presenting anonymous figures in a crowd can be done in several ways. Rivera normally creates background figures even more sketchy that the main characters often appear (e.g. panel 4), usually in a purple tint (see the May 8th strip). In panel 1, the anonymous crowd is in the foreground, presenting a new challenge. Their flat, outlined shapes are over-accentuated by their black outlines, making them look like cardboard cutouts. I think a better effect would have been to omit the outlining completely, so they would draw less attention to themselves by blending together in more of an amorphous mass.

But you might ask, “What about the crowd shot in panel 4 of the May 3rd strip? It shows actual human figures from the rear, still in purple.” Well, you might not have asked, so I took the trouble of asking for you. Thank you. I think it might be an issue of scale and view. That May 3rd panel is fairly tight and close, so we only see one row of viewers.