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Monthly Archives: May 2025

Nothing like a home cooked meal

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Good news: Goodbye, Manhattan and Hello, Lost Forest! We can turn our attention back to the matter of … uh, exactly what was going on, again back home? Hmm, I think it had something to do with Rusty and Olive Pitt running into the Grungey Boys playing with a riding lawnmower some place in the woods of Lost Forest. And Honest Ernest was threatening them. Yes, and the always-useful Ranger Shaw was unable to do anything about it, due to some possibly made-up rule about jurisdiction. Shaw had previously confessed to Mark about his indirect abetting of the Grungey Boys’ prior activity, destroying electronic equipment left behind to litter the forest.

Anyway, lots of inaction today as Rivera seems intent on pacing this non-story to match the tempo of Ravel’s Bolero. If nothing else, it provides another piece of the homespun hominess that Rivera likes to put in to give more family context to the strip.

I reckon everybody there who goes outside to play or just walk around must carry a backpack (as we see Mark and Cherry do), possibly filled with emergency supplies, in case of a natural disaster or accident. Hmmm, not a bad idea, come to think of it, if you live in a forest.

Art Dept. The Trails must continually rebuild their cabin, as it looks different every time it is depicted. In most cases, it is always too small. But maybe this is a new meme: The transforming Trail Cabin! Otherwise, we’re back to the familiar 2D set designs that pass for nature (including the robin). And the people. Oh, yeah, I’ve written about the human form in Mark Trail before, so I won’t go into for now.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Fingers are crossed that yesterday was the performative end of the Mark Trail and the AI conference story. I named it “AI, AI, Oh!” (a terrible pun, itself!), which you can see at the bottom of each post. Heck, maybe I should start naming these stories using the format “Mark Trail and the ###” the way old adventure stories were often titled. That would give it a bit of the old tradition, which Trailheads like, right? Yeah, it won’t change the strip, itself. But have you seen the Vintage Mark Trail strips on Comics Kingdom, featuring Ed Dodd’s work in the 1970s? Hoo-boy.  At least we can all agree that the characters look like normal people and the scenery doesn’t look like it came from a high school play.

This past week saw the highlight (such as it was) and conclusion of this “Going Green with AI” panel talk, where very little substance was actually imparted to a pro-AI audience. As with the prior week, the content focused primarily on Cricket Bro and Crypto Bro throwing out snarky comments at Mark. To his credit, Mark did try to counter with a few focused comments on AI and the environment, but artist Jules Rivera seemed more interested in a Jerry Springer-style show.

In the end, there just wasn’t much substance, which was a lost opportunity for education. I guess Mark’s nature teaching is still relegated to Sundays. Like right now.

Okay. Bobcats are all over the Lower 48. They eat small animals. Everybody should build a barn for their pets, along with a fence. Got it. Another good thing to know: They don’t normally attack humans, unless they feel threatened (which seems to be the standard criterion of most wild animals).

Nevertheless, trying to pick up a cute, young bobcat (and they are cute) is liable to result in serious harm to the human foolish enough to try it. One reason is that a mother bobcat can cause serious damage. And they can carry rabies. We’ve already seen enough examples of reckless human behavior occurring in national parks with tourists who think Yogi Bear is real or that the bison are just big, laid back fur coats with legs. They are called wild animals for a reason, as all Trailhead readers know.

Saved by what belt?

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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.

And just when it looks like this panel talk is going nowhere, it succeeds in going nowhere!

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So, Rivera crams a bunch of viewpoints into one day for a panel discussion that was spread over two weeks. Did we learn much of anything about Going Green with AI? Did we learn much of anything about AI? Or Green? Granted, this is a comic strip, a nature adventure strip, even. Still, part of this strip’s calling card has been its self-imposed mandate to promote environmental education, respect for wildlife, and appreciation of nature . . . within the limits of its storylines.

I didn’t see much of any of that here. We didn’t even see an actual example of AI Going Green! Now, I don’t think this was all that different in pre-Rivera days, though the strip then did focus more on local stories about nature and animals, so the connections were more obvious. Not so much here, which is why a bit of “show-and-tell”, with some numbers and data, would have helped. By all means, keep the goofiness, but don’t ignore the serious stuff.

But that wasn’t really the point, was it? Most of the panel discussion was mere snark, and another opportunity for Rivera to parody technology. Finally, poor Mark looks like a hapless dude hoping the audience doesn’t start throwing things at him.

… But Mark fumbles an easy infield popup!

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Well, that’s a non-answer, Mark (panel 2). And the wrong approach. It makes you look insincere and smug. Crypto Bro’s rhetorical trap allowed him to play up his brotherly love act at Mark’s expense. The panel discussion again veered off-topic, although moderator Kelly Welly kept silent.

But should we? Jules Rivera has so far turned this panel discussion into a “Gotcha!” circus, which is disappointing. But Mark Trail is a nature/environmental strip and it would be great to see some serious issues and questions out of this meeting. Otherwise, what difference does the format of the strip make if the content continues to focus on irrelevant carping, jokes, and petty actions? Mark has two days left this week to do something valuable. Will Rivera gives him the chance?

Kelly Welly serves up a softball as Cricket Bro misses the pitch

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Well, Darth Welly finally steps in to provide some direction for this discussion. Of course, Cricket Bro has to promote an over-engineered, irrelevant app which Mark easily dispatches. If that is Cricket Bro’s best, he should quit while he is behind. Maybe let those younger entrepreneurs take the stage with their better thought-out projects. Will Rivera even take this step?

The term “dad energy” is roughly defined (online) as a man strongly exhibiting “fatherly” traits normally related to home and family, while gladly letting other people know about it. A bit of bragging, in short. That might fit the bill here, as Cricket Bro is clearly not happy to be showed up by Mark’s response.

In at least one source I read, wearing plaid shirts was listed as a stereotypical meme of Dad Energy. There’s more to this concept, but feel free to do your own research. I don’t have time as I’ve got to do some car work that only a manly father can do.

The discussion is going around in circles

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Alas, Rivera downplayed a reasonable discussion and replaced it with a kind of low-rent, “reality show” battle between speakers and a reactive audience like that seen on TV shows such as Jerry Springer or Maury.

Sure, this is a comic strip, albeit a nature-based adventure strip. Still, is there no room for nuance? Where is the adventure? And I wonder: is Rivera doing this deliberately as a metaphor for our perceived lack of political and social engagement by the general public? Or possibly a critique of the hardline positions of the Left and Right? Or maybe Rivera just likes Jerry Springer and thinks it makes a good format for this panel discussion.

Still, within the confines of the story, itself, do you think that Cricket Bro would go to all this trouble just to try and humiliate Mark in public? Is his ego that fragile that he feels the need to flex his fake muscles and try to make Mark look like a weak technophobe, a neo-luddite?

The “discussion” continues!

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Are we glad to see that Rivera took the trouble to make sure we all grasped Mark’s rhetorical “Gotcha!” question in panel 4?

Or is she hinting that this is just the first volley of a week-long battle of the trolls? If Rivera lets Mark remain true to his nature, he will attempt to make his argument, instead of trading snarky comments with everybody all week long.

Of course, the audience could get involved and try to hound him off the stage, as it would be naïve to think that Rivera would not be making comparisons with our own contemporary politically-biased social and culture wars. I think it would be interesting to see how Rivera would handle Mark actually coming out on the wrong end of this panel discussion and getting humiliated, however unjustified. It would be a good opportunity to explore the depth of Mark’s character and his integrity.

Art Dept. As is all too common, with few exceptions, Rivera plays fast and loose with drawing, especially human anatomy. But contemporary standards in comics suggest that Rivera is not alone, that traditional views on space, proportion, and forms are not always necessary. This dismissal of conventional representation is nothing new, in fact, but has shown up in the arts several times.

There are several examples in Western art that immediately come to mind: The so-called “Mannerist” period (1500s) that developed during the time of the High Renaissance in Italy is one of the first. The painting on the right is popularly called “Madonna with the long neck”, to emphasize how the painter has deliberately distorted the normal classical proportions of the figures and the space for artistic, not religious, reasons. To modern eyes not used to the conventions of the time, this may not appear very revolutionary today. Even Impressionism, once scorned as profane and ugly, look fairly tame these days. Non-Western arts also went through revolutionary periods, but I don’t have the time or space to get into them here.

Madonna and Child by Parmigianino, 1535-40.

Now, there are those who make distinctions between “real” Art with a capital A and comic art. While there are differences, they are still similar in many ways. They are both mostly based on having a patron buy the work. Both are meant to communicate something to the viewer. Both can have embedded symbolism or meaning. Both can also be made and enjoyed for their own visual appeal.

Nevertheless, that is one ugly-looking body on Crypto Bro in panel 2!

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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The Main Event began this week, with Kelly Welly “moderating” the panel consisting of just three people: Cricket Bro, his brother Jadsen (aka Crypto Bro), and Mark. Kelly announced that the topic of discussion is “Going Green With AI”, which is about all of the moderating Kelly did for the week, other than to slam Mark a bit in her introduction. I suppose she’s entitled.

Cricket Bro spoke first, denying any value to going green and thus, undercutting the “green” vendors that Mark interviewed , as well as the point of the convention. Naturally, Mark jumped in for the defense, and the rest of the week was just a back-and-forth contest between two hard positions.

While Cricket Bro and Crypto Bro kept dumping on Mark, Mark kept trying to calm the situation and talk rationally. A few catcalls from the audience suggested that they might be a bit biased against Mark. Mark kept his composure and decided to try a gambit and take one of the insults and affirm it. This silenced the audience, which is where we ended the week. How will Mark turn this attack on its head? Post your suggestions, if you’re brave enough to withstand ridicule if you’re wrong. Otherwise, cower in silence until we return to this chat.

Alert! In case you have not been on the Comics Kingdom site for a while, they have begun restoring the Vintage Mark Trail strips. This should especially please Mark the Contrarian Commenter. I haven’t had time to see how far back they go, but they are currently running strips from 1974. If you do a regular “Mark Trail” search, you will find links to both strips. Have fun!

I reckon I’ve fallen behind in my Star Wars Universe viewing, but I don’t recall a Hellbender in it. Do you? I did find references to salamanders, in general. Perhaps that explains the faux “Star Wars” style Mark Trail title panel and Mark’s Jedi clothing. I happily await further edification from any of you! Well, May the 4th be with you!

Mark plays 4-dimensional chess with the audience

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Sure, it looks like Mark is setting himself up for failure. Or, perhaps not. Mark is likely to try and turn the tables on that assumption by suggesting how AI tech can actually be good for birds—as well as the environment—if carried out wisely. In that way, Mark cuts the rhetorical legs out from under the Tech Bros.

Will Kelly Welly step in at this point and attempt to shut down Mark in favor of Cricket and Crypto?

The “Gotcha!” discussion continues

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Mark can’t catch a break, no matter how sincerely his comments are delivered. This is less like a panel discussion and more like an ambush attack you can see on social media platforms, such as X. Still, Mark has plenty to dislike or hate regarding these two troublemakers. They went so far as to try and topple a boulder on top of Mark while he was fighting Sid Stump (May 16, 2023, “Bear Necessity”).

Regular readers know those guys cause nothing but trouble for Mark. In real life, Mark would have had them arrested or just stayed away. But comic adventure heroes (e.g. Batman, Dudley Do-Right, Popeye) often keep a stable of familiar villains around because the artist doesn’t have to spend extra time defining the amorality of new bad guys. And it’s like sports rivalries, where the fans of each team want to see the other team repeatedly humiliated.

Art Dept. Drawing a “bird’s eye” panoramic view can make good sense in a situation like this, to capture the ambiance of the event. However, it seems overblown when the scene only highlights one of Rivera’s sarcastic comments and the exclamation of one audience member or squirrel. Perhaps this is another example of Rivera riffing on the once-common habit of prior artists—such as Jack Elrod—to draw dialog balloons that pointed ambiguously to one or more people, animals, or objects.

Wah! Wah! Wah!

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This panel talk is more like a professional wrestling match:  It’s all about the theater. And Mark is the one getting tag-teamed by the Bro’ Boys. Clearly, we are not going to see much in the way of actual—or serious—discussion. Absurdity works best when it appears within an environment of normalcy and convention. But is this a normal or conventional environment?

Will Mark accept Cricket Bro’s challenge and take off his shirt? Or will we learn that Cricket Bro’s muscled physique is not real, after all? And who cares, anyway?

Why can’t these clowns just have a nice, contentious debate based on the actual focus of the conference? There are certainly plenty of videos on YouTube that Rivera could have cribbed from. Hopefully, she did exactly that, and we’ll see some of it in the coming days.

Oops! This is May 1st, not April 1st. Forget what I wrote in the previous paragraph… !