A tip of the grungy cap to regular reader Be Ware of Eve Hill for her rapid, multiple-post catchup. Unlike other blog lords, I do not demand constant and unconditional obeisance. I recognize that—for some reason or another—there are occasionally more important priorities than your daily dose of The Daily Trail.  “As long as you return.” (Read that statement in the low, dramatic voice of James Earl Jones.)

I’m still confused how this is a “race”, unless they are doing individual time trials. On the other hand, it sure doesn’t take much to entertain these dudes, does it!? Their motivation still eludes me.

It would be easy to nitpick various contradictions in today’s strip. The Bigger Picture, however is that Dirk is here! He’s becoming increasingly pulled out of his self-imposed isolationist/survivalist compound to get involved in family affairs. He’s getting more face time than Doc Davis!

If you manage to remember when Rivera last focused on this adventure, Rusty had come up with an idea to discourage the Grungey Boy’s races and save the forest. I’m not exactly sure how it will be done, and I don’t want to muddy the waters with a lot of tomfool guesses, so tune in tomorrow.

Art Dept. Although I often find heavy outlining of characters distracting, I admit that Rivera’s use of outlining in panel 3 greatly reinforces the naturalism and enjoyment of the foreground figures. In some ways, the trio has the look of a woodcut, through their bold lines, straight-line hatching, and solid forms. Compare them to the images in panel 4 or even panel 1.

Panel 4, with its raised point of view, has a totally different feel to it. Perhaps the raised position of the three not only projects a commanding overview, but also implies their assurance of success. Then again, maybe I’m getting flashbacks to the Wizard of Oz film scene where Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion are spying on the guards at the Wicked Witch’s castle.