We’ve seen this circular device (panel 1) that Rivera uses to visualize objects a character is thinking or talking about. In this case, it is Cherry talking to Mark. Normally, Rivera would have the two characters looking at each other (like panel 2), even though Cherry is physically someplace else. However, sometimes Rivera gets a bit clever: She has Cherry looking at the alligator instead of Mark, based on Mark’s comment. How do I know this? It’s an educated guess, based on my many years of guessing about things.

Okay, in panel 1 Cherry’s head is a bit lower than Mark’s head (go ahead and measure it). Next, Cherry is looking across, not up. The only thing directly parallel and across from her is the gator. Ipso facto (and other Latin terms to make me seem clever), Cherry is looking at the gator. I guess,

The only thing I’ll pick on a bit is the depiction of the gator. How many of you watched that gator video I linked to? Or any other golf club gator vids? Question: Is this gator resting or walking? An alligator stands on its four legs when walking, so I’m hoping that Rivera knows this and is not suggesting the gator is moving across the grass while lying on its belly. Hah! You won’t get this kind of detailed, sharp analysis on other sites.