Home » Mark and the Polluted Lake » It has to be revealed!

It has to be revealed!

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Okay, so I used a popular click-bait title. It only works if people first see it, so I think I’m safe.

Today we get some good old-fashioned Grill-Master Mark work, as he roasts these two self-important boobies over some environmental ignorance. Nothing new, since a while ago Mark faced off against Papa Chedderson over zebra mussel infestation with his cargo ships, forcing court-ordered changes to his shipping business. So now, it’s his son taking up the reigns.

Art Dept. Sometimes I wonder if Rivera has somebody working with her, or if there is staff at the Syndicate doing post-production work. Maybe there was a printing or layout error. Who knows? But drawn lines extending from the artwork into the panel gutters is not a good look. Now, sometimes cartoonists will deliberately draw figures that overlap panel borders, but those instances are obvious and not accidental. The right side of Panel 1 shows the most obvious examples of this issue.

But runaway lines are in the other two panels, also (p2 shows Mark’s elbow extending beyond, and p3 shows the background curve running into the copyright notice). They are almost certainly not for visual appeal or invention. Cartoonists draw their own panels, so it’s difficult to account for these flubs.

If you have the urge, feel free to comment on these lines, or maybe the ever-changing faces of Mark. I count three variations today, one for each panel. Pretty sure Rivera is not doing a parody of the Tony Randall movie “The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.” Be Ware of Eve Hill might tackle the emenata.

Anyway, the gator is gone just in time for the end of the week. Is that a coincidence or what?! Maybe we’ll get back to Cherry’s story on Monday to see if it takes six days of strips to capture the peacock.

4 thoughts on “It has to be revealed!”

    • Wow, I haven’t thought about the Richie Rich comic books in decades, as I never was a regular reader. I assume you mean the comic book dad rather than the movie version dad (Edward Hermann).

      And, yes. I see what you mean: The comic book dad’s haircut matches up with the Cheddersons’ hair. And Mr. Rich also carries a stocky build, but hides it in better tailored clothes.

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  2. Be Ware of Eve Hill might tackle the emanata.

    I’ll try to be up to the challenge.😊 I’m curious about those three lines in p1 and p3 that hover over Mark’s right shoulder like the bowl in those old Cream of Wheat commercials. What is their purpose? Are they to indicate Mark is speaking passionately? Emoting? If so, why are they missing from p2? Isn’t he speaking passionately there too? Despite Mark speaking emotionally, he’s not yelling. There’s not an exclamation point to be seen in any of Mark’s speech balloons.

    Brett Chedderson is clearly upset in p2, yet there is no emanata to indicate he’s fuming. I’m grasping at straws here, but could the lines emanating from Brett the other day have been “panic lines”?🤷‍♀️

    Also, about Mark’s appearance, doesn’t this golf course have a dress code? Any minute now, I expect resort security to confuse Mark with a vagrant and shoo him off the premises. I’m beyond tired of seeing Mark’s screentone hobo beard and disheveled hair. Can somebody please find this man a razor and a comb. A shower and shampoo would be nice, too. I get that Mark Trail is an outdoorsman, but why does he always have to look like he just spent a week in the woods? If anyone deserves “stink lines”, it’s Mark.

    The Chedderson haircut is reminiscent of Mr. Pringle’s mustache.

    To me, Rivera’s drawing lines that exceed the borders indicate haste.

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    • Wow, there’s a lot here to consider!

      1. The 3 lines in panel 1 are perpendicular to Mark’s mouth. If they were curved, they could suggest blaring of some sort, though he doesn’t appear to be shouting, as you say. And keep in mind that Rivera does not use exclamation points at the end of virtually every declarative statement, like the prior Trail artists did. Still, good ideas!
      2. Carrying on the examination of emenata, don’t overlook the three slanty lines in panel 3, which seem to be emenating from Mark’s eyes, not his mouth. They don’t suggest the same thing as the lines in panel 1. Maybe it’s to suggest an “evil eye” or “stink eye.”
      3. As you probably recall, I’ve never been a fan of Mark’s screentoned face shadowing, preferring his original stubble.
      4. Regarding Mark’s attire, we can’t say much more about Happy’s, either. Then again, I don’t think they planned on an immediate game, and the Cheddersons did invite them, after all. But it would be fun to see how Rivera would dress them in golf club-appropriate attire.
      5. Mr. Pringles, you say? Another good association. But be aware, “Be Aware“, that the assocation you are making is based on a now-defunct can logo, as I learned from some research. Mr. Pringle’s “middle-split floppy ended bangs” logo was used from 2001 to 2021, when he went bald and regained his eyebrows (lost in 2001).

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