Well, this is a side of Mark Trail that we don’t see too often, and possibly never saw in the pre-Rivera iterations: that getting articles accepted sometimes took a lot of work or just got rejected out of hand. Mark offers an unsolicited article, of course, so it has a steeper acceptance hill to climb over. Regardless of how we feel Rivera has portrayed this situation, it’s a noteworthy expansion to the Trailverse Tradition. 

This is the second time Mark’s work has been rejected. His earlier rejection happened at the end of his New York visit, where he sat in on an AI roundtable discussion (“AI-AI-Oh!”). But it would certainly get tiresome to see this become a regular bit. 

I think we also have here a situation in which Rivera satirizes the current trend of corporate influence in mass media. Bill Ellis is the “man in the middle”, trying to keep afloat between Boardroom Pressures and the writers who just want to have their work criticized on their professional merits, not for adherence to the owner’s political agenda.

As far as the plot, itself, goes, I’m wondering whether this golf criticism excuse is going to be the end or whether Rivera will have Ellis come back to say that not all of the magazines have golf sponsors, so Mark should start checking his bank account for a deposit. 

Art Dept. Okay, I’m not sure what the specific animal is in panel 4 (other than some kind of rodent) and I’m especially bothered by that strange black patch. But after studying it, I’m thinking this “rodent of unusual size” is staring up at a great horned owl, based on the shape of that black patch on his body and worried that he is about to become its dinner.