I reckon Bill Ellis will never know how lucky he was that Cherry did not recommend her brother, Dirk, as a better replacement than Mark! He would certainly provide a special touch to that group.

We also see a more sinister-looking, less personable Ralph the Rat Snake (maybe?), who has nothing to say to Mark. And I’m not surprised, given how little time Mark has spent with him. Hissssss!

Okay, gang! After reading today’s strip, is there anybody here who has figured out the group’s leader? It sure isn’t Diana Daggers. The one illustration we saw of the group certainly does not lend itself to close identification of anybody in particular. As the group is based in Texas from a preexisting book club, we can safely rule out Kelly Welly, who doesn’t fit the look, anyway.

So who does that leave? Clearly, this isn’t anybody new.

Unless Rivera is looking back down the Trail Timeline to one of those earlier female opponents, I’m guessing this will turn out to be Tess Tigress. After all, her phony “Tiger Touch Center” was located in Texas. She also has a background in using rifles (or shotguns). And even though she had reportedly fled the country to avoid prosecution, there’s no reason she wouldn’t come back, even under a different name.

But, that’s just a guess. And my track record has been pretty poor, lately.