Gosh, it seems like it has only been seven days since last Friday … uh, well, my wife doesn’t think much of my stupid jokes, either. But they’re probably good enough for Mark Trail.

As for this strip, it’s easy to predict a wet catastrophe is heading their way, given Shania’s comment about camping in a valley. Mark makes a move behind Tess’s back to warn Reba and Shania, but then Jules Rivera (once again) breaks the dramatic mood by criticizing Mark in panel 3. Rivera’s sarcastic notes have done this several times in the past and I find it surprising. She could (and should) be supporting the drama, not editorializing. Well, there is sure to be a reckoning about this confab when Tess finds out.

Art Dept. I see that Rivera decided to free-hand the SUV, rather than embed an existing online image. I’ve mentioned before that using “clipart” and other image sources is a standard practice with comic strip artists and has been since the beginning. At least, the drawing of this auto more closely matches the overall style of the strip.

Speaking of style, it is difficult to grasp the ongoing transformation of this strip’s drawing, because it seems like it was always like this. Not so! If you want proof, I recommend viewing several strips for each year Rivera has been drawing, starting October 13, 2020. I think you’ll be surprised at how the strip has changed in tone, detail, and visual composition from its original appearance.