It was a dramatic week, featuring a raging storm. And then bad weather hit. Am I being deliberately backwards? Nope! The Monday strip began with Mark still trying to coopt Shania and Reba into canceling the camping trip because of the flood threat. But bipolar Tess overheard and began to rage against her companions. Yet, as quickly as Tess’s wrath began, it disappeared. In Tuesday’s strip, Tess was all happiness and charm, likely due to the arrival of the New York photographer and hipster, Venus Verité. Tess’s husband, Jess, must have driven her in and then faded back into the Mark Trail Phantom Zone of Unneeded Characters for the remainder of the week (At least he has plenty of company there).

Venus is definitely into her work, as she spent most of her time checking the light and mentally framing her shots. Speaking of shots, the Hog-Huntin’ Heroines got in some hunting, but it was omitted from the week’s strips. Maybe the comics syndicate just wanted to move the story along. But we did get to witness some dead hog torsos and more of Tess’s heroic victory poses. When Mark later suggested that they set up camp on high ground in case of flooding, Tess again derided Mark. But Tess relented when Venus agreed with Mark, saying that the elevated position would provide better views for her photography.

Mark has not been camping out much since Jules Rivera took over the strip (N.B. Mark’s camping prowess was a topic of discussion in the Saturday comments section, so check it out). Okay, adventure stories must have adventure, so you can pretty well figure out what happened next. In the middle of the night Mark awoke from his tent in horror to find that it was raining, with raging floodwaters rising towards their campsite! The week ended with Mark running around in his pajamas, shouting the alarm. I wonder if there is even higher ground they can escape to?

Well, we have a more interesting and creative title panel for a change. I didn’t know about the polar bear’s hair and skin, but it reminds me of a similar quality in feathers on such birds as Blue Jays and Hummingbirds. I’m not sure what Mark’s comment in the last panel is all about. Sure, it’s supposed to be Hah!Hah! Funny, But still, “split a soda”!? Well, you could get really environmental and point out that sodas are not all that friendly to the climate, but that’s being pedantic. It’s not the CO₂ so much as the entire production process. In any event, what really concerns me is the remark, itself. Why a soda (pop) and why split it with a polar bear? It’s a relationship that makes no sense to me. Mark doesn’t even seem like a soda type of guy. Let’s have less of Mark’s image in every panel and more space for the Sunday topic!