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“What a revoltin’ development THIS is!”

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I’m showing my age or knowledge of old trivia, but back in the 1950s there was a TV show called “The Life of Riley”, in which the main character, a beleaguered husband of course, gets into constant troubles and bemoans his fate with the catch-phrase I borrowed.

And I’m doing some moaning after seeing today’s effort. Frankly, I have almost given up trying to figure out what Jules Rivera is after. Is she deliberately making all of the women petrified numbskulls who hunt in a “hot zone” with their rifles slung, panic at first blush, and can’t even shoot!? Hogs are not that big, so how does an aimed shot go up in a tree? Did Tess trip on that same movie prop tree branch when she was firing?

Most long-term readers know that I always try to give Rivera the benefit of a doubt and play even-handed, even complimenting and promoting her innovations and creativity when I see it. But, hoo-boy, this is pretty sad stuff today, on virtually every front.

  1. Timing. Is this all happening in some kind of slo-mo world where time is elastic and everybody has enough opportunity to have their say, get into position, and act, all the while the hog is chasing down Shania?!
  2. Action. So Mark has time to jump in a tree to rescue Shania? Why not just yell to Shania “CLIMB THE TREE!” Perhaps Mark is right in thinking Shania is too clumsy and dim-witted to do that on her own, given what started this fiasco. And I reckon this is Rivera’s solution to make sure that Mark is, indeed, the “hero” saving the incompetent trio of females.
  3. Art. Ah, the drawing. Well, we’ve seen worse, but that doesn’t say much. In Panel 1, why are the two standing splay-footed? That’s some rough drawing. I couldn’t figure out what the clunky gray object is between Reba and Mark, but finally realized it is the camera’s telephoto lens. Why is the hog in panel 3 just staring instead of charging? Perhaps staging the panels with a series of closeups helps inject a sense of panic and distress, including the panel 4 split-panel. I see that Rivera did, in fact, use a variation of the reverse arrangement I posited yesterday, of focusing on Shania’s expression facing the hog, which is placed in the foreground. More or less.
  4. Sound. What the hell does B-KAM! mean?! The usual sound effect of a gun or rifle (or even shotgun) is BLAM! or KABLAM! or something like that. I even wasted a minute or two online, looking to see if the term might be some kind of cultural joke.

So, my overall reaction (suitable for print) can be summed up as “What a revoltin’ development this is!”

A Gore-a-Phobia in Progress

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In addition to forgetting to include the strip for yesterday (but since repaired), I also forgot to include the final sentence in my notes: “Well, I wonder what will happen first:  Reba manages to get her rifle unslung and ready to protect Shania, or Mark jumps in from out of frame and gives the hog a dose of his fists o’ justice.” I reckon that the answer still lies in doubt. The obvious answer is that Mark, somehow, comes to the rescue. But let’s see if Jules Rivera gives the ladies their due and lets them resolve the crisis. Anyway,  Mark’s probably on the sidelines shooting photos. Real action stuff here!

You know, I’m wondering if this is their first actual hunting trip. How is it that Reba wasn’t prepared? Is throwing accusations at Shania going to help keep her from getting gored? And how is it that Shania panicked and didn’t shoot, but tripped on that Hollywood B-movie branch prop that pursued women in films always trip over? Seeing as how wild boars can run up to 25 mph, I think Shania’s strategy of running was not a great choice.

Art Dept. Surf’s up, I reckon.

Thicket!? I don’t see no stinkin’ thicket!

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Editor’s Note: Sorry, everybody! Seems I plumb overlooked including today’s strip. It was in my draft, but for some reason, I failed to transfer it in the final post.

It seems the hog-hunting heroines may not be the experienced hunters they pretend.  In addition to Shania standing in a vulnerable position and facing away from the wild hog, she apparently brought along her child’s small toy rifle instead of her own. And Reba has her own rifle slung, rather than in her hands, at the ready.

Art Dept. Sure, traditional syndicated comic strips are usually restricted in size, but the framing of the figures in these panels does little to enhance any sense of danger. Proportions and space look out of whack. Ending the series with an alliterative joke further kills any suspense. The hog in panel 4 looks like it is stepping out from another spatial dimension into ours. As if we don’t have enough feral hogs, they are now popping in from a parallel universe.

Perhaps a more dramatic version of panel 4 could have been accomplished with the reverse of what we see now. The hog is in the foreground looking back towards Shania, standing alone in the open.

Or maybe just show an extreme close-up of the hog’s head, like this one. Imagine turning around to see that head staring at you, close up. Pretty damn scary all by itself!

Markey! Markey! Markey! It’s always about Markey!

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Mark is already contradicting cartoonist Jules Rivera’s comment in panel 1 about “following” the Hog-Hunting Heroines. So it’s all about Mark today, as the three women he is shadowing fade into a meaningless background, and Mark’s attention is taken up by three wild hogs. I’m not sure about the depth of field or perspective in panel 3, as the hogs looks about as tall as ponies. But isn’t it interesting how Rivera framed the hogs with those tree trunks!?

So who is Mark talking to, if he is more or less alone? Normally, a character in this situation would think his dialog inside of a thought balloon, but Rivera rarely uses them.

Since wild hogs can run up to 25 mph (40 kmph), I’d think Mark would want to stand behind the women with the guns. What I don’t get is why waste a day posting filler material like this, since it does nothing to move the story along or expand on the subject. But perhaps today is meant to be a setup where the women step up tomorrow to save Mark.

Mark Trail’s Slang Seminar: “Heckin’ fast” seems to be a popular phrase on social media among the younger set, and it means what you probably think it means. Of course, it might be obsolete by the time you read this. Still, the term is more specific than “6 7.” Now you can start using it, too, and risk sounding like a heckin’ skibidi toilet trying to be utd.

Who needs camo when you’re hunting in the open?

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I reckon that we won’t learn any more about that clothing deal between Peach Pitt and Holly Folly for another two weeks. Instead, we’re back on site, somewhere in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas, as Mark tags along with the Hog-Hunting Heroines, led by Tess Tigress.

But first, shall we give a round of thanks to Jules Rivera and her narration box for explaining the action in panel 1? Ummm, probably not.

It looks like Rivera thought it was important to save us from having to see the destruction of an invasive wild pig (or whatever happened afterwards) and rushed us to the next hunting location. Or maybe the comics syndicate put its editorial foot down.

The group is now at some place with a picnic table. Hey, maybe they are going to do some hunting at a local park!

But, what’s this? Tess Tigress, professing no knowledge of her past experience—at least with regard to Mark—had been all smiles, engaging, and friendly. Suddenly, her other side has bubbled up to the surface and issued a dire warning to Mark. But what is this “getting paid” threat about? Bill Ellis sent Mark on assignment for Teen Girl Sparkle. They would be the ones paying Mark. Perhaps the comment was meant to just inflate the significance of the threat.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Back at Peach and Olive’s cabin, Cherry was helping them prepare “Upcycle” clothing while Peach was working on a promo video. There is still dissension in the ranks about working with Holly Folly. When Cherry found out that Holly was hooked up with Cricket Bro, she got visibly concerned. But then Holly emailed Peach with an offer to buy her clothing line for a big price. Cherry and Olive noted Holly’s connection to “fast fashion” and its ecological damage as a reason to turn the offer down. Peach was all but ignoring them, because she wants to succeed, is enamored by Holly’s good fortune, and wants a bit of that good fortune for herself. It looks like this could be a real ethical conflict for them to work out, if Rivera doesn’t turn it into just another farce.

The surf must have been pretty good when Rivera knocked out this reheated potato. I think I’m on the right track, based on the unimaginative and roughly drawn title panel. Mark already made a big deal about the land bridge at the start of his Happy Hog Hunting Honeys story. Yeah, land bridges are helpful and good, but they are not Edward Hick’s Peaceable Kingdom, either.

Shucks! Pay no attention to me; I’m just nerding out here.  It’s really fine for Rivera to do some promo work for land bridges. They have a good purpose. But as this land bridge was somewhat covered earlier, Rivera could have spent this time on how one gets a land bridge designed, approved, and paid for. You know, like if you want to get one for your community or region. Another reason for my generally slack opinion today is based on Mark’s face in panel 2, which looks like it was slapped together with some kind of online interactive Mr. Potato Head program. But guess what? I threw out that “Mr. Potato Head” line as an off-the-cuff snark. But then I thought, “Is there really such a site?” Well, of course there is! Silly me. There are several, and they are not as customizable or fun as I had hoped.

Peach zeroes in on Holly’s offer.

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The story is a bit thin, the hard sell is a bit over the top, but it presents a reasonably serious question about values. Is a big paycheck worth supporting an industry with a reputation for creating manufactured obsolescence and waste? Britannica.com—an online presence of Encyclopedia Britannica—goes into some detail about the marketing of these cheap, largely synthetic knockoffs, mass produced by low-paid workers in Asia on an unending assembly line of changing designs meant to be worn a few times before getting discarded for the latest and greatest.

<Resting a bit from that long sentence!>

Apparently, this “fashion” phenomenon took off in the 1990s. There are giant clothing “graveyards” in various landfills around the world. Why are the items discarded instead of donated? Apparently, they are so cheaply made that they do not last long enough. Wasteful? Sure sounds like it.

So, do you chase a big paycheck and ignore the aftermath, or do you maintain your standards and environmental awareness? The duality sounds squishy and Birkenstocky, I know. Does it have to be a binary choice? Well, maybe not. It is certainly possible to score a good return on quality work while respecting the materials and the environment. It just might take longer and not make your wallet as fat.

Now, what will Peach do? She’s gobsmacked by the buy-out offer. But there is another thing to consider: Holly wants to “buy the Upcycled line”, meaning Peach could lose total control of her idea and work. Just how many zeroes did Holly Folly offer?

Grammar Police Alert: Grab your Shrunk & White and run!

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The story trudges along: Cherry and Olive distrust Holly Folly, but Peach is more optimistic. Now, Holly wants to move ahead with a deal. So far, so good.

What might be confusing here is a point of grammar. In Panel 1, Cherry lists some negatives about Holly, then follows up with “But we’re not going into business …” Although I’m no professor of English, I know that when a statement is followed by a “But”, it implies a response that is contrary to the initial statement. For example, “I’d like to make prank phone calls with you today, but I’m busy working on my Great Humanitarian award speech.”

Instead, Jules Rivera has Cherry follow her initial, negative, statement with another negative statement: “Holly Folly is bad. But we’re not going into business with her, right?” A conjunction such as “Therefore” or even “So” would make Cherry’s statement sound correct. “Okay, Holly Folly has flaws and we hate fast fashion. So, we’re not going into business with her, right?”

In Panel 4, Rivera affirms Holly’s message: “Odd how that turned around so quickly.” Okay, what turned around quickly? Peach was already sold on the deal. Did Cherry and Olive suddenly become Holly Folly acolytes? Do they now like fast fashion? Sounds like a classic non sequitur.

Yes, Peach, you certainly can judge a person by who they date!

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Geez! Just how long is this argument going to continue? I reckon it must be important for the story’s development to ensure that we recognize that this is a dramatic turning point, where the protagonist (Peach Pitt) is warned by her sisterly “Greek Chorus” of impending disappointment if she continues down ths path. But like all Greek tragedies, Peach will likely put aside the advice. Otherwise, the story will end.

More importantly, why are Cherry and Olive standing side-by-side in the background? Is it to play up their Greek Chorus symbolism? I don’t know. Jules Rivera seems to love drawing people lined up in the background, anyway; we can see it often enough. In panel 1, the gals are even holding things up in front of them, as if they are in a school show-and-tell.

Cherry dropped the shirt in panel 2 in order to point a finger at her mental image of Cricket Bro, only to return to holding the shirt up again in panel 4. Okay. Why is Cherry holding up that shirt!? Well, Olive is not immune to goofiness, either. In panel 1, she holds her laptop sideways, as if it is book! In Panel 4, she is still standing and holds the laptop in her left arm, as if she is a server taking an order. Why aren’t they just sitting down, like they were doing in Monday’s strip?

The first ten people who post an answer will hereafter be known as the first ten people who posted an answer.

Holy recycle, Cherry! Y’all need to get new villains!

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Olive has some valid points to make against Holly Folly, though she might be exaggerating the percentage. How could anybody really know such a thing? I’ve been aware of cheap knockoffs, as most of you have, but not the terminology of “fast fashion,” which is cheaply made knockoffs designed to be worn for a brief period before being thrown away and replaced with the latest faux fashion wear. So I read. But not me! I tend to wear my clothes until they discard themselves as they deteriorate. So nobody connects “fashion” (fast or slow) with my wardrobe.

As I feared, we are getting closer to Mark’s involvement in this adventure with Olive’s mention of Cricket Bro. I hope Mark’s hog hunting trip will keep him too busy for more than a phone call or two. Let the women solve their own problems. Olive seems capable enough of delivering some fists o’ justice if the need arises.

… but there’s some friction behind the scenes.

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Well, at least one of the Pitt sisters has the right attitude: Remain skeptical until proven otherwise. Peach is so anxious to do well and do well, environmentally, that it would be a real disaster for her if Holly Folly turns out to be a swindler. But is sister Olive enough of a counter-force to protect her?

But first, a word from our sponsor …!

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Clever name for Cherry’s business! Meanwhile … we get to watch her loosely-produced promotional video as it is being made. She may want to hire somebody to upcycle the results into a video that is taken seriously. But I cannot tell you who—or what—that creeping (or creepy?) hand in panel 2 is attached to.

I reckon that Holly Folly has returned to her fashion palace. Yet, I wonder if Cherry managed to get permission to use Holly’s name and/or face in her promotional materials?

So it’s not much of a story so far, but there is hope. As in, I hope something dramatic (or criminal) happens soon. The obvious direction would be towards fraud of some sort. That seems to be the type of criminal activity Mark also runs into the most often. What a great surprise it would be if it turns out to be something else.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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During the week prior to this, we watched as Mark Trail arrived at the home of Tess Tigress (who does not remember Mark Trail at all) to conduct an interview with her and then go along on a wild hog hunt with her Hog Hunting Heroines. But he was continually distracted, first by the size of Tess’s house (because her new husband, Jess, is a millionaire); then by their heartwarming story of how the couple met, fell in love, and went hunting together, for ever after; then by Jess’s large collection of mounted trophy heads. Finally, Mark suited up for an afternoon of hog hunting. He did not bring a weapon.

And in this past week, Mark and Tess arrived on location to meet the other two women in the hunting club. Mark got the chance to question each of the women about how they got into hunting and how they formed their group. There was an understandable similarity of motivation: an unfortunate encounter, requiring the women to take action, especially as the husbands were either away or incapacitated.

This week ended with the group hearing rough sounds in the bushes that (surprise!) turned out to be a wild hog appearing in a clearing. Rivera’s narration box boasted of a “hog-hunting hootenanny!” in the past panel, as the group turned to face a single razorback. Will the women flip a coin or will all join in?

This is at least the second time that Jules Rivera has dedicated a Sunday page to the exploding whale incident. The last time was July 9, 2023. You can find it in my archives. Maybe Rivera forgot about it last  year? Or she has decided to make it an annual event. In any event, today’s strip fortuitously appears on the same date it occurred in 1970. I have to admit, this version is better illustrated and explained then Rivera’s 2023 account.

If you view my July 9 post, check out the comments. Daniel Pellissier conveniently included a YouTube link of a contemporary local news story on the whale detonation!

Why, Mark Trail…How young you look! What’s your secret?

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So, what is Mark’s secret of youth? I gather it’s shaving.

I wonder how disappointed or even angry Cherry will be when she learns that she didn’t really have to shoot any animals, after all. Except maybe with a camera. Anyway, here we go with another round of disconnected dialogs. I also think Jules Rivera really needs to practice more with her narration boxes: “Hog-Hunting Hootenanny”!? Talk about an alliterative non-sequitur…. Rivera could at least have brought the phrase into the 1960s with “Hog-Hunting Hullaballoo!” Or, if she is looking at cute alliterative phrases that more sense, how about “It’s Hog-Hunting Harvest!”, “It’s Hog-Hunting Heaven!”, or even “It’s a Hog-Hunting Halidom!”

Being Saturday, we once again come to the issue of whether we get back to a week of Cherry and Holly Folly, or continue following Mark and the Three Fates. On the other hand, does it matter?

Transformers: Going hog-wild!

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Okay, the message is fine. It fits into the format and purpose of the strip. But Trichinosis is only one of the dangers these wild pigs can spread. To be clear, I’m repeating and summarizing information I found on reputable medical and nature/animal websites. But don’t my word, alone. Look it up.

There are over 30 infectious diseases and even more parasites linked to these wild hogs. On the other hand, trichinosis can come from any uncooked or undercooked pork, even the chops you buy at the supermarket, though they have a very low risk these days. While a kid, my mother was always concerned when she cooked pork chops, so she always overcooked them, out of caution. Maybe that was why “smothered pork chops” were so common.

Pig farmers are more concerned that the razorbacks may reintroduce swine flu. There is no upside here, so I don’t discount the concern and anger Rivera expresses through these women. But Tess is not exactly blazing a new trail, as she seems to suggest (panel 2). Wild hogs have been hunted for many decades.

Art Dept. This is a day for odd faces: At first look, Mark’s head in panel 1 resembles somebody who had a serious accident. Looking more closely, it appears to be just a slip of the pen. But it’s more interesting to see the transformation of Tess from a “beauty pageant” looking redhead in panel 1 to an angry wild hog vigilante in panel 3 (yes, I know Shania is the one with the actual pageant experience. Still…). Even the shape of Tess’s head changes from a rectangle with a soft v-shaped chin and mounds of red hair framing the face like some kind of hood, to a squared-off, determined face with a hard, flat chin. I wonder if Tess uses a cartoon stunt double for her “vengeful hunter” close-up images. We’ve seen this vision of Tess Tigress’s personality before, and I’m content to remain on this side of the strip, thank you!

The Origins Story you were waiting for!

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Oh, I do like the way Rivera has Tess’s narration of her “hog hunting origin” implanted on her past self in panel 3. An improvement over the ubiquitous narration box. Rivera has used different visual schema in the past to illustrate character recollections, but this is a new one. I’ve seen this device used elsewhere, but memory fails me. Anybody have an idea?

So it seems all three of the hunters “did what they had to do” to earn their stripes. And overcoming adversity has brought them together. Well, is this it, then? Mark has learned who they are, how they formed, and what they do. Is there anything else or is it time to head back to Lost Forest?

There is the actual hunt, of course. And something has to happen soon, or the story will end just after it gets going. I’m thinking (not guessing, mind you) that during the hunt something dangerous will happen, requiring a concerted effort to save or salvage the situation. Here, things can get a bit dicey, owing to the social complications implicit in this story: Man Saves Women? Women Save Man? All get saved by somebody else? Any choice you select will be rife with social expectations, stereotypes, and integrity issues. Perhaps there will be a situation in which all four characters have to work together as a team to save the day. Sounds dull. But first, we’ll first have to see how this week winds up.

How Shania’s near-death experience led her to the HHH!

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Hoo-boy. And I thought Reba’s story was goofy. A wild pig just happened to run through a plate glass window (presumably) into her house, huh? Well, it obviously could not have smashed through a brick wall, much less the wall of a standard timber-framed house with modern siding. Maybe it came in through an opened attached garage and smashed through one of those cheap hollow-core doors you can buy at the Big Box stores.

So, Princess Shania grabbed a rifle off the gun wall (which must have already been loaded) and the result was smoked ribs for the rest of the month and paying for a professional cleaning job. After that, Shania must have filled out a club application, included the requisite photos and yearly dues, and the rest is herstory.

For the record, I’m not anti-feminist. Nor anti-female. I’m no incel. Far from it! This is all Rivera’s story; and I’m just a reactor. I think anybody can be a hunter if they want. No machismo or beards required.

And for the record, feral hogs are a real problem across the southern United States, and heavily populated throughout Texas. So I’m hoping Rivera will spend some of this story to point out the real problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PfBiLzP0V4

Art Dept. The more I look at Shania’s face in panel 1, the more I get creeped out. It just looks like somebody pressed it flat with a large, hot iron. Even the jaw line doesn’t make sense. Just creepy! On the other hand, the rifles on the wall certainly look more like actual rifles than what Reba was holding yesterday. And so does the one Shania is holding.

The Reba Interview you didn’t expect to see!

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Mark jumps right in with his next interview. I’m not sure what difference it would have made if Reba couldn’t “shoot right”, by which I wonder if she meant “shoot straight”?  Apparently, Reba has trouble with chronology and transitions, since panel 3 looks like there should be one or more panels between it and panel 2. So, fine. Reba was motivated by feral hogs beating up her fields. And I see the pseudo-patriotic parody going on here: “I’m gonna blast those commie hogs to kingdom come!”

What I don’t get is the rifle she is holding. What the heck is that thing!?

I’m not conversant on the many styles of firearms available, but I’m fairly certain none of them look like what Reba is holding in panel 4. That looks like something somebody might draw without having an actual rifle or photos of an actual rifle on hand. But tell me if I’m wrong, people. Please correct my ignorance. Is Rivera just being lazy or am I more ignorant that I think?

Mark meets the Hog-Hunting Heroines

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Well, aren’t they just the cutest hunting trio!? Today’s strip looks like it was expressly made for snarking. In spite of that, the story is moving along a bit. It seems that Tess’s two hunting partners are named after famous country singers. Might that mean something? I don’t know. Both actual country stars have had controversial, successful careers. Both are very popular and involved in philanthropic activities. Like their real-life namesakes, these two hunters also share similar hair colors. Fine. So what? Maybe Rivera just likes their names. But all of this shlock Rivera has put in in seems like an echo of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Maybe she watched that TV show back in the 1980s. Mine did!

The quip, “The higher the hair the closer to heaven” is a paraphrase of “The higher the hair the closer to God”, popular back in the 1960s when stacked hairstyles were popular. Dolly Parton apparently used the quote when questioned about her stacked hair styles. The phrase seems to have made a comeback in various social circles these days, though sometimes in a humorous manner. What really lies behind the quips of these two women (panel 2), if anything, remains to be seen. So, we’ll wait and see.

Props. Glad to see that Rivera has equipped Mark with a camera, since he is supposed to be a photo-journalist.  He has carried a camera before, but it is curiously uncommon. Maybe it was a long-running joke in the pre-Rivera days, as well. On the other hand, I see no rifle or shotgun with him.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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This was Interview Week down at the San Antonio Hunting Lodge of Tess Tigress and her new hubby, Jess. They’re not big on last names down there, I reckon, and it was never offered. Mark started the interview off on the wrong foot by asking how the two of them got together, which redirected the interview away from discussions of the Hog Hunting Heroines (of Bexar County), the reason he flew there. Mark was later invited to view their hunting trophy room, which left him possibly revolted or merely appalled at the number of mounted heads.  Fortunately for Mark, there was no empty plaque on the wall with the label, “Mark Trail: 20__.” When Mark finally got around to asking about the hunting group (this was in Saturday’s strip, by the way), Tess simply said they were going hunting that day and hoped Mark brought along his hunting camo. Which he did. Well, before you bug out, check out today’s hot topic!

With all of the possible nature topics available at the touch of a keyboard, the best Rivera could come up with is la cucaracha? The cockroach!? I’m thinking even she was not that satisfied with the topic, based on the lackluster title panel she created. Well, we get a few less-than-well-known tidbits of intel, such as that even when squished, they can spread harm. But I don’t know why Mark talks about cockroach nests. Who sees the nests? Aren’t they usually inside the walls? If I ever saw a nest, I’d probably douse it with dish detergent, vinegar, or Elmer’s Glue. Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with those bugs since my college days.