There’s Mark, not feeling very sorry for Cliff, in spite of the fact that Mark shares the majority of the blame for taking advantage of Cliff’s friendship that got him into this position. Cliff really wanted a crack at that prize money, but Mark didn’t care. He had no hesitation or doubt about corralling Cliff into his plans to derail Tad Crass, even if it meant Cliff getting injured or disqualified. Which happened! As panel 2 suggests, Mark believes a few arcade games is all it takes to cheer up good ol’ Cliff, because …what? Cliff is a pushover, a friendly goof who is easily led? So Mark shouldn’t be taking anything hard at all, since what happened was a consequence of his actions.

And why did Cliff get stuck babysitting Rusty? It looks like another example of Mark taking advantage of Cliff’s good nature. No wonder he’s glum. Mark should have hired a nanny and let Cliff go someplace on his own and find some fun. Wouldn’t be hard in Vegas. But instead of female company or rolling dice, he’s stuck in a silly arcade with an eleven-year-old kid! All in all, I’m not feeling very positive about Jules Rivera for making Mark act like an inattentive dick. Or am I reading too much into this story?