If these strips were not produced weeks in advance, I’d almost swear Jules Rivera read my post yesterday and decided she had to give Diana Daggers a bit more panel time. Or, you can call me prescient.

How can anybody look at the obsequiousness of Mark “Spiderman” Trail on his knees, practically begging Cricket Bro to cut himself out of the hole, and not be embarrassed!? Remember, it wasn’t long ago that Mark was adamant that Cricket Bro not try to extricate himself because of the instability of the limestone base! Hoo boy, I can’t fault Cricket Bro’s ranting at this point. Is Rivera implying that all “experts” are frauds and fools? Or just Mark?

The logical flaws in this sequence are more fragile than the cave floor. Where are the restraints to hold Cricket Bro from falling through? Why isn’t Mark doing the work, now that he has the tools? Why did Ranger Shaw stop working? Where are the other helpers who came with Ranger Shaw?

Well, finally, Diana Daggers shows up (once again) to exclaim “I told you so!” This is a wasted use of the character, which seems to almost always be the case. Daggers may as well go find work in another adventure strip that appreciates her potential. On the other hand, since her role has mostly been limited to being “assistant of X”, why not milk it for all it’s worth and make Diana an employee of Bill Ellis’ corporation, where she works alongside Mark on his assignments? Kind of like the 1960s The Avengers. She could be the “muscle” and data research specialist of the team.