Well, it’s about time Mark thought about paying the bills once again. But how curious that the shop in question is a reptile pet store, not a pet fish store. Mark seems to believe that “unethical activity” is enough evidence or suspicion to sell an article that will keep the Trail family financially afloat; or that it would even be worth publishing in the first place. Not much meat on that bone so far.

However, a genuine plot twist arises in panel 4 with Bill Ellis’s panicky response. I don’t know about you, but I am just slightly curious how Bill Ellis is linked to an otherwise obscure pet store in Nashville: He’s a partial owner? The store is owned by a relative? The owner is a big advertiser? It’s where Bill buys exotic snakes?

I don’t believe the location of Bill’s work place or residence has ever been specified in the strip. Maybe Jules Rivera will break ranks with her predecessors and reveal Bill’s secret stomping grounds.

Art Dept. The inadequacy and confusion (to me) of Rivera’s portrait balloon phone call convention is starkly revealed today. They lack the usual “tails” that point to the location of the speakers. And we are left to determine just where these people happen to be. From their relationship to the background, it would be normal to infer that Mark is in the greenhouse while Bill Ellis is sitting somewhere in the cabin. Of course, that is not the case, but it’s an easy call to make. Thus, this particular composition could have worked had Rivera drawn the tail of Mark’s portrait pointing to the cabin, while the tail for Ellis’ portrait balloon could have pointed to Mark’s headphones.