I’ve been watching peacock (more accurately, peafowl) videos to hear what they sound like and act like. They appear to have several different calls: one like a cat, one like a chicken, one like a trumpet trying to sound like a car horn, and yet another like a kind of crow sound. Overall, have some 11 different calls and yells. Check them out on YouTube.
I found a few videos of peacocks screeching out something along the lines of what is depicted in panel 4. As varied as their calls are, it’s quite a sight to see them when they raise their tail feathers (or train).
Well, if this isn’t going to be a variant on the Banjo Cat and the Harpist cat hunt story, I wonder if they really resolved that problem of Banjo Cat running free and chasing down birds? A matchup may not go too well for ol’ Banjo Cat!
Regular reader, be ware of eve hill, commented on Violet’s “Groucho” eyelashes a few days ago. They are difficult to miss. Groucho Marx famously applied his exaggerated eyebrows and moustache using theater “grease paint.” Is Violet doing something similar? I made a quick survey of her appearances over the years and here are my findings:
Perhaps there is a hormonal change going on with Violet, since she seems to display a continuous thickening of her cilia. However, I’ll step back a bit. We already know that Rivera is not consistent with her depictions, so there is going to be variation. However, this seems to be a generally accurate visual chronology. So, Violet’s current over-the-top (so to speak) eyebrows are not just accidents.
Getting back to the “story”, it’s interesting to see how informal and personal Violet becomes when talking about her mother. And any time Honest Ernest is involved, we know that incompetence and failure quickly follow. I wonder if this is going to be a revision of the hunt for Banjo Cat story? Or maybe the peacock inhaled pest control chemical fumes from inside the van and Honest Ernest is rushing it over to Doc Davis for resuscitation.
I suppose we all deserve a break now and then from the intense, almost nonstop action and intrigue we usually find in Mark Trail storylines. Jules Rivera kindly helps us cool down with innocuous mini-adventures like this one, free from danger and virtually any hint of engagement.
It’s like the wall in panel 1, which appears at first to be a single plane going straight across, until we look closer (if you are up for it). How come the window on the left is shown on an angle while the bookcase is shown face on? (Be mad at me, because now, you can’t ignore seeing it!) But doesn’t that suggest two walls meeting at a corner? Yet no corner line is defined. “It’s a real mystery!” If you really want to push it, pretend the room is a continuously curving space with no sharp changes of direction.
Well, it’s your choice whether this is worth considering. It’s okay to just sit back, have another sip of your beverage of choice, scan the panels, and let your gray matter have the morning off.
Oh, I know. You want me to riff on the point that Violet’s mother should already have a cage for her prized peacock!? My goodness! Haven’t we been over this point before? Many stories usually involve some kind of crisis or task that has to be overcome by a given deadline. In many cases, these are totally invented things, cleverly woven into the fabric of a book or movie where it isn’t so obvious. That’s much harder to do in comic strips. Violet might as easily have mentioned “building a reviewing stand for her mother and her friends” or “making sure that the party balloons come in three different colors and are evenly distributed.”
Okay, let’s just admit the basis for this story is wanting. Violet throws her upscale cultured persona around like an Olympic athlete throwing the javelin. She wears what passes for fashionable clothes, seems to affect an English accent or maybe just a few words here and there, and has a mother with fancy friends. Maybe Violet lives with Mom and maybe she doesn’t, but Mom can’t live too far away. From Violet’s remarks, we have to assume her Mom and friends get themselves fancied-up for various events.
Yet, in spite of all this, Violet has no idea where to find a salon!? Is Lost Forest located in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp? For that matter, should we assume that Cherry manage her own hair?
Or is this just Violet’s technique for negotiating a reduced price?
Frankly, the concept of socialites in Lost Forest seems absurd, given the people we tend to see. It may be that Violet and her mother actually live in a more affluent community near Lost Forest, such as Cold River, which featured in a story way back in 1974. How do I know that? It’s not that my mind is a mental treasure house, but I’ve been reading some of the vintage strips on Comics Kingdom. Anyway, if Violet needs the services of a stylist in Lost Forest, wherever she lives can’t be any better.
Life has certainly changed for Violet Cheshire, the Sunny Soleil Society manager. She’s transformed from her original icy, domineering and arrogant presence to this over-emotional, beat-down, hapless person with “mother” issues. Ok, to be fair, Cherry didn’t get along with her mom, either. Still…
But I got a kick out of Violet’s remark about finding the fanciest stylist in Lost Forest! That would normally be the town barber in a place like this, but Cherry has Peach Pitt on hand. So, whatis the point of this story? So far, it seems to be: Violet must host a successful “summer bash” in order to make her mum (another English word!) look good for her high-falutin socialite friends. Not exactly a strong beginning for a story unless Rivera wants to compete against Mary Worth.
Art Dept. If spending more time on drawing figures is too much, it would at least be more visually interesting for Rivera to focus on designing more interesting compositions and perspectives like she used to do, instead of relying on static, simplistic arrangements like these panels. Of course, I’m just whistling in the dark. Even if—by chance—Rivera read this blog and agreed with me, no results would begin to show up for at least a month or two.
[A followup to yesterday’s Week in Review] Maybe it’s the fewer hours I’ve been sleeping lately, but I seem to be overlooking details. Thankfully, I have readers who are keeping my on my toes. Regular reader, Downpuppy, likened Cherry’s hideous facial image in Saturday’s panel 1 to that of a mask from the Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebration. His claim has a visual possibility, though the purpose for Cherry to be wearing it is unclear.
Also, a reader on Comics Kingdom pointed out that in Sunday’s strip, Mark talked about the California Condor’s 10-foot wing span, while showing an example with a 9-foot wingspan! Woo! I don’t know how I missed that one, but it does justify my prior observation that this was likely a hurry-up project for her. But now, on to the current episode!
(click to view enlarged image. Click “back” browser button to return here)
What’s with this “blimey!” talk? Is Violet actually British or just affecting the lingo? While it’s possible she’s been watching the British soap opera, EastEnders, for a long time, there is prior evidence of her “British” association. Back in April 2021 when Cherry first met Violet, our “Southern Belle” offered up a plate of scones to Cherry, who declined the offer.
Scones are now standard offerings in American bakeries and coffee houses, but they have an English heritage. In spite of this, we rarely detect any British accent or vocabulary from Violet. Oh, and you with your sharper-than-my eyes have no doubt noticed the changes between the original depiction of the Sunny Soleil Society’s headquarters and today’s version. It’s in keeping with the always-changing footprint of the Trail cabin.
Well, what’s with this “bear” thing again? And why is that black-eyed Cherry pushing around a statue of a bear? I’d have thought Violet had had enough of them. I hope we’re not in line for more bear jokes!
The ol’swimming hole is contaminated with wastewater, much to the Trails’ consternation. What to do? The ongoing story this past week saw the Trails move from the closed lake to an impromptu backyard slip n’ slide party and barbeque at the home of Ranger Shaw, the father of Rusty’s sometimes-friend, Robbie. In the backyard sipping iced tea and eating hotdogs, Mark tried to get information from Ranger Shaw about the contamination, only to find out that he claimed to know nothing about its source. This made Mark suspicious, given the weeks he and his colleagues have had to investigate. Mark is right to be suspicious, with Range Shaw’s questionable actions in the past and his seeming inability or unwillingness to help out (e.g. the Grungey Boys’ so-called lawnmower races in Lost Forest).
And wouldn’t you know it, just at this point in time, Mark gets a call from his dad, Happy Trail. Always nice to hear from family, right? Well, there was no discussion of weather, no “How’s Rusty?”, or “When are you all coming down to visit?” Nope, Happy Trail jumped right to the point: “There’s a golf course opening just north of you!” Since Mark has no history of playing golf, we have to wonder why Happy Trail even knew about it or bothered to tell Mark. My guess is that Happy is financially involved in the course and it will wind up being another scam.
Finally, there was some noteworthy art: A nicely drawn foreshortened view of Rusty sliding on Robbie’s slip n’ slide toward the reader; and a less-than-complimentary image of Cherry, seen from the back, in profile (shudder!).
Today’s Title Panel is a clever, well-drawn take on the stereotypical vacation post card. And I’m glad to see fewer images of Mark filling the Sunday strip. Celebrate biodiversity, okay. Fine! But the execution of today’s “biodiversity” doesn’t live up to the definition. In fact, two of the animals here each take up two panels! What about flora? Sea life? And keep in mind that the main purpose of the Mark Trail Sunday strip is already meant to show and educate us on the diversity of wildlife and nature! Call me cynical, but today’s strip smells like deadline pressure.
Yes, Mark is rightfully suspicious of Ranger Shaw, as he should be. The last time, Shaw misled Mark regarding the Grungey Boys destroying office equipment in Lost Forest and his own participation. Will we eventually discover that he was given a free golf membership to not look too closely at how those greens are managed?
Of course, this coincidental phone call is a transparently weak gimmick to move the plot along. Why would Happy Trail call Mark about a golf course? I don’t think we’ve ever seen Mark golf. At least, I have no recollection. If you do, let me know. Perhaps this is a device to insert Happy Trail into this story?
And would anybody like to comment on Rivera’s use of the golf term “bogey” in panel 4? Anyway, this might give you a clue to understanding my own golf pun in today’s title.
Art Dept. Maybe Rivera should skip drawing profiles, especially for figures in the distance. Cherry looks like she is wearing a large, grotesque mask. Frankly, it’s one of the most difficult images to look at that I’ve seen.
It’s been a few years (“Something Fishy”, 2023) since we’ve seen Happy Trail. So he is back, though looking a bit ragged and less like his earlier self. Well, the 2023 Happy Trail also looks a bit different from his 2020 debut. You can go back and hunt that one out, if you wish. In any event, all of the principle Mark Trail characters have had their images change over the past several years. Rivera isn’t trying to suggest that they are all getting older (e.g. Gasoline Alley, Doonesbury); she is just changing her style as she goes. You can apply your own value judgement. But I’ll say (again) that I’m not a fan of her current presentation.
Aside from the fact that lightning bugs (fireflies) don’t look anything like floating donuts or snail shells, Rivera has decided to actually acknowledge the holiday today, and that’s about all that can be said. Except that the Fourth of July is not necessarily a Day of Independence celebrated by all, especially those whose ancestors in America who were not independent or made “free” on that July 4th day in 1776, and for many decades after.
Night has fallen! Apparently Ranger Shaw didn’t marry this gal for her inquisitive nature. But was it worth it to waste two panels for this non-joke joke? Was it worth it to pivot away from continuing a serious discussion all the way through four panels?
In any event, the investigative groundwork continues even as Ranger Shaw admits they’ve done next to nothing. Certainly, an examination of the wastewater chemical content should help narrow down the possible candidates. Heck, maybe the contamination is brought in at night and dumped, the way people used to get rid of their nonworking appliances. Will Mark bother with any of this?
Well, where the rangers failed, Mark is certain to deliver! And he has to, as he’s under contract with North American Syndicate (full transparency: an affiliate of King Features, owned by Hearst Communications).
I have to admit that it was painful to put together yesterday’s blog, contrasting Rivera’s early work on the strip with what she is producing today. That feeling persists.
Not sure why Rivera is dragging out this particular scene, like something from Mary Worth, unless she means to fill out the entire week just to let Mark know about the wastewater contamination. This also tells us that the Trails have not gone swimming much lately. Well, Mark has been on the job for the most part, so he’s excused. Tomorrow might we expect Mark to follow-up his interrogation with “And just what are you doing about it, Ranger Shaw?”, which should take Shaw two days to answer, filling out the week.
Apparently, Lost Forest does not have a good wastewater treatment center! I’d send them my youngest’ son’s contact information, as he’s a senior environmental engineer. But he’s quite busy with the seven country metro area he works with. Looks like Mark will have to solve this one on his own!
Art Dept. Mark’s expression in panel 4 seems a bit over-reactive, unless he’s thinking that his septic tank might have sprung a leak. Can’t say there is much difference in Shaw’s expression, which borders on the psychotic. But I think we might agree that Ranger Shaw’s personality is enigmatic. Rivera could look back at her earlier work as we did, and start reusing some of those more nuanced expressions of concern, doubt, and angst that Mark exhibited back then.
Mark employs his professional journalist interrogation, er, interview tactics on Ranger Shaw: First, disarm the subject with flattery and politeness; discuss mundane events to build rapport; then finally, slam the subject with hard-hitting questions before he has a chance to prepare a defensive response.
Well, that appears to be the goal, but for some reason, Mark’s odd expression (“Ohh! A bee stung me!”) in panel 3 dilutes the dramatic moment, so Range Shaw seems more concerned about that, then being taken aback by the qestion, itself.
Art Dept. The function and appearance of the current art has been the subject of recent discussion. Intent, ability, purpose all come into play. As regular readers know, we have discussed this topic many times. It is no secret that Rivera’s art has changed over time, where the art now looks like a mashup of storyboard drawing techniques and TV cartoon-inspired simplicity. Or worse.
from Jan 23, 2021. Sorry I don’t have a more detailed version.
It wasn’t always this way. Look back at Rivera’s start. The “cool dude Mark” pose is from a series of early publicity images Rivera drew in late 2020, when she took over the strip. The strip, above, from January 2021, is part of Rivera’s first story. You should easily see here a greater attention to detail, naturalism, and even dramatic sequencing in Rivera’s use of a single, continuous landscape to portray a sequence of events over time. In art history circles, this is known as “continuous narration,” so this concept is not original, but it is rare to see in comic strips. It is a grittier style like that sometimes seen in graphic novels. So, considering what we see these days, the question arises: What happened?
Okay, two birds with one stone, and all that. The boys get to play on a Slip ‘n Slide (not recommended for adults!), and Mark does some preliminary data gathering about the contaminated lake.
Rivera’s habit of showing animals squawking, gaping, and staring in our direction continues, unabated. As noted previously, it’s overdone, even if it is meant as parody of the pre-Rivera tradition for depicting wildlife trapesing through the panels.
Finally, I wonder why the sky is a pale orange. You, too, right? Or maybe not. Was it just a choice of the colorist or does it actually play into the story? An orange sky can signify different things: A sunset, a nearby forest fire, the prelude of an oncoming storm, or even a sky filled with dust and pollutants. However, nobody in the strip seems worried by it, so it’s more than likely just a curious color choice.
Action? Drama? Suspense? Got me. As usual, we haven’t seen any. It’s been a quiet week in Lost Forest (to riff on Garrison Keillor): Mark is home, the hot water is running, and everybody wants to go swimming at the lake. The only problem is that it’s fenced off because of water contamination.
Bad luck for the swimmers, but better luck for Mark (and maybe we readers), because it looks like another home-grown (i.e. non-paying) investigation is in order, as Mark returns to his roots to deal with a local environmental problem. The question, though, is Why?
Why, indeed? The fact that there is a fence and a sign means the authorities know about. What’s Mark going to do? He’s a reporter, not a bacteriologist. In the real world, he’d make a couple of phone calls, write up his findings, and that would be that. Perhaps if there was an actual newspaper in the area, Mark would publish there. But this is Mark’s World. Clearly, there will be something nefarious afoot.
No awards (again) from the Norman Rockwell School of Illustration this week. And we must bide our time until Monday, with today’s nature lesson. Get your notebooks out!
The following Sunday falls on July 6th, so Rivera got her “July 4th”strip out today. We have a fairly orderly, if sometimes corny, set of panels. The customized title panel reminds me of one of those late-night infomercials where you can buy the “Collector’s Edition American Bald Eagle” statue for only two easy payments of $39.99, plus s/h.
The eagle drawings are, indeed, well done. As I’ve mentioned several times before, Rivera uses stock images, such as this photo. Close comparison shows that she free-handed much of it, rather than just performing simple copy-and-pastes. Speaking of using visual rfeferences, when John James Audobon made his detailed bird drawings, he had to shoot the birds in order to have the time and opportunity to pose and draw them. This was a common practice back then.
(click photo to see enlarged image)
The main complaint I have—and one that you’ve seen me make before—is Rivera’s insistence on sticking Mark in as many Sunday panels as possible and over-indulging in poor jokes and puns. Not sure why she thinks this is good, nor who she is aiming this at. It surely isn’t younger people. Maybe it’s directed at the kind of people who buy American Bald Eagle statues for two easy payments.
Yes, Rivera’s art can certainly be atrocious, as recent critic Rich grunkle duck likes to point out. But more often, it is inconsistent, not always sunk to the bottom of the comic strip swamp, though today’s strip is a good candidate for that distinction. If this, and other recent strips were all we had to go on, it would be difficult to disabuse the accusation of non-stop slop.
As for this storyline, my fear is that, once again, Rivera will give lip service to the topic, itself. Like the just completed AI and the Environment story, very little time was actually spent on the topic and we didn’t really learn much more than a few platitudes. As this is a strip with a focus on the environment, one might expect a bit more depth.
But was it any different in pre-Rivera stories? Mark’s infamous bat-cave adventure had virtually nothing to do with bats or wildlife problems. Doc’s buried gold adventure took place in the desert. The bank heist and fake kidnapping story also partly took place in a cave with a silly sideshow of calming a bear with candy bars. The premise of Mark going to visit a friend to see gray wolves was soon forgotten.
None of these stories were really what we would call “nature-oriented”, as opposed to just being adventure stories. But, however far-fetched and contrived they were, they were still presented seriously, providing elements of plausible danger and suspense, with a feeling that somebody could get hurt (reference the Yeti, Oh My Yeti story, where the leader actually did die!). But ignore these elements and the stories, themselves, become thin and mediocre. That is: take out all of the “Indiana Jones” traps and pitfalls in the Bat-Cave story, and all you have left is a story of three people, trapped in a cave by human traffickers, making their way through a cave system, finally locating an exit and winding up swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
Those elements of danger and suspense taken seriously are almost always missing in Rivera’s stories. Their absence helps lays bare the dead-ends, lapses, and plot holes in her stories. Why she leaves them out is not clear. It’s not from lack of awareness. Again, her first story certainly did exhibit real elements of suspense and danger, along with strong emotions. But that is nothing like what have been getting.
I’m surprised to see Rusty brought Robbie along, given their long history of rivalry. Otherwise, all I can say is “Thank Goodness!” there is a snag in this otherwise boring swimming story. Given that a fence has been (partially) erected with a warning sign, we might be lucky enough to see some kind of toxic spill or industrial pollution that Mark can investigate and give us a more interesting story to read.
Art Dept. Apparently, Rivera believes it is important to show the shocked expressions of the gang after they arrived at the swimming hole, though Cherry looks more like a teenager that just got goosed by her boyfriend. In any event, it’s another one of Rivera’s oddball examples where everybody is facing away from the object they’re reacting to. Now, is there any reason they couldn’t all be showed facing towards the fence, as people do in real life?
Surprise, shock, or disappoint could certainly be implied through body language, just as much as through facial expression. Here is a simple example of what I’m talking about. You’ll have to just imagine a fence in front of this dude.
Other compositional solutions come to mind here, but facing away from the fence is not one of them. Another missed opportunity.
And yeah, I know the station wagon in panel 1 looks off, like one of those old school ColorForms stick-ons.
There goes Rivera once again, wringing out yet another sappy 3-panel gag strip, featuring the “mom packs for a six week vacation” trope. Real comedy gold. If the hokey poses of Mark and Rusty in panel 2 aren’t contrived enough, in panel 3 Rivera has them standing in the doorway, looking gobsmacked (“Uh-oh, there goes Mom again!”). Yet more sitcom tropes worthy of Nickelodeon. But this just does not fit Cherry’s personality. I’m wondering if Rivera is making these choices on her own or if she’s getting advised from people at King Features on ways to make a strip about nature and the environment appear cute and appeal to more readers (maybe like the kind of people who enjoy Hi and Lois and Garfield).
Art Dept. One day Rivera will figure out bears. As we’ve seen in the past, she’s used different approaches, or perhaps, different online sources. Now, using reference images is not a negative in comic strips. In fact, cartoonists have been using visual references for over 100 years. It’s a lot easier now since cartoonists don’t have to maintain filing cabinets full of photos and drawings.
I’m pretty sure that Rivera used this online image as her source. Note that she even used several of the same river rocks in her own representation.
Perhaps she manually traced it (as artists would have done in the past) and then improvised the texture and lighting. Or, she ran the image through several transformations with her software. Whatever, I think she went too far, creating a bear with a strange surface texture. Sometimes you just shouldn’t fool with Mother Nature.
Whaaat!? Rusty wants to get driven to a lake!? What about the water beside the cabin? Okay, that could just be a very small lake or pond. So why don’t Rusty and his friend just bike to the lake? Surely it can’t be that far away? Why, in my day …
Anyway, one positive takeaway today is that we’re done with the post-shower happy talk and on to a different family activity. Yay! Another thing that you probably noticed is that we are viewing a rare appearance of Mark and Rusty not wearing their standard-issue uniforms. That’s something for your diary. Still, another point is this: We see a lot more of Rusty than we did in the pre-Rivera days. I believe this expansion of the family is an overall good thing. At the same time, a little goes a long way and we just had a Rusty story. It’s time to let Rusty rest for a while in the “Mark Trail Occasional Character” closet, along with Doc Davis, Andy, and the Donut Lady.
Art Dept. In Panel 3 Jules Rivera employed her usual elliptical “panel arc” I mentioned the other day. It fulfills its role of highlighting the person talking. But in panel 4, Rivera cleverly reconfigured the arc by transforming it into what looks like a wall of oozing paint, dripping diagonally down. This “melting arc” still highlights Rusty, but also reflects his sinking feelings about going swimming his friend and his parents.
Really, not enough cold water? Does the Trail family maintain refrigerated cisterns!? Oy vey, if this week isn’t going to progress beyond tiresome punchlines, all I can do is hope that Bill Ellis calls tomorrow so Mark can get back on the job as quickly as possible. Even then, this home interlude could stretch to two weeks, since Jules Rivera likes to start stories on Mondays.
Art Dept. Yesterday’s first panel was a well-planed composition. Today’s panel 1 is a compositional mess. The hummingbird should have been placed more to the right, with the cabin below and to the left, so they don’t overlap. In fact, Rivera should have made this a 3-panel format,like yesterday. She could still have easily consolidated panels 2 and 3 into one and killed two birds with one panel.
Alas, what’s with the drawing of that Ruby-throated hummingbird? Is it actually gliding!? Hummingbird wings are a blur, unless captured by high-speed photography, which makes for fake-looking drawing. Well, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that this bird will be the next Sunday topic. Mark last talked about hummingbirds on April 21, 2024.
Here we begin a week of post-assignment family time. The family time segment has always been part of the strip (as far as I can determine), but Jules Rivera likes to expand on this period, injecting more than her predecessors did. In the old days after Mark came home from an assignment, the family would eat, then Mark and Cherry would sit in the living room or on the front porch and chat about how dangerous Mark’s assignments were. Then Mark would get a phone call and he’d be off on another trip. That process hasn’t changed all that much, except Rivera likes to flesh out this time with “everyday problems” and activities to add more dimensionality..
Anyway, there’s a nice duck landing by the Trail cabin. Not sure when this lake (or river?) showed up again. And is that a side door? We know that the front door is centered, with a porch. And we recently discovered that the back door has a stairway leading down an incline, suggesting the cabin is on some kind of promontory. Maybe this is a separate, adjunct building housing their shower and bathroom facilities. Rivera has a transactional approach to the strip, such that if the Trail cabin or its property needs to look a certain way, it will. I don’t know if it’s because Rivera doesn’t care or if she just needs the changes to fit the current storyline.
I leave Mark’s dialog in panel 2 (“I feel at ease after a good shower.”) for you to comment on, if you feel inspired or coerced by your own sense of values.
Art Dept. Panel 1 is a nicely designed and illustrated composition. However, I’m puzzled by the design of panel 2. Rivera employs her standard panel arc compositional device. However, we can see that both sides of the arc are not drawn along the same curve and will not connect. This is unusual for Rivera, who has drawn this device hundreds of times. I don’t recall another case with this kind of looseness. Then consider the figure of Mark. At first, I thought the head was too big. But I covered up the arms, so the body and head don’t look too out of proportion. I think it must be the arms are too small for the torso. Rivera can usually handle foreshortening much better than this, even though she can be inconsistent. We know that Rivera deliberately distorts figures, though her motivation is not always obvious. However, these two quirks do not line up with her eclectic (or crude, if you wish) style. Was she in a hurry? Had a bad day? Did she let one of her fellow artist friends ghost-draw the panel? I dunno, but it is visually jarring.
The Daily Trail 