Mark Trail practices family values!?! Whose family, Ma Barker’s? Mark seems to have no fear of skirting and breaking the law when it suits him. And as much as I like a good action scene, decking somebody with his two fists o’ justice doesn’t automatically infer rightness or truth. And isn’t “revenge” often a method for seeking “justice”? Well, enough of this faux philosophy!

That is sure a weird looking version of the Trail cabin behind the fake Fox in panel 4. But, hah-hah-hah… Rivera once again tries to poke fun at the cliché of wild animals running amok in Mark and Cherry’s front yard. That’s funny, maybe twice a year. The rest of time, Rivera should stick to drawing real animals, if she’s going to bother at all.

Mark provides fatherly advice for taking a serious approach to the topic of electronic waste in our environment, while Rusty provides comic relief. All well and good. But will the environment topic, itself, be treated seriously, or once again used merely as a story prop?

While the real point of the wild horse story in Utah revolved around an A.I. data center, we learned very little about what actually took place with wild animals and we learned even less about why data centers may be bad for people and the environment. That is to say, virtually nothing. Wasted opportunity.

As this is an environmentally-conscious adventure strip, we should expect to see Rusty researching and assembling the project (without slandering Robbie), along with providing some basic discussions of the topic along the way. One could even imagine Robbie viewing the exhibit at the fair and feeling guilty enough to admit to Rusty he was sorry for being careless with his game components. Yeah, right.

Uff-da! Must…stop…writing. Cynical nature…is…taking over! Think. Positive. Thoughts. It hurts! Aargh!!

Regular reader “Be aware of eve hill” enjoyed the thought balloon of Robbie sticking his tongue out at Rusty in panel 2 of yesterday’s strip. I agree that it is a funny gag. More often I think we are laughing at the strip, itself; so it is nice to be able to laugh along with Rivera for once.

Okay, Mark does have a habit of ending the careers of people: Tess Tigress, Sid Stump (I think), Senator Smalls, and Tad Crass all come to mind. None were specifically for revenge, with the possible exception of Tad Crass. Mark’s technique seems to be consistent:  Goad the targets enough so they make a fatal mistake and destroy themselves.

This could turn out to be a memorable father-son discussion.

From the looks of things, it’s likely that Rivera is going to drag this conversation into Saturday. And frankly, I don’t want to see Rusty’s Revenge Face all week long, so I hope Mark can quickly settle things down and get this story moving along. I don’t know what Rivera is making Rusty think, regarding what Mark can to do. But so far, this story is running along the line I suggested back on May 7 … and that’s a bummer, because I’m not a storyteller.

Nevertheless, there are some real issues that may or may not get explored here, such as … uh, wait. Given the fact that real and important issues were mostly just implied or given lip service in the wild horses adventure, it’s doubtful things will be different this time around.

Anyway, where is Cherry? She hasn’t been seen in the strip since early April, when she, Doc Davis, and Violet Cheshire had a good laugh over the antics of Banjo Cat.

Hmmm, are they outside of the cabin or inside? I ask because Mark still has his jacket on, not that we know what season this takes place in. Maybe they just like to keep a cool cabin.

Now remember, dear readers, this is (supposed to be) Rusty’s adventure, so don’t expect the usual nail-biting suspense and drama of one of Mark’s stories, though that could happen. But it won’t. Anyway, Mark usually ingratiates himself into Rusty’s adventures, even if Rusty is naïve enough to sometimes invite him in on his own, as he does here. Poor Rusty.

Okay, will Daddy Trail wisely counsel Rust on the dangers of seeking revenge or will he simply say “Sounds great! Where do we begin?”

Art Dept. Now isn’t that a great image of Rusty in panel 4? I’m serious. Strongly defined expression, good facial proportions, and even decent lines. The green color is an effective background, along with those “emotion rays” (for wont of a better name) shooting out from behind Rusty, a motif frequently used by Rivera, but going back to Japanese anime at least as old as the Samurai Pizza Cats of the early 1990s.

Ooh! Rusty is really hot under the collar (an emotion excellently illustrated in panel 1!). But he proves to be a quick thinker and comes up with an idea much more topical and arguably more important—if less cute—than axolotls.

The plot of this storyline starts out as another (pre)teen rivalry between frenemies. We’ve seen in the past how Robbie takes every opportunity to stick it to Rusty. Will this tension continue to be the driving force of this story? Well, of course! I don’t expect we’ll see Robbie giving Rusty a High Five for a quick recovery and a superior topic. Nope. If anything, we can expect some sabotage along the way.

Art Dept. Have you noticed a small but increasing use of digital screentone patterns to suggest shadow (panel 2) or possibly mood (panel 3)? This technique normally replaces the more time-consuming manually-inked crosshatched lines. Rivera normally does not bother creating hazy or shadowy ambiance or even suggesting volume, preferring to use flat shapes and colors. I think it is a positive addition that I hope will eventually make its way onto the characters.

I’m trying to not take credit for making such an obvious prediction for this plot development. I’m guessing 95% of you made the same prediction. So for that other 5%, “I TOLD YOU! AND I WUZ RIGHT!”

Alas, in panel 4 Rusty internalizes: “That little thief!” What kind of kid talks like that?!? Maybe an adult does when talking about a kid. No, somebody like Rusty is more apt to mutter “Thanks-alotl, you g#dd@mn #(@)ing prick! Just wait until lunch, pond scum!” But like network TV, you have to clean up language in comic strips for the delicate minds of people who enjoy getting offended as an excuse to become offensive.

In spite of Rivera’s appreciated upgrading of Rusty’s personality and image from his past incarnation, he is still a gullible, insecure adolescent (like many kids in real life). It’s clear that Robbie is “Eddie” to Rusty’s “Beaver.” How will Rusty get his revenge? It can’t possibly be that the teacher will make them team up…?

Okay, this dialog is not moving the story along; it is merely two kids bickering. I don’t know why Rivera believes Rusty should score a point (“touché”) in his response, since Robbie already admitted he didn’t have any idea of what an axolotl is. So why should Robbie also know its taxonomic classification? Seen in this light, the conversation could be interpreted as “Rusty tries to ridicule Robbie.” In panel 4, Robbie’s body language indicates that it doesn’t seem to be working. Touché, Robbie!

Art Dept. There is a fundamental difference between the drawing of Rusty and that of Robbie. Where Rusty’s head (for example) appears quite naturalistic and animated, Robbie’s smooth head looks like it came from a stylized marionette or a china doll. At least it is a bit more defined than the yellow smiley face. The differences in style and facial definition are off-putting. I could be reading too much into this. What do you think?

Downpuppy’s caustic assessment yesterday of Mark Trail (d)evolving into a child’s comic strip, might be based on more than just the current story. After all, we’ve already had several plots with Rusty over the past three+ years. There seems to be some kind of thinking to filter real drama and danger through the lens of nonsense and goofy characters. Now, as “theater of the absurd” or “social satire” goes, this manner of writing has a long and respected tradition over the past several centuries.

However, one thing missing here is the target of the alleged satire. Is it the legacy Mark Trail strip, itself? In part, I think so. Since she started in 2020, Rivera has been rocking the boat of Mark’s 1950s morale certainty and immunity. But that can only go so far and for so long. Continued, ad infinitum, this trick becomes a parody of itself, as the original strip and its original readers fade into the past. So the satirical references get lost. Then the strip continues as a trivial pastiche looking for an audience. And I think that is where we are. What to do? There is virtually no sense of actual drama or danger to be found. Everything is a put-up joke. Real conservation and ecological issues are resolved by actions too dumbed down or unbelievable to be meaningful.

I think if Rivera and the comics syndicate want to attract more youth, then maybe start molding the strip along the lines of computer adventure/action games, rather than Pokémon or Dora the Explorer.

Hoo-boy, what happened here? Frankly, panel 1 is just embarrassing, and panel 2 isn’t a lot better. I’m trying to come up with any explanation, but I’m drawing a blank. Hmm, that blank would be better.

Otherwise, I just hope that the plot doesn’t develop the way it seems to be going. You know, where Rusty is naïve enough to tell Robbie what he wants to do, and Robbie submits Rusty’s idea to the teacher before Rusty can. Then it’s all complain, complain, complain to Mom. So Mark hears about it and decides to take matters into his own hands by breaking into Robbie’s garage and destroying the kid’s project after knocking out Robbie’s dad. What’s that, you say? That wasn’t what you were thinking? Okay, some of the details might not be fully fleshed out.

One thing that Rivera gets more or less “right” is Rusty, at least in comparison to his traditional persona. Traditional Rusty was mostly a cypher, a one-dimensional character, even when showcased in a few stories by James Allen. Rivera’s Rusty is more complex, with mixed emotions, high energy, and a definite outgoing personality sometimes undone by a propensity to get himself into trouble. In short, he’s a real member of the Trail family! If anything, he is probably more like a typical precocious kid in any number of TV sitcoms. Still, at least he has a life and his own personality.

Art Dept. Even though Rivera normally eschews atmospheric effects, they are used to good effect here. In Panel 1 Rusty and Robbie are spotlighted, while the rest of the room fades into shadow. To reinforce this focus, the surrounding students are backgrounded in purple, an effect Rivera has used many times in the past for the same effect. In other words, panel 1 provides the context in which the two “friends” are sitting and talking, so that panels 2 and 3 are more comprehensible. Self-obvious, perhaps; but I think Rivera did a good job in panel 1.

Every wonder why the main characters in comics wear the same clothes, day after day? Hmm….