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Rivera joins the Misplaced Dialog Balloon Club 

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One of the longstanding sources of artistic humor in Mark Trail is the dialog balloon that seems to point to the wrong speaker. Often, this turned out to be an animal or tree. In this case, we have an extreme example in panel 3. It’s difficult to call it” ambiguous”, because the tail of the top dialog balloon deliberately points to Honest Ernest, instead of Violet. It would be interesting to know if this was truly deliberate or if there was some editing going on at the syndicate. Or, it could have been the case that the top balloon had different dialog that Ernest actually said, but it was later changed without redirecting the balloon tail to Violet. 

Otherwise, Rivera finally moves the story along by throwing in a plot twist of a sort with Honest Ernest’s dramatically clumsy entrance, most likely in an attempt to get back into Violet’s good graces and welcoming arms. 

Art Dept. The composition of the group in the background in panel 1 provides a good symbolic purpose, as it supports the narrative by focusing on the group as a whole, rather than the individual participants. However, the squirrel is too big and obscures the effect. Ernest’s clumsy dramatic entrance in panel 2 is also a good effort, though his anatomy is just not right. And once again, the included squirrel is spurious and detracts from the mood.  Rivera cannot seem to stop herself from continuing to parody the pre-Rivera Mark Trail tradition of including animals irrelevant to the storyline. 

Quiz: How close are you observing details? Check out Wednesday’s strip (“In case you missed yesterday, let’s review.”), then compare it to panel 2 and panel 4 today.

Is Rivera getting all metaphorical on us? 

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Yes, it is clear to me from today’s strip that this story is a metaphor. It isn’t really just about the kittens needing a home. The key is panel 4. Figured it out? You probably got it a few days ago.  This is about homelessness, of course, but homeless people. We have NIMBY responses and temporary camp proposals. Cherry’s lament of ”We need something more permanent. What if other kittens come to town…?” nails it for me.  

Of course, there are precedents for using animals as stand-ins for human actions and problems, be it Aesop, the ancient Egyptians, or George Orwell. There are significant differences, too. These animals are not anthropomorphic. Perhaps Rivera is simply making a point that communities need to, and can, come together to help resolve the problem of homelessness.  

Am I over-interpreting this story? Let me if you think differently.  

But my main concern is Rivera’s inability to avoid trivializing story continuity and importance with her need to insert irrelevant and base humor.  

In case you missed yesterday, let’s review. 

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I’m thinking that ”Mom” must have given the group another 24 hours to come up with a solution. They don’t seem in that much of a hurry. In any event, I found Cherry’s remark in panel 4 flippant, even though it was set up in panel 2. It is as if Rivera has been reading Pearls Before Swine. 

So, was any progress made today? Even though Cherry set the agenda yesterday, today is essentially just a paraphrase of yesterday. Which is to say, a day wasted for the sake of a pointless pun. Rivera should be more cautious about self-congratulations. At least Stephen Pastis has the good sense to make himself the butt of the joke. 

Art Dept. This must be Rag on Rivera Day. Her drawing looks really slapdash. It is apparent that drawing figures in the background is a greater challenge. Poor ol’ Doc looks like he is on something possibly illegal. And he sure has lost some weight. Good for him, of course.  

Annnnd it’s from Washington we switch over to Lost Forest! Take it away, Cherry.

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Wow, just how long is 24 hours in Lost Forest? Or how much activity can Cherry cram into one day? This is like that popular crime series, 24, where you just have to suspend reality to accept all of the stuff that happened to Agent Bauer in one full day.

Anyway, I am otherwise glad to see that the phone call was the transition I had hoped for. I have to say that this is not much of a collection of neighbors, given that there are only four people, and two of them share the same house, er, cabin.

I’m glad to see that Squirrelly Sandy changed from her previous red shirt, unlike most of the other characters who always wear the same clothes. Maybe that points to her transactional status in the strip. Maybe Squirrelly Sandy remembers what happens to Away Team members in StarTrek who wore red shirts (usually security).

This just in from our nation’s capital:  Rusty is having a good time.

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I suppose it is fairly realistic to note that adolescent kids will find goofiness more interesting than old airplanes and space modules that you are not allowed to enter or touch. I was probably more like Ian in elementary and middle school. I remember, as a third grader, being very popular because of my spot-on impersonation of Curly from The Three Stooges, especially during lunch. But I digress….

I hope we are not going to have another week filled with pointless prattling taking the place of any pretense of a story. To be fair, there hasn’t really been a story as of yet, other than a few incidents. My main hope is that today’s strip is a segue to Cherry’s crisis about the “abandoned” kittens, a story that has been on hold for about three weeks. At least that story has a focus and a plot. Let’s get to it!

Art Dept. Do you see the sketchy outline of Rusty’s lower face in panel 2? He looks like an Amish-in-Training, trying to grow a beard. I also noticed similar line work in the faces of Cherry and Rusty in panel 1. Deliberate or an oversight? No idea. Could just be my imagination, running away with me.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Mark, Rusty, and his classmates, led by presumed teacher Miss Mavis, are touring Washington, D.C. to soak up some history and politics. What happened this past week?

They happened upon a press conference outside the Capitol, led by none other than Ohio State Senator Smalls, now running for Congress. Smalls made several statements on hot-button issues that Mark hotly disagreed with. As Mark did with the senator last year, he openly challenged Small’s statements. Surprisingly, Smalls did not appear to recognize Mark, though I don’t see how you could forget the person who exposed your illegalities and got your butt arrested. And Senator Smalls was even more worried when Mark began exposing that corruption to the attending journalists.

Here is where things ran differently from the Ohio press conference. Instead of getting into a physical altercation with security, Mark played nice and voluntarily left the scene when directed. The security staff also expelled Miss Mavis and the students. It was an overreach, but nobody challenged it.

Mark didn’t even threaten to use his Two Fists O’ Justice! Why this apparent change? Had Jules Rivera been criticized for violence in this strip? There is actually very little of it. Could this decision been based on Mark not wanting anything to happen to the students? Well, they still got chased away.

Anyway, I believe Miss Mavis possibly missed a teaching opportunity when she proclaimed to her retreating students “There goes my politics lesson,” because I think this incident was a good lesson:  A citizen had his say and then the authorities stomped on it. Fortunately, Mark was well enough to make this Sunday nature discussion.

We have another well-conceived title panel, at least as far as the logo is concerned. The horseshoe crab is common up and down the Atlantic Coast and even the Gulf of Mexico. Growing up, I used to see their carapaces on the beaches in Virginia quite a lot. Yes, they can be found along the Potomac River.

The horseshoe crabs are especially abundant on Delaware Bay during Spring mating season, when they appear in the thousands to nest. Apparently, commercial fishing use them as bait, depleting their stock. Their value in medical research lies in an element of their blood called amebocytes, a type of coagulant. After they are bled, they are released to their natural habitat. Unfortunately, the loss of blood makes them more vulnerable and can lead to premature death. There are efforts to find viable substitutes.

The Moving Mark Shouts, and Having Shouted, Moves On ….

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I see some hasty drawing today and a somewhat different-acting Mark Trail. Even his expressions look different. What gives!? Mark began his questioning of Smalls in his standard, outspoken manner. But suddenly, he allowed himself to be shooed away like an unwelcome survey taker or somebody trying to sell you a new roof. Or maybe a … sorry, I’m getting sidetracked.

Now, is Rivera trying to shape Mark into a more controlled nature journalist/advocate? Or is this incident just a one-off? At least we are pretty certain that Miss Mavis is a teacher, not just a parent. And Mark is the only other adult chaperone!

Art Dept. There is something odd about the art today. Mark’s facial expressions don’t line up with how we normally see Rivera portraying him. And as for panel 1, that is my biggest shock. There are several noteworthy features: 1) the bushes exactly frame the lower half of the blue jay, rather than flow naturally behind the bird. 2) The extreme flatness of the scene is jarring. The “white” polygonal shape suggests architecture, but also doesn’t. It’s just a flat, irregular white shape. The steps and backdrop seem to float over it, as if it is somebody’s partial recollection of an event. The upper profile of the white shape mirrors the flow of the bushes. That continuity, in itself, is good classic technique.

But the overall effect of panel 1 reminds me of those old postcards that used to be popular, showing a state profile filled in with various motifs and symbols of the state. Could Rivera have actually had something like that in mind when she composed this panel? Well, maybe my imagination is getting the better of me.

What’s up with Mark’s capitulation?

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The Mark Trail strip for Friday continues the story of how Mark escorted Rusty on a school field trip to Washington, D.C., only to run into Ohio State Senator Smalls holding a press conference announcing his run for Congressional, in Washingtion D.C. Mark immediately started provoking Smalls with questions and demands, just like he did when he first encountered the corrupt politician.

I’m not sure where those two journalists from yesterday went to, nor if they are even bothering to record this likely illegal action by the Senator and his “security staff.” (Do you recognize the cop on the left?) Well, for journalists, this group looks pretty incompetent and uninterested. I don’t even see any cameras!

So, what was the point of this scenaro? Did Rivera just want to get in a few kicks about politicians threatening to eradicate government agencies? Will Mark try to followup on this confrontation in another venue?

Well, we did discover that Mark will not always resort to violence. That’s an improvement! Perhaps he realized fighting in front of the students was not a good look. We also learned the name of the other adult, though not her role. Will Saturday give us anything new?

Mark gets noticed by the local press

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As I live and breathe, this time some journalists do, in fact, get involved in Mark’s confrontation. And once again, Senator Smalls calls on Security to solve his problem. Interestingly, Mark has yet to reveal his Secret Identity as a Wildlife and Environmental Journalist. At least, I think that is what he is.

Do you think these two journalists are caricatures of actual journalists or known persons in the Real World? They have a certain individuality about them. And they certainly stand out from the purple cartoony figures standing behind them.

But the bigger picture here is that—once again—Rusty serves only as the kick-starter for another one of Mark’s adventures. Rusty will certainly continue in his secondary role, unless Rivera comes up with something unusual for him to do. Maybe he’ll panhandle on the street for Mark’s bail money!

Mark sets himself up for more trouble

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Mark—or rather, this story—is skating on thin ice. Or, perhaps my reaction is. Mark’s smugness in panel 3 is obvious, but maybe not justified. I’m not convinced that Senator Smalls recognizes Mark, in spite of Mark’s retort in panel 3.

Mark could have replied that he is, in fact, a journalist. But he didn’t! Why wouldn’t he reveal his bona fides as a wildlife and environmental journalist to justify his questions?

It’s possible that Smalls thinks Mark is just another troublemaking tourist. The fact that Mark is dressed in blue jeans and a red checkered shirt might have something to do with him standing out from the crowd, even if it is a crowd of journalists.

Will the Capitol Police show up at this point and try to haul Mark away? Will he try to fight them off?

Mark challenges Smalls to dismiss protecting children

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I forgot to bring up Mark’s comment in yesterday’s strip, where he said “What you’re doing is wrong and un-American!” Well, what Senator Smalls was doing was giving a speech, which is decidedly not un-American! Mark should have said “What you are saying is wrong and un-American!” Closer to what he probably meant, but still not accurate. Wanting to dismantle a government agency might be stupid, thoughtless, or even just political theater, but it ain’t un-American. However, declaring you support arresting or executing the people who run a government agency for your own political gain has a much higher chance of being declared un-American, depending on which people you poll. For all his faults, I don’t think Smalls will go that far.

As for today, how is it that Senator Smalls does not recognize the very person who violently interrupted his press conference in Ohio, exposed his corruption, and finally got him arrested? I mean, Mark is even wearing the same clothes!

Mark puts the senator on the spot, once again!

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The crowed for Senator Smalls seems to keep shrinking. Maybe those that left felt a change in the air and decided to get out of the way, quick.

Anyway, Mark’s heart is in the right place. But Mark should have realized he would be setting an example for the students. He should have at least gone through the motion of first raising his hand to ask his questions before going full-on Mr. Activist. But that’s old news at this point.

Art Dept. Speaking of old news, I noticed that Rivera decided to not only revive the scenario of Mark confronting Senator Smalls, but to use a similar composition  (panel 1). Did it look familiar to you, too? Let’s take a look:  

Here is the panel from July 22, 2023, when Mark and his father first confronted the senator. The general composition and Mark’s image in today’s strip is close to the July panel. But whereas prior Mark Trail artists would have simply “cut-and-paste” the same figure for convenience, it is clear that Rivera free-handed today’s version for a different reason. And that’s fine; “reuse” is  something artists have done for thousands of years when faced with the need to duplicate the same subject. I believe it is a deliberate decision by Rivera to compositionally link the two confrontations across time.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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You saw them brave wild lions, survive dangerous sea currents, and ignore plot holes in their hunt for a missing movie director (“Lions and Crickets and Caves, oh my!”). Now see them come together again, as they take on the complex and sometimes-brutal forces of Washington, D.C.!

Mark and Rusty are off on another father-and-son adventure: a school field trip to Washington, D.C. While touring, Rusty’s class happened upon a politician giving a stump speech to run for a senate seat in Congress. Mark recognized the speaker as State Senator Sam Smalls, the corrupt Ohio politician in bed with the railroad responsible for a dangerous chemical spill and explosion.

I noted this week that Rivera injected some actual current political content (about NOAA) into Small’s speech. While hearing Smalls talk, Mark became apoplectic at the same time that Rusty became entranced. A parent or teacher (it’s unclear to me) tried to shush Mark, but he was having none of it. Mark began to interrupt Small’s speech and openly challenge him. Readers may recognize the similarity to Mark’s interaction with Senator Smalls at a press conference following the exploding Ohio train crash (2023). That interaction led to violence and a police chase.

Will this aggressive interaction bring about a meaningful debate or just lead to another communications breakdown, followed by a police pursuit and/or arrest?

It’s true that some politicians (including the fictional Senator Smalls) and special interest groups want to split up/cancel NOAA, for political purposes. The Project 2025 report is one such entity.

However, not all Republicans agree. A House bill introduced by a Republican in 2023 (H.R.3980 of the 118th Congress, ‘‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act of 2023’’) aims to split NOAA from its dependent position under the Department of Commerce into its own, independent federal agency. The justification is to remove non-scientific oversight by Commerce and give NOAA its own statutory authority as a federal agency. This sounds commendable.

But it is very different from other, largely-Republican politicians and resources, including Project 2025, which calls for privatizing and splitting up NOAA, while removing its climate change research mandate. I noticed that H.R. 3980 actually supports NOAA’s climate research authority. That might explain why the bill is languishing and may never make it out of committee under the current House makeup. There is more to this than I can get into.

Mark moves into his Justice Mode!

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Some current politics are getting injected here, but if you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry. Be happy. Mark is so uptight in panel 2. Is it something Rusty just said? After all, business does create jobs and that is good. Maybe Mark has an aversion to normal jobs. My guess.

Or I think Mark is upset about by what Smalls said in panel 1. But what, specifically? Perhaps he has a visceral reaction to “AI Tech.” But we know he’s already upset about that NOAA crack.

Now, here is where the unnamed Woman in Purple might have it right: Mark cannot hold his temper and act in a more formal, acceptable manner. Just like in the Ohio press conference where he first confronted Senator Smalls, Mark again rudely interrupts the speech with a boisterous outburst and strong arm gesture. I wonder if Smalls recognizes Mark yet?

Today’s Tip o’ Destruction for the kiddies: Mark’s reaction is always the approach to take when the other person wants to settle in for a clearheaded, intelligent discussion or debate. Don’t accept that! Put the person on the defensive and keep them there!

Freedom’s just another word for something else to lose.

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That woman has Mark’s number, for sure. She has even appropriated Mark’s trademark finger-pointer! But what are her motives?

On the one hand, there is the notion that Mark is being impolite by interrupting State Senator Smalls, rather than letting him first finish. On the other hand, politicians normally don’t stick around for Q&A after they finish their public set-piece speeches, so Mark could miss his opportunity to engage Smalls and question his intentions. And there is also Mark’s existing bias against Smalls, based on their prior interaction. Would Mark react this way to any other politician saying the same things? Yes, dear readers, this is another teachable moment for the students.

Well, I’m impressed. Jules Rivera has injected some realistic and significant social/political issues here, rather than just the usual nonsense. I’m genuinely interested to see how this is resolved.

Rusty Gets Radicalized!

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“And now, children, let’s watch and listen to this politician as he talks about an impor—wait. What’s going on here!?!” What in tarnation happened to Rusty? For that matter, what the heck happened to Mark’s head in panel 2? It looks like his jaw is physically falling from his head, saved only by his skin!

I don’t know that much about political campaigning, but why would Ohio State Senator Smalls campaign for a seat in the United States Senate while in Washington, D.C.? Does that happen? There can’t be that many visitors from Ohio in D.C. at any given time, can there?

Getting back to poor Rusty (panel 2), I’m concerned by what appears to be a visceral change in his very appearance, to say nothing of his demeanor. And his classmates seem to be falling under the same mysterious miasma. Somebody get those kids some tranquilizers! Frankly, I don’t get it. What 12-year kid is going to get excited by a speech from a middle age dude in a bad suit blathering on about business and NOAA? The guy is not even from their state.

It’s a small world, Mark Trail!

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It seems as if Mark just can’t go anywhere without running into one or more of his foes. The story of the Ohio train crash and the senator’s corruption was highlighted in the “Something Fishy” adventure of 2023. At the end of the story, the senator was arrested by local police. In any event, any corruption or bribery charges against the senator were obviously buried, as he is still in office a year later.

But Mark is wrong and the woman is correct:  This is a teaching and learning opportunity, so let them hear Senator Smalls! Afterwards, the two adults can review the senator’s speech with the students, pointing out any lies, distortions, or other foibles worth bringing up. Mark can also talk about his role in exposing the senator. Thus, the kids will get a much more thorough understanding, as opposed to simply being told “Don’t listen!” and walking on.

There is also a danger that Mark could once again start heckling the senator, leading to Small’s renewed demands for Mark’s arrest. Would Mark abandon Rusty and the rest of the students as he flees the police? On the other hand, will the senator spot Mark first and decide to just duck and run?

Wow, I’m learning so much just looking at these things!

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Look how amazingly disciplined these people are; they go from place to place, yet stand in the exact same positions and poses every time. I’m impressed. I think we can assume at this point that the woman is either the teacher or another chaperone. Wonder if we’ll get to hear from her. I don’t see any guides, however; but this is a comic strip, not a documentary.

Nor is it reality. What we see here is more like experiencing images in those old-fashioned View-Masters with their posed, cliché photos: <Click!> View <Click!> View <Click!> View! If you think Rivera actually presents a cynical view of field trips and education, I wouldn’t disagree.

But tell me what you think Rusty is getting at in panel 4.

Art Dept. The panel drawings today are consistently fine, and the clip-art fits reasonably well into the overall style. That’s a plus. I’m not sure why the other students are still colored in Rivera’s standard anonymous background person purple shade, since they all stand together. Surely Rivera can’t believe we’d get confused. If one of my children were purpled out, I’d be upset!

Cherry’s 24-hour deadline is pushed back a bit!

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I’m sure glad that Rivera drew that memory balloon of a sheep’s head in panel 2, just in case some readers get the mistaken notion that Mark’s historical note really refers to members of Congress. Otherwise, looks like the students did all fly, after all.

It’s also interesting that Rusty’s first question was not “Huh? Which war was that?” Wilson’s realized sheep cost less than hired help, so he bought the sheep and let go the groundskeepers. And the sheep’s wool was auctioned off to raise money for the Red Cross.

Anyway, it’s a good thing the kids are getting their visit done now, because things are likely to get a bit interesting in our nation’s capital over the next three weeks or so.  Say, do you think the woman in panel 1 is a flight attendant, a teacher, a parent-chaperone, or just an innocent bystander about to be caught up in a nexus of impending chaos and absurdity?

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Maybe Jules Rivera thinks the soporific dialog and near total lack of movement this past week offer her readers a break from the hard-hitting action of Mark’s latest adventure. Or maybe not. Maybe Rivera is just carrying on her tradition of emphasizing the domestic side of the Trail family, something prior Trail cartoonists usually rushed over. Some of Mark’s newer adventures have been outgrowths of hanging out with Rusty and Cherry. I think that is fine. Mark gets seen as a (somewhat over-the-top) family man, not just an Adventure Hero coming home long enough to wave to Rusty and give Cherry a test drive before heading out to his next assignment.

“But wait!” you say, “those are some of the classic Mark Trail tropes we love to make fun of!” Of course, but Rivera produces her own memes and tropes that we can pillory.

Rivera’s lighter approach to the family-based scenarios (including Cherry’s) should find in Mark’s official assignments a balance that emphasizes more mature plots, action, and danger. Unfortunately, those traits have gone wanting for the most part. For example, we’ve seen Mark in car chases, but they usually look more like The Dukes of Hazzard than Mission Impossible or The Transporter. So c’mon, Rivera! Mark can handle the extra weight. If you can’t spend extra time on the art, spend extra time on the stories.

Back to the review: This past week was mostly about Cherry feeling guilty for not having time to take Rusty on a school trip to Washington, D.C. and having to once again depend on Mark. I think we can understand that concern! At the same time, did we really need to see so much of Cherry’s self-recrimination?  Rivera couldn’t find a better way to pad out the week? Anyway, we ended with Mark and Rusty flying off to our nation’s capital. What could go wrong?

Yikes! More information on how gosh-darned weird and dangerous the world is to all living things.