“We’re game”? Oh, game fish. Yeah, got it. So Mark is optimistic about this not being a total loss, in spite of two injuries requiring hospital visits and virtually no instructional time. But toss in a box of bagels and provide some happy talk and they’re good to go! I guess that is why it looks like he’s ready to move on to a group kiss in panel 3.

Rivera has wrapped up this story of Mark’s failed dream of creating a men’s-only survival retreat, a venture doomed to failure from the moment he got the De-Bait Team involved. It’s doubtful that Rivera will have Mark reconsider his approach and try again. She has accomplished her task. But what was that task?

She stacked the deck against Mark’s dream, shrinking it down to a fishing seminar, all so she could contrive some goofy injuries that provided scenarios where Rivera’s foil, Cliff, could force Mark into a corner to confront the importance of sharing personal feelings with other men. That is, this was not a story about a survival retreat or a fishing seminar at all. That was just window dressing, men’s eye candy to keep the male readers interested (or distracted).

As people who fish know, being quiet is a normal requirement for good fishing. If you want to talk about feelings, go to a bar and get drunk or go home to your spouse.  I have a new theory:  The de-bait team deliberately sabotaged Mark’s survival retreat by conning him into including this “discuss your feelings” component. Why? Because they don’t want competition for their own fishing business.

The art today is not as erratic as it was earlier this week. In fact, I very much like the depiction of Mark in panel 3 (that is, the adult, not the remembered child or father). It’s quite naturalistic, expressive, and well-drawn without being too cartoony (e.g. unlike the prior two panels and the too cartoony flashback figures in panel 3 ). But I still prefer Mark’s original beard.

Yeah, I agree with Mark’s abasement; he did do a crummy job. Mark’s got no reason to console himself, either, as he agreed to include the “share your feelings” component in his so-called retreat. Thank goodness, it looks like this “adventure” is rounding the final turn and heading for the finish line.

Art Dept. The drawing is somewhat better today and more consistent: more, but not completely.  I won’t belabor the point, but simply suggest you inspect panel 3.

Regular reader and commenter, Mark (no relation), brought up a comparison between Rivera’s work and that of Ed Dodd, the creator of Mark Trail.  It’s a stark comparison, to be certain; but they come from totally different times, artistic traditions, and visions. I have an equally dramatic comparison between Early Rivera and Current Rivera. Here is an early example I quickly grabbed from our 2020 archive (the screen capture quality is not great):

It’s a dramatic difference from today. This attention to detail, composition, and naturalism did not last long. I have no real idea why Rivera changed from this more polished and impressive style. These early strips glaringly emphasize how simplistic and even amateurish the current strips sometime appear. Heck, there is even a difference in quality between panel 1 and panel 2 in today’s strip, where panel 1 looks like it was inspired by a cartoon wrapper of Bazooka Bubble Gum. Why this change? I have no real idea.

Gawsh, ain’t it just swell how chummy everybody has become!? I know, I shouldn’t be so cynical. Still, Rivera’s scripting doesn’t help. Mark’s acceptance of blame in panel 3 is minimally appropriate, but panel 4 gets me. I’m not sure if it’s the strange “You’re not my dad” statement or Rivera’s pandering, specious comment that “Mark is everyone’s dad!” Since when? In what way? I don’t think Mark is quite that prolific. Still, Mark reacts as if Eli told him he’ll sell him revealing photos of Cherry. Otherwise, just what is the point of Mark’s over-reactive expression, anyway?

Let’s give Rivera points for continuity, as Connor shows a bandage on his right thumb, something that would be difficult to see when printed in a newspaper. Otherwise, the drawings look cluttered and stiff.

For a second, I thought the comic strip syndicate accidentally started reprinting the prior week’s strips. But no, Eli got scratched by a bat this week, just like Honest Ernest the week before. I’m thinking Rivera is suggesting millennials are just too namby-pamby, clumsy, and stupid. Or perhaps Mark and Cliff are just lousy instructors who do not prep their students carefully. For a group that shared a bonding moment, one would think the other students would be here to provide moral support for Eli. It’s like I wrote earlier, superficial bonding activities produce superficial results. Mark’s self-assessment in panel 2 is spot on.

Resolution: Get back to your day job, Mark! Otherwise, ditch Cliff and restart your retreat in Lost Forest, away from the De-Bait Lodge! Focus on survival, not feelings.

Sorry, Rivera. Not that men don’t hug. They do, and it doesn’t have to be just a greeting or a goodbye. But bonding usually comes from shared activities or experiences, not from contrivance. Long-time friends meeting up again; being part of a sports team; having regular get-togethers at a local diner; or experiencing a shared tragedy; examples like these can create bonding situations.

A short and failed fishing seminar, a hike, and a pointless group hug are not enough, except, perhaps, for really shallow people. You don’t suppose Rivera is implying anything like that, do you? As regular viewer and commentator Daniel P recently lamented to Rivera, just get Mark back “in the field” fighting bad guys and heartless institutions that hurt the environment.

As for Eli getting scratched by a bat, get real! Bats are normally nocturnal. Nobody says “Oh look! A bat!” and goes to pick it up. So, what’s the point of repeating this recently-done scenario?

Is the racoon praying for this adventure to end? While Connor doesn’t get the fact that being a good woodsman doesn’t equate to being a good husband, he is at least trying to improve himself. Mark is so focused on the first point (panel 2) that he misses the second one.

Mark also missed the point of Cliff’s invitation in panel 3: Panel 4 shows Cliff has turned the focus from Connor to Mark. That is to say, it appears that Rivera has been nudging the story along to really be about Mark’s reluctance to express his feelings.

If I had to make a guess about Cliff’s motivations, I’d say he has Mark and the Game Warden here in this goofy class to distract them while his de-bait team colleagues are out on the water, illegally poaching fish. I could be wrong, of course.

Sheesh! Cliff’s Touchy-Feely Takeover of Mark’s survival retreat is a done deal. Now if I was Mark, I’d consider treating Cliff to the loving touch of his Fist O’ Justice.

For the record, I think Connor’s wife has a point. I don’t want to be completely down about this, so let me end this post on a positive note …

… um, I’ll get back to you on that.

Mark rises above his inner feelings about Connor to give him needed self-assurance. Good for Mark! But what happened to the “camping survival skills”? That was supposed to be the main point of this enterprise, at least from Mark’s point of view. Instead, that aspiration has been demoted. To be fair, we never saw the advertising sent out for this class. Perhaps it read something like this:

• “How to fish … for your partner’s innermost thoughts”
• “Learn how to pan-fry a filet of feelings”
• “Sheltering from a storm:  When to let a hurricane of emotions wash over you”
• “How to create a campfire that heats up meaningful conversation”

To that end, Rivera skipped over any useful tips Mark and Cliff might have given out about safe hiking and finding your way, in order to focus today’s strip on a positive outcome of vulnerable male emotions. But then she mocks it in panel 4. To my limited, male-dominate mind, this seems hypocritical or maybe it’s just another beat-down of Mark. Am I wrong? Am I misreading the subtext? Help me out, here!

Well, I reckon this is Happy New Year for those of us who can—or are able to—appreciate it. I just hope we do our best to make it more than a feel-good aspiration. Now, what’s going on in Mark Trail today?

Hold on. Something’s missing here. Oh yeah. In standard Mark Trail fashion, details were skipped over, such as Connor’s treatment and the return trip to the De-Bait Lodge. The drive back should have been interesting. But for some unknown reason Mark and Chris have allowed Connor to continue the program.

I think a proofreader at the comic strip syndicate must have gotten Rivera’s text and drawings mixed up. In panel 1 Cliff suggests taking the class on a hike. But they are all wearing backpacks and standing atop a ridge overlooking a valley. Seems to me that they are already hiking (though they appear a tad underdressed)!

Has anybody seen Mark fishing in the last three years? Mark’s closing question yesterday gets fleshed out today:  Men need a way to expose their emotional side, and hiking is a great way to do that. Thanks, Cliff!

Well, really!? When I’m hiking, I’m pretty focused on the hike. There’s no time or energy left over for expressing inner feelings (except if I stumble, in which case I express some choice inner feelings). On the other hand, fishing is a more passive, peaceful activity. It offers a much better opportunity to exchange thoughts and feelings with another angler, all without huffing, puffing, and tripping over exposed tree roots. Sorry, Cliff.

Okay, Rivera had to have some kind of “moral to the story” for this subplot. Yet that doesn’t explain how Mark and Cliff can fix the botched fishing seminar. Maybe when they get back they will find that Duke took matters into his own hands and moved the rest of the class (all two of them) outside along the river, getting them to cast their baited hooks into real water. Maybe they’ll catch enough to hold a class fish fry.

A lot of stuff apparently happened that never made it to print (until now), such as the rebellion of the other students, um, campers. And frankly, none of this makes sense, unless you are writing a story for which you have little or no firsthand knowledge (i.e. fishing and conducting seminars). Except for young children, nobody is going to quit or get the willies because one over-emotional idiot hooked himself. Accidents happen and Mark should have warned his “campers” to expect them when messing with sharp objects. “Afraid to fish”!? One of the students is a park ranger, for goodness’ sake!

A reader might be tempted to believe this is yet another instance of Rivera putting the boot to the machismo mythos. Look, I’m all for shaking up the Mark Trail Apple Cart of conventions, as I have been from the start. However, you don’t have to keep beating the same drum, over and over. Rivera, how about taking just one of Mark’s adventures seriously? See what you can do with that.

Anyway, “No!” Mark is not stating hard questions. For the most part, Mark is not even asking questions. The only question asked (panel 4) does not make any sense. And it’s a non sequitur. Instead, we continue to see an ongoing series of sophomoric, overused puns. So, stop it, Rivera, and get on with the story!

Gosh, it must have been about six or seven hours since they last saw each other at breakfast this morning. I reckon stressful situations can make even unexpected meetups more dramatic, so we can give the goo-goo eyed pair a pass. Still, I’m not sure it’s nice to be in a hospital under almost any situation.

I’m still expecting to hear ranting and lawsuit threats by Saturday.

Continuing with yesterday’s surprise of Cherry and Mark running into each other at the hospital, today’s strip moves from Rom-Com dialog to Support Group blather. I swear, the expressions of Cherry and Mark in panel 1 look like Cherry caught Mark fooling around with somebody else. Her face does not say “glad to see you!” And Mark just looks kind of guilty.

Their jarring images are somewhat mollified in panel 2. Cherry still looks odd, perhaps from the difficulty Rivera had attempting to portray Cherry’s face seen from slightly behind her right shoulder. Tough to draw! Mark shouldn’t look too worried, though. Connor just has a finger fishhook injury, so we shouldn’t have to worry about a doctor coming out to report that the finger had to be amputated.

I’m curious how Mark’s storyline continues after the hospital. The class is in shambles. For some reason, Cliff decided to come along and hold Mark’s hand rather than take over the class so that the other two “campers” won’t have their entire day is ruined.