I’m trying very hard to avoid using the pun “Use the horse, Rusty. Use the horse!” Yet what we see here is more “science” or plain research than science fiction. Not that I have anything against science fiction. In fact, it’s one of my favorite literary genres. Anyway…
Just because this Tadd Crass character from 20 years ago now sells survival and camping equipment doesn’t mean he is connected to whatever is going on in Lost Forest. Does it? Glow sticks are not exactly an uncommon catalog item. And there is still little to show that somebody is actually lost, as opposed to somebody simply having camped there for a night and played around.
Nevertheless, I like the fact that Rivera is giving Rusty his due for once. You can see he’s trying to reason things out. But I hope the culprit doesn’t turn out to be one of Mark’s regular stable of crackpots looking for some kind of revenge.
So, fine. Analyst Rusty Trail interprets the swirling green light as a glow stick. Seems reasonable. But what about those three lights? They are obviously too big to be stars. And their arrangement is too ordered. While Rusty ponders whether Pop’s tuition is correct, maybe he and Mark are both right: Could be a lost extraterrestrial camper, filmed while signaling to his/her/its overhead ship. But I don’t think Rivera is prepared to take this strip that far into fantasy.
While fulfilling the tradition that Mark’s cabin is a crossing point for virtually every animal in the country, an apparent coywolf appears to be warning us to stay away. I’m not too anxious to cross his path.
It’s good to see that Rusty is not so easily swayed by Mark’s patronizing paternalism. He’s thinking through the situation, even if his premise is questionable. Considering the mask as a possible diversion, for example, is impressive thinking for a pre-teen. Or even a teenager.
How Rusty expects to find answers online is problematic. It’s not likely that actual Vulcans, for example, are going to put up a web site; and the Internet is filled with trolls, conspiracists, and just plain nutters. The main point here is that, from a plot standpoint, Rivera gives us a little more complexity in the storyline. So, there is the possibility that this story will not just quickly descend into another bagatelle of Mark coming across yet another goofball lately escaped from the asylum.
“Be careful what you wish for!” my mother used to tell me. And so, we watch the investigator at work. Looks like I’ll have to eat my wor…<gobble!><gobble!>
Summary: Monday and Tuesday were devoted to Hallmark-style greetings between Mark, Rusty, and Cherry as the duo arrived home from their alien hunt. Cherry did not discuss her own adventure. The rest of the week carried a series of discoveries and conclusions—in between slices of pizza—regarding the horse head mask and pink crystals (Himalayan salt) found at the abandoned campsite. With Rusty’s online discovery of former TV prank star Tad Crass’s dangerous (according to Mark) survival guide, Mark found confirmation for his suspicion that there is somebody in Lost Forest who is not only lost, but in physical distress.
Analysis: The pacing feels rushed, with Rusty’s and Mark’s discoveries and conclusions happening just a tad too quickly. This isn’t a 30-minute TV show. Giving Rusty more time to carry out his research, for example, would be an improvement in tempo and veracity. That research time could partly be filled by having Cherry discussing her Kudzu Crusader problems or having Doc Davis drop in to say “Howdy!” and grab a slice of pizza before retiring to whatever cell they keep him in. Rivera could even show Rusty going through his Internet searches to ferret out his evidence. After all, that kind of stuff worked well for the “CSI” TV franchise. But speaking of pacing, we’ve spent enough time on this, so let’s move on to today’s nature post:
Rivera adds a Halloween theme to Mark’s discussion of the hybrid CoyWolf. The “dog” DNA of the Coywolf is hardly surprising, given the domestic dog’s wolf ancestry. My online reading (A-Z-animals.com), states that all wolves, coyotes, and dogs can interbreed because of their DNA similarities, and that such interbreeding has been going on for a long time. According to the site, a coywolf is a coyote with measurable amounts of wolf and dog DNA. Apparently, much of the interbreeding took place to 100 years ago and not so much these days. (For more details and how the term “coywolf” is a nickname for the eastern gray wolf, see: https://a-z-animals.com/blog/coywolf-coyote-wolf-mix-everything-you-need-to-know-about-this-hybrid/.
Mark seems somewhat over-reactive, like some holier-than-thou parent finding a book by Christopher Hitchens in their child’s bookcase. Perhaps that accounts for the “testifying preacher” pose in panel 4, because Mark does get preachy now and then. I noticed that most of Mark’s dialog has exclamation points (as in the strip’s good ol’ days). This is not something we normally see in Rivera’s interpretation.
If a person is lost in the woods after following Tad Crass’s bad advice, where does the horse head come into the picture? Was it part of the book’s advice to wear a horse head mask in the wilderness to save yourself from animal attacks?
Mark makes flexible use of the word “lost”. In panel 3, it is ambiguous whether Mark refers to getting lost in your mind from reading the bad advice or whether a person got physically lost in the real world after reading the book. In panel 4, a person may have metaphorically “lost their head” as a result of reading the book. That accounts for the contrived pose of holding up the horse head mask. Rivera almost got away with that visual pun. But not quite.
It is even more problematic, since “losing your head” refers to a person acting without reasoning or caution. Perhaps this lost camper is going to turn out to actually be Tad Crass, still living as if it was 20 years ago, yet trying to test out his AI-generated survivalist book.
Through a series of improbable connections (i.e. a horse head mask and some “pink crystals” found by chance at an abandoned campsite) Rusty Holmes … er, … Rusty Trail concludes they were left behind by a former TV star-turned-new-age-survivalist. Rusty may not have the right of it, but he knows how to uncover obscure information.
Still, Mark’s unfounded suspicion of a person in distress seems to be getting more unintended support from Rusty’s research. Will Mark go hunting the next day, only to find a lost, emaciated camper reduced to drinking his own urine because he couldn’t follow a path that Mark and the boys had clearly used?
Art Dept: While we suffer more puns, it’s been clear for some time that depictions of Mark and other people seen from a distance (e.g., panel 3) do not come across well, as if a digital image has been pixilated through reduction.
I would hope that even a youngster like Rusty would know that a mask left in the woods for about 20 years would not be in very good condition. Okay, so it must have been recently left. The pink crystals seem to tie in to Rusty’s Tadd Crass hypothesis, aided by Cherry’s good memory of commercials.
But I have to admit that I have not figured out how Mark connects all of this to the notion of an injured camper. Would the suspicious light then have been some kind of rescue signal? Or maybe some aliens actually did come down during the night (as they always seem to do), kidnapped the camping Tadd Crass (as they always seem to do), and are now probing him and dissecting him for evil reasons (as they also seem to want to do). The alien ship could also have made that curious incision around the campfire.
Or maybe it was just Doc Davis, apparently a fan of that old show, who put all this together to prank his own family for leaving him out of all of the get-togethers.
Rivera does at least try to create a sense of domesticity for Mark, something that we would see to an extent in pre-Rivera Mark Trail, as well. James Allen devoted at least three weeks of strips of Mark being at home and chatting with Cherry about online comics, reader comments, and his dangerous job, before jetting off to Katmandu to help look for the yeti (August-September 2019). With Rivera, Mark’s stays at home tend to be innocuous, self-conscious, and banal (like much of our own lives). Yet . . .
I don’t wish to flog a dead horse head, but do we take it literally that Rusty believes the mask he found is the actual 20-year-old mask from a TV show? I could not recall any “prank” show involving a horse-headed host that used to be on TV. But this sounds like a specific reference. Any ideas, people?
Finally, was Rusty’s alien invasion adventure designed solely to set up today’s pointless 3-panel “joke”? I sure hope not. As storylines go, this is pretty thin soup.
You’d think Mark and Rusty had been away for two weeks, the way they carry on. For goodness sakes, they only spent the day walking through Lost Forest! Now, they’re home. Calling it a “reunion” seems a might inflated. As for the ongoing status of Cherry’s dad, Doc Davis: Maybe he is still at his clinic, working on Sassy’s rash (since she isn’t around here, either).
But tomorrow we might see if Mark is too full of himself (as is usual) to ask Cherry how her day was! That would be a nice segue to combine the stories, since today’s submission doesn’t add much to what we already know.
Looks like everybody got safely home from their respective hunts. The bat in the foreground, on the other hand, is probably looking for that bat house Mark hammered together in Sunday’s installment.
Pushing past the standard panel 3 pun, where do we go from here? This could be the end of Rusty’s mini-adventure and a possible segue into an actual paying assignment for Mark. He has been between jobs for some time, but as a freelance reporter it’s to be expected. I wonder if he wrote up his fishing trip/train corruption adventure to sell to one of his regular magazines. This week could also be a good opportunity for Rivera to keep Cherry’s story fresh in our minds by having her tell Mark and Rusty what’s been going on.
After an exciting two weeks devoted to Rusty’s alien invasion hunt, we got to catch up on Cherry’s Kudzu Crusaderhunt this past week. For those who don’t recall, Violet Cheshire found a bag of kudzu on her front step with an insulting note chiding her for not weeding it from her garden. It was signed “The Kudzu Crusader.” Violet, being suspicious and vindictive, accused Cherry of being the culprit. Cherry convinced her otherwise and the two of them began their search for the real perpetrator.
As they investigated more, Cherry and Violet discovered that the Kudzu Crusader had repeated the insulting-note-and-bag-of-kudzu action at every house in town where the noxious weed was growing. NoxiousHonest Ernest—who happened to be in town—directed Cherry and Violet to talk with Squirrelly Sandy, a new citizen in town and owner of the local bakery. Turns out that more people in town have bought into the rumor that Cherry was behind this prank, but she convinced Sandy she was not the perp. The hunt has only just begun. But for now, it’s time once again for another nature chat.
So I make it a point to avoid most caves, closed or open. I’d make an exception for caves containing Paleolithic wall paintings, but I don’t live in France or Spain. Cheap jokes aside, I was not aware of this bat problem, so I am now better informed and educated. And that’s what can make Mark Trail Sunday pages valuable. Speaking of cheap jokes, I wish Rivera would ditch the final “joke” panel on Sundays and use it to provide additional information. By the way, I discovered that there are lots of YouTube videos devoted to building bat houses. Really! Who knew? I think there is a bat house in my yard’s future, because while I hate mosquitoes, they sure love me.
I was properly brought up short for some pronominal misinterpretations of Cherry’s dialog in prior strips. You can read about it in yesterday’s comments. And now, on with the show!
Hmmm …
One moment Squirrely Sandy accuses Cherry of being the Kudzu Commander. The next moment, she is Cherry’s new friend and willing assistant. Should we call that “squirrelly” behavior? If so, then Rivera’s comment in panel 4 makes sense.
Up until now, Cherry’s main goal was clearing her name and discovering the identity of the “prankster” (or “finding out who they are,” if you prefer). Now, she is upset about this unknown person “messing with Lost Forest.” Huh? Call me slow, but it seems to me that pulling up kudzu improves Lost Forest, right?
Otherwise, the Kudzu Commander does have a point, boorish language notwithstanding.
It seems that Cherry must have some inkling as to the identity of the Kudzu Crusader (KC) in spite of her actions, as she keeps using what seems to be gender fluid terminology to refer to an otherwise unknown person. A few days ago, she spoke of KC’s actions, claiming “…and they framed me!” Today, talking about KC, Cherry wants to “find them so they’ll stop terrorizing everyone.” Perhaps Cherry just never bothered going to grammar class in school. Or maybe Jules Rivera is editorializing.
As for Squirrely Sandy, things are off to a rough start. I’m guessing that whoever started the rumor is almost certainly the Kudzu Crusader. If not Honest Ernest (who is still the most likely suspect), who else could it be? It wouldn’t be Ernest’s wife, who became Cherry’s friend after the last time those two met up. There haven’t been any other antagonists in Cherry’s World that I know of. So are we going to have yet another new character in this story?
Per Downpuppy’s wish, Mr. N. Box has at least taken a break today. We can also be thankful that Rivera saved us from the 2 or 3 panels that would have been dedicated to getting Squirrelly Sandy’s name from Honest Ernest. So we happily move on.
Or we don’t. Instead, we have some meaningless gabbing about weirdo this and that, with Cherry getting defensive. That is to say, some relatively trivial dialog takes place, while Cherry harkens back to the bear she used to play with when Mark first met her and Doc in the original strip. She has certainly had better luck with bears than Mark, who doesn’t get much respect from them. But at least I get my wish as Rivera introduces us to a new character in Cherry’s Lost Forest community.
I must watch myself from acting too much like a Grammar Czar. I am no grammarian and certainly no pedagogue. There is only so much space in a comic strip and brevity is a necessity. What I mean to say is that from here on I will not comment on grammar except in cases that seem to me too significant to ignore. Ugh. That still sounds smug. But be my guest and speak up, if you have your own peeves. At least Rivera does not terminate every sentence with an exclamation point, as was standard in the pre-Rivera Mark Trail days.
Why does Violet speak to Ernest in the way somebody would butter up a person you would otherwise ignore? Well, it was a year ago that Ernest professed his love for Violet, leading to scandal and the apparent breakup of Ernest’s marriage. This past March, Violet professed her continued love for Ernest when she hired him to pave the grounds for a parking lot. Later she got really upset when she discovered the concrete pavement caused flooding problems. Their affair seems to have run its course, at least from Violet’s perspective.
Cherry is a “lawn guy”, like Honest Ernest? Oh, that’s right. She has a landscaping business (aside from her now-forgotten jewelry business). I reckon not many people need landscaping in such a small community. Good thing then, that she is a regular contractor for the Sunny Soleil Society.
I would lose a bet if anybody is surprised that Honest Ernest has showed up again. Honestly, weren’t Violet and Ernest having an affair a short time ago? Perhaps the past tense is appropriate here, though Ernest’s demeanor in panel 2 says “No way!” I suppose Cherry’s list of antagonists is pretty small, even when compared to Mark’s. In fact, I think, with Violet, we may be looking at the entire list, in person. Lost Forest may be a small community, but there has to be other characters Cherry can interact with outside of the Sunny Soleil Society, that is.
In spite of her questionable grammar in panel 3, I’m still perplexed why Cherry has bought into Violet’s unsupported conspiracy that she is being framed. But it’s the hook for the storyline. Is Honest Ernest too obvious a choice to be the Kudzu Crusader?
Well, alright! We’re on another hunt. Like husband like wife, Cherry seems to have taken control of Violet’s hunt to discover the identity of the anonymous activist. On a “significance” scale, this rates a little higher than an alien crash.
But how did they discover that kudzu vines had also been distributed throughout their village center? Cherry only learned about this a short while ago (in Trailverse Time). And Violet doesn’t seem like the kind of social creature that would deign to mix with the hoi poloi.
At least one thing I have been pleased about in this strip is Rivera’s more expansive view of Lost Forest and her aim to show it to us. Who knew the locals favored what appears to be a cross between old English and traditional German buildings? Perhaps it points to some “old world” origins of their ancestors.
Did you miss last week’s strips but don’t want to spend time scrolling down to read them (and my commentary)? Then here is a summary: It was a curious week with little action, more ambiguity, and several incredibly bad puns. Okay, maybe that was a bit too summary. Let me try again:
Mark and the boys continued their examination (from the previous week) of a clearing in the woods during their hike to find an alleged alien crash site. An obscure diagram scratched on the ground led one of this blog’s followers to suggest it might be a pagan pentagram, which would have been an interesting plot development. It turned out to be a diamond-shaped perimeter with an extinguished campfire. Still, why draw any diagram on the ground? With only an abandoned rubber horsehead (which Rusty claimed) and some “pink crystals” discovered by Ernie, the boys were undecided about the alien incursion. Mark was more concerned about the alleged fate of the mysterious campers who had abandoned this “failed campsite.” Instead of moving on to search some more, Mark decided the adventure was over (since he naturally assumed command of the hunt) and took the boys to eat pizza at Planet Pancake. There was pizza to be eaten, but Mark spent his time contemplating the fate of the campers. You’ll have to scroll down and read the actual dailies if you wish to experience Rivera’s puns.
As I noted yesterday, I’m drawn to conclude that Rivera presented this Rusty Adventure mainly for the purpose of launching another story for Mark, so it’s likely that Rusty and his friends will now disappear from the strip until needed in the future. We’ll have to wait and see; it’s possible that Rivera will first turn her attention back to Cherry this week, as she and Violet Cheshire prepare to search for the mysterious Kudzu Crusader. Anyway, since you’re here let’s see what Mark has for us today:
For the longest time I’ve encouraged people to not sweep away spiders because they tend to only hang out where there are other creatures you’ll like even less. And spiders consume them, as Mark describes.
So Jeanette has expanded her pancake menu to include pizza. Well, both foods are round. Perhaps we’ll even get to see injera on the menu before too long. Like pizza, this round Ethiopian bread can function as both a plate and an eating utensil. But I digress.
Mark is still hung up about that abandoned campsite. Why? I mean, isn’t that what you do when you leave: You abandon it, unless you are one of those who thinks humans are not really a part of nature and should leave no trace of their presence. Unlike other animals. I’m digressing again.
I have the feeling that Rivera has set us (and Rusty) up once again. It might be that Rusty’s failed alien search adventure was simply a plot device to initiate Mark’s upcoming project: The search for the missing camper.
The Daily Trail 