Nice snark, Diana! Okay, maybe Mark has been smoking a little too much nature. What is his plan? Does he get everybody to dress up like poinsettia sharks and swim around to scare off the cargo ships? Do they dress up like old-school pirates and threaten to hijack the next ship that comes through? Cargo ships do not ply rivers for fun, but for business with inland ports that are not usually approachable from other waterways. Thus, does Mark want to kill off the zebra mussels or the shipping company?
Still, I’m intrigued. Remember, the earlier actions of the Duck Duck Goose company suggest that they have something else (likely illegal) they are more concerned about than zebra mussels. Yet, Mark and Diana are not aware of that fact. In reality, the shipping company would have already filed injunctions against Mark and the magazine to stop this investigation. So, any ideas what Mark has in mind? Submit your thoughts in the comments section and we’ll see who is closest.
Now, now, Mark. It’s late. Just have a glass of warm milk and go to sleep. If you start getting too cranky at this time of night, you might accidentally activate Big Mouth Bill-E Bass on the wall, behind Cliff. You know what that means: The fish will swing its head back-and-forth as if it had a real neck and sing terrible novelty songs for 30 minutes. Then everybody in the lodge will wake up and get pissed at you. You’ll wind up outside, preaching to that young buck.
Really, Mark, use some imagination. Until the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Byzantine capital city kept a large chain across the Golden Horn to prevent foreign ships from sailing up-river to attack the city. This could give the De-Bait Team something useful to do again: not to protect America so much as to protect Lost Forest! You might even charge tolls for big ships to enter the waterways.
So, Mark, what if that ship did not intend to be there in the first place? What if it was just a navigational error? Did you even bother to ask them?
Well, I reckon Cliff’s team has a purpose after all: customer service and security. But poor, poor Mark. He seems to believe that the scope of the zebra mussel problem is one ship’s hull, or maybe zebra mussels around Lost Forest. Whatever. Rivera is not ignorant, so this might be another setup of Mark.
I like the artwork today. The back view of Mark looking over his shoulder in panel 3 is a well-drawn complex pose. The buddy+buddy compo in panel 1 is a bit of something else.
Diana might be onto something. I think I can safely state that Rivera is clearly tweaking the nose of Trailheads with this sexually ambiguous camp, reminiscent of the 1960s Batman TV show or the later SNL animated parody. I wonder if this is just a one-off, so to speak.
Of course, we used to poke fun at Mark’s real or assumed disdain at every babe who threw herself at him (and there were plenty), other than Cherry. And even that sometimes seemed reserved. Rivera has jettisoned most of that male fantasy baggage, and that’s okay. But we never really questioned Mark’s male bona fides, just his testosterone level. Until now.
[edited] Of course they are safe. That insurance company deer out front protects them. Well, at last the Trails acknowledged their son! That’s some progress, at least. Did everybody really contribute to the zebra mussel article? In what capacity? I don’t recall any marine biologists in this group, but I bet the details of whatever took place inside the lodge wind up recorded on sheets of foolscap stored away in a locked dispatch box in Charring Cross Station.
The prose and pacing in today’s strip remind me of a typical epilogue segment in old-school TV adventure programs, wrapping up with small talk, warnings, and farewells. So, I’m wondering if Mark’s storyline is also going to be anotherrush-to-the-finish line conclusion. Yet there are still several balls in the air. How will Rivera juggle them?
The status of the company “goons.”
The secret business of Duck Duck Goose that its boss is desperate to protect.
The ongoing scams of the comedy team, Cricket Bro and Professor Bee Sharp.
The actualfindings of Diana and Mark’s investigation.
The fate of Diana Daggers, whose profile seems to be diminishing.
Okay, Mark had a day to get back to the hideout with Diana and Cliff after helping wrap up Cherry’s bee caper, for which we are still hoping to see more details. Let’s check in with the action…
How cozy! It seems Mark has brought Cherry into his adventure, presumably under the umbrella of collateral safety. But what about Cherry’s dad and what’s-his-face, their kid? Well, if Mark and Cherry can’t bother to worry, presumably the bad guys will ignore them, as well.
I have to say that Rivera drew a nice welcoming view of the fishing lodge. Ah, I see Diana poking her head above Cliff’s dialog balloon in the last panel. I wonder if she is miffed that Cliff referred to the investigation as “Mark’s”, rather than “Mark’s and Diana’s”. But Cliff thinks they’re ready to finish the article? They only took a few photos! Where is the research? The interviews? Alas, it isn’t just newspapers cutting out investigative reporting. You know things are bad when even comic strip characters have cutbacks. No wonder we didn’t get to see the bee rescue: Too expensive to stage!
In case you missed this past week, one of the more interesting events was the extension of Cherry’s save-the-bees storyline for a second week. Yet not too surprising, given how the first week ended. The big climactic confrontation between Cherry (and her pro-bees coalition) versus the Sunny Soleil Society’s anti-bee position—as implemented through their proxy, Honest Ernest—culminated in a rather tawdry yelling match based on hyperbolic claims, rather than the issue at hand. Furthermore, there seemed to be no real incentive in trying to work out a practical compromise. Kind of like Congress, in other words. Mark’s appearance last week and his involvement this week helped ensure this situation devolved into a brief and less-than exciting fight. The whole point of Cherry’s storyline was to save the bees. But, as others have also pointed out, we didn’t get to see bees saved. We didn’t really get to see any ending at all. Why not? Was Rivera riffing on the Trail Tradition of Mark immediately jumping back home once the current danger has been resolved? If so, Rivera jumped the gun. But let’s jump to the hot topic of the day:
At least let’s give Jules Rivera some fist pumps for bringing Mark more into current environmental concerns (as opposed to just the usual poachers, animal kidnappers, and other small-time riffraff), even when she is heavy-handed about it. BTW, the title panel today is a good concept, though I think the burned tree letters look more like tuffs of wheat. Still, the overall effect is dramatic and clear enough.
It is understandable that, living in California, Rivera concentrates on forest fires, as opposed to bringing in additional areas of concern, such as the polar icecaps. I’m not here to be political or nitpick over the numbers. I am not a scientist, though I have watched some on TV. However, while the scientific consensus supports Mark’s overall position, they may not support some of his reasoning.
If I’m reading it correctly, EPA data (https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data) show energy production (electricity) and land utilization (farming, development) make up the largest economic contributors to climate change, followed by industry, transportation, and others. So, greedy corporations are not the biggest contributors, but are far from the smallest. In fact, I think governments around the world are the actual biggest contributors, as they pass the laws and policies under which virtually all economic production functions. When there are lax laws, there will be those who take advantage.
Is this a highlight reel? Is this what we’ve waited for over the past two weeks? It is disappointedly anti-climactic. Okay, Mark doesn’t exactly hit Ernest, so much as sweep him off his feet. Then, suddenly, we’re in a truck going home, victory in hand. It seems strange that simply getting tripped would be enough to end the confrontation and allow the bees to be moved to safety. Frequent observant reader Daniel pointed out yesterday that Mark did not hold the shovel in the last panel of yesterday’s strip. So why didn’t Mark simply slug Ernest in the grand Trail Tradition? So far, Mark’s beloved and legendary “Fists of Justice” have made a poor showing this past year.
Cherry’s good question notwithstanding, I have a few questions, too:
1) What did Mark do with his car?
2) If Mark is supposed to be the good guy, how come he’s the one skirting the law, time after time?
As predicted, trotting out the “climate change” argument to a caricature of a person like Ernie was a waste of time. Blah! Blah! Blah! Yes, it certainly does seem as if Rivera is making the proverbial mountain out of a mole hill, as these two fight over a hive of bees. Not that saving the bees for their own sake or for the sake of their pollinating is trivial. But it does seem to me that trying to fight the ideological war of The Left and The Right over the environment could have been portrayed more realistically without resorting to the extreme memes of each side. Polluting corporations are not the issue here at all, Mark. As for Ernest, sorry but this is not about Capitalism or “the American Way”, either. But this is a comic strip, after all, even one dedicated to nature and the environment. No time or space for nuance.
As for Cherry and the Garden Club, they seem too preoccupied watching for Mark to unleash his FOJ to get their job done. The way you two women natter, Mark is going to have to trade punches for the rest of the night. Finally, what forest are we talking about (we’re in a garden, remember), and explain what “not” refers to, Mark. I don’t think you hold the deed to the Sunny Soleil Society’s land, do you?
[edited] Though the crew is a bit slow on the uptake, they’re moving now, and…wait, they aren’t moving now. They’re wasting more time with pointless observations. Okay, you two, don’t make Mark waste his marksplaining skills while you all stroll back to the bees. It’s already Thursday and time is against you. So, leave snarkin’ to the pros and get going!
For some reason, this week is going by fast. It might be because I have my first semester Italian final oral exam this coming Friday. Sono nervoso! I imagine I’m not the only one nervous; I expect a lot of the actors at this nighttime showdown are wishing they could bee someplace else. Okay! I did a bee pun. I tried to avoid it. I really did.
So, no surprise Ernest is portrayed as a far-right wingnut who thinks a fox is somebody who works for Rupert Murdoch. And did I poke fun at Mark’s histrionics? I was premature. Well, of course there are people like Ernest who see life as simplistic superlatives and ultimatums based on faulty information (something not limited to people on “the right”). Perhaps Mark could have presented a better case to Ernest by not bringing up climate change.
Anyway, I just hope Cherry’s crew is using this distraction to capture the bees!
Okay, still early in the week, but here is what I think could be done to resolve the situation, Mark’s histrionics notwithstanding. Cherry proposes a win-win scenario to Ernest: Ernest must order Cherry to get rid of the bees. Ernest then reports to the Sunny Soleil Society that he “got rid of the bees”, keeping him in good standing and allowing him to get paid by the Society, not to mention getting laid by his wife for not ruining her position on the Society’s board. Shucks, sometimes you have to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, to paraphrase Jack Nicholson.
Eh, so what’s with the vertical lines on the chins of Mark and Ernest?
Side note: We have another “bad guy” type involved with insects. But like Cricket Bro, Honest Ernest isn’t doing anything illegal that we know of; just being an ignorant prick. The pesticide enhances his odious, redneck persona. Small wonder Cherry and Mark are edging closer to Edward Abbey’s philosophy and behavior. Will Rivera have them cross that line and risk their integrity and liberty? It’s not likely they’ll stray too…. oh, I forgot: Mark already crossed that line at least twice. And Cherry did once, as well. Okay, forget I said anything.
Well, all right, then. Rivera held Cherry over for a second week, resolving the conundrum of having Mark in two places at one time. So, as this must be a surprise to regular readers, Rivera must have felt it was necessary to summarize last week in today’s submission. Better job than I did, anyway!
Is Cherry more concerned about what Mark appears to be preparing to do, or is she concerned that he is using her shovel to do it? Sure, Mark comes on a bit strong (as he always has, to tell the truth), but does she think Mark would really physically attack these people? I’m not so sure, either. After all, he attacked his own father, stole private property, wrecked property, fled the police, aided and abetted theft of intellectual property, and strong-armed the CEO of a health food supplement company. Perhaps Cherry does have some real concerns here. There is a way out of this. I’ll go over it tomorrow if they haven’t figured it out by then.
The major character this past week—no, these past two weeks—is Cherry’s garden shovel. Supposedly stolen from her truck by Diana Daggers, it saw duty in Diana’s hands the week before as a cudgel to lay out one of the thugs sent to stop Mark’s investigation. It then made a guest appearance in Mark’s hands last Sunday, celebrating local garden clubs. Now, our intrepid shovel is again asked to prove its metal…er, mettle, as Mark made a dramatic appearance yesterday to aid Cherry and her colleagues.
This past week was supposed to be the Black Rose Garden Club’s rescue of the bees from extermination. However, Honest Ernest and his associates showed up at the last moment to spoil Cherry’s plans. Remember, Ernie may be a jerk, but he is acting in his legal capacity as a hired agent of the Sunny Soleil Society to get rid of the bees. On the other hand, the legal status of Cherry and her squad is a bit murky. And Mark’s dramatic, aggressive appearance at the scene—brandishing the veteran war shovel—suggests a prelude to an act of vigilantism.
This is something we’ve seen before from Mark, but will he use the opportunity this time to forge a peaceful resolution? Or will he attack people in hazmat suits holding cans of poison spray with just a shovel? We’ll find out in three weeks’ time. Until then, let’s move on to Sunday’s nature talk!
Another nicely designed title panel today, one of Rivera’s typical “endangered species of the week” Sunday strips. However, to be accurate, salamanders are not reptiles, but amphibians that may sometimes look like reptiles. It’s a fundamental error that Mark corrects later but is not overly relevant to Rivera’s environmental message. Anyway, how about focusing a bit on why anybody should care about the fate of salamanders. That is, what are some of their benefits from a human point of view? It’s not that the salamander needs to justify its existence, but we humans often react more favorably when we see something in it for us.
Looks like Mark is trotting out his “Buford Pusser” persona, using a shovel instead of a bat; only the perpetrators are not moonshiners or part of the so-called Dixie Mafia, but employees of a company legally doing their job. So Mark’s aggression is kind of a hard thing to square, even if his defense is based on a sympathetic ethic or value system.
Is Mark going to risk serious jail time and civil lawsuits if he actually assaults these people? Mark! You are supposed to be hiding out over in your own storyline. You are confusing everybody with your teleporting from one location to the other, as if you are caught in a Kurt Vonnegut chrono-synclastic infandibulum. I can only imagine what Diana and Cliff are thinking at this point. Wait, if they have any brains, thinking is the last thing they should be doing at this point. In fact, they probably encouraged Mark to spend more time with Cherry!
What a shame and what a paradox: Mark makes the scene here just as Cherry’s week ends. That means Mark must immediately zip back to the fishing lodge in time for Monday and the start of his own two-week segment. Then he has to get back to this storyline and pick up where he left off. I think! But are Cherry and everybody else supposed to just wait around until Mark returns? And will he reappear in the same state we see him now? Could that infundibulum thingyreally be true?! It’s getting real confusing!
Yeah, Ernie’s corn-pone persona dropped pretty fast, once he got down to business. At least, he’s been straightforward about his intentions. Reckon that owl did not slow him down, either, as Ernie and his crew fulfilled the third predictive outcome I made yesterday. Did you guess correctly? Okay, so I waffled; but option#3 was the most likely outcome, because it provides the best option for adding more drama. And here it comes!
So, action fans: What next? There is just today and Saturday before we return to Mark’s storyline. Something else is bound to occur. Maybe the bees attack Honest Ernie and his gang. Ironic justice. Or we get left with a cliffhanger, the usual “wait for it!” plot device before the story breaks away. Were the bees killed now, it would also kill Cherry’s storyline, for want of anything left for her to do. Therefore, we have to expect something will occur to interrupt the extermination. Agree or disagree? Let me know!
I don’t think it takes a lot of imagination to figure out this must be good ol’ boy Honest Ernest, who apparently has a devious-enough mind to figure out that something might be happening with the bees the night before he arrives to bee-head them (as he joked earlier).
After some research, I found out that owls do, indeed, attack humans on occasion, such as when they think they, or their progeny, are at risk; or sometimes humans are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, this is the wrong place for Ernest, but the right time for Cherry and her gang. Maybe.
I see three ways this story continues:
Ernest gets scared off, allowing Cherry to keep working
The gals grab their stuff and hide, hoping Ernest leaves soon
Ernest spies the gals, anyway, spoiling their plan
Do you see any other possibilities?
Notice any parallels with Mark’s current storyline, such as the undercover work; the danger of getting caught or found out; being pursued; and in both cases, doing things that walk the line of legality? Wait, did I already mention this earlier?
Focus on the job, Cherry! I have to admit that the artwork yesterday was much more interesting than today’s, both in composition and details, where virtually all of the scenes were drawn from a low “dog’s eye view”. Go back and check it out, if you overlooked it. Moving on to today’s strip, I thought it was interesting that the first thing Cherry thought about when a possible intruder was around was a male figure, when virtually all of the antagonists have been women, Honest Ernest excepting.
So how is it Mark finds time to work two jobs: Daytime investigative journalist on the run and hiding out from nefarious goons; and nighttime laborer and bodyguard for Cherry and her sidekicks? When does this guy ever sleep, and how does he jump between hideout and lookout so easily? Can’t this dude ever let anybody else have the spotlight once in a while!?
As far as the plot is concerned, the premise is sound enough: Save the bees from extermination by relocating them. The method is still ambiguous. Georgia, at least, seems to have the basic equipment: White bee handler’s suit with netted hat and a smoker with an attachment, presumably to reach up to the statue. Are the boxes portable hives? Or perhaps just boxes to put the actual hive and bees into?
Anyway, their lack of planning for lookouts has imperiled their plans. They should have watched The Great Escape for tips.
Could it be that Violet was not as naïve as they thought, and so she simply waited for the women to get started so she could catch them in the act? Or is Mark once again butting into Cherry’s affairs?
Unlike Mark and Diana, it appears that the people on this side of Lost Forest recognize the season for what it is and dress for it. So, Dolores is able to easily chase away the always-effete Violet, who must have been fantasizing about dead bees. And shouldn’t Violet have been suspicious of some person whojust happened to be passing by at this time of day?
But with a skill that matches former Mark Trail artists, Jules Rivera neatly telescopes the action and omits just how and why Violet disappeared back into the Society’s house. Equally amazing is that The Black Rose Garden Club members simply parked their car in a culvert in front of the house, whereupon the ladies gleefully and baldly got out! They are not even trying to hide themselves. I’m thinking that Mandrake the Magician must have been invoked from his KFS-sponsored comic strip to gesture hypnoticallyand cause Violet to take a nap. Either that, or she’s dumber than we thought.
The Daily Trail 