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Mark is invited by Cricket Bro to speak against AI at his AI Conference in New Your City. Mark has to deal with an empowered Kelly Welley, a pumped up Cricket Bro, and the discovery that everything “AI” is not necessarily bad.

Did the plumber sell Cherry a gold-plated water heater?

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Here we begin a week of post-assignment family time. The family time segment has always been part of the strip (as far as I can determine), but Jules Rivera likes to expand on this period, injecting more than her predecessors did. In the old days after Mark came home from an assignment, the family would eat, then Mark and Cherry would sit in the living room or on the front porch and chat about how dangerous Mark’s assignments were. Then Mark would get a phone call and he’d be off on another trip. That process hasn’t changed all that much, except Rivera likes to flesh out this time with “everyday problems” and activities to add more dimensionality..

Anyway, there’s a nice duck landing by the Trail cabin. Not sure when this lake (or river?) showed up again. And is that a side door? We know that the front door is centered, with a porch. And we recently discovered that the back door has a stairway leading down an incline, suggesting the cabin is on some kind of promontory. Maybe this is a separate, adjunct building housing their shower and bathroom facilities. Rivera has a transactional approach to the strip, such that if the Trail cabin or its property needs to look a certain way, it will. I don’t know if it’s because Rivera doesn’t care or if she just needs the changes to fit the current storyline.

I leave Mark’s dialog in panel 2 (“I feel at ease after a good shower.”) for you to comment on, if you feel inspired or coerced by your own sense of values.

Art Dept. Panel 1 is a nicely designed and illustrated composition. However, I’m puzzled by the design of  panel 2. Rivera employs her standard panel arc compositional device. However, we can see that both sides of the arc are not drawn along the same curve and will not connect. This is unusual for Rivera, who has drawn this device hundreds of times. I don’t recall another case with this kind of looseness. Then consider the figure of Mark. At first, I thought the head was too big. But I covered up the arms, so the body and head don’t look too out of proportion. I think it must be the arms are too small for the torso. Rivera can usually handle foreshortening much better than this, even though she can be inconsistent. We know that Rivera deliberately distorts figures, though her motivation is not always obvious. However, these two quirks do not line up with her eclectic (or crude, if you wish) style. Was she in a hurry? Had a bad day? Did she let one of her fellow artist friends ghost-draw the panel? I dunno, but it is visually jarring.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Okay, this is another week in review for the slackers, or for people who just forget things too quickly.

Mark learned a valuable lesson this week in journalism: Don’t tell your boss what you are going to do before you do it. While waiting for his plane ride home, Mark presented his idea for an A-I Event Exposé to his boss, Bill Ellis, on the phone. Ellis, taking on the role of a corporate PR suit, nearly dropped a load when he heard Mark’s idea, which included being specific about the persons involved. “NO NAMES! DON’T PRINT ANY NAMES!” Ellis squealed as he worried over lawsuits, which Ellis believes is the second most favorite habit of Silicon Valley moguls. Not only did Ellis nix publishing Mark’s article and robbing him of a paycheck, he told Mark to put it on his own blog, but still keep the names out of it. It looked like Mark happily accepted the rebuke and the need to self-censor, almost bragging about it!

For shame, Mark! This is not the fiery, cross-the-line, rabble-rousing, rock ‘em-sock ‘em nature journalist that we thought we knew. Conspiracy Alert: Who is this obvious fraud? Was the real Mark Trail replaced by some kind of A-I programmed robot? Perhaps we’ll all find out tomorrow after Mark has had his first night back at home with Cherry. Until then, let’s read his Sunday nature chat:

Jules Rivera’s Mark Trail Sunday strip always features a customized title panel. Most of the time, the depiction of the strip’s title is cleverly fashioned through some thematic tie-in. But it’s not always possible. I think this is one of those days, where the title is just a rough, water-based solution.

Anyway, today is at least an informative Sunday strip bringing out some facts on a subject many of us probably don’t think or know about. And that’s the point, right? However, I still dislike two things that are not unique to today’s strip: First, the inclusion of Mark’s image throughout the panels. This was not always the case on the Sunday strips in the pre-Rivera past. I don’t know why Rivera feels the need to panel-bomb Mark’s face so often. Second, Rivera has a habit of ending Sunday strips with a lame joke or cute reference. I’d rather see the final panel devote more information to the current topic.

For example: The barking tree frogs often group in temporary “choral groups” of up to 20-25 in the water to enhance their ability to attract females to mate with. However, the competition to thrive takes a toll on the males, who have to take breaks away from the group after becoming too weak. This gives them time to restore their strength and return. That’s probably necessary because they will mate with multiple females, whereas the females only mate once a season. But an equally interesting question is “How do biologists figure all of this out!?“

Mark is a good boy. That’s a good boy, Mark…fetch!

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Ah, home at last! And what a cabin! Every time it gets shown, it changes shape and dimensions. At least, this extended cabin seems more likely to house four people and two dogs.

And we have finally, once and for all, finished with this AI adventure! But based on this story, Cherry is not the only person who isn’t aware of all the AI effects on the environment. Mark could have at least turned his laptop around to give us a peek.

And this is for his own blog, so I don’t get why he knuckles under. Job protection, I must assume.

Art Dept. Have to say I like that pose of Cherry in panel 3. It’s got a certain vibe to it that reminds me a bit of old black & white movies. Can’t say I remember anything in particular, so this is a pretty bland comment. Anybody else get this vibe? Or a different one?

Mark finds something to do with his long wait at the airport.

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What a pushover! Is Mark under an exclusive contract with Bill’s magazine empire? Mark ought to shop his article to less cautious media sources. Concerns over AI lawsuits? From what I’ve seen, media companies are suing AI companies for copyright infringement by illegally mining their data. But this is TrailWorld, where, like the Bizarro World in Superman comics, everything is the opposite of Earth. Exactly why a journalist wouldn’t name names in an exposé doesn’t make much sense. Otherwise, it’s just another blog.

But I’m naming names: You hear that, Bill Ellis of Woods & Wildlife? You hear that, Amy Lee of Teen Girl Sparkle? You hear that Rafael Suave of Fish Magazine? Cowards, the lot of ya!

The joke of the day

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Bill, you say Mark looks good in a suit? You mean this combination of olive-beige jacket, light blue slacks and red “spiderman” shirt!? Really? Correct me if I’m wrong, but this may be the first story where Mark wore anything even approaching an actual suit since Jules Rivera took over nearly five years ago.

It’s easy to see Bill Ellis as a stand-in for real-life media corporations these days, bowing to political pressure and threats from their billionaire owners to not make waves. So, how strongly does Mark hold his “journalist” credentials? Will he stand up for his profession or fold like a cheap olive-beige jacket?

More importantly:  How soon can we expect Rivera to put Mark back on his original Nature beat, investigating wildlife and real environmental issues? For all of Rivera’s expressed interest in nature and science, the stories have focused more on the jerks, goofballs, and crooks. For example:

A movie director is trapped in a house with wild lions. Relevance to Mark’s expertise or his focus: None. Lions were catching rays and watching TV. Why was Mark even there?
Manatee rescue in Florida. Relevance to Mark’s expertise/focus: Small. Saw the manatee at the end of the story. Focus was more on attempted kidnapping of manatee, which turned out to be fake news.
School field trip to Washington DC to visit government sites and NOAA. Relevance to issues with wildlife, the weather, the environment? Virtually nil.
Conference on AI and the environment. Learned virtually nothing. No real engagement on issues, but a quick pivot to more absurdities.

Ironically, Rusty’s story covering the Grungey Boys’ tearing up the ground in Lost Forest is closer to the pre-Rivera stories in terms of dealing with issues having a direct impact on nature and wildlife.

Mark pitches, but Ellis calls a strike!

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It’s amateur night at La Guardia Airport as Mark attempts to coax Bill Ellis into paying for a wacky article he thinks he could write about the AI World. For some reason, Ellis seems reluctant. That’s difficult to see, given that one of Ellis’s magazines is Teen Girl Sparkle, for whom Mark wrote an article on Cricket Bro and his corrupt business dealings in California. I mean, Mark’s idea about AI and the people behind it is at least TMZ-quality subject matter! Is Bill Ellis an AI investor!?

Speaking of which, we sure haven’t seen much development for Jules Rivera’s original Mark Trail/Bill Ellis reboot, whereby Mark would write articles for various magazines in Ellis’s publishing empire. It was an idea that could have provided a wide variety of assignments, expectations, and different editors to coordinate with. But after five years, we’ve only seen three editors, two of them, only once, as I recall. Looks like a dead issue, so to speak.

Art Dept. Rivera’s sketchy, flat drawings and lack of lighting continue to downplay any sense of actual drama (not that there is anything especially dramatic in today’s exchange). Real drama always seems less a priority than Batman-on-TV campiness. I’ve never agreed with this extreme approach Rivera decided on, given that most comic strips are based on superficial, forgettable jokes. But when scanning over Rivera’s Mark Trail strips, it would be hard to not believe Rivera has been treating this more and more like a gag-a-day comic strip that happens to have storylines.

And then there is the ongoing transformation of Mark from a 30-something person to a 20-something person. But that’s for another time.

The pre-flight debriefing continues…

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Often, Jules Rivera uses this post-story time for Mark to relate what happened to the principle participants, instead of just rehashing the story. And <ahem!>, rehashing is my Sunday job, Jules!

So there are four more days left. Will Mark drag out this postmortem all week long? Will he deal with another loose animal running around the airport?  Or will he just get on the damned plane, already, and spend the time annoying the crew? I’d like to see him order Brunswick Stew made with possum and squirrel meat. That should go over really well with the flight crew.

Art Dept. Ever think that Bill Ellis looks like a boy made up to look like an adult?

Thoughts on the color purple

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Those purple people in panel 1? We all see them without seeing them, the silent swarm of humanity you avoid as you move through the day taking care of your important tasks. No time to talk or interact, so keep moving. Still, if you were to walk up to one and suggested getting a cup of coffee to pass the time, you might get pepper-sprayed or arrested by the cops. Yes, they are real people just like you or me, but it’s safer to dismiss them out of hand. And you move on.

Rivera adds some humanity to these purple people from time to time: That guy checking his watch as if he realizes he forgot what time zone he was in and arrived an hour too late. The gal enjoying a chat with her beau, while peeking at the angry dude behind her. The angry dude leaving the city with a carry-on full of misery, because his girlfriend broke up with him; yet not realizing she is currently talking with that gal on the phone. Then there is the guy sitting next to Mark, miffed that he can only hear Mark’s side of the conversation.

Finally, there are the shadow people, mere darkened silhouettes that barely pass as human forms, devoid of any differentiation. They are hardly more than extensions of seats, sidewalks, and windows as we pass them by with little more than a moment’s notice. Oh, they say there are a million stories in the Naked City, but we wound up in Mark’s.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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This week focused on the aftermath of the revelation of a free A-I App undercutting the fundraising purpose the Crypto Bro’s A-I Awards Night Dinner. Investors spent the time throwing objects, yelling, and running around in circles (or perhaps figure-8s). Why? I’m not sure, since the A-I is presented at a very abstract level, like some monolithic entity. It’s the digital boogey-man.

Mark and Kelly Welly watched the chaos unfolding from their table. Mark, inwardly smiling at the event’s collapse, suggested they quickly leave the room. But Kelly took the opportunity to stand up for her sex and trip on the floor, thus exposing her to the footfalls of the panicky investors still running mindlessly around the room. Kelly was surprised to see Mark stop and rescue her from catastrophe and was nonplussed enough to actually question Mark on this point. As he gave his usual “It’s what I do” answer, Kelly laughed at him for his naiveté and ran off, leaving Mark behind. Mark bravely waves it off. Now, why would Jules Rivera play up Kelly as a woman trying to become tough and independent, only to turn her into some kind of 1950s vulnerable and helpless movie gal who trips at the slightest sign of trouble, requiring a strong male hero to rescue her from certain doom? And after she is rescued, she becomes snippy and self-centered, then runs off. Am I misinterpreting anything here?

For today, Jules Rivera gives us a wildlife present for Father’s Day. Even more than usual, Mark needs to impart his own snarky comments, distracting as they are. Personally, I’d prefer he spent more time with his family instead of mugging in almost every panel. In fact, it would be just fine to limit Mark’s personal appearances to one panel at the start and one at the end.

Does this now mean Mark won’t get paid?

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Poor Mark got dissed once again. Well, it was to be expected. But it’s not a problem for Mark. He was Ted Lasso long before there was Ted Lasso. So Mark just put on his happy face and rationalized away Kelly Welly’s behavior.

But how is it these investors are still running around in circles inside the center? I mean, why aren’t they on the way home, to a bar, or to their attorney? Not that they have any case against the Tech Bros, because they were also “victims” of this rumor. My money’s still on Sid Stump, who probably engineered this fiasco in order to unload his own troubled AI product.

But this time, Rivera lets us all know, in no uncertain terms, that this adventure is over. And that’s fine by me!

Art Dept. It’s not always clear who does the coloring of strips. Sometimes it’s the cartoonist but other times it’s a staff colorist at the syndicate. Now, Rivera works electronically, so there is no reason to think she wouldn’t do her own colors. I’m only bringing this up to make a small, pedantic point. When movies are made, there is a person in charge of continuity, to ensure characters and repeated locations match up throughout the movie. This week, Mark’s suit is orange, whereas when he first appeared at this event (late May, go look it up), his jacket was olive. Yesterday, his slacks were orange, but today, they are blue. Is this a continuity issue or is Rivera just playing with us? This is the kind of hard-hitting, detailed analysis you don’t get over at Comics Kingdom or other comics blog sites!

“Here I come to save the day!” That means that Mighty Mark is on the way!

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[Ed. Note: OOPSIE! I thought for sure I had published this brief entry, but it got left in the draft folder.]

Okay, Mark is still the true blue boy scout of old. But is he helping any of the other people who are equally likely in trouble? I’d probably also want to hustle out of a room filled with those things running in the background! And I reckon that’s all there is to say for today.

Or is it? Bring me up short by adding in something I missed or didn’t think about.

Kelly gets stampeded while Mark disappears

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A real stampede, is it? Just how many people are there, anyway? Didn’t a lot of them already leave, as we saw earlier (May 30)? At that point, people were just walking out. Now, it’s progressed past the riot stage, all the way up to the dreaded stampede stage. But where are these people stampeding to, and why? The hall is not aflame. At least, not yet. If anything, these investors should be chasing down the Crypto Bros!

I’m curious whether Kelly Welly’s scream of “AIYEEE!” in panel 3 is a legitimate use of the expression. It is usually reserved for specific scenarios, such as: 1) Westerns, where Apache chiefs get shot by inexperienced white women aiming a gun in their general direction; 2) When the bad guy misses his chance to kill James Bond and goes hurtling over the side of a mountain; and 3) in comedies like Home Alone, where one of the house breakers climbs in through a window and steps on a board of nails deliberately placed under it. I’m not sure tripping meets the minimum usage requirement.

Perhaps the Crypto Bros really are tapping into the amateur investment pool, which would explain why there are so many people here and why they are going crazy. Professional investors would have seen through this scam in no time at all. And probably already did.

Mark is conveniently absent from today’s panels! Possibly so that he can make a dramatic appearance tomorrow and rescue Kelly Welly, whose personal pronoun we learn is them ((according to the narration in panel 3).

But leave it to Kelly to try and keep up with the crazy crowd (panel 2), rather than just let them pass by. So why did Rivera go for this “rescue the lady in distress” trope? I would have thought Rivera would turn that cliché on its head and have Kelly save Mark. Well, there’s still time for that, Rivera!

Mark slowly realizes the obvious

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Comic strips are typically written and drawn several weeks in advance. So it’s an unfortunate happenstance that there are events concurrently happening in real life on the West Coast being described like Rivera has done in panel 1.

I reckon that all one over-emotional “con-goer” has to do is insult or bump into anybody and the place erupts into utter chaos and violence in no time. Of course, that’s how most bar fights also started in Old West movies! Good ol’ “Mister Obvious” here is still looking out for Kelly Welly, in spite of her figuratively stabbing him in the back more than once in this story.

I’m a bit disappointed that she hasn’t asked Mark to use his spider powers to calm the violence. “What!?” you ask, “What do you mean ‘spider powers’?” I mean Mark’s “web-like” red shirt, very different from his usual checkered shirt, but darn close to Spiderman’s costume. Well, maybe not really Peter Parker, but a checked shirt with bow tie and jacket looks like something the stereotypical high-school nerd would wear in any number of forgettable TV sitcoms and movies.

Art Dept. Rivera continues to develop a strange kind of “aw shucks!” image of Mark, best seen in panel 1. His receding chin, clucking mouth, and sweaty brow combine with his screen-toned, hobo-like five o’clock shadow and cornball outfit to suggest a non-serious character.

The Aftermath of the Cricket Bro AI Awards Dinner

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Well, bust my buttons! Is Mark still in New York?! I thought for sure that the story had come to an end. The last we saw of this debacle (May 31st), the audience was on foot and heading to the exits after learning that a competitor’s AI was being given away for free. Yet, panel 4 shows a relaxed crowd of people (we presume) sitting around the table, as if nothing was going on.

But what’s with Sid stump sneaking away in panel 1, like some kind of animated sprite? His expression—from what we can tell—does not appear at a loss or in shock. Instead, he looks as if he is enjoying the chaos of the Crypto Bros as they see their project tank. Could he be secretly behind this “Free AI” announcement as a trick to ruin the Crypto Bros?

Art Dept. What’s with that head of Mark? His sharp, rectangular face has given way to a kind of middle-aged puffiness; unless he has stuffed his mouth with dinner. But his entire profile just does not look right; it lacks the straight, linearity that has characterized his profile. But this is not unique. There are so many fluctuations in his expressions and the shape of his head that it’s almost impossible to generalize.

Cricket Bro and Sid Stump cry, “AI, AI, Ohhhh!”

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Following long-standing tradition, we get to enjoy the site of Kelly Welly (panel 4) pulling her hair out in frustration at the realization that she once again backed the wrong horse. Jules Rivera actually did quite a good job drawing her! And we can enjoy seeing the schemes of Cricket Bro and Sid Stump come crashing down around their feet.

Rivera has resorted to one of her trademark story-ending memes, having Mark break the fourth wall to offer us readers a TV sitcom style retort. I think Rivera oversold the scene by putting Mark in the foreground. A funnier version would have been to show Mark still sitting at the table behind him and turning to talk to us, as Kelly simultaneously goes crazy. It would be like how Mel Brooks created an in-context fourth wall ending for Blazing Saddles, when Sheriff Bart and the Waco Kid got on their horses and rode out of town, dismounted, then got into a waiting limo to drive off into the sunset. Great scene and great movie!

Well, for those who came in late, this entire story is one of Rivera’s favorite tropes to satirize: The foibles, corruption, and jerks in the high tech industry. Investigating tech industry fraud or corruption (especially where it might have an impact on the environment), has been one of Mark’s most common plot devices since Rivera took over.

How do you compete with “Free”?

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Ah, the perils of comic strip continuity, where deadlines can be tight, especially when the surf’s up. So, maybe Jules Rivera was in a rush and forgot that Cricket Bro wasn’t the one getting the award (panel 1): In fact, he just presented it to Simon Stump two days ago! Was I the only one to catch this!?

But hold on, maybe Mark had a point, after all: This could make a great story about the exposure and downfall of Cricket Bro’s AI scam at the hands of a mysterious “Free AI” vendor. And wouldn’t it be great to have some real drama here, after all?

Now, who could be behind this unexpected crisis? Perhaps the enigmatic, faux professor, Bee Sharp. He and Cricket Bro are hardly pals at this point. Or maybe those two Florida manatee rescuers who discovered that Cricket Bro was behind the attempt to kidnap Max the Manatee as they were trying to save it (you recall the “Manatee Calamity” adventure, yes?).

Cricket Bro’s “AI” project is still nebulous and vague, like an Oort Cloud. In the real world, AI is hardly the one-size-fits-all tool it’s made out to be. People create AI applications for all kinds of fields and industries. Yeah, some of it is “free”, but much of it is not. The free stuff could just be some generic app people use to create cheap composite photos of themselves making out with their favorite movie star (Not that I would know anything about that). But that’s not where big money goes.

No surprise that comic strips usually don’t have the time or the bandwidth to get into the nitty-gritty of real-world tech. Rivera could’ve linked Cricket Bro’s AI product to something more specific, such as sustainability or healthcare, things relevant to this strip’s reason for existing. Yet, all we have at this point is some vague “AI” product.

Mr. Moneybags stands up all angry in panel 3 and demands answers, to which Rivera responded “Good Question” (in case we didn’t get it. I got it.). I can’t wait to see how Cricket Bro and Sid Stump handle this crisis. Maybe they can ask their AI app to produce an answer that will save their bacon and their scheme!

My goodness! The mashed potatoes gave birth to asparagus!

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Well, maybe I was wrong. Mark’s position yesterday was not simply a matter of artistic expression; Mark and Kelly Welly actually did change seats. Maybe Kelly wanted to have a better view of Cricket Bro, her boss. Perhaps she has some kind of idol worship, or she’s playing “His Gal, Friday” to the hilt.

Peevish Kelly Welly is justified for getting angry with Mark about his smartphone etiquette. Why does Rivera continue to make Mark act like a rube? Can the Mark Trail strip influence people to be more concerned about our world, its wildlife, and the environment if Mark can’t demonstrate enough respect for the people around him to mute or turn off his phone during an event?

Maybe that ship has sailed. I was in a public library today when I heard a phone ring across the way, breaking the silence. A woman carried on a conversation for several minutes, not bothering to talk softly, walk outside, or tell the caller to call back in an hour. And I wonder what fascinated Mark about a free AI engine, given his disdain for AI, block chains, crypto, etc. Perhaps his amazement is a realization that even more people will now play with AI, using ever more energy and creating ever more pollution. What Mark may not realize is that there are already several free AI programs available, even if they are limited versions of the full, paid products.

Cricket Bro gives Simon Stump a pointy piece of acrylic!

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Looking like a 1980’s toy superhero doll (panel 3), Cricket Bro hands out his phony AI awards at his fundraising event. Why Mark thought this was worth a story is unclear. Looks like Mark is thinking the same thing.

I noticed that neither Mark nor Kelly bothered to eat their pork chop and mashed potatoes. In fact, neither did Sid Stump! (panel 2) That food must be really bad, which is a crime. Anybody that ruins a good pork chop should be made to eat a bag of raw chia seeds.

To be transparent: I put that stuff about pork chops and chia in for my wife, who likes to use chia seeds but has little use for pork chops. Yet, I married her.

Art Dept. You’re probably looking at panel 4 and thinking “Did Mark and Kelly change seats?” It’s possible, but I think this is just another example of artistic license. It had to be difficult to pass up a strong composition like this, with Mark leaning on the dinner table, cynically bored. Mark’s pose is well designed to emphasize his mood.

Since Rivera likes to try putting jokes into these dailies and making Mark look like a goof, I’m surprised she passed up the obvious slapstick of having Mark accidentally lean his elbow in the mashed potatoes.

Addendum to May 27 2025: The B&W World of Mark Trail

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I posted this discussion separately, in order to focus on one visual aspect of Mark Trail: Jules Rivera’s increasing use of grays.

My regular post for 5/27/25 follows below. I’ve been noticing more and more the use of grays in the black & white newspaper version of Mark Trail. From a visual standpoint, this is a worthwhile improvement, as these mid-tones can help define volume, lighting, and even mood. Here is today’s strip as published in the usual “black & white” format of the newspaper. Compare it to the colorized version:

Do take into account that I’m photographing the strip with my phone, so there may be a certain loss of fidelity. Nevertheless, there shoujld be enough to clearly notice that Rivera is using grays to indicate basic contrasts between objects. In panel 1 a graduated gray pattern in the background helps establish the table lighting from the overall, darkened room. It is a mundane technique, of course, but given the stylized imagery that Rivera uses, adding mid-tones provides an improvement in the strip’s presentation.

Many strips today avoid shading, altogether, especially the majority of joke strips, where features such as tonality, volume, and mood may not be important.

However, even some continuity (dramatic) strips, where mood and lighting would seem more important, avoid tonality: Judge Parker is one example (click the images to see expanded versions):

On the other hand, For Better or For Worse will use overlapping blacks, whites, hatching and grayscale patterns to evoke a more sophisticated setting of light and mood:

The avoidance of “shading” is often justified because of the reduced size of the strips when published in newspapers and the fear that scenes and figures will blur together, giving a less inviting appearance to the readers. There is some merit to that position. Like grays, I think there is a middle ground that can be staked out, and we should be glad to see Mark Trail making inroads in this direction.

Is all this just BS? Pretentious academic-speak wasted on mere comic strips? Let me know.

The measure of greatness?

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Mark discovers that inventors, innovators, and charlatans do, indeed, hold fundraising events under different guises.

We humans are often easily fooled by tricks, trinkets, and glitz, meant to define greatness: a piece of parchment on the wall, a hulk throwing a designated bad guy out of the wrestling rink, or somebody waving a hat and declaring themselves to be great. Or maybe it’s the concept and promise of greatness, itself, a vague aspirational statement that could be taken in different ways, but never clearly explained.

The cartoonish notion of self-aggrandizement is on full display here, not that it is anything new. Kelly Welly, Cricket Bro’s designated sycophant, provides the usual cover for his phony status the same way we’ve seen in other places, both real or fictional. It is odd, given that Kelly is supposed to be a professional reporter. I suppose money talks big when it has to.

It’s one thing for Jules Rivera to let Kelly lord it over Mark once in a while, especially as she almost always came up short in the pre-Rivera incarnation of the strip. Yet it’s another thing to portray Kelly as some kind true believer, stifling any opposition to Cricket Bro with empty accolades.

Art Dept. If you have been looking closely, have you noticed strange distortions of scale between figures in the panels? Or even next to each other? For example, Kelly’s figure in panel 1 looks positively childlike in size compared to Mark. The mannequins in panel 3, between Mark and Cricket Bro, also seem out of proportion to the rest of the people in the scene.

Anybody want to hazard a guess who the old gent in panel 1 resembles? May not be the same person, but a brother or close cousin. The first fifty correct responders will be accorded the status of “Great in your own mind!”