Is Mark wearing some kind of inflated suit? It sure looks big and stiff. Okay, I suppose Mark sometimes does seem like a Gilligan (as faithful reader Daniel commented), but as for today, he is going all “Robin” on those alligators. But “holy sea cow”!? Not even close, Mark! The original Steller’s sea cow was discovered and hunted to extinction in the 18^th century. Nowadays, “sea cow” is often used as a nickname for manatees, who are herbivores. Anyway, Mark should have yelled out something more appropriate, such as “Holy swimming luggage!”, so that the kids could at least have responded “Huh?”

The gators certainly look threatening, like a swarm of hungry sharks. Of course, Mark has had some history, at least with the gator’s cousin, the crocodile. Here is one encounter, during his trip to Nepal, hunting the Yeti:

Talk about stiff. Well, at least the figures have some shading. Still . . .

Hoo-boy. I’m worn out just looking at all of the thrashing and krashing. I’m still confused whether the churning waters come from some weather incident or supposedly from the gators, which seems improbable. Mark must indeed be a Gilligan for piloting his boat into this dangerous area, losing control, and krashing. So, will the de-bait team win its bet to file an insurance claim for a lost boat?

What now — does a bassigator suddenly show up and save Mark and his passengers from the very hungry alligators?

Artistically, a dramatically impressive panel 1. But where the hell are they!? The Atlantic or maybe Lake Superior? I don’t recall that the body of water that has always been depicted alongside the Trail’s cabin was anything other than a peaceful lake or river, assuming that is where they are. Then again, there is that river course somewhere near Lost Forest that has the capacity to hold cargo ships.

Did the boat really collide with a gator, or did they just run into some bad weather? Or maybe they hit a gator in rough water? You’d think Mark would have checked weather conditions before leaving, right?

Another interesting first panel on this one, again with a somewhat dramatic scene of the boat powering through rough water. Not to press a comparison farther than I can lift a house, it reminds me of some boating pictures by the 19^th artist, Winslow Homer. Wait! Not in terms of artistic merit, but simply in terms of subject and dramatic effect. Check out Breezing Up and Gulf Stream. Again, it’s not a comparison of style or artistic merit. For that, no comparison can be made.

As for Mark, we continue to see how judgmental and out of touch he is, just like many parents. Mark is just an Everyman, I reckon. And maybe that’s the way Jules Rivera sees Mark Trail:  Not the heroic savior of nature who always makes women swoon and always knocks down the bad guys, but a regular guy with a job who only rises to the occasion when the situation calls. I think of James Stewart’s Destry Rides Again or Bruce Willis in the Die Hard movies.

Turns out that Rivera may just just be playing around with the “Mark Crashes Boat” meme, so “Krash!” now means “boat runs into gator!” From the size of the wake behind the boat in panel 1, I think Mark is running at a pretty fast clip, possibly too fast for nighttime boating.

Like many parents, Mark decides a lie is easier than the truth. But what’s the big deal here? The boys are old enough to deal with a bit of reality, unless Mark is worried one of them might turn him into the game wardens for running over an endangered animal. But if Mark wants to maintain that lie, he should be slowing down a bit. Perhaps he isn’t because if he did, they’d see how calm the waters are and then realize that he was telling them porkies. If you don’t know what that phrase means, you can bloody well look it up. I learned about it from an old British cop show.

On the graphic front, Rivera’s art has been pretty consistent in style and quality the past few weeks, in spite of the opinion many have about the quality (or lack thereof) of the art, itself.  But I do share the fear of the art becoming more cartoony over time. Don’t think that’s possible? Check out the panels on the left:

Those panels are from January 2021, just two years ago. Quite a difference, right? Looking back through our archives can be pretty educational. Notice how much more “painterly” the art looks, especially in panel 2, compared to current images. The shirt even looks like a real shirt, the way it lies on the body. Notice how the collars roll and how the shirt pattern tends to flow along the torso, The fire in the background actually creates reflections on Mark’s face. Amazing! But back then, Rivera clearly spent more time on the strip and created lots of creative scenes. Why did it change? I don’t know. My best guess has been the time commitment versus the deadlines.

Ian isn’t the only person confused. Mark creates a false comparison based on a faulty premise: “If the narwhal turned out to be real”. It is the unicorn that is the mythological creature that Mark (Rivera) should have said, of course. The narwhal(e)’s existence was not questioned in the past. Mark’s giving the wrong idea to these kids.

But what I had hoped would not happen, did. I suppose that every Mark Trail artist has to have a krack (or krash) at the “Mark Destroys a Boat” meme. And it would have to take place in some alligator-infested waters (unless that is a set of custom luggage floating in the river). Well, it would be a real bummer if it turned out that Mark ran over the last surviving bassigator!

Jokes aside, “krashing” a boat in dangerous waters is a bad deal. Did Mark run over an alligator? That could land him in real trouble with federal authorities! I wonder if this is this going to be a turning point in the story where we see some actual danger and suspense, rather than the usual outlandish situations.

A question to readers: Do you think my posts are too long, too short, or about right?

I wonder: Are the insects in panel 1 some kind of metaphor for Rusty and Robbie?

So you didn’t want any friction on your father-son event, Mark? Whose bright idea was it to invite the other kids along? And why agree to do that if your aim is to build up your relationship with little carrot-top?

Ian’s memory is a bit off. Unicorns were not inspired by narwhals, though the tusk of narwhals during the European Middle Ages was thought to come from unicorns and possess medicinal/magical power. Anyway, the narwhal reference is a blessing for Mark who hopes his recitation on the subject (perhaps we’ll read more about it on Sunday) will distract the kids while Mark glides across the water to. . . someplace.

Robbie’s jealousy is not based on Rusty’s supposed popularity with girls after all, but on academic performance! Wow, didn’t see that one coming! But Rusty missed an opportunity to patch things up with Robbie by being sympathetic. Instead, he chose to twist the knife. Clearly, this will add additional friction and conflict, common ingredients in any adventure.

So, I missed something earlier. In the December 28 strip, Rusty greeted two friends, one being named Robbie, who is Rusty’s rival. I thought his name had not yet been mentioned. But maybe I only saw it subconsciously when I came up with a possible Rob Bettancourt-Mark metaphor. Still, I would have made the connection anyway, it was so obvious.

I dunno though, from his exaggerated expression in panel 3, Rusty seems more interested in the girls in the front row applauding him, rather than the general class appreciation. Would that mean Robbie is merely jealous of Rusty’s growing popularity?

Okay, Rivera, it’s getting tedious. For one thing, “see you later Bassigator” makes no sense, since Rusty is trying to find the cryptid, not wish it farewell. Yeah, I know. . . humor.

Mark still plays the Clueless Dad role. Sure, the old Mark Trail was likely clueless, as well. But he never had to worry about it, since the old Rusty was mostly a cardboard cutout.

I have questions:  Just where is Mark taking the boys? Do Bassigators have favorite watering holes? And why invite a bunch of Rusty’s friends, when failure could result in great embarrassment to Rusty?

Finally, why did Mark state that they would be back soon? Doesn’t he think the boys might now realize that this hunt is phony? I sure hope that Rivera’s plot does not have one of Mark’s friends plant a fake Bassigator for them to discover.

“I’m a woodsman.” So what? I think “I’m a sailor” might carry more weight in this situation. Hey, maybe Popeye could make a guest appearance. Anyway, it’s been a week and they still have not left the dock! Furthermore, exclamation points are running riot!

But this is the local river or lake (not sure which), so Mark’s heroic pledge seems as pointless as Cherry’s need to track their movement. Oh, it’s humor. Well, we are at a juncture in the plot. If this were a book, we’d be reading the last page of a chapter where somebody states, “So, what could go wrong?”

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who surmised that the De-Bait Team would be involved, as I noted during the pre-dawn fishing trip.

It also seems clear that today’s strip was deliberately composed only to set up the punchline about Mark’s reputation for destroying boats, the same way Capt. Kirk destroyed his uniforms. But it doesn’t move the story along.

Moving on to the art, it has been consistently competent in its layouts and figures this week. However, the image of Duke in panel 4 is bizarre. Duke’s face looks like two different drawings (from different views) were stapled together with little regard for continuity, proportion, or skill. For example, the beard does not fit the face, looking like a fake beard glued on (think O Brother Where Art Thou?). Duke’s mouth—at least, I think that is what the white shape is in the center of the beard—is outrageously large, missing teeth and tongue, and just too big for the top half of the head. Rivera also accidentally elongated Duke’s neck, probably to subconsciously match the relationship of the collar to the beard, as we see in panel 2. In fact, the collar should be up and behind the chin of the opened mouth, along with raising the torso.

Yep, looks like Rivera is really milking this rivalry. Is this really the reason for Rusty’s fascination and determination? I dunno, but if so, it seems like it might be an excuse for Mark to intervene and bring up his childhood rivalry story.

Anyway, Rivera again sticks in an overly large text box that is largely irrelevant . . . and also a bit over-stated. There is only one friend who has openly opposed Rusty’s belief.

Well, Mark, you do mean well. Taking you literally, you are giving them permission to start fighting once the boat ride begins, or maybe when it ends. So, what ethic are you pushing, Mark? Not that I disagree, mind you.

As usual, more thoughts run through my brainpan: Rusty exaggerates Mark’s physical actions, especially in the Rivera Age. Perhaps he recollects events from their pre-Rivera existence.

Moving from story to art, that’s a nice composition in panel 1, though I’d move the woodpecker up a tad to not crowd the scene. Also, the textbox is too wordy and also crowds the composition. We don’t need the “before the cryptid river boat hunt” explanation, as it is clear from the image. Rivera sometimes gets carried away with textboxes, using them to describe self-evident current activity.

Cool! Kid rivalry. Gotta love it! And it’s nice to see this Rusty showing some spunk. It’s kind of like a reincarnation of the famous Markey vs. Cricket Bro’—that is, Rob Bettancourt—rivalry. Hey, that kid even has the same first name!

Gotta add that the art has been much better and consistent, if you are hoping for more representational figures, that is. Of course, the figures lack the modeling techniques (e.g. shading, contoured lines, and proportions) that were popular in past incarnations of the strip.  

But I wonder if Rivera is making an in-joke, having all the dialog today end with exclamation points, as was standard practice in the past incarnations of Mark Trail! Rivera normally avoids that trope. But if you are still suffering the change to Rivera, and you get the strip in your newspaper, you can pencil in the exclamation points for all the dialog in each day’s strip.

Lost Forest is clearly a small community. Jeanette from Planet Pancakes happens to have a kid who’s a friend of Rusty. As we have already seen, this incarnation of Rusty clearly has a more robust social life. And this father-son adventure has clearly turned into something of a classroom field trip or a boy scout jamboree. I reckon this could make Rusty’s search a lot more fun, so maybe this will be a win-win for Team Trail.

But happy-happy does not an adventure make. Something dangerous or completely crazy is bound to happen. Given the fact that this strip tends towards the outrageous rather than the gruesome, I’m going to go with crazy.

Rusty looks even more naturalistic than he often does, whereas Mark looks more cartoony than usual, especially in panel 3. At least most of the family is together (once again, Doc Davis is left out).

I’m not sure where they are right now. They seem to be standing on some kind of inclined wooden platform, with some undefinable structures behind them. Must be a lake or river behind Rusty. Maybe they are going to rent a boat, as Rivera implies in panel 1. Whatever, I’m hoping for some actual excitement here, even crazy stuff. Even an environmental hazard or a cryptid.

Mixed signals from Mark. Poor Rusty, once again treated like a ki . . . oh well, Mark is not exactly building up his kid cred with his attitude and platitudes. Even Rivera, based on her caption boxes, is not exactly pulling for the red-headed kid. We’ll have to wait and see how Mark follows through on this. But maybe (to his own relief), he’ll get “The Call” that will send him off on another assignment.

Still, if Mark thinks snakes (e.g., Ralph the rat snake) and other animals can converse with him, why should he not believe in a Bassigator? Come to think of it, Mark just might get earn some respect from Rusty if he fessed up about Ralph.

Amazing, isn’t it? Mark asks what a Bassigator is, while forming the exact same image in his head that Rusty did, yesterday. Is he deliberately playing Rusty?

And could Mark act any more condescending? In panel 2 Rusty declares he wants to prove the Bassigator is real, only to have Mark in panel 3 first claim he understands (“I see.”), then ask if Rusty wants to prove whether the Bassigator is real. Duh! Perhaps Rivera just made a mistake, since she could have left out Mark’s second sentence and stuck with the first and third statements in panel 3. Leaving it in fortifies the impression that Mark is patronizing Rusty.

How did Mark miss Rusty’s interest in cryptids, or even his attempts to find one in Oregon? Oh, maybe it was because Mark was focused on his current project at the time, and nothing comes between Mark and his Calvins . . . er, project. But, better late than never. Right, Mark?

Will Mark attempt to patronize Rusty in hopes of getting some brownie points? He certainly looks like he’s trying too hard. I suspect we are seeing some of Rivera’s social politics leaking through the newsprint.

Is this going to be an actual adventure or merely an extended sidebar that will get thrust aside with a phone call or email? I’ve rolled the dice on it being a real story, and it might be if Mark gets involved in Rusty’s quest. But if he doesn’t, the story will likely be a part-time filler, as we saw in the Oregon Trails story, and that’s a shame. It would cool if they both go on Rusty’s adventure and something bigger and more dangerous or criminal surfaces instead.

Well, okay then! Maybe we’re going to get the sequel to the Seaside Spector hunt and see Rusty get another shot at adventure stardom. It’s a bit early to say, but we can hope. Not surprising, the “Bassigator” is a known cryptid figure of the Real World, so to speak. Its nickname is “Buford”. There is even a tourist attraction of a constructed Bassigator in the Abita Mystery House in Abita Springs, LA, assuming it survives the really bad weather.

But why would Mark be gob smacked about Rusty’s cryptid kick? After all, he was already exposed to it during the Oregon pseudo-vacation trip.

(I managed to drive to Virginia from Minnesota last week, always one day ahead of the storms sweeping across the country. It’s a bit chilly and sometimes rainy, but nothing like the mess back in Minnesnowda.)

This is painful to see; not because the art is bad, or the writing is poor. But watching Mark trying to be Rusty’s friendly dad is not easy. And what is also curious is why Rusty and Mark are raking leaves when they live in a log cabin in the woods. Environmentally conscious Mark would not support a yard made up of Kentucky Bluegrass, would he?

Still, I shouldn’t kick too much as I’ve generally applauded Rivera for delving further into Mark’s family than her predecessors normally did and giving them more face time, so to speak. But I’d much rather see Rusty become the star of his own story, more than he was with the seaside cryptid in Oregon, an adventure that failed to gain real traction. James Allen did a good turn with Rusty down in Mexico a few years back, so I hope Rivera will try again.