I dunno , why would Peach respond to Cherry’s remark about Dirk with the exclamation “Older Brother??” instead of something like “Dirk? Here!?” Did mummy and daddy forget to inform the younger sisters of his existence?

In case you forgot (or didn’t know), older brother Dirk was introduced back in 2021 in the story we labeled “Can’t Spell Whoa without HOA.” Back then, Dirk had a rust-colored beard and looked like a wilderness version of Hagrid.

While I’m in a questioning mood (and when am I not?), I’m always wondering just what the Sunny Soleil Society (SSS) is all about. Those of you who were here at the start of Jules Rivera’s tenure may remember that the SSS was originally tasked as managing an HOA for a local neighborhood. At the time, Violet Cheshire was an imperious, strict, rules enforcer capable of physically throwing Cherry out of her office. Which she did.

Since then, Violet’s personality has gone through several modifications. Cherry went from Society Enemy Number One to trusted contractor. The job must be good enough that Cherry no longer seems to need other customers for her lawn and landscape business (assuming that still exists).

And we recently learned Violet’s mother is really in charge of the Society. But what does it do? Why does it solicit membership? In those earlier days of the strip, the Society had the appearance of some kind of selective southern country club with members dressed in stylish outfits and broad-brimmed hats. These days, the SSS seems more concerned with its gardens and public events.

The story is coasting today, as Rivera does indeed spread out the drive home to fill out the week. Perhaps Cherry’s squirrel remark is one of those sitcom-like remarks meant to inject some humor into a tense situation. Or maybe it’s a warning that the commercial health inspector hasn’t gotten around to the donut shop yet, so be careful. Meanwhile, nobody yet has thought about the possibility of Rick pursuing Peach.

Art Dept. Rivera’s earliest work in Mark Trail featured interesting and unusual perspectives. Today’s axonometric-like drawing in panel 1 is another daring attempt that is mostly successful, but the figures of Cherry and Peach are somewhat blocky; especially Cherry. The human figure can be tough to interpret in acute angles. Rivera has been altering our viewpoints inside the truck all week long. But the interior of the truck is starting to look more like a room with small windows than a truck’s cab.

Peach’s “Jerry Springer”-style confession does give one pause to wonder whether Rick’s behavior manifested itself any earlier, unless their relationship was short-lived. And the Pitts are clearly not ones to go running to the police or an attorney, either.

Cherry might want to rethink her decision to give shelter to her sisters, for the sake of her own family’s safety. Rick sounds like the kind of person who would come after Peach. But I hear what you’re thinking:  “What about Mother Pitt?” Apparently, even Rick knows his own limits, as he didn’t try to threaten her.

Rivera paces today’s strip the same as yesterday’s but in doing so, the overall pace of the story has slowed down, since we have to wait until tomorrow to learn about Rick’s reactions. I’m betting today’s and tomorrow’s strips could have been consolidated into one. We could cut out panels 2 and 4 as extraneous. We really don’t need to know who or what this “famous buck” is that Rick poached. That it was poached is good enough.

Art Dept. On the other hand, I’ll give points for the background coloration in panels 3 and 4. Their somber tones help reinforce the drama. In fact, I was going to mention that yesterday, since panel 4 did not have a tone-setting background, in spite of its darker content.

Art. Dept. (This is George being a mega-geek today) I think Rivera’s pacing in today’s 4-panel installment is well timed, with no extraneous fat to trim out. After the panel 1 premise is established (“What did he do?”), panels 2 and 3 waste no time or space in establishing the basis of Peach’s former affection for her boyfriend, Rick. In panel 4, Rivera ends with Peach’s conflict, creating a cliff-hanger designed to get us to “turn the page” and discover the truth by which Peach made her fateful decision.

I also like the manner in which Rivera transitions Peach’s backstory from current time (panel 1) to her past, via flashback. Panel 2 shows the start of her flashback as the “Current Time” Peach literally looks back on her past time with Rick. Notice that Rivera shows Peach still talking using a conventional speech balloon. By panel 3, we have moved into Full-Scale Flashback Mode, as all of the images are now part of Peach’s flashback. Her recollection is carried forward only in narration boxes.

Otherwise, the overall drawing remains sketchy. I would have liked to see Rivera alter the style (or at least appearance) of the flashback panels as a further visual reinforcement of the time/place change.

So, the Pitt sisters are united once again! For those of you who came in late, I noted back in 2020 that the given names for the three sisters is the basis for one of Rivera’s earliest and better puns. Rivera created Cherry’s family (as far as I know at this point) with the surname Pitt; hence, we  have sisters Cherry Pitt, Olive Pitt, and Peach Pitt (note the color of their clothing). Lest you think the surname is contrived (okay, it is!), let me remind you that the Prime Minster of England during the American Revolution was William Pitt, the Younger. And there is that Brad dude, too.

Names based on puns is nothing new, of course, and they litter the history of comic strips. Entire families are rarer. The family that always pops up in my mind is the family of Olive Oyl, (Popeye’s girlfriend), including Castor Oyl and Cole Oyl. Do you remember any other examples? Let me know!

As for the “heinous hunter ex-boyfriend”, whoever could he be? This is clearly going to be the point of Cherry’s next adventure. Too bad it won’t be the dramatically serious story it should be. Maybe the dude will turn out to be Mark’s old nemesis, Dirty Dyer!