Pretty much every time we’ve seen Violet she has been outdoors. In fact, about the only times I recall her being inside are when Cherry first met her at the Sunny Soleil Society Headquarters and later on, when she was feeling sorry for herself in a booth at Planet Pancake. So, call me unsympathetic.

Anyway, I think Squirrelly Sandy speaks for all of us regarding this “adventure.”

Leaving aside (for the moment) Violet’s failed logic, Sandy’s theatrics, and Jules Rivera’s patronizing comment, one is left with … radioactive squirrels from Planet X.

We learn that, in spite of the continuous complaining, posturing, and smugness by Violet towards Cherry, she reluctantly felt the need for Cherry’s approval and companionship. She just has very odd ways to cultivate that need. But it might explain how Cherry still has a job with the Sunny Soleil Society after all of their confrontations.

On the other hand, this is yet another story that Rivera could have developed into a more complex and interesting adventure. She could have employed literary mystery-story devices such as red herrings, more complex and enigmatic clues, traps (real and imagined), more characters to provide additional suspects and atmosphere, and a more “deductive/detective” reveal of the culprit. Could this add another month of storyline? Sure, yet a well-scripted story is not a chore to read. But it does take more effort to compose.

Oh, wait! There is so much that is problematic here:

1. I may have overestimated Rivera’s plotting (or I was full of myself). Why did she go with the blatantly obvious culprit, Violet, rather than a more interesting, less obvious person, such as Ernest, Squirrelly Sandy, or somebody completely different? For example, it could have been a more aggressive environmentalist who thinks Mark and Cherry aren’t doing enough to protect Lost Forest.
2. Now, what’s with those creepy pet squirrels? Do they read human emotions? Are they even real squirrels? Is Rivera attempting to suggest they are like the empathic tree-cats found in David Weber’s Honor Harrington sci-fi series? (fun reading, by the way!)
3. How is it that Violet just happens to have a purple pen that just happens to fall to the ground? I’m surprised her dress even has a pocket.
4. Why is Cherry more concerned about the purple pen than the fact that Violet is being attacked by squirrels?
5. Will Violet try to get Squirrelly Sandy arrested for assault? (Does Lost Forest even have a police department?)
6. Why did Violet try to blame Cherry in the first place and then suggest this search? She could have just forged Cherry’s name to the notes, rather than make up the nom-de-plume Kudzu Commander. (That’s a cool moniker, by the way.)
7. Rivera leaves us with two days to explain everything before Mark takes over the story time. Then it’s another two to three weeks before we return to Cherry, by which time we’ll have forgotten the plot.
8. Will Violet’s explanation be something completely unexpected?

If you feel inspired, click on the Leave a Comment link and suggest some answers. Or propose pertinent questions I overlooked.

How the heck would Squirrelly Sandy know she was the last target? Otherwise, Jules Rivera seems to be making a color-pun in panel 4, equating violet with purple for the sake of the story. In reality, purple has a slightly reddish tint which is lacking in violet. They are not the same. Feel free to look it up for yourself.

I think Rivera should have written “Fun Fact:  The word purple also means violet!” in panel 3. Why? Because the idea is to point a finger at Violet. But this could be just another red herring. What do you think?

And what about those squirrels in panel 2?

Right. The squirrels are Sandy’s Lost Forest Irregulars, eh? There is a lot of contrary information online about whether peanuts (legumes) are good for squirrels. The consensus seems to be that raw (or salted) peanuts should be avoided, but roasted nuts are fine. And give them in moderation.

Anyway, how the #@(!! are the squirrels going to assist with the search? Are they trained search-and-rescue rodents? Did they graduate from Lassie U? Perhaps they have interrogation techniques we have not realized. I’m reserving judgement at this point.

With Rusty and his adventure tucked away in bed, we finally return to Cherry’s goal to find the Kudzu Crusader and help clear her name. She must have thought Mark was too tired or too busy with his own “important” plans to bother him with her trivial problems.

I suppose we do have to suffer through some nonsense and recaps to remind readers that Cherry has her own storyline in progress. Do you think the Sunny Soleil Society is paying Cherry for this extra-curricular investigation? As I recall, Violet originally blamed Cherry for this—as did a lot of the town—because of several anonymous insulting notes. Makes sense to me.

As for Squirrelly Sandy, I’d probably keep my distance, no matter what. Anybody letting wild squirrels run loose in their shop (a bakery, no less) and over their body probably is nutty, or infected. I’m with Violet on this one. Thanks, Sandy, but we’ll keep in touch over the phone.

ON THE PLUS SIDE: Rivera shows us much more of Lost Forest and its inhabitants than we saw in the past. This place is called Lost Forest, but there is no end to the number of people who find their way there. Except for Mark Trail’s former reporter nemesis, Kelly Welly, who seems to have gotten lost along the way. She was here when Rivera first took over, but she has been mostly absent ever since.

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 …

1. 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.
2. 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?
3. 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.

I think I’m beginning to understand a few things:  Violet doesn’t know what kudzu is and calls it an “exotic” vine. I think we might assume she is not from the South or even the Midwest.

According to The Nature Conservancy, kudzu was brought into this country over 100 years ago from Japan and later deliberately promoted during and after the Great Depression to help minimize soil erosion. Little did they know back then! Also, the fact that Cherry has to actually state that she doesn’t like kudzu is like saying penguins don’t like to summer in Miami.

Nevertheless, we’ve had 5 days of Cherry and Violet more or less repeating the same dialog: “Why did you do this, Cherry?” “I didn’t, Violet! Why would somebody want to frame me?” Slow pacing is fine when the plot or information is complex. This is not the case. After the first day, not much new was introduced, making this long sequence unduly boring and unproductive.

Maybe these two should first be more concerned about removing the rest of the kudzu currently in Violet’s home garden, before it starts expanding into the surrounding forest. Then they can go into full Enola Holmes mode to find the true culprit. My money is still on Ernest (or maybe his wife, seeking revenge for the affair!).

Wait. How can a “suspect list” increase when there are no suspects to begin with? Perhaps the term “increase” implies we start with the Sunny Soleil Society?

Anyway, this focus on Cherry seems misplaced, but I’m working from a position of logic, or at least, reasonable assumption. When Cherry says she has no enemies, is she forgetting about Honest Ernest? Well, maybe she does not consider him to be her enemy.

Art Dept. I’ll give Rivera high marks for the drawing of Violet in panel 1. The pose and especially her expression are quite well done and believable, and matching the tone of her comment. It forms an interesting bookend with Cherry’s face in panel 4. It’s still a shame that Rivera does not integrate more interesting design perspectives in the strip like she used to.

Sorry for the lateness of this post. Violet Cheshire’s comment in panel 2 just completely contradicted all of her prior statements about Cherry and the note. I was too flummoxed to continue.

Well, that’s only a half-truth. In reality, I got distracted by other matters. But when I got back to this post, I saw that Violet really did make that statement. So, this wasn’t just a late-night hallucination, after all.

Now in panel 1, we see another bit of illogic:  Why should the note attempt to frame Cherry when it wasn’t even signed by Cherry in the first place? If the narration box is meant to be an editorial comment, it reads as if Rivera was being influenced by Violet’s statements! Violet’s passive-aggressive dialog is doing nothing to move the story along, except to extend this pointless issue of Cherry’s personality.

What’s the point here? Is Rivera really concerned about establishing the authorship of the note or more concerned with pushing a “reality TV” melodrama of manufactured confrontation?

I suppose this could be yet another marketing ploy from Cherry’s second-place antagonist, Honest Ernest. We haven’t heard from him for a while. Perhaps he and Violet had a falling out after the revelation of their affair. That could be a driving motive for this anonymous note. Or maybe the prelude for another Honest Ernest toxic chemical creation.

Suddenly Cherry reverts to her “trailer trash” heritage (see the first Rivera-era story: Dec-21-20) as her apparent lack of education comes into full display in panel 4. But is she just being impertinent to Violet the Tramp? How else to explain her crudity? Cherry’s grabbing the note and her reaction in panel 3 (“…there’s no way I wrote this”) is the setup for the upcoming put-down.

But Cherry’s sarcasm in panel 4 is undermined by Rivera’s disappointing derisive response in the same panel, which otherwise provides us with no useful insights into the story. That’s my opinion. Do you have a different interpretation?

From a purely moral basis, even Violet should know that this is not Cherry’s M.O. But I reckon this outburst does fit Violet’s character. Will she apologize? Hah! Did you also think it strange that Cherry felt the need to explain to Violet what kudzu is? I don’t think there is anybody south of the Mason-Dixon Line who doesn’t already know.

Once again, this could be an interesting adventure, but we’ll have to wait and see if it descends into farce and is unresolved. It is interesting to note that Rivera posted a Sunday nature talk on kudzu before it was introduced into the current story.

Really? That’s the worst question to hear from your boss? Not in my experience, at least. But clearly there is something more to this question than a simple “Of course not!” response could satisfy. Cherry does look a bit guilty in panel 4.

Art Dept. I wonder if Rivera likes attending theater, because once again, the scene in panel 1 looks more like actors performing on stage with painted scenery: the decorative flatness of the flora, the simple overlapping placement of bushes and trees, and the generic ambiguity of the distant mountains provide a simple backdrop to the characters on center stage.