I’m sure glad that Rivera saw fit to put in that helpful circular graphic in panel 1 so we ignorant boobs can understand the technical complexities of putting somebody on hold while switching lines. Yes, I’m taking notes, Jules. On the other hand, there is so much visual clutter in panel 1 that it looks like an attack of the Bubble Monsters. Run, Mark, Run!

Rivera is apparently setting us up for Cherry’s story to resume on Monday. But I have to ask:  How complicated is this “box-o’-kittens” situation, anyway? Cherry needs to dedicate another whole week to the kittens!? She already has several people involved, including Violet and Doc Davis. And now, there is Victoria Vex, Violet’s mother and “owner” of the Sunny Soleil Society. Vex gave them 24 hours to get those kittens out of the building. This should be entertaining. Well, there’s hope.

Bill Ellis is a crudely-drawn example of how trivially the word “hero” gets employed these days. A hero puts their life on the line to save others or end an existential threat. That cave rescue did not measure up to either situation. If anything, Mark could be accused of reckless endangerment and child abuse for taking Sammy Spotter and Rusty into a dark, strange cave where he suspected Wesley Wingit had gotten trapped. That plotline could have been framed as a dramatic and danger-filled scene. Instead, Rivera presented it like an amusement park water ride.

If there was any situation where Mark could be called heroic, it was when he decided to enter a house known to contain freely roaming lions in search of a person possibly trapped or hiding inside. As it turned out, housecats could have posed more of a danger to Mark, but that doesn’t change Mark’s initial action. Of course, we never found out why those lions were so docile or why they ignored Mark’s wanderings. Will we learn anything more in Saturday’s closing strip?

Yesterday’s Hidden-in-Plain-Sight Laugh: The thing that caught my eye yesterday was the eagle, which looks like it is sporting a pair of spectacles. Tell me I’m wrong.

I think we can at least admit that Rivera goes the extra mile in putting closure to Mark’s adventures, something that her predecessors rarely bothered with. Interestingly, Mark and Company haven’t even left the island yet, and the Studio has already responded to Sammy. Never mind that the concept of keeping this rescue quiet from the public seems to me to run counter to any studio’s desire for free publicity.

By the way, I think Rivera has indulged in a little visual humor, unless my eyes deceive me. Did you spot it, too? Let me know. I enjoyed it. I’ll post the answer in tomorrow’s blog, if I remember.

Okay, I understand. Rivera moved some portions of the events from real time to this epilog summary. We find out details just as Bill Ellis does, although the only legitimately new information is in panel 4.

There was no rock “pillow” in the original rescue panels (October 11), as we see today in panel 4. Also, the broken hip wasn’t brought up before, but it explains Wingit’s being carted away by EMTs on a stretcher. I’m really anxious to see Mark explain how they got him out of that cave!

I would bet that some of you are wondering how Wesley wound up on the other side of the cave wall in the first place. But more than likely, you’ve already figured it out.

I reckon I stepped in it again, as this story is not over. We have another week to get through. That happens. Most of the time, we get two weeks of Mark and one week of Cherry. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes, Mark’s story goes longer, as it is doing now.

But once again, we have Rivera exhibiting her sarcasm for all to see (panel 1). There was really nothing daring about that rescue. In fact, it was pretty painless, from what we could tell. As for eating crickets, I’m at a loss to figure that out. Mark made the first claim even before seeing Wingit, and here he is repeating this odd statement. One other thing: It sure got dark pretty fast, based on the color of the sky, something that newspaper readers will possibly find confusing.

We have a winner in the Saturday Quiz! In case you missed the comments, regular reader Be Ware of Eve Hill figured out what was different about Mark’s appearance in panel 1: It was that his watch magically reappeared. This time it is on his left arm, even though it was originally on shown his right arm before it went missing for several days.

Exactly how was Winget trapped? Couldn’t he have just climbed that wall and swim out? I reckon that if he had a broken limb (which was not suggested), the rescue team would have taken care of it. But they don’t look like they are wet, suggesting Mark somehow got Wingit out of the cave. Since they did not bring along any special equipment, Wingit must have avoided broken bones. Too bad Rivera did not illustrate that part of the rescue. But that falls in line with Rivera doing her best to avoid any scintilla of drama and suspense.

Next, were those lions really being exploited? After all, they seemed to be in good shape, had plenty of food, and the run of the mansion and its grounds. Doesn’t sound much different than a zoo.

Exactly how did Mark assume authority to commandeer the lions and decide their fate? For all we know, Wingit leased these lions from a local preserve, and they are going to want them back.

Finally, what about that envelope?

BONUS QUIZ! What’s “different” about Mark in panel 1? If you have the time, look closely!

Okay, so being trapped in a cave is not a really big deal for Mark, huh? We can interprete his behavior in different ways:

1. Mark is a super dad and cares for his own kid above anybody else, even his assignment
2. Mark is an irresponsible dad and thinks it is just fine to bring Rusty into a possibly dangerous environment
3. Mark figures Wingit made his own mess, so feels no great responsibility to save him
4. Since Wingit is no longer in the mansion, Mark’s primary mission is complete, anyway

Who knows which is right and whether another reason will float to the surface of this turgid pool?

Art Dept. Today’s strip displays signs of assembly line drawing, though I might be misreading things. Mark’s face in panel 2 looks like it was put together from stored parts, like an identikit or Mr. Potato Head, especially the mouth, which doesn’t quite fir the angle of the face. By the way, Mark’s watch in panel 1 disappears in panel 3. In fact, panel 1 is the only time Mark’s watch has even appeared.

Less obvious is the “lineup” composition that Rivera likes to use (panel 3) for groups. You can find numerous examples in the strip if you care to go back and review. Of course, part of the reason for this is important: Rivera needs to visually clarify which characters are speaking in a group. One downside is that the composition can sometimes look unnatural and awkward.

Today, Mark and Sammy stand side-by-side in the foreground, talking to Rusty and the surfing instructor standing in the middle ground. This arrangement forces Mark and Sammy to look back over their shoulders.  Clearly, a more realistic and still clear composition would have been to show Mark and Sammy facing Rusty, with their backsides to us. Not a difficult composition, even for Rivera.

Also, how and why did Rusty change his clothes from the relatively short time ago when he began his surfing lesson?

Nice find, Sherlock! I wonder if Mark used keys to get into the lion mansion? We did not get to see that particular action, nor were keys mentioned earlier. Of course, such trivial items are not usually a subject of discussion in a story like this, unless they turn up in an unusual spot. I checked back and in the September 14 strip the narration says Mark broke into the mansion. I must have been distracted by other matters to not notice that detail. How did he break in? There didn’t seem to be any damage to the door. Does Mark carry burglar tools?

Still, I’m suspicious. It seems that Sammy has been directing Mark the entire time, including to this cave. Part of that is to be expected, of course. As Sammy discussed back in the August 29 strip, Wingit’s movies are just a scam for studios to take tax writeoffs, while earning him a good payoff. Sammy complained that the discovery of lions in a house of actors would create a studio-ending scandal. But this is surely false, because the tradition in Hollwood is any publicity is good publicity. Well, except when people really get killed.

Why does Sammy have no idea what the movie production schedule is, in spite of the fact that he is part of the production team? That is strange. And today, they just happen to walk to a spot where Mark spots a set of house keys on the ground.

Art Dept. The “moonlight” reflection effect in the water is nicely done, but not very convincing, considering we are looking at the entrance to a (dark) cave. Hmm, panel 3 shows us part of the lion mansion in the background. That’s interesting, considering that the mansion was also in the background of yesterday’s strip, when Mark and Sammy were on the other side of the water, above the cave’s entrance.

Sure, Mark. You must investigate this rash assumption in order to earn your fee. But there’s no need to yell!

Why should people assume Wesley Wingit is trapped in a cave? First he’s believed to be trapped in a mansion; now it’s a cave. What’s next, trapped in the wait line to ride the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland!? What is this obsession with a “trapped Wingit”? Is Wingit some kind of a Wingnut? (Okay, I beat Rivera to that pun I’ve been saving up.)

But maybe all of this is just bad press from Wingit’s detractors. Or detractor! Sammy Spotter is the only person from the movie studio we have heard from or seen. As I recall, he was Bill Ellis’s sole contact for this assignment! It could very well be that Spotter is behind some kind of unexplained criminal scheme. Or maybe this is a revenge conspiracy. Mark does have several enemies in California, including the wealthy Rob “Cricket Bro” Bettencourt, who could be financing this operation.

(Wait, Sammy did not use Wesley’s full name in Panel 4. He may wind up with a reprimand and a fine from SAG for his improper name credit.)

I confess that maybe I’m guilty of suggesting a level of subtlety and complexity not present in this silly story. Maybe I’m just wishing that there was something more, something complex and devious. Something interesting.

The guys seem so fascinated by director Wingit’s full name that they can’t help but repeat it in-full, every chance they get. Somehow, Mark jumps to the conclusion that, because Wingit would be shooting a scene in a cave, he might now be trapped in it. Why would he think that?

The cave reference Rivera refers to in panel 4 is to a “Journey to the Center of the Earth”-style adventure of a pursuit that took place in a southwest Texas cave. It appeared between Dec 2015-June 2016 when the strip was drawn by prior Mark Trail artist, James Allen (refer to our story category “Arachnid, Ho!”).  The adventure has since become an in-joke for its many cliffhangers, inane dialog, and seemingly unending length (the story and the cave).

It turns out that there really are numerous natural caves on Catalina Island, though most seem to be shallow. On the other hand, there are also several now-inactive mines of greater depth cut into the island rock to retrieve minerals such as silver, lead, and zinc, such as the BlackJack Mine. There is also a shallow “cave” blasted into the mountain below the landmark Holly Hill House. The town of Avalon initiated this to force the original home’s owner to allow public access across his land to the beach. Perhaps one of these will feature in Mark’s search.

What ho! The first thing out of the mouth of a smiling Mark Trail has nothing to do with layabout lions or missing actors, but bragging about his finds like a kid at an Easter Egg Hunt. Useless animal wrangler, Sammy Spotter, is positively giddy that he can discover where Wesley Wingit might have already been (assuming this is really Wingit’s camera).

Now, is Rivera getting philosophic on us? “We have to know the past in order to know the future.” In Panel 3, Mark’s comment completes the second half of that axiom. Nevertheless, it is possible to speculate on future actions based on past events. Except for future investment performance, of course.

Okay, what about that production schedule document? Since Wesley Wingit is the director, surely the producer(s) and studio also have copies of it. So they could have looked it over to check for location shots and send people to scout them out on the specified dates, right? Will the guys finally realize this? Did the producers even think about it?

<Sigh!> One thing we’ve learned for sure:  So far, Sammy Spotter has proven to be about as relevant as “Gadzooks!”

After a week’s hiatus, a reminder strip is not out of line. Interestingly, it is something of a “redo” of the Saturday, September 21 strip as seen from the point of view of Sammy Spotter:

Sammy Spotter’s fear is groundless, given what we know. But since he has been portrayed as a handwringing worrywart the whole time, there is no real drama. And no real suspense, except for the mystery of how and why the lions are allowed to be outside.

I reckon that we are supposed to assume Mark explored a lot of other rooms in this mansion, even though we did not see them. Too bad, as they might have led to some interesting situations.

Thus, Rivera missed another opportunity to build drama and suspense. Wait, I take that back. There is the mystery of the whereabouts of the actors who were supposedly locked inside the house along with the lions and the director. How come neither Mark nor Sammy seem at all concerned about them?

Hmmm, I’ve seen more drama in Scoobie-Doo. It’s a shame when you set up a story with promising elements of absurdity (in the literary sense), satire, and even suspense, only to let it all collapse under the weight of missed opportunities and weak execution. Well, the story is still in progress. Will Mark have to return to the clear danger of going back into that “lion’s den“? Is he going to chase that lion back into the house and lock the door to protect the public? Will Mark tell Sammy that the lions are loose?

It seems to me as if Rivera could have set up this portion of the story like a computer adventure game, where the explorer has to work through a series of mysterious rooms and areas, locating treasures and clues, while avoiding dangers along the way. So this could have been genuinely interesting and suspenseful. Yet, it has not come off that way at all.

But, we have just two very obvious “clues” after a less-than thorough search of this mansion.

The decision to have lions inside and outside of the house make no sense, given that the story was originally based on the concept of lions locked inside a house with a movie director and his actors. Nobody wanted to go into the house, not even the movie’s animal wrangler, Sammy Spotter. So Mark was tasked with making the dangerous foray into the mansion. But all of that is blown away. And given the apparently easy access outside, why would lions not be roaming the island, eating the wildlife and attacking tourists?

Art Dept. In spite of the textured coats of the sphinxlike lions, they are not very convincing, especially as they so clearly jar with the flat imagery around them, like a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling of a plain, concrete room.  The artwork seems to get even more illogical. For example, in panel 1, the wall of the house extends below Mark’s right leg, suggesting that Mark is about 12 feet tall. Clearly, that was not intended, but is just careless. The small bush between Mark’s legs is just a too-cute joke.