If Mark was so damned eager to take that phone call, why is he wasting time with this nonsense?

As I wrote before (or should have), a little irreverence, humor, and satire go a long way. I don’t think we need to return to the “always business formality” of the old Mark Trail. So, Ms Rivera, do inject humor and satirical insights when they make sense in the story line. But the last thing I want to see here is Mark Trail turned into a silly or gag-a-day comic strip. It has been—and should remain—an adventure strip focused on nature and conservation issues. That is what makes it unique and enjoyable to many people. Nothing against gag strips, but they already make up the majority of the comics pages.

Unfortunately, in response to Bill Ellis’s trying to get down to business, Mark takes a non-sequitur approach and starts riffing on his “replacement” conservation award. HahHahHah. Guess Mark thinks he’s ready for standup. Is this how Rivera is going to pad out these times in between adventures? I hoped we’d have more family situations, working out the trivial events of daily life, rather than the “contrived” setups of today and yesterday. I’d much prefer to see a real conversation between Rusty and Cherry on the way to the scout meeting. Or maybe seeing Doc’s reaction to Mark waving off his breakfast invitation so he can get back to Bill. For example, Doc could have coughed out a haughty “Harumph!“, pretending to be offended as he scrambled eggs. The humor in that scenario is low key, but natural and believable, because it fits into a believable situation.

As for the art today…well, Bill’s image in panel 3 is markedly jagged and unevenly constructed, as if the head was glued down in the wrong position. Frankly, he reminds me of old-fashioned wooden marionettes, like you can see on the English “Thunderbirds” TV series. As for Mark, I think we have to accept the fact that Mark’s unkempt hair is always going to be that way; a thumb in the eye to the prior Mark and what I describe as a pomaded side-slicked haircut and spit curl.  And I’m okay with that! As for the drawing of the award, it looks like it was designed to be in Pearls Before Swine. I reckon that it is supposed to be some kind of glass ball on a brass stand, but looks more like a balloon glued to the top of an old-fashioned inkwell.

Could Cherry really forget something she has been reminding Rusty of all week? Are Mark’s tough-guy charms really that disarming? Well, if there is a Scout meeting to go to this early, why isn’t Rusty suited up in his Scout uniform? Oh, I see…the days of formal Scout uniforms are long gone. No more official matching shirt and pants; no more military-style cap; no more kerchief; no more unit patches and sash. Instead, we see a non-identifiable green shirt, jeans, and a…rucksack? I don’t recall bringing packs to my scout meetings.  In any event, Rusty now has the parent-child advantage and it remains to see how this steely-eyed kid is going to exact his pound of flesh. Clearly, Rusty is definitely a child of the current age, not like his namesake in the former version of Mark Trail, where it was always 1958 for him.

Unfortunately, some lame sitcom humor unfolds in the punch-line panel. I was okay with how today’s strip was unfolding until that point. Puns can be fine if they are based on an actual situation or remark just made; but not based on a contrived dux ex machina frog stuck in the middle of the last panel, however well it is drawn. “Jules, it ain’t as if I hadn’t toad you before…!”

Nevertheless, there is positivity here. In a way, we are getting something fresh and interesting that was rarely seen before:  That Mark and Cherry have an actual home life together and have to deal with regular family issues, though forgetting your son’s scout meeting is not exactly cutting-edge drama. It’s just normal life, and that’s the point. Sure, in the old days we used to see the Trails around the dinner table between adventures, eating pancakes and talking about fishing trips or more recently, social media.  But we’ve gotten more insight into family affairs over these past eight months or so. I know this is supposed to be a nature/adventure comic strip, but it’s nice to round off the edges a bit and add some depth to the characters. As many have noted, the danger lies in going too far with this rounding.

Finally, I think the artwork today is pretty good, overall; especially Rusty in the second panel. His image is nice and sharp, focused, and effectively highlights his mood by his expression and the isolated figure. The foreshortened view of Cherry seen from below in panel 3 is also drawn quite well. However, Rusty’s flat profile clashes with Cherry’s image and nearly ruinsthe panel. Wonder where Rusty’s big chin suddenly came from? I’m also not going to go into detail about Mark’s absurd face in panel 4, except to say that a person trying to crack wise should not be laughing outrageously. It’s unbecoming.

I think Rusty must already has an idea in his head what “nature walk” means. But that’s fine. He seems more clued in than his earlier incarnation, at least.

Otherwise, what’s Rusty’s beef? He should know by now that Mark and Cherry spend a lot of time away from him and the cabin. Of course, they probably tell him in advance when they are going to be gone, most of the time. Apparently, unlike other teenagers, Rusty must have gotten up way before 9:00 AM. Anyway, what’s with that background in panel 4? Looks like somebody started to paint and stopped mid-way through. I bet it’s not even visible in the black & white printing, but I’ll have to wait until the morning to find out.

I was going to write something about the seemingly ever-changing cabin they live in. Each time it is shown, it looks different to me. This might be a deliberate decision on Rivera’s part; an additional bit of absurdity in a strip that does not shy away from spectacle and craziness. But I need to think more on the subject.

Now, I wonder what the next assignment will be?  We’ve only had two stories so far, since Rivera has taken control of the strip. Neither one falls under the mantle of a standard Mark Trail adventure. So, will this new assignment send him on a trip to locate poachers? Forest arsonists? Litterbugs? Or will he go to work undercover in a petrochemical plant to get the goods on the evil factory manager who is dumping some God-awful mess in a river?

You know, I was trying to not skim ahead (as I am wont to do) and take each panel in turn, so I thought for a moment that when Mark’s phone connection broke in panel 3, Mark did that on purpose to keep The Big Clinch Moment alive. Then again, Mark already broke the BCM in yesterday’s strip by answering the phone. I should have known better. Mark always answers The Call of Nature.

So then, why this pointless talk about getting back to the cabin, which seems to have mysteriously appeared just around a tree and down the hill? But is that their cabin? It does look different than it normally appears. Anyway, is Cherry being sarcastic or pragmatic in her response in panel 4 (i.e. “Go back early? Of course! It’s a paying gig, you idiot!”)? This situation reminds me of the old “Sorry, Rusty! We’ll get to that fishing trip when I get back.” kind of thing.

Well, I could see the old Mark Trail being not too concerned with hitting the road shortly after coming back from the last job: There was clueless Rusty, dottering Doc, and Clingy Cherry. And that blasted dog was always getting into trouble! But in this new life, Rusty seems fine on his own, Doc is mostly MIA, but Cherry is a firecracker looking for a match. Mark already has a “red hot” opportunity right here! If I was Mark, I might be inclined to get back to Bill tomorrow and close my cover before striking today. But it seems that Pragmatic Cherry has already put the BCM behind her. Good ol’ role reversal!

Meanwhile, Rivera (or more likely some syndicate hack) continues the lazy technique of applying a simple green wash across all of the trees and calling it good. Now, ending on a technical note, if Mark lost a phone connection standing on top of a hill, how does he expect service to return after moving to the bottom of the hill? Or am I misreading things here? Well, maybe he has a signal booster in the cabin.

Looks like good ol’ Bill Ellis is still getting some comic strip time, after all. And he talks with the exclamatory tones favored in the original Mark Trail strips! Some traditions just don’t fade easily!

Not surprisingly, the romantic Big Clinch Moment (BCM) comes for Mark and Cherry while out on their nature walk, while standing behind a wooden statue of a squirrel. According to the rules laid down in Chapter 3 of the Standards and Practices for Comic Strips(23^rd edition), the BCM must be interrupted just before the moment of physical excitation. In a family comic strip, that means just before they share a kiss.

The BCM Interruption is a commonly-accepted cliché in the entertainment industry, though not always appreciated. One of the great scandals of comic strip history was when The Phantom and his fiancé Diana Palmer were found to have progressed past the traditional BCM while in the Skull Cave, without so much as a loud chimpanzee yell to interrupt them. The International Committee of Comic Strip Ethics (supposedly founded by Johnny Hart), was prepared to excommunicate artist Lee Falk and demote The Phantom to a servant in the Mandrake the Magician comic strip.  At the last moment, Falk agreed to have The Phantom and Diana marry, saving his career and providing his strip with more story options.

The only prior scandal of this magnitude was caused by a misplaced grammatical period in Elsie Segar’s Thimble Theater comic strip, soon after Popeye made his initial appearance in 1929. Olive Oyl was talking with Popeye when he apparently said “Well blow me. Down!” Fortunately, investigators discovered that the period between “me” and “Down” was actually just a dead gnat that Segar swatted off his forehead while inking the strip, and he never noticed that it had fallen into the text balloon. The potential Problem Period was caught in time by the comic strip syndicate, just before the strip was shipped out to the newspapers. However, Segar had his salary docked to pay for preparing the corrected strip for publication.

Not much else to note here, except to wonder:  Which magazine will it be this time? I truly hope we meet a new editor and magazine. There are supposedly at least 17 magazines that make up the “F.E. and Cook” publishing empire (see the 10/19/20 strip), so I hope it will be something closer to Mark’s world, such as “Flyfisher King” or “Trapped in a Cave Digest”.

I had brought up before the issue of coloring and how it can affect (pro or con) the appreciation and interpretation of a comic strip ; and I wrote a bit on that in today’s blog. I remarked specifically on the tree line in panel 1 being the same color as the background, which is not that common in Rivera’s panels, and how it tended to hide details and minimize the depth of field. However, I looked at the strip as it was published in black & white in my town newspaper and found what I think is confirmation:

Well, newsprint certainly lacks the luster and brilliance of a direct-from-screen image, doesn’t it? In spite of that (and my less-than stellar photography), I think it is interesting that the trees become more obvious and “closer” in the black & white version, with the forested mountains clearly in the background. Details of the eagle’s wings are clearer, as well. So here is one case where (the choice of) color may not have improved the artwork.

But, what do you think?

As the Trails hike along a path that looks more like a tree limb, they continue their cutesy double-entendres in order to fill out the week. Hmmm, I don’t think we need to take Mark’s final comment seriously, as it is clearly the expected punchline to Cherry’s provocative come-on. And heaven help me, folks, I’m doing my best to avoid indulging in similar innuendos. It’s hard enough to get some basic commentary put together. And I’m not sure if what I write always measures up.

Not much else here. Artwork is fine, though a bit heavy on the lines, I think. It is always difficult to comment on color, since I don’t know if Jules does her own or it’s left to the syndicate. Since hardcopy newspaper sales keep falling, they turn to online editions. Their comics section is essentially links to the comic syndicates web sites, so online comics are in color. So, I’m thinking the work is Rivera’s. I think it is an important point: No cartoonist would want to leave such decisions in the hands of somebody outside of the cartoonist’s studio. And one thing I notice is that the trees along the road behind Mark and Cherry blend right in with the dark green background. Normally, she would make that front row of trees lighter.

There hasn’t been much room for landscape in this last story, and even Cherry’s adventure was limited in background details. But, if you look at the panels of Mark and Rusty back in March, just before he went to LA, I think could see how Rivera’s approach seemed different today. I might be overdrawing a distinction here, and this is just a singular occurrence.

Otherwise, we can check off the box for “Do the Trails really love each other?” and move on to something else. Like maybe that Doc has a drinking problem because he has nothing to do (so far) and gets tired of sitting around waiting for his token appearance and gloomy utterance.

Okay, what’s going on here? If Cherry restocked the roundabout, why would she put in any kind of invasive plant when she could have replanted what she originally used? My superficial research lists this plant as invasive and banned only in South Africa, though it is not recommended in our western states, where it can grow aggressively. It seems that its benefits outweigh its detriments in the US.

Anyhow, more light-hearted banter today, serving either as time fodder to pad out the week or as a means to help establish more of Cherry and Mark’s relationship. But I think we already have a good handle on that, don’t you? I’d prefer to see Rivera spend more time fleshing out Doc Davis’s character a bit more, even Andy’s. Maybe Mark’s snake avatar could make another appearance and warn him of an impending crisis, such as teenage girls already moving past Mark Trail and his videos. The newest sensation turns out to be…Professor Bee Sharp!

There has been some snarky chat over at Comics Kingdom about possible sexual undertones in the first and third panels. Anything is possible, of course, but I think the hand positions are wrong to support this hypothesis, however suggestively the flowers are drawn.

You know, I just had an odd thought:  Had Rivera taken over the strip some 15 years ago (assuming she was old enough, so just play along, okay?), and somebody thought her take on Mark would make a good TV show, they could have gotten Bruce Campbell to play Mark. Campbell has the kind of personality and acting chops necessary for our new Mark Trail. But Bruce no longer looks like a perennial 32 year old. What a lost opportunity, unless some studio is willing to put out a senior-citizen version of Mark Trail on TV or the cinema. Kind of a “Mark Trail Returns!” type of movie. Well, it worked for Bruce Wayne!

Okay, more cute wordplay and flirting. Well, this helps answer a question some Trailheads had with whether Cherry’s story ever had a proper ending. I think it did, within the conventions of how Mark Trail adventures often end. But here we see, fully grown, a recreation of what must have been Cherry’s original design. And is “Roundabout Royale” the location’s actual name or just Mark’s self-coined appellation? So, it looks nice enough for a roundabout that doesn’t seem to be part of any road system. We also get to see another side of the roundabout, with two houses in the distance. I’m guessing that Planet Pancake must be behind Mark and Cherry? I may just be a slow kid from Virginia, but I also wonder how Mark found out about the hogs? Did Dirk call Mark? That seems odd, given Dirk’s anti-social habits. And why blab to Mark, anyway?  Did Dirk want to ensure Mark knew that Cherry could not succeed on her own?

Geography aside, I reckon we’ll have a few days more of Mark & Cherry cavorting around before a new story begins. Perhaps ol’ Doc will make a brief appearance, pretty much as he used to. As for Rusty, since he clearly is no longer a clueless dweeb, perhaps we will find him looking to hook up with the daughter of a local land baron who wants to create an exclusive hunt club providing exotic animals for wealthy members. And thus, we would segue into a real Mark Trail crusade. But I reckon we’ll have to wait for the inevitable Zoom chat later this week. I’m still hoping it will be somebody other than Amy Lee. She’s sent Mark on two assignments; now it’s another editor’s turn.

You know, I’m surprised that Jules Rivera did not turn Bill Ellis into a lowly Messenger Boy (i.e. toady) for this mega-magazine empire, where Bill must personally contact Mark to hand over material for his next assignment. The actual editor-in-charge would still contact Mark to provide additional insights. Say, doesn’t this sound like the usual first act of almost every episode of “Charlie’s Angels”?

Let’s not take a cynic’s view but simply take some time to enjoy two people in love with each other, enjoying an early walk among the trees, surrounded by a “Hallmark Card” heart-shaped opening, flanked by two Monarch butterflies (they do not have the tell-tale horizontal line crossing the rear wing of Viceroys. We should assume Rivera knows that). Okay, that’s enough time! Is that a double-entendre in the middle panel or just a corny pun? But why does Cherry need convincing to take a morning walk? Is she sacrificing her morning fix at Planet Pancake? Something is bound to happen pretty soon…!

But looky-there! We have yet another case of the ambiguous text balloon, this time in panel 3, where Mark is apparently sighing over himself. Clearly this was supposed to be Cherry’s response. I think I just talked about these misdirected balloons yesterday, didn’t I? Is this really a flub that got by Rivera and the syndicate editors, or is Rivera still indulging in satirizing the older strips of her predecessors? A little bit goes a long way, Jules!

I do hope that Rivera does not continue the old Mark Trail tradition of ending story lines without filling in useful details. For example: Did Cherry (who was fretting over her company’s bankruptcy) pay for the new roundabout installation? And what went into it? Did the Sunny Soleil Society officially get off her back and allow her to replant the native palmettos they hauled away?

But it’s nice to see Rivera’s return to a higher standard in her art. She is quite good. I took a look back and was amazed at how her style has already evolved since she took over last October (I believe it was then). Here is one of her early strips from late October:

It shows a definitely lighter touch in the drawing, shading, and color (assuming Rivera has control over the coloring of the dailies, that is).  The overlapping tree lines create a simple but effective sense of space in the small-sized panels Rivera has to work with. The middle panel here is a subtle example of Rivera’s early interest in more unusual points of view and compositions, something that has not always been a strong feature in her more recent work. Again, I’m guessing time constraints and deadlines are forcing shortcuts, which is too bad. But that’s how it’s always been for cartoonists, even back in the early decades. But I’d sure like to see more.

Russ?? Not sure I have ever heard Rusty called Russ before… But Mark is still verklempt over the fact that he has zero Social Media presence… even after he lit up southern Florida!

“Old People Complaining about Politics…” HA! Define “old…” What? Like 24 years old or something? Probably. First foreshadowing into what the Sunday Lesson will be about, by the way…

Mark now realizing that he has been banging his head against the proverbial tree trunk (like the Pileated Woodpecker in the fourth panel) trying to get something going, and now he realizes that “BikBok” is his ticket to something akin to fame…

But before we get tooooo far, let’s get cozy with the “Land Shrimp…”

I know the world eats crickets (and other bugs) and I would probably join in if prepared properly… skewered, grilled and full of BBQ sauce! yum, yum!

Wait a gosh darn second! Another Fox reference? That was the ‘Teen Girl Sparkle’ Lady’s spirit animal, and here it is again…

We’ll stop here, but stay tuned as more misfortune befalls Mark… Fairly slapstick, I fear… Less dramatic than the past, more physical humor! To each his or her own, I guess…

And now we get to delve into the teenage mind… The old Rusty, stuck perpetually as a pre-teen, was only starting to lock himself in his room to look at on-line comics… But the new Rusty is predictably and constantly engrossed in his online life and presence…

<sigh…> We can almost see Mark’s exasperation as he tries to connect with his son, share with him what he finds fascinating… good luck!! Mark, you are no competition when it comes to Social Media!

Oh, the ennui. It drips from the frames… as Rusty only pretends to be paying slight attention!

Yeah, Mark, Why DON’T you get on BIKBOK?? Finding an audience has never been easier! Or is it? “Like for part 2…” blah, blah, blah… although I have to admit that Tik Tok has introduced me to some awesome recipes and woodworking hacks, not to mention the Cast Iron Cookware dude…

…Andy was caught in a “Deer Trap.”  And no one knew where he was!  This would have been the late Summer of 1980, and I would faithfully check in on Andy every morning over my bowl of Wheaties…  and I knew that time wasn’t on Andy’s side, or mine, since I was about to leave home for a new academic year and I realized that the Wisconsin State Journal did not carry Mark Trail!!

To my delight, my dear mother began clipping out the dailies and sending them to me on a weekly basis- mounted to typing paper, with (of course) snarky comments in the margins…  In case you wonder where I got this idea, The Daily Trail, I guess it all goes back to that…

And the artwork seems to be back on track… hallelujah!

When we last checked in, Andy was eye-balling this panel truck from a distance…  And Rusty had been dispatched by Mark to call Andy in from the storm…

…what a difference a few days can make- Andy seeks shelter from the storm, leaps into the box, and voila, he’s made himself an unwitting captive.

Trucker Travis closes the doors without taking a good look inside- I mean, why would he?

Besides, Andy seems quite comfortable on the hard metal deck and isn’t fazed in the least in the fact that he truck has now started and is moving…

So here we go, Ladies and Gents.  Remember- Andy has a tag.  People can read, there’s this thing called the internet…  Yet it will probably be a year before he is reunited with his humans…

I’m Sorry, unless you show me some form of conveyance document, complete with consideration, the amount of which both parties acknowledge as sufficient, Lost Forest Is The Davis House, as in Doc an Cherry… Not the Trail House, as in Mark.  We have established over the years that Mark has fallen backwards into money and lives at Lost Forest, Schtupping the Owner’s Daughter (we assume) without so much as a farthing leaving his bank account…

… But what have we here??  Development?  The bane of any good conservationist?  Especially the kind that is already set and “has his?”  Sort of like Al Gore’s house, which is not exactly Off the Grid…

…and scene…  Back we are at Lost Forest.  Andy running to?  from?  amok?

Mark relaxing as best he can in a hand-made chair… leaning back, checking the weather on his phone.  Is that how he knows that there is a storm coming??  And Rusty, if he is to get more air-time, will have to agree to do more around the place that sit in his room reading the on-line comics…

We still find Doc’s abnormally large head perched atop his withering frame…

…but what in the good golly gosh is going on with Cherry’s hips?  I know it’s not polite to point and ask, but really?

And now onto really weird stuff…

I don’t often look at the Sunday installment as it has nothing to do with the ongoing “stories,” but look at the artwork here.  James Allen is still putting his name to it, but I’m not buying it.  On top of it all, Mark looks like he is showing some gray in his hair… What th-?!

…but OK, back to our new story line… Mark seems to think he can do anything he wants in the name of the magazine… but wait, did the ‘Camel’ expose just magically write itself?

Yes, Rusty, that’s the same Mr. Aldridge.  <…insert snarky comment related to inappropriate youth interactions here…> It’s good that this came along, it’s been some time since Cherry had the place to herself, or at least without Rusty…

Involved in what, Mark?  And if I’m not mistaken, Mark’s backpack is bigger than the one he had in the Himalayas!

Ick.  Really?  Frank and Ellie look barely old enough to be out of High School, let alone parents to a child that might be Rusty’s age.  And where is Rusty anyway?  Did Mark forget him at home?

Wrapping things up after a holiday weekend finds us in more familiar territory…

…a quick cut to New York offices of Woods and Wildlife Magazine…

… with Editor Bill Ellis talking to himself…  Why? because he is the only one remaining on the payroll as the world of print magazines continues to shrink.  And apparently Woods and Wildlife needs to start competing with the Weekly World News for readership… Yeti vs. Bat Boy?!

And why was Mark “expecting” a call?  Because it’s the only way we can move this slug of a strip forward, and onto the next “Adventure…”

Good gravy… should I create a new category called “Rusty Reads?”

It used to be that these turnarounds in Lost Forest consisted of a little slap and tickle, a phone call, and Mark would be off again on another assignment…  Now we are subjected to the not so terribly interesting lives of Mark and Cherry, featuring opinions and public service messages…