Mark investigates pollution in a local lake and suspects a new golf resort is responsible. The investigation gets sidetracked when Happy Trail shows up and the story veers into a family values morality play.
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And why would Mark know about this new golf course, since he supposedly spends so much time on assignments? And why didn’t Cherry know about it? Anyway, it turns out that Happy Trail is not only a golfer, but a member in good standing at a local country club. This new golf course must be a lollapalooza of a course if a bunch of dudes down in Florida are talking about it.
And why build around Lost Forest? Why not? The Lost Forest area is mostly (I presume) a picturesque tableau of mountains, waterways, and wildlife abundant. What better place to put an 18-hole golf course that needs about 200 acres of land and requires lots of specialized chemicals to convert the land into a golfing paradise? Let’s remember that Ranger Shaw said the lake contamination problem was from wastewater! Maybe Ranger Shaw was gaslighting Mark once again.
So, Mark has no idea what’s going on? Perhaps I’m jumping the gun about that golf course connection. Happy doesn’t say which resort he is in, but there must be several. Being a fisherman, maybe he’s at the De-Bait Fishing Lodge, home to Mark’s friend, Cliff. Or maybe at a golfing resort. In any event, this story is moving along pretty slowly, about the rate of your standard soap opera strip.
Art Dept. Well, what can we say about it? The drawing looks simplistic and rushed. Composition is not a term has much bearing on today’s strip. I’m curious about how Rivera draws shirt pockets. As we see in panel 3, Happy’s pockets are really small, not practical. But his pockets in panel 2 look much more plausible. Sure, it’s a minor detail, but sometimes that’s where the fun is.
The ol’swimming hole is contaminated with wastewater, much to the Trails’ consternation. What to do? The ongoing story this past week saw the Trails move from the closed lake to an impromptu backyard slip n’ slide party and barbeque at the home of Ranger Shaw, the father of Rusty’s sometimes-friend, Robbie. In the backyard sipping iced tea and eating hotdogs, Mark tried to get information from Ranger Shaw about the contamination, only to find out that he claimed to know nothing about its source. This made Mark suspicious, given the weeks he and his colleagues have had to investigate. Mark is right to be suspicious, with Range Shaw’s questionable actions in the past and his seeming inability or unwillingness to help out (e.g. the Grungey Boys’ so-called lawnmower races in Lost Forest).
And wouldn’t you know it, just at this point in time, Mark gets a call from his dad, Happy Trail. Always nice to hear from family, right? Well, there was no discussion of weather, no “How’s Rusty?”, or “When are you all coming down to visit?” Nope, Happy Trail jumped right to the point: “There’s a golf course opening just north of you!” Since Mark has no history of playing golf, we have to wonder why Happy Trail even knew about it or bothered to tell Mark. My guess is that Happy is financially involved in the course and it will wind up being another scam.
Finally, there was some noteworthy art: A nicely drawn foreshortened view of Rusty sliding on Robbie’s slip n’ slide toward the reader; and a less-than-complimentary image of Cherry, seen from the back, in profile (shudder!).
Today’s Title Panel is a clever, well-drawn take on the stereotypical vacation post card. And I’m glad to see fewer images of Mark filling the Sunday strip. Celebrate biodiversity, okay. Fine! But the execution of today’s “biodiversity” doesn’t live up to the definition. In fact, two of the animals here each take up two panels! What about flora? Sea life? And keep in mind that the main purpose of the Mark Trail Sunday strip is already meant to show and educate us on the diversity of wildlife and nature! Call me cynical, but today’s strip smells like deadline pressure.
Yes, Mark is rightfully suspicious of Ranger Shaw, as he should be. The last time, Shaw misled Mark regarding the Grungey Boys destroying office equipment in Lost Forest and his own participation. Will we eventually discover that he was given a free golf membership to not look too closely at how those greens are managed?
Of course, this coincidental phone call is a transparently weak gimmick to move the plot along. Why would Happy Trail call Mark about a golf course? I don’t think we’ve ever seen Mark golf. At least, I have no recollection. If you do, let me know. Perhaps this is a device to insert Happy Trail into this story?
And would anybody like to comment on Rivera’s use of the golf term “bogey” in panel 4? Anyway, this might give you a clue to understanding my own golf pun in today’s title.
Art Dept. Maybe Rivera should skip drawing profiles, especially for figures in the distance. Cherry looks like she is wearing a large, grotesque mask. Frankly, it’s one of the most difficult images to look at that I’ve seen.
It’s been a few years (“Something Fishy”, 2023) since we’ve seen Happy Trail. So he is back, though looking a bit ragged and less like his earlier self. Well, the 2023 Happy Trail also looks a bit different from his 2020 debut. You can go back and hunt that one out, if you wish. In any event, all of the principle Mark Trail characters have had their images change over the past several years. Rivera isn’t trying to suggest that they are all getting older (e.g. Gasoline Alley, Doonesbury); she is just changing her style as she goes. You can apply your own value judgement. But I’ll say (again) that I’m not a fan of her current presentation.
Aside from the fact that lightning bugs (fireflies) don’t look anything like floating donuts or snail shells, Rivera has decided to actually acknowledge the holiday today, and that’s about all that can be said. Except that the Fourth of July is not necessarily a Day of Independence celebrated by all, especially those whose ancestors in America who were not independent or made “free” on that July 4th day in 1776, and for many decades after.
Night has fallen! Apparently Ranger Shaw didn’t marry this gal for her inquisitive nature. But was it worth it to waste two panels for this non-joke joke? Was it worth it to pivot away from continuing a serious discussion all the way through four panels?
In any event, the investigative groundwork continues even as Ranger Shaw admits they’ve done next to nothing. Certainly, an examination of the wastewater chemical content should help narrow down the possible candidates. Heck, maybe the contamination is brought in at night and dumped, the way people used to get rid of their nonworking appliances. Will Mark bother with any of this?
Well, where the rangers failed, Mark is certain to deliver! And he has to, as he’s under contract with North American Syndicate (full transparency: an affiliate of King Features, owned by Hearst Communications).
I have to admit that it was painful to put together yesterday’s blog, contrasting Rivera’s early work on the strip with what she is producing today. That feeling persists.
Not sure why Rivera is dragging out this particular scene, like something from Mary Worth, unless she means to fill out the entire week just to let Mark know about the wastewater contamination. This also tells us that the Trails have not gone swimming much lately. Well, Mark has been on the job for the most part, so he’s excused. Tomorrow might we expect Mark to follow-up his interrogation with “And just what are you doing about it, Ranger Shaw?”, which should take Shaw two days to answer, filling out the week.
Apparently, Lost Forest does not have a good wastewater treatment center! I’d send them my youngest’ son’s contact information, as he’s a senior environmental engineer. But he’s quite busy with the seven country metro area he works with. Looks like Mark will have to solve this one on his own!
Art Dept. Mark’s expression in panel 4 seems a bit over-reactive, unless he’s thinking that his septic tank might have sprung a leak. Can’t say there is much difference in Shaw’s expression, which borders on the psychotic. But I think we might agree that Ranger Shaw’s personality is enigmatic. Rivera could look back at her earlier work as we did, and start reusing some of those more nuanced expressions of concern, doubt, and angst that Mark exhibited back then.
Mark employs his professional journalist interrogation, er, interview tactics on Ranger Shaw: First, disarm the subject with flattery and politeness; discuss mundane events to build rapport; then finally, slam the subject with hard-hitting questions before he has a chance to prepare a defensive response.
Well, that appears to be the goal, but for some reason, Mark’s odd expression (“Ohh! A bee stung me!”) in panel 3 dilutes the dramatic moment, so Range Shaw seems more concerned about that, then being taken aback by the qestion, itself.
Art Dept. The function and appearance of the current art has been the subject of recent discussion. Intent, ability, purpose all come into play. As regular readers know, we have discussed this topic many times. It is no secret that Rivera’s art has changed over time, where the art now looks like a mashup of storyboard drawing techniques and TV cartoon-inspired simplicity. Or worse.
from Jan 23, 2021. Sorry I don’t have a more detailed version.
It wasn’t always this way. Look back at Rivera’s start. The “cool dude Mark” pose is from a series of early publicity images Rivera drew in late 2020, when she took over the strip. The strip, above, from January 2021, is part of Rivera’s first story. You should easily see here a greater attention to detail, naturalism, and even dramatic sequencing in Rivera’s use of a single, continuous landscape to portray a sequence of events over time. In art history circles, this is known as “continuous narration,” so this concept is not original, but it is rare to see in comic strips. It is a grittier style like that sometimes seen in graphic novels. So, considering what we see these days, the question arises: What happened?
Okay, two birds with one stone, and all that. The boys get to play on a Slip ‘n Slide (not recommended for adults!), and Mark does some preliminary data gathering about the contaminated lake.
Rivera’s habit of showing animals squawking, gaping, and staring in our direction continues, unabated. As noted previously, it’s overdone, even if it is meant as parody of the pre-Rivera tradition for depicting wildlife trapesing through the panels.
Finally, I wonder why the sky is a pale orange. You, too, right? Or maybe not. Was it just a choice of the colorist or does it actually play into the story? An orange sky can signify different things: A sunset, a nearby forest fire, the prelude of an oncoming storm, or even a sky filled with dust and pollutants. However, nobody in the strip seems worried by it, so it’s more than likely just a curious color choice.
Yes, Rivera’s art can certainly be atrocious, as recent critic Rich grunkle duck likes to point out. But more often, it is inconsistent, not always sunk to the bottom of the comic strip swamp, though today’s strip is a good candidate for that distinction. If this, and other recent strips were all we had to go on, it would be difficult to disabuse the accusation of non-stop slop.
As for this storyline, my fear is that, once again, Rivera will give lip service to the topic, itself. Like the just completed AI and the Environment story, very little time was actually spent on the topic and we didn’t really learn much more than a few platitudes. As this is a strip with a focus on the environment, one might expect a bit more depth.
But was it any different in pre-Rivera stories? Mark’s infamous bat-cave adventure had virtually nothing to do with bats or wildlife problems. Doc’s buried gold adventure took place in the desert. The bank heist and fake kidnapping story also partly took place in a cave with a silly sideshow of calming a bear with candy bars. The premise of Mark going to visit a friend to see gray wolves was soon forgotten.
None of these stories were really what we would call “nature-oriented”, as opposed to just being adventure stories. But, however far-fetched and contrived they were, they were still presented seriously, providing elements of plausible danger and suspense, with a feeling that somebody could get hurt (reference the Yeti, Oh My Yeti story, where the leader actually did die!). But ignore these elements and the stories, themselves, become thin and mediocre. That is: take out all of the “Indiana Jones” traps and pitfalls in the Bat-Cave story, and all you have left is a story of three people, trapped in a cave by human traffickers, making their way through a cave system, finally locating an exit and winding up swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
Those elements of danger and suspense taken seriously are almost always missing in Rivera’s stories. Their absence helps lays bare the dead-ends, lapses, and plot holes in her stories. Why she leaves them out is not clear. It’s not from lack of awareness. Again, her first story certainly did exhibit real elements of suspense and danger, along with strong emotions. But that is nothing like what have been getting.
I’m surprised to see Rusty brought Robbie along, given their long history of rivalry. Otherwise, all I can say is “Thank Goodness!” there is a snag in this otherwise boring swimming story. Given that a fence has been (partially) erected with a warning sign, we might be lucky enough to see some kind of toxic spill or industrial pollution that Mark can investigate and give us a more interesting story to read.
Art Dept. Apparently, Rivera believes it is important to show the shocked expressions of the gang after they arrived at the swimming hole, though Cherry looks more like a teenager that just got goosed by her boyfriend. In any event, it’s another one of Rivera’s oddball examples where everybody is facing away from the object they’re reacting to. Now, is there any reason they couldn’t all be showed facing towards the fence, as people do in real life?
Surprise, shock, or disappoint could certainly be implied through body language, just as much as through facial expression. Here is a simple example of what I’m talking about. You’ll have to just imagine a fence in front of this dude.
Other compositional solutions come to mind here, but facing away from the fence is not one of them. Another missed opportunity.
And yeah, I know the station wagon in panel 1 looks off, like one of those old school ColorForms stick-ons.
There goes Rivera once again, wringing out yet another sappy 3-panel gag strip, featuring the “mom packs for a six week vacation” trope. Real comedy gold. If the hokey poses of Mark and Rusty in panel 2 aren’t contrived enough, in panel 3 Rivera has them standing in the doorway, looking gobsmacked (“Uh-oh, there goes Mom again!”). Yet more sitcom tropes worthy of Nickelodeon. But this just does not fit Cherry’s personality. I’m wondering if Rivera is making these choices on her own or if she’s getting advised from people at King Features on ways to make a strip about nature and the environment appear cute and appeal to more readers (maybe like the kind of people who enjoy Hi and Lois and Garfield).
Art Dept. One day Rivera will figure out bears. As we’ve seen in the past, she’s used different approaches, or perhaps, different online sources. Now, using reference images is not a negative in comic strips. In fact, cartoonists have been using visual references for over 100 years. It’s a lot easier now since cartoonists don’t have to maintain filing cabinets full of photos and drawings.
I’m pretty sure that Rivera used this online image as her source. Note that she even used several of the same river rocks in her own representation.
Perhaps she manually traced it (as artists would have done in the past) and then improvised the texture and lighting. Or, she ran the image through several transformations with her software. Whatever, I think she went too far, creating a bear with a strange surface texture. Sometimes you just shouldn’t fool with Mother Nature.
Whaaat!? Rusty wants to get driven to a lake!? What about the water beside the cabin? Okay, that could just be a very small lake or pond. So why don’t Rusty and his friend just bike to the lake? Surely it can’t be that far away? Why, in my day …
Anyway, one positive takeaway today is that we’re done with the post-shower happy talk and on to a different family activity. Yay! Another thing that you probably noticed is that we are viewing a rare appearance of Mark and Rusty not wearing their standard-issue uniforms. That’s something for your diary. Still, another point is this: We see a lot more of Rusty than we did in the pre-Rivera days. I believe this expansion of the family is an overall good thing. At the same time, a little goes a long way and we just had a Rusty story. It’s time to let Rusty rest for a while in the “Mark Trail Occasional Character” closet, along with Doc Davis, Andy, and the Donut Lady.
Art Dept. In Panel 3 Jules Rivera employed her usual elliptical “panel arc” I mentioned the other day. It fulfills its role of highlighting the person talking. But in panel 4, Rivera cleverly reconfigured the arc by transforming it into what looks like a wall of oozing paint, dripping diagonally down. This “melting arc” still highlights Rusty, but also reflects his sinking feelings about going swimming his friend and his parents.
The Daily Trail 