Mark accompanies Rusty on a school field trip to Washington, D.C. to learn a bit about government. Mark once again parries words with Ohio Senator Smalls, who is in town running for Congress. They also visit NOAA.
That’s it!? This is how the Washington DC school trip story ends? I apologize for even referring to it as a story, because there was no plot and no point. If we were to rank Rivera’s stories, I think this rambling mess would be right at the bottom. And it appears that Honest Ernest’s pledge to build a place for the kittens must have fallen through, based on Cherry’s comment in panel 3. As before, a communication between Mark and Cherry serves to transition back to Cherry’s adventure.
Okay, maybe they will spend this week hashing over the school trip and filling in some of the blanks.
Well, there are fewgood things I can point out:
The foreground grass in panel 1 is quite well done for a change.
Rivera seems to have more or less free-handed the truck in panel 1, rather than just relying on photoshopping the image. However, I don’t believe that rear truck windows curve across the top edge, as they do on cars (panel 2).
The Washington DC Student Trip fiasco is over without Mark destroying anything or getting chased by the police.
Rusty’s class visited “the national science museum” this past week. It was a week jam-packed with … uh, with … well, with some lip service about NOAA’s importance in tracking storms, oceans, and conservation. Mark jumped in to answer questions directed to the students, as is his habit. He patted himself on the back for his knowledge and gung-ho support for NOAA.
In spite of this apparent focus on NOAA, it still seemed like the week focused more on Mark’s reactions. For example, the students and teacher Mavis essentially had nothing to say or do all week, other than stand in a line while Mark and Rusty grabbed center stage with the docent. There was very little demonstration or exhibits shown, losing an opportunity to better showcase NOAA’s work.
I am not belittling NOAA. I stand on the opposite side of those who seek to dismantle, break up, or privatize this important agency. NOAA performs real and important work. There is a second week coming up, so maybe we’ll learn something. But so far, this has been a pretty weak story, offering no drama, plot, surprises, or enlightenment. Will today’s nature talk do any better?
I reckon that we can at least agree that the title panel is colorful, though a bit meh. The topic of aggressive turkeys is at least topical. In my location, wild turkeys are found just about everywhere during the fall: golf courses, parks, university campuses, and yards. I have not seen their aggressiveness, but I can testify to their stubbornness or stupidity when it comes to avoiding automobiles. The stand in streets with near complete indifference, to the point of getting run over from time to time.
Question: What the heck is that orange shape in the title panel?
Instead of highlighting NOAA’s many services, research, and missions, Rivera wastes another day on puns. NOAA’s website (noaa.gov) has lots of information, programs, and resources, including a section on education for home and school.
It is no surprise that Mark dominates the panel space, dialog, and focus. Never mind that his job is only to help chaperon the students, along with Teacher Mavis. She is the person who should be interacting with the docent, along with the students. Rivera blunders by focusing exclusively on Mark. Maybe Mavis took her down time to get a coffee. But the strip is called Mark Trail, so he always rides in the front seat. It is amusing that virtually nobody he meets has heard of him.
“Well, wasn’t this a really informative visit, class? What did we learn about NOAA? No, Mark, not you. I’m talking to the students. Why don’t you go back outside and try to ambush Senator Smalls?”
Mark and Rusty certainly do look pretty excited, based on their expressions and gaping mouths. So far, it seems as if the rest of the class may have moved on to something else. Call me ignorant, but I don’t follow Mark’s statement in panel 2 or Rusty’s assessment in panel 4.
Those storm symbols are supposed to be enough to explain about storms and environmental health? I don’t think so. I think the docent is a bit lazy. A better argument could have been made by showing how NOAA observes the weather and makes assessments or maybe show how that knowledge has helped minimize damage and death. Take a whole week to work this into the strip. Otherwise, I don’t see how this will influence anybody on the anti-NOAA side, if that is Rivera’s goal.
Rivera wastes half of the space today (panel 1) by having the docent repeat what she said yesterday. Not that explaining NOAA’s goals is a waste of time, itself, especially given the pernicious scapegoating that some politicians and groups are touting about NOAA. They link it to the “climate change alarm industry” and think it needs to be downsized, broken up, and brought to heel. Will Rivera take us down that path?
Art Dept. Panel 3 shows us another case of Rivera’s reliance on (and appreciation for) the symmetrical composition of a figure with upraised arms flanked by two other figures. We can see this organization at least as far back in Rivera’s work as the scene of Tess Tigress welcoming Mark, Diana Daggers, and Rex Scorpius to her compound in the “Puff Piece Zoo” story (9/6/2022).
The composition of Tess Tigress and her companions at least has a functional story purpose for the arrangement, being that of a formal greeting. In today’s episode, the composition in panel 3 is largely meaningless, insofar as the information in that panel could have been presented with almost any arrangement of the figures. The best that I come up with is that Rivera is giving the reader a compositional illusion of standing in between Mavis and Mark, looking on, while the docent and the students pointlessly stand in a line, facing Mark and Mavis.
Hoo-boy. ”Let’s look at all the sea animals!” Really!? I thought this was Middle School, not First Grade. And what reason does teacher Mavis see that leads her to believe Mark is the reason for Rusty’s extemporaneous facts-spouting? It’s bonkers.
Art Dept. The comic syndicate clearly has flexible standards when it comes to acceptable artwork. Panel 3 is especially problematic, as a close study will show. By now, I hope everybody knows that if you click on the posted strip above, it will (or should) expand. You need to click your browser’s Back button to return to the full blog page.
Science more important than politics? Does he mean politics, literally, or just as a synonym for government? Without politics/government there would probably not be enough money or other support for creating those smartphones and airlines.
As we leave Cherry and her comrades still sitting around the table trying to figure out what to do with a family of kittens, at least we see that the kids on Rusty’s field trip have been promoted to full color students! Clearly, they must have absorbed some amount of knowledge and awareness on their trip. What have they really learned? Rivera’s point of this story is not really about knowledge acquisition. Then is it about looking at the outside of buildings? If so, a class slide presentation could have been cheaper and easier.
Otherwise, what is this “National Science Museum” of which Rivera writes? Does she mean the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History? Does she mean the Smithsonian Institution museums, in general? And what is that building?
I suppose it is fairly realistic to note that adolescent kids will find goofiness more interesting than old airplanes and space modules that you are not allowed to enter or touch. I was probably more like Ian in elementary and middle school. I remember, as a third grader, being very popular because of my spot-on impersonation of Curly from The Three Stooges, especially during lunch. But I digress….
I hope we are not going to have another week filled with pointless prattling taking the place of any pretense of a story. To be fair, there hasn’t really been a story as of yet, other than a few incidents. My main hope is that today’s strip is a segue to Cherry’s crisis about the “abandoned” kittens, a story that has been on hold for about three weeks. At least that story has a focus and a plot. Let’s get to it!
Art Dept. Do you see the sketchy outline of Rusty’s lower face in panel 2? He looks like an Amish-in-Training, trying to grow a beard. I also noticed similar line work in the faces of Cherry and Rusty in panel 1. Deliberate or an oversight? No idea. Could just be my imagination, running away with me.
Mark, Rusty, and his classmates, led by presumed teacher Miss Mavis, are touring Washington, D.C. to soak up some history and politics. What happened this past week?
They happened upon a press conference outside the Capitol, led by none other than Ohio State Senator Smalls, now running for Congress. Smalls made several statements on hot-button issues that Mark hotly disagreed with. As Mark did with the senator last year, he openly challenged Small’s statements. Surprisingly, Smalls did not appear to recognize Mark, though I don’t see how you could forget the person who exposed your illegalities and got your butt arrested. And Senator Smalls was even more worried when Mark began exposing that corruption to the attending journalists.
Here is where things ran differently from the Ohio press conference. Instead of getting into a physical altercation with security, Mark played nice and voluntarily left the scene when directed. The security staff also expelled Miss Mavis and the students. It was an overreach, but nobody challenged it.
Mark didn’t even threaten to use his Two Fists O’ Justice! Why this apparent change? Had Jules Rivera been criticized for violence in this strip? There is actually very little of it. Could this decision been based on Mark not wanting anything to happen to the students? Well, they still got chased away.
Anyway, I believe Miss Mavis possibly missed a teaching opportunity when she proclaimed to her retreating students “There goes my politics lesson,” because I think this incident was a good lesson: A citizen had his say and then the authorities stomped on it. Fortunately, Mark was well enough to make this Sunday nature discussion.
We have another well-conceived title panel, at least as far as the logo is concerned. The horseshoe crab is common up and down the Atlantic Coast and even the Gulf of Mexico. Growing up, I used to see their carapaces on the beaches in Virginia quite a lot. Yes, they can be found along the Potomac River.
The horseshoe crabs are especially abundant on Delaware Bay during Spring mating season, when they appear in the thousands to nest. Apparently, commercial fishing use them as bait, depleting their stock. Their value in medical research lies in an element of their blood called amebocytes, a type of coagulant. After they are bled, they are released to their natural habitat. Unfortunately, the loss of blood makes them more vulnerable and can lead to premature death. There are efforts to find viable substitutes.
I see some hasty drawing today and a somewhat different-acting Mark Trail. Even his expressions look different. What gives!? Mark began his questioning of Smalls in his standard, outspoken manner. But suddenly, he allowed himself to be shooed away like an unwelcome survey taker or somebody trying to sell you a new roof. Or maybe a … sorry, I’m getting sidetracked.
Now, is Rivera trying to shape Mark into a more controlled nature journalist/advocate? Or is this incident just a one-off? At least we are pretty certain that Miss Mavis is a teacher, not just a parent. And Mark is the only other adult chaperone!
Art Dept. There is something odd about the art today. Mark’s facial expressions don’t line up with how we normally see Rivera portraying him. And as for panel 1, that is my biggest shock. There are several noteworthy features: 1) the bushes exactly frame the lower half of the blue jay, rather than flow naturally behind the bird. 2) The extreme flatness of the scene is jarring. The “white” polygonal shape suggests architecture, but also doesn’t. It’s just a flat, irregular white shape. The steps and backdrop seem to float over it, as if it is somebody’s partial recollection of an event. The upper profile of the white shape mirrors the flow of the bushes. That continuity, in itself, is good classic technique.
But the overall effect of panel 1 reminds me of those old postcards that used to be popular, showing a state profile filled in with various motifs and symbols of the state. Could Rivera have actually had something like that in mind when she composed this panel? Well, maybe my imagination is getting the better of me.
The Mark Trail strip for Friday continues the story of how Mark escorted Rusty on a school field trip to Washington, D.C., only to run into Ohio State Senator Smalls holding a press conference announcing his run for Congressional, in Washingtion D.C. Mark immediately started provoking Smalls with questions and demands, just like he did when he first encountered the corrupt politician.
I’m not sure where those two journalists from yesterday went to, nor if they are even bothering to record this likely illegal action by the Senator and his “security staff.” (Do you recognize the cop on the left?) Well, for journalists, this group looks pretty incompetent and uninterested. I don’t even see any cameras!
So, what was the point of this scenaro? Did Rivera just want to get in a few kicks about politicians threatening to eradicate government agencies? Will Mark try to followup on this confrontation in another venue?
Well, we did discover that Mark will not always resort to violence. That’s an improvement! Perhaps he realized fighting in front of the students was not a good look. We also learned the name of the other adult, though not her role. Will Saturday give us anything new?
As I live and breathe, this time some journalists do, in fact, get involved in Mark’s confrontation. And once again, Senator Smalls calls on Security to solve his problem. Interestingly, Mark has yet to reveal his Secret Identity as a Wildlife and Environmental Journalist. At least, I think that is what he is.
Do you think these two journalists are caricatures of actual journalists or known persons in the Real World? They have a certain individuality about them. And they certainly stand out from the purple cartoony figures standing behind them.
But the bigger picture here is that—once again—Rusty serves only as the kick-starter for another one of Mark’s adventures. Rusty will certainly continue in his secondary role, unless Rivera comes up with something unusual for him to do. Maybe he’ll panhandle on the street for Mark’s bail money!
Mark—or rather, this story—is skating on thin ice. Or, perhaps my reaction is. Mark’s smugness in panel 3 is obvious, but maybe not justified. I’m not convinced that Senator Smalls recognizes Mark, in spite of Mark’s retort in panel 3.
Mark could have replied that he is, in fact, a journalist. But he didn’t! Why wouldn’t he reveal his bona fides as a wildlife and environmental journalist to justify his questions?
It’s possible that Smalls thinks Mark is just another troublemaking tourist. The fact that Mark is dressed in blue jeans and a red checkered shirt might have something to do with him standing out from the crowd, even if it is a crowd of journalists.
Will the Capitol Police show up at this point and try to haul Mark away? Will he try to fight them off?
I forgot to bring up Mark’s comment in yesterday’s strip, where he said “What you’re doing is wrong and un-American!” Well, what Senator Smalls was doing was giving a speech, which is decidedly not un-American! Mark should have said “What you are saying is wrong and un-American!” Closer to what he probably meant, but still not accurate. Wanting to dismantle a government agency might be stupid, thoughtless, or even just political theater, but it ain’t un-American. However, declaring you support arresting or executing the people who run a government agency for your own political gain has a much higher chance of being declared un-American, depending on which people you poll. For all his faults, I don’t think Smalls will go that far.
As for today, how is it that Senator Smalls does not recognize the very person who violently interrupted his press conference in Ohio, exposed his corruption, and finally got him arrested? I mean, Mark is even wearing the same clothes!
The crowed for Senator Smalls seems to keep shrinking. Maybe those that left felt a change in the air and decided to get out of the way, quick.
Anyway, Mark’s heart is in the right place. But Mark should have realized he would be setting an example for the students. He should have at least gone through the motion of first raising his hand to ask his questions before going full-on Mr. Activist. But that’s old news at this point.
Art Dept. Speaking of old news, I noticed that Rivera decided to not only revive the scenario of Mark confronting Senator Smalls, but to use a similar composition (panel 1). Did it look familiar to you, too? Let’s take a look:
Here is the panel from July 22, 2023, when Mark and his father first confronted the senator. The general composition and Mark’s image in today’s strip is close to the July panel. But whereas prior Mark Trail artists would have simply “cut-and-paste” the same figure for convenience, it is clear that Rivera free-handed today’s version for a different reason. And that’s fine; “reuse” is something artists have done for thousands of years when faced with the need to duplicate the same subject. I believe it is a deliberate decision by Rivera to compositionally link the two confrontations across time.
You saw them brave wild lions, survive dangerous sea currents, and ignore plot holes in their hunt for a missing movie director (“Lions and Crickets and Caves, oh my!”). Now see them come together again, as they take on the complex and sometimes-brutal forces of Washington, D.C.!
Mark and Rusty are off on another father-and-son adventure: a school field trip to Washington, D.C. While touring, Rusty’s class happened upon a politician giving a stump speech to run for a senate seat in Congress. Mark recognized the speaker as State Senator Sam Smalls, the corrupt Ohio politician in bed with the railroad responsible for a dangerous chemical spill and explosion.
I noted this week that Rivera injected some actual current political content (about NOAA) into Small’s speech. While hearing Smalls talk, Mark became apoplectic at the same time that Rusty became entranced. A parent or teacher (it’s unclear to me) tried to shush Mark, but he was having none of it. Mark began to interrupt Small’s speech and openly challenge him. Readers may recognize the similarity to Mark’s interaction with Senator Smalls at a press conference following the exploding Ohio train crash (2023). That interaction led to violence and a police chase.
Will this aggressive interaction bring about a meaningful debate or just lead to another communications breakdown, followed by a police pursuit and/or arrest?
It’s true that some politicians (including the fictional Senator Smalls) and special interest groups want to split up/cancel NOAA, for political purposes. The Project 2025 report is one such entity.
However, not all Republicans agree. A House bill introduced by a Republican in 2023 (H.R.3980 of the 118th Congress, ‘‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act of 2023’’) aims to split NOAA from its dependent position under the Department of Commerce into its own, independent federalagency. The justification is to remove non-scientific oversight by Commerce and give NOAA its own statutory authority as a federal agency. This sounds commendable.
But it is very different from other, largely-Republican politicians and resources, including Project 2025, which calls for privatizing and splitting up NOAA, while removing its climate change research mandate. I noticed that H.R. 3980 actually supports NOAA’s climate research authority. That might explain why the bill is languishing and may never make it out of committee under the current House makeup. There is more to this than I can get into.
Some current politics are getting injected here, but if you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry. Be happy. Mark is so uptight in panel 2. Is it something Rusty just said? After all, business does create jobs and that is good. Maybe Mark has an aversion to normal jobs. My guess.
Or I think Mark is upset about by what Smalls said in panel 1. But what, specifically? Perhaps he has a visceral reaction to “AI Tech.” But we know he’s already upset about that NOAA crack.
Now, here is where the unnamed Woman in Purple might have it right: Mark cannot hold his temper and act in a more formal, acceptable manner. Just like in the Ohio press conference where he first confronted Senator Smalls, Mark again rudely interrupts the speech with a boisterous outburst and strong arm gesture. I wonder if Smalls recognizes Mark yet?
Today’s Tip o’ Destruction for the kiddies: Mark’s reaction is always the approach to take when the other person wants to settle in for a clearheaded, intelligent discussion or debate. Don’t accept that! Put the person on the defensive and keep them there!
That woman has Mark’s number, for sure. She has even appropriated Mark’s trademark finger-pointer! But what are her motives?
On the one hand, there is the notion that Mark is being impolite by interrupting State Senator Smalls, rather than letting him first finish. On the other hand, politicians normally don’t stick around for Q&A after they finish their public set-piece speeches, so Mark could miss his opportunity to engage Smalls and question his intentions. And there is also Mark’s existing bias against Smalls, based on their prior interaction. Would Mark react this way to any other politician saying the same things? Yes, dear readers, this is another teachable moment for the students.
Well, I’m impressed. Jules Rivera has injected some realistic and significant social/political issues here, rather than just the usual nonsense. I’m genuinely interested to see how this is resolved.
“And now, children, let’s watch and listen to this politician as he talks about an impor—wait. What’s going on here!?!” What in tarnation happened to Rusty? For that matter, what the heck happened to Mark’s head in panel 2? It looks like his jaw is physically falling from his head, saved only by his skin!
I don’t know that much about political campaigning, but why would Ohio State Senator Smalls campaign for a seat in the United States Senate while in Washington, D.C.? Does that happen? There can’t be that many visitors from Ohio in D.C. at any given time, can there?
Getting back to poor Rusty (panel 2), I’m concerned by what appears to be a visceral change in his very appearance, to say nothing of his demeanor. And his classmates seem to be falling under the same mysterious miasma. Somebody get those kids some tranquilizers! Frankly, I don’t get it. What 12-year kid is going to get excited by a speech from a middle age dude in a bad suit blathering on about business and NOAA? The guy is not even from their state.
It seems as if Mark just can’t go anywhere without running into one or more of his foes. The story of the Ohio train crash and the senator’s corruption was highlighted in the “Something Fishy” adventure of 2023. At the end of the story, the senator was arrested by local police. In any event, any corruption or bribery charges against the senator were obviously buried, as he is still in office a year later.
But Mark is wrong and the woman is correct: This is a teaching and learning opportunity, so let them hear Senator Smalls! Afterwards, the two adults can review the senator’s speech with the students, pointing out any lies, distortions, or other foibles worth bringing up. Mark can also talk about his role in exposing the senator. Thus, the kids will get a much more thorough understanding, as opposed to simply being told “Don’t listen!” and walking on.
There is also a danger that Mark could once again start heckling the senator, leading to Small’s renewed demands for Mark’s arrest. Would Mark abandon Rusty and the rest of the students as he flees the police? On the other hand, will the senator spot Mark first and decide to just duck and run?
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