I might have been a bit harsh in my recent posts, maybe even too sarcastic. Perhaps I keep my expectations too high?

This past week we saw the conclusion to the Horsin’ Around story. The strips for this week revealed a series of unusually expeditious actions, such as the Happy Hooves rescue ranch (somehow) already proposing to buy the land from Tad Crass and convert it into another wild horse sanctuary. Neighbors, upset at the spread of the large grass fire that that consumed the data center, are already preparing to press for stricter zoning laws, presumably to prevent the erection of data centers.

The story more or less falls apart, as it implies the entire location (including the office structure) was destroyed, though it was never mentioned or shown. No word on the whereabouts of the helicopter. No appearance by Tad Crass! No legal repercussions against Mark or Diana for the trespassing that precipitated the fiery climax. And Bill Ellis seems gleeful at getting the opportunity to publish this debacle; which is odd, since Diana Daggers runs a rag called Instigator Magazine that should have first publishing rights.

And hasn’t Diana Daggers turned into a big disappointment? I’m sure many of us, based on her initial appearance, thought she might just be a recurring take-charge, badass nemesis. Certainly, the original version of Daggers could have handled Tad Crass and his AI data center problem without anybody’s help. Now, she’s just a facilitator for Mark’s bull-in-a-china-shop problem-solving technique. Hmmm, maybe I haven’t been all that harsh, after all.

I’ve discovered is that these cute pink or white axolotls are the “captive” and “pet” versions bred in captivity to the point that they are now genetically diverging from their wild siblings. Wild axolotls are dark, as shown above. They do not mix, or at least, should not. In fact, owning one is illegal in different countries and some American states. Like other domestic animals, domestic axolotls should never be abandoned in public lakes or waterways. Which probably means they will.

Another week has passed and we have survived the wildfire! If you have to ask “What wildfire?”, then you best keep reading. Mark and Diana Daggers decided to execute a nighttime (and illegal) clandestine visit to the grounds of Plainsight, Inc. (the company owned by Tad Crass) to find something illicit or illegal that Diana believed was hidden there. What they found was an AI data center, which is what Diana had suspected. As were leaving after getting photographs, they stumbled on Artemis, the wild horse befriended Mark at Happy Hooves Ranch. About then, a  helicopter appeared and displayed a large video screen. The video screen displayed a real-time image of Tad Crass, taunting and threatening Mark and Diana for their trespass. Really over-the-top stuff!

Through pilot error, the video screen touched an external power supply outside of the AI data center, causing an explosion and fire that quickly spread across the dry grass. Artemis showed Mark and Diana a safe exit from the property and the three quickly beat it to Happy Hooves. They met up with Clayton, the horse caretaker who told them that the wildfire was already on the news.

There are questions:  What does any of this have to do with wild horses? Why did Diana apparently mislead Bill Ellis and Mark about the purpose of this assignment? Why is Diana risking their arrest to get photos of the AI data center, which is not illegal? Diana may have been motivated by phony AI scams run by Cricket Bro and Professor Bee Sharp, resulting in her losing money. But what happens next?

Credit, as usual, to Jules Rivera for her ongoing efforts to link the Sunday page to the current Mark Trail storyline. On the other hand, the drawing today seems different; rushed, perhaps. Not simply sketchy and flat, but there are signs of cut-and-paste, as seen in the last panel with the big Mark Trail head on top of the smaller body holding the perennials. Maybe it’s the attempt at foreshortening. Rivera normally pulls that trick off well; but that final image of Mark just doesn’t look right.

So, were you too lazy/busy/wise to keep up with my daily blog? Well saddle up, because this one’s for you! As you might recall—and I’m going to tell you, anyway—Diana smoothed over Mark’s guilt for his penchant to stirrup trouble and told Mark about her real plans. Mark properly felt he had been used. He’s learning, folks! But Mark’s photos also revealed something worth looking into on Tad’s property.

So they drifted over to Tad’s business that night, even though it looked like a moonlit evening. Finding a way into the walled grounds, they discovered a free-standing building that Diana deemed to be Tad’s “secret” AI data center. Not sure how she could tell, but what the heck, why not!?! After all, Tad did generate that faux AI-sourced survival guide. Diana was Triggered by the tremendous amount of carbon emissions that building must be exhausting into our atmosphere, though I didn’t see any external vents. Diana should have also gotten upset over how much electricity such a site sucks out of local energy grids. Meanwhile, Mark used his idle brain power to conclude that Tad didn’t care about the land; only money. Shocking.

As they were leaving, Mark herd something and they came upon Artemis, the wild horse supposedly being protected and kept  at the Happy Hooves Horse Sanctuary (or something like that). Diana and Mark stood around and pondered how Artemis wound up on Tad’s property. Diana thought it was the good grass. As they continued to stand around and increase their odds of being discovered, a helicopter suddenly arrived on site, sending Mark, Diana, and Artemis fleeing. Were they spotted? Wait and see!

And that’s the week for you! Oh, I also couldn’t help but bring up an interesting link between the names Diana and Artemis. Otherwise, it’s too bad that Rivera plays down—or avoids—serious suspense and drama in many of her stories, preferring to rely mostly on satire and outrageousness. There’s no reason you can’t have both! But, let’s move on…it’s time for the Sunday Nature Chat!

How fortuitous! I was recently watching a live cam from S. California of a hummingbird mother (“Olive”) hatching and raising her (always) two chicks. In case you are interested, check out live feeds on Alyssa’s Nature Sanctuary channel on YouTube, where Olive is already raising her next brood. That live feed also scrolls lots of interesting facts about hummingbirds. For example, if you do put up hummingbird feeders, place them far apart from any other birds’ feeders, because hummingbirds don’t get along with other birds.

After my longwinded, indulgent interpretation of Mark’s ongoing story about the Rampaging Horses of Salt Lake City posted here yesterday, I’m going to be nice to you all (for once) and be brief with the weekly recap.

Mark arrived at an isolated burger stand to connect with Diana Daggers to get chewed out for fumbling his interview with Tad Crass. Daggers said she not only expected the fight to happen, but planned for it. Apparently, Mark was also able to take some discrete photographs of Tad’s HQ for her, which confirmed her suspicions of a still-secret (to us) object on the site that might explain Tad’s need to remove the wild horses. The week ended with Daggers claiming it was time to go undercover.

Now, moving on to Nature:

Astute readers (forgive the redundancy) should recall that Rivera covered wild horses in a Sunday topic back on February 4. Did she forget that in the rush of meeting deadlines? Well, there are additional new infobits today, but I’ll leave them for you to find. Some words on the art follow below.

Art Dept. I think that the title panel today is very interesting for its aerial point of view. However, the main artwork in the panels falls more into the meh category. I’d like to see Rivera be a bit more creative with her Sunday posts, especially with regard to the popups of Mark. IMO they are too repetitive in placement and presentation.

Rivera focused 11 days of the strip to Mark’s interview with Tad Crass. Too bad only about 3 days were dedicated to the actual interview (sort of), which quickly went south when Tad exploded over Mark’s aggressive questioning. The six days of this week fixated on Mark’s physical altercation with security staff that Tad called in to throw Mark out of the building. As Mark got away, a phone call to Diana Daggers revealed that she fully expected this to happen, since she told Mark that Tad always gets mad at journalists and throws them out. Okay, fine. So what, then? Mark never got anywhere with his interview, and it seems as if he was not meant to. Is there an ulterior motive for Diana’s sending in Mark?

Just so, their growth and longevity may also benefit from the lack of human contact in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a more than 1000 sq. mi. area off limits to humans. Still, we can hope the scientists find something useful for humans with regard to cancer.

In developing this story about wild horses supposedly running amok in Salt Lake City, Jules Rivera has Mark working for Diana Daggers, head of Instigator Magazine. Her point of view has already been established and Mark’s job is to get conformation and create lots of reaction. Her point of view presumes a greedy, uncaring land developer suborning Bureau of Land Management agents to remove free-range mustangs running across land he has purchased. There are additional rumors that the mustangs may be ill-treated in captivity and sold for slaughter to companies that sell horse meat for human consumption.

For the sake of the plot this week, Rivera ensured that Mark did not know the name of the person he was to interview until they met for the first time. That person turned out to be Tad Crass, the former comedian-turned-author of a notorious AI-based camping survival guide that was a significant plot device in the earlier “Rusty and the alien invasion” story (If you missed that adventure, you can search for it using the above-quoted title). This put Mark on the defensive, a poor way to start an interview!

Anyway, meeting Crass greatly affected Mark, who was torn between questioning him about his dangerous camping guide and asking about his position on the wild horses. In a near-repeat of his engaging interview with a US senator involved in the Ohio train derailment story, Mark’s aggressive, accusatory questioning once again led to a quickly-terminated interview. Crass, getting angry and defensive, called in security to (illegally) confiscate Mark’s recorder and throw him out.

“Bighorn sheep are known for their  horns.” Who knew!? Mark forgot to mention that low numbers of Bighorn Sheep are also due to overhunting and animal predation. The National Wildlife Federation reports that males can weigh more than 350 lbs. and carry horns that weigh up to 30 lbs.  Females normally top out at 130 lbs. No wonder that, when males smash into each other at 40 mph, the sound of their impact can carry for a mile.

For some reason, Rivera chose to portray Mark this week as some kind of urban fanboy from the 1950s getting to meet Trigger for the first time. This Mark Trail is a Jules Rivera reboot, of course, so Mark’s pre-Rivera experience with horses means bupkis here (There, I got to use that word again!).

Diana Daggers drove Mark to the Happy Hoovez horse sanctuary, an organization set up to rescue mustangs from possible slaughter or government oversight. Weird spelling aside, this organization is concerned with seeing that mustangs get a safe home, along with a dose of birth control (owing to the rapid increase in mustang populations). Or so it claims. Meanwhile, Diana just stood around.

While Clayton (the program’s caretaker) delivered his “what we’re about” speech, Mark spent his time slobbering with excitement over the horses. When Clayton said Mark could offer an apple to one of the horses, Mark almost wet his pants. Hmm, I suppose that could have happened as well, given Mark’s rear-facing final appearance this week.

So, my initial reaction this week was that Rivera was treating this story more seriously than normal, which is good! But that feeling dissipated with her depiction of Mark. Hoo boy.

I read that crows and ravens do not get along. Anyway, it’s a well-drawn and informative Sunday sequence, along with a clever “Mark Trail” bird call title panel.  Heck, even the normally cornball joke in the last panel seems to be more relevant and less obnoxious than normal. But I still prefer Mark’s original beard.