Ah, another one of Rivera’s “To be continued” signs in panel 4. You might normally think this signals a break in the continuity. The standard Mark Trail Mix is one week for the Second String (Cherry, Rusty, or Doc) and then at least two weeks for Mark. The times I recall her using this sign, the same storyline continued the following Monday. But this is a secondary storyline, so maybe we’ll see Mark on Monday.
As for this current storyline, at least we have some movement. Since both Olive and Rusty have backpacks on, it seems likely they are going on another forest walkabout, which fits in with Rusty’s plan.
If we switch back to Mark, we’ll also have a week of Mark and Cherry hiking around the forest or yakking before he gets involved in another assignment or story. Hey, maybe Mark will get involved in Rusty’s scheme, just like he did with the Grungey Boy’s first appearance (“Thanks-alotl for the E-Waste”).
The Main Event began this week, with Kelly Welly “moderating” the panel consisting of just three people: Cricket Bro, his brother Jadsen (aka Crypto Bro), and Mark. Kelly announced that the topic of discussion is “Going Green With AI”, which is about all of the moderating Kelly did for the week, other than to slam Mark a bit in her introduction. I suppose she’s entitled.
Cricket Bro spoke first, denying any value to going green and thus, undercutting the “green” vendors that Mark interviewed , as well as the point of the convention. Naturally, Mark jumped in for the defense, and the rest of the week was just a back-and-forth contest between two hard positions.
While Cricket Bro and Crypto Bro kept dumping on Mark, Mark kept trying to calm the situation and talk rationally. A few catcalls from the audience suggested that they might be a bit biased against Mark. Mark kept his composure and decided to try a gambit and take one of the insults and affirm it. This silenced the audience, which is where we ended the week. How will Mark turn this attack on its head? Post your suggestions, if you’re brave enough to withstand ridicule if you’re wrong. Otherwise, cower in silence until we return to this chat.
Alert! In case you have not been on the Comics Kingdom site for a while, they have begun restoring the Vintage Mark Trail strips. This should especially please Mark the Contrarian Commenter. I haven’t had time to see how far back they go, but they are currently running strips from 1974. If you do a regular “Mark Trail” search, you will find links to both strips. Have fun!
I reckon I’ve fallen behind in my Star Wars Universe viewing, but I don’t recall a Hellbender in it. Do you? I did find references to salamanders, in general. Perhaps that explains the faux “Star Wars” style Mark Trail title panel and Mark’s Jedi clothing. I happily await further edification from any of you! Well, May the 4th be with you!
The Grungey Boys story continues. Apparently, Ranger Shaw claims to have no authority in Lost Forest because it is mostly unincorporated land. Okay, then. Where does his ranger’s authority extend? I won’t pretend to have special knowledge, though I used to watch Yogi Bear tangle with Ranger Smith a lot.
Normally, the county sheriff has jurisdiction in an unincorporated area. Why doesn’t Ranger Shaw get the sheriff and detain the Grungey Boys, as he did when we first met the “Boys” destroying and abandoning office equipment in Lost Forest. Ranger Shaw could at least advise Olive to contact the county sheriff. But since that would logically end the story, it seems that Olive might go “vigilante” on the Grungy Boys, like Mark did.
Keep this episode in mind, as we’re likely to return to Mark’s adventure, come Monday. In the meantime, we’ll have the weekly nature chat tomorrow.
Even if you grow up in a forest where you will likely see lots of deer, you can still appreciate an interesting photograph.
Anyway, it is problematic that Rivera just cannot decide whether Mark Trail should be a continuity strip or a joke-a-day strip, so she tries to merge both concepts. And usually fails. I’m sure there are ways to put humor into an otherwise “serious” adventure strip without resorting to a standard 3-panel joke format as Rivera often does. This isn’t Pearls Before Swine and Rivera doesn’t have Stephen Pastis’s chops for puns (good or bad).
I’m not sure this event qualifies as an actual story yet, though the general “plot” seems to be “The Grungey Boys are discovered messing around in Lost Forest on a riding lawnmower. Rusty and Olive take steps to report them to the forest rangers for further investigation and law enforcement.” If so, the story is almost already over.
Art Dept. It seems as if Rivera wants to at least give the impression that her animals are cut-and-pasted, as I’ve even stated, yesterday. But is it really just part of a possible “stick it to the Trailheads” agenda? If we examine that deer in panel 3, the uneven black border lines suggest a rather awkward cut-and-paste job. But check out the line under the belly of the deer and you’ll see it continues over top of the hind leg. So what’s the real purpose of these oddly shaped, heavy contours, if not part of a gag? Also, just whose cabin is that behind the deer? Is there a guest house that’s been hiding out of view at the Trail cabin all these years?
In other news: There was a lively discussion in the comments section yesterday about a possible future for Mark Trail; not that we have any control over that, of course. It was more a matter of what might be possible or desirable.
I’m hoping that this week sees us return to the happy glades of Lost Forest with its gentle folk, homespun wisdom, and simple ways. Like many of you, I yearn for those halcyon days of animal and fish poaching, arson, and the occasional kidnapping. Yes, simpler times for simpler . . . uh, hold on.
I don’t know who that kid is in panel 1, but it sure doesn’t look like the kid in panel 2. When we were last at Lost Forest, Mark was chewing out Olive Pitt for doing what he would have done, had he been there: Putting a sock in Honest Ernest’s face for his provocations and bullying behavior.
And once again, Olive and Rusty go out on another walk. Apparently, having a post office in Lost Forest means you come and collect the mail. However, this gives Rivera the opportunity to introduce another character and story arc from the Lost Forest population. Well, the more the merrier, I say! These Lost Forest stories need fresh meat. But will this new story abide by the nature/environment focus of the strip’s raison d’être? Peach Pitt’s recent story about her macho hunter-turned-psycho ex-boyfriend pushed the boundaries of the focus on nature.
So, okay. Rivera got her joke strip out today. And it was a gentle, innocuous Family Circus kind of humor, too. But no more! No more joke strips this week!
Okay, go with the flow? Cricket Bro’s new persona reminds me of a couple of people: one person is the fictional character “Flash” (Lord Flasheart) in the BlackAdder series IV (“Blackadder goes forth”), a pompous, vain figure and womanizer. Cricket Bro’s pose in panel 1 could be right out of that sitcom. The second person is an infamous, equally self-centered, contemporary character, who is unfortunately not fictional. I can’t speak for Rivera on whether Cricket Bro’s current persona is based on either person, but I would not be surprised either way.
Regarding the story development, I’m feeling a bit optimistic here, based on the hypothesis that this story is going to be a real cross-eyed, absurd tale without the pretense of actual danger or suspense. The very room these people are in, for example, remains mysterious. What is it all about? There is that unusual chair; the mirror on the wall behind a pedestal holding a plant (?); and the way Kelly Welly silently stands, as if mirroring the pedestal and plant.
Is Mark talking for our benefit (as opposed to using standard thought balloons) or is he recording this for his blog site? Let’s give Mark some points for deciding to blend in a bit by wearing a summer jacket. At least we know that Mark actually is capable of modifying his attire when needed. Oh, there was that time when he sported cowboy boots, a kerchief, and Stetson hat to trick out his lumberjack attire.
So, Mark discovered The High Line elevated walkway in West Manhattan. Good for him! We can see in panel 2 and panel 3 that Mark must be very impressed by the walkway, given those elaborate triple emenata lines extending above his head. I wonder how he’ll react if he goes far enough north and discovers Central Park?
Howdy Trailheads and other people who think that what was good in 1956 is still good enough for today Sorry, I have no commentary today because today’s strip is largely a repeat (continuation) of yesterday, but without any new information.
I’ll publish Wednesday’s and Thursday’s strips together. That will leave Friday and Saturday to close out the week, so I’ll likely post both of those days together, as well, unless something changes in the content.
Meanwhile, you can use your extra time wisely to read through as many earlier postings of mine as you can tolerate. Take notes if you wish, as I respect carefulness in others, though I have little of my own. Feel free to post your own comments (find the link) and put in your two-bits worth of your own on virtually any aspect of the comic strip or my writing. I don’t ask you to be kind, but I do ask you to be respectful, apolitical, and without words that would get your mouth washed out with soap by your parents.
Well, Cherry’s adventure seems to have ended last week with a thud, along with a drop in my blog’s stats for the week. Perhaps I was a bit too optimistic in my thinking Rivera was actually considering going “serious.” Or perhaps it was me, failing to take Rivera on her own terms, rather than mine.
In any event, it’s time for some of the usual end-of-story cleanup. Will Mark actually wind up at the Lost Forest airport when Peach and Olive are departing? I just don’t understand why Rivera doesn’t coordinate with me!
Apparently, Mark has already ditched Rita and Skeeter, based on the fact that he is back with his car rental. And we’re back with Rivera’s oft-used 3-panel gag layout. I don’t know if Bill expects Mark to write something up or which magazine will publish it, but I hope he isn’t expecting any photos.
Thought experiment for the day: Ever wonder what Bill Ellis does after work or on weekends?
As Charlie Brown always sighs, “Good Grief!” I reckon we can all just admit that poor Max the Manatee was never anything more than a prop, and the “save nature and wildlife” angle of Mark Trail seems to be a sham. Clearly, Mark is more concerned with his own petty feelings, rather than his job. Sounds something like real life.
Now, as I wrote earlier, I’m happy to see this story expand to include this mysterious connection with Rob “Cricket Bro” Bettencourt (even though I’d like to see new nemeses show up, in general). I state “mysterious” with regard to Cricket Bro, because Rob could not have known Mark was going to be on this assignment. However, I think Jules Rivera should complete the current Manatee Max story arc first. If this was real life, Mark, Skeeter, and Rita would all be getting citations and federal court dates for mishandling a protected species.
Art Dept. Have you noticed those triplet lines emanating from Mark’s head in panels 1 and 3? Typologically, they reflect an emotional reaction. Mort Walker, in a half-joking book he wrote called “The Lexicon of Comicana” classified these emotive lines as plewds, a category of emenata. Cartoonists have used them since the early 20th century. They also appear in early b&w silent cartoons. Just a bit of cartoon history for you, free of charge!
Say, do you think Rivera has a ghost artist filling in for her? Some of these figures just look so different than Rivera’s usual work. But she can be quite loose with her representations, I’ll admit. And check out Mark’s pants in panel 3.
After two weeks of bungling amateurs down in Florida, it’s a comfort to return to a place of normality, tranquility, and bundles. Even the artwork has improved!
Cherry might want to back off of her excitement just a bit, because she only brought eleven baskets, based on the content in panel 1! Olive Pitt’s cynical comments on being in the sticks is ironic, given the trailer court where they grew up (that is, trailer courts tend to be isolated pockets of civilization).
So, will this peace last through the week? Given the reason for Peach and Olive’s visit (see my posts for the week of 12/ 16/24) and the fact that we usually only get one week of Cherry’s stories at a time, I’m going to predict that trouble will make an appearance very soon.
It’s an interesting symmetry, if it pans out: Mark flies down to Florida to find trouble. Trouble comes up from Florida to find Cherry and her sisters.
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.
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 “trappedWingit”? 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.
Who knew the Sunny Soleil Society was owned by one person!?! Well, I suppose it could be. This is a new wrinkle in the story. I reckon Madam Drama showed up, after all. It’s not often we get to see a new character. Victoria Vex is certainly correctly named.
I’m guessing this cartoonish Victoria Vex symbolizes the popular perception of HOAs as authoritative and unsympathetic. Remember that the Sunny Soleil Society was originally defined in this strip (see 4/27/21) as managing the HOA for the local Lost Forest village. Violet is the overseer of the company. Looking back, Violet, herself, was more imperious and decidedly more capably “hands-on” than she appears these days (see 4/30/21).
Art Dept. As in most comic strips, the main characters get refined or redefined over time. It is a natural evolution. For example, here is what the Trail family originally looked like back in an early publicity drawing from late 2020 (click the image to see better details):
These are not quite the cartoonish characters they appear as these days, with the possible exception of Doc Davis. Unfortunately, these characterizations did not last very long.
I just posted the blogs for Saturday and Sunday. That is, I think I either fell asleep for two days or had a server issue. I discovered Saturday and Sunday’s posts in the DRAFT folder, not online.
First off, the contrivance and pacing of the dialog into three panels is not warranted, just for the sake of a forced joke. I’d have rather seen panel 3 become panel 1 and move on with two more panels to push the story some more. I don’t think we’d lose any context for the remark.
Art Dept. I don’t wish to be merely critical. Even if I am. So, why are everybody’s slacks tight fitting? This is a standard design choice in Mark Trail. But isn’t it about time that Doc Davis, at least, started wearing “comfortable fit” slacks that don’t look like leggings?
Why does Rivera show Doc and Cherry standing so closely, side by side in panel 1, with their bodies facing us, while their heads are turned toward each other? And that proximity looks like some geezer hitting on a younger gal.
I think panel 2 is well done, though drawing Cherry’s mental image balloon crowds Doc Davis out of the frame. Panel 3 is quite another story. It’s a room of shifting perspectives!
Doc looks like a slightly smaller version of Andre the Giant, fully covering the door behind him. When we see that Cherry is virtually the same height as Doc, one has to wonder. Let’s suppose it must be artistic license or the “needs of the story”, but the kitty box is drawn with a perspective that matches nothing else in the room. But we need to see the kittens, right? Drawing the scene from a higher viewpoint could have resolved that issue much better, but would also present more challenges in foreshortening the figures.
While Mark, Rusty, and Sammy Spotter presumably make their way to Catalina Island, Rivera returns us to Cherry’s drama of the six kittens. Based on Doc Davis’s reaction, finding kittens is either a rarity in Lost Forest or maybe he’s never seen that many kittens at one time.
So what is Rivera driving at? Is she setting up a scenario where the kittens need to get vaccinated and then taken to the pet shelter? The kittens don’t look like they are running away, so shouldn’t a search for a possible mother cat be undertaken? But then again, if a mother cat is found, then what? Regardless, they have to be removed from the premises to protect them from the dangerous lawn spray. Clearly, this is a tricky situation for Cherry.
Based on the content so far, I predict this will be yet another short story for Cherry. Shorter stories seem to have become the norm, in contrast to her earlier, longer episodes, such as the incident of the statue and the bees (“Sunny and the Bees“).
Howdy! I’m taking the day off, in large part, because Wednesday’s strip offers little to talk about. I’ll pile on with Thursday’s strip and hope for the best. Have a great day and see you all Thursday!
Hmm, as we saw on July 6, it was Ranger Shaw and his partner who arrived to take care of the Grungey Boys. All Mark did was confront them (for good reason) and had a short knock-fest. They demonstrated either an unwillingness to use their weapons or an ineptitude in their application. In any event, the rangers took the Grungey Boys into custody and turned them over to the cops.
Shouldn’t Ranger Shaw be concerned about Mark taking the law into his own hands, especially as Mark boasts about his ethical confession in panel 4? Well, this has actually been Mark’s status for pretty much his entire comic strip existence, as it has been for most heroic personalities in our various media over the millennia. Throughout human history we have looked to heroes and avengers to settle the score and right the wrongs that we cannot, but wish we could. That belief makes for great books and movies.
But maybe I’m being too hard on Mark Trail. He could simply be indulging in a case of self-congratulations and boasting. That’s not too bad. Some people give to charities, others do volunteer work. And people like Mark just look for wrongs to right.
The Daily Trail 