Colorful dialogue indeed… that’s what happens when two men, in close quarters, are forced to sustain a conversation- it just gets weird. Unless they are talking sports or business, which are not topics about which either of them can lay claim to special knowledge…
So as Mark waxes on about desert sunsets, he opens a door for Gabe. What are we doing here? Is this going to turn into a little Brokeback Trail??
Of course I had to orient myself… if memory serves, and it can be spotty at best these days, I want to say that “Gabe” had previously announced that he is in West Texas, which, according to the map below, places him in the eastern-most edge of the Chihuahuan Desert… Which also makes me think I need to go back and scan my earlier entries as I am afraid I may have made the classic blunder of confusing desert with dessert… Just a feeling…
With the DESERT in full bloom, and the random fox-like critter looking on, Mark and Gabe are on their way to the cave. Thankfully we were spared the conversation Mark had with Bill Ellis, who by now is up to his neck in paperwork, trying to sort out liability over the blown-up cigarette boat, which Mark did not use to full advantage in getting the heck out of harm’s way before it was strafed full of automatic weapons fire and blown up with a flare gun…
With most of the Chihuahuan DESERT in Mexico, I can see where this is going to go- international intrigue, State Department involvement, Mark and company held at gunpoint… you know, just another day in the life.
Mark goes for humor as the cruelty of nature is on full display right in their front yard! As I recall, the Moose taking the blow was just standing there, minding his/her own business… oops… it has to be a ‘he’since moose cows have no antlers… stay right here and you will learn much from this strip, boys and girls! Anyway, that’s a blind-side if ever I saw one- almost an illegal block in the back… the 9th most prevalent call in the NFL this season… but what do moose care about such things? Is there honor among rutting bulls? It would appear that some species have specified rules of engagement, like the Big Horn Ram, who line up at what seems like a specified distance and take repeated runs at each other, butting heads. I swear my football coaches from my youth patterned their drills on this type of thing…
Back to Mark’s attempt at humor… “I won’t be anywhere near a boat…” he says, trying to calm and lighten the tension in the room. But we all know what happens in the desert, right? Meth! Watch out for Heisenberg, Mark, don’t cross paths with the Cartel! (Careful- spoiler alert if you aren’t through season 4…)
Shield your eyes, oh uninitiated… gazing upon this lad can leave you with a sight that cannot be un-seen… And it’s interesting- but probably, again, a function of library images, Cherry in the middle panel is in sharp focus where Rusty and Mark are bordering on blurry…
And really. Who, in polite, casual spoken word uses subjunctive, qualifying phrases that start with the word “while?” As in “While I love you dearly, Honey, I really can’t wait to get the hell out of here…”
So while we do the normal dance that leads up to Mark leaving – his announcing the trip, cherry looking sad, Rusty wishing he could go, Mark wondering why anyone would think that he might run into danger, we really should just get on with it.
C’mon Cherry – you know the drill… Mark has to leave Lost Forest in order to keep the story lines moving… there are bad guys and now a Chiropterologist waiting for him to enter their sphere in order for their own lives to become more interesting… No concern of yours is going to get in the way of that… Makes me think of the Movie The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey. What if Mark became aware that his entire life was on display for the sole reason to provide entertainment for the masses? Would he ever mug for the camera? Would that level of awareness (I know it’s a stretch) change the way he behaved? And how prescient was that movie (1998)- to predict that we would soon become a Reality TV Nation? about to elect our first Reality TV President??
More panels from the library… we have certainly seen this series of images before… Mark announcing that he is about to leave and Cherry showing “concern…” Still shocked that Mark hasn’t heard from Bill Ellis about that boat he blew up… I guess consequences are for us mere mortals…
…or even empathy? As Doc shows off using his big words, he anticipates the questions coming from (at least) Rusty and points out that the 5-dollar word coming out of Doc’s mouth , Chiropterologist, means that he studies bats…
Classic scene in Panel one… In fact I am sure I have seen this exact configuration before– with Cherry in slight repose on the arm of the log chair, Mark hunched over, in his naturalist khaki ensemble, fire blazing and Rusty looking on from a relatively distant corner of the shot… Andy asleep and farting in front of the hearth. Warm days (recall the shirtless scenes from earlier) must give way to chilly nights in the Georgia Mountains.
Looks like Ol’ Doc has gone in for Just for Men- Touch of Gray on the Ol’ eyebrows… a rather striking look, I must say.
Still confused, unless there are multiple Cuevas de Los Muertos… seems the one we are interested in is in Texas… Good to know that Mark will be able to stay in the lower 48 and avoid international waters… at least for now.
…only to tell Cherry that he is out of there- just a soon as he can pack his bag! A hug and a kiss and he will be heading to the airport to join his “Old Friend” en La Cueva del Muerte.
The usual suspects are gathered to bear witness to the telling… it’s good that the word balloons pop out of the house, otherwise, they wouldn’t know what is going on! The palette seems a bit muted… perhaps a harbinger of danger that lies ahead. Let’s hope that Mark has already called Bill Ellis and received permission. Man, he really is Bill’s bitch, isn’t he?
Seems innocent enough… What possible danger could this assignment put you in? Go spelunking through a hibernaculum and come out with a story that practically writes itself?? One downside I can see immediately- you will have to climb down off your perch and put some clothes on…
So, with the application of Occam’s Razor, where the simplest of explanations holds the most water, Mark will now go visit his old friend Gabriel and see what trouble he can find… Cue the music- he’s off on another adventure…
That’s Public Service Announcement, boys and girls… and a quick read of the literature suggests that humans are neither the cause nor would we be readily impacted by this situation, so while the small furry creatures are indeed cute and it’s sad to think that they are dying in droves, there might be more important causes to go after? Mark will for sure go to Bill Ellis now and ask for a travel voucher… and we will no doubt get to meet Jose and Jefe, the two baddies in the cantina…
…and never above (or below) doing a little fact-checking, here’s a map showing spread of this dread disease from www.whitenosesyndrome.org …
…hey man… you missed Nebraska!
I know that you have special powers and all, the greatest of which is the fact that this strip is named after you, and therefore you have immortality and United King Syndicate on your side… But seriously, this is really getting to me. And put a shirt on. Your freakishly toned body has me more than a little weirded-out.
“If by ‘honest’ you mean that I told her this morning that I was going on ‘a little hike’ when in reality I was risking my very life in a solo free-climb…” then the answer is yes… And by the way, if Mark now has a body and temperament suited to that activity, then Gabriel certainly has a physique suited to “crawling around in the dark,” as Mark so eloquently puts it…
But there seems to be a little sadness in Mark’s “Ha Ha Ha…” As if he secretly wishes that he hadn’t taken the deal by which he could remain a kept man- the whole package, as it were, even if under the James Allen regime they get to sport awesome, hard bodies with suggestions of actual intimacy… a deal that includes pretending to be father to that Rascally Rusty, whom we mercifully don’t have to see very often…
And thanks to which/whomever kind reader(s) chose to take a long drink from this hose on the last day of 2015… you put me over the top, stats-wise. Part of the fun in this is seeing how many people come to take a look at this nonsense. I don’t do anything promotion-wise, so by now it’s all word of mouth or somewhat random Googling. Thanks everyone for stopping by and staying with me! Happy New Year to you all…
How appropriate that 2016 will be the Year of the Monkey… The Red Fire Monkey to be exact… As Mark scampers up the sheer rock face. Sorry, still doesn’t look like him- face too narrow, nose too slender and long, chin jutting out too far…
But soft! What does the ringing in his ditty bag bring?? Cherry? Bill Ellis? Some other random person? Maybe mark knows Gabriel the Chiropterologist and he will be sprung on another adventure.
As we say good bye to 2015 and hello to 2016, Mark Trail reminds us that change is ever-present in our lives and should be embraced. OK, that was a stretch… but here’s to a great 2016, everyone! As time marches on ever more quickly, please take time to sit on your own outcropping and take a breath of appreciation… Remember, WWMD??
The last panel reveals a familiar face… but where or when on earth did Mark have the time to develop these skills? I guess getting shot at wasn’t enough. He has to manufacture his own death defying moments when he’s home… this sort of reminds me of the opening scene from Star Trek V- The Final Frontier, where Captain (or was he an Admiral by then?) James Tiberius Kirk did a little gratuitous climbing, soloing up El Capitan, only to be interrupted, and later saved, by Spock in his Jet/ Anti-Gravity Boots…
So now we have to get used to Mark the Fearless, Mark the Undaunted, Mark the Buff… so much to get used to in this James Allen World…
Close, that is. I have to admit- for one who suffers from mild to moderate to- OK, I admit it- severe acrophobia… fear of heights, today’s installment created in me a certain reaction. Or is it technically fear of Falling? Because heights, in and of themselves, present nothing in the way of danger. Barophobia is the irrational fear of gravity. Individuals suffering from barophobia can either have the fear that gravity might crush them, the fear of falling because of the gravity involved (distinct from the fear of heights), or even the fear that gravity might cease to exist and they will float away. Flying in an airplane gives me no pause… I suppose that’s because I have complete confidence in the fact that there is more risk on the Crosstown Highway than there is in falling victim to a plane crash. Roller-coasters also have no effect on me, especially that slow tick, tick, tick up the incline, and the special rush that one gets when slightly weightless at the apex before gravity takes over. But pertaining to the strip below, I admit to a feeling of fear, a weakness in the legs, a flutter in the stomach just looking at it. Recall, dear readers, the trip your faithful scribe took to the CN Tower in Toronto earlier in the year… I can tell you it took all available courage to step out onto the glass floor!!
So as the yet to be named stud with 0% body fat hangs perilously from the only available outcropping by the point of his rock hammer, we shall have to wait until tomorrow to see how he gets himself out of this predicament as it seems that even his safety rope has lost its ability to arrest any further downward influence from gravity…
…a little eye candy. But begs the age-old question: Does wearing only the skimpiest of spandex apparel on only one’s lower half enhance one’s ability to free-climb sheer rock faces??
But let’s consider the scenery here… Cutter’s Bluff… introduced to us as Mark was escaping from the cranky Black Bear and saved by Rex, the ill-tempered Grizzly… it would appear that Lost Forest has had a sudden, dramatic seismic upheaval… Cutter’s Bluff has grown to the proportion of Half Dome of Yosemite and Ansel Adams fame.
As we bounce from locale to locale, let’s all continue to wonder what will bring all of these threads together to form a line… a story line, that is…
Boy did I get that one wrong… They are in Texas, not Mexico… And oh, by the way ‘Texas’ en Español is Texas. Not Tejas, which, according to the Google translator, means “roof tiles…” Good to know.
Gently, right? Need to glove-up and gently “pick one off…”
Nice shot of Gabriel’s Goiter in Panel 1… That man needs a little more iodine in his diet… Or fewer tortillas…
…we see the colony, or cloud of bats exiting the cave to begin their evening activities… According to my source, Cloud is shared with Flies, Gnats and Grasshoppers… while Colony is shared with Ants, Auks, Badgers, Beavers, Chinchillas, Frogs and Gulls. My favorite remains a Murder of Crows, but a new one that draws a smile is an Intrusion of Cockroaches…
So while Carina is looking to be nominated for the Captain Obvious Award for 2015 (time is running out, you know…) we can once again marvel at her get-up… safety first, right???
OK, I admit, sometimes (more often now than in the past,) I am at a loss for what to say regarding the developing story arc… In the days of my mother and father’s Trail, each day was like a Christmas stocking… you started at the top and just kept digging, wondering what was at the bottom… So much bad dialogue, antiquated themes and memes… A virtual piñata, waiting to be given a good whack with the promise of goodies pouring forth…
But here we have a random, yowling coyote, who apparently is there for no reason other than to stir up the bats??
And what exactly does a bat panic look like? Bit of a stretch I’d say… nothing more than that out there in the Google-verse…
But let’s study the art the panels above. Suddenly there is more ambient light with which to work, Gabriel (in the middle panel) suddenly has blacked-out eyes, as the censors from the comics syndicate need to hide his identity, or he just has amazingly thick eyelashes…And what’s he reaching for? A weapon to silence the coyote? Filled with “Dead Coyote” ammunition?? I mean, how reviled does a species have to be to have a shotgun shell specifically configured and marketed to do away with said species??
And we finally get to see Carina’s face… I’d have to say… handsome? At least she keeps her eyebrows in check and her lip liner well ordered… guessing she picked up those frames at LensCrafters…
It would seem that Gabriel has spent his life in the depths of bat caves- his eyes are huge. Note he has but one helmet/ headlamp for Carina, since apparently he doesn’t need one. Sort of reminds me of the continuing saga of Bat Boy in the Weekly World News!
White Nose Syndrome… not to get ahead of the story here, but it affects bats during hibernation, when they are holed up in their hibernaculum, plural form hibernacula, a place where animals hibernate… so given that bats probably don’t need to hibernate in Mexico, they aren’t as prone to WNS… but I am sure the good professor knows that.
…for to study bats? Even if English is not your first language, this doesn’t make any sense…
So let’stake stock of where we are… Other than Meh-hee-co. We saw a lizard eat a spider only to then be carried off by a raptor… cruel. Then we met up with Jose and Jefe in the Cantina… sinister. Now we have “Call me Gabriel” and Carina out in the middle of nowhere- presumably at the mouth of La Cueva de los Muertos… creepy. For more than one and any number of reasons…
How Mark gets entwined in this story is anyone’s guess… maybe Mark, Cherry and Rusty decide that they have been working way to hard and they decide to go on a vacation to one of those all-inclusive places… and then decide to go on a resort-sponsored excursion… to bat caves. Maybe a chance to catch a dread disease and bring it back to Lost Forest… Oh the possibilities are endless!!
Well, isn’t this tremendously suspenseful… as night races in from stage right, thoughts of “what the Hell was I thinking?” are racing trough Carina’s mind. I love her words, though… “fearsome reputation…” almost a foreshadowing effect on what is to come.
A check on the Cueva de los muertos reveals that this is a burial site of some repute… where presence of children’s bones (sacrifice?) are present showing signs of “Periosteal Reaction.” This means that there is evidence of trauma, disease or some other unnatural upset…
Well, that’s quite a lot to take in, boys and girls… just remember, trusting in your elders can sometimes end badly!!
The Daily Trail 
