Even the Spanish Moss could not hide Max from his abductors!

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If all that gray stuff in the trees isn’t Spanish Moss, it might just be a lot of sleeping sloths, able to maintain their arboreal perches. Pretty sure they aren’t cold iguanas.

So, that box on the shore must contain Max, yes? The box is not even open! Didn’t anybody bother to check on Max’s condition? What kind of manatee minders are these clowns? Also, I wonder what hardware Mark is referring to in panel 2 that is different than the hardware they had to have needed to lift the box out of the truck and set it safely on the shore?

Am I being too picky here? Possibly, but if Rivera is going to have Mark suddenly get all technical, why skip over details? For example, how did they get the box out of the truck and onto the shore? Unless Max is a baby manatee, these animals get big and very heavy, requiring a bunch of people and special equipment, as we see in this photo of a manatee being transported from Miami to SeaWorld Orlando in 2023 for veterinary examinations.

Sure, this is just a comic strip, not a documentary. And I’m being a picky know-it-all. But as I wrote previously, Mark Trail (the strip and the person) is based on the love and protection of nature in all its aspects. You can’t just wave your hand and declare “Let there be a deus ex machina!”

Now, as far as the plot goes—and it seems to be moving once again—the so-called “Bear Bozos” return for a second attempt. Apparently, neither Skeeter nor Rita bothered to check the highway behind them! Probably because they were too busy browsing the Internet.

By the way:  Does anybody know what the “Bear Bozo” on the right is holding? Is he attempting to shoot a spitball at Mark? Throw a Japanese shuriken? Or maybe throw a kiss to Mark? Get ready for action!!

For the source of the photo and related article, see https://tinyurl.com/6ywf7d9d)

Do you think they would notice if Max fell out of the truck?

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If they have already located a proper location to return Max (see yesterday’s strip), why are they still wasting time inside the truck looking up bear costumes? And wouldn’t those “whether men” post on their own conspiracy group’s web site?

Given that the photo in question (panel 2) is two people in full costume, I don’t see how any identification can be made, even if names were attached. Anyway, this distraction does not move the story along one iota.

Why does Rivera continue to focus the story on the would-be kidnappers while disregarding Max the Manatee? These three have all the concern of a moving crew delivering furniture. To me, the real drama is Max’s current health. What if Max’s condition worsened as a result of the dawdling, jostling, and negligence? Isn’t that worth focusing on? It provides sufficient suspense and drama for this story.

Keep in mind that Mark is the guy whose very existence is based on preserving nature and wildlife. It looks as if Jules Rivera has lost sight of Mark Trail’s Prime Directive!

Art Dept. Rivera continues to swing back to her sketchy, barren style. She must have been watching StarTrek when drawing this, because in panel 3 Mark looks like that early version of Mr. Spock when Capt. Pike was in charge of the Enterprise. Minus the five o’clock shadow, of course!

Mark, Rita, and Skeeter pick a place for Max to skedaddle

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Several readers await the return of the “Vintage” Mark Trail, meaning the work of Dodd and Elrod. Keep waiting, people. On the other hand, other vintage strips are online at ComicsKingdom, including Krazy Kat, Thimble Theater, and Rip Kirby, the latter being one of the best strips for drama, adventure and superb drawing in the naturalistic style. All three strips have also been reprinted, at least in part, in lavish hardcover books, though several volumes are currently out of print. No such books have been made for Mark, though!

And so we are back … in Florida. The amateurish handling of Max the Manatee that we have observed continues as the trio seems to have extemporaneously decided on a spot to release him!

I realize that Rivera has to simplify things somewhat for the sake of the story and format, but shouldn’t Max be a more significant part of the story, rather than just a reason for the story? In reality, there are only a select number of facilities authorized to rescue and transport manatees in Florida, all under the supervision of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Yet, there have been no people from either of those agencies present, nor have they been mentioned. Thus, my comments at the start of this adventure on why these two characters could have been from one of those agencies, which would provide more authenticity. Much of the story could remain the same, including the goofy kidnapping attempt. Some extra time and space could have been allocated for the characters to discuss and demonstrate proper handling and supervision of the manatee, including how they select the best spot to reintroduce Max into his watery habitat.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Rivera brought us back to Lost Forest this past week to catch us up on Cherry’s mini herb basket assembly project and the travails of sisters Olive and Peach. With baskets assembled, the sisters arrived at the local farmers market ready for selling. Cherry introduced her sisters to their older BIG brother, Dirk, who seemed to be unknown to them. Cherry had invited Dirk to come sell his feral hog poetry. (I’m really hoping Dirk will recite some of it before he disappears back into the Trailverse Closet of Bit Characters.)

So how is it that Olive and Peach did not know Dirk, you ask? It was never stated, though it might have been due to a possible early departure from the homestead by Dirk. Maybe Peach and Olive were too young at the time to remember. It’s a mystery.

In any event, this family convergence was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Peach’s ex-boyfriend, Rick. Peach rejected his pleas for forgiveness and reunion, leading to Rick’s increasingly erratic behavior. Brother Dirk finally stepped in to make known his own intentions regarding Rick’s immediate future and health. That sent Rick sullenly on his way. However, Rivera let it be known that the ex-boyfriend probably isn’t heading back to Florida any time soon. And that’s where things stand in Lost Forest.

Rivera gives us another animal talk geographically linked to current stories, along with another inventive title panel. But unless you visit or live in Florida, you will likely only see iguanas in zoos and in homes as pets (a role they are not suited for). The iguana is considered a harmful invasive species in Florida. Their existence there is probably due to people abandoning them, especially when they grow up to 6 feet long! Florida is truly America’s favorite dumping ground for abandoned exotic and dangerous pets, including Burmese pythons, boa constrictors, Nile monitor lizards, African monkeys, Cuban tree frogs, peacocks, caimans, and out-of-state college students. Florida: It’s more than just orange juice and beaches!

Brother Dirk rises to the occasion.

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As Dirk gives Rick the Stink Eye o’ Justice, Rivera removes any uncertainty about Rick’s intentions.

 Bombs Away!

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Nice owl! Well, the gift wrap is quickly falling away from Rick, and Peach is not happy with the present. I’ll leave it to you to look up the phrase “love bombing”, if you don’t already know it. I had to look it up, so why should you get off easy!?

That said, do you think Rick’s pleadings are sincere acts of contrition and love? He sounds desperate!

From my angle, Jules Rivera has drawn Rick’s gestures and expressions in a way that dispels any notions of sincerity and caring. Once a narcissistic control freak, always a narcissistic control freak. To her credit, Peach isn’t buying his act. And speaking of acts, I think this is Dirk’s cue to step onto the stage and deliver a performance that will have Rick exclaiming “Exit, stage left!”

The elements of this morality play are quickly falling into place. I would be stupefied if Rivera pulled a fast one and changed the expected outcome.

Special Tip: If you also read this strip in the newspaper, feel free to get a marker and blacken out the narration box in panel 4. I hereby give you permission to do that to all future narration boxes that are irrelevant, redundant, or pretend to be humorous. I’d do it here, but I’m stopped by the pledge I took to maintain an accurate record for posterity.

The arrival of a totally expected visitor

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Yep, right on schedule, but with a plot twist:  Rather than revenge, Rick expresses remorse, which is a good start. He might be sincere, but his violent temper is not something that will magically disappear like a box of cookies on my desk.

But what will happen over the next two days?

Art Dept. Maybe you noticed this, already. In panel 4 Rick holds Peach’s hand with his own right hand. Yet it appears that we can see his thumb! I’ve heard of double-jointed people, but this is something else.

While you’re here, please enjoy the animatronic squirrel!

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Sheesh! You know, I was gonna snark on how Rivera still can’t draw beards because they look so fake. And then I thought:  Maybe it is meant to be fake! Dirk is into the whole “avoid government” thing, paranoid about government surveillance, global conspiracies, etc. So why wouldn’t he choose to disguise himself from the hidden agents in the sky and in the trees?

Then again, why wouldn’t Dirk just grow a real beard? Doesn’t take much effort, unless he is one of those dudes whose DNA missed out on the beard gene. We’ll have to wait for additional information. But it sure looks like one of the hokiest, fake beards I’ve ever seen; like those fake beards the prison escapees wore to disguise themselves in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou?

Otherwise, good ol’ boy Dirk must have left the Pitt/Davis household while the younger Pitts were just wee seeds, since Cherry sees fit to make introductions. But will we get to see some of that feral hog poetry? Could be interesting!

Is there another Pitt family reunion in the making?

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I dunno , why would Peach respond to Cherry’s remark about Dirk with the exclamation “Older Brother??” instead of something like “Dirk? Here!?” Did mummy and daddy forget to inform the younger sisters of his existence?

In case you forgot (or didn’t know), older brother Dirk was introduced back in 2021 in the story we labeled “Can’t Spell Whoa without HOA.” Back then, Dirk had a rust-colored beard and looked like a wilderness version of Hagrid.

While I’m in a questioning mood (and when am I not?), I’m always wondering just what the Sunny Soleil Society (SSS) is all about. Those of you who were here at the start of Jules Rivera’s tenure may remember that the SSS was originally tasked as managing an HOA for a local neighborhood. At the time, Violet Cheshire was an imperious, strict, rules enforcer capable of physically throwing Cherry out of her office. Which she did.

Since then, Violet’s personality has gone through several modifications. Cherry went from Society Enemy Number One to trusted contractor. The job must be good enough that Cherry no longer seems to need other customers for her lawn and landscape business (assuming that still exists).

And we recently learned Violet’s mother is really in charge of the Society. But what does it do? Why does it solicit membership? In those earlier days of the strip, the Society had the appearance of some kind of selective southern country club with members dressed in stylish outfits and broad-brimmed hats. These days, the SSS seems more concerned with its gardens and public events.

We now return to normal people.

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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.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Reader Downpuppy brought up a good point that “Bear Bandit” could be understood as shorthand for “Bear-Suited Bandit”, thus invalidating yesterday’s grammatical criticism. Well, perhaps. I also think the alliterative rhythm of the name may have had a role in its use. English is flexible.

Last week a bear-bandit attacked Rita and Skeeter when the team stopped at a gas station for snacks. The action continued this week as Mark predictably chased the attacker. Of course, another bear-bandit showed up to steal the unlocked manatee truck holding Max the manatee. Mark turned around in time to pull the second kidnapper out of the truck. Like a mother bear, I’m told.

When Rita and Skeeter conveniently showed up after Mark thwarted the attackers, the team used the manatee truck to pursue the bear-bandits instead of delivering Max! This disregard for Max’s health was further exacerbated: After the crew failed to catch the kidnappers they thought it was a good idea to stop along the way and report the incident. I’m sorry, but is there any valid reason for Jules Rivera to make Mark appear so clueless and unconcerned about Max?

Conclusion: An attempt to interfere with the transportation of Max by the Whether Men was certainly an acceptable part of the story that could provide some drama. Rivera’s contrivance of having the team stop for snacks and leaving the truck unlocked and be assaulted by inept conspiracy nuts in costume was more comical than suspenseful. Once again, Rivera ignored drama for absurdity and juvenilia.

Art Dept. This was not a week of noteworthy drawing. I won’t bore or infuriate you with details. If you have time and fortitude, scroll through the prior days.

Mark admits his own manatee adventure is just so much seaweed as he discusses more realistic effects of storms and hurricanes on manatees, to say nothing of the effort and care that are really required to care for a displaced manatee. Mark provides good discussion (and artwork) here, even as some kind of bug apparently got into his eye (last panel). But it would also be great if Mark followed his own advice more closely.

Harrumph! Those furry fraud rapscallions must be brought to justice.

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Public education is always under attack for one thing or another. Do they still teach grammar? Understanding the difference that word order can impart to meaning is an important skill for any writer, so let’s thank Jules Rivera for making this teachable moment possible. A “bear bandit” is somebody who steals bears. So is that what Skeeter really meant to say, class? Okay, students, submit your answers on my desk by the end of class. And be sure to use complete sentences!

Anyway, I’m not sure if Rita is bothered by Skeeter’s grammatical skills so much as being impressed with Skeeter’s ability to search the Internet with his digital camera. Or his ability to apparently hack into Florida’s secure DMV database.

But let’s move on. Our intrepid crew of ineptitude drives their continually-shrinking truck along the faux landscape setting of the Alfalfa Elementary School’s production of the play, “Go, Dog. Go!” on the way to the authorities. And once again, Max the Manatee is put on the back burner! By the time they actually get Max’s to his home waters, he will likely have shrunk about 70%. Some crisis!

And now for something completely stupid …

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“Gosh, darn! If we could only dump Max the Manatee, we would catch those fleeing bear bandits!”

In thrillers, mysteries, and crime dramas—at least on TV—it used to be that the perps were the ones who act stupid. Apparently, times have changed. Well …

…maybe it’s just me, but wasn’t the main goal here to avoid the bad guys, rather than chase them?

And doesn’t Max the Manatee need to return to his native habitat as quickly as possible?

Maybe I’m getting too old, but I just don’t get this part of the story. Mark thinks it’s okay to risk the health of Max the Manatee so he can chase a couple of costumed idiots into the bushes. Where are his supposed pro-wildlife priorities? What the hell would he do if he caught those bozos?

You know, Skeeter might be a first class moron, but at least he brought a camera along, which is more than I can say for “Mark Trail, nature journalist and wildlife photographer.” This makes Garfield look good.

Rita and Skeeter finally return!

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Is this the secret to Mark’s Two Fist O’ Justice: Arms that bend like pipe cleaners? Anyway, looks like the snack stop is a bust as Rita and Skeeter come back empty-handed. I was sure looking forward to some of those Cheetos.

We can overlook the comedic art for a few moments while we consider the plot development … okay, that’s long enough. Still, Rita does raise a good point (panel 3), but Mark is more interested in responding like a dork, while making no sense. This includes his offhanded remark in panel 1 about “bearnappers.” Of course, these would-be abductors are not trying to kidnap bears, which is what the word implies. Perhaps Mark intends to follow up with a more helpful explanation tomorrow that doesn’t include a bad bear pun.

Art Dept. Another thing I’ve been noticing over time is Mark’s increasingly large eyebrows, reaching epic Groucho proportions. Maybe you noticed, too? Here he is in February 2024. I might be overstating the case a bit, as sometimes they are thin and sometimes they get fatter. Maybe it’s the amount of humidity or the time of year. It’s not a project I’m overly excited to perform, so I’ll just let this stand as an unsubstantiated observation.

Grim and bear it!

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Rocket Raccoon is apparently aghast, presumably at the totally slack safety standards that allowed this stupidity to occur.

But speaking of logic (or thinking about it), how come Bear-Man #1 is not coming to help Bear-Man #2? How come Rita and Skeezer are still AWOL?

Well, maybe the Rocket Raccoon reacts to the textual content.

I think we can all agree that the dialog and most of the narration today is weak, like a high school student trying to learn how to use similes and metaphors. Take the dialog in panel 2. The original “Wolf in sheep’s clothing” idiom was meant to suggest a person blending in with the crowd, only pretending to be like them. The idiom refers to a person’s duplicitous nature. But there is no “blending into the crowd” here, because everybody is not a bear or dressed in bear costumes. The bear-person is not pretending to be part of the crew, either. So this mixed-metaphor fails. And do mother bears really grab their young with their paws and yank them backwards? Like, I am no biologist, but I would bet not. More than likely, I think the mother would nudge the cub with her head (or mouth) or just swat little Boo-Boo into the closest bush.

I forget whether it was Mark the Contrarian or Daniel who used to complain about Rivera inserting narration boxes to describe the obvious (i.e. panels 3 and 4), but I agree.

Art Dept: I was surprised that nobody brought up the shape-shifting manatee truck, which seemed to change its size. Check out yesterday’s strip and compare panel 1 to panel 4. This is definitely not a case of foreshortening. Otherwise, it is not well-executed when you see that the truck in panel 1 is drawn at a more acute angle than in panel 4. I find no graphic reason for this abrupt resizing.

Mark’s folly continues.

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Rivera likes to employ a “one step-back, two-steps forward” technique used by writers and producers of serialized stories. As we see here, the first panel recaps prior activity. This kind of “as we saw last time…” technique normally finds its greatest value when the interval between installments is long enough for the summary to be helpful. However, Rivera uses this recall technique even when the interval is just one day, as we see here.

Does Rivera believe that her readers have that short of a memory? A cynical belief, if true. Or is Rivera employing this technique just to pad out the story?

Aside from my simple deconstruction, I think a bigger issue here is Where The Hell Are Rita and Skeeter!? After getting knocked down by the faux bear, did they just get up and head inside the store to buy Hot Cheetos and Big Gulps? They’ve had plenty of time to “recover” from getting pushed to the pavement.

But what happens if Bear #2 successfully steals the truck (along with Sam the Manatee)? Will Mark commandeer a car to follow it? Or maybe he will heroically leap onto the rear of the truck as it’s driving away and try to make his way to the cab.

Art Dept. Rivera normally has a decent sense of proportion and depth, but I don’t know what to say about panel 1 (see the January 3 strip for comparison). It’s like Rivera took saved images and simply pasted them onto the panel with little regard for cohesion. The less said about the flora, the better. Anything else (the strip or this blog) worth bringing up, dear readers?

If being right was money…

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Breaking Industry News: Tea Fougner, Editorial Director of King Features Syndicate, has left her position and the company, possibly for a variety of reasons (see comments for details). Fougner was responsible for bringing in Jules Rivera as part of a general shakeup of the syndicate and its online comics site. Will her replacement exert any influence on the future of Mark Trail? I imagine that Mark the Contrarian Commenter will be salivating at the possibility! (Source: The Daily Cartoonist.)

Well, if being right was money, I’d probably be poor. Now, if you bet against my prediction on the diversion, pay up! Then again, I think this situation was about as predictable as the return of Haley’s Comet. Apparently, Mark doesn’t follow astronomy, so he followed the diversion, instead. And what did he do when he finally discovered he’d been fooled? He stood still (panel 3) and issued a monologue for the sake of a joke.

The more clever of you readers will have also discerned that Mark apparently left the truck unlocked. All along we have seen an alarmingly shoddy regard for proper security measures, starting with hiring Mark instead of professional security. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was an “inside” job. Ah ha! Another prediction and you heard it read it here, first!

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Mark is finally on the “Save Max the Manatee” job at Storm Brain, the non-profit run by Rita and Skeeter. After some desultory rehashing of conspiracy threats by “The Whether Men”, it was time to hit the road in their specialized transport truck. Was Max the Manatee already in the truck or did he have to be picked up? That was left unsaid and we never saw Max. In fact, most of the dialog was about the kidnapping threat. They finally left, only to make a surprisingly unnecessary snack stop at a gas station along the way. While there was no practical reason to stop for such a short drive, it’s the kind of staged moment we see in countless shows where the protagonists do something pointless so they can be caught off guard by the bad guys.

As Mark, Skeeter, and Rita got out of the truck, a hilariously “fake bear” jumped out of the bushes (How did he know where to be?), knocking down Rita and Skeeter. Mark was not deterred, but rushed the phony bear and removed its headpiece, exposing the person inside. Unless “The Whether Men” group is actually just one lone whacko, such an obviously inept attack has to be a diversion for a secondary raid on the truck. We’ll have to wait and see where Rivera takes the story.

Art Dept. Maybe some feedback got to Rivera or she acted on her own initiative, but I noticed that Rivera has been experimenting more frequently with using tones and shading in her panels, as seen in this newspaper version of Saturday’s strip. Whether these tones are applied primarily to give more texture to the colors, they certainly provide a welcome enhancement to the usual stark newspaper versions.

And now, on to the Sunday nature exposé!

Rivera produces another interesting topic, as well as a creative title panel. I found some supporting information on this topic on the Smithsonian and National Forest Foundation’s web sites. Of course, trees do not have brains or central nervous systems, so this interaction may be a function of their DNA. However, an article in Scientific American states that all of this is still very hypothetical and relies on limited studies. In fact, competition between trees for limited forest resources seems to be more common (as with humans and animals), and the sharing of “danger or stress signals” was based on a single study in a greenhouse, not in the wild. Tolkien may still be a bit too fanciful with his Ents, but the idea of some kind of communication network among trees is slowly taking root (sorry about that!).

Guess who’s not smarter than your average bear?

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I reckon that all of those prior instances of running from bears (as any sane person would do) pays off for Mark as he easily unmasks this absurd fraud, who didn’t even put up a fight. Yet Mark’s dramatic boast in panel 3 is uncalled for, given the hokey amateurishness of this assault and the obvious bear costume. Well, we’ll have to wait to find out if this Whether Men attack includes a follow-up. However, I doubt even a well-made bear costume supports variable emotional expressions like we see in panels 1 and 2.

Art Dept. Props for Rivera’s attention to details regarding the filling station in yesterday’s and today’s strips. Rivera even included those bump-outs atop the roof posts showing the pump numbers. It’s too bad that this attention did not extend to other elements in the panels.

The crew makes the idiotic “TV drama” decision to stop along the way!

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Really!? Is this phony bear plot twist the best Rivera could come up with? And why would these three stop for snacks (and maybe gas)!? They’re not driving to New Orleans! If we must have an abduction attempt, Rivera could at least make it more plausible. You know, like having Mark need to stop at a pharmacy to pick up some camera film because he never upgraded to digital. Then discover that he left his camera at home.

As for the phony bear, Rivera should know that Florida only has black bears, not brown bears.  Shouldn’t Skeeter and Rita know this, as well? Or the Whether Men? Rita and Skeeter should also know that bears don’t act like monsters in a 1950s horror movie.

I suppose this would be a good time for Mark to make good on his Two Fists O’ Justice boast …

… however, this could also be a classic diversion: If Mark moves to take on the phony bear, the rest of the gang jumps into the truck and steals away. Best choice: Let Skeeter and Rita take care of the “bear”.

Finally, a belated thumbs up to reader Downpuppy for making me aware of the Harry Potter source for the names of these two characters. I just plumb missed the connection, having seen the movies years ago, but without reading the books. And I’ve never been good with proper names.