Here is the Weekly Recap and Sunday Nature Talk

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This past week featured Rusty and his sleepover buddies sharing stories about cryptids (the Yeti, Loch Ness Monster, Benny Hill, etc.). Rusty is so enamored over his own cryptid creature (“Wilbur, The Seaside Specter”) that he pledges to hunt it down when he and his family arrive for a vacation in Oregon (which is where the “Seaside Specter Guy” conveniently haunts the coastline). We don’t know yet why Mark has an itch to go to Portland, but with this past week of strips devoted to the lad, it seems we are getting prepped for another Rusty Adventure! Now, do you think he will get another female friend (like Mara) to help with his investigation? Before you submit your response, take a moment to love today’s educational nature strip!

It appears that the title panel is composed of “alligator hearts”. Given the theme, it makes sense. I’m thinking this is not the kind of alligator story we would normally see in a Mark Trail Sunday strip; and that’s a good thing.  And it is informative. Not that I didn’t think gators mated, but I did not know the details. I think I missed that episode of “Nature” on public television. But I’m still not certain how gators culminate their mating: Missionary position? Flatiron? Doggie?

I did some simple-minded searches and found loads of examples of alligators crossing yards, pools, neighborhood streets, golf courses, etc. All quite common sites, especially down in the southeastern states.  One gator crossing a golf course in Naples, Florida was at least 15 feet long and walking on all fours, not dragging his stomach along the green! It was a mini–Jurassic Park in action! Yet another reason why I will never move to Florida. I don’t support random shooting or hunting gators for sport, either. They have a right to live. But NIMBY! So, Mark’s point is well taken:  We have expanded into their world and should not be surprised to see them strolling down our Main Street. The underlying Sunday story here is human encroachment into the few remaining wildlife preserves in our world, such as the Everglades, the Bayou, and the Amazonian rainforest.

Somebody Check Rusty’s Chocolate Milk

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It’s one thing to have fun (such as it is) telling spooky stories. It’s another to start believing them.

So this looks like events are leading to a new spin of the “Dr. Camel Search for the Yeti Adventure” that I referenced a few days ago. Exactly how Rusty intends to carry out this goal will be interesting to see.  At least, Rusty only has one coastline to search. Shouldn’t take too long, right?

I suppose this might be the kind of thing that an over-imaginative kid might wish to undertake. Is this what the week has been about:  setting us readers up for a “Rusty’s Seaside Specter Guy Adventure”? And I bet Mark never clued Rusty in on how things worked out for the late Dr. Camel.

Wait—There’s more?

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“No natural phenomenon has been proven to curse eyeballs”? Well, that depends upon what one means by “curse”, I think. Eyesight lost from staring at the sun (a natural phenomenon) would certainly be a curse to the owner of the lost sight. But that’s lame sarcasm on my part. Either these kids are taking LSD or they must lead pretty boring lives to be frightened by this stuff. Still, they’re using their imaginations instead of just passively watching movies. It’s another Mark Trail Education Moment.

During Allen’s tenure, Rusty did star in his own adventure, along with an older female counterpart, Mara, during a family trip to the Yucatan Peninsula (started April 2018). It was a good adventure for Rusty. Obviously, the vignette here is not meant to be taken as anything more than boys being boys. So, I hope Rivera gives Rusty a better story down the road. Anyway, I think this sleepover bit has been stretched farther than current industry standards support.

Count Rusty Narrates ‘Monster Chiller Horror Theater’

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Ooooh, I’m scared, all right. Scared this will continue the rest of the week! It seems Rusty’s role has so far been almost limited in this reboot to sleepovers with his buddies. Still, it’s better than what Rusty used to do in the pre-Rivera days, which was pretty much nothing.

I’m still hoping Rusty will get an actual girlfriend and try to finagle more interesting sleepovers. He can leave the cryptid stories to his pals, Lumpy and Beaver

Great Expectations?

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What the dickens!? I’d have thought one reference to the modern version of ghost stories would get the point across. But it looks like we’re going to hear more. The suspense is gripping.

Don’t confuse Rusty’s character with the recent “Thomas the Tank Engine” fan video also called “The Seaside Spectre”. Or the 1912 movie “Specter of the Sea”.  Let’s hope that daytime comes really fast.

Better cryptids than crypto currency!

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Well, be careful what you wish for, I reckon. I wondered if we’d get more of Rusty, and here he is. That must be Ian in the middle, who balances the composition of the panel and the sleepover arrangements.

Aside from a comics syndicate that scrimps on proofreading, we have another “here’s looking at you” member of the animal kingdom checking in. I suppose this episode falls under the category of story padding, as it would be more interesting if this sequence had anything to do with the main event, whatever that turns out to be.  This certainly does not look like it will lead to anything more than three kids staying up until 3 AM. On the other hand, a little bit of home life is one of the things we were just starting to get during James Allen’s tenure, so it’s good to see that continue under Rivera.  And let’s face it:  This Rusty is not the clueless sheltered kid we have endured for so many decades.

“Wake up, Mom, it’s the 21st century!”

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I reckon that Rivera is on some kind of “animal in your face” kick, since she has consistently introduced animals into the foreground that “break the fourth wall” to look at us; they are often not even integrated into the scene. It’s a gimmick that I believe has run its course and I’ll be happy to see our animal friends return to their proper place as normal components of the landscape, where they can be shot at or run over.

Apparently, Mark is on his way to Florida to get Pops, so Rusty takes the opportunity to get some palling around time with his friend, Robbie. Cryptids, as some of you know, are mythical creatures that most of us recognize as not real, such as the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the Yeti, or Huckleberry Hound. But there are plenty of people who do believe (Recall Mark’s Yeti adventure with Dr. Camel, the “cryptozoologist”, starting back in September 2019.). There is also an actual active market in cryptid kid-lit, just as Rusty says.

(Note: If you missed out on Mark’s “Hunt the Yeti” adventure, just click on the September 2019 link in the Archives section and begin your education!)

Here is the Weekly Recap and Sunday Nature Talk

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As this nail-biting adventure ends (okay, I heard some people were biting the heads off nails after reading Mark’s latest adventure), Mark and Diana’s zebra mussel video went viral. Rafael chided Mark for his arrest, then praised it as a plus for both the video and Mark’s popularity (Ed. note:  Wonder if it will help when his case comes to trial). Mark indicated that he is taking his family—and his Dad—to Oregon for a two week vacation.

The zebra mussel adventure had its share of kooky characters, some deserving more attention. Perhaps they will appear in later stories. The issue of zebra mussels is real and worth a story, although the tale Rivera spun was quirky, if incomplete. I think more detail and depth would have been worth a longer story time. Of course, if this was a pre-Rivera Mark Trial story, Mark would be chasing down some loutish fishermen happily moving their boats between lakes, while ignoring zebra mussel procedures. There would also be a pretty sister who helps Mark bring these boobs to justice and falls in love with him, only to be spurned like all other women, as Mark returns to his devoted, but boring, Cherry.

Rivera apparently was riffing on the fact that it actually was cargo ships passing through the Great Lakes that initially imported the zebra mussels. Relocating these ship(s) to Lost Forest seems pretty crazy, at first. Rivera could have sent Mark up to Lake Erie, but then Rivera would not have been able to weave Mark’s and Cherry’s separate storylines together as she likes to do. So, some historical sleight-of-hand took place. It’s nothing that other writers have not done.
Still, there are many imponderables! While you ponder them, check out today’s nature strip:

I grew up on the East Coast and went to the beach many times. We’d always find horseshoe crabs on the beach, many of them expired for one reason or another. Didn’t realize they are only found along the Atlantic coast of North America! But three other species can be found in the waters of S.E. Asia. How interesting that they are not found in most other locations! Although I have not seen this event, horseshoe crabs congregate by the many thousands along the Maryland and Delaware beaches in May and June during full moons and high tides for mating season.

The Oregon Trail

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Okay, everybody:  Stand up and take a slow, deep breath. Hold it for three seconds…now exhale slowly while extending your arms outward. Now wave them around like a crazy person for a bit, and whoop if you like. Why? Because we’re done with the zebra mussels and starting a new adventure.

But just a two week vacation? If Mark is driving down to Florida and back to get Dad, that’s one to two days right there. It will take three to four days to drive to Oregon, meaning it’s also an additional three to four days days back. And there goes the first week and some of the second. They could do it faster if they drove non-stop, in shifts. But if they want any hope of enjoying the trip, they should fly (business class).

We should expect Doc and Rusty to join in. That’s a lot of airline tickets! But wait…will he have to get permission from the County to leave the state before his trial comes up?

Zeeba Mussels Epilog, Part 4: At last, the end of the story?

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Okay, another happy ending. Apparently, events were taking place behind the scenes, just like in the pre-Rivera era. We need not be bothered with the details, such as what secrets did Duck Duck Goose have that caused them to sic two thugs on Mark and Diana. Maybe in another story we’ll learn more…or not. As for cleaning those ships, it’s a little late in the game for that, Pops.

Mark strikes a pose in panel 4 that looks like he’s been taking lessons from Violet Cheshire. We have to wonder why “wavy hands” Rafael is asking Mark about his future plans instead of offering him another assignment. Is this Rafael’s way of waving Mark out the door? Will Bill Ellis make another memorable appearance in Saturday’s panels? Stay tuned!

 Zeeba Mussels Epilog, Part 4: Time to up your game, Mark!

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Under the spreading bees nest tree sits a lone house on the prairie. It sure doesn’t look like Mark and Cherry’s house, based on prior drawings by Rivera. However, I’ll award credit for a nice composition, even if the colors are largely and darkly monochromatic.

I notice that Rafael’s pep-talk is all about the video, not the article. Wonder why? No concerns about its facts, conclusions, or validity? Well, I reckon people just don’t read much, anymore. Just make pretty videos. Add comments.

So, Mark has got a long way to go until…what? Is there some specific readership count that constitutes success? Mark reacts like a cross between a day stock trader watching the ticker and a teenager fussing over his Instagram account. He is quickly mutating from a traditional writing-based journalist into an “Internet activist celebrity”, where fame is based on the current NAZDAQ INDEX count of anonymous online followers. Clearly, Mark is going after the youth market, just as this comic strip seems to be doing.

Zeeba Mussels Epilog, Part 3

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Okay, I have no idea what those marks are under Mark’s eyes, and no other commenters do, either. Clearly, Editor Rafael makes no bones about advocacy (or tabloid) journalism. I wonder if “Hot Catch” magazine also features risqué pictures of female fish on page 3, like the women in the English tabloid, “The Sun”.

Although I admit to being a booster for Rivera and her interpretation, overall, I am uncomfortable with how she portrays Mark now and then, such as the insecure, whiney putz in panel 3. Why would Mark need street cred when he works mostly outside of cities? I reckon it might matter if he happened to run across a resurrected version of The Monkey Wrench Gang.

So, c’mon, Rivera! Give Mark a little more self-confidence and “street smarts” (deliberate ironical remark) to go with it. As for that “It wasn’t exactly my plan to get arrested” remark in panel 1, who is he kidding, besides himself?

Zeeba Mussels Epilog, Part 2

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As Ralph the Rat Snake looks on, Rafael properly slams Mark for going outside of his journalistic mandate, if there ever was one. Mark is a modern muckraker, an investigative journalist, I suppose. He probably always has been, but the journalistic side of the old Mark Trail always took a back seat. All we saw was Mark bustin’ heads, exposing petty crooks, and talking to Bill Ellis. So kudos to Rivera for making his job a more explicit part of the stories.

Yet, one cannot claim, based on what we see and read, that Mark is any kind of objective journalist., which seems to be what Rafael expected. His original instructions to Mark failed to spell out his expectations on what to include, like getting all sides of the story.

Anyway, will we ever find out exactly what Duck Duck Goose Shipping is hiding? Had Mark and Diana taken the time to interview anybody in the company or on the ships, things might have gone differently. At least, it would have added more drama to the story.

Zeeba Mussels Epilog

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Okay, Mark makes a video for his editor. That accounts for the repetition of info. The visualization of panel 2 as part of the video recording is well done, as is the drawing of Mark. He has a kind of young Tom Cruise look about him. But, I’ve always heard you look younger (and taller?) on TV and in the comics.

Say, did the B Team take over panel 3? I suppose Mark is supposed to look stunned at Rafael’s pun. Anyway, the execution of the panel is flat, even distorted. In fact, it reminds me of the style of a certain alternative comic artist, whose name I just cannot recall. Maybe I’m wrong, too. I’ll get back to you. Hey, I should have figured that Rafael also runs an e-magazine. In that case, Mark’s exposé could have gotten published almost immediately. After Rafael’s fact-checkers looked it over, of course.

Here is the Weekly Recap and Sunday Nature Talk

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You can skip this recap if you have been following the daily posts. Assuming you have not, pray continue reading.

The week before, we saw Mark, Diana, and Cliff arrested (off-camera, so to speak) for their nautical civil disobedience (something not in their job descriptions). This past week, there was hard time in the local lockup. That is, it was hard time for readers, with three days of inconsequential dialog as the jailbirds waited on their bail. They finished the week with two days of fond good-byes between the gang, having bonded over their protest and temporary incarceration. Even Diana finally heard from her estranged friend, Bee (“Ben”) Sharp, who remotely posted her bail. She was so misty-eyed she actually removed her shades in full frontal facial nudity. It all looked like a long-winded wrap-up for an adventure that seems anything but wrapped up. It is like the sudden endings we’ve seen in Mark Trail adventures before Rivera came along. I was (and still am) hoping for more:  such as an ending that cleans up after itself. But while we’re waiting for Rivera to get her broom and dustpan, let’s check out the Sunday nature strip.

Displaying another interesting nature-based title panel, today’s strip tells us about as much about the kestrel as you’ll find in casual online searches. So Rivera saved us the trouble. In short, it still faithfully upholds the required “Cliff Notes” summary that the Sunday format imposes. However, there are a few more things I picked up from the online Peregrine Fund page:
1. Kestrels can see UV light, which helps them better track prey.
2. Kestrels may be “everywhere” as Mark states, but their populations are declining and experts are not sure why.

Instead of the usual corny dialog in the last panel (that’s a nice drawing of the kestrel there), Rivera could have used it to comment on one or both of those items. So, I saved Rivera the trouble!

…Or is this the end?

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You know how the third film in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Ring trilogy seemed to dedicate about a quarter of the running time to farewells? Or how Beethoven taunted his audience with that ending that kept going in the 5th Symphony? So, is this really the end of the adventure or are we getting set up for a surprising continuation? But it’s Saturday, so this should be the end.

BTW, how did Cliff’s arms shrink in panel 1?  

To call Mark “strange”, as Rivera notes in panel 4, is a stretch. Diana Daggers is strange. Cherry’s hillbilly brother is pretty strange. Professor B Sharp and Cricket Bro are definitely strange. They all make Mark look plain. And Mark is somewhat vain, impulsive, emotional, sometimes uncertain, and a bit sociopathic. A flawed dude, that is. Frankly, I’m quite fine with that. It makes him interesting, but not very strange (well, there is the snake!). Certainly, Mark is a more interesting character than the prior versions of Mark Trail, who all had the personality of a smug postage stamp.

What do you think:  Should this story continue? If so, in what direction? Or are you just happy to see it come to this slap-dash conclusion, so we can move on?

Is this the end of the adventure…!?

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This dialog is giving me flashbacks to the ending of that splendid 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”. Still, is this really the end of the Zebra Mussels adventure? It seems rather arbitrary to me, with a ton of loose threads just dangling in my eyes, leaving me unable to get a clear picture.

Those who complain (okay, I also do, at times!) about Rivera’s work, should find warm solace in that she can also apparently terminate stories, all of a sudden, just like Allen and his predecessors did, and also with little regard for unfinished business.

I suppose they are standing in front of the county lockup. Mark and Cherry share their “moral of the story” as everybody waves “air hugs” and shuffles off to their destinations. But wait…Cliff and his stick-figure friends are waving to Mark (or is it us?) in panel 2, whereas he rejoins the happy couple in panel 4. I guess Cliff got a taste of fame and isn’t really ready to walk away. Anyway, you, dear reader, may comment on panel 3 or anything else you fancy.

Still, I hope I’m wrong and that today’s strip is just the calm before another storm. Let the story rage on!

Okay, “Bee” Sharp, as in “B”, as in Ben, as in Benjamin, as in…

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Can you really bail somebody out online these days? An online money transfer, I presume. But, seriously, folks, I’m trying to remain serious here. At least Bee Sharp is not bad-mouthing Mark this time. But really, he is in California and she is in . . . Lost Forest, wherever that really is. I’m guessing we are still going on the standard assumption it is somewhere in Georgia. Did Ben expect Diana to travel with a sewing machine, or is he going to wait for her to return to her place in California?

But after all that time, why didn’t he just take his lab coat to a tailor or seamstress? Or is this just a transparent excuse to get Diana to return? She doesn’t seem bothered by that. In fact, this is the best she’s looked in some time. Still, Rivera takes pains to use the words “pal” and “friend”, implying their relationship is platonic. Could be, of course.

Okay, Daggers! Give it a rest, already!

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“Tell my story”? Huh!? Does Diana think she’s Joan of Arc? Sylvia Plath? I’ll wait for the movie, thanks. Diana plays up the martyr-in-the-making act, until she mysteriously gets bailed out. Suddenly she gets a call from her former squeeze, Professor Bee Sharp, whom she refers to by his first and last name. It must have been one really intense, intimate relationship. As I recall, Diana was pretty upset with Bee Sharp for scamming her salary and investing it in NFTs without her knowledge.

So the gang gets bailed out. What next? Regroup and try another approach, or call it a day and move on to the next for-hire assignment? But there are threads still hanging. Diana is already a recurring guest star, so her story arc will continue off and on. Not sure about Cliff’s future, as he seems to have been a convenient plot device for the current water-based story.  Nevertheless, this story ain’t over, folks. We have to see what the next move is from Duck Duck Goose and what reactions Mark’s and Diana’s story cause when it gets published. Unless that fishing magazine is a weekly, it could mean a 4-6 month delay!

Can you escape your past?

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Well, this is an interesting set of panels today. Aside from the rather outlandish nature of the “jail cell” (which suggests there is not a lot of serious crime in Lost Forest), there are the once-again disappearing prison bars in panel three (previously brought to our attention this past Saturday by reader Obtuse Angle). Okay, it’s a curious visual convention for a purpose I do not quite understand. Was there a reason why the bar in front of Diana’s face, Saturday, was cut away, as there seemed to be no problem showing Mark and Cliff. And today, the only link is Cherry’s remark about Mark being cute enough. But the schematic style of his face in panel 3 hardly supports the need for this barless convention.

And speaking of faces, note Mark’s face in panel two, which is part of a visual flashback to his Florida adventure where he stole his father’s boat and played havoc in the marina. The significant point here is the style and detail of Mark’s head. It points back to the earlier months of Rivera’s work, when she was using a more naturalistic style, on top of the fact that she was also using more creative compositions and layouts, similar to what you could see in graphic novels. From my point of view, it is unfortunate that a lot of those features have been cut back or discarded. I’m guessing the pressure of keeping on top of her submission schedule has a lot to do with it.