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Cricket Bro lays out his AI Vision

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Hmm, I thought the topic is “Going Green with AI”, but Cricket Bro seems to be arguing against that. Cricket Bro’s opening remark in panel 1 lays the foundation for his thesis in panel 2. Seems like a strawman argument to me, as it does to Mark. But, it’s early, so let’s see how the panel discussion develops. At least Mark is stepping in to counter Cricket Bro’s distortion, even if his statement is self-evidently obvious (“This is our planet…the one where people live.”). I don’t know why Mark didn’t dress up in a smart sports jacket, tie, and slacks in order to throw off Cricket Bro and the audience. Instead, his clothes have a big target on him that says “I live in the woods.”

Art Dept. Too bad Rivera didn’t consult the work of comic book artist extraordinaire, Jack Kirby. She could have improved on Cricket Bro’s “pumped-up” body, unless Rivera is deliberately making him look baggy because his pumped torso looks like it is leaking. Boy, I’m persnickety today!

Kelly Welly poisons the well

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Well, introductions must be made. The four-panel format just happens to fit. Otherwise, not much to say here in terms of storyline or plot development. Why is Mark emoting out loud, rather than through a customary thought balloon? Is Mark breaking the conventional “fourth wall” to speak directly to us?

Art Dept. I know that Rivera has commented before about going old school and using non-digital drawing tools (i.e. pen and ink). That kind of looks like what we see in panels 2 and 3, unless somebody else drew them. The style resembles a slightly more finished version of her storyboarding technique, though I hesitate to show them here without permission. Just look her up on BlueSky where she posts. As pen drawing goes, more practice should help. As I’ve mentioned more than once previously, that her Mark Trail style appears to be an outgrowth of her storyboarding approach.

But the other question you are likely asking is “Why was panel 1 and panel 4 drawn in Rivera’s usual, digital style? Why weren’t all four panels drawn using the same style? Got me!

Mark’s optimism gets a kick in the shins

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This is a panel of AI experts? Clearly, Rob Bettancourt (Cricket Bro) conned both Bill Ellis and Mark Trail, as the only other apparent member of this AI “expert panel” is Rob’s brother, Jadsen Sterling. Both were involved in trying to swindle Mark’s dad, Happy Trail, out of his money to support their fraudulent NFT venture (“Oregon Trails”, 2022).

Well, AI experts or not, the brothers are expert grifters in the AI/NFT field. And from way things are shaping up, I’m not holding my breath that the audience is really composed of tech pros, either.

One speaks for all?

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Critical thinking—as thinking is called these days—is a skill that requires ongoing practice. Mark must have skipped his homework as he makes the fundamental mistake of assuming one speaks for all. There is little purpose at the present in trying to figure out the reason for Sid Stump’s panicy outburst. Maybe he had just demonstrated his software in the exhibition hall and all he got in return was a bunch of smirks, rolling eyes, and suspicion. Is Mark really going to dismiss the sincerity of the vendors he talked with because of Sid Stump’s actions?

Art Dept. Not much stands out except maybe panel 3, with a strongly-defined closeup of Mark, posed like the standard Mark Trail “corner lean-in “ image used by her predecessors. This time around, in addition to the radiant energy lines that perhaps symbolize Mark’s illogical revelation, we see the usual unshaven Mark, looking more like a scheming bad guy in a crime movie. In fact, in the pre-Rivera days, Mark’s gruff appearance would almost certainly indicate a person with criminal intent. But as we know, Rivera turned that notion upside down when she took over the strip back in October of 2020.

Mark runs into another adversary!

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As Mark ponders his anti-A.I. position based on those projects he saw, there are a few questionable issues Mark could hit back on in his presentation: The possible cost to people in terms of employment, the proper citation of original data, and financial compensation when AI absorbs published work of people and spits it out in unattributed format. After all, AI doesn’t do original research on its own, of course. It works with data mined from the Internet.

Is there no end to the opponents Mark keeps running into in this story!? In today’s installment, another one of Mark’s “B Team” heavies shows up: Sid Stump is on Mark’s discussion panel. He was also owner/operator of the fake “STEM mountain resort” used to sucker “Big Money” people to attend and give him funds for his special AI project to spread misinformation around the world. Why? I’m not sure. Power, perhaps. Check out the “Bear Necessities” story (2023).

So now Sid wants to dump some AI technology. Big deal! That’s hardly the doomsday scenario that Rivera sarcastically suggests in panel 4. But exactly what is Sid’s sale going to change, as Rivera implies? Perhaps Mark’s opinion of A.I.? He already knows Sid Stump is a con man. So will Mark assume that along with Cricket Bro, this conference is just a scam, a front for some nefarious plot to make the cost of E-bikes ever more expensive? Guess we might find out in due time.

Mark gets schooled on AI projects

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I kind of like the tug-o-war going on in Mark’s head, as he reluctantly begins to move past his basic AI: Bad! mentality.  These are, in fact, actual AI projects. Putting aside the previous odd “interrogation room” interview sequence and the touristy walkabout, this is the first actual meat in an otherwise, vegan story. In these panels, we see Mark’s growing concern and curiosity, revealed through his shifting eyebrows. The influence of AI on and in the environment has been touched on previously in Mark Trail, as we’ve seen; but here, it becomes more of a personal struggle with Mark’s own ethics.

As much as I like to see something serious pop up in Mark Trail, Rivera’s track record of remaining on point is inconsistent. Once again, I fear that we’ll soon see a sharp disruption to Mark’s self-analysis and a big change in the tone of the story. It would be interesting to see Mark give his presentation and admit that he has been forced to rethink some of his biases. Will that happen?

Is Mark getting misty-eyed?

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Once again, Rivera parodies her own strip by presenting a pigeon and foliage in panel 1 as if they have been pasted from another source. Maybe, maybe not. But reality is not the point, I think. It’s just to make sport of Trail fans. I think the expression would be “Own the Tailheads.” Sounds a bit clumsy, doesn’t it? Perhaps we should shorten “Trailhead” to a simpler contraction, “Tread”, as in “Own the Treads.” Nice!

It’s interesting to see Mark stress over writing HTML, when in his early stories, he seemed to be somewhat ignorant of the Internet. Even Mark can learn, I reckon. So is Mark coding his own web pages for his blogs, rather than taking advantage of the many platforms and blog sites already available? That might help explain his low number of followers. Certainly, he must have enough wits about him to cross-post his articles and blogs across multiple sites, right?

I wonder if, in his talk, he’ll bring up that Salt Lake City adventure (“Horsin’ Around”, 2024) involving a secretive data center run by grifter Tad Crass and a bunch of mustangs that may or may not have gotten disturbed by Crass’s desert complex. Maybe he’ll bring up the NFT grift of Cricket Bro and his brother out in Oregon.

Cricket Bro and Kelly’s trash talk continues

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The week has been focused on Mark’s in-person, “preflight check” for the big AI panel. It seems that most of this prep consisted of insults, childish boasts, and a dose of self-righteous anger from Kelly Welly. On the other hand, I’m more convinced than I was on Monday that Cricket Bro’s physique is faked. In Panel 1, “BRING YOU A GAME” should have been written as “BRING YOUR ‘A’ GAME” or “BRING YOU’RE A–GAME”. Sometimes I get a bit nerdy.

Art Dept. I want to have something more positive to say about the drawing and compositions. I truly do. Rivera has drawn much more inventive panels in the past, though much of her current compositional output is humdrum. By the way, do you think Cricket Bro’s somewhat deflated or lumpy physique in panel 3 is just more drawing inconsistency or a clue about his phony inflated physique (and ego)?

Well, there is the question of why Rivera moved from the sweeping view of a large room to more close-up compositions like we see today. Panel1 and Panel 2 could have been combined into a large panel, for example. Otherwise, why bother showing the wide views at all? Wasn’t the intent, with the single chair in the large room, to make Mark feel isolated, small, and vulnerable?

So, what’s on your mind? Any thoughts or observations to share? While I try to calibrate and limit my out-and-out snarkiness, feel free to indulge in your own, as you wish.

I don’t get the punchline!

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Okay, so today is just another round of insulting and dissing Mark. Can we please move on?

You can call me dense, but I just don’t get Mark’s comment in panel 3. Is he talking about himself? It can’t be Cricket Bro, who is not a writer. I’m open to explanations! I don’t even get it what it means.

Although I indicated a bit ago that this would be another foray into silliness and outright tomfoolery, there are also unintended follies along the way. Cricket Bro’s fantasy “action figure” pose (like those cheap toys from the 1980s) and anatomy in panel 1 is one of them. It doesn’t even look like him. The more I look at it, the creepier it looks. Rivera might want to study comic book action heroes for better inspiration. Poor Cricket Bro’s anatomy (panel 2) looks like it was made up; even the lines are just a haphazard hash. Not sure why!

Rivera’s constant need to present this strip in a gag format (even when the gags don’t work) does little to improve the storyline. In fact, it’s a real distraction!

Kelly steps up and stakes her claim

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Who knows!? Maybe Kelly is a better nature journalist, which is why Mark gets the weird and silly assignments. Of course, this sets up a real conundrum for Rivera. Can Kelly Welly be as good—or better—than Mark, in his own comic strip? Or is Bill Ellis a secretive, conniving SOB for sending both Mark and Kelly on the same assignment to see who submits the better story?

But maybe Kelly will once again be doomed by her delusions and lack of a brand name, bound for another humiliating return to the Mark Trail Phantom Zone. Of course, given the stakes here and the serious nature of the subject, we should not expect Rivera to turn this story into a farrago of nonsense and superficialities. Right?

Wait, sorry. I already predicted that that is going to be the case, though that is hardly a revelation.