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Mark is unbearably confused. Nothing new.

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Burglars!? What is Mark talking about? And just who is responsible for this mistatement, Mark or Jules Rivera? Does Rivera make Mark say this for the sake of the alliteration or is Rivera, herself, confused?

Well, this “save the manatee” story has certainly taken a turn to the offbeat. And that is not necessarily a compliment. In spite of Rita’s environmental assertion (panel 1), this story has spent little time on actual environmental or biological issues. And that is not good for a strip like Mark Trail.

This story continues to focus on the fake hurricane conspiracy and the two conspirators. And today’s strip is clearly just an excuse for a lame anti-Florida “joke.” In short, no actual story development.

Art Dept. Fairly rough work. Mark looks out of proportion in panel 1 and is barely recognizable in panel 2. Perhaps that image supports the reason for depicting regular characters in the same clothes in order to assist recognition.

The Great Conspiracy conspiracy.

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This pivoting is confusing. First, it’s manatee-controlling weather. Then it is Rita’s climate change position. Now, it’s the weather again, but apparently from a secret government machine outsiders know about. Isn’t that the way it always is with these conspiracies!? Well, I’m not going to waste time going through this mess.

Art Dept. The one thing I will comment on is Rivera’s interesting use of perspective today, providing us a bottom-up view of Rita, Skeeter, and Mark in panels 1 and 4. Perhaps viewpoint is the more accurate term, as the lower view reinforces the illusion of foreshortening.

Frankly, Rivera could have produced a much better story that focused on the dangers to manatees from nature and human actions. I’m not going to expound on it here, but you can see my summary in the comments section for yesterday, as a response to an observation from commenter Daniel.

It turns out that even the two Bear Bozos don’t really care about Max the Manatee!

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RRRRRRIIPPPPP! That’s the sound of me tearing what’s left of my hair off of my head. Has Rivera lost the point of this simple storyline? Let me help you out, Jules. Here is a recap:

The Whether Men is a group of conspiratorial nutjobs who think manatees can control hurricanes, so they threatened to steal Max the Manatee for their own nefarious purpose. Rita and Skeeter hired Mark as their Protection Detail while they transport Max back to his watery home. They were first ambushed at a gas station by two conspirators dressed in bear costumes. Mark forced them to flee. Mark and his companions then drove to their destination and began unloading Max, whereupon the same two bear-bozos showed up again, demanding Mark hand over Max! Not Rita! Got it, Rivera?

So, what’s this revelation (panel 2) from NutJob #1 all about? Why would anybody kidnap someone because of a disagreement over their online posts? Clearly, Rita is not the only person posting scientific climate change information. Does Cricket Bro intend to kidnap everyone who disagrees with him? Sure, Cricket Bro is a duplicitous, self-serving conman, but there’s nothing in his character we have seen to suggest he would engage in felonious kidnapping. But I live to learn.

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Breaking News: There are unconfirmed reports that Max the Manatee was attacked and eaten by a 16 foot Burmese Python while lying unattended alongside a local shoreline. Max had been under the care of Storm Brain, a local science-based nonprofit organization. Security consultant Mark Trail could not be reached for comment. State and federal officials will investigate the situation.

Mark gets his ego bruised.

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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.