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The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Having arrived home from school, Rusty found a note from Dad telling him to get the kitchen swept before Cherry gets home. Naturally, Rusty thought he had enough time to go off with Andy and dig up some of Robbie’s broken controllers.  Wait! Didn’t Rusty already dig up the controllers? Pappa Mark said he did, at least to Ranger Shaw. 

Rusty’s adventures—such as they are—seem to transmogrify (to borrow a term from Calvin and Hobbes) into something else; often, something Mark is more concerned about. In this case, it is the discovery of broken electronics dumped on the ground in Lost Forest. And they are now complicating Rusty’s activity.

As Rusty and Andy arrived at the site, Rusty discovered three adults already there, unloading more electronics to smash. They are Honest Ernest, Connor the accident-prone camper, and The Gomer in the Yellow Hat, otherwise collectively known as “The Grungy Boys”, aka “Honest Ernest and the Grungy Boys.”  You’d think they would at least have matching caps.

In spite of his efforts, Rusty and Andy were detected by Honest Ernest, putting Rusty in a tight spot. And that’s where we end this past week’s cliffhanger.  But do hang around for the Sunday nature chat.

Wow, do we need yet another discussion of composting? Didn’t Cherry already lecture Violet and us about it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally in favor of composting. Cherry and Mark might want to have a chat with commenter Downpuppy about protecting compost bins from animal attacks.

By the way, Mark (panel 4), personal composting still creates greenhouse gases, just not in the same quantity (and perhaps the same diversity). And food waste that goes into landfills most likely does not exclude meats (panel 4), after it is collected. I don’t know if Rivera got confused between composting and landfilling.  

It isn’t just Rusty’s day that’s gone to the dogs! 

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Somehow, Honest Ernest’s mutual admiration demolition lovefest doesn’t create a lot of drama. But more importantly, how did Andy suddenly get to be so small? 

Maybe it’s just a way to get your Yah-Yahs out. 

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I’m not seeing anything specifically bad here, aside from theft and illegal dumping. Not that they are minor issues; but the destructive actions of these three dudes is nothing to be alarmed over. Better the smashing of a fax machine than a person or animal.  

Why they are doing this at all is not clear. They don’t seem to be angry about being displaced in their jobs, so we can’t call them modern-day luddites.  

Now, why they want to destroy equipment in the woods is a psychological issue for trained medical personnel to deal with. They could as easily destroy equipment in their own back yards. So maybe this sidebar story ends with Ranger Shaw citing them for illegal dumping and the police arresting them for petty theft.  

Then maybe we can get back to Rusty’s school fair project, unless this is just another ploy by Rivera to present Rusty as worthy of his own adventure, only to have it taken away by his father. 

Just another field therapy session.

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Rivera certainly did throw us an interesting curve this time. I recognize Honest Ernest. Is that Afro-haired dude in the middle the annoying kvetch, Connor? He does look familiar, but I forget where. I can’t place the man with the yellow hat, but I’ll wager he doesn’t have a pet monkey named Curious George. 

The idea of smashing objects is a well-known technique for temporary relief of anxiety. It’s certainly possible that these dudes are doing this out of some mutually acknowledged need to displace their anger. Or it could be they just enjoy taking (or stealing) things and destroying them. Then leaving them behind as litter in the forest. Based on the existing litter, these boys have some long-standing anger issues to resolve.

But “Grungey Boys”!?! They don’t seem to fit what is called “grunge boy aesthetic” based on their attire. I’m willing to admit to being wrong on that assessment, but I don’t think so. 

Suspense builds as Rusty returns to the crime scene.

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Andy certainly has that “fashion runway walk” mastered in panel 3, though it’s unusual for a Saint Bernard to have such long, slim limbs. Perhaps the Trails had Andy’s legs shaved for the summer. Or maybe Rivera was looking at Marmaduke’s character reference sheet by mistake. 

You know, my mindful readers, I have a notion that Rivera’s stories could be better if she didn’t go out of her way to telegraph upcoming events in such obvious ways, as in panel 3. Now, Rivera could be throwing us a curve, where Robbie does not suddenly pop into the picture, but Mark and Ranger Shaw do.  

But what would be the outcome if Robbie does show up? I mean, Rusty does have a shovel. And Andy. 

Is Andy making a value judgment on Rusty’s decisions?

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“Don’t worry, I have plenty of time to get it done!” is the surest sign of impending failure every time it is spoken in a book, movie, or comic strip. 

It probably won’t come as a surprise to most of you if I admit that I am a tad confused. Based on Mark’s discussion with Ranger Shaw the week before, Rusty had already been digging, though until that moment, we hadn’t seen Rusty doing any digging. So today he is going back to dig up game controllers. Perhaps the mental image of Rusty at work that Mark portrayed to Ranger Shaw was only a bit of hyperbole. Or maybe Rusty is going back for even more busted controllers. 

But will Rusty run into Mark and Ranger Shaw on their way back from visiting the site? 

Art Dept. I’d like to give Rivera credit for that gray squirrel, but really, that heavy outline just kills any impression of lightness and quickness. 

Hey, kids! What time is it? It’s Rusty’s Adventure Time!

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An empty house, eh? That must mean ol’ Doc Davis is either working at his clinic or he picked the lock on his door and escaped. We can certainly ascribe the latter aspiration to a cheerful Rusty, as he walks down a path brandishing a shovel, while Andy follows behind. Wait a minute: brandshing a shovel?!? Are there more game controllers buried in Lost Forest?  Does he and Andy play some kind of radical version of Hide and Seek?

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat 

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The focus of Mark Trail has traditionally been an environmentally based adventure strip, with adventure as the main draw. That has been one of the main complaints against Rivera’s stories for Mark. Are we to use the same measure for Cherry’s stories? 

Certainly, Cherry’s stories have leaned towards the lighter side. That would be a fair balance to what should be more hard-hitting, dramatic stories from Mark.  

In any event, this past week Cherry showed up at Violet’s with her collected food scraps to start a composting site for the Sunny Soleil Society, as Violet was literally gobbling down a bucket of chicken. Cherry tried to get Violet to remember her pledge to send Cherry to Compost Camp. After a few days of rambling, Violet agreed to fund Cherry’s trip. If Violet was hoping this would stop Cherry’s continuous lecturing, she was wrong. 

Who knew!?! I always thought worms were just normal ground-dwelling creatures found just about everywhere. Good information to know. And I do like the earthworm title panel, though it’s a bit hard to read. 

Meat meets Compost Control

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Okay, consider me reprimanded for my erroneous presumption: Violet was not tossing scraps into the trash, as I misunderstood. All those ginormous bins are for composting. Okay, then. They are still too large and do not appear to be properly vented. So there! 

Cherry makes a very good point about why meat scraps do not normally go into a compost bin. Aside from bears, you must watch out for cats, mice, rats, racoons, foxes. However, compost piles of grass clippings, fruit, vegetables, and even grains can attract herbivores and omnivores, such as possums, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and birds. And possibly bears, anyway.  

Finally, Rivera could stop with the grade-school puns right now and see a 25% increase in the quality of Mark Trail. They are neither cute nor clever. 

Compost bin very good to ME! 

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Well, the story is finally moving along. Very good. But Cherry’s composting plans have a few issues:

1) All of these “bins” look the same. Not a good thing when you include trash and compost. So why place the trash receptacle next to the compost bins?

2) Are these compost bins properly ventilated? They look like they are cheek-by-jowl. Granted, we cannot see their back views, but what we can see is not promising.

3) They seem a bit large for composting bins, especially non-commercial bins. That’s a lot of stuff to keep turning and a large space for compostable refuse to heat up and cook.

4) And how about removing the compost when it’s ready?

Okay, enough carping over details. This is a comic strip, not a documentary or a how-to video. So, I’ll wait to see what Rivera reveals on Saturday. She could put all my nitpicking to shame. Or maybe you could.

Oh my goodness! Lots of catching up to do!!

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I sort of kept up with the goings-on while enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend… lots of travel and not a lot of time or computers available…  anyway, in reading the Thanksgiving installment, I recall being particularly thankful in the fact that Mark did not commit the classic blunder of using the wrong form of the personal pronoun when inviting Mr. Holland onto the boat…  “Spend a few days with my wife and me…” rather than “with my wife and I…”

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But Mark, it’s really not your boat now is it…  but that’s OK, we will let you live in your own fantasy world for now… And that’s right, Mark, Mr. Holland is simply too busy raping the natural world to afford any time away from the office…

But with Great Flourish and Dramatic Purpose, Mark moves from the cockpit to the bow of the great vessel, imploring Mr. Holland to come see the “photos” he has taken…

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And like a Striped Bass (Which Holland recalls not photographing as a child but hooking, landing and gutting…) he takes the bait that Mark has laid out for him…

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Mark, now so pleased with himself, his face so aglow with pure rapture that it’s drawing Cherry into the caper, we now get to see Justin Holland in his thoughtful and pensive state… And we soon get to be introduced to the real villain- Mitchum- who “single-handedly arranged the purchase of the property near the GREAT swamp…”

But Justin, you really are unaware of the vitriol you are about to face, aren’t you??  The lit torches and pitchforks that await you upon meeting “some of the local people…”  they aren’t in the mood to talk or shake hands, they want a pound of eco-flesh- yours…

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So now we know that Holland is simply a pawn in his own company, probably came into his wealth the old fashioned way- through a blood line, a member of the “lucky sperm club,” and now we get to see just how ill-suited he is at running a conglomerate…

 

airline TICKETS???

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Please let this be a connecting flight and not an indication that Mark is bringing his brood with him…  Nothing would spoil this party faster than Mark not being allowed to go off and do what he does… unfettered, unencumbered…

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My goodness, look at the passion on display in panel one.  Bill Ellis may have a desk job, but clearly he has the heart of an ecowarrior… Don’t let the blue blazer and horn rimmed glasses fool you- he has more passion and pluck contained in his left index finger than, well, one might imagine…

But mark what do you mean with that last comment?  Have you been holding out?  Mailing it in??? Have you been giving The Magazine only some fraction of your “best?”  Oh well, no matter, off you go!  Better get your shots up to date while you are at it.  Don’t want you laid out by malaria or Dengue Fever…

Yes I have heard of Jacob Hickman, too…

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Or at least the Google has… he was a lineman for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and decided not to turn pro… Oscar the Otter is shocked by the news as well… is that his mother Mollie or did she get poached by Big Mike?  I forget now…

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How strange that Mark immediately assumes that it will be a phone interview… I don’t think that has EVER happened in his career.  Maybe Mark is (strangely and uncharacteristically) aware of the financial state of the print media industry and therefore is doubly surprised that Woods and Wildlife would spring for a trip to AFRICA… (all right- cue the music- Toto’s AFRICA…the only song EVER to include a reference to Kilimanjaro and rhyme the word Serengeti…  )  Hurry boys, she’s waiting there for you…

Bill Ellis, chill out, man…

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I am pretty sure that Bill and Mark are in the same time zone…  and I always picture Bill Ellis’ office to be somewhere on Madison Avenue in NYC… not on tony Park Avenue, but a block over.  Not low rent but not high either.  This is after all a PRINT Magazine we are talking about here…  and unless it’s part of some conglomerate like Condé Nast, it’s probably limping along financially…  But here’s my point:  either Bill Ellis is putting in ridiculous hours at the office, or he is at home, spoiling the dinner hour taking Mark’s call on his -what- Walkie Talkie??  He still doesn’t seem to know how to hold or use a smart phone- and is still all suited up like he is at work- c’mon Bill, throw on a smoking jacket or something.  Relax, dude…

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Such a look from our hero…  Bill has hit the trip-wire in the Trail-brain, that’s for sure…  first West African Black Rhino, now the White!!  This injustice has to stop!  And who is better equipped to undo generational poverty and black marketeering in sub-Saharan Africa than our own MARK TRAIL?!?  Pack your bags, Mark, you are going on safari!

yes… “COUNTLESS Articles on POACHING…”

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Are you trying to say something here, Bill Ellis??  Like that’s ALL he writes about, and MAYBE he could try another angle this time??  Is James Allen taking a shot at his own strip?  Funny.

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But it’s like they don’t know each other- Not “Hey Bill, Mark here…” but rather “Bill Ellis, This is Mark Trail!”  Mark seems disappointed in panel three that Bill only considers his seminal piece on the West Africa Black Rhino as “good…”  “C’mon Bill, I was on fire!  That was my best work!” Mark’s face seems to say…

Well, it looks like Mark might be off somewhere…  Thank goodness.

Really, Mark? What exactly WAS the last story you filed??

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We never get to see Mark hunched over his typewriter, bullet sweat flying off his brow, pencil clenched in his teeth, trying to make a deadline to get his story into the next issue of Woods and Wildlife magazine…  Or is it hunched over his laptop, connected to the magazine through a high-speed satellite internet connection…  we HAVE seen laptops and flat screen TV’s in the Trailverse…

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But oh thank goodness! A trip!!  A chance to renew himself and his fists with the outside world…  Our strange Odyssey into the world of “Mark Loves Cherry” can soon become a distant (and fleeting?) memory…

Mark Trail is acting like a teenager…

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But can you blame him?  I mean for how many decades has he been drawn, suffocating and not allowed to be a man…

And there HE is… RUSTY.  He looks like he has grown up a bit, not the scary, shape-shifting little sprite out of our worst dreams… He almost looks human…

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One thing sure hasn’t changed, though.  Bad, random, non-sequitur dialogue.  Mark offers up “I left my cell phone in the house!” Cherry responds that she “didn’t hear is ringing!”  What?  Like your phone rings off the hook, at night?  Whatever…  Careful there Mark, you know that this is how babies are made, don’t you??

Mush and Bilge Water…

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As the cranky hermit crab from The incredible Mr limpet (Starring Don Knotts as an animated fish amongst live actors) would say…  These two need to get a room, or at least box seats at Target Field and get caught in the Kissing-Cam…

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Are we done yet?  That’s all you get Cherry!  Let’s head home!!  For what?!?  I don’t even want to imagine…

Breaking News!

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It’s THE BEAR!  THE WOUNDED BEAR!  I thought it was in Doc’s care and custody!  Ranger Dusty! Gather your men!!

The Bear

Possibly wounded bear eludes police, DNR agents in Savage on Page B1 of Friday, May 30, 2014 issue of Star Tribune

Is this a KISSING book??

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Remember the grandson played by Fred Savage from The Wonder Years questioning his Grandfather played by Peter Falk in The Princess Bride??? He was being baited and switched into listening to a chapter book being read aloud to him whilst sick in bed…  That’s what I feel is happening here…  OK, James Allen, WE GET IT…

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But let’s examine the words more closely…  Mark is feeling lucky because he HAS A PLACE TO LIVE… and will do almost anything to not mess that up… Even subject himself to Cherry’s advances…  Even make Cherry feel like he really cares about her… Or is this James Allen getting back at Elrod for years of inattentiveness on Mark’s part?

I might add at this juncture that James Allen has yet to draw Rusty once since taking the helm…  is this a clear message, that he never approved of Mark and Cherry taking on this troubled, underdeveloped child??