I’m confused here. Cherry and Mark talk to Rick as if he was some local punk, trying to pick a fight with them in a bar. Then Rivera has Mark spout some cornball mano-a-mano nonsense in panel 2. Curiously, while spouting his eye-to-eye declaration, Mark is shown farther away from the cell. Based on Mark’s declaration, I would have expected Rivera to show an actual face-to-face, eye-to-eye closeup of Mark and Rick. It’s a curious disconnect.
Also curious is panel 4, where Mark suddenly says he’s fine with letting The Authorities take care of Rick. What was all that macho talk about, then? This panel reminds me of stories where the bratty little kid catches an older sibling swiping a cookie and says “I saw you! I’m gonna tell Mom, and you’ll be in big trouble!”
Anyway, just what is Rivera trying to accomplish with this extended jailhouse confrontation? And how many more days will this verbal beat-down visit continue? Alas, Rivera likes to start new stories on Mondays, so I hope we’ll see something else filling out the rest of the week. Maybe we’ll find out whether Olive, Peach, and Dirk have left for their homes, or are meeting with the Lost Forest Prosecuting Attorney(!), to give testimony.
Boys will be boys, huh? While I understand the implication that Mark is upset that somebody threatened his family and in-laws, his assumption of authority here is egregious and downplays the fact that Cherry and her siblings already took care of the problem without him. Does Mark feel guilty for not being there? Or does he just feel a need to insert himself into the situation? Mark has always been more vigilante than reporter. It’s not “the Two Pens O’ Justice” that he wields.
Art Dept. Well, I don’t know why Rivera keeps having trouble keeping Mark’s face consistent. His head in panel 1 looks as if his nose has been chopped off. And he displays such small hands in panel 4. Small hands are something that has plagued Mark from time to time. Here is another example from May 2016, during the infamous cave chase adventure (“Arachnid Ho!”).
I can tell you from experience that hands can be quite difficult to draw well, and in proper proportions. But that’s no excuse.
For any newcomers to Mark Trail, that 2016 illustration above represents what Mark looked like before he underwent the transformation to the Mark you see today. It’s similar to Dr. Who’s transformations that take place when a new actor takes over.
Another point of interest: The jail cell illustrations. How do you illustrate people in jail, when seen from the outside? Too far away, and the character disappears behind the vertical bars. Too close, and you might lose the panorama you want to show.
Rivera’s solution of making cell bars temporarily disappear is inventive, but not really satisfactory. She has used this “disappearing bars” technique before, as far back as January 2022 in the “Zeeba Mussels” adventure. So, check out panel 3 in today’s strip, where Rick looks as if he is actually standing outside of his cell!
A Sheriff?! Is Lost Forest actually in Arizona or Wyoming? Well, this Sheriff is wearing his official Stetson and holding his official “Old West Jail Cell Key Ring”, the kind that hangs on a peg by the cell, so prisoners can work on creative ways to get them and escape. Maybe we’ll find out soon just why Cherry thinks it is necessary to visit Psycho Rick, especially as sister Peach appears to no longer be around.
The Sheriff looks guilty of playing the “male chauvinist” card, while he talks to Mark as if he is the one who needs to talk to Rick, and “the little woman” just came along, clinging to her husband. But his remark might be understandable, given that Mark is the one who spoke up first, while Cherry remained silent. And she sure looks clingy. Still, what’s the story here? Where is it heading? Are we going to have a “Silence of the Lambs” moment this week?
Art Dept. That’s one strange jailhouse. Another one of Rivera’s strange art days, with shifting proportions and bad perspective. Clunky drawing mars the panels where visual elements such as the cell door and the front door look as if they were bent and then slapped onto the walls. There’s a lot to unpack and you’re welcome to indulge.
In case you missed the past six days, I’m here to fill you in on the <yawn!> action. (I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to go back and read all of my snappy daily comments, but I’m biased.) Since Mark’s manatee adventure came to an end, Mark checked in with Bill Ellis and caught him up on events. Rivera devoted four days to the phone call, just to ensure we all got a proper debriefing. That was nice of her! Also, I proposed a small thought experiment about what Bill Ellis does on his time off. Apparently, just about everybody assumed he did nothing, as I only received one comment on Friday, suggesting Bill pretty much did nothing. Next time, I may ask about Doc Davis.
For the last two strips of the week, Mark was back at his cabin in Lost Forest, where he met Cherry standing in front of her truck. There, I noticed some peculiar marks drawn under Mark’s eyes (2/14/25), features I’ve seen on faces in the past. So I asked readers what they thought those marks could be. Regular reader Be Ware of Eve Hill suggested they might be blushes, though blushes normally show up on cheeks. “Perhaps Pink Eye”, she went on to joke. Well, not tears of joy, either. So the matter remains unresolved.
Getting back to the story, Mark suggested he and Cherry check out some nature trails for in-depth investigation, but Cherry put him off stating they needed to get to the Lost Forest Hoosegow because ex-boyfriend, Psycho Rick, showed up at the cabin and again tried to kidnap Peach Pitt. Seems that kidnapping is becoming all the rage in this strip.
Well, that’s it for another week! So now, on to the nature presentation.
Another timely and theme-relevant nature subject, as the title panel relates to the white buck that Psycho Rick shot and bragged about. In fact, the title panel reminds me of a drawing on an early hunting computer game I once saw in a computer store. A fair topic, for sure, though I don’t know how Rivera expects readers to take a stand against poaching, other than donating money to organizations that fight poaching, becoming a game warden, or maybe going out and hunting the poachers.
Has Mark been reading those old adventure books by Rafael Sabatini? I mean, who says “So great to reunite with you.” And Mark’s only been gone two days. So fine, I think we all understand by now why Mark and Cherry enjoy their so-called nature walks, which also makes it easy for them to do tick removal before heading home.
We now know why Rivera didn’t draw a combined arriving-and-leaving scene at the airport. Apparently, Peach and Olive have to hang around town for Rick’s trial. I don’t get why this requires heading out to the jail, unless Rick filed counter charges against Peach, Olive, and Dirk.
It’s a shame, though, that we didn’t really get much education about manatees and wildlife while in Florida. Perhaps Mark and Cherry really should take some time for a nature walk so can at least observe some birds and bees.
Well, I’m a bit disappointed that Rivera did not repeat the drop-off/pickup scene with Mark and Cherry’s sisters that she used to begin their two adventures. It would have made a nice symmetrical bookend. Instead, Mark simply showed up, just in time, we are told.
So, are we back at the Trail cabin? If so, did Mark take an Uber? On the other hand, perhaps we are really at the airport and this is a view looking away from the airport, towards the pickup zone.
I’ve spent time in deep thought, but have no good answer. Does anybody know what those pink elipse-shaped blobs are under Mark’s eyes in panel 3? I’ve seen them from time to time, but no idea what they represent. Probably not tears of joy. At least, there is one thing we can all be glad about and that is not having to listen to any more of Mark’s phone call to Bill Ellis.
We still have Saturday to go, so there is one more day for taking care of any loose ends, suchas where is Doc Davis? And did Dirk mysteriously disappear in the confusion?
Ho hum. Looks like Rivera ran out of things for Mark to say, so we may have to endure blathering for the rest of the week. Blathering is a handy technique people employ for ending a phone call that is going on longer than you like. But that can take longer than we’d like.
Some of us are more adept and can end a call more efficiently by saying something like “That sounds really interesting, Bob, but I’ve got a lumbago appointment in 30 minutes. Talk with you later. Bye!” <CLICK!>
The real masters of ending phone calls will get the other party to end the call for them: First party: “Say, did you read the latest Mark Trail blog? Wait, I can read it to you; it’s only four or five paragraphs today…” Other party: <Oh, that would be—wait, my phone is about dead. Let’s chat later. Bye!> <CLICK!>
It’s amazing how quickly things can happen in the Trailverse. Mark has presumably just retrieved his car from the Storm Brain parking lot. And already, Rita and Skeeter’s business has taken off. As excited as Bill Ellis pretends to be, he sure didn’t offer to post any of Storm Brain’s work on his own media platforms.
I think Bill must be putting a figurative knee into Mark’s cajones regarding how posting to his online site (?) or social media platform will really give Rita and Skeeter’s business a boost. Can we really believe Bill wouldn’t know the status of Mark’s online popularity? Hah! Bill must be paying dogfood rates if Mark’s popularity is still in the basement.
Was it just the two employees of Cricket Bro who were behind this conspiracy, or was Cricket Bro the leader of it? Mark certainly thought so earlier (1/27). But Mark is being rather vague or misleading about the reason for their actions in panel 3. I reckon he refers to their climate change denial.
Say, is that a tree swallow in panel 4? Or a Florida Scrub-Jay? It lacks the chestnut-colored breast of a bluebird. I’m no ornithologist, so I’m happy to be corrected. In any event, it looks as if the bird is studying Mark as if he was a worm about to become the afternoon snack.
Reader Daniel Pellissier commented yesterday whether we will ever see Mark actually write up one of his reports. Perhaps Bill Ellis records their conversations and transcribes them for publication? Mark, the so-called photojournalist, certainly did not appear to be taking photographs during this assignment.
Art Dept. Rivera normally handles the close-up panels well enough, considering her style. But as usual, Rivera also relies on sketching generalized “flora” in a minimalist fashion that defies identification. For a nature-based strip, Rivera could spend some time adding more substance and texture to the bushes and trees to at least create a more representational illusion of leaves and bushes. It is not beyond her skill.
Well, Cherry’s adventure seems to have ended last week with a thud, along with a drop in my blog’s stats for the week. Perhaps I was a bit too optimistic in my thinking Rivera was actually considering going “serious.” Or perhaps it was me, failing to take Rivera on her own terms, rather than mine.
In any event, it’s time for some of the usual end-of-story cleanup. Will Mark actually wind up at the Lost Forest airport when Peach and Olive are departing? I just don’t understand why Rivera doesn’t coordinate with me!
Apparently, Mark has already ditched Rita and Skeeter, based on the fact that he is back with his car rental. And we’re back with Rivera’s oft-used 3-panel gag layout. I don’t know if Bill expects Mark to write something up or which magazine will publish it, but I hope he isn’t expecting any photos.
Thought experiment for the day: Ever wonder what Bill Ellis does after work or on weekends?
Hoo-boy, you almost missed real drama! It seemed for a moment that Rivera had taken a turn for the serious. But no worries, she quickly spun back to her tried-and-true habit of absurdity and jokes.
The week began with Cherry, her two sisters, brother Dirk, and Rusty sitting at dinner. Afterwards, Peach took out the garbage. Here we learned for the first time that the Trail cabin sits on a plot of land with a small descent behind it, resulting in the cabin having a raised stone foundation with a rear deck and steps! Just think of all those Trail cookouts we missed seeing.
So thisis the point where things got serious: As Peach walked down the steps, she saw Rick, standing at the bottom, his car parked beside him, in the backyard. Yet, nobody heard it drive up. When Peach told Rick once again to leave, he displayed his gun and shoulder holster and threatened everybody inside. As a terrified Peach was being forced into the car, Cherry came out to see what was keeping Peach.
The hoped-for serious drama gave way at this point: While Cherry faced Rick and urged Peach to move back, Dirk suddenly appeared. Quickly scoping the situation, Dirk whistled and his “feral hog friends” suddenly appeared and started ramming Rick’s car before he could drive away. Of course, Rick’s escape attempt failed as his car was heavily battered and he was knocked senseless. The gang pondered calling the police, as Dirk offered some of his homespun hillbilly wisdom.
Are we at the end of Cherry’s story? Once again, it has that feel. I bet that next week we’ll see Cherry drop Olive and Peach off at the airport as Mark arrives to get picked up, symmetrical bookends to the start and end of both stories. As for Brother Dirk, he will likely just disappear on his own and maybe change his phone number.
Okay, I usually appreciate Rivera’s customized Sunday title panels, and today’s contribution is almost there. At the very least, it is creative. As is common, Rivera’s Sunday topic links, geographically, to Mark’s current storyline. That makes the Sunday strips more interesting than just reading about random animals or locations.
I have no major issues with this content, though panel 3 is redundant. Rivera could have used that panel to show us another mating example. And then there is the weak, forced humor in Mark’s asides. <Sigh!> He’ll never have a future hosting late night TV shows, so Mark should leave the jokes to the professionals.
It was too good to be true, a hallucination brought on by an overoptimistic hope that Rivera might have finally attempted to deal with a serious issue in a serious manner. In the immortal words of the late, lamented thinker, John Belushi, “But, NOOOOOOOOOO!”
I reckon that Rivera just couldn’t handle the strain of changing her tune. Or maybe she did not care to. It seems that Mark Trail is destined to remain a simple parody strip of itself, dedicated to playing fast and loose with the strip’s traditional focus on nature, wildlife, and old fashioned values.
Some self-parody or even a bit of satire now and then is good. It shows humility. But here, it is more like a scratched record where the needle gets caught, repeating the same phrase, over, and over, and …. Maybe the paucity of traditional, serious adventure strips these days motivates Rivera and her syndicate to play Mark Trail more for laughs. But Mark Trail is sui generis, a one-of-a-kind strip with a tradition of focusing on nature and humanity’s relationship with it. And we already have a plethora of gag strips.
Well, I figured Dirk would step in, again acting in Mark’s place. But that was so predictable. I hoped that Rivera would have Olive make a stand, gun in hand, and draw down on Rick. I don’t know why Rivera keeps presenting strong women, but leaving them helpless or useless. Consider the fate of Diana Daggers, former kickass bodyguard and driver for Professor Bee Sharp.
It certainly looks as if the Moment of Drama has given way to the Moment of Inanity, as Dirk’s feral hogs (maybe wild boars?) appeared out of nowhere and automatically attacked Rick’s car. Smart pigs!
But the timeline seems truncated. It’s as if Rivera left out some important steps. Yesterday, both Peach and Rick were preparing to get into the car, with Cherry standing by the steps. Today, brother Dirk is already down the steps, alongside Cherry. Peach is still outside, but Rick is in the car, trying to get away! And lo and behold, here come the feral hogs! So much for packing heat, Rick.
The drama we saw the last two days seems to have just been a ruse, as the strip returns to its normal emphasis on oddball characters, light stories, and mediocre jokes. Disappointing.
Are you wondering if I’m going to make a crack about Cherry’s hips in panel 2? That would be grabbing low-hanging fruit, so to speak. But feel free to ponder why Rivera made the choice to draw Cherry that way. It’s about consistency, not sexism!
If you read yesterday’s strip, you know that I asked whether Rivera can keep up the dramatic mood she sprung on us (and on Peach). Well, today is a mix of inanity and drama.
First of all, how can Cherry’s trash bin be tricky to find when it’s right beside the steps in plain sight? Are we to think these outdoor scenes are really supposed to be dark? Or does Cherry think Peach is an idiot? Inanity! Rivera could have made up a simpler and more likely reason: “Maybe she got distracted by the great views we have of the stars. I’ll go check.”
Secondly, Rick’s car magically appears in the back yard, though I believe Rivera had to take some liberties for the sake of the scene: Cherry descends the steps, only to discover the danger Peach faces as she is forced into the car. There is another loophole.
In short, real danger continues to hang over the story. What will Cherry do next? What will Rick do, now that Cherry is on the scene? And I wonder where Dirk is.
Well, Peach’s problem has taken a sharp dramatic turn. I’m frankly surprised that Rivera chose one of Cherry’s innocuous adventures to include a threat of actual danger. I’m suddenly very interested in how Rivera continues this story.
Forget what I said about the possibility of Rick renouncing his ways. ThisRick is a man with real mental issues, in possession of a gun and threatening Peach and her family. The story could go several ways, but I hope that “goofy”, “contrived”, “slapstick”, or “absurd” are not likely options.
Art Dept. The artwork today is inconsistent, but improves. Panel 1 is overburdened with heavy black lines and roughly-drawn steps. Rick’s head/face keeps changing again, but he does look convincingly menacing in panel 3 (while also looking ten years older). Panel 3 suggests a film inspiration, but I fail to recall anything specific. I just don’t get to that many movies.
Rivera made a very good decision in panel 4 to zoom in on Peach’s terrified expression and contrast it with the darkly shaded background. It would not have been as effective a scene if Rivera used the same composition as panel 3, where Peach has to share the space. Can Rivera keep this up?
I’ve been challenged to produce a vigorous analysis of this past week. I must be slipping, as I thought all of my weekending summaries are vigorous in one form or another. Well, let’s see how things go…
First, a brief recap the week, day by day (I’m ignoring the omnipresent bear puns):
Mon – Mark reacts to learning Cricket Bro is behind the kidnapping attempt. He is put off to learn that the kidnappers do not know who he is. This could have been important, as it suggests Mark’s participation was not anticipated by Cricket Bro. Tue – The kidnappers reveal they are here to grab Rita because of criticism against a post of Cricket Bro. Wed – The kidnappers support the manatee-weather conspiracy and spout nonsense about Max. Thur – Rita pounds the kidnappers on climate change. The kidnappers thought wearing bear costumes would protect them from arrest. Fri – The police are called and Max is finally released into the “freshwaters” of Florida. Sat – The police arrive to take the kidnappers. Our gang commiserates over the slow acceptance of climate change in the general public. Max is shown listlessly floating and shrunken.
This week’s strips suggest we have reached the end of the story, though it left the door open for dealing with Cricket Bro. Will this take place in one of Mark’s subsequent, off-the-books revenge stories? Wait a minute. Has Mark ever had one of those stories? Frank Miller could whip one up, I’m sure.
Now, what was this adventure really about? Was it really about protecting Max the Manatee? We can all agree that it definitely wasnot about protecting manatees, in general. As previously noted, there was virtually no face time with Max until the last two weeks. Even then, it was brief and desultory. None of the usual safeguards, procedures, or professional assistance for manatees was depicted or mentioned. Then there were the late revelations by the kidnappers about Cricket Bro’s involvement and his objective to stifle scientific/political views contrary to his own.
We were misled—well, I was misled—by the initial emphasis on protecting Max the Manatee. This was really a kind of bait-and-switch story. Mark was hired as a bodyguard, not a reporter. His job was to bring his Two Fists O’ Justice to any conspiracy nut who interfered with Rita and Skeeter getting Max back into his natural waters. I wonder if Bill Ellis knew this? And this conspiracy was either initiated or supported by Mark’s earliest “nemesis”, Rob Bettencourt, aka Cricket Bro.
When seen in this light, I believe the story makes more sense, though it is still superficial and lacks any suspense. Then again, we can claim that Rivera’s stories have never been about actual suspense and drama, excluding Mark’s first adventure. Thus, criticism about any lack of suspense and drama is redundant and unwarranted. What do you think?
It’s kind of depressing that Mark would spend so much space and effort discussing the groundhog’s weather prediction nonsense. But then again, I’d probably be more depressed if I thought there were people who still do believe this. What’s that, you said..? There are such people!? Oh, right: “Manatees can control hurricanes.” <Gag!> Where is my bucket?
I’m concerned that people in this adventure strip seem to have trouble knowing which way to face when communicating. In panel 1, we see Mark doing the Big Wave as he faces the waterfront. I thought he was still waving at Max. But no! Mark is waving at the two hapless kidnappers who are, technically, behind him, to his left. In fact, Skeeter and Rita are also looking out, across the water. This is the same orientation problem that we saw yesterday.
I’m floating a theory that ol’ Max the Manatee might actually now be ol’ Max the Ex-Manatee! Take a look! Go on. Look! In panel 1 he seems to have floated back to the shore and shrunk by a good ten feet. He looks more like a child’s pool float. What gives?
I do not understand the need to bring Max back, nor show him suddenly next to the shore, compared to his position yesterday (panel 4), after the gang said goodbye. Why is Max in the panel at all? The real point ofpanel 1 is to trash-talk the two failed kidnappers. Furthermore, the rest of the conversation is about climate change, not Max or the endangered status of manatees. This just reinforces my earlier conviction that this story told us next to nothing about manatees, their issues, and their need for guardianship by qualified professionals.
Reader Be Ware of Eve Hill commented on the possibility of a decline in the art of this strip related to the resignation of Tea Fougner, Editorial Director of King Features Syndicate. I mentioned her departure on January 6. My current answer is “Got me!” My understanding is that Fougner was instrumental in bringing Rivera in to update the strip. Given that the art has fluctuated over the past several years, I’m not inclined to believe a causal link to Fougner’s departure. I’m more inclined to think a new director will arrive and promote a different agenda, which might be a bigger concern. King Features owns the Mark Trail strip and Rivera is just the current hired caretaker, as was James Allen before her.
Rita refers to the “freshwaters” of Florida. Really!? This event must have taken place in the 1940s, since I read that these days the “freshwaters of Florida” are polluted from pesticide and fertilizer runoff, which has killed a lot of the sea grass that manatees depend on, and are a leading danger to the survival of the manatees in Florida. Guess they missed that piece of information.
I think we’re all surprised to find that Max the manatee is actually still alive, after been ignored for most of this adventure. And I wonder how they got Max safely back into those “fresh” waters, as Rivera perhaps decided her readers do not need to know how much time, effort, and care is actually required to do accomplish this! So much for this strip’s focus on environment and nature.
First Question of the Day: Why does Rita ask Mark to take control of the kidnappers, since Skeeter already has the situation in hand? Second Question of the Day: Why are Rita, Skeeter, and Mark facing away from Max in panel 3 as they see him off? Third Question of the Day: Is this the end of the adventure, or does Mark go on to pursue Cricket Bro?
Now, don’t wait. Operators are standing by 24 hours a day by to take your comments!
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.
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.
The Daily Trail 