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The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat 

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Rusty’s class visited “the national science museum” this past week.  It was a week jam-packed with … uh, with … well, with some lip service about NOAA’s importance in tracking storms, oceans, and conservation. Mark jumped in to answer questions directed to the students, as is his habit. He patted himself on the back for his knowledge and gung-ho support for NOAA.  

In spite of this apparent focus on NOAA, it still seemed like the week focused more on Mark’s reactions. For example, the students and teacher Mavis essentially had nothing to say or do all week, other than stand in a line while Mark and Rusty grabbed center stage with the docent. There was very little demonstration or exhibits shown, losing an opportunity to better showcase NOAA’s work. 

I am not belittling NOAA. I stand on the opposite side of those who seek to dismantle, break up, or privatize this important agency. NOAA performs real and important work. There is a second week coming up, so maybe we’ll learn something. But so far, this has been a pretty weak story, offering no drama, plot, surprises, or enlightenment. Will today’s nature talk do any better? 

I reckon that we can at least agree that the title panel is colorful, though a bit meh. The topic of aggressive turkeys is at least topical. In my location, wild turkeys are found just about everywhere during the fall:  golf courses, parks, university campuses, and yards. I have not seen their aggressiveness, but I can testify to their stubbornness or stupidity when it comes to avoiding automobiles. The stand in streets with near complete indifference, to the point of getting run over from time to time.  

Question: What the heck is that orange shape in the title panel?

Somebody get Mark some pom-poms! 

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Instead of highlighting NOAA’s many services, research, and missions, Rivera wastes another day on puns. NOAA’s website (noaa.gov) has lots of information, programs, and resources, including a section on education for home and school.  

It is no surprise that Mark dominates the panel space, dialog, and focus. Never mind that his job is only to help chaperon the students, along with Teacher Mavis. She is the person who should be interacting with the docent, along with the students. Rivera blunders by focusing exclusively on Mark. Maybe Mavis took her down time to get a coffee. But the strip is called Mark Trail, so he always rides in the front seat. It is amusing that virtually nobody he meets has heard of him.

“Well, wasn’t this a really informative visit, class? What did we learn about NOAA? No, Mark, not you. I’m talking to the students. Why don’t you go back outside and try to ambush Senator Smalls?” 

The NOAA presentation continues 

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Rivera wastes half of the space today (panel 1) by having the docent repeat what she said yesterday. Not that explaining NOAA’s goals is a waste of time, itself, especially given the pernicious scapegoating that some politicians and groups are touting about NOAA. They link it to the “climate change alarm industry” and think it needs to be downsized, broken up, and brought to heel. Will Rivera take us down that path? 

Art Dept. Panel 3 shows us another case of Rivera’s reliance on (and appreciation for) the symmetrical composition of a figure with upraised arms flanked by two other figures. We can see this organization at least as far back in Rivera’s work as the scene of Tess Tigress welcoming Mark, Diana Daggers, and Rex Scorpius to her compound in the “Puff Piece Zoo” story (9/6/2022). 

The composition of Tess Tigress and her companions at least has a functional story purpose for the arrangement, being that of a formal greeting. In today’s episode, the composition in panel 3 is largely meaningless, insofar as the information in that panel could have been presented with almost any arrangement of the figures. The best that I come up with is that Rivera is giving the reader a compositional illusion of standing in between Mavis and Mark, looking on, while the docent and the students pointlessly stand in a line, facing Mark and Mavis. 

Hee-Hee, Hah Hah?

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At times I wonder if Rivera is actually drawing this strip or whether there is a “ghost artist” behind the scenes. Sure, we have criticized Rivera many times for her artwork and storylines. Frankly, her stories are not much sillier than James Allen’s were, when it comes down to comparisons. 

And I must wonder whether Rivera is just seeing how far she can go in this strip as far as absurd drawing is concerned. In today’s strip, every panel is an exhibit. 

Panel 1: In addition to the slap-dash drawing, the composition of two children in profile framing the central figure as if this were some Renaissance painting of the Virgin Mary adored by the painting’s donors is corny. 

Panel 2: The speaker appears to have aged about 10 years. The background composition is poorly thought out. Half-length figures would have worked more effectively. The children look like stiff, badly made puppets or dolls. Without the color, Mark and Miss Mavis seem to be missing their lower torsos.  

Panel 3: The most successful of the four panels today, insofar as drawing goes. Drawing a foreshortened arm can be tricky for any artist, and I’ve seen worse. Rivera has done this better in the past (sorry, I don’t have the time to find an example. Maybe you can!), but it is enough for us to understand. As for the dialog and behavior, it is egregious, making Mark act as if he is an impulsive jerk. This is not new; Rivera often has Mark react impulsively and foolishly. It is one thing to show Mark over his head in new environments (which is fine, because it shows Mark is not the heroic archetype he has traditionally been portrayed as); but it is another thing to show him lording it over school children as if he has no control. 

Panel 4: As Mark is properly chastised by the docent, we face yet more perplexing and frustrating artwork. We have seen many times before that Rivera cannot draw human figures in the background with any degree of authenticity. Deliberate or not, I cannot say. I noticed that Teacher Mavis has suddenly shrunk, whereas she has been drawn as nearly the same height as Mark. This is careless and insulting to Rivera’s readers as if she draws these figures with so little regard.  

Any reactions from you? Please leave a comment!

Mark sets himself up for more trouble

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Mark—or rather, this story—is skating on thin ice. Or, perhaps my reaction is. Mark’s smugness in panel 3 is obvious, but maybe not justified. I’m not convinced that Senator Smalls recognizes Mark, in spite of Mark’s retort in panel 3.

Mark could have replied that he is, in fact, a journalist. But he didn’t! Why wouldn’t he reveal his bona fides as a wildlife and environmental journalist to justify his questions?

It’s possible that Smalls thinks Mark is just another troublemaking tourist. The fact that Mark is dressed in blue jeans and a red checkered shirt might have something to do with him standing out from the crowd, even if it is a crowd of journalists.

Will the Capitol Police show up at this point and try to haul Mark away? Will he try to fight them off?

Mark challenges Smalls to dismiss protecting children

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I forgot to bring up Mark’s comment in yesterday’s strip, where he said “What you’re doing is wrong and un-American!” Well, what Senator Smalls was doing was giving a speech, which is decidedly not un-American! Mark should have said “What you are saying is wrong and un-American!” Closer to what he probably meant, but still not accurate. Wanting to dismantle a government agency might be stupid, thoughtless, or even just political theater, but it ain’t un-American. However, declaring you support arresting or executing the people who run a government agency for your own political gain has a much higher chance of being declared un-American, depending on which people you poll. For all his faults, I don’t think Smalls will go that far.

As for today, how is it that Senator Smalls does not recognize the very person who violently interrupted his press conference in Ohio, exposed his corruption, and finally got him arrested? I mean, Mark is even wearing the same clothes!

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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You saw them brave wild lions, survive dangerous sea currents, and ignore plot holes in their hunt for a missing movie director (“Lions and Crickets and Caves, oh my!”). Now see them come together again, as they take on the complex and sometimes-brutal forces of Washington, D.C.!

Mark and Rusty are off on another father-and-son adventure: a school field trip to Washington, D.C. While touring, Rusty’s class happened upon a politician giving a stump speech to run for a senate seat in Congress. Mark recognized the speaker as State Senator Sam Smalls, the corrupt Ohio politician in bed with the railroad responsible for a dangerous chemical spill and explosion.

I noted this week that Rivera injected some actual current political content (about NOAA) into Small’s speech. While hearing Smalls talk, Mark became apoplectic at the same time that Rusty became entranced. A parent or teacher (it’s unclear to me) tried to shush Mark, but he was having none of it. Mark began to interrupt Small’s speech and openly challenge him. Readers may recognize the similarity to Mark’s interaction with Senator Smalls at a press conference following the exploding Ohio train crash (2023). That interaction led to violence and a police chase.

Will this aggressive interaction bring about a meaningful debate or just lead to another communications breakdown, followed by a police pursuit and/or arrest?

It’s true that some politicians (including the fictional Senator Smalls) and special interest groups want to split up/cancel NOAA, for political purposes. The Project 2025 report is one such entity.

However, not all Republicans agree. A House bill introduced by a Republican in 2023 (H.R.3980 of the 118th Congress, ‘‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act of 2023’’) aims to split NOAA from its dependent position under the Department of Commerce into its own, independent federal agency. The justification is to remove non-scientific oversight by Commerce and give NOAA its own statutory authority as a federal agency. This sounds commendable.

But it is very different from other, largely-Republican politicians and resources, including Project 2025, which calls for privatizing and splitting up NOAA, while removing its climate change research mandate. I noticed that H.R. 3980 actually supports NOAA’s climate research authority. That might explain why the bill is languishing and may never make it out of committee under the current House makeup. There is more to this than I can get into.

Mark moves into his Justice Mode!

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Some current politics are getting injected here, but if you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry. Be happy. Mark is so uptight in panel 2. Is it something Rusty just said? After all, business does create jobs and that is good. Maybe Mark has an aversion to normal jobs. My guess.

Or I think Mark is upset about by what Smalls said in panel 1. But what, specifically? Perhaps he has a visceral reaction to “AI Tech.” But we know he’s already upset about that NOAA crack.

Now, here is where the unnamed Woman in Purple might have it right: Mark cannot hold his temper and act in a more formal, acceptable manner. Just like in the Ohio press conference where he first confronted Senator Smalls, Mark again rudely interrupts the speech with a boisterous outburst and strong arm gesture. I wonder if Smalls recognizes Mark yet?

Today’s Tip o’ Destruction for the kiddies: Mark’s reaction is always the approach to take when the other person wants to settle in for a clearheaded, intelligent discussion or debate. Don’t accept that! Put the person on the defensive and keep them there!