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As if Mark is a master carpenter?

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I admit it; I’m almost totally confused. I don’t mean by the usual Rivera parody of animals in the dailies (panel 1) that are posed like hunting decoys and outlined in heavy magic marker. That’s just the standard and juvenile “Rivera spit-in-your-eye” insult to those readers she apparently believes are a bunch of fat, white male “sportsmen.” Goodness, I do seem to be getting more acidic in my commentary. I’ll try and write with a bit more decorum, or at least dress it up more acceptably. Next time. 

Catios do exist, I discovered, and are relatively inexpensive. So, I don’t see what the big deal is. Just have the Sunny Soleil Society pull out their credit card and order the biggest one they can get from Home Depot. Ernest can put it together, if he wants to be helpful. But how is it Cherry thinks Mark has any carpenter cred? What has he ever built? 

Panel 4 shows a bunch of panel lumber propped up against a building. But a catio is composed mostly of 2x4s and screening. This certainly supports Cherry’s assessment that nothing good is coming out of that deal with Honest Ernest. 

Finally, “Holy Winchester Mansion!” Okay, what does a Victorian period house in California have to do with this story, except to act as the object of a hipster Batman trope? There’s certainly nothing about haunted houses or ghosts in this story, so far. I may be taking this comment too seriously.

Do you think the Trails drive an electric or hybrid truck? 

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That’s it!? This is how the Washington DC school trip story ends? I apologize for even referring to it as a story, because there was no plot and no point. If we were to rank Rivera’s stories, I think this rambling mess would be right at the bottom. And it appears that Honest Ernest’s pledge to build a place for the kittens must have fallen through, based on Cherry’s comment in panel 3. As before, a communication between Mark and Cherry serves to transition back to Cherry’s adventure. 

Okay, maybe they will spend this week hashing over the school trip and filling in some of the blanks.

Well, there are few good things I can point out: 

  1. The foreground grass in panel 1 is quite well done for a change. 
  1.  Rivera seems to have more or less free-handed the truck in panel 1, rather than just relying on photoshopping the image. However, I don’t believe that rear truck windows curve across the top edge, as they do on cars (panel 2).
  1. The Washington DC Student Trip fiasco is over without Mark destroying anything or getting chased by the police. 

Is Rivera getting all metaphorical on us? 

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Yes, it is clear to me from today’s strip that this story is a metaphor. It isn’t really just about the kittens needing a home. The key is panel 4. Figured it out? You probably got it a few days ago.  This is about homelessness, of course, but homeless people. We have NIMBY responses and temporary camp proposals. Cherry’s lament of ”We need something more permanent. What if other kittens come to town…?” nails it for me.  

Of course, there are precedents for using animals as stand-ins for human actions and problems, be it Aesop, the ancient Egyptians, or George Orwell. There are significant differences, too. These animals are not anthropomorphic. Perhaps Rivera is simply making a point that communities need to, and can, come together to help resolve the problem of homelessness.  

Am I over-interpreting this story? Let me if you think differently.  

But my main concern is Rivera’s inability to avoid trivializing story continuity and importance with her need to insert irrelevant and base humor.  

In case you missed yesterday, let’s review. 

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I’m thinking that ”Mom” must have given the group another 24 hours to come up with a solution. They don’t seem in that much of a hurry. In any event, I found Cherry’s remark in panel 4 flippant, even though it was set up in panel 2. It is as if Rivera has been reading Pearls Before Swine. 

So, was any progress made today? Even though Cherry set the agenda yesterday, today is essentially just a paraphrase of yesterday. Which is to say, a day wasted for the sake of a pointless pun. Rivera should be more cautious about self-congratulations. At least Stephen Pastis has the good sense to make himself the butt of the joke. 

Art Dept. This must be Rag on Rivera Day. Her drawing looks really slapdash. It is apparent that drawing figures in the background is a greater challenge. Poor ol’ Doc looks like he is on something possibly illegal. And he sure has lost some weight. Good for him, of course.  

Hey! Down in front! Can we just get back to the movie?

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Warning: Pun Alert! Pun Alert! Secure your pets and children!

Rage lot!? I don’t know that term and haven’t seen it around. So I looked about. There is an AI management tool known as ragebot, but I found nothing specifically for “rage lot.” Perhaps Rivera simply riffed on the pun of rage lot and rage bot.

In any event, this sounds like a silly idea. I read a WebMD article stating that “smash rooms” and “rage rooms” where people go to supposedly work off anger issues only affirm the anger problem, but do not provide alternative solutions or techniques. And people come back for more.

The silliness of Violet’s idea goes beyond a lack of therapeutic support. It could be dangerous, with broken parts flying every which way, to say nothing of possibly dangerous components and chemicals that could accidentally be exposed. Call me a fuddy-duddy, if you wish, but I’d keep the kids at home. Plus, I’d bet that recycling sites would not much care for taking items deliberately smashed.

Say, do you think those three guys are really biological brothers or just “brothers-in-arms”? That idea reminds me of the three brothers in Newhart: “Hi. I’m Larry. This is my brother, Daryl. This is my other brother, Daryl.” A much nicer bunch of guys.

Ticket, please!

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A corny horror B-movie sounds like a good choice for a movie night. Brava, Rivera! I guess Rivera wanted to avoid a direct link to the universally panned 1991 horror flick, “The Malibu Beach Vampires”, a movie that might have ended the night before the first reel ended.

As for this story, we appear to be at the start of the standard “Mark Trail Family Time”, that period in between adventures where we sometimes learn about the aftermath of the just-concluded story.

No doubt, it would likely violate the Comics Common Code of Consistency if Robbie changed his spots and became fast friends with Rusty. That would be as likely as Mark changing his shirt. Come to think of it, Rusty never changes his clothes, either. But Cherry does, a lot. What’s with that?

Where do we go from here? 

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Since this is my blog and I’m spending the weekend with my wife’s siblings, I’m giving a shoutout to Paul & Lisa, Tom & Diane, John, Sue & Steve, and Mark. 

Okay, back to business. Having scared off the bear with an air horn, Cherry and Violet bond over their mutual frustrations of dealing with the opposite sex, speaking strictly from a conventional, binary point of view, of course. 

Some days there is little to say. This is one of those days. Rivera is just padding out the storyline the same way a TV drama or comedy might have a light-hearted epilog. The overriding question for us all, I’m sure, is whether this story will continue in order to cover Cherry’s Compost Conference. But unless Rivera has something plotted to take place during the conference, it’s likely we’ll only learn about it post factum.  This follows the normal convention found in pre-Rivera Mark Trail.  

Why couldn’t Cherry hear Violet? We could!

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Stand back?! Shouldn’t Cherry have said “Violet, let’s both get in the truck before the bear runs out of chicken bones!” Then she could have employed her emergency air horn (maybe it’s for slow drivers in the left lane?). Heck, maybe Cherry could have just flashed her brights and honked several times.

Another chance for real suspense is wasted.

Non compost mentis?

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Okay, Cherry has a point:  Meat sources attract various animals, even bears. Bad news! But Cherry can also be blamed for not taking better measures to reduce animal attacks, such as locking down the bins, fencing them off, or even possibly making more balanced mixes of compost material to minimize smells. Will this point of contention (or one like it) come out in the story this week?

Sure, we can criticize Rivera for not appearing to know about these things, but that might not be the case. We must consider this situation from the viewpoint of plot. It was clear early on that Violet’s unusual fried chicken binging was emphasized for a reason; and that reason was to enable this conflict between the two women and the composting project. Stories need conflict.

This bear-attacks-compost plot device reminds me of Mark’s earlier dealing with a bear snacking in unsecured garbage bins at a mountain retreat site (see the strips for March 17 and 18, 2023 in the “Bear Necessity” adventure).

Otherwise, I’m waiting to see Cherry’s fluency in “Bear-speak.” And that may be a fact, as many of us should recall seeing (in reprint) early strips (April 1946) by Ed Dodd of Cherry Davis playing with her pet bear, only to have Mark arrive on scene thinking she needs to be saved.

Would you call this strip unBearable?

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An advisory notice: I am not a professional comic artist critic, though I play one on the Internet.

Well, just when I thought we would have some decent continuity with Cherry’s story, we get today’s load, uh, upload. Hoo-boy, this is another big disappoint. Go ahead, zoom in on panels 1 and 3 (for example) and tell me what you see. I’ll wait … As much as Rivera has turned out some good art over her nearly 4 years drawing and writing the strip, she has also posted her share of dreck. Like today. Again, I don’t know why, but there it is.

Is Rivera just trying to see how much she can get away with? Does her Syndicate not even care? I’m almost to the point where I’d just as soon put this strip out to pasture and start following Garfield. And you all know how much I just love Garfield.

The Daily Trail is probably the only online daily review of Mark Trail. Well-written sites such as Comics Curmudgeon and Joseph Nebus only cover the strip periodically, if very amusingly. This site’s creator, Dennis Williams, carved out a good niche for himself by focusing on just one strip and maintaining a nearly-daily schedule for some seven years. You can go check out the archives here and enjoy his writing.

Yes, I get discouraged with the strip, as you all do. I wonder how much longer I can keep hoping for improvements. How much longer can I keep thinking of new things to say and avoid becoming just another snarker, like those cats over at Comics Kingdom.  Well, it’s fine and fun to write snarky comments, but focusing solely on that was never my intention.

In my naiveté, I thought Rivera would settle down and take this strip seriously, like her predecessors did; like I do. There is a possibility that Rivera does take this seriously and deliberately writes and draws this strip to make some kind of a point; whatever that is. I know several long-time followers of The Daily Trail moved on after Rivera took over. Shy of something dramatic happening, those former readers aren’t likely coming back. In any event, I’m just trying to work through all of this, while being transparent, as is our current social virtue. This isn’t “good bye and thanks for the fish“, but I am raising a flag. All comments appreciated.

Violet’s Guide to Working with the Hired Help, Chapter 3

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As Boss, it’s your job to maintain order with, and dominance over, the hired help. Never let the opportunity pass to remind them that you are more competent than they are. Today’s example shows how Violet casually points out Cherry’s apparent carelessness, only at the end of the work day when the employee is most vulnerable. Excellent tactics! Observe how Violet puts on a guise of studied informality in her pose and expression as she glibly makes her rebuke. “Hah! Hah! Just a small thingy, Cherry. Hah! Hah!” This ensures that your contractor goes home feeling somewhat incompetent and even more subservient the next day. Of course, Violet’s comment could have waited until morning, but a boss must always keep workers in their place.

Well, if you remember, when Rivera began this strip, Cherry had an independent gardening and landscaping business. The Sunny Soleil Society was the company charged with enforcing the HOA rules for a community where Cherry was doing a job. Along the way, Cherry wound up working exclusively for the SSS. Its HOA activities were forgotten as Rivera decided to focus on the interaction between the two women. And there have been notable interactions. But it would be nice to see Cherry get jobs someplace else now and then. Some new characters and plots would freshen up Cherry’s stories.

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. 

Violet becomes non compos appetitus.

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Howdy! On Tuesday morning I have to be up before even the Sun can be bothered to turn on. Why? I’m flying down to see my old man (he’s really, really old!) and the plane leaves at 6:30 AM. Ugh! So, the Tuesday strip may wind up getting posted with Wednesday’s. After that, things should be back on a normal track, until a few weeks later, when I have to fly back. You’ve been warned.

We return to Cherry Trail, who has been collecting food waste around town to start composting at the Sunny Soleil Society. Certainly, compositing fits within her mindset and her values, but Cherry is also motivated by the offer of a free trip to a compost convention if she collects enough to get things started.

But Cherry arrived just in time at the SSS HQ to witness Violet Cheshire preparing to chow down on a bucket o’ fried chicken. What could be a more propitious time to discuss food scraps and compositing!?! But based on Violet’s idea of a lunch, I’d have thought Cherry would find enough scraps in the Society’s own garbage cans.

Well. This could have been more interesting if Rivera used this week to have Cherry moving about town, still collecting food scraps. This would provide a simple way to introduce us to a few more citizens of the Lost Forest community, without having to develop complicated plots. I’m thinking slightly off-beat people, such as Squirrely Sally.

Betcha didn’t see THIS coming, did ya!?

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Oh, no! The big money was on Violet flying through the window, not Cherry getting tossed out the door like she was on the wrong end of a Wing Chun demonstration.  And let’s face it, that was one hell of a throw! Looks like the snobbish Violet Cheshire has a bite to back up that bark. Apparently, Cherry really did want to handle the situation as diplomatically as she could. But you cannot negotiate with somebody who won’t play along.

As the door to the Society gets slammed shut, Cherry makes a tactical retreat and considers a more persuasive strategy. But what can she do? Don’t know about you, but I’m not taking Rivera’s bait in panel four again.

Say, I wonder if Doc has some doggy bags to manage Andy? We already know that the Sunny Soleil Society is very particular about what goes onto their lawns!

Not in Their Back Yard!

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SOAP BOX: I know there are nay-sayers over the new direction of Mark Trail. That’s expected. I think the syndicate decided to try for a new, likely younger, and hopefully larger readership. Some critics have suggested we’d be better off with the syndicate rerunning old Mark Trail strips. Ironically, it seems there were times when the Mark Trail comic strip did rerun or revise old stories. This is documented in an excellent history and analysis of Mark Trail (stories, characters, artists, etc.): Check out Mark Carlson-Ghost’s excellent Mark Trail Confidential web page (Mark Trail Confidential – Mark Carlson-Ghost Mark Carlson-Ghost). There you can also read about former Mark Trail artists whose decisions sometimes also sparked controversy. Look, there are people who prefer the original Mission Impossible TV episodes and there are those who prefer Tom Cruise’s more modern and completely different take; and some like both (however, I am pretty much not a fan of Tom’s take on Jack Reacher!). I reckon that’s all there is to it. Hey! At least King Features did not have the gall to try and foist a Young Mark Trail strip on us! But now, on to today’s installment!

I’m sure there are people who like HOAs or they would not exist. As HOAs are normally run by the home owners, themselves, I was not aware some of them have the wisdom to hire professional management companies. Generally a good idea, since most people do not have the professional experience to deal with real estate, city regulations, planning, negotiations, and the law. I’m guessing (or hoping) that sooner or later, the Sunny Soleil Society will be exposed as some kind of criminal racket. Why should Mark be the only one to beat up the criminals?

In spite of her condescendingly smug manner, I’m not sure Violet Cheshire knows just what kind of trouble she is getting into, grabbing Cherry’s arm in order to give her the Bum’s Rush. But Violet is really asking for it! Cherry, before you send Violet to a dental surgeon for emergency treatment, demand to see the HOA’s official covenants first! Cherry’s clients should have their own copies and should have given them to Cherry from the start. But then, there’d be no story!

Is that a hat, or what!? It’s like she is ready to go to the Derby or star in a gender-neutral version of The Three Musketeers.