Eh, no big reason. Just decided I felt like doing Jules Rivera’s strip first. I figure to incorporate Flash Gordon into my What’s Going On In series, I just haven’t decided where and when. Whenever that does appear, it’ll be among my story strips essays, gathered here, as well as under its own tag.

Meanwhile, Jules Rivera’s Mark Trail already has a tag, and a bunch of essays, going back to before she even took over the comic. This essay should bring you up to mid-January 2024 in his adventures. If you’re reading this essay after about April 2024, there’s probably a more up-to-date recap there. Meanwhile, though, here’s what I do know:

Mark Trail.

21 October 2023 – 14 January 2024.

Mark Trail’s story, back in October, was about the strange artefacts found in the woods that Rusty Trail thought might be from aliens. Mark Trail thought they were more likely a lost and very misinformed camper. Cherry Trail’s story was about someone leaving angry notes about people having kudzu on their properties. Let me take that one first.

Squirrelly Sandy, who has two squirrels on her shoulders: 'The Kudzu Crusader last struck near my house.' Cherry Trail: 'Hey, I've been in this area before. When Sassy hurt her paws on that bad lawn chemical ... near Violet's house!' [ Violet shrinks into the background. ] Sandy, holding up a note and a sprig of kudzu: 'Here's the note and vine the crusader left. It's written in purple ink!' Cherry Trail: 'How mysterious! Who could possibly write in purple ink?' Narrator: 'Fun Fact: The word Violet also means purple!' — Jules Rivera’s **Mark Trail** for the 15th of November, 2023. I like the visual pun of Violet shrinking over the course of the strip.

Cherry Trail teams up with Sunny Soleil Society head Violet Cheshire, and local baker Squirrelly Sandy Sandy’s the last person to have gotten a note, written in purple ink. They set out looking for who might write cursive notes in purple ink and — oh, Sandy’s squirrels attack Violet Cheshire. Under barely any pressure at all Violet confesses the whole deal: she was bored, she wanted to be out in nature and found an excuse to have Cherry Trail do it with her. And that, the 18th of November, closes the Kudzu Crusader Caper. All in all, this wasn’t too tough a case for Inspector Bazalo.

Cherry — and Violet’s — next adventure started the 27th of November, with the two planning to clear out an hold hall and put on a show. In the hall is every bat in the world. Violet, of course, hires Honest Ernest to clear the bats out, and he gets scratched or maybe bitten by one. Now, it’s not likely that any one bat has rabies, and it’s not likely that any one bite will infect you. On the other hand, if you are infected, then anytime up to a year later you can wake up one morning feeling a little off, and then close the day out dead. So, at Cherry and Violet’s insistence, they go to the emergency room, to get Ernest his shots, and there happen to meet Mark Trail over in his plot, which I’ll get to now.

Rusty Trail, head full of ideas of aliens, doesn’t believe his father’s hypothesis that all the weird stuff they found was from a lost camper. So he sneaks out in the middle of the night to find the truth out there. Mark Trail, happening to overhear, follows. They find the lost camper, though, someone named Connor who’d followed former prank-show star Tad Crass’s AI-written camping guide to his regret. Mark Trail feels relieved they saved this guy, but what about everybody else?

Mark Trial decides to run nature retreats and teach people how to camp in reasonable safety. His friends at the De-Bait Team are glad to give support. Connor, signed up for this retreat for some reason, is less glad. Ranger Shaw is there, looking for something to fill the void in his life since his wife’s out of town. Mark Trail realizes there’s stuff going on with the men of Lost Forest he’s not nearly up to dealing with.

Connor, squeezing Mark Trail tight: 'I tried to become a good woodsman to make up for being a lousy husband!' Mark Trail, sweating: 'Connor, you can be a better husband by taking care of yourself first.' Cliff, to the crowd: 'Guys, let's help Mark out here.' Mark Trail, thinking: 'Finally, someone's gonna pry him off me!' Everyone in the group joins in a 'GROUP HUG!' — Jules Rivera’s **Mark Trail** for the 4th of January, 2024. My first What’s Going On In … strip for 2024! No wonder the raccoon in the first panel looks so excited!

De-Bait Team member Cliff suggests a nature hike, something giving all the guys a chance to talk things out. Mark Trail’s not clear on why you would go hiking and talk when that offers very little chance to catch fish and not talk. Anyway, Connor, trying to bait a hook, tears his thumb apart instead. Thus the emergency room visit which brought together the peanut butter and chocolate of Mark Trail’s and Cherry Trail’s plots.

Mark Trail finally accepts Cliff’s proposal, and takes the gang on a hike. It turns out to be a great way to get guys talking about their feelings. Mark Trail has heard of feelings, yes, but he’s not sure he’s up for experiencing them himself. The hike turns into a group hug so fast Mark Trail barely knows what happened or why, and he’s a bit relieved when Eli, one of the campers, gets scratched by a stray bat. Back to the emergency room.

Cliff meets the situation with optimism not unlike mine in the situation: the suggestion of danger will draw more people in next time. And Mark Trail is coming to realize these retreats might be more useful to their participants if they’re about sharing feelings, much as he likes going fishing to not talk about feelings or anything else. Mark Trail thinks a little about why that is, but the important thing is: the campers are up for fishing. Good news for everyone but the fish and the bait.

And this brings us up to mid-January, in plotting.

Sunday Animals Watch!

Coywolves, 22 October 2023.
Armadillos, 29 October 2023.
Fireflies, 5 November 2023.
Autumn Leaves, 12 November 2023.
Turkeys, 19 November 2023.
Rabies, 26 November 2023.
Foxes, 3 December 2023.
Birds’ magnetic senses, 10 December 2023.
Reptiles and Skin, 17 December 2023.
Reindeer, 24 December 2023.
AI computing, 31 December 2023.
Horses, 7 January 2024.
Largemouth Bass, 14 January 2024.

Next Week!

You know who’s not risking an attack by rabid bats? Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth, to be reviewed next week. But be warned: there is someone who just happened to notice you had a guitar here and knows a couple of songs he could play if nobody minds?