The Mark Trail Thread of Punching Justice and Smug Life Lessons

[Dr. Medulla]

Cheers to the new Mark Trail, indeed!

We're shipping some edgy stuff here.

Jolly seems to be serving St. Louis pizza in that last panel.

I'm not certain how Teen Girl Sparkle didn't put 2 and 2 together to figure out that Mark Trail is related to Happy Trail. Shoddy background work.

I've come to like the art—JR is quite good at conveying action—but the writing and characterization is weak. I still can't escape the sense that she approached the strip with an attitude of all the things she didn't like about it rather than what she did, and so the new direction has been about getting rid of that bad stuff without a solid sense of how to build her changes on what she liked. So the characters come off as bozos or flat.

[revbob]

Cheers to the new Mark Trail, indeed!

We're shipping some edgy stuff here.

Jolly seems to be serving St. Louis pizza in that last panel.

I'm not certain how Teen Girl Sparkle didn't put 2 and 2 together to figure out that Mark Trail is related to Happy Trail. Shoddy background work.

I've come to like the art—JR is quite good at conveying action—but the writing and characterization is weak. I still can't escape the sense that she approached the strip with an attitude of all the things she didn't like about it rather than what she did, and so the new direction has been about getting rid of that bad stuff without a solid sense of how to build her changes on what she liked. So the characters come off as bozos or flat.

On the plus side she is integrating huge animals and talking buildings into the stories.

[Dr. Medulla]

We're shipping some edgy stuff here.

Jolly seems to be serving St. Louis pizza in that last panel.

I'm not certain how Teen Girl Sparkle didn't put 2 and 2 together to figure out that Mark Trail is related to Happy Trail. Shoddy background work.

I've come to like the art—JR is quite good at conveying action—but the writing and characterization is weak. I still can't escape the sense that she approached the strip with an attitude of all the things she didn't like about it rather than what she did, and so the new direction has been about getting rid of that bad stuff without a solid sense of how to build her changes on what she liked. So the characters come off as bozos or flat.

On the plus side she is integrating huge animals and talking buildings into the stories.

Definitely. No serious complaints about the art.

[Dr. Medulla]

And my brothers Gravel and Arm.

(I do like the dumb joke of Cherry, Olive, and Peach Pitt.)

[revbob]

20201208_193931.jpg (235.62 KiB) Viewed 2230 times

This is where Mark Trail should have gone a little soft core action.

This is fucking album art stuff.

[Dr. Medulla]

20201208_193931.jpg

This is where Mark Trail should have gone a little soft core action.

This is fucking album art stuff.

[insert obvious beaver joke]

[revbob]

20201208_193931.jpg

This is where Mark Trail should have gone a little soft core action.

This is fucking album art stuff.

[insert obvious beaver joke]

The giant beaver of Lost Forest.

Meanwhile...



More hip slang being shipped.

[Dr. Medulla]

Meanwhile...



More hip slang being shipped.

The Poochiefication of MT will continue, comrades! It. Will. Be. Kewl!

[revbob]

Meanwhile...



More hip slang being shipped.

The Poochiefication of MT will continue, comrades! It. Will. Be. Kewl!

Dont dip out on me bruh.

[Dr. Medulla]

One of the curious things about this revamp of the strip is that, while supposedly making it more appealing and relevant to a younger demo, it's thus far shifted from an adventure/nature focus to a soap opera one, like those other cutting edge strips like Mary Worth, Judge Parker, and Rex Morgan, MD. Everyone has a dark family secret that is emerging. But it's got all that shipping lingo, so it's awesome.

[Flex]

One of the curious things about this revamp of the strip is that, while supposedly making it more appealing and relevant to a younger demo, it's thus far shifted from an adventure/nature focus to a soap opera one, like those other cutting edge strips like Mary Worth, Judge Parker, and Rex Morgan, MD. Everyone has a dark family secret that is emerging. But it's got all that shipping lingo, so it's awesome.

kids today like the extended soap opera stuff, i think. It reads a lot like some of the YA stuff that I'm familiar with (mostly via the missus listening to that stuff on audiobook). I guess I'm extrapolating that YA stuff actually has a YA audience.

[revbob]

One of the curious things about this revamp of the strip is that, while supposedly making it more appealing and relevant to a younger demo, it's thus far shifted from an adventure/nature focus to a soap opera one, like those other cutting edge strips like Mary Worth, Judge Parker, and Rex Morgan, MD. Everyone has a dark family secret that is emerging. But it's got all that shipping lingo, so it's awesome.

kids today like the extended soap opera stuff, i think. It reads a lot like some of the YA stuff that I'm familiar with (mostly via the missus listening to that stuff on audiobook). I guess I'm extrapolating that YA stuff actually has a YA audience.

Im shipping with you.

[Flex]

Im shipping with you.

why, mr. bob, i'm flattered

[Dr. Medulla]

One of the curious things about this revamp of the strip is that, while supposedly making it more appealing and relevant to a younger demo, it's thus far shifted from an adventure/nature focus to a soap opera one, like those other cutting edge strips like Mary Worth, Judge Parker, and Rex Morgan, MD. Everyone has a dark family secret that is emerging. But it's got all that shipping lingo, so it's awesome.

kids today like the extended soap opera stuff, i think. It reads a lot like some of the YA stuff that I'm familiar with (mostly via the missus listening to that stuff on audiobook). I guess I'm extrapolating that YA stuff actually has a YA audience.

If so, again, that suggests JR is pretty radically changing the nature (ho ho) of the strip, despite her claims of respecting its origins and all that. So, yay, another Mary Worth strip.

[Kory]

One of the curious things about this revamp of the strip is that, while supposedly making it more appealing and relevant to a younger demo, it's thus far shifted from an adventure/nature focus to a soap opera one, like those other cutting edge strips like Mary Worth, Judge Parker, and Rex Morgan, MD. Everyone has a dark family secret that is emerging. But it's got all that shipping lingo, so it's awesome.

kids today like the extended soap opera stuff, i think. It reads a lot like some of the YA stuff that I'm familiar with (mostly via the missus listening to that stuff on audiobook). I guess I'm extrapolating that YA stuff actually has a YA audience.

If so, again, that suggests JR is pretty radically changing the nature (ho ho) of the strip, despite her claims of respecting its origins and all that. So, yay, another Mary Worth strip.

We'll see if Mark becomes an intolerable busybody.