Snark It Up, FuzzBall!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Mark-Trail-on-Sunday piece, and another comic jogged me in that direction.  Of course, as I was working on this one, I realized that I’ve already done a Mark-Trail-on-Sunday Squirrels piece.

Oh, well.  I’d rather see squirrels on ice than Meddlers on Ice (I’m looking at you, Mary Worth).

Just because it doesn’t make sense doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong in Mark Trail.  Somehow, Mark’s commands didn’t seem so much commands as a desperate cry for a little levity amid raccoon/dog fights, kidnappings, environmental disasters, and Pop’s swamp buggy konking out (much like Pop himself).

Just so we’re all up to speed, Dixie Julep is not only a stripper … she’s a murderer!  Not only did she kill her sugar daddy Dewey Cheatem, but his gofer guy, too!  In an attempt to kidnap Sam and make him drive her to Mexico, Sam’s hotel room was swarmed by the SWAT team and Sam was rescued.  Meanwhile, Dixie escaped by body-blocking a SWAT member and crashing through a window, in a hailof Det. Heidi’s bullets!

Whew!

If Dixie weren’t such a menace to society, she’d be a candidate for Jungle Patrol, as would Heidi, providing she could continue wearing her cocktail dress as her official uniform.

Oh, and as an aside, the following Sunday panel is my favorite one of Det. Heidi.  The colors and shading is great, and she is drawn so well — so pretty and pensive.

(And then, I go and ruin it with re-captions… 🙂

*Ask me about that some time…

Okay, so Mark Trail’s been kidnapped by some despicable hillbilly and thrown on an old shrimp boat, bound for A Long Walk Off of a Short Pier.  Faithful Andy saves the day (and Mark), and they’re off in the swamps.

Now, swamps can be nasty, slimy, dangerous places, right?  Not with Mark around! He’s kind of like a North American Snow White, communing with the critters, and having the critters communing with him, too.

I wonder what Disney’s next animated feature is going to be.  One featuring Mark might be a good idea, only we all know that Mark is one of the least-animated character on the comics page…

Still, we’ve got a pretty blonde woman, a crusty old geezer/sidekick, and more animals than you can contract rabies from! Walt would’ve been so happy.

The Sunday editions of Mark Trail are given to nature studies of animals, plants and conservation issues.  Fun (and educational!) stuff indeed, but perhaps the real reason for it is that when Mark charges up the Right Fist o’ Justice, the possibility of our being overwhelmed by his sheer might and righteousness could be overwhelming to those with delicate constitutions.

In Mark’s latest adventures, he accosts a passle of hillbillies (I believe that is the correct venery term for such a group) who are anticipating a raccoon vs. hound-dog smackdown.  We knew Mark was fixin’ to punch hisself a hillbilly, but imagine the joy and delight when Mark punches the hillbilly the next day–TWO PUNCHES!–to say nothing of Mark’s manly wading into a brackish stream, while evil hillbilly has festooned himself in hip-waders and glove. WUSSY!

The action was thoughtfully distributed over two days. Could we have handled all of it in a single day? You be the judge! (Read with caution.)

(Thanks to CC’s Amateur for Sneaky’s squeal of delight and the inspiration for this silliness.)

WHEW! Are you still breathing?  You might want to put your head between your knees for a few moments, because the Monday strip shows that in Real Life, things don’t end with just a couple of punches.  There’s White-Collar Villains to consider!  Paparazzi! Indignant logs!  I’m sure that Mark can handle all of them, but we’re far from the end of his Wetlands Adventure!

…doesn’t mean that you can’t be innundated by public-service announcements.

Or more important, juvenile humor. (The “floofer” issue was commented upon by two Canadians over at the Comics Curmudgeon within moments of one another, which makes the possibility of there really being a Terence and Philip chilling.)

Yes, the village idiot has figured out how to do simple animations.  No one (aside from some of the crap animators at Adult Swim) has need to worry.

(And what is it with some of the animation at Adult Swim?  You can have crap animation OR crap stories and still have a following (either for intriguing plots or bright, pretty pictures).  But both?)

I might’ve skipped the Fist o’ Justice, but in the 6 October 2008 strip, Mark, running to the evil land developer’s assistance, breaks through the middle panel with none other than his Right Fist o’ Justice! It’s a beautiful thing…

Making fun of real people by Photoshopping them into movie posters is one thing.  Doing it with fictional characters?  I don’t know.

Particularly when as I was doing this, I began remembering just how excremental that movie was…

Boy, oh boy, does Mark Trail get a lot of visitors from his fellow panelists! And evidently some are more welcome than others.

Unfortunately, not all are the leggy creatures that Mark is sometimes fortunate to feature in his Sunday panels.  It’s back to the old grind on Monday, when our favorite forest friend continues investigating the Mystery of the Vanishing Wetlands:

Mark’s Monday adventure elicited a lot of excitement at the Comics Curmudgeon, and I guess I was swept along in the torrent of gatory goodness:

Or just an excuse to draw Mark Trail and his family nekkid?

Thanks to CC’s Uncle Lumpy and Frippin the Krotz for posing such an intriguing question on the nature of love and its possible definitions.