Snark It Up, FuzzBall!

Nope.  He’s still not home.  I’m leaving a light on for him, though.

“Dick Tracy:  Ten Decades Years Months with the Circus”.

There’s a building of suspense thing.  And then there’s just ennui, even if the clown is holding the gun.

Once more conscious, Mark Trail realizes that Rusty! and Sassy! have been left alone! In the tent! A quick peek revealed that the campsite looked peaceful and calm.

That’s what every damned thing that lives and flies and crawls and buzzes and swims in the swamp would like you to believe.  Only it takes a person with cunning and a sense of danger to realize otherwise.  Like CC’s AeroSquid (well, certainly not Mark!)…

Or even more insidious:

Oh, yeah. Like I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon (particularly when I can mash on AeroSquid’s original mashie goodness):

Okay, just one more:

“Holy Crapping Pancakes!” is courtesy of Sequitur (and I think if Mark every cursed, this would be it).  Speaking of Sequitur, guess who came along for the ride (Mark’s expression in Panel 2 kills me):

And in a Mary Worth storyline! There hasn’t been this much going on since Aldo drove his car off the cliff or Charley Smith invited Delilah into his condo (well, there really wasn’t that much action in the latter).  It’s so exciting!

Of course, this raises the question among us jaded, seen-it-all types:  Can you make it more exciting?

CC’s Dingo suggests that the typical drug-cartel bad guys (Bald Guy, Pony-Tail Guy, Knitted Cap Guy) could be upgraded for Maximum Excititude.

You do not argue with Dingo…

What?!? Two Days In A Row?!?! Mary must be having palpitations!

Murder under the Big Top! Performers dropping like clumsy trapeze artists flies! Who’s to blame?

But a bigger question:  can we link the Extreme Close-Ups, Fitful Exposition, and Creepy Characters to a larger conspiracy?  I think so!

(and that’s just where the gator’s going to be in another few moments).  Mark remains unconscious, while not-really-a-bad-guy rushes to his rescue!

Wow! A bevy of “what happens next?” suppositories and suppositions sprang forth from CC’s Peanuts Gallery, and much of it lands here (most of Dingo’s contributions are included in the mysteriously-missing Panels 4 through 6) — thanks, Funny Folks!

Things are a-hoppin’ down in Lost Swamp.  Those rifle-shots? Alligator poachers!  And damned nasty ones, too! Mark is down for the count with a barky stick across the back of the head.

Even worse, the poachers decide to leave him on the ground — gator bait!

Meanwhile, Rusty sleeps on.

Thank heavens for
(1) “Raccoon Patrol!” and
(2) CC’s buckyswife, who, if she isn’t an executive for some high-powered television/entertainment corporation, SHOULD BE!  Not only did she see the promise in bringing “Raccoon Patrol!” to the fall TV line-up, but she pitched a great family-oriented program:  Rusty and Sassy take their trailraft and escape the dangers of Lost Swamp, only to have week after week of thrilling new adventures!  (Hey, like that caveman show last fall was a brainchild of Albert Einstein!)

Of course, the FOX network gets the most violent (and coolest) shows, as scrounged up professionally promoted by CC’s AeroSquid (admit it — you’d watch this, wouldn’t you?):

Just come back.  I can’t take the Rex-less storyline much longer.  Even the cussing doesn’t help that much. Or the cameo appearances.

Okay, planning a major drug-bust requires careful planning and split-second timing.

However, the SRPD assault on its drug traffickers in “Operation H-Town” (snerk!) is not tantamount to the Invasion of Normandy.  Get over it!

And Scott? Nothing sez “twu luw” like a photo of your best girl that smells like foot-funk:

Let’s toss in a bit of E.S.P., too:

Oh, that some other serial comic strips would follow suit!

Then again, that would require characters who show some semblance of intellience…