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Mark Trail, 8/28/04

No one has yet submitted a Mark Trail entry in my summarize-the-soaps contest (Enter now! Operators are standing by!) but I’m beginning to think that it’s even more loopily entertaining when I’m baffled by the plot developments. Today we meet Otto, a cravat-wearing, contraction-eschewing, possibly European cook (though “chef” would no doubt be a better term for such an obvious aesthete), and Primrose, his … well, what are we, exactly? In the second panel, Primrose looks like a lemur, or maybe a marmoset, while the in the third she takes on the appearance of an ordinary house cat. (In the first, she looks like a cardboard cutout, but let that be for the moment.) As amusing as it would be to have one of the minor primates on board for this adventure, I think it’s pretty clear that pencil mustache + cat = villainy. And if the colorists are to be believed, he’s a shade swarthier than everyone else, too. Watch out, Mark!

I’d also like to point out that the bearded man in the middle of the first frame, who I assume is this voyage’s commanding officer, seems to have stolen his uniform from a 1970s airline pilot, or possibly a movie about 1970s airline pilots. This is one shady operation.

Meanwhile, I hate to make fun of Mary Worth, but … oh, who am I kidding. I love making fun of Mary Worth; it’s one of the main reasons I started this blog. Anyway, be sure to check out today’s installment, as it contains the first use of the phrase “my very own meth lab” that I’ve seen in the comics outside of Dennis the Menace.