Mark is New to this Whole Tracking Thing; Excitement Has Yet to Abound

July 30, 2009

Things were moving along pretty quickly there for a while -- people were getting shot, cars were burning, bad news was being borne horribly -- but the fun times are over. Now the long, repetitive process of closing the case begins.

July 31, 2009

Because three consecutive panels weren't enough, Mark takes another two to explain that Joey Williams has been shot. Great way to wrap up the week, Elrod, thank you very fucking much.

It's been a great first week back at NLR -- thanks to the readership. Please accept this collage of everything Mark said this week (plus an uncomfortable pic of Patty stretched as far as decency will allow) as a token of my appreciation.

Assassin's Car Trouble Leads to Goofiness, Questionable Decision-Making

July 22, 2009

Zombie hitman Walter Matthau can't seem to navigate his sedan past an obstacle that, logically, he must have avoided on his way to the assasination attempt. Startled Squrrel can only stare in amazement in Panel 3 as Walter explains what everybody else already knows about ditches.

July 23, 2009

Unable to accelerate out of the ditch, Walter goes to Plan B -- like, really really gun it this time. Plan B fails.

Time is running out for Walter. He's stuck in the middle of the woods, nary a soul to be seen, save that unnaturally curious Squirrel in the tree. He can't stop touching the car even as he complains about the abundance of prints on the vehicle. Unwanted attention must be avoided at all costs. Plan C emerges -- set the car on fire. Unfortunately for everyone, the fire failed to spread to his jacket.

July 24, 2009

Immolation nearly complete, Zombie Matthau sets the final stage of Plan C into motion -- take the gun show to the highway. A nearby tree elects to stay in the woods for a while longer in Panel 1. It's the smartest decision anyone/anything has made in Mark Trail this week.

Hang on, Joey, I Need to Recap

Again, I've strayed, and again, I'm kind of sorry about it but not really. Mark Trail sucks bunches, and it's hard to stay the course. At this point, I guess i'm only apologizing to myself, so I should probably shutup about it. Onward--

July 21, 2009

Extremely well-shaded critters look on as Mark wills a Jeep Wrangler across the big blue ether toward a hospital. The motive is unclear, but the circumstancial evidence is overwhelming -- Walter Matthau has returned from the grave to shoot Joey Williams, and he's brought a garish tangerine outfit with him. The kind of outfit nobody will notice you wearing as you leave a crime scene.

Clearly NLR is returning to Mark Trail at a seminal moment in the storyline. How did it come to this?

a few weeks ago....

It wasn't always Jeeps and Joyrides for Mark and Joey. Seems Joey's dumping company done been dropping a few unsolicited drums of toxic crude in Lost Forest, and if there's one thing Mark Trail can't stand, it's a chubby, mulletted version of Mark Trail mussing up his home.

In Lost Forest, terrible hair is indicative of a terrible soul -- Joey's coif, like his conscience, walks a fine line. Once the proud owner of a family trucking operation, Joey has put the reputation of his business in dire straits. Man, fuck those tables.

Joey, a victim of his own compulsions, finds himself carrying out run-of-the-mill evil deeds on behalf of a crime syndicate. A crime syndicate headed, apparently, by the moon.

Joey sure knows how to lean into a phone call, doesn't he?

So here we are. The moon has been playing Joey for a sucker, the action literally spilled out into Mark's hood, and now our woodsy hero is about to go all Gran Torino on the moon and the moon's known associates.