Mark Trail and the Zombie Clowns

Artist/writer James Allen has done great things to revive the Mark Trail comic strip. And normally, I'm on board with his storylines. But the odd turn in this February 2018 story arc almost lost me. 

It starts with various characters in Lost Forest (where Mark Trail lives) spotting unusual animals -- tigers, elephants, etc. It took a while for them to believe what they were seeing (could there be something in the coffee?). And even a little longer to understand why African animals were suddenly roaming free. 

Of course, most readers had already figured out that they had escaped from a nearby circus. Allen has the sheriff come by to explain things -- the circus train wrecked going around a curve near the Lost Forest. It explained where the animals came from. But then things get weird. 

Gaah! Zombie clowns! Run! "Terrified?" Those children are probably traumatized for life. And why does Mark Trail look amused in the last panel?

Oh, but there's more:

The story then gets back to rounding up the escaped animals. But what a strange aside. 

This was one bizarre sequence for sure. This is definitely not your father's Mark Trail. And that's fine with me.