Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for July 24, 2013

Mysta is famished, no nourishment takenOn her high speed escape, alone and forsaken.Now incognito, red hood on her headChecked shirt and tight denim her wardrobe insteadOf thigh high boots and a necklace of pearlHer alias Mindy, country life gets a whirl.Even the milk cows chew cud a bit fasterKnow nothing of Pressure, yet sense a disaster.Farmer Wheaton is tired right down to his bonesBut Fracking is no way to pay off the loans.Nellie looks out for her second new friendAdvice with the spare clothes she’s happy to lend:Blow your own horn, lest you’re knocked on your fannyShe’s quoting the classic, Little Orphan Annie.

Hm-mm, she still wants to get back with Junior…

Great poem, Pequod.That third panel is a hoot!

G’morning everyone…

When did Nellie meet Annie Warbucks?

Great Annie reference! I like how Nellie’s giving Mysta a piece of her mind, though Pappy looks a little irritated.

Yesterday, Sweet Betty said, “I seem to recall MM dressing in more earth-like clothing over her years as Junior’s wife. I know there are those here who have this info at their fingertips; can you clear this up?”This is partly in answer to Sweet Betty’s question, partly to address some other questions about Moon Maid’s clothes, and partly for the sake of those who haven’t seen these files before. For those who have seen them, I’ve updated them with new scenes.We had a discussion about Mysta’s attire a few months ago, and similar questions were raised about why she hasn’t been wearing Earth clothes, and whether Staton’s portrayal is an accurate representation of her legacy. I proceeded to do some research, skimming through the years Moon Maid was a regular or semiregular in the strip (1963-1973). I culled out panels that were representative of her overall appearance during each of those years. (There was nothing for 1971, however).As you will see in the graphic linked below, Mysta’s moon costume did evolve somewhat over the years (the pics are listed chronologically). On the other hand, the basic look Gould gave her when she was first introduced in 1964 never really went away. Most of the changes that took place during the Space Era were variations on a theme, as Ray Toler has pointed out. Apart from the brief appearance of the “minus” skirt during the 1969 Painted Lady/Hy Jacky story (which immediately went away), the only significant change to Moon Maid’s basic moon costume was in 1973, the last year she had a significant role in the strip. I did include a pic of the maternity smock Moon Maid wore when she was expecting Honeymoon.Mysta wearing Moon fashionsIn this next file, I’ve included panels showing Mysta in Earth fashions, featuring her wedding gown and the dress she wore on her first date with Junior (both from 1964), a nightgown she wore briefly in 1965, and the black dress she wore on the day she died in 1978.Mysta wearing Earth fashionsThe above confirms that Mysta did occasionally wear Earth fashions, but considering she had a 14-year run in the strip, wearing Earth clothes was the relatively rare exception. In fact, after Honeymoon was born in September 1965, Moon Maid was thereafter almost never seen wearing anything except her familiar bustier until 1973. Even when she did wear Earth attire, she tended to accessorize it with moon fashions; e.g., wore her thigh-high boots with her wedding gown and maternity smock, and even the black dress she wore on the day the car exploded was reminiscent of moon attire (bare shoulders and back).As you can see in the first graphic, the moon costume Staton has given Mysta is virtually an exact match with the outfit she wore from 1967 through early 1969, nearly two years of the strip (the same years when DT circulation peaked). Whatever people may think of her costume, it is certainly representative of her look during the Space Era and of moon women in general (they all dressed like this). And just as it was typical of Moon Maid to wear moon fashions during the 1960s whether at work or at home or fighting crime, it shouldn’t be considered strange or uncharacteristic that she is constantly wearing them now. It’s her look, the look we constantly saw during her original run, and the look we would surely expect to see in her return. As Tarry Plaguer pointed out on this comments page a few months ago:“The Moon Maid everyone is familiar with, is the one dressed in the sexy “Playboy bunny suit”. I am sure that almost all news footage ever taken of her, had her dressed that way. In the public eye, she isn’t Moon Maid unless she looks the part. Sort of like any super hero from any comic that isn’t in costume.”Besides answering Sweet Betty’s question, my main intent has been to respond to the complaint that Mysta’s attire is not accurate or typical of what we should expect Moon Maid to be wearing. Based on the evidence, I believe it certainly is. Hopefully the visual evidence I’ve provided will be helpful in resolving the current discussion.

quoting an expert

No doubt Annie stopped for a few days at this farm too (and saved it from some menace or other, because that’s what Annie does.)

I’m a little confused here (nothing new, no need to worry).Nellie is quoting “Little Orphan Annie,” a well-know work of fiction.But Tracy talked to Daddy Warbucks, who was preparing an expiedition to search for you-know-who.So – in the Tracyverse, Annie is both a real person AND a fictional character? Well, I guess she could be; after all, there was the story with a fictionalized Tracy bio movie.Even so, Mike is drilling a few holes in the Fourth Wall, and I’m worried my understanding is starting to leak out.

I am still wondering if Mysta is a clone or a resurrected Moon Maid after all! Was there a body? Who knows the decomp of a moon person,especially with all that magnetic and electrical energy stored in the body. Grave Robbers from Outerspace!

Nellie reads the classic comic strips! And “Mindy” has come up with a quick cover-story that Wheaton would have checked out if he had any concern for the law. He seems to run his farm as an independent kingdom, he being its benevolent monarch….

Today’s strip will forever be a favorite. Staton’s drawing of Moon Maid in panel one reminds me of the 60’s stuff. What a pose. I am LOVING the way he is drawing her eyes. This turn of events, having Moon Maid end up on the same farm as Sparkle Plenty is story writing at it’s best!

I’m looking at Mysta, found in that outfit, and I’m asking myself, WHAT HUSBAND IN HIS RIGHT MIND WOULD TROW HER OUT? Come on, now…

Is this another hint that the Syndicate is going to bring back Annie?

Several comments today.

First:

To quote Bozo the Clown: WHO-O-O-A NELLIE!

Okay, so Nellie has no idea who she is talking to, or the situation that she is getting into. But Mysta has already committed one act of poor judgment that a judge would likely take as assault – the infamous Sparkle Zap.

I’m willing to overlook the car at Smith Industries; Stellaluna and Retik did make it seem as if she (Mysta) needed to flee for her life. But it is another misstep.

Knowing how impetuous Mysta was in Gould’s day, as well as today, blowing her own horn may become yet another misstep – and they are adding up.

My fear: Too many missteps, and it will no longer matter whether Mysta is real or a fake – she will have been groomed to be a villain, and that will become her lot.

And I, for one, am not cool with that.

Second:

Willie007: I don’t think the question is whether Mysta is being clothed accurately. You are absolutely correct in pointing out that she appears pretty much as she has always appeared. But, in your summary, I think you stumbled upon the sticking point that has led to most of the Moon Maid controversy in the first place.

Until you mentioned it this morning, I hadn’t thought of it at all – but it’s there, as plain as the nose on my face: Mysta was a costumed crime fighter! This is the bug that I think stuck in so many people’s craw: Historically, Dick Tracy was about hardnosed crimefighting and gritty detective work.

Mysta came along in the sixties at a time when Superman, Batman, and the Marvel gang were gaining in popularity. Perhaps, for Moon Maid foes, this was the main issue: Mysta represented a costumed crime fighter with super powers.

Perhaps this is exactly what Gould had meant. Perhaps not. We may never know.

I’m sticking my neck out on this one, but I think this was the main objection with the Moon Maid story arcs – super powers, not super sloothing, were being used to solve crimes.

The same with the so-called “moon technology,” the infamous “flying garbage cans.” Again, police were getting “super powers” in order to fight crimes.

Furthermore, by 1978, when Collins and Fletcher chose to have her “die,” the superhero craze was not necessarily over, but certainly had moved out of the mainstream. Readers may have tired of “magic wands” solving crimes instead of nitty-gritty detective work.

Already noted by others is that, at the time of Mysta’s alleged death, she had become a “back burner” character, no longer significant in Dick Tracy’s detective work.

This is Mysta’s baggage.

Third:

I join the chorus that Pappy Wheaton is getting somewhat creepy. I mean, at least two women have crossed his doorstep and he seems the least bit interested in how they got there or where they belong. I find this disturbing.

And there are inconsistencies. While Sparkle and family may have been radio stars, I still find it incredible that he wouldn’t have recognized her. Perhaps I am stereotyping him and all farmers in saying that Sounds of Plenty were probably singing the kind of music Pappy would listen to. The Internet is alive and well in the Tracy-verse, so to have no idea of who has graced his doorsteps is a “stretch of disbelief,” as I think someone called it.

I was also a bit confused a couple days ago when Pappy resisted the thought of taking in yet another displaced woman. This, especially after he had said “She looks familiar.” He knows Moon Maid but does not know Sparkle?

Yet, he’s willing to shelter Sparkle and not Mysta?

Did that bother anyone else?

Though, today, it is far less clear that he is going to put her out as originally suggested. On the other hand, there’s always tonight’s installment…

Given that Joe Staton was recently researching the art of Dick Locher’s final DT story arc, has anyone given thought that ol’ pops could be a suspicious character (Dr. Mordred)?

Thanks so much, Vista Bill and 60sFan! Much appreciated.Thanks for the great overview, Willy. In addition to Mysta’s charming cavalcade of wardrobe changes, I especially like the Marina Towers outside Mysta and Junior’s window in the New Year strip. The towers were new back then. The “twin corn cobs” can be seen in Steve McQueen’s final film (The Hunter), as well as on the cover of Wilco’s, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. To the north, I can see one of them out my window now.Mysta’s jealous reaction to discovering that Sparkle had married Junior when Mysta was presumed dead is understandable: a very minor “misstep,” in my opinion. The “Zap” was clearly a device to induce amnesia in Sparkle, whom otherwise would not have stayed on the farm. That Mysta’s flight from the duplicitous Sail led her to Wheaton’s farm is a Gouldian coincidence that sets the stage for Mysta’s redemption. It seems to me that far from being set up as a villain, she is being set up to help Wheaton and Nellie. I like it.There is nothing at all creepy about farmer Wheaton. He strikes me as a good Samaritan willing to take in strangers in need. He trusts Nellie’s judgment. Even if he listens to The Sounds of Plenty on the radio, he wouldn’t be expected to recognize Sparkle. He said Mysta looked familiar; he does not know who she is. Pop Wheaton seems rather overworked to me. I doubt he has a lot of spare time for the internet. We have yet to see a single hired hand to help out with what must be a considerable amount of labor.

Well, if Annie said it, it must be true!

Big Daddy Wheaton looks rather irked in panel two.. i dont think he is as “gosh darned honest” as he wants the other characters to believe.

and i find it rather weird that NOBODY seems to question why exactly a woman wearing a playboy bunny suit is out on the farm in God’s end of nowhere? regardless of the cover story the character gave them, the ONLY plausible explanation is that the husband found out that his wife doubles as a pole dancer at sleazy rat trap bar somewhere

Pequod77: I like your take on Mysta and Wheaton’s situation. You’re probably more accurate than I was.

It remains a concern of mine that, if Mysta is anything other than the “real deal,” meaning that she somehow, for now inexplicably, survived that car bomb; if she is a clone, replicant, regenerant, or any of the speculations I have read, there would be no real future for her in the strip. In fact, I would expect her rejection by other characters in the strip to rival some of the Moon Maid foe posts we have seen since this arc launched.

You’re also probably right – the Sparkle Gap was little more than a plot device to induce Sparkle’s amnesia. Without the amnesia, not only would Sparkle have left the farm, but I can also see some pretty harsh words out of her mouth if she knew that Mysta wanted her husband back.

Maybe Mike and Joe have that up their sleeves, for all we know.

The question now is, are we headed toward a clean finish? How will she react when she learns the moon colony is deserted? Assuming we learn that Mysta didn’t really die, nullifying the divorce that many assume that death implies, how will Junior choose between his two wives?

Will we finally learn who this Moon Maid really is?

Or will that be another arc, a year or so down the pike…

I thought Sparkle was right there when Mysta was discovered in the car. Mysta would certainly recognize Sparkle even though the opposite would not necessarily be true.

Even when she gets her memory back, will Sparkle know she was zapped by Mysta? I’m wondering. She stepped outside the radio studio to meet with an anonymous person that she may not have ever even seen and then wham everything went dark. Sparkle may have short term memory loss about the entire event and never realize what happened or how she ended up on the farm. That would be best for Mysta but I’m looking forward to how it plays out.

“Mindy” is a clever alias for Mysta. I have to think it’s a reference to Mindy Ermine, who finished second (to Sparkle!) in the Moon Maid lookalike contest back in the summer of 1968.Is this a hint that Mysta is going to finish second in the Mrs. Tracy contest? ;)

Thanks to margueritem, ReneTray, coldsooner, Sydney, Pequod77, Ray Toler, and Sweet Betty for the shout outs. Took a little work to put all those slides together (in this case revising some previous work), but I enjoy doing research, especially when it’s about fantastic Tracy characters like Moon Maid, so that was right up my alley. Glad to know it was appreciated.

Did you notice the interesting continuity tidbit I stumbled upon in that graphic I just posted?Up until now, we’ve all been assuming that Honeymoon was four or five years old when her mother was in the car explosion, meaning that (since Honeymoon is now confirmed to be eleven years old), about six or seven years have passed in Tracy time since the explosion.Yet here, on 10/18/72, Honeymoon confirmed that she was already SEVEN years old. (I like her cheeky reply to Groovy, “Check!”) Even assuming she did not age another day between that date and the car explosion in 1978, this means that in Tracy time, only four years have past since the car blast and the present day. Which also means that Junior and Sparkle have only been married 2-3 years.

SO many great comments today, I kinda hate to end it with this BUT, wouldn’t it be great if when Nellie said, “If you don’t blow your own horn, you get run over.” Mysta just took off her scarf and said, “Okay.” HA! (Again, sorry about that…)

The frequent Annie references are starting to make me hopeful that Dick Tracy really will find and rescue Annie… how awesome would that be?