Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 22, 2013

YES!

electrifying.

The power may be down,but Mysta’s back online!

I think he’s fried….Stick a fork in him, he’s done.

Shocking!

At least now we know where Sparkle and Nellie are.

She just needed a battery charge.

Power outage brings the darkness down on Wheaton’s farmPressure improvises, hostages face dire harmDemanding firm assurances that things will go his wayHe’ll take that deed from Wheaton or hostages he’ll slay.Mysta has a different plan, Hy threatens with his gunSaving the three hostages, she raises hands to stunOne seeking to harm Junior, Sparkle and young NellieHy sparks up like a lightning rod, legs turning to jelly.Mysta shouts, “No!” Takes swift action, so sick of human violenceThe hostage crisis over, from Pressure naught but eerie silence.

Lightning outside, lightning inside! Yahoo Mysta!

Did I call it? The lightning charged her up!

SHAZAM!!

I think that I can say unequivocally that Mysta has redeemed herself for that Sparkle zap.

I wonder if what’s left of Hy Pressure will fill a coffee can.

This kid’s on fire! And so is Hy Pressure from the looks of it. Had a feeling we’d see some fireworks today!

ZAP! Another Tracy bad guy bites the dust.

Die, Hy, Die!

Seriously, I figure the more bad guys who die, the fewer good guys who die.

Wowza! Go, Mysta!!! This is great, I was thinking it would take someone getting threatened for her to muster her powers again. I’m only hoping that the fury she summoned to protect the others has not harmed her in any way. As I recall, in the original Moon Maid intro story, she had come across a woman & child in a snow storm and had raised her body temperature to keep them from freezing. I think it had nearly drained, if not entirely, her powers. A charge this apparently lethal may have done the same. I’m hoping that’s not the case.

She’s exciting!

Hy Pressure meet High Voltage!(you can groan now)

Interesting to note that Junior’s instinct was to protect Sparkle ; I think MM2 hasn’t a chance with him; now that she’s redeemed herself, she can go back to wherever she came from and never come back…. now to destroy the space barrel and flying trash cans, and be rid of the “Moon era” forever and get back to some good old detective work

OK. So, at first we see only Sparkle & Nellie. Moon Maid appears and rescues them. Suddenly, Junior appears right next to Sparkle and embraces her. What kind of heartless husband would STILL not even exchange a meager hello to his once-dead wife? Sorry, but this lack of interaction between Junior and Mysta is just not plausible for a storyline. Hate to critique such a great story but this really blows a hole in it. Am I the only one bothered by this glaring slight?

I think Hy’s wish came through, he bought the Farm.

He’s dead Jim!

If Junior is “protecting” Sparkle, why wasn’t his gun drawn and why wasn’t he going after Hy-P? It just strikes me as bizarre that the plunk Junior Tracy into that scene in split-seconds (from the time Mysta stands between Hy-P & The Wheaton Ladies) and he’s got his arm arm around Sparkle?Junior & Co were all at the farm for what must have been hours, correct? To this day, we have seen zero interaction between Junior and his former wife. OK. I’ll let others chime in on this point.

Happy Sunday to all!Fry, Pressure, Fry!

So, “Moon Maid” has changed his name from Hy Pressure to Hy Voltage. She certainly gave him her all, a full double-zap. Junior hastens to protect his wife, Sparkle, from the electrical storm within, while the storm without still rages. More settling of gangster scores to come….

Why can’t we have some good ol’ time gumshoe work with the occasional Mysta appearance ?^^We Gweedo, we are friends, so, I’ll make this short :P; if you can prove to me that there has EVER been people living on the Moon (NASA doesn’t count) or that any cop rides around in a flying trash can, I might consider it! ;)

If Tracy made himself a target by using the flashlight function on his Wrist Wizard, Mysta’s lighting things up with her powers really makes her a target. I’m almost scared to see the next few days strips. I desperately want things to work out well for Mysta!

Well. THAT should take some of the Pressure off…

Wow! This is what I’ve been waiting for. I had a feeling Mysta’s power drain was only temporary. Glad to see her back in action and defending the farm!

I was delighted to see Mysta using her powers—and exicted to see Junior and Sparkle in the afterglow ;)

“Hy” Pressure just became “Bye” Pressure. Guess that makes Mysta a pressure cooker now…

Hy may not be dead, but he’s at least stunned and having lost his gun. torch and specs, he’s certainly much reduced as a threat. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Good morning fellow DT fans…

I’m loving what I see here!

The storm must’ve re-charged her. Anyway, he’s toast.

Now if Pop Wheaton would slide over to Hy Pressure and relieve him of that Cashier’s Check he’s carrying (assuming it ain’t burned up!), he might be able go get a new tractor, cultivator, etc.

….great poem pequod…..it’s called poetic justice…big time….hy voltage to be sure…even the gun …glasses and flashlight lit up

Fabulous Sunday strip. But I fear a sadness coming….Inshallah

I still think Junior and Sparkle have grown up to resemble Archie and Betty

Wow! 72 comments and it’s only 11 am here (Central time). Can you imaging the number of posts there would be if SDM/avenger09/Matthew was here!

Well, better late than never on Mysta turning out Hy Pressure’s lights. But where did Junior come from? Weren’t he, Tracey and Hi in a different room from Mysta and Sparkle before everything went dark?

She schooled him. Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!

To the SF haters: Never heard of suspension of disbelief? I think Chet Gould knew rhat there isn’t people on the Moon. Nevertheless, he created a fantasy world that, albeit naive, full ofimplausibilities, was not devoid of graphic beauty, featuring stories like Mr Bibery, Haf and Haf and the Chin Chillars.And what about Skinny’s ghost, the hideous Flyface with flies infesting him in winter, Brush’ s typing chimpanzees, or, for that matter, Influence’s hypnotic contact lenses? Chet Gould’s realism was never absolute! If you don’t like this story, read somethin else and don’t clog this spage with your whining.

Besides being a sleazy guy, Hy Pressure was an extortionist and conspired to commit murder. This was just with Wheaton. We don’t know what happened to the other farmers in the area who sold out to him. No doubt he is getting what he deserves.

But the real question concerns the severity of Moon Maid’s attack. Did it kill him? Did it just stun him and freeze him in his tracks? I suppose we will have to wait for the answers to those questions.

However, in the past Moon Maid had remarkable control over her power. She once used her beams to paralyze Junior’s index finger to stop him from clicking the shutter of a camera as he tried to photograph her. Once, when Junior and Lizz threw a party for Moon Maid with Junior’s friends, the kids had fun with Moon Maid “freezing them in their tracks” and then releasing them from the paralysis.

This is why I question if this Mysta is the original or some sort of doppleganger who is not used to controlling her powers. The “Sparkle Zap” was a stronger jolt than needed and resulted in a prolonged period of amnesia for Sparkle. The “Hy Pressure Zap” today looks like she is unloading full force.

We all know Moon Maid has a temper and always has had even in the Chester Gould strips. But even though the readers all are glad to see Hy Pressure get what’s coming to him, zapping him full force seems a bit over the top when she could have simply frozen him in his tracks (which I will admit wouldn’t have been as exciting as the rendetion by Joe of Hy Pressure getting a dose of an angry Mysta).

Her memories have proven to be slightly askewed (Honeymoon tricked her into having her hair brushed by telling her that it used to be one of her favorite things) and her ability to control the intensity of her power (Sparkle Zap and Hy Pressure Zap) seems a bit in question. Her true identity still remains a mystery.

What great storytelling! What a great strip today!

Self defense? i dont think so, she wasnt in any danger… at least none shown on the panel. sparkle and nellie (and it seems junior as well) but not moon maid lite… i guess we can add involuntary manslaughter to her laundry list of criminal offenses huh?

btw, looks like nellie got socked in the jaw in that panel with sparkle… either that, or shes a runaway from that famous “scream” painting.

Everyone is there. But why? Why did Tracy want Sparkle and Mysta there? How do they fit into the plot of capturing the two rival gangs?

@Sweet Betty:

Yes, I share your concern that Mysta may have summoned everything left within her to stop H-P. It could be the way to have her exit with the highest honor of self-sacrifice and redemption. However, I’m REALLY REALLY REALLY hoping the writers wouldn’t do that to us. We lost this beloved character once before and it was horrific then. This time would be harder because most of us have become quite attached to her.

I like the girl with the antennae, whoever she may be. I have suspected all along that she isn’t who she thinks she is. Although my original guess of a modified/brainwashed human isn’t looking good, I still believe that there is heartbreak in her future when she (and we) discover who and what she really is. And I’m really curious about that. We’ve been told she “isn’t a clone”. That information came from a confirmed fraud, but still….

At least Hy Pressure left in an electrifying manner…..

Well done :)

HA! :>D

PIN Number = Personal Identification Number Number.

Power outage brings the darkness down on Wheaton’s farm

Pressure improvises, hostages face dire harm

Demanding firm assurances that things will go his way

He’ll take that deed from Wheaton or hostages he’ll slay.

Mysta has a different plan, Hy threatens with his gun

Saving the three hostages, she raises hands to stun

One seeking to harm Junior, Sparkle and young Nellie

Hy sparks up like a lightning rod, legs turning to jelly.

Mysta shouts, “No!” Takes swift action, so sick of human violence

The hostage crisis over, from Pressure naught but eerie silence.

Would this make Mysta a “Pressure Cooker?”