Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for April 08, 2014

Good Morning To All!

Joe Jitsu, anyone? How about Go-Go Gomez?

Ah, Joe Gitsu and Hemlock Holmes and the Retouchables….guess Mike DOES read all these comments…another crowd pleaser comin’ up…..lovin this story more and more…..

Scott Shaw just described Joe Jitsu and the Retouchables.

Oh no! Spelled “Jitsu” wrong…..so sorry…..excuse please!

Those characters would never pass the PC Police these days – Thank God for that!

Love the fun references to the old DT cartoons! I’m also wondering about Kolossal given the crack about the need to cash his checks right away.

I just LOLed after what I just red

Hey, maybe they could get George Tarawa to voice the kung fu master.

Seems Kolossal has a gambling addiction that will lead to a very hard downfall…..

How about an overweight cop and a talking dog too?

With the talk about old Tracy cartoons, I thought of this great old Dick Tracy cartoon from Archie’s TV Funnies. Guest starring Moon Maid!

What no Mexican Police Detective? :)

Vera comes across like a goof and a buffoon. Which is fine by me because I never really liked the character.

Thanks Willy007. That cartoon had everything! Even the flying Police trashcans.

I wouldn’t trust Kolossal as far as I could throw him. I’m going to try to put up some more samples from the 1935 story later today.

Scott Shaw has some good advice for the pompadoured airhead. He also seems to be taking over creative control of the J. Straightedge Trustworthy strip de facto, even if it will still have Vera’s name on it….

Although I like this strip right now I do have one question: are Silver and Nitrate still sitting by in Flattop Jr’s car at the bottom of the lake trying to conserve air?

It’s been done…

“Ollie’s” had the complete Dick Tracy TV cartoons for five or six bucks, so I got one (and another for a gift). I still remember a bit of tie-in merchandise branded with Dick Tracy — a toy chainsaw. Seemed a bit off, even at that age, somewhere around six. Of course, if I had one now, I’d brag about it.

Guess I’m a minority here. In this arc, I think Vera is the “sympathetic” character. Kolossal’s reputation is already shot. Scott’s reputation is sinking because he knows his boss is a scoundrel yet he hasn’t left him..Vera seems to be the only one who doesn’t know what he’s walking into. And while Richard doesn’t seem thrilled by Vera’s comic strip, are we really sure that it’s intentionally disrespectful? (I don’t think we’ve had a complete set of Trustworthy panels).And the interesting backfill provided yesterday by boboscar strongly suggested that Vera’s allegedly unsavory reputation may have been a figment of Max Collins’ imagination. Indeed, his worst deeds were done “off panel.”.Almost as if the entire Moon Maid death scene and Vera’s alleged adultery were little more than plot devices to rearrange Junior’s marriages to Collins’ liking. (Something else I’d like to see Mike “undo”).I am really holding out hope that Mike is using this arc to exonerate Vera and perhaps patch things up between him and the Tracy’s.

All these comments and no one has picked up on what Scott said?Any place where the employees have a ‘get your check and run to the bank’ philosophy is teetering on bankruptcy. (I worked at one.)Whatever the reason, Kolossal Pictures owes more than it brings in, and Scott and Moon Maid may soon be out of work.Vera may never have to worry about Tracy’s reaction to the cartoons, as they may never be made.

The thing is, in this story arc, everyone knows that J. Straightedge Trustworthy is supposed to be a parody. Also, in real life, we all knew that Al Capp’s Fearless Fosdick was supposed to be a parody. But, when they came out with those silly cartoons, they were not billed as a joke. We kids thought it was going to be a real animated Dick Tracy adventure, until we saw a few of them. The opening, with the squad car racing through the city streets, was pretty cool. But, mostly Tracy just sat behind a desk and called in one of these “supporting characters” on his wrist radio. The series was a pretty good showcase for many of the classic villains, but it was not even close to a faithful adaptation of the strip.

I’m going to sound like a gushing fan here. I’m really pumped for this story. The cartoon stuff is fun, and the Annie references and the return of Vera Alldid are quite enjoyable. What really gets me going though is that my all-time favorite Tracy character, Moon Maid—such as she is evolving into—is in the thick of this. I love what the new team has done for Dick Tracy. It’s nothing short of amazing how they’ve revived this strip, and all of us should be grateful. But I’m thrilled every single time the incredible and forever-underrated Moon Era is referenced. And I’m especially excited whenever Mysta is on stage or hanging nearby. Her every appearance makes me one very happy camper. She’s a fantastic and compelling character. Come to think of it, I think I like this Mysta better than the original if that is possible. She’s a beautiful and powerful mystery woman who never fails to grab the spotlight and has lots of potential to grow and fascinate new fans. Thank you again, Mike and Joe. I can’t tell you how happy you have made me and so many other 1960s fans. Moon Maid ROCKS!!

I like Moon Maid’s hair better White..

Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers for my mom and friend Carl. Mom is adjusting to her new environment as well as could be expected. When she starts to complain I just tell her to stop it or else I’ll send her to the Nitrates! LOL!!! Carl isn’t doing well at all; he almost left us while I was visiting him last night. It’s a reminder how fragile and precious life is! I’ll post updates if there is any significant change in his condition. Thanks for your patience; I’ll be back to my normal annoying self soon!

“The original was more cartoony, if such a thing is possible in a cartoon…The current Maid has beauty and a soul that correlates to a live action character.”-—————————Also very well said! Thank you sir. As much as I liked the original Moon Maid, the new one is even better! She’s very intriguing and Staton has made her more attractive. I always enjoy the large panels that others post of her too.

With the talk about old Tracy cartoons, I thought of this great old Dick Tracy cartoon from Archie’s TV Funnies. Guest starring Moon Maid!Thanks, Willy! I used to love “Archie’s TV Funnies.” I’m glad Joe made Mysta’s eyes look more appealing.

And before the inevitable curmudgeon speaks up to dampen the enthusiasm, let me just say that all the excitement over Mysta is what helped Team Tracy win a Harvey Award. Excitement about characters is always always always a good thing for this comic strip. Even if Mysta isn’t your favorite like she is mine I hope you can appreciate what she’s helping to restore to Dick Tracy. Passion, excitement, wonder, joy, mystery, fantasy. All the good things we have enjoyed about daily comic strips at some point in our lives. Mysta’s bringing it folks, big time. More fans, more fun, more interest in the story, more excitement, and a return to relevance. Keep your eye on the big picture. It’s all good.

Good afternoon everyone…

Have you seen a Joe Jitsu cartoon? Takei has voiced or been in a LOT of spoofs, parodies and kid shows but I haven’t seen him do a poor stereotype like that one. I tend to believe he has a little more class than that.

Here are some more frames of Kolossal from 1935 (one repeast from before). Movie making was always a high stakes game and Kolossal was always obsessed with money and didn’t care about his employees at all.

I agree with the popular opinion – Joe’s Moon Maid is hotter, uh, more attractive than Gould’s version. Those wierd pinwheel eyes and strange mouth Gould gave her always freaked me out.I’ve never enjoyed “Dick Tracy” as much as i do under Mike and Joe’s guidance.

Ballots are now available for comics professionals to submit nominations for this year’s Harvey Awards, honoring work published in the 2013 calendar year. As we all know, the 2013 calendar year for Dick Tracy was dominated by the Mysta/Moon Maid story, and I have high hopes for it. If you’re a comics industry professional, it’s time to get your nominations in for work done in 2013.

It would be cool if they started making trustworthy a regular comic strip outside Tracy

“Excuse me if I’m mistaken, but wasn’t the Harvey Award won at about the time the Moon Maid story began in earnest last year?”Yes, that’s true. Remember, though, the Moon Maid mystery began in August of the year before. It gained momentum with her periodic dramatic appearances, Tracy’s investigations, Junior’s mounting angst, Honeymoon’s increasing excitement, and the trip to the moon, so much so that when Mysta finally took center stage last year at this time, it felt like we were already well into the story. And in fact we were, since it began on August 1, 2012 and had been running off and on for more than eight months. That’s why I agree with yumpin that excitement over the Mysta-ry was a big factor in helping Mike and Joe get their first Harvey Award.

“Excuse me if I’m mistaken, but wasn’t the Harvey Award won at about the time the Moon Maid story began in earnest last year?”^I’ll excuse you, you are mistaken. :) The Moon Maid story began in earnest in late April of last year. The first nominating ballots (where any comics professional could write in whatever they wanted) was due by May 6, The final ballots (where one could vote for just the top 5 nominees, which included Tracy) was due on August 19 and the awards were won in mid-September all while the Moon Maid story was still ongoing.^Still one could argue that Tracy was nominated about the time the Moon Maid story began in earnest, but considering the fact that Mysta was first seen on August 1, 2012, it’d be reasonable to conclude that she was a factor in getting nominated. And considering the fact Tracy won while Mysta’s “Return” was still going strong, it’s almost definite that she was a factor in Tracy winning.