Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for June 10, 2015

Not knowing if this is a “bullying” story or a “horn”-sprouting story, I’m going to hold off. It will be good, no matter what!

I think it is about Honeymoon “Coming of age.”

Since when is Mysta Japanese?

The introduction of Japanese honorifics/terms of endearment between Mysta and Honeymoon is interesting.

Possibly a “Shojo Anime” thing.

Honeymoon’s about the right age to be interested in such things. Plus, we’ve seen her and Astor cosplay in the past, during the “Themesong” story.

Turning JapaneseI think I’m turning JapaneseI really think so

Since Honey and Mysta are not mother-daughter, I think the big sister-little sister relationship is a good substitute. I think the main reason for Japanese here is that we don’t really have specialized English words for those relationships.

Obviously, the reason that Annie is not dressed the same as she was when she arrived is that she’s wearing pyjamas right now. After all, it is still night-time (if just barely). On the other hand she has to have some variety of clothes these days.

Mysta and Honey have already discussed the “problem,” possibly before it became a problem, so they share knowledge that Honey has not come out with to her parents yet.

I like the Japanese nicknames. Another signal of the deepening bond between Mysta and Honey, and of a relationship that’s evolving just as they seem to be. A delightful development IMO that bodes well for the future.I also like the enormous pic of “Mom.” Especially considering the matching earrings Mysta is wearing, it’s clear she’s now a dead ringer of the original Mysta. Seeing Moon Maid in the cute little hat is not only wonderfully nostalgic, but yet another reminder of how beautiful Staton’s Mysta is compared to the original. Great work!

Honeymoon has always had a poster of “Mom” on her wall, not 100% sure if this is the one we’ve seen before or not.

Sometimes I have to re-focus and realise this is just a comic strip. But there is so much nostalgia in this, with the mix of Mysta, Annie and Honeymoon that I’m feeling the intensity of the situation and the deep caring the characters portray. Good writing, team!

It’s fine. Mysta of the Moon used to be a comic – I don’t mind Japanese being used as shorthand for Alien.

I think that kind of “language” is out of place for these characters and simply a gratuitous placement by the author to perhaps show his fondness for Manga.Hmm, I tend to think something else is going on, Gweedo. Mysta is the kind of character that Japanese readers go wild for, and the nicknames may be a way of connecting with those readers. We’ve seen a Japanese flair in some of the Sunday art featuring Mysta, which also supports this theory.

I read Japanese, Gweedo (and Willy007), but it’s a nice aspect of the language. The use of big brother/sister and little brother/sister as titles is just as honorable as the use of mother and father and a more formal and a higher expression of endearment than Bro or Sis. It’s a nice touch to reflect the embrace of Mysta and Honeymoon’s alternate family relationship.

Whatever it is that is a concern for Honeymoon, Mysta offers reassurance and the comforting embrace of a “big sister.” Once Junior gets back with Sparkle, we may all get a better idea of what is going on. I continue to wonder if Honeymoon is budding antennae, and other kids are bullying her for being “different”?

I REALLY don’t likeFrankenmindy

well gweedo, you know where to get industrial sized cans of oxygen for VB, you know that anywhere ANNIE is theres ALWAYS gonna be conflict, and you know tha SOMEWHERE in downton tracyville there is a private detective who had the living bejeezus beaten out of him MONTHS AGO and nobody has even mentioned him..not even his partner in the detective agency he works at…who ALSO happens to be Mrs Dick Tracy.

Good morning Mysta, Honeymoon and Annie fans. Many excellent comments today. -———Very intense family situation and growing more intense daily.-———Too bad that we don’t have an Eldo poem to compliment today’s strip.-———Don’t worry, be happy my friends.

Good morning guys!

Because, I, too, have a five foot poster of my mother…

now THAT is a bit weird.

I bet this involves the Pig on Wheels somehow.

I agree. And there’s another camp that likes to sling mud at art other people are admiring. Whether it’s out of a desire for attention, or ignorant prejudice, or just plain meanness, I’m not sure. Probably all three.

Avenger, where did you get that photo of me? Did I give you permission to post it? What was I protesting? (I can’t seem to remember)

I put up a 5X8 picture of my mother on the wall in the bedroom and it made my wife feel uneasy. Maybe if I can find one in LEDs…… She always affectionately referred to my wife as “that woman”.

I like the development of the relationship between Mysta and Honey. It’s natural and logical, and was prefaced some time ago in scenes with Mysta and Diet Smith.

Love today’s strip. The nicknames are a great way to tighten the growing bond between Honeymoon and Mysta, who are both genetically and now psychically related. That’s a great little sidelight. And I find nothing odd about a young girl having a picture of her beautiful but departed mother displayed prominently in her bedroom. Honeymoon was what, seven, when Moon Maid died? The picture is a great way to preserve Honeymoon’s misty-eyed memories of her unique, mysterious heritage. Love the hat, too. With Moon Maid’s horns displayed so prominently, I take it as a hint that Honeymoon has now grown horns. Yea!

Gweedo thoughtfully commented,Well look what the buzzard dragged in !I would like to have been a fly or perhaps some leering green slime on the wall in the crypt last night. -———————————————————————

How did you get that pcture of me in my coffin, Gweedo?

jpuzz.. I don’t know about YOU but I don’t know of any “layperson” who has knowledge of the Japanese language…most americans statistically have a bit more than a passing knowledge of SPANISH than Japanese I would imagine.

Tho it COULD depend on the region of the country youre in I suppose…me,, since I am closer to new York city (hate that place! lol) hear more Spanish speaking people than anyone speaking Japanese lol

yup… its one of my favorites…I tend to sing it whilst sitting at campfires roasting marshmallows too.

now… how bout you turn that little snippy remark around and throw it at the people who gush all over her whenever she shows up and say how much they LOVE her?!?!

Mike’s gonna drag this out, isn’t he? :)

Doug Anderson said, about 26 hours ago“Come on—- give up this Moon stuff. Even Chester Gould had to after the strip was being dropped left and right. It’s ridiculous. Try to get back to what made Dick Tracy a great strip.”Nonsense.According to statistics provided by Vic Wichert and others, and contrary to the mythology propagated by those who disliked the Space Era and wanted it to disappear forever, newspaper circulation for Dick Tracy actually soared after Moon Maid was introduced.The total number of newspapers carrying Dick Tracy was a little over 500 just before the Space Coupe was introduced in 1962, and the number jumped to 800 by 1968 — four years AFTER Moon Maid made her first appearance. According to an L.A. Times report, circulation was still at 800 by 1973 (the last year Moon Maid was featured in a Dick Tracy story), and that’s when the numbers began to decline — several years after the end of the Space Era.The idea that “the strip was being dropped left and right” because people didn’t like Moon Maid and the Space Era is pure fiction. A look at the numbers reveals that the opposite argument can be made — that the Space Era helped to attract new readers, and that interest in the strip declined only after Moon Maid stopped appearing and the Space Era was concluded.For more information, please read this helpful analysis that Sydney Phillips put together several years ago. Here’s a quote:“Indeed, the Syndicate’s ‘68 number ’reflected’ a 58% (newspaper) circulation increase – 5 years after Moon Maid appearance and 6 and a third years after the Space Coupe’s introduction. . . . The Moon Era a FAILURE ? Sorry, the results that count (if correct) suggest the exact opposite !”https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DickTracy/conversations/messages/16771

The Moon People also have telepathic ability. Once when Moon Maid was kidnapped and held in a dark bank vault (to avoid sunlight re-charging her horns), she contacted her father telepathically. Now we don’t actually know how that telepathic communication actually works. Mysta contacted her father by sending telepathic words. Mindy seemed to react to telepathic emotions. Perhaps the Moon People’s ability utilizes a combination of both. In which case the telepathic bond between Mindy and Honey might be an emotional one that can’t be easily explained by using language.

Gweedo admitted,I finally got my X-ray drone up and running, Bill. You guys are better than late night “X” flicks !-————————————————————————

That’s invasion of privacy, Gweedo!

Wonderful scene of older sis comforting younger sis as “Mom” looks on!

All this talk about anime, young women who can shoot electricity from their fingertips, and horns reminds me of a certain someone …

I’ve no problem with Honey having a big poster of her mother on her wall. Moon Maid was a media sensation back when she arrived, so logically, there would have been posters of her. (And probably other merchandise, too. I bet there were even model kits of the Space Coupe!)I like the pose with her wearing Tracy’s hat.

@avenger09 and Gweedo: just checking to see how many people were wide awake today. Both of you obviously are. LOL. Be well my friends.

Ooops . . .I obviously got my dates wrong. it was in the mid-seventies. I returned to the States in ’72, but I guess Rockford debuted later.

NightShade09 said there may have been model kits of the Space Coupe. That is true because I have one. I left it in the kit as I consider it as a collector’s item. There were things I didn’t care about Gould’s space era but there were some really good stories to come out of it. I hope they bring the Space Coupe back. I really didn’t think it was a good idea to disassemble it and banish the one to space. A Space Coupe could’ve saved Jimmy Choo Shooz easier than a copter. It’s not affected by turbulence.

Check on Amazon.com or eBay and you should be able to score This Kit

…

The original Aurora model, complete, is selling on eBay for $126 or so.

Lesson: Save Your Childhood Toys and Games!

Gweedo confessed.It’s okay, Bill. I’m doing it for the government.-—————————————————————————

Which government, Gweedo? I hope it’s not the Transylvanian government!

Just thought to log on, only to realize I’ve missed a lot of excitement the last few days. It’s late in the day, so I’ll just say I’m loving the story events so far, and especially the bonding of Mysta and Honeymoon. Horns for Honey I think!

Vintage character-based collectibles tend to go for a premium price, particularly if they’re in good condition.

Example …

A cardboard “Marvel World” playset from the ’70’s – original retail price about $7.95 – often sells for over $300.

If I am right it is probably Sanskrit which is the basis for many languages.

Well, depending on how you classify things, Sanskrit has a common ancestor with many of the languages of India. I suppose that you might call the ancestor language an ancient form of Sanskit, though from another viewpoint, Sanskrit branched off from the main body of Indo-Iranian languages earlier than any other language and has no descendants.

In any case, there is a clear ancestor for Sanskrit and the other Indo-Iranian languages, known as proto-Indo-European (PIE). Besides being the ancestor of many of the languages of India, it’s also the ancestor of almost all the languages of Europe, including the Latin group, the Germanic ones (like English), Slavic (like Russian), Greek, Armenian, Albanian, and Celtic.

There was an interesting article in today’s New York Times about a study just published in the journal Nature. According to the journal article, Europeans descended from a hunter-gatherer group who arrived 45,000 years ago, a farmer group who arrived 8,000 years ago and mixed with the hunter-gatherers, and group of sheepherders from western Russia and Ukraine who arrived about 4,500 years ago.

It’s possible that the Indo-European language may have been brought to Europe by one of the two later groups. If it came from the Russian steppes, that might help to explain why ancient manuscripts from western China are written in an Indo-European language.

About the use of Japanese in today’s strip. Mike is a close friend of Stan Saki the creator of Usagi Yojimbo. Stan, recently lost his wife to a long battle with cancer. Joe did this picture as part of a book that was released to raise money for her hospital bills.The phrase “Imoto-chan” is a used by one of the characters in that series quite often. A real older sibling would almost never use that phrase, as it is actually rude. Sort of like calling your younger sibling “runt” or “squirt”. “Onee-san” or more commonly simply “Ne-san” is used quite often by younger siblings, usually when pestering their older sibling for favors.

Rise and shine the time has comeTo hear what’s made dear Honeymoon glumThe kids, the friend and Mindy the freakAlong with mom and Carrot top geekAll want to know the reason whyThe stars and moon are in the skyIt’s only five yet you woke us all up?I’ll need some Joe in my stolen I mean borrowed cupOr I might just snore before I get to hearWhy you made my sleep disappearIt better be good and not a bad jokeI have no time for second hand smokeWhat’s this your showing I can’t really tellBut something is weird I can see that real wellCould Joey or Mikey give Annie some dots?And maybe give Mindy some medicinal potTo help with her urge to zap through the nightThen maybe my sleep will return, it just might!