Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for June 10, 2010

A place to hide only if it doesn’t change shape and location over night…

After disarming is assailant with a kung fu kick, our intrepid hero runs and hides.

People say Locher’s art isn’t realistic, but I disagree; I’ve often encountered floating, disembodied signs containing the words, “Museum Display” when I’ve visited museums.

What you gonna do Tracy? Shoot him with a torpedo?

Inanities on inanities. Locher can’t draw,h he can’t tell a story. Are they paying him, or does he pay them to let him do this???

Great hiding place. Only one way in or out???

Will Net Nanny bleeep me if I say drat like Tracy? It wouldn’t surprise me.

Tracy is running away? Wha–?? After the gun was kicked away, one would think that Johnny Nothing would make a grab for it, diving to the floor. All Tracy had to do was jump on top of him and wail away. But looks like Tracy does have Runawaymatic [TM] installed with his yellow streak.

A submarine? I wonder if the museum also has the USS Eldridge on display. That’s why the museum keeps morphing – the Philadelphia Experiment has started up again. Notice in panel 1 the MUSEUM DISPLAY sign is melting into the wall. Maybe Tracy will go through a time warp, back to the days when Chester Gould was producing the strip.

And speaking of the submarine, any World War II naval buffs out there? Since the sub on display is described as “captured,” then it must be either German or Japanese design. Or is it a US sub from that era? Not to imply this strip makes mistakes, of course.

Shouldn’t such a display be in a Military History Museum?

Be nice fellas. Watson,er Tracy is going to make an intelligent decision to trap himself in a steel container with one entrance/exit. Let Holmes, er Tracy think.

Isn’t the action taking place in a SCIENCE MUSEUM?

Meanwhile, a body lies bleeding on stage and Sam and Liz(z) stay in their seat waiting for the second act to start.

Sigh…

Sure, Tracy, hide in the sub and you’ll be at a dead end for The Blank!

Wrong on every level. Tracy should be the pursuer, not the pursued. Why would a play be in science museum? Why would a captured submarine be in a science museum?

Since this play could’ve been staged anywhere, and the choice was a Science Museum, we would expect the plot to involve some sort of science display. The Blank getting zapped by one of those lightning-generating Van De Graaff generators would have been a great ending. But a submarine? Good golly Miss Molly!

Macy will board the sub, somehow move it to the river, and make his getaway. All the while singing “Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum!” Locher must really have a deep hatred of Alpha males. That’s why he takes our hero and makes him into a wuss.

Panel-Panner said, “Maybe Tracy will go through a time warp, back to the days when Chester Gould was producing the strip.”

Comment of the day. No, week. No, COMMENT OF THE MONTH!

Just wait until Sunday’s color week in review-the submarine will be yellow

puddleglum5999 said, “This strip is getting really stupid.”

That’s what I like about it! Not as good as Feerless Fosdick was, though.

Naperville, IL is kinda close to Chicago isn’t it? Perhaps those asking why a submarine would be in a science museum might like to read this. Note the hull number on the u-boat in the drawing is suspiciously close to that of the actual u-boat on display in the Chicago Museum of Sciene and Industry.

http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/u-505/

…disembodied signs containing the words, “Museum Display” which are floating INSIDE a wall somehow, next to a round top door which is too short for an adult to pass through without ducking…

WHAT!

MisngNOLA nailed it! The display is identical to the U-505 set up in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry!

http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/u-505/

torpedos! LOS!

Morphing Museum Murder Theatre Director with Amnesia A dead body on the stage Unaware Police staff in the audience Tripping down floating stairs Vibrator columns 9-foot steps Floating display signs

I’ve been in that captured U-boat exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry. It’s a tight squeeze the whole way through. If you think the Museum of Murder & Science can change time and space, I can only imagine inside that sub. Tracy and Nothing will probably wrestle around and fall in to the newly added submarine swimming pool (Olympic-sized, of course). which, could give our favorite Cambastanian, Flight Suit, a new reason to FLOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

I have to admit that the art has improved a little in today’s strip–Even though the sub looks like a cut-a-way,it’s still an improvement.

Hide, Dick, HIDE!!!!

Wow, at first I was annoyed that the comic strip broke continuity with its own history (the Blank being a whole different person from his original appearance). But that’s nothing compared to the way it breaks continuity with strips from previous days. It’s like each day is being done by a different (poorly) trained monkey.

With DT running all over the museum, you’d think there’d be a pretty good chance he gets stuck within a wall when the building morphs from one form to the other.

Panel one: Dick is doing his best Jackie Gleason impersonation… “And awaaayyyy we go!”

If it is the captured sub, it is German U-505. Many years ago, I read a book about its capture by Adm. Daniel Gallery. I loaned it to someone and never got it back. But, if you can find it, it is an excellent read.

You can see the original Blank by going to your public library or Amazon and obtaining the book, “The Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy 1931-1951.” I’ll give you more details tomorrow.

We actually get a chase scene! Almost like the real Dick Tracy!

Except … um … instead of the cops chasing the criminals, we get to see Tracy run away from a lone criminal while the entire rest of the police force sits around and says to each other, “I’m not sure that last act was in the script.” Still, that’s kinda like a chase scene … um … a little bit like a chase scene … um …

Time for predictions! I predict Tracy will not summon back-up – not with his two-way wrist teevee, not with his cell phone, not by doing any more yelling.

I further predict the rest of the police force will not respond to the yelling they’ve heard already (both from Tracy and from Anja Nu), the dead or dying body, the pool of blood, the gunshots, etc. – no response beyond muttering to each other, that is.

I further predict Johnny Blank will explain everything in between shooting and missing, losing his gun and picking it up again and shooting and missing some more, so once again no detective work will be done by Tracy or anybody.

I further predict the explanation will make no sense at all, and neither will the action we see going on while we listen to the explanation.

Then the episode will end, with nothing explained in any rational way, and we will spring into yet another hallucinatory adventure, each one worse than all the others.

-Cougar :{)

Guessing you won’t see “The Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy, 2009 and 2010”

CougarAllen said, “Then the episode will end, with nothing explained in any rational way, and we will spring into yet another hallucinatory adventure, each one worse than all the others.”

The next episode will have Bonnie Braids and Tess suggesting a baseball game to help Tracy relax. One team will consist of people in the FBI Witness Protection Program and the other team will consist of the guys that were “ratted on”… and agent Ennen will return for another appearance!

Drat! Tracy doesn’t remember he and Pat Patton being trapped in submarine back in the ’40s!

If that submarine were only on wheels, it would look a lot like a pig.

-Cougar :{)

Hey BB! Missed you, buddy!

CougarAllen….I sadly must concur with your predictions.

I was hoping we’d see Tracy beat the bat snot out of that “Blank” clown….this is not going well at all.

Panel-Panner, MisngNOLA and Coyote2280. I agree with the U-505, though I did some net searching and found that there was a U-516 that did survive to the end of the war and surrendered in Belfast, Ireland. I didn’t find any information on the final disposition though.

Cougar,Best summary/predictions of the current tale to date (even when including what’s written ahead)

You’ve got a real sense of Locher’s writing style.

He’ll be remembered as the only writer to have Dick Tracy … RUN from a foe !

I predict we see more of Brave Sir Robin…errrr Tracy running away bravely after soiling his armor.