Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 21, 2015

.Good morning guys!*.❻ days until my 81st birthday!

Good mornin’, VB.

B&W again today.

So “The Chalice” is a person. Everyone’s guesses were correct.

I’m only correct if Flattop shows up.

Maybe it’s the lack of color, but Joe & Shelley’s art feels particularly inspired this week.

+Must be the B/W Junior Tracy the kid

…….well, it sounded like fun to make the bad guys good, and vice versa, but now I realize leaving images of Pruneface, etc acting as good guys is forever going to remove my ability to view them as scary again. Sooooo……

Message delivered….now we see what happens.

I still prefer the colored version as shown on the other comic site. B & W leaves out a whole dimension, just as I would never buy another B & W TV set if they still sold them.

Morning, Tracy Fans!

I love the B&W! But I look at the color version every day as well. For those who insist on color, try the version on Comics Kingdom.

Officer Shoulder’s uniform: motorcycle cop’s? Sam Browne belt; cross-draw holster; jodhpurs. Not a standard Tracyville/Chicago cop’s outfit nowadays….

Piggybacking on comments yesterday, as well as someone’s talking about costumed superheroes, I wonder whether the “Chalice” is the costumed alter-ego of a certain expected super villain in another dimension….Tune in tomorrow,.Same Flat Time,.Same Flat Channel!

A sunny morning to all.-—————@Vista Bill: Just reverse the digits and you will be 18 again.-—————May your day be filled with blessings my friends.

The colors are visually appealing, but for a strip like Dick Tracy or Little Orphan Annie, black and white rules. The way they use solid blacks here to draw in the eye gets watered down when there are competing colors making every part of the panel at least momentarily eye-grabbing.

Colors supervised by strip creators… now that’s a horse of a different stripe. Foglio’s “Girl Genius” is a little work of art each time I see it, for instance.

The Chalice (alternate Flattop) is presumably a freelance troubleshooter in the spirit of the Spirit, the Saint, the Falcon, the Wolf and other such pulpish characters. Smarter than the police, and likes his freedom, but always willing to lend a hand to those in danger.

I also like the occasional b&w strip. And as far as b&w television goes, anybody watch “The Walking Dead”? One of many examples of the creative use of color, or lack of it. I enjoy ME T.V. and the old programs they run. Being in b&w doesn’t make funny any less funny, or the Twilight Zone any less brilliant.

Happy Marty McFly Day to you !!!

Who’s Roger? lol j/k

you got me by 12 V B

So “The Chalice” is a nickname.It reminds me of characters like The Saint and The Falcon, only…

I will agree with several here about the status of the B&W. Many may remember when Mr. Turner bought a huge film library and started colorizing them?

Not only did it ruin quality movies, who’s directors used light, shadow, and darks in order to enhance the suspense, but that is how people remembered them. Suddenly now, we have either gaudy colors, or poor quality, washed out colors; even colors that do not match. I have a few of the 3 Stooges where you can switch from B&W to color, and the color was just that. It was washed out, poor quality and did NOTHING to help the boys’ already brilliant acting.

That is why I look at both sets of strips; B&W on the other site, and the colored one here. The team really uses the monochrome to it’s full effect and does an incredible job with it.

@Gweedo – It’s legal here !!! – Murray

Looking at your b&w link print I couldn’t help notice the creases around the button on the chair. …THAT’S some attention to detail, Mr. artist guy !

That is exactly my point. Details that sometimes could be washed out with color. If done /right/ color can enhance a picture, but more often than not, it’s just a distraction.

If I can see the strip with both versions, then I’m happy. If I can comment, and interact with other fans, then I’m contented/

WHAT??? The future is black and white? That’s heavy!!!

I’m personally waiting to see Sparkle, BO, Gravel, Junior, Tess, and Vitamin!

Egad!

I thought you all would like to see what I got in the mail a week ago.

http://www.amazon.com/Tracy-Encounters-Facey-Whitman-Little/dp/B000HYXUBU

and

http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Tracy-ace-detective-newspaper/dp/B0007EI876

The ‘ace detective’ was on a Blackthorn cover as a photo from Chester Gould’s collection showing him reading it. I did a bit of research and found it! Nicely done, quite enjoyable.

AS far as colors in the dailies, I think it’s a matter of skill by the colorist. A few years ago, there was a sequence in The Phantom set in the trenches of World War I.The colorist at Comics Kingdom gave one army powder blue uniforms.After a few weeks, he switched to green, and all the earlier strips were replaced with green uniforms.-I think the B&W is perfect for this story, and I think it might be intentional, to set this tale apart from the normal, “real” Tracy verse.

Can someone please tell me what this ‘other site’ is?

Gweedo said,Good morning young man !-———————————————————————————.Good morning Gweedo.

Having a hard time following this theme. Was enjoying the modern day stories much better. Might give it a rest for awhile and wait for color to be invented again.

A “mirror” universe, in black and white, seemingly back in time…

…and today being “Back to the Future” Day, I have Huey Lewis & the News’ “Back in Time” as my earworm.

The French army switched from dark blue coats and red trouser after the first year or so of the First World War to pants and jacket in what was known as horizon blue. The Belgians started in dark blue jackets and pants and after 1914 switched to British style khaki uniforms but adopted the French M15 Adrian helmet with the crest on the top and a symbol at the front rather than the British Empire Brodie helmet that was also used by the Americans. The horizon blue uniform was a significant improvement in terms or reducing visibility of the wearer in many situations (notably fog) although it wasn’t as good as the British khaki or the German feldgrau.

“Chalice” in French Canadian is a common expletive up here…TBC..

So “The Chalice” is a nickname.

This is from left field, but what if “The Chalice” is a female whose real name goes something like Holly Grayle?____________________

I like it!

99% sure “The Chalice” is Flattop, though.

The chief’s name is ’Boche"? That seems ominous to me.

JPuzzleWhiz mentioned,Happy 81st when it arrives, VBR!-———————————————————————.I’m counting the days! This’ll be my first attempt at 81.

All those ’Black and White’ strips, are in Full colour now . . .*

Happily, Dick Tracy gets the needed attention

Wow…..it really WAS better in b&w…..

Gweedo mentioned,If you do like Jack Benny you’ll have many more go’s at it.-—————————————————————————-.“Sunday Night at Seven”!

It looks color to me.