Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 18, 2016

  1. Mmdash6
    Pequod  about 8 years ago

     

    Look to see the Arctic tundra

    Frigid climes and swirling snow

    Here aggrieved and bereaved father

    Gradually has come to know

    Somewhere there exists someone

    Who walks upon the Earth

    Presence felt. New fate dealt

    By blood, yet not by birth.

     

    Not the girl his daughter bore

    Something less, yet something more

    Disturbs his normal state of mind

    Stern, determined, oft too unkind.

    Decides he shall investigate

    Seek out the source, obey his fate

    For what he’s feeling should not be

    Given shattered family history.

     

    Nearby, look to see a Mother

    Keener still her sense of Other

    Something stirs akin to hope

    Seems long ago she came to cope

    With tragic loss she can’t abide

    Inside herself she sometimes hides

    Recalls her daughter: broken, lost

    To the marrow feels the cost.

     

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  2. Bill 1960
    Vista Bill Raley and Comet™  about 8 years ago

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    Good morning fellow DT fans!

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    Wow! I do like what I’m seeing here!

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  3. Me 2020
    Don Bagert Premium Member about 8 years ago

    Moon governor?

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  4. Lumandabnetar
    Donnie Pitchford Premium Member about 8 years ago

    Oh boy!!

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  5. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  about 8 years ago

    Embrace The Space Era~!!

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  6. Bill 1960
    Vista Bill Raley and Comet™  about 8 years ago

    Gweedo, answer me this. Will the BMBG team be a-goin’ to that frigid place?

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  7. Me 2020
    Don Bagert Premium Member about 8 years ago

    So at least one other person with the Governor, presumably another Lunarian (especially with the “halfling” comment).

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  8. Blunebottle
    blunebottle  about 8 years ago

    Aha!

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  9. Blunebottle
    blunebottle  about 8 years ago

    “No-fly zone”…hah- that’ll get the tin hats going. Lots of planes fly over Antarctica all the time. Just some areas are hazardous, due to strong winds.

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  10. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  about 8 years ago
    This is only a tease …

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    … but it sets up a potential tug-of-war between “The Moon Governor” and Posie Ermine for the soul of Mysta Chimera.

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    Can't Sleep  about 8 years ago

    Woo Hoo!

    Are they talking about Mysta? Can we be sure that Posie is the one Mysta was getting messages from?

    Can they mean there is another we don’t know about?

    This is definitely something to look forward to!

    Love today’s art, too.

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    Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo]  about 8 years ago

    No Fly Zone over Antarctica?

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  13. Shran1
    atomicdog  about 8 years ago

    Dang! I thought for sure that they were on Europa.

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  14. Avatar
    22ph  about 8 years ago

    It appears that the Lunarians are not aware of the existence of Mysta. If they do, they are definitely not aware of what she is now.

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    And I really thought the signals were coming from Posie.

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    22ph  about 8 years ago

    I think that’s in Antarctica

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    doc1947g  about 8 years ago

    How much “several” means?

    several time 28 days

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  17. A tornado
    the too late song  about 8 years ago

    The last panel looks female

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  18. A tornado
    the too late song  about 8 years ago

    Whoops . apologies.Lol.

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  19. Bucky1
    crobinson019  about 8 years ago

    Regrets…he’s had a few…

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    Ken in Ohio  about 8 years ago

    I’m not a big “moon fan”, but I try to read everybody’s comments. There has been lots of speculation about where the moon people who showed up at the grave site might be. But, even with all that stuff about Mysta needing to “chill” in her special room, I don’t think anyone tumbled to this scenario. Mike and Joe did indeed surprise us.

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    Ken in Ohio  about 8 years ago

    That is for sure some very “cool” art!

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  22. Oddball
    Morrow Cummings  about 8 years ago

    This looks like Chicago this weekend. The hoodrats are prolly holed up in the crevaces.

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    jrankin1959  about 8 years ago

    While you’re waiting for the team-up with The Spirit, enjoy this little preview of coming attractions…

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    abdullahbaba999  about 8 years ago

    Wow!!!

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    boboscar  about 8 years ago

    “And now for something completely different.”

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    With everything about Selfy seeming wrapped up (including his confirmed death) the story changes completely, which I feel marks the end of the Selfy story and the start of the next one. This year I began doing a list of every Tracy story on GoComics. I’d like to continue doing that, but GC manager Aaron Weber’s stupid, asinine character limit makes that more difficult. I’ll post my intro in this comment and start in the next, cuz with my intro, my first post couldn’t get past the second year.

    .

    My notes are fairly simple. Just my name for the story (usually the name of the main villain or villains, unless they just aren’t the emphasis) followed by the dates the story began and ended. If someone was the main villain for more than one story, I add a “II” and so on to emphasize this. If more than one villain from a past story are in the same story committing major crimes, I include them altogether. Finally, for the two cases of more than one villain with the same name (Chameleon, Mr. Crime) I add, “The Second” in front of their names.

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    At the start of the GoComics archive, the writer was the late Mike Kilian. Personally, I like his work on Tracy and think he’s very underrated. At the very least, he knew how to tell a story in the daily strip format where every day, something happens that moves the story along, a quality his successor sorely lacked. I recommend anyone here who hasn’t read these stories to check them out.

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    TBC cuz WEBER

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  26. Elusive dream girl
    Jonathan K. and the Elusive Dream Girl  about 8 years ago

    Assuming a “lunar unit” is referring to a month, could this be a preview of next summer’s big story arc?

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  27. Missing large
    boboscar  about 8 years ago

    Tracy in GoComics

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    2001

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    The Airplane Murder Mystery (March 29-June 20)

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    The earliest strip on GoComics is Sunday, April 8, 2001. GC then skips a week to the next Sunday, April 15, then skips the next couple of days to Wednesday, April 18. Sadly, this means GC doesn’t have every strip from this first story. Happily, GC has every strip from Tracy from 4/18/01 to the present.

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    The Mistress of Death (June 21-September 13)

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    Snails (September 14-December 5)

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    A Detective, 2 Gunmen, and a Kitty (December 6, 2001-January 13,

    2002)

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    G. R. Eed (January 14-February 24)

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    Pinhead (February 25-April 26)

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    Percy Brillig (April 27-June 27)

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    Heartless Mahoney II (June 28-August 23)

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    Hawk (August 24-October 16)

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    The Abduction of Tracy’s Granddaughter (October 17-December 15)

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    I believe this is where Junior and Sparkle’s daughter (initially named Sparkle Plenty Junior) was renamed Jewel.

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    The Second Chameleon (December 16, 2002-February 7,

    2003)

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    The Revenge of Hard Case Harry? (February 8-May 3)

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    Hard Case Harry was a bitter ex-con who served time for a crime he didn’t commit. In an earlier story, he initially sought revenge on Tracy, but got a chance to reform. Here, he and a family go missing, and Tracy’s left to wonder if he’s decided to become a criminal after all. This leads to reprinting the entire original Hard Case Harry story that ran from December 13, 1993-January 23, 1994, before this second HCH case is solved.

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    Hawk II (May 4-July 2)

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    The Filligree Murder Case (July 3-September 22)

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    TBC, cuz Weber sez 2001 characters is “very, very disruptive on the small screen” so it must be true.

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  28. Missing large
    boboscar  about 8 years ago

    Tracy in GoComics

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    2003

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    Dr. Beau Tox, Heartless, Mahoney, Prune Hilda, Dab Stract, & No Face (September 29-December 18)

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    All of the above villains were recurring villains except for Dr. Tox, the main villain. By the end, Prune Hilda is killed, Mahoney and Stract testify against Tox in exchange for freedom, but despite their testimony, Tox is acquitted. So Tox, Mahoney, and Stract were all legally freed (and Locher later confirmed that Stract reformed). No Face, as always, escaped without getting caught, and is still at large. ARGH!

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    Sal Monella II (December 19, 2003-March 10,

    2004)

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    Mousse (March 11-May 30)

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    Piggy Bank VI (May 31-August 27)

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    Yes, this was Piggy Bank’s sixth story as a main villain. And he escapes and remains at large. ARGH!

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    Flunke (August 28-December 22)

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    Airport Sabotage (December 23,2004-March 14,

    2005)

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    The Manipulation of Moonrock (March 15-May 27)

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    Dick Tracy in the Southwest (May 28-August 11)

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    Cellphone (August 12-November 3)

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    This is the last story Kilian lived to complete.

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    Oily II (November 4, 2005-March 22,

    2006)

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    Oily was a villain who debuted in a pre-2001 Kilian story. Sadly, Kilian died in late 2005. The last Sunday strip with his signature on it was January 15, 2006. The last Daily strip with his signature on it was over a week earlier on January 7. Up to that point the story had been moving along at Kilian’s usual brisk pace. He’d even had the story largely wrapped up. Too bad his successor, Kilian’s friend and longtime Tracy artist Dick Locher, stretched out the ending for over two months, that feel like over two months just reading it. A sad omen of things to come.

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    TBC, cuz Weber wanted to make his own contribution as to why 2016 is such a special, special year.

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  29. Missing large
    boboscar  about 8 years ago

    Tracy in GoComics

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    And now, here’s my coverage of Dick Locher’s run as writer. In fairness to Locher, he’d been a good, regular artist for decades. And stepping in at the crisis of Mike Kilian’s unexpected death probably saved the strip and kept it afloat. And earlier, when Max Allan Collins left, Locher wrote and drew one story before Kilian stepped in (which sadly, isn’t on here) that’s actually pretty good. That said, his writing here from 2006 to 2011 is Bad. Really, really Bad. Excruciatingly Bad. I list the stories here, where you can find them, but I really wouldn’t recommend reading them. Although halfway through, the experience starts to become worthwhile on this site, but not for anything Locher is doing (at least not intentionally).

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    2006

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    Al Kinda (March 23-August 24)

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    Dr. Figment Froid (August 25, 2006-January 21,

    2007)

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    Queenie (January 22-May 19)

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    The Brainwashed Baron (May 20-October 14)

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    The Haunted House (October 15, 2007-January 22,

    2008)

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    Cole Lector (January 23-May 15)

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    TBC, cuz Weber not only forced a character limit on us, he also forced on us a new format that makes us use more characters to make paragraph spaces. How wise!

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  30. Missing large
    boboscar  about 8 years ago

    Tracy in GoComics

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    2008

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    Baskerville & Shirl Locke (May 16-August 27)

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    And this is where it (sorta) becomes worthwhile. When Tracy first found the Internet, TMS published its own Tracy website, complete with a forum. In early August, 2008, the site and forum were completely shut down. Which is when GoComics took off. On August 3, fans began to post here, and with nothing good going on in the strip, the fans resumed what they’d done on the old forum, mocking and making fun of just how awful the strip had become. If you like Riff Trax and its predecessor, Mystery Science Theater 3000, you might get a kick out of these comments, many of which are clever, witty, even hilarious at times.

    .

    There’s one caveat however. There were a couple of ugly flame wars started here by Locher’s friend and supporter, the other Matty, Matthew P. Hansel. He would rudely insult anyone who didn’t appreciate Locher’s “genius”, namely just about everyone else posting. It got so bad several times, that the GoComics administrator would have to step in and put a halt to it. Eventually all of Matty’s posts would be deleted, which was no big loss, but several fun commentators would get deleted, too, which was a big loss. Going over these old comments now, while still often amusing, can be a bit odd, because the remaining posts include reactions to comments that are no longer there.

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    Be that as it may, there’s some entertainment value in the comments section of the following strips, even if there’s none in the strips themselves.

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    Braces (August 28-December 10)

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    Angelorious (December 11, 2008-March 2,

    2009)

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    Big Ace & One-Eyed Jack (March 3-July 10)

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    Murder at the Circus (July 11-November 24)

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    TBC, cuz these html characters for paragraphs really add up. Thanks, Weber!

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  31. Missing large
    boboscar  about 8 years ago

    Tracy in GoComics

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    The Maestro and His Son (November 25, 2009-April 6,

    2010)

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    Johnny Nothing (April 7-July 21)

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    D’Buckworth (July 22-November 13)

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    Dr. Mordred (November 14, 2010-March 13,

    2011)

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    And after five years of darkness, there was light.

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    TBC, cuz I originally grouped these comments by Tracy writer, and I don’t feel Locher’s stories should be put together with Curtis’, even though this makes this comment short even by Weber standards.

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  32. Mmdash6
    Pequod  about 8 years ago

    “There should be nothing like this on Earth.” Wanna bet! Sweet anticipation. I’ve been looking forward to this day since the Lunarians (Governor, Wife and siblings (?)) visited Wildwood Cemetery on October 19, 2013. I’ve never believed the timing of that visit was a coincidence. We have limited knowledge of Lunarian physiology, but it makes sense that the activation of their deceased daughter’s DNA might set their senses tingling. Now the Governor is ready to act. Well, he’ll be ready once the highly anticipated Spirit crossover is completed. I’m guessing there is a Space Coupe tucked away there in Antarctica. The implications make for delicious speculation. I suspect that a meeting of the Governor and Mysta Chimera will prove to be a landmark day in Tracy lore.

     

    Thanks to Vista Bill, Neil Wick, Jim in CT, Night-Gaunt49 (a wee bit of poetic license can’t hurt), 22ph, Ray Toler (safe travels), Jonathan K., Chris Sherlock and JPuzzleWhiz for the kind words. Very much appreciated!

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  33. Kantuck icon124x84
    kantuck-nadie  about 8 years ago

    All right! An interesting coincidence too. The IDW books on the Moon Maid is (suppose) to come this month. By that time I’ll be at least starting to catch up on the Moon era, and be prepared for this new strip. Excellent!

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    boboscar  about 8 years ago

    Tracy in GoComics

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    And now my listing of Curtis’ stories. I have the least to say here, but’s all good and often great. Anyone looking for past good stories can find them here. Highly recommended.

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    2011

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    The Fifth & Flyface III (March 14-April 30)

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    Hot Rize (May 1-June 2)

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    Doubleup (June 3-25)

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    B-B Eyes II (June 26-July 30)

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    Morning Gloria (July 31-September 17)

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    The Retelling of Tracy’s First Case (September 18-October 23)

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    The Second Mr. Crime, B-B Eyes, Blaze Rize, Mumbles, Doubleup, & Abner Kadaver (October 24-December 2)

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    Abner Kadaver is in a unique position among Tracy villains. As a professional hitman, he’s always taking orders from somebody, and they’ve always been main villains in their own right. So technically, Abner is never the “main” villain. But there are stories where he is the main focus, and whenever that is, I boldface his name.

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    Putty Puss III (December 3, 2011-February 2,

    2012)

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    Thunderchild (February 3-March 7)

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    Blackjack (March 8-April 24)

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    The Second Mr. Crime, B-B Eyes, Blaze Rize, Mumbles, Doubleup, & Abner Kadaver II (April 25-July 20)

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    Mrs. Flattop (July 21-August 20)

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    Phishface (August 21-September 28)

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    Measles II (September 29-November 16)

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    Broadway Bates II (November 17, 2012-January 5,

    2013)

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    Sweat Box (January 6-March 3)

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    The Jumbler (March 4-April 16)

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    The Return of Moon Maid (April 17-October 19)

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    The Blackhearts, Mrs. Flattop, Abner Kadaver, & Blackjack (Octobr 20, 2013-January 4,

    2014)

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    Silver & Sprocket Nitrate (January 5-March 19)

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    Tabby Angus (March 20-May 31)

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    The Search for Annie (June 1-October 12)

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    Gruesome (October 13, 2014-January 18, 2015)

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    TBC, cuz Weber hates free advertising.

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  35. Kantuck icon124x84
    kantuck-nadie  about 8 years ago

    @Night-Gaunt49 GoComics PRO Member said, about 14 hours ago

    A pleasure, Night. Merry christmas to you and yours as well. A safe set of holidays too.

    —> They are since this happened in 2010, they have new things to experience both good and not so good aswe all. Thanx for the thought.

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  36. Missing large
    boboscar  about 8 years ago

    Tracy in GoComics

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    2015

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    Silver & Sprocket Nitrate and Mrs. Flattop (January 19-March 21)

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    The Great Train Robbery (March 22-June 13)

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    The Fall of the Blackhearts and the Return and Rise of Mr. Bribery (June 14-October 11)

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    Where it’s revealed that Mr. Bribery was the secret leader of the Blackhearts, making him the unseen main villain behind the Return of Moon Maid, Abner Kadaver’s second “solo” story (the one I start by listing “The Blackhearts”), and the Great Train Robbery.

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    Midnight Mirror Mystery (October 12-December 25)

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    Specs & Spicy and the Return of the Ace of Spades (December 26, 2015-April 6,

    2016)

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    Mrs. Notta Faller Chin Chiller, Blaze Rize, and Putty Puss (April 7-June 21)

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    Mr. Bribery & Abner Kadaver (June 22-September 24)

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    Selfy (September 25-December 17)

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    This story also marks the return of Gould villain Posie Ermine. He’s served his time, and no one tries to arrest him, but he’s definitely still a villain. He knows Selfy is a wanted fugitive but doesn’t alert the authorities, he rear ends Mysta’s car, and tries to forcibly take her with him. I expect we’ll see more of him and some more outright villainy from him in the future.

    .

    And that’s it. And so a list I had originally posted in 3 posts (and this was by choice, one post for each Tracy writer in GoComics) took 8 posts under Weber’s character limit. Twice I had the list under the limit, but all the html I had to type pushed the list over it. Have I mentioned how much I love Weber’s changes?

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  37. Durak ukraine
    Durak Premium Member about 8 years ago

    Wait, Antarctica has a no-fly zone? Cool. How is it even enforced? Or is it just some kind of gentleman’s agreement?

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  38. Images
    BreathlessMahoney77  about 8 years ago

    Well, now we know what it looks like when Dick Tracy meets “Game of Thrones”. Winter is here in TracyLand.

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    ssledge  about 8 years ago

    All I want for Christmas is a visit from/to the Ple-en-tys, the Ple-en-ties, the Ple-en-ties . . . .

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  40. Aen
    Big D  about 8 years ago

    it makes sense that the remoteness and the temperature of Antarctica would be perfect for the Moon People to hide out on Earth.

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  41. Screen shot 2014 04 07 at 10.51.27 pm
    Tomas B Texino  about 8 years ago

    It would seem the reports of David Bowie’s death may be premature.

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  42. Thinker
    Sisyphos  about 8 years ago

    Ice! Ice!(Just how it felt outside here in Chicagoland when I went to church this morning.)

    Yes, that is assuredly Moon Governor in the last panel; not David Bowie; not Vanilla Ice (Ice! Ice!). I would guess Mysta’s mysterious near-linking was from him. We’ll find out what he plans to do after several lunar units (=more or less next summer; definitely after the Spirit & Tracy arc, which should be starting in January). Hafling? —Actually, I like it, if only because it reminds me of Rene Auberjonois, Constable Odo on DS9 (currently running on the Heroes and Icons network, for me in Chicagoland channel 26.4), oft referred to as a Changling (shape-shifter), one of my favorite actors and nearly my same age….

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    Jerryjohn52  about 8 years ago

    A couple years ago I suggested that Antarctica might be a good place for the lunar people to hang out. It’s the most isolated continent and has temperatures similar to the moon and we know moon people can tolerate cold. In the solar system we know there are no other planets with oxygen atmospheres and would require much terraforming to create that. In the 1960s Tracy episodes there was some air on the moon but that appeared to be gone when Tracy visited the deserted moon complex. Maybe loss of atmosphere was what caused them to leave.

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