Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for April 28, 2017

A very imposing robot!

Good morning everyone!

A “cavalier costume” seems like the type of thing Connie Mai Wong would wear.

“Earth to Honeymoon” – nice line.

Is “Earthbender” a play on “Airbender”?

The ‘Buster Bot’ suit has ‘got’ to be hijacked before the story is complete.

With the dome-shaped helmet and central light, it’s very close to the ‘Hulk-Buster’ armor …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdWJ-Njeaig

That Honeymoon is cosplaying as an ‘Earthbender’ got past me, even though it’s common to see groups of various ‘Benders’ roaming the halls of anime conventions.

Here’s a look at Earthbender ‘Toph Beifong’ …

https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/vsbattles/images/4/46/Toph_Beifong.png/revision/latest?cb=20151106224228

Let’s hope Wendy Testaburger doesn’t show up in her Chewbacca costume.

I LOVE Astor’s armor!

Oh and for the record, I’m thinking that Astor and honeymoon are going to apprehend the criminals in this storyarc…Astor with his armor and Honeymoon with her magnetic powers (hopefully) but more likely with her lightning strike costume

Somewhere in a place where all the children love to play

Locher’s detective Tracy’s running fast and far away

Sure we used to moan at all the silliness galore

But at least we knew our comments would entertain and never bore

We knew tomorrow’s strip would be the same as yesterday’s

Numbing all our senses into a serious purple haze

Alas those days are gone we’ve even lost a friend or two

Sydney’s endless rantings aimless just as Mr Magoo

Now we’re left with children dressing up like Halloween

And comments bland as rice I truly wish this was a dream

Av, when we were kids, we’d get all dressed up and play Cowboys ‘n Indians. Nowadays, if you let your kids do that, they’ll kick them outta school and CPS will take them from you. If a kid points his finger at a make-believe gangster, he gets suspended. I guess they are trying the same thing with us.

Fantastic costume.

The armor seems like an homage to the Sontaran race of warriors in the Dr. Who universe.

ANYFACE better get started replying to himself or we’ll NEVER get to 100 comments today. “Oh, The Humanity!”

There are a few excellent examples of ‘Hulk-Buster’ cosplay on youtube, including this one …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4LuWXf5Tlw

A few people have been saying that grown adults shouldn’t wear costumes. I think that what those people don’t understand is that many games these days involve some kind of role playing where you play the character in the game or the game character becomes somewhat like you. It’s one thing to become the character in a video game, but it’s even better to become that character in the flesh. It’s just an extension of the role-playing and it’s good for adults as well as younger people.

Here’s the thing …

Though the characters in this story are dressing up as other characters, the presentation of the convention experience is rooted in fact.

Not that different from a movie like ‘Miss Congeniality,’ which goes behind the scenes of a pageant, or any fiction which integrates a particular, unique setpiece into the work.

Or, in other words …

“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”

There are a few examples of TV series exploring the convention scene, from ‘Wonder Woman’ to ‘NCIS’ and ‘Castle.’

This episode of C.S.I. is fairly well-regarded in its attention to detail …

http://csi.wikia.com/wiki/A_Space_Oddity

This is all reasonably straightforward stuff, certainly nowhere near as insane as the time that TV’s ‘Webster’ met Star Trek’s Lt. Worf …

http://trekcore.com/blog/2015/03/tng-webster-crossover/

@ Neil Wick: Love that typo – the robot costume has a prison inside it!

Where these “characters” go off is when they actually start to believe they are their alteregos and do something stupid to get in the news.

@ Neil Wick and others concerned about the number of comments: Perhaps we need an entirely new way to count and weight comments. Over 100 comments is peachy, but as Avenger09 pointed out one day, more than 50 came from one person! Perhaps we should just count the number of different persons commenting. That would seem to be more accurate.

A Brief History Of ‘Super Robots,’ Part One: Go Nagai

Though both ‘Astro Boy’ and ‘Gigantor’ predate it, the first true ‘Super Robot’ series – in which the mecha is controlled by an on-board pilot – was 1972’s ”Mazinger Z,” created by legendary manga artist Go Nagai …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyRoF689VRE

Two years later, in 1974, the series would be retooled with a new pilot and upgraded mecha as ”Great Mazinger” …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDjkXkMTg-c

That same year, Go Nagai would introduce the concept of the ‘Combining’ robot, in his series, ”Getter Robo” …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhjds5BtY68

… which would earn its own sequel, ”Getter Robo G,” in 1975:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjieygKSXpQ

Also in 1975, Go Nagai created ”U.F.O. Robot Grendizer,” which featured as a supporting character ’Koji Kabuto,’ the pilot of Nagai’s original robot, ”Mazinger Z,” creating a continuity of sorts between the series …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wNeMjUqWU8

As these were all produced by animation studio Toei, a variety of short-form crossover/team-up theatrical featurettes were also created, culminating in ”Grendizer, Getter Robo G, Great Mazinger: Decisive Battle! The Great Sea Beast” in 1976.

Theatrical trailer …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt2X3wFB04k

… and, for those hearty enough, here’s the crossover in its entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuwQH0AfV2g

NEXT TIME: Some Go Nagai ‘Super Robot’ series even hard-core fans might be unfamiliar with, and at least one no one was aware that he had created.

Honeymoon and Connie may or may not play a part in busting the coming crime by the Margies Gang, but the Buster Bot, with Astor Boyd “in prison” (I do like that one, Neil) could get in the way of Middle Margie.

Whatever happens, I am enjoying the cos con fun, though some of the comments seem frighteningly knowledgeable about comics and characters….

Hm …

Astor had said that the ‘Buster Bot’ cosplay was heavy, but he didn’t say exactly ‘how’ heavy.

Even if constructed out of relatively lightweight materials, that thing is bloody massive.

Still thinking about the other night, when over a dozen comments seemed to poof …

Who th’ heck pulled out those ‘Jenga’ blocks …?!!

Incidentally, I ‘love’ the art in the second panel.

If I had access to it text-free, might make it my next icon.

I guess Gweedo’s on the road. We’re going to miss him the next several days. I hope he can at least check in now and then.