We are getting a teaser of the next villain, but I’m aiming to post my summary of the Sawtooth story when Moon Governor finishes talking to Diet Smith.
So, the new villain is apparently called Ghost Pepper. His restaurant’s name bears a close resemblance to Chili’s in the real world. Ghost peppers were listed by Guinness as the hottest in the world until just a few years ago, when several hotter ones entered the market.
With this strip we transition from the previous case to the next one, which I feel marks the end of the last story and the start of the next one. When that happens I do a list of every Tracy story on GoComics. Unfortunately, soon after I started doing this GC imposed a stupid, asinine character limit of only 2000 characters which includes every letter, space, punctuation, & html, which means I have to do this over several posts. I’ll do my initial introduction in this post and start the list in the next one, because otherwise, I can’t even 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.
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.
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.
The Mistress of Death (June 21-September 13)
Snails (September 14-December 5)
A Detective, 2 Gunmen, and a Kitty (December 6, 2001-January 13,
2002)
G. R. Eed (January 14-February 24)
Pinhead (February 25-April 26)
Percy Brillig (April 27-June 27)
Heartless Mahoney II (June 28-August 23)
Hawk (August 24-October 16)
The Abduction of Tracy’s Granddaughter (October 17-December 15)
I believe this is where Junior and Sparkle’s daughter (initially named Sparkle Plenty Junior) was renamed Jewel.
The Second Chameleon (December 16, 2002-February 7,
2003)
The Revenge of Hard Case Harry? (February 8-May 3)
Hard Case Harry was a bitter ex-con who served a harsher sentence than even Tracy felt he deserved. 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 return to crime 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.
Dr. Beau Tox, Heartless, Mahoney, Prune Hilda, Dab Stract, & No Face (September 23-December 18)
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!
Sal Monella II (December 19, 2003-March 10,
2004)
Mousse (March 11-May 30)
Piggy Bank VI (May 31-August 27)
Yes, this was Piggy Bank’s sixth story as a main villain. And he escapes and remains at large. ARGH!
Flunke (August 28-December 22)
Airport Sabotage (December 23,2004-March 14,
2005)
The Manipulation of Moonrock (March 15-May 27)
Dick Tracy in the Southwest (May 28-August 11)
Cellphone (August 12-November 3)
This is the last story Kilian lived to complete.
Oily II (November 4, 2005-March 22,
2006)
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 the late 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.
TBC cuz GC sez 2001 characters is “very, very disruptive on the small screen” so it must be true.
And now, here’s my coverage of the late 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).
2006
Al Kinda (March 23-August 24)
Dr. Figment Froid (August 25, 2006-January 21,
2007)
Queenie (January 22-May 19)
The Brainwashed Baron (May 20-October 14)
The Haunted House (October 15, 2007-January 22,
2008)
Cole Lector (January 23-May 15)
TBC cuz we’ve reached the halfway point of Locher’s run, it’s about to become (sorta) worthwhile, but I need to explain why and my explanation can’t fit this post. Ain’t character limits wonderful?
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 or 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, 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.
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.
Braces (August 28-December 10)
Angelorious (December 11, 2008-March 2,
2009)
Big Ace & One-Eyed Jack (March 3-July 10)
Murder at the Circus (July 11-November 24)
The Maestro and His Son (November 25, 2009-April 6,
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.
2011
The Fifth & Flyface III (March 14-April 30)
Hot Rize (May 1-June 2)
Doubleup (June 3-25)
B-B Eyes II (June 26-July 30)
Morning Gloria (July 31-September 17)
The Retelling of Tracy’s First Case (September 18-October 23)
The Second Mr. Crime, B-B Eyes, Blaze Rize, Mumbles, Doubleup, & Abner Kadaver (October 24-December 2)
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.
Putty Puss III (December 3, 2011-February 2,
2012)
Thunderchild (February 3-March 7)
Blackjack (March 8-April 24)
The Second Mr. Crime, B-B Eyes, Blaze Rize, Mumbles, Doubleup, & Abner Kadaver II (April 25-July 20)
The Fall of the Blackhearts and the Return & Rise of Mr. Bribery (June 14-October 11)
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.
Midnight Mirror Mystery (October 12-December 25)
Specs & Spicy and the Return of the Ace of Spades (December 26, 2015-April 6,
Mr. Bribery & Abner Kadaver (June 22-September 24)
Selfy (September 25-December 17)
Dick Tracy Meets The Spirit (December 18, 2016-April 6,
2017)
Big Margie (April 7-June 2)
Blackjack II (June 3-July 25)
Silver & Sprocket Nitrate II (July 26-November 15)
Mr. Bribery II (November 16, 2017- February 10,
2018)
Two of Bribery’s underlings, Sawtooth and Matty Squared, escaped at the end and we’ll almost definitely see them again. I may add Sawtooth to this story’s title, depending on how much of a main villain he later becomes. I won’t do the same for Matty Squared, even if he becomes a main villain, since he didn’t do much here. However I would add his name to the Bribery/Kadaver story listed above.
WILLY007 suggested that from now on, I put all my GC story listings in one thread. That is, post my introduction as the main post and put all my remaining posts as replies to that introduction. Reply here if you’re in favor of that. If enough people are in favor, I’ll do that starting with the next time we have a new story starting up.
Months undercover? I already checked out T-bone’s first appearance for her tombstone, and it was on January 11th, 2015. Although since it was supposedly still the day of Trey’s birth, logically it was Christmas Day 2014. There’s been three Christmases since then, all of which were marked in the strip.
Yeah, yeah, I just said “just roll with it” in connection with another non-aging comics character.
This marks six Sunday pages in a row that Dick Tracy has not appeared in his own strip, save for one vague yellow blob in the background of one panel that I think was supposed to be him. During that same six week period, he only appeared in 7 scattered daily strips. Two of these were excellent action panels; the rest were just him standing or driving somewhere. Even if you are a fan of the Mysta/moon aspect, we need a little balance , it seems to me. I’d especially like to see Tracy on Sundays more, because that is when we get the excellent coloring by Shane.
This does look as if we might be starting a new story with a new villain. I hope we’ll get to see Tracy and Sam actually detecting.
Read up on the Sailor being killed, there is ample info via google. The incident shows one of the flaws with having women in all rates in the Navy. The female guard at the brow was easily overpowered, “Savage ‘forcibly spun’ the sailor, throwing her several feet onto the ship’s lifelines, where he seized her pistol, the report said.”. In rates where physical size and strength are important, there should be a test if an individual wishes to enter that rate, Male and Female. This problem resulted in a Sailor being killed, along with numerous security lapses on base.
“The late-night attack … sent shock waves throughout the Navy and led to sweeping changes in security at the world’s largest naval base.”
He wasn’t wearing the required bulletproof vest, but he jumped in front of the female security guard to protect her, after her gun had been taken by the attacker.
“As chief of the guard, Mayo was in charge of security for the base’s 14 piers. He was hailed as a selfless hero by the Navy’s top leaders for saving the lives of countless others.”
I’ve found this story to be quite entertaining. There has been a lot to like, none of it formulaic. The attempted robbery of Honeymoon at the mall. The introduction of Ugly Christine’s daughter, Crystal. Tracy’s abduction by Sawtooth. Lashed to a tree and left to freeze to death, his rescue by Rifle Ruby. Bribery’s return to Tracyville, still without a crew or ample resources in the wake of the fall of the Blackhearts at Ace Tower. The long-awaited return of the (now x) Governor. His apparent improved character in the intervening years since his daughter was murdered. The meeting between Mysta and xGuv, quickly interrupted by Sawtooth and gunplay. The fall of Posie. Honeymoon rescuing her new friend, Crystal, and the arrest of Bribery in two stunning daily strips. Closing with a teaser panel of Grand Moon Pop and Honeymoon, reunited at last. What fun!
What I wanted and didn’t (yet) get: a panel of Posie in the morgue (remember Piggy and George Chin Chillar chlling?), more “getting to know you” time between the xGuv and Mysta and Honeymoon, a more drawn out dénouement for Bribery and, finally, Sam and Tracy taking out Sawtooth and his sidekick (ideally, aboard a moving train with frightened passengers and a violent conclusion). Still, despite the frustration of having to wait for more of Mysta, Honeymoon and xGuv, this story was a real winner.
We haven’t seen the last of Matty Squared. His skills will come in handy for the eventual return of Bribery. Honeymoon’s Lunarian grandmother will want in on the reunion fun, so I hope we see her sooner rather than later. She will also be keen to meet this Chimera who has become a virtual twin to her late daughter. While the particulars of the fate of Moon Valley may never be known (although what a fun flashback tale it would make in the next e-book…say, where on earth is that next e-book?), the xGuv has a Space Coupe and can come and go as he pleases, having retired. Lots to look forward to, as always.
With today’s strip, the artist and writers have an opportunity to create new villains as opposed to recycling old ones. Only a matter of time before readers will ask is this Dick Tracy or Batman (recycled villains such as the Joker, the Riddler, Cat woman, etc.)
Regarding statements speculating about or wishing for more stories involving the Lunarians: Remember that the story comes first, and that the characters, to the extent consistent with their characters and likely involvement, appear in support of the story.
Consider Bonnie “Braids” Tracy. A fine person, and Dick and Tess and Junior and Sparkle and the rest no doubt regularly talk and get together with her. But because she has no role in most stories we don’t see her very often.
So where do Mysta Chimera and Honeymoon fit in? I see them as Team Tracy’s easy and sympathetic way of doing stories about bigotry, discrimination and diversity. Remember the story about Rep. Bellowthon back in Oct. 2016. In my opinion, Team Tracy has compelling reasons to avoid having them use their ‘powers’ for police work.
This might be a #MeToo sentiment, or a prudish sentiment, but I think Mysta Chimera wears the ‘Moon Maid’ uniform, black strapless leotard, thigh-high “go-go” boots, (often) long gloves, and pearl necklace, too often. Please, something else from time-to-time. In contrast, I like what Honeymoon wears, usually crescent moon earrings, and often t-shirts or sweaters with a moon theme.
At last!!. Possibly a baddie not from the last century. Hopefully this is the start of a faily straight line story, perhaps an elongated version of the ones when the artists were limited to 6 weeks. Those characters, (Phisface, Sweatbox, Morning Gloria, were fresh, new ones, hopefully this guy will start a new, and much need, trend
Peppers, eh? I wonder if this is the same restaurant that Tina (from the comic strip “Tina’s Groove”) used to waitress for. Probably not, as I think hers was a Canadian diner, but it might still connect.
“Ghost” is making a strong first impression, the way Gould often introduced his villains, already interacting with their underlings. like other commentators today, I really did enjoy the last Bribery story, but I am looking forward to seeing a good old fashion Tracy vs. one bad guy story, fast & furious, the way I know Joe & Mike can do them.
“Ghost” (and we do not know that his last name is “Pepper”; that is only an assumption at this point, presumably based on his seeming be the head honcho of the Pepper’s [possessive, not plural] restaurant) reminds me of the Ghost Rider character, sort of halfway between Nick Cage and a flaming skull. Today we just have a barebones (ahem!) introduction. I expect at least some back-story during this coming week. I hope this new story heats up our strip even more than the cook heats up the new chili recipe, per Ghost’s instruction!
Pequod almost 7 years ago
Exciting escapades abound. Such action, thrills and death
Sawtooth escapes from Tracytown, stole Posie’s dying breath.
Honeymoon saved Crystal from grim fate in ice and snow
Friend in need is good indeed, as many come to know.
Governor gave up his gig to search for signal’s source
Whom he found she shall resound. New family, of course.
She is so like his daughter, greatly changed by DNA
They’ll meet again. Are nearly kin. Look forward to that day.
Matty Squared and Ignatz plot electronic escape
What none can see sojourns so free. Drop the Police tape.
Look to see a smiling Lee. She is T-Bolt no more
Her work now done. Time for fun. She heads on out the door.
Honeymoon and Grandfather reunited at long last
Look ahead to better days; a few tears for the past.
Ray Toler almost 7 years ago
Now for something completely different.
Neil Wick almost 7 years ago
Good morning™, everyone!
We are getting a teaser of the next villain, but I’m aiming to post my summary of the Sawtooth story when Moon Governor finishes talking to Diet Smith.
So, the new villain is apparently called Ghost Pepper. His restaurant’s name bears a close resemblance to Chili’s in the real world. Ghost peppers were listed by Guinness as the hottest in the world until just a few years ago, when several hotter ones entered the market.
boboscar almost 7 years ago
With this strip we transition from the previous case to the next one, which I feel marks the end of the last story and the start of the next one. When that happens I do a list of every Tracy story on GoComics. Unfortunately, soon after I started doing this GC imposed a stupid, asinine character limit of only 2000 characters which includes every letter, space, punctuation, & html, which means I have to do this over several posts. I’ll do my initial introduction in this post and start the list in the next one, because otherwise, I can’t even 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.
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.
TBC cuz GC decided to suck now
22ph almost 7 years ago
So we are left to assume as to what happened to Crystal and Bribery….
boboscar almost 7 years ago
Tracy in GoComics
2001
The Airplane Murder Mystery (March 29-June 20)
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.
The Mistress of Death (June 21-September 13)
Snails (September 14-December 5)
A Detective, 2 Gunmen, and a Kitty (December 6, 2001-January 13,
2002)
G. R. Eed (January 14-February 24)
Pinhead (February 25-April 26)
Percy Brillig (April 27-June 27)
Heartless Mahoney II (June 28-August 23)
Hawk (August 24-October 16)
The Abduction of Tracy’s Granddaughter (October 17-December 15)
I believe this is where Junior and Sparkle’s daughter (initially named Sparkle Plenty Junior) was renamed Jewel.
The Second Chameleon (December 16, 2002-February 7,
2003)
The Revenge of Hard Case Harry? (February 8-May 3)
Hard Case Harry was a bitter ex-con who served a harsher sentence than even Tracy felt he deserved. 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 return to crime 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.
Hawk II (May 4-July 2)
The Filligree Murder Case (July 3-September 22)
TBC for no good reason
boboscar almost 7 years ago
Tracy in GoComics
2003
Dr. Beau Tox, Heartless, Mahoney, Prune Hilda, Dab Stract, & No Face (September 23-December 18)
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!
Sal Monella II (December 19, 2003-March 10,
2004)
Mousse (March 11-May 30)
Piggy Bank VI (May 31-August 27)
Yes, this was Piggy Bank’s sixth story as a main villain. And he escapes and remains at large. ARGH!
Flunke (August 28-December 22)
Airport Sabotage (December 23,2004-March 14,
2005)
The Manipulation of Moonrock (March 15-May 27)
Dick Tracy in the Southwest (May 28-August 11)
Cellphone (August 12-November 3)
This is the last story Kilian lived to complete.
Oily II (November 4, 2005-March 22,
2006)
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 the late 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.
TBC cuz GC sez 2001 characters is “very, very disruptive on the small screen” so it must be true.
DaJellyBelly almost 7 years ago
That is one UGLY looking dude!
boboscar almost 7 years ago
Tracy in GoComics
And now, here’s my coverage of the late 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).
2006
Al Kinda (March 23-August 24)
Dr. Figment Froid (August 25, 2006-January 21,
2007)
Queenie (January 22-May 19)
The Brainwashed Baron (May 20-October 14)
The Haunted House (October 15, 2007-January 22,
2008)
Cole Lector (January 23-May 15)
TBC cuz we’ve reached the halfway point of Locher’s run, it’s about to become (sorta) worthwhile, but I need to explain why and my explanation can’t fit this post. Ain’t character limits wonderful?
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] almost 7 years ago
Over at Alley Oop it wouldn’t let me post a small sliver of that. Do not like this new way of posting.
boboscar almost 7 years ago
Tracy in GoComics
2008
Baskerville & Shirl Locke (May 16-August 27)
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 or 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, 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.
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.
Braces (August 28-December 10)
Angelorious (December 11, 2008-March 2,
2009)
Big Ace & One-Eyed Jack (March 3-July 10)
Murder at the Circus (July 11-November 24)
The Maestro and His Son (November 25, 2009-April 6,
2010)
Johnny Nothing (April 7-July 21)
D’Buckworth (July 22-November 13)
Dr. Mordred (November 14, 2010-March 13,
2011)
And after five years of darkness, there was light
boboscar almost 7 years ago
Tracy in GoComics
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.
2011
The Fifth & Flyface III (March 14-April 30)
Hot Rize (May 1-June 2)
Doubleup (June 3-25)
B-B Eyes II (June 26-July 30)
Morning Gloria (July 31-September 17)
The Retelling of Tracy’s First Case (September 18-October 23)
The Second Mr. Crime, B-B Eyes, Blaze Rize, Mumbles, Doubleup, & Abner Kadaver (October 24-December 2)
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.
Putty Puss III (December 3, 2011-February 2,
2012)
Thunderchild (February 3-March 7)
Blackjack (March 8-April 24)
The Second Mr. Crime, B-B Eyes, Blaze Rize, Mumbles, Doubleup, & Abner Kadaver II (April 25-July 20)
Mrs. Flattop (July 21-August 20)
Phishface (August 21-September 28)
Measles II (September 29-November 16)
Broadway Bates II (November 17, 2012-January 5,
2013)
Sweat Box (January 6-March 3)
The Jumbler (March 4-April 16)
The Return of Moon Maid (April 17-October 19)
The Blackhearts, Mrs. Flattop, Abner Kadaver, & Blackjack (Octobr 20, 2013-January 4,
2014)
Silver & Sprocket Nitrate (January 5-March 19)
Tabby Angus (March 20-May 31)
The Search for Annie (June 1-October 12)
Gruesome (October 13, 2014-January 18,
2015)
Silver & Sprocket Nitrate and Mrs. Flattop (January 19-March 21)
TBC cuz GC hates free advertising.
boboscar almost 7 years ago
Tracy in GoComics
2015
The Great Train Robbery (March 22-June 13)
The Fall of the Blackhearts and the Return & Rise of Mr. Bribery (June 14-October 11)
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.
Midnight Mirror Mystery (October 12-December 25)
Specs & Spicy and the Return of the Ace of Spades (December 26, 2015-April 6,
2016)
Mrs. Notta Faller Chin Chiller, Blaze Rize, and Putty Puss (April 7-June 21)
Mr. Bribery & Abner Kadaver (June 22-September 24)
Selfy (September 25-December 17)
Dick Tracy Meets The Spirit (December 18, 2016-April 6,
2017)
Big Margie (April 7-June 2)
Blackjack II (June 3-July 25)
Silver & Sprocket Nitrate II (July 26-November 15)
Mr. Bribery II (November 16, 2017- February 10,
2018)
Two of Bribery’s underlings, Sawtooth and Matty Squared, escaped at the end and we’ll almost definitely see them again. I may add Sawtooth to this story’s title, depending on how much of a main villain he later becomes. I won’t do the same for Matty Squared, even if he becomes a main villain, since he didn’t do much here. However I would add his name to the Bribery/Kadaver story listed above.
And that’s all they wrote (in GC).
boboscar almost 7 years ago
And here’s the page where you can find the list in the Dick Tracy wiki:
http://dicktracy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Dick_Tracy_stories_in_GoComics
willy007 almost 7 years ago
I’m glad X-Guv and Honeymoon are having their reunion. Is this all we’re going to see of it?
Gweedo -it's legal here- Murray almost 7 years ago
Good morning™, all you leavin’ on a jet plane vacationers !
boboscar almost 7 years ago
WILLY007 suggested that from now on, I put all my GC story listings in one thread. That is, post my introduction as the main post and put all my remaining posts as replies to that introduction. Reply here if you’re in favor of that. If enough people are in favor, I’ll do that starting with the next time we have a new story starting up.
AnyFace almost 7 years ago
Yngvar Følling almost 7 years ago
Months undercover? I already checked out T-bone’s first appearance for her tombstone, and it was on January 11th, 2015. Although since it was supposedly still the day of Trey’s birth, logically it was Christmas Day 2014. There’s been three Christmases since then, all of which were marked in the strip.
Yeah, yeah, I just said “just roll with it” in connection with another non-aging comics character.
Ken in Ohio almost 7 years ago
This marks six Sunday pages in a row that Dick Tracy has not appeared in his own strip, save for one vague yellow blob in the background of one panel that I think was supposed to be him. During that same six week period, he only appeared in 7 scattered daily strips. Two of these were excellent action panels; the rest were just him standing or driving somewhere. Even if you are a fan of the Mysta/moon aspect, we need a little balance , it seems to me. I’d especially like to see Tracy on Sundays more, because that is when we get the excellent coloring by Shane.
This does look as if we might be starting a new story with a new villain. I hope we’ll get to see Tracy and Sam actually detecting.
jrankin1959 almost 7 years ago
Don’t you mean the Ex-Moon Governor? So, what is his name? Ralph? Benny? Jed?
jrankin1959 almost 7 years ago
Bottom of the Page: You did tend to see Tracy’s eyes more in the Locher era…
BeniHanna6 Premium Member almost 7 years ago
Read up on the Sailor being killed, there is ample info via google. The incident shows one of the flaws with having women in all rates in the Navy. The female guard at the brow was easily overpowered, “Savage ‘forcibly spun’ the sailor, throwing her several feet onto the ship’s lifelines, where he seized her pistol, the report said.”. In rates where physical size and strength are important, there should be a test if an individual wishes to enter that rate, Male and Female. This problem resulted in a Sailor being killed, along with numerous security lapses on base.
Neil Wick almost 7 years ago
More about today’s honoree, Mark Mayo.
http://pilotonline.com/news/military/local/article_bb9e1d35-0c5c-5ea8-97be-8f3eff33e92e.html
“The late-night attack … sent shock waves throughout the Navy and led to sweeping changes in security at the world’s largest naval base.”
He wasn’t wearing the required bulletproof vest, but he jumped in front of the female security guard to protect her, after her gun had been taken by the attacker.
“As chief of the guard, Mayo was in charge of security for the base’s 14 piers. He was hailed as a selfless hero by the Navy’s top leaders for saving the lives of countless others.”
avenger09 almost 7 years ago
Oh the joy of hope believed
A new story has done intercede
The last is gone, hip hip hooray
Way too long the former did stay
Ends that were loose, characters ignored
Far too many days just an enormous snore
Who knows what tomorrow’s strip will bring
We’ll know soon enough if we cry or we sing.
Pequod almost 7 years ago
I’ve found this story to be quite entertaining. There has been a lot to like, none of it formulaic. The attempted robbery of Honeymoon at the mall. The introduction of Ugly Christine’s daughter, Crystal. Tracy’s abduction by Sawtooth. Lashed to a tree and left to freeze to death, his rescue by Rifle Ruby. Bribery’s return to Tracyville, still without a crew or ample resources in the wake of the fall of the Blackhearts at Ace Tower. The long-awaited return of the (now x) Governor. His apparent improved character in the intervening years since his daughter was murdered. The meeting between Mysta and xGuv, quickly interrupted by Sawtooth and gunplay. The fall of Posie. Honeymoon rescuing her new friend, Crystal, and the arrest of Bribery in two stunning daily strips. Closing with a teaser panel of Grand Moon Pop and Honeymoon, reunited at last. What fun!
What I wanted and didn’t (yet) get: a panel of Posie in the morgue (remember Piggy and George Chin Chillar chlling?), more “getting to know you” time between the xGuv and Mysta and Honeymoon, a more drawn out dénouement for Bribery and, finally, Sam and Tracy taking out Sawtooth and his sidekick (ideally, aboard a moving train with frightened passengers and a violent conclusion). Still, despite the frustration of having to wait for more of Mysta, Honeymoon and xGuv, this story was a real winner.
We haven’t seen the last of Matty Squared. His skills will come in handy for the eventual return of Bribery. Honeymoon’s Lunarian grandmother will want in on the reunion fun, so I hope we see her sooner rather than later. She will also be keen to meet this Chimera who has become a virtual twin to her late daughter. While the particulars of the fate of Moon Valley may never be known (although what a fun flashback tale it would make in the next e-book…say, where on earth is that next e-book?), the xGuv has a Space Coupe and can come and go as he pleases, having retired. Lots to look forward to, as always.
IvanB.Cohen almost 7 years ago
With today’s strip, the artist and writers have an opportunity to create new villains as opposed to recycling old ones. Only a matter of time before readers will ask is this Dick Tracy or Batman (recycled villains such as the Joker, the Riddler, Cat woman, etc.)
b2plusa2 almost 7 years ago
Regarding statements speculating about or wishing for more stories involving the Lunarians: Remember that the story comes first, and that the characters, to the extent consistent with their characters and likely involvement, appear in support of the story.
Consider Bonnie “Braids” Tracy. A fine person, and Dick and Tess and Junior and Sparkle and the rest no doubt regularly talk and get together with her. But because she has no role in most stories we don’t see her very often.
So where do Mysta Chimera and Honeymoon fit in? I see them as Team Tracy’s easy and sympathetic way of doing stories about bigotry, discrimination and diversity. Remember the story about Rep. Bellowthon back in Oct. 2016. In my opinion, Team Tracy has compelling reasons to avoid having them use their ‘powers’ for police work.
b2plusa2 almost 7 years ago
This might be a #MeToo sentiment, or a prudish sentiment, but I think Mysta Chimera wears the ‘Moon Maid’ uniform, black strapless leotard, thigh-high “go-go” boots, (often) long gloves, and pearl necklace, too often. Please, something else from time-to-time. In contrast, I like what Honeymoon wears, usually crescent moon earrings, and often t-shirts or sweaters with a moon theme.
Durak Premium Member almost 7 years ago
Farewell, Shipmate.
buckman-j almost 7 years ago
At last!!. Possibly a baddie not from the last century. Hopefully this is the start of a faily straight line story, perhaps an elongated version of the ones when the artists were limited to 6 weeks. Those characters, (Phisface, Sweatbox, Morning Gloria, were fresh, new ones, hopefully this guy will start a new, and much need, trend
Futabakun Premium Member almost 7 years ago
Peppers, eh? I wonder if this is the same restaurant that Tina (from the comic strip “Tina’s Groove”) used to waitress for. Probably not, as I think hers was a Canadian diner, but it might still connect.
BreathlessMahoney77 almost 7 years ago
“Ghost” is making a strong first impression, the way Gould often introduced his villains, already interacting with their underlings. like other commentators today, I really did enjoy the last Bribery story, but I am looking forward to seeing a good old fashion Tracy vs. one bad guy story, fast & furious, the way I know Joe & Mike can do them.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] almost 7 years ago
Ghost Peppers? Not sure, but definitely he is as white as a ghost. Now if he is a metahuman and can walk through walls. Now that would be interesting.
Sisyphos almost 7 years ago
“Ghost” (and we do not know that his last name is “Pepper”; that is only an assumption at this point, presumably based on his seeming be the head honcho of the Pepper’s [possessive, not plural] restaurant) reminds me of the Ghost Rider character, sort of halfway between Nick Cage and a flaming skull. Today we just have a barebones (ahem!) introduction. I expect at least some back-story during this coming week. I hope this new story heats up our strip even more than the cook heats up the new chili recipe, per Ghost’s instruction!