Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 22, 2010

Panel 3: Well, at least Locher didn’t forget that all important comma in the last word balloon.

Yes, it’s time to play Twenty Questions! A special case? Is it bigger than a breadbox? Slower than the last arc? Does it involve an absurd jest which will allow Locher to invoke the word “irony?”

Hm … will Thick and Tess receive tickets to a showing of Les Miserables? No, too highbrow. Perhaps a “Freddy the Freeloader” retrospective? No, that would force Locher to contemplate the existence of actual entertainment.

Got it! Thick is going to a musical revival:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li1nxXY6NWM

A brand-new arc (maybe) and Locher is already making with the continuity errors. When did Thick and Tess make any plans?

A circus, no, did that, A play perhaps? Already done. A casino? Again, a repeat. Gosh, I just give up. Oh, what could it be?

SPOILER (More or less)

OK, I cheated and looked ahead. Now considering how much of a bumbling boob Thick has been, would you expect him to given an assignment like guarding a powerfully evil character – someone like Doctor Doom or Lex Luthor or Hannibal Lector? Or would you expect him to be assigned to the parking meter detail until Locher retires?

It looks bad, folks.

I didn’t know she had one.

Y’all know I’m on thin ice with this one.

Panel-Panner, are you saying that there will be an actual sign of movement before next Sunday? I’ve believed some pretty strange things in my time, many of them before breakfast, but that’s a real stretch!

Bill:

Movement? Do you mean standing around and talking about the next case?

Panel-Panner, I see your point. I guess the question is, will the supervillain be worse than D-cubed and his unspeakable evil?

Panel-Panner, I have to ask. How does one go about ‘cheating’ and ‘looking ahead’?

The really big question is whether Tess is going to understand why Liz was having a conversation with Spacy while he showered and shaved.

I know, Tess and Dick had booked a cruise ship vacation! That hasn’t been done yet, has it?

Bill:

Indications are that this person is evil incarnate!

NVash:

Panel-Panner’s Precognitive Power!

“With great power there also must come – great responsibility.”

So what you’re saying, Panel-Panner, is that Locher will appear as himself?

BillThompson:

Actually Locher has already appeared in the strip as a bumbling villain with confused, ever-changing and illogical motives and means: Mr. D’B.

So one of my guesses was right after all! Who’d have thought?

Radfish - But everyone knows her as Nancy.

When did Dick have a chance to call Tess?

LudwigVonDrake, when did Thick have time to shave, bathe and change? When was he on a tough case? Where did Horn Hair learn her managerial skills? The real question is, why should Tess be allowed to understand what’s going on here, when nobody else will get a rational explanation?

Right radfish-don’t call her Dick

After she calls Tess, she might want to get ahold of the homeless guys, too, or possibly a couple of those circus freaks. Who else is going to solve this mystery case for him?

Good grief! So in Locher’s world, a police captain has to call one of her detectives’ wife to get permission to send him on an assignment?!?

Third panel … there again is the house where Dick and Tess live, apparently, with Dick Locher and his wife Mary, as the home is ‘modeled’ after the latter’s in Naperville

http://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2010/04/24/

And more so … if, we are inclined to take this 1995 interview ‘statement’ by DL seriously :

”…. in 1978. And I’ve been a cousin to Dick Tracy ever since. He lives with us, he eats with us, he breathes with us, we grieve with him, we sob with him, we linger over doubts and in our minds he’s very much ALIVE ….”

Further, note in the link an appearance of Junior Tracy, 12 years now he’s been morphed to look like the ‘late’ son John Locher.

Readers can easily sympathize with someone over the loss of a loved Family Member but Morphing the looks of a regular character in an icon strip strip is really … ‘over the top’ !

My ’PREDICTION’ … we’ll see new Junior again, and the ‘Rubber Ducky’ Memorial Symbol before Locher retires

You know what’s really insulting? TMS doesn’t even bother to have their stuff create persona and log in to this board and say “hey, that malformed hand is a really clever detail!” or “the HOMELESS guys got him? What a clever surprise!” or “the thousand dollar bills were COUNTERFEIT?? Didn’t see that coming. Good job, Dick!” They should at least have been kicking Matt Hansel something for being the only one here to say anything nice. What happened to him anyway?

so liz doesn’t know that spacy is married and his wife’s name is tess? but liz has her number? sheesh. this is third-grade writing and exposition at it’s worst. we should be used to that by now but it’s fun to gripe about anyway..

I agree with Panel-Panner’s ‘characterization’ of a Hannibal Lecter type ‘personality’, but it seems unlikely we’ll ever be seeing his FACE …

Locher has ’neatly’ avoided doing a villan design by using the same old ‘strategem’ (i.e. like Mr.Pops’ clown mask) to neuter the necessity of going out with a ‘memorable’ design.

This time, THINK the (1998) movie - “The Man in the Iron MASK”

Locher’s one great strength has been his ‘character design’ ability (qualified, by - “when he puts his mind to it”) This will be a major dissapointment to his handful of remainig supporters - EXCEPT Simple Simon, who only reads the strip through Rose Tinted glasses

You know, speaking of masks, maybe Locher should have created some sort of parody version of Scooby Doo and teamed them up with Tracy for a Halloween special. I know, little late but I just thought of that.

Wait, no, too much work. My gosh, does this man do anything?

Thus do we complete the D’isastrous arc: Thick will now run and cower. But who would have thought the cause of the terror would be his emasculating spouse?

Sydney Phillips, we knew what the Man in the Iron Mask looked like; he had a twin brother, after all. Why would Locher hide his villain’s face behind a mask? His usual artwork is obscure enough.

Re panel three: I didn’t know she had one.

I wonder what Spacy’s house will look like in tomorrow’s strip.

If Tess doesn’t get her war paint on with Liz(z) calling now, she’s dumber than Macy. Kinda like when my 21 yr old secretary called my wife to tell her I was going to be working all night and would be home in the morning. 2 eggs over easy with bacon and make sure the coffee is hot. Right!

“I’ll call her, Dick.” In any sensible dimension that would mean “No time to waste, the adventure starts tomorrow.” Here it’s more likely to include chatter about Thick’s home life and what an important assignment it is and the risks involved and oh yeah, it’s got something to do with a crime.

I suppose that if the Locher Mess Monster wants to be creative about not doing a memorable face, he’ll make the villain some kind of demonic force that can jump from body to body, or a mad scientist who invented a mind-swapping gizmo.

So don’t touch the magic amulet, Thick, don’t tinker with the electro-ray antitransference generator! Otherwise the Evil Mentalo will jump into Testicle Chin or Horn Hair or any other member of the Nappingville PD (are there any?) and force them to engage in criminal behavior. Then you’ll never catch him, because that won’t change their behavior at all.

BillThompson said, about 19 hours ago

A brand-new arc (maybe) and Locher is already making with the continuity errors. When did Thick and Tess make any plans?

I think it was last year before the brick came through the living room window.

A special case! I await with bated breath! Macy is now whining about getting a case. This is what he did back in the day of the cartoon show: Tracy would be at his desk in his private office (!), on an intercom and declaring “OK Chief, I’ll get on it right away!” Macy would then get on his 2-way wrist-radio and say “Dick Tracy calling Hemlock Holmes! Calling Hemlock Holmes! Clearly, Macy has forgotten how to pass the buck!

We can only hope that its to go somewhere and sit down until they get Dicks retirement cake and party set up.