So in panels #1 and #2, Jake and Elwood discuss the situation, and decide they hate Illinois Nazis. And panel #3? Well, in his inept way Locher left out Thick’s famous last words:
or the chorus from the 60’s recording by the Serendipity Singers of my roof’s got a hole in it.
by
Oh, no, dont let the rain come down
Oh, no, dont let the rain come down
Oh, no, dont let the rain come down
My roofs got a hole in it and I might drown
Wow, New Street Corner Lake sure is high this time of year!
Isn’t the cop with the Burt Reynolds mustache the sheriff who handed More-Dread over to Spacy in the first place? But now he’s in the same place as Stop Sign Crossing Guard Dude?
I can’t follow this - I thought the cops were to be phonies, looks like they’re not?
Well we’ll have to wait a bit more for the plot to unfold, and going by Locher’s record in these matters that should be, lemme see now, say Easter 2012?
If Tracy’s car hits the water at eighty miles an hour, and assuming the angle is right so that hydroplaning is possible, how far does Tracy get before the car sinks like a bag of hammers?
Next question, anybody halfway sane answering: Assuming the lake is a trifle bigger and maybe a bit deeper than Tracy figured, and that Mordred doesn’t survive being trapped in a sinking car but Tracy somehow does, what would Tracy’s chances be in court on charges that would likely be brought against him?
I wonder if Tracy’s car was designed by Admiral Doenitz? It’s about the only way I know of for Tracy’s stunt to work.
Hydroplaning only happens on surfaces that are covered by a relatively thin layer of water. If he’s hydroplaning on the road, he can’t get up to more than 40 mi/hr. See figure 2 in
http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/1147.pdf
I don’t know how the car gets into the air, unless the road ended at a washed-out bridge or ski jump. Even then it won’t go far; it isn’t going to skip like a stone when it hits the water. There’s an equation for it at the bottom of
and the underside of the car isn’t smooth, so it won’t skip unless it flips in the air before hitting. I wonder if the impact will set off any air bags.
There’s no way Thick could avoid felony charges in the real world. There would have to be some kind of investigation, what with a prisoner dying in custody, and they couldn’t miss Thick’s incompetence. They might also recommend a further investigation of the “plan” and “planners” who put Thick and Mordred alone in the same car, with a storm coming in. Best-case scenario? Thick is convicted on homicide charges. At his sentencing, the judge will probably give him the maximum penalty.
Of course this is Locherland. Thick will be made into a hero after his ordeal, and get away with some crude jokes.
He engaged in witless prattle
While driving in the car
We knew he’d lose the battle
Of wits, in this story bizarre
With water pooling on the road
He thinks he’s sailing a boat
Mordred, pokes him with a goad
He’ll soon find that it doesn’t float
Water everywhere, he should stop to think
But thinking is something beyond his means
So he’s about to sink
The car looks like it is traveling in reverse
And it keeps changing day to day
That really is perverse
But this is Locherland, so reality holds no sway
So come along, join the ride
You don’t know which way it goes
Your patients will be tried
‘cause this story really blows.
Another good one, Wonder Warthog. When I read it I heard Edgar Winter’s “Free Ride.”
This strip raises questions. If Thick’s car disappeared in the murk, how does the chief (who used to be the sheriff) know that Thick is stuck? If he somehow knows that Thick is in trouble, why is sending help impossible because they might get “stuck?” Is Lake Intersection actually filled with runoff from the local flypaper factory? Personally I think Thick came unglued a long time ago.
Safeway-you missed “Send in the Clowns”
OldTracy-These are the “decoy cars” you may have heard about
BillThompson-The badges do match, appears to be a Simon Penn moment for the strip
FlightSuit-You assume there’s 3 windows on the other side of the car? The artist can’t even figure out where the front of the car is, so I’m not assuming any kind of balance in the window count
Okay, here’s the real question; If Tracy’s eight-windowed car hits the water at 80 miles an hour, and Tracy’s six-windowed car heads back to the Sheriff’s office because of the four flat tires at 60 miles an hour, what are the chances that any of this is going to make any sense within our lifetime?
I guess WW is right - Reality holds no sway here. But then, WW is always right.
Something about the four flat tires keeps making me think of Ernie Bushmiller and the three rocks…
Wow, my Christmas Eve starts out with a peyote-fueled installment of Dick Tracy and The Serendipity Singers. This is going to be one surrealistic Christmas. Hippy Holidays, everybody!
Panel three is an example of the thirteenth law of cartoon physics: A moving vehicle is never in contact with the road.
The Mighty Morphin Power Rambler has now changed from a Priapus (how many of you looked that up yesterday?) into a late-sixties British Rover sedan! Which does have a distinguished history as a police car, at least in the movie GATTACA. Uh-oh… in GATTACA the Rover police cars were electric… and Macy’s headed for water… this isn’t going to end well…
puddleglum1066 - “The Mighty Morphin Power Rambler.” I’ve got to remember that one.
Maybe Tracy’s car is made of Silly Putty and just has to be reshaped every few minutes because it keeps melting. Maybe if they just pressed it onto well-drawn pictures of police cars from other, better strips…
“Sinks to a new low with every installment?” No way. See how Tracy’s car literally rises above the waters of mediocrity in today’s exciting installment of America’s favorite detect - Whoa. My inner Simon Penn nearly popped out. A little eggnog ought to keep that sucker down. More booze, mule!
Seriously, though, is the car facing left or right in panel 3? If it’s facing left are we saying that New Street Corner Lake is piled up above the ground?
If it’s facing right, then the CITY STREETS that Tracy is supposed to be driving through have banks in them?!?
(And no, not the kind of banks where you get $1,000 bills.)
Good ones both WW & BT They are the only things that make sense in this strip. What is the chief doing standing out in a storm directing traffic? Maybe Tracy thinks he can fly like Santa.
Water Doesnt Care Who You Are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXpsH1e3hAY
But Tracy has a plan! Notice how he’s driving into the flood backwards, to make it look like he’s driving out of the flood. Then when he reaches the other side and starts to come out it’ll look like he’s driving into the flood – and everybody knows you can drive into a flood, no problem!
Dr. Midnight & woodworker318, I have no idea what is going on here. My best guess is that the Priapus has entered an unincorporated part of Kook County, which would probably put the roads under the jurisdiction of the county sheriff.
The vaguely humanoid shape in panel #1 might represent someone using a cell phone, and I guess the ping-pong paddle is a feeble effort to depict a crossing guard’s “Stop” sign. Sheriff Chief (nice to hear his name in panel #1) might be holding a cell phone as well. Either that or he’s massaging his carotid artery in a desperate attempt to get some blood to his brain.
The lines in panel #3 suggest that the Priapus is travelling toward the viewer’s right. The lightning bolt proves that Jove is a lousy shot but should keep aiming for Thick.
Looking forward to BASSMANBOB6’s next installment.
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
So in panels #1 and #2, Jake and Elwood discuss the situation, and decide they hate Illinois Nazis. And panel #3? Well, in his inept way Locher left out Thick’s famous last words:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkkXHjQSyEI
margueritem almost 14 years ago
thejensens almost 14 years ago
The Theme from “Jaws” would be perfect right now.
or
Simon & Garfunkel singing
“Bridge over Troubled Waters”
or the chorus from the 60’s recording by the Serendipity Singers of my roof’s got a hole in it. by
Oh, no, dont let the rain come down Oh, no, dont let the rain come down Oh, no, dont let the rain come down My roofs got a hole in it and I might drown
to hear this old song go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrThyvv4sko .
FLIGHT SUIT almost 14 years ago
So the cops are concerned because Tracy entered an intersection? That is one very big, murky intersection.
mrbribery almost 14 years ago
Could this be a novel form of suicide-by-cop?
FLIGHT SUIT almost 14 years ago
The car has changed shape yet again. I believe it’s now a Russian Zil Limousine.
And it’s still impossible to tell which end is the front.
Steve Bartholomew almost 14 years ago
Why is the ossifer on the left tickling the other cop’s neck?
OldTracy almost 14 years ago
Give Spacy credit, he keeps changing cars to find a better one. This is car #4.
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
barticle35, the real question is why that cop bears such an unpleasant resemblance to Thick.
At least the badges on their hats match.
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ almost 14 years ago
As the car disappears into the murk, Tracy can be heard singing, “I did it my way”…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKxMzc6Rig4
neonleon59 almost 14 years ago
Wow, New Street Corner Lake sure is high this time of year!
Isn’t the cop with the Burt Reynolds mustache the sheriff who handed More-Dread over to Spacy in the first place? But now he’s in the same place as Stop Sign Crossing Guard Dude?
OzzieJohn almost 14 years ago
I can’t follow this - I thought the cops were to be phonies, looks like they’re not? Well we’ll have to wait a bit more for the plot to unfold, and going by Locher’s record in these matters that should be, lemme see now, say Easter 2012?
Panel-Panner almost 14 years ago
Panel 2:
Check out the first cop. One eye is shut but his other one is open, the eyeball staring straight up into his cap’s visor. A mutant Popeye.
“And we can’t send any assistance. They would get stuck, too.”
So you allowed Spacey to pass, knowing that he would get stuck?
Two more members of the DT Pan Club.
Panel-Panner almost 14 years ago
I peered into the future. On Xmas my present to you is this: Pretend the strip on that day is the finale for DT. THE END.
FLIGHT SUIT almost 14 years ago
On the 22nd the car had two windows on each side and one rear window and one windshield, for a total of six windows.
Today the car as three windows on each side, plus a back window and a windshield, for a total of eight windows.
Panel-Panner almost 14 years ago
The car has problems with windows because it was designed by Bill Gates. The driver has to keep rebooting.
mjmsprt40 almost 14 years ago
Got a question, maybe Flightsuit can answer.
If Tracy’s car hits the water at eighty miles an hour, and assuming the angle is right so that hydroplaning is possible, how far does Tracy get before the car sinks like a bag of hammers?
Next question, anybody halfway sane answering: Assuming the lake is a trifle bigger and maybe a bit deeper than Tracy figured, and that Mordred doesn’t survive being trapped in a sinking car but Tracy somehow does, what would Tracy’s chances be in court on charges that would likely be brought against him?
I wonder if Tracy’s car was designed by Admiral Doenitz? It’s about the only way I know of for Tracy’s stunt to work.
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
Hydroplaning only happens on surfaces that are covered by a relatively thin layer of water. If he’s hydroplaning on the road, he can’t get up to more than 40 mi/hr. See figure 2 in
http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/1147.pdf
I don’t know how the car gets into the air, unless the road ended at a washed-out bridge or ski jump. Even then it won’t go far; it isn’t going to skip like a stone when it hits the water. There’s an equation for it at the bottom of
http://discovermagazine.com/2003/aug/featscienceof
and the underside of the car isn’t smooth, so it won’t skip unless it flips in the air before hitting. I wonder if the impact will set off any air bags.
There’s no way Thick could avoid felony charges in the real world. There would have to be some kind of investigation, what with a prisoner dying in custody, and they couldn’t miss Thick’s incompetence. They might also recommend a further investigation of the “plan” and “planners” who put Thick and Mordred alone in the same car, with a storm coming in. Best-case scenario? Thick is convicted on homicide charges. At his sentencing, the judge will probably give him the maximum penalty.
Of course this is Locherland. Thick will be made into a hero after his ordeal, and get away with some crude jokes.
mjmsprt40 almost 14 years ago
Hmmm…. the way Tracy’s car morphs, maybe this is what Locher has in mind???
http://thatwillbuffout.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/funny-car-photos-drool-worthy-strand-craft-yacht1.jpg
llong65 almost 14 years ago
that comment…get stuck ‘too’……someone else already went past the chedk point and is in the area? maybe the goon’s assistant?
wndrwrthg almost 14 years ago
He engaged in witless prattle While driving in the car We knew he’d lose the battle Of wits, in this story bizarre With water pooling on the road He thinks he’s sailing a boat Mordred, pokes him with a goad He’ll soon find that it doesn’t float Water everywhere, he should stop to think But thinking is something beyond his means So he’s about to sink The car looks like it is traveling in reverse And it keeps changing day to day That really is perverse But this is Locherland, so reality holds no sway So come along, join the ride You don’t know which way it goes Your patients will be tried ‘cause this story really blows.
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
Another good one, Wonder Warthog. When I read it I heard Edgar Winter’s “Free Ride.”
This strip raises questions. If Thick’s car disappeared in the murk, how does the chief (who used to be the sheriff) know that Thick is stuck? If he somehow knows that Thick is in trouble, why is sending help impossible because they might get “stuck?” Is Lake Intersection actually filled with runoff from the local flypaper factory? Personally I think Thick came unglued a long time ago.
veldy almost 14 years ago
Safeway-you missed “Send in the Clowns” OldTracy-These are the “decoy cars” you may have heard about BillThompson-The badges do match, appears to be a Simon Penn moment for the strip FlightSuit-You assume there’s 3 windows on the other side of the car? The artist can’t even figure out where the front of the car is, so I’m not assuming any kind of balance in the window count
JCFremont almost 14 years ago
Okay, here’s the real question; If Tracy’s eight-windowed car hits the water at 80 miles an hour, and Tracy’s six-windowed car heads back to the Sheriff’s office because of the four flat tires at 60 miles an hour, what are the chances that any of this is going to make any sense within our lifetime?
I guess WW is right - Reality holds no sway here. But then, WW is always right.
Something about the four flat tires keeps making me think of Ernie Bushmiller and the three rocks…
Wow, my Christmas Eve starts out with a peyote-fueled installment of Dick Tracy and The Serendipity Singers. This is going to be one surrealistic Christmas. Hippy Holidays, everybody!
puddleglum1066 almost 14 years ago
Panel three is an example of the thirteenth law of cartoon physics: A moving vehicle is never in contact with the road.
The Mighty Morphin Power Rambler has now changed from a Priapus (how many of you looked that up yesterday?) into a late-sixties British Rover sedan! Which does have a distinguished history as a police car, at least in the movie GATTACA. Uh-oh… in GATTACA the Rover police cars were electric… and Macy’s headed for water… this isn’t going to end well…
Morrow Cummings almost 14 years ago
Locher’s been watching too many “Dukes of Hazzard” re-runs. I wonder now how he will work in Boss Hogg. He’s already got Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane.
JCFremont almost 14 years ago
puddleglum1066 - “The Mighty Morphin Power Rambler.” I’ve got to remember that one.
Maybe Tracy’s car is made of Silly Putty and just has to be reshaped every few minutes because it keeps melting. Maybe if they just pressed it onto well-drawn pictures of police cars from other, better strips…
“Sinks to a new low with every installment?” No way. See how Tracy’s car literally rises above the waters of mediocrity in today’s exciting installment of America’s favorite detect - Whoa. My inner Simon Penn nearly popped out. A little eggnog ought to keep that sucker down. More booze, mule!
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
Thick Spacy flies over the water But he’s just a sad travesty. Dick Tracy was lost by Dick Locher. Oh bring back Dick Tracy to me!
Bring back, bring back, Bring back Dick Tracy for real, for real. Bring back, bring back, Oh bring back Dick Tracy for real.
Today as I looked at the comics I shouted with singular glee: Thick’s in one hell of a sad fix. Now bring back Dick Tracy to me!
Bring back, bring back, Bring back Dick Tracy for real, for real. Bring back, bring back, Oh bring back Dick Tracy for real.
But when the strip comes back tomorrow I know that worse things we’ll see And so we shall cry out in sorrow Please bring back Dick Tracy to me!
Bring back, bring back, Bring back Dick Tracy for real, for real. Bring back, bring back, Oh bring back Dick Tracy for real.
Dr. Midnight almost 14 years ago
Seriously, though, is the car facing left or right in panel 3? If it’s facing left are we saying that New Street Corner Lake is piled up above the ground?
If it’s facing right, then the CITY STREETS that Tracy is supposed to be driving through have banks in them?!?
(And no, not the kind of banks where you get $1,000 bills.)
woodworker318 almost 14 years ago
Good ones both WW & BT They are the only things that make sense in this strip. What is the chief doing standing out in a storm directing traffic? Maybe Tracy thinks he can fly like Santa.
Dr. Midnight almost 14 years ago
Also, why is the cop in panel one standing in the middle of the wilderness with a stop sign?
CougarAllen almost 14 years ago
Water Doesnt Care Who You Are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXpsH1e3hAY
But Tracy has a plan! Notice how he’s driving into the flood backwards, to make it look like he’s driving out of the flood. Then when he reaches the other side and starts to come out it’ll look like he’s driving into the flood – and everybody knows you can drive into a flood, no problem!
-Cougar :{)
billdi Premium Member almost 14 years ago
thick disappeared into the murk a long time ago… thanks WW and BT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne9mMNC5xQQ
sydney almost 14 years ago
Heck ! BASSMANBOB6, What can I say, other than it’s good to have you back on the ‘home plate’.
Over at Annie, even Jay Meader must have been biting his nails, wishing he had all those ‘ideas’ when he was writing the strip.
Your start here easily captures our new readers (along with the old) … and - WE are biting our nails waiting for the next installment.
Will “M.Magpie’ Esq” have a role in this new tale (?) or is that hallowed ground, and off limits ?
The heavy (unforgiving?) hand of Liam seems to have moved on (?) - but like Mordred and the Blank, take only ‘masked’ chances.
The funny bone in me longs to see the wrath of “M. Magpie” - in red sweater, in action again.
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
Dr. Midnight & woodworker318, I have no idea what is going on here. My best guess is that the Priapus has entered an unincorporated part of Kook County, which would probably put the roads under the jurisdiction of the county sheriff.
The vaguely humanoid shape in panel #1 might represent someone using a cell phone, and I guess the ping-pong paddle is a feeble effort to depict a crossing guard’s “Stop” sign. Sheriff Chief (nice to hear his name in panel #1) might be holding a cell phone as well. Either that or he’s massaging his carotid artery in a desperate attempt to get some blood to his brain.
The lines in panel #3 suggest that the Priapus is travelling toward the viewer’s right. The lightning bolt proves that Jove is a lousy shot but should keep aiming for Thick.
Looking forward to BASSMANBOB6’s next installment.
mjmsprt40 almost 14 years ago
Bill, I looked at the links in your reply. It confirms what I suspected, which is that in deep water Thick’s car is going to dive right in.
Locher has been in deep water for a while now and just never realized it.
sydney almost 14 years ago
Just a silly thought on Christmas eve … is that car reversing into the water ?.
A Merry Christmas to every one - including Dick Locher and Jim Brozman !