Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for April 13, 2011

Good morning all…

Gettin’ racy!

Sexy.

Well, so much for Fifth being on witness protection. Kidnapping gets you life in most places.

I can hardly wait to see how wndrwrthg handles this one…

Getting distracted from the main caper just to seek some kind of revenge is going to bite Fifth sooner or later.

He’s probably figuring that Lizz has a weapon, cellphone, or some such with her clothes. The good news is that he will not discover the switch to the old 2-way radios.

Still, she will be a bit conspicuous, barefoot and wearing only a robe while Fifth is fully dressed, and keeping his gun-hand concealed.

Is this the first time there was any nudity on this strip?

It’s an interesting contrast between the Fifth’s immunity and the deal Sam offered Barney Dhatkham. The Fifth obviously believes he can use his immunity to get away with anything. Sam made it clear to Barney that the most Barney could expect was some help with his next arrest, if he didn’t go too far.

I wonder what the Fifth is thinking. Has he got an idea to use Lizz to get to Thor’s Hammer? Or is he so impressed with himself he thinks that Fly-face and his government connections can bail him out of any trouble?

ARF2, would Lizz wear her wrist radio in a tanning booth?

VistaBill, like you I can’t wait to see Wonder Warthog get his hands on this one!

Anybody care to imagine what today’s installment would have looked like had Locher illustrated it?

Flight suit….it would have been two guys, a leather mask, rain and rats. Oh….and a lop-sided granary.

Ah, sweet, sweet fanservice. ;D

BillThompson said, about 3 hours ago ARF2, would Lizz wear her wrist radio in a tanning booth?

No. It would leave a white strip around the wrist, to say nothing of the armband she wears to hold the antenna up her sleeve. (Those old 2-ways needed a couple of feet of antenna. Their modern counterparts only need a few inches.)

She most likely left it with her other valuables in safe keeping “up front” or in her car.

Got it, ARF2. I misread your first post. I thought you meant Lizz had the old-style radio with her in the tanning booth.

Gadzooks, Ye Gods and forsooth Lizz is all nekkid in the booth As Lizz lies there in the buff My mind is filled with all kinds of stuff From the tips of her toes, to the top of her pate The mere thought of her my lust she does sate Her bosom set so high and firm The image just makes me squirm Her shapely legs, so long and smooth My fevered brow now must I soothe In a fantasy that makes me sighs She cracks my head with her thighs On a cop, a sight so rare Just look at her petit derrière Many a man would gladly pay Just to watch her walk away Her eyes hold a flash of fire Fills my heart with great desire The blood is pounding in my brain Soon lower it must drain Yet no matter how much I yearn To the story now we must turn Confronted with a gun, she keeps her cool You can tell that she’s nobody’s fool A cop for many a year She knows not to show any fear Better men have made a threat Much to their great regret Remember now and heed my warning Else you wind up deep in mourning When you tangle with this lady cop She the one who comes out on top.

Thank you, Gweedo, JohnR, davidf42 and BillT.

JIM DOHERTY you’re quite welcome.

SYDNEY PHILLIPS, Thank you for posting Jim’s comments.

WW, that may be your best EVER! Glad you’re back, and thanks for what you add to our experience. Once upon a time you brought us a smile to help lessen our misery; now that DT is so vastly improved, your work is a pleasant complement - the cherry on the sundae, if you will.

Great work as always!

“Lizz is all nekkid in the booth”… CLASSIC!

Well, we know he had a gun in his pocket. Wonder if he’s also happy to see her!

Terrific, Wonder Warthog!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxAKFlpdcfc&

(I know, I know–a standing ovation would be the appropriate way to rise to this occasion.)

DT is much improved and you are finding it easy to keep pace, wndrwrthg! Icing on the cake! Certainly worth the short wait!

If Locher had drawn the strip it would probably have looked something like this:

http://art.wisc.edu/art108/_images/fullsized/1309fs.jpg

Speaking of Liz, and after today’s, ahem, strip who isn’t , did she ever smoke? I seem to recall her with a cigarette in a Sunday page back in 1970 or 71. I remember it standing out because by that time it was rare to see a “good girl” smoke in the movies. TV or the comics.

I guess this is the start of the action we have been waiting for!!

Wow, that’s quite a change from Horn Hair.

Man, the 5th is like school in the summer…..NO CLASS!

Well, as to guns….

Officer Jim Doherty recently gifted Joe with a wide array of information on the equipment current officers use. That was before this was written and drawn. The GREEN LANTERN and SCOOBY DOO and JUSTICE SOCIETY stories Joe drew rarely needed guns, so it’s likely an old reference.

Gould had his police advisers and we now have Jim Doherty, so we’ll be precise and accurate in the future.

The basic designs of Rocky and Bullwinkle are deliberate, but the actual original animation was contracted out to cheap Mexican studios, and is frequently quite bad. That doesn’t mean the shows weren’t brilliant, of course.

DT was created to reflect the times. I have read stories that the strip was condemed for its’ depiction of violence…but that’s what made it great !

I hate political correctness, so I’m thrilled to see Sam smoking. I also hope to see a return of everything that is now frowned upon…it can’t be worse than the garbage found in video games, on t.v., and on the internet.

Thanks Mike & Joe, you are gettin’ it done right !

Since nobody else will mention it, … It’s unlikely that The Fifth is going to turn his back on Lizz while she dresses, isn’t it?

To those who inquired…yes, Lizz did smoke from about ‘67 tthrough the early 70’s…not quite as much as Sam, but it was not unusual to see Lizz in a leggy miniskirt, holding a cigarette, in a sexy pose.

To APO…To each his own, but IMO, Gould was just as masterful an artist as Caniff or Toth. His use of shadows and camera angles were just as good as either of the two. It’s true that later, all he drew were the basic heads, but he still designed and laid out the panels.

As to drawing the labels, I had read somewhere, and Sydney can correct me if I’m wrong, that Gould use to label those items because he knew his reader’s expected it, and recognized that he was the creator of the Two-Way Wrist TV or the Voice-O-Graf. Not because he couldn’t draw them any better. That’s just a ridiculous statement…

I take nothing away from Alex Toth, who was a true genius at his craft, but let’s give credit where it is due.

that first panel is quite well done.

thanks ww

Great strip again! Thanks to Mike and Joe!

I’d rather be seeing boobs drawn in a comic strip than a comic strip drawn by a boob. Thank you Staton & Curtis.

tcayer said, about 7 hours ago

Since the new artist took over, I’ve had nothing to criticize. But today- Is that supposed to be a GUN? Even though it’s held by a realistically drawn hand…

—————————————————————————– Rightwingmoron said, about 5 hours ago

Actually the automatic that the fifth is holding is a Colt 1911 with a custom rectangular silencer between the grip and the barrel. This was obviously stolen from Diet Smith industries by Garcia and given to the Fifth as a way of convincing hm of his abilities.

—————————————————————————–

LIKE THIS? http://brokenlizard.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/colt-m1911-45-automatic-with-government-stabilizer.jpg

The comment regarding INVISIBLE TRIBE and SAWDUST? We have plans for Vera Alldid also…..

JOE AND MIKE’S RULES OF THE TRACYVERSE:

40’s fashions are perfectly acceptable with computers and current fashions.

Smoking is allowed most places.

Odd names are not unusual. Think of ALIEN NATION with names like Polly Wanacracker. My daughter had a friend who’s last name was Tweedy. Her first name was Edie.

WW: It’s been awhile but that was a great job. Well done. You seem to rise to the occasion no matter what.

60sFan : Liz looks like Betty Boop.

My formative Dick Tracy years…

4/74 Lizz nearly de-footed by Keno The Great 12/74 Lizz nearly guillotined by Grandma 5/75, Lizz kidnapped by JJ Welz, lies unconscious at the gas station for a week. 5/76 Lizz in bikini for two weeks, about to be fed to sharks by Pucker Puss 6/76 Lizz ripping off her clothes to put out fire 6/77 Lizz knocked onto subway tracks by Dade Plenty

I wouldn’t mind a Sawdust/Invisible Tribe shout out for nostalgia sake (see Space Coup), and closure on Vera.

What happened to Peanut Butter? Did Dade Plenty stay off the needle? Did Molene know of an escape route? What’s Posie up to these days? Art Deko out yet?

Great work, this is fun to follow and it feels authentic.

A broomhandle Mauser! The weapon most favored by fictional archvillains of the 1930s! It shows that the user is not a mere henchman – only an evil mastermind could use a broomhandle.

-Cougar :{)