Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 14, 2009

The suspense is killing me.

Wow, I’ve run out of things to say about how bad this strip is, and yet it just keeps getting worse. I know when I’m outclassed.

The tiger’s head is just a hair off plumb…

Looks like the tiger’s tail is about to tear off. Then he/ll really be mad.

For that tiger, Fee Fi’s a pain in the rear. Massive rimshot

That tiger, by the by, appears to have escaped from Picasso Zoo.

Ennen says, “Can he hold on?”. I’m beginning to wonder how long I can hold on!

Oh me oh my, oh me oh my The tiger is in the grip of the giant Fee Fi Though you think the next line is heinous It seems he almost has him by the a nus A single panel treat for us today Locher appears to have little to say Is Tracy saved from a tragic mishap Tune in tomorrow, hope it’s not a recap

wndrwrthg, fun as always!

I don’t know much , but it appears the Tiger is waiting for a goose .

Giants are the only natural predator for tigers.

For Buck Owens fans?

Lousy hand alert in the second panel.

Don’t you just know that Locher was sitting around one day listening to an old Buck Owens 8-track, when “Tiger By The Tail” came on and he thought “Hey, I should write a whole Dick Tracy story around that line - the hep young kids will think it’s groovy!”

nice kitty

He’s got what by what? I don’t get it … explain it to me again … a few more times … maybe if you repeat that every day for a week or two … then you can move on to the next sentence. No rush…

-Cougar :{)

I guess that’s what’s been missing in Dick Tracy. The sort of PUNCH ole grey-back BERNIE MADOFF used to floor another inmate in the Penitentiary yesterday !

It’s the “unexpected” event, the SPECTACULAR, that could energize a dull comic strip like Dick Tracy. Saving readers from rhe “predictable” tedium that is now replayed ad nauseam. While normal progress for one week, (under the misapprehension of “suspense”), is stretched into a whole month. Change is needed to snap reader interest back to “attention” !

EMOTION is a powerful tool ! But there is little in this story other than raw FEAR, and frozen activity unexpectedly displayed by the strips HERO !

Think of the difference if Locher had the creative instinct to introduce say, a fleeting romantic episode between Tracy and Karen Ennen. The unexpected “twist”. And quite possible, having been thrown closer “together” into a shared experience of danger. Going further, ramp up her sex appeal. Start by giving her the “boobs” instead of Barb Els (who seems more at home with pectoral muscles).. It’d be something emotional to fire the flames of jealousy and passion with Tess for a short while. And perhaps – revive flagging interest !

The closest thing weve seen is Bonnie puckering up to give Daddy a kiss on July 19.

At least, one “idea” to allow readers to break out of Locher’s restricting egg shell to suck in some fresh air and relief from his dreary displays of monotony !

Little Johnny, stop pulling the cat’s tail. I’m just holding, daddy,, he’s doing the pulling.

Okay DT and FBI time to leave the cage get a move on how long can Fee Fi hold the tigers tale.

Either Tracy is standing in a hole again, or the tiger is on stilts.

@TrapperJohn - I always read - and enjoy - Sydney’s posts. He’s not wasting space at all.

And to your other point, I think I speak for many of us when I say that I continue to read DT because I’m a longtime fan, and while it’s sad to see how pathetically bad the strip has become, I still hold out hope that someday, somehow it’ll get better. That hope is dimming but it’s still there. In the meantime, the daily comments are far more entertaining than the strip itself.

I’m going to the library and check out a book. “War and Peace” would go faster than this story.

If the comments are so bad, WHY ARE YOU READING THEM?

Eenie, meenie, minie, MOE!!! Catch a…. aw shucks, nevermind….

LudwigVonDrake, look closer: There is no second panel. It’s an optical illusion created by the bars!

Trapper John just doesn’t get it I guess. These posts are the only thing that makes it worthwhile these days. When I have time I like to read them especially Syd’s because they are well written for the most part and he has a great memory for the past (good years) of Tracy strips. We comment on the lousy writing and the poor art because they are just that. We hope that soon something will be done to get this stip back up to at least a semblance of what it used to be. I’m getting tired of listening to Buck Owens’ song after a whole week of it. I’m running back to Saskatoon for a couple of weeks to see our new granddaughter, leaving on Saturday so hopefully this storyline will be finished by then………..kinda doubt it though.

Lord, please let the tiger eat Tracy and be done with it…

Why hasn’t the tiger simply turned around and bitten the heck out of Fee Fi? Where is the animal trainer? Why hasn’t he fed the tiger? Are there other big cats? Just one tiger? For a whole circus?

I thought it was ONE panel at first. Then, I thought NO, it’s TWO. One of the bars is the devider.

Then I became confused noticing that the last word panel indicator did not extend enough to the left. Could it be two panels ?

Sydney, you post whatever is on your mind, buddy! I’ve been reading your penmanship long before this site popped up. It is inspiring and speaks volumes about yourself. Matter-of-fact, a guy named Sparkydog77 pointed your work out to me when you did the Yahoo Group. You are a gifted writer and have a tremendous resource of memory. Your memory almost matches Mattie’s ego! Keep at it, my friend!

morrow, bassmanbob, traceyfan92, RayC and neonleon59.

Thanks for those posts. Of course, he’s entitled to his opinion and I’m not exactly posting like Dale Carnegie

One has to wonder if it’s someone we know in disguise (?) Wasn’t it Mattie who stoutly declared a few days ago that he was a “hunter” ?

What’s this guy’s name ? “Trapper John” ? Hmm ! (?) I wouldn’t want to accuse anyone as “upright” as Mattie of deception but that phrasing SURE does sound familiar.

Remember until recently we had the DL genius. He seems to have gone. I wonder why ?

Trapper: We sit here criticizing the strip because we are just total losers with nothing to hope for, except to hope fervently that we don’t continue to decline to the point that all we do is criticize peoples’ critical posts.

Also, frankly, this strip could and should be way better than it’s been in recent years, and I for one think maybe somebody at TMS will someday notice that it draws naught but derision here and have a notion to get some more inspired talent behind it. I miss when Dick Tracy was good.

I think it’s really 13 mini-panels separated by the bars. :)

neonleon59,

You were always the one with a keen eye for future strip developments ;)

I’ve just recently started reading Dick Locher’s political cartoons, to see if he does any better with them than he does with Dick Tracy. I was surprised to see that they’re mostly quite good. Whether or not you agree with his political views (I do), you have to admit that he does have a good knack for political satire.

So, it seems that with Dick Tracy, he’s going into an area where he has no talent. Developing sensible plots for novels, serial comic strips, etc., does require a certain talent, and Locher has proven that he just doesn’t have it.

I think Locher is spending zero time on writing Dick Tracy.

This is the writing of a Pulitzer Prize winning Editorial Cartoonist: Two days ago, third panel, Tracy says “What?” Why say what? Yesterday, panel one, Tracy says “Who’s there?” A giant is standing right in back of the tiger and Tracy can’t see him? Yesterday, panel two, Tracy says “It’s the giant, Fee Fi!” Fine, I can buy that line. Yesterday, panel three, Tracy says “He’s got the tiger by the tail!” Obvious, why do the art? Today, panel one, Tracy says “He’s got the tiger by the tail!” Please, not again!! Ennen says “Can he hold on?” Anyone else would say “Let’s get the hell out of here!!” Tracy says “For our sake, he better!” For what, to chit chat? Hint - wrist radio.

Recap of 2 1/2 days of DT writing: “What? Who’s there? It’s the giant, Fee Fi! He’s got the tiger by the tail! He’s got the tiger by the tail! Can he hold on? For our sake, he better!”

Again, Pulitzer Prize winner???? Something doesn’t add up.

Fer Lefer, good catch! We’d better hope piggy comes back in time to save the day!

A bit late, but as long as I’m searching for the Pig on wheels:

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

I’m going through these strips backward, and they make about as much sense as they would forward.