Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 07, 2009

  1. Emerald
    margueritem  over 15 years ago

    Gasp! No, not more?!?

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  2. Mr peanut
    leakysqueaky712  over 15 years ago

    I hope he doesnt tell on me…….that I’ve been lurking around the circus!!!

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  3. Emerald
    margueritem  over 15 years ago

    Rhoda, he has more to fear from you, Dear, than he would from the Mafia.

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  4. Missing large
    CyberV  over 15 years ago

    No, Marg… It’s even worse than that…

    “I… I can’t believe that THIS storyline is the best I can put on my resume! I’ll get laughed out of every comic character convention in the COUNTRY!”

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  5. Oddball
    Morrow Cummings  over 15 years ago

    I can’t believe that Liam C is so particular about his discussion site and yet he allows another individual to use it for commercials.

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  6. Bren suit
    FLIGHT SUIT  over 15 years ago

    Well this is totally messed up! I was wondering why people were making comments that seemed to repeat the observations I’d made, as if they hadn’t even read my comments.

    I’ve figured out why that is:

    Any comment I post under the screen-name I’ve been using, “flightsuit,” is totally invisible to everybody but me!

    Furthermore, it appears that many of my older comments have been scrubbed from the board!

    Quite a clever trick, having my comments still be visible to me, but nobody else. That way, I don’t realize at first that my comments aren’t showing up, and I take no action!

    Now perhaps this is just some technical glitch, and I have submitted a help request to the powers that be…

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  7. Bren suit
    FLIGHT SUIT  over 15 years ago

    …but this whole situation does not smell right. It would appear that, like Grokenstein and Bassmanbob, I have been declared a non-person.

    At least I’m in good company.

    This reminds me of an episode of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits (I forget which) in which persons convicted of crimes were declared “invisible,” and everybody had to pretend they couldn’t see these people, lest they too be declared invisible.

    The protagonist was driven to the point of insanity by his own invisibility, begging and pleading with people to acknowledge that they could see him.

    So please friends, if you can see me, would you be kind enough to say so?

    (Sniff.)

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  8. Bren suit
    FLIGHT SUIT  over 15 years ago

    By the way, here’s the comment I’d originally posted on today’s strip, which is being so cruelly hidden from you:

    “Panel One: Based on his body language and the little bubbles floating around Tracy’s head, I’d say he’s been drinking on the job and/or has dropped acid.

    Panels Two and Three: Dilated pupils, profuse sweating, paranoia, evasiveness: Ringo’s on speed!

    And his hat’s still narrower than his head!”

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  9. Bp 1276417405712
    fishbulb  over 15 years ago

    Flight Suit, the Twilight Zone episode was from the 80’s revival. & I can see 3 of your comments in a row. At the risk of being declared an unperson. Or sent to the cornfield.

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  10. Bren suit
    FLIGHT SUIT  over 15 years ago

    Fishbulb, thank you for the response! What you can’t see are my two previous comments, made under my original user-name.

    If I disappear again, I guess you’ll know where to find me; out in the cornfield with Bassman and Grok…

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  11. Odd spots 002
    sydney  over 15 years ago

    I think it’s really a cry for HELP in the darkness !

    Locher doesn’t understamd “what has happened”, what has caused the high level of rejection and redicule of his Tracy work, a “slap in the face” which he experiences everytime he fearfully peeps at “comments” on this or on the DT Yahoo board. Here moved by frustration it has carried beyond protest to near redicule.

    For Locher, It’s a feeling of inadequesy expressed through his Ring Master character, Ringo. It all began when he failed to leave his son’s passing on the Tombstone and and introduced it INTO the Tracy comic strip changing the the well known likness of Junior Tracy to that of his son That was as powerful and controversial a change to the status quo as Gould had with his Moon Era.

    Yes ! It’s a sensitive matter, readers respect his privacy, but HE Locher, chose to bring it, into the realms of public “comment”

    I have no doubt that he must have receieved severe “heat” mail for this, tempered with a touch of understanding for a parent’s loss

    But it had HAPPENED !

    I’m no psychologist but this did seem to TRIGGER a cycle of further change, “NEW” Junior couldn’t be left as the annoying (perhaps embarrasing?) sore thumb standing alone. Further changes under the cloak of “updating” the strip’s regular characters, and particularly after new Writer/Partner Mike Kilian had conveniently arrived. Appearance changes for Patton and Lizz followed in the early nineties.

    In 2006 Kilian passed on and Locher now the writer had Patton retired and Lizz promoted (over Sam). Teevo was introduced. He has proven to be Locher’s version of (Gould’s) Groovy Grove – a “stinker” from Day one !

    It’s not to say that circulation was plummeting and corrective change was called for, Max Allan Collins hab left him with a circulation of 300 -350 newspapers. A comfortable number considering the growing shift to comedy style strips

    The rapid fall to just 50 newspapers happened in the wake of character (appearance) “changes” and a naive Kilian - “discarding” several time tested story telling techniques AND unique personality traits at HQ.personel (eg “time to crime” took severak weeks and the well known CHASE sequence was totally discarded. Mickey and Dickey were showing they knew BEST ! (?) Lizz once a martial arts expert and the best shot in the squad suddenly lost all those skills, disarmed of her “sex appeal” and became more like a semi prude office stenographer / girl Friday.

    “dwyant” ASKED : Locher has seen fit to give Sam a “back seat”, he hasn’t been involved in a case in three years. An old technique, “out of sight, out of mind” - stepping Out of strip? And Teevo with his verbal messaging skills seemed an anachronism, more a female messanger helper type than a Detective capable og packing street “heat”. The strip was also deprived of day to day (as they call it) of “female relief”.

    Locher has as Senior Partner (with M.K.) presided over the strips fall from grace, the loss of big circulation New York Daily News and this stunningly in the wake all the sited “IMPROVEMENTS,” they had introduced.

    As the US Tennis Championships (now in progrees0 reminds – ” never CHANGE a “winning” GAME – always change a “loosing” one !

    Locher (a one-time Gould assistant, who should know better) has been” CHANGING”, breaking and discarding all the “commandments” in the Gould Rule Book and the strip (and DL’s “pocket”) have PAID the PRICE — yet he stubbornly (and recklessly) continues down that path, “I’ll DO it my way” ! Even as he is about to step away. Space does not permit but I could provide a long list of his (their) “CHANGE” infractions, MOST have been poor and counter-productive

    His best contributions were his Villain designs between 1990 and 2002. Much beyond that item is regretably flawed.

    One could safely opine, its now time to “change”, what by ANY MEASURE – has been a loosing game !

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  12. Avatar2
    idarke  over 15 years ago

    Is there an essay contest?

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  13. Fosdick
    Fearless_Fosdick  over 15 years ago

    There IS something else. I have been suffering with a high fever, persistent sweats, body aches, and a sore throat. I think I have H1N1 Swine Flu. Look, I am sweating now.

    Can you spare a regimen of Tamiflu?

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  14. Missing large
    stargone  over 15 years ago

    Is this the end of a strip?It’s not the Tracy i grew up with.It’s sad.

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  15. Paul
    LudwigVonDrake  over 15 years ago

    There’s no action in this strip. All they do is stand around and talk. For weeks on end, in fact!

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  16. Tracy
    coratelli  over 15 years ago

    4 weeks of bla bla bla…

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  17. Odd spots 002
    sydney  over 15 years ago

    Pehaps I’m tone deaf , but —

    If I were to put on someone’s Red shirt and matching sun glasses, I might say you guys are missing out on some of the finest techniques ever introduced into Dick Tracy.

    For example, right now Locher is superbly “building up suspense” in the strip. He’s keeping you on the “seats edge” in anticipation of what is going to finally happen. Dont mind you had to wait ALL of 12 weeks ! We’ve been told by — shall I say, a “WELL INFORMED” source that it’s worth the wait.

    Perhaps NEW Junior will early next month have his yellow “tit” symbol returned to the Sunday pages (?) These are things that trainee art assistants can “slip in” quitely between the chores of producing panel boxes and filling in those solid black spaces. it doesn’t pay much, but like one small step for manking, one “small” hand may be “kind”.

    Call it “you scratch my back ……………….”

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  18. Avatar02
    jpozenel  over 15 years ago

    I don’t know which is more irritating, the strip or some of the long-winded comments being made. If you’re making comments more than a paragraph or two, then probably no one even bothers reading them. I know that I don’t.

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  19. Missing large
    mumbles  over 15 years ago

    Ah, the plot sic- er thickens even more

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  20. Cookie close
    Saucy1121 Premium Member over 15 years ago

    Flight Suit: I do see your comments with this name today. None with flightsuit though.

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  21. Missing large
    neonleon59  over 15 years ago

    Hey, fellow regulars… I’ve just heard from an old friend (who shall remain nameless, but whose name rhymes with “Brokenstein”). He asked me to tell you all “hi,” to let you know that he got himself booted deliberately, and that he wishes you all the best. I know he would like to have given you all a proper “goodbye” but once the deed was done it was too late.

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  22. Professor chaos
    countoftowergrove  over 15 years ago

    Yes Ringo, let’s dribble out some more!

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  23. Durak ukraine
    Durak Premium Member over 15 years ago

    Got a question for y’all. Tell me what you think of the changes in the site, now that they’ve been in place for awhile. Good, bad, indifferent? What do you miss from the old, what do you (dis)like from the new.

    I miss the old followers list. I didnt have many, but it was nice to see one pop up once in awhile. I know Marg must still be missing her Army.

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  24. Paul
    LudwigVonDrake  over 15 years ago

    If Mattie takes over any part of this strip beginning with October 4, I’m giving up on Dick Tracy. The strip is so bad and if a person who has no respect for his audience takes over well then…see ya!

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  25. Odd spots 002
    sydney  over 15 years ago

    Carlo said (about 5 hours ago) :

    “Four weeks of bla, bla , bla, bla ….”

    Now I understand why four weeks of “BLA, BLA, BLA, BLA”

    Does that “brevity” please you “jtpozenel” ? Sorry it’s into THREE paragraphs ;-p Wouldn’t want to strain a fragile concentration !

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  26. Oddball
    Morrow Cummings  over 15 years ago

    Hey Liam! With all respects, how come you allow a daily spammer? It’s about the same thing as advertising for an upcoming yard sale. Not only once, but daily! You set the rules and explained them several times. But a spammer gets a pass?

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  27. Emerald
    margueritem  over 15 years ago

    Dypak, Yes, I miss my army, and I miss the ‘recent comments’ section, too. It was a great time saver.

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  28. Bonecrusher main
    RichardT  over 15 years ago

    It must be a dream sequence. A closed-eyed DT reaches out his hand to go for a handshake or side-five, and bubbles float in the back ground. Ringo left him hanging.

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  29. Bren suit
    FLIGHT SUIT  over 15 years ago

    Saucy 1121, thank you for your response! I still haven’t heard back from GoComics, so I’m still unsure as to whether I got banned or if it’s a technical glitch. Most curious.

    Could somebody please tell me the URL for the cornfield, er, I mean for the DT Yahoo board?

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  30. Missing large
    oink  over 15 years ago

    Matthew we have the message !! HOW ABOUT DROPPING OFF OR AT LEAST CHANGE THE GENIUS TO NUMBSKULL I am Sam from Australia but they said that name was taken and I couldn’t bet anything else except this accepted.

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  31. Odd spots 002
    sydney  over 15 years ago

    Here’s the DT Yahoo Board :

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DickTracy/

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  32. Durak ukraine
    Durak Premium Member over 15 years ago

    Thanks Margueritem, I was starting to feel like flightsuit.

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  33. Paul
    LudwigVonDrake  over 15 years ago

    Chubsyubsy - My guess is that Liam took the day off for Labor Day.

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  34. Nny
    avatarjk137  over 15 years ago

    NNCU - I began flagging Matthew yesterday. My annoyance has surpassed my curiosity.

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  35. Emerald
    margueritem  over 15 years ago

    Dypak, I forgot the beyond annoying pop ups on the index page.

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  36. Bren suit
    FLIGHT SUIT  over 15 years ago

    Sydney, thank you for the link!

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  37. Avatar02
    jpozenel  over 15 years ago

    Sydney Phillips: I think a few less “blahs” would have sufficed.

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