Bad writing often isn’t very funny. It’s just boring. Bad drawing can be more amusing, but we’re not getting so much of that lately.
Maybe they shoulda kept Locher to do amusing drawings and brought in somebody else to write a less boring story….
Right now Locher is using what writers (those who know what we’re doing) call “false suspense.” The hero knows who’s holding the gun so there is no real suspense about it. That information is being deliberately withheld from the audience to try to fool them into feeling suspense when there isn’t any.
As bad as it is, at least the plot is slowly moving again. It was unbearable back in the “It happened” days when panel after panel was just wasted time and space.
Dick Tracy and story movement have been “Locher-locked” in a form of STASIS. Mattie implies it’s all TMS’s fault (not D.L’s) better to stay STILL, as chase sequences usually promote violence which TMS doesn’t want in the strip
So, after two months of INACTION we are now facing entry into TWO weeks of verbal EXPLANATION of what really happened (which we did not SEE). It will be a full 2 weeks more, but we get to see more “stills” of Girl on Elephant, Tiger in cage and Freaks standing around.
Despite his intractable obstreperousness and mulish behavior, Mattie could learn a lot on what NOT to DO (!) in a comic strip from the “expert” analysis of these sequences.
And Heck ! He’s getting it for FREE !
Take notes on the “expert”, probing evaluations you get here ! A function more rewarding than the egocentric activity of cutting and pasting, AND then burdening readers here, with a 35 paragraph post by Jim Dohery. One that gave no new substance to the issue, just Doherty’s flawed “OPINION” !
Strip “evaluations” here are often delivered in humorous vein, but take this “tip”, most are right on target.
hey Ludwig, do you still like to dive into your piles of coins and bills in your money pit?
and, are the Beagle boys still your arch rivals?
just curious after all these years!
Well, at least SOMETHING is happening. I am disturbed by panel 1 where Tracy’s nose seems mashed into his face. Panel 2 is okay though it’s a paste from yesterday. 3 is kind of interesting though, that’s a new look. I am mildly curious as to who is holding the gun.
Your final paragraph on “false” suspense is the best I’ve ever seen it articulated. Good ! Accurate !
It’s a technique he learned from Gould who ued it only as a short “teaser” on occasionon, on the introduction of a new villain. Locher uses it for EVERY sequence he can fit it in. Overdone, all it serves to do is irritate and frustrate readers who wish he’d stop beating around the bush, and - - get to the point !
I’ve come to believe that’s the ONLY technique he learned from Chet. Of the wide range available he uses no other. No harm discarding a technique that doesn’t work, fF it’s replaced with better. Locher strains to do the opposite !
The great advantage (few have had) of working alongside Gould was lost on him. Today, what seems like an “empty barrell”, problem is reflected in the strip
I remember several months back when this plot was first starting, somebody expressed a rumor that the Pouch might be making a return, seeing as he used to be a circus fat man himself – and he was never killed.
Sadly, as much as I’d like to get all excited over the possibility of the currently unknown gunman (gunperson?) being the Pouch (whose appearance scared me to death when I was a lass in the 70’s), I have a feeling that this rumor was a rumor and nothing more.
ooooh, POUCH. I think that was the first Dick Tracy strip I ever read as a kid. That would be cool…but only for us diehard Dickheads who remember that far back, which has got to be a fractional minority of the strip’s audience.
I think like Star Trek, Tracy could really benefit from a reboot. Most of his the villains people are familiar from this strip died decades ago. Maybe the best approach with a new team would be to start at the beginning and retell the whole story. Doing that in the comic books revitalized a lot of characters who were burdened with way, way too much backstory.
You’re right it started with a “teaser ” tip Andy Feighery gave on the Yahoo board and quite a few of us were certain it was the Pouch.
But that’s giving Dick Locher too much credit for “creative” thinking. It’s sad, He’d rather be original, no Villain, just a mask, than repeat Gould’s designs (?) False pride ?
He hasn’t had a memorable villain since he started doing the writing at the end of 2005.
To me the Clown face is a convenient dodge for not busting the artistic brain cells, I worry that he will go out next year with a wimper.
His having two jobs has not worked out well for Dick Tracy.
Carlo, I couldn’t find anything to click on for a translation, so I used Google Language Tools. The result was not totally impossible to figure out, but I’d say Google’s ability to translate Italian to English is not nearly as good as, say, its translation of Spanish to English.
Is something happening? Yesterday somebody pushed his gun out of the fat lady’s behind and it seemed like something might be about to happen, but today … just more talktalktalk. You might still think something is about to happen, tomorrow maybe, or Monday, or sometime next week? I doubt it. I predict he will just stay there up the fat lady’s behind with only his gun showing and talktalktalk for a while, and then he will come out the rest of the way but only for more talktalktalk, day after day of it….
NotNormanChubsyUbsy if you’re here, go look at my latest comment on Deep Cover. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see me backing down somewhat from my earlier stance.
wndrwrthg almost 15 years ago
What’s with the tildes above Spaceys eyes?
margueritem almost 15 years ago
Ouch, oh! That last line hurt!!!!!
FLIGHT SUIT almost 15 years ago
Howcome the art keeps not sucking? What will I make fun of it the art fails to suck?
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ almost 15 years ago
Well, Tracy has a sense of humor! Once we find out who “you” is, the case will be solved.
Steve Bartholomew almost 15 years ago
Migawd! It’s Tess!
coratelli almost 15 years ago
It’s the clown.
Dkram almost 15 years ago
Carlo Coratelli said, about 3 hours ago
It’s the clown.
Yep, I believe you sir are right.
LudwigVonDrake almost 15 years ago
A) I thought Sloppy the Clown was wearing gloves?
B) Groucho Marx called: He wants his eyebrows back.
Fearless_Fosdick almost 15 years ago
Finally, the return of the king of clubs.
FLIGHT SUIT almost 15 years ago
Heh, I had the same thought, Fosdick.
canadaeh almost 15 years ago
The killer is Dick Locher!
Morrow Cummings almost 15 years ago
Here comes 2 months of circus puns. Yuk-yuk!
linsonl almost 15 years ago
It’s the elephant.
shstrng almost 15 years ago
It’s the duck.
CougarAllen almost 15 years ago
This isn’t funny! Truer words were never spoke….
Bad writing often isn’t very funny. It’s just boring. Bad drawing can be more amusing, but we’re not getting so much of that lately.
Maybe they shoulda kept Locher to do amusing drawings and brought in somebody else to write a less boring story….
Right now Locher is using what writers (those who know what we’re doing) call “false suspense.” The hero knows who’s holding the gun so there is no real suspense about it. That information is being deliberately withheld from the audience to try to fool them into feeling suspense when there isn’t any.
-Cougar :{)
Araldite almost 15 years ago
As bad as it is, at least the plot is slowly moving again. It was unbearable back in the “It happened” days when panel after panel was just wasted time and space.
LudwigVonDrake almost 15 years ago
This story is still going on a month from now.
sydney almost 15 years ago
“IT HAPPENED, IT HAPPENED !”
Dick Tracy and story movement have been “Locher-locked” in a form of STASIS. Mattie implies it’s all TMS’s fault (not D.L’s) better to stay STILL, as chase sequences usually promote violence which TMS doesn’t want in the strip
So, after two months of INACTION we are now facing entry into TWO weeks of verbal EXPLANATION of what really happened (which we did not SEE). It will be a full 2 weeks more, but we get to see more “stills” of Girl on Elephant, Tiger in cage and Freaks standing around.
Despite his intractable obstreperousness and mulish behavior, Mattie could learn a lot on what NOT to DO (!) in a comic strip from the “expert” analysis of these sequences.
And Heck ! He’s getting it for FREE !
Take notes on the “expert”, probing evaluations you get here ! A function more rewarding than the egocentric activity of cutting and pasting, AND then burdening readers here, with a 35 paragraph post by Jim Dohery. One that gave no new substance to the issue, just Doherty’s flawed “OPINION” !
Strip “evaluations” here are often delivered in humorous vein, but take this “tip”, most are right on target.
Nighthawks Premium Member almost 15 years ago
hey Ludwig, do you still like to dive into your piles of coins and bills in your money pit? and, are the Beagle boys still your arch rivals? just curious after all these years!
Ham_Gravy almost 15 years ago
That ain’t Ludwig with the money bin.
Froxkrybra almost 15 years ago
All clowns are evil…
mumbles almost 15 years ago
It’s Angeltop, she’s about due to be resurrested for about the 20th time–saves using up the creativity gene.
coratelli almost 15 years ago
New, little article on my blog about the actual storyline:
http://usacomicstrips.blogspot.com/2009/09/dick-tracy-punto-e-capo.html
There’s google translate :)
jumbobrain almost 15 years ago
Well, at least SOMETHING is happening. I am disturbed by panel 1 where Tracy’s nose seems mashed into his face. Panel 2 is okay though it’s a paste from yesterday. 3 is kind of interesting though, that’s a new look. I am mildly curious as to who is holding the gun.
sydney almost 15 years ago
-Cougar,
Your final paragraph on “false” suspense is the best I’ve ever seen it articulated. Good ! Accurate !
It’s a technique he learned from Gould who ued it only as a short “teaser” on occasionon, on the introduction of a new villain. Locher uses it for EVERY sequence he can fit it in. Overdone, all it serves to do is irritate and frustrate readers who wish he’d stop beating around the bush, and - - get to the point !
I’ve come to believe that’s the ONLY technique he learned from Chet. Of the wide range available he uses no other. No harm discarding a technique that doesn’t work, fF it’s replaced with better. Locher strains to do the opposite !
The great advantage (few have had) of working alongside Gould was lost on him. Today, what seems like an “empty barrell”, problem is reflected in the strip
Maxine_Viller almost 15 years ago
I remember several months back when this plot was first starting, somebody expressed a rumor that the Pouch might be making a return, seeing as he used to be a circus fat man himself – and he was never killed.
Sadly, as much as I’d like to get all excited over the possibility of the currently unknown gunman (gunperson?) being the Pouch (whose appearance scared me to death when I was a lass in the 70’s), I have a feeling that this rumor was a rumor and nothing more.
jumbobrain almost 15 years ago
ooooh, POUCH. I think that was the first Dick Tracy strip I ever read as a kid. That would be cool…but only for us diehard Dickheads who remember that far back, which has got to be a fractional minority of the strip’s audience.
I think like Star Trek, Tracy could really benefit from a reboot. Most of his the villains people are familiar from this strip died decades ago. Maybe the best approach with a new team would be to start at the beginning and retell the whole story. Doing that in the comic books revitalized a lot of characters who were burdened with way, way too much backstory.
sydney almost 15 years ago
Maxine,
You’re right it started with a “teaser ” tip Andy Feighery gave on the Yahoo board and quite a few of us were certain it was the Pouch.
But that’s giving Dick Locher too much credit for “creative” thinking. It’s sad, He’d rather be original, no Villain, just a mask, than repeat Gould’s designs (?) False pride ? He hasn’t had a memorable villain since he started doing the writing at the end of 2005.
To me the Clown face is a convenient dodge for not busting the artistic brain cells, I worry that he will go out next year with a wimper.
His having two jobs has not worked out well for Dick Tracy.
LudwigVonDrake almost 15 years ago
nighthawks, you have me confused with my cousin Scrooge McDuck, I am the crazy professor from “Disney’s Wonderful World of Color”.
FLIGHT SUIT almost 15 years ago
Carlo, I couldn’t find anything to click on for a translation, so I used Google Language Tools. The result was not totally impossible to figure out, but I’d say Google’s ability to translate Italian to English is not nearly as good as, say, its translation of Spanish to English.
Oh well. I am now following your blog.
CougarAllen almost 15 years ago
Is something happening? Yesterday somebody pushed his gun out of the fat lady’s behind and it seemed like something might be about to happen, but today … just more talktalktalk. You might still think something is about to happen, tomorrow maybe, or Monday, or sometime next week? I doubt it. I predict he will just stay there up the fat lady’s behind with only his gun showing and talktalktalk for a while, and then he will come out the rest of the way but only for more talktalktalk, day after day of it….
-Cougar :{)
margueritem almost 15 years ago
CougarAllen my prediction is that you will be found to be correct.
fishbulb almost 15 years ago
So, does anyone have any idea what the heck Fe Fi, Mr. Pops, & Ringo were talking about when this mess began 2 bleeep months ago?
FLIGHT SUIT almost 15 years ago
NotNormanChubsyUbsy if you’re here, go look at my latest comment on Deep Cover. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see me backing down somewhat from my earlier stance.
roberto.alves almost 15 years ago
whatever happened with Mustasha?