I think Great Expectations moves at light speed compared to this.
By the time we tidy up the christmas decorations and fully recover from New Years, Dick Tracy and Tess might actually arrive to see the symphony… I stress ‘might’ there.
This is just so much drek! To believe that quote, “The first procedural detective” should be brought down to this level of mediocrity is beyond comprehension.
You could just skip to the next storyline, and chances are, it’s going to start in the same exact manner!
I just hope that, unless TMS finds somebody competent to do this strip after DL retires, they retire it also…or go into Gould reruns.
It appears that our pitiful cartoonist has finally realized
that he can’t draw full figures and has given up trying.
With any luck he’ll realize the same thing about his faces.
”Why do you feel so threatened by my presence here? I promised to leave when it seemed certain the strip was headed for the grave”
Now woe be me to take a statement as definite as that out of context. I don’t think I have !
That was Jeff Kersten posting on Dec.21, 2008. And if there’s one thing I believe I can count on, is to take him at his word. His last two post (that I could locate) were on 6-24-09 (less than 2 weeks away from the Circus tale). In the first he asked “…Riddle me this, how can one criticize if one doesn’t have all the facts?”
The final post was just a mocking? (knowing smile?) …*;)*
Can I assume that he already had “all the facts” and “cognizant” of what was just up ahead, poised to “pop out” in theDick Tracy (Circus) world?
Would it be too big a leap (or be unfair?) to connect his earlier statment to the FACT that he no longer posts on this board?
Many folks, heck, myself included, would rather see classic Tracy/Gould reprints than this mess. But that may not be possible for 2 reasons.
The strip size. Mr. Gould had a lot more room at his disposal than today’s artists. It might not be feasible to reprint his panels in today’s micro mini comics pages. Especially his gorgeous Sunday strips. Which were shrunk from 16 to 12 panels while he was still doing the strip. What newspaper would be willing to give Tracy that much room?
If Matthew is to be believed, the constraints placed on the writers would make reprinting his work impossible. No way could death traps, shoot outs, torture, and the grisly end of the villains be depicted under TMS standards.
fishbulb, No we could demand a new artist & writer. Who says they wouldn’t reprint the originals? After all they are doing it with “Bloom County” & a few other strips.
@fishbulb: I think reprinting Gould strips in newspapers would be impractical for the reasons you cite: they ran MUCH bigger (the Sunday strip used to be a full page) and the violence often caused papers to complain even back then. Also, Gould’s politics would not fly today (one early story had Tracy go back to beat up the villain in his cell AFTER he’d been arrested, just to make sure he got the point). However, reprinting them online would be a whole different matter, and I would like to see it.
I have heard the rumors about how Locher is being straitjacketed by editorial dictates. There may be truth to that, but TMS runs numerous other features, like Gasoline Alley, that do not suffer from the basic problems of slipshod writing and art that plague this strip. Even if there are constraints, it’s no excuse for a four-month story that has everyone standing around talking in the same spot the entire time, or any of the many, many logic and continuity errors here.
OK VistaBill, I’ll have some patience. But I think it will be a lot more than “in good time”. The way Locher writes, we won’t know what the heck is going on untl Valentine’s day.
ridenslide65 said, “OK VistaBill, I’ll have some patience. But I think it will be a lot more than “in good time”. The way Locher writes, we won’t know what the heck is going on untl Valentine’s day.”
@Joe- in and of itself the phone conversation is not a bad device to start a story…but in this strip, it’s the ONLY device. Every adventure for at least the past year has started this way. Which is why everyone is complaining about it.
@MPH- I’m surprised to hear of the rider in Collins’ contract that gave him ownership of any characters he created…he was not a very big name when he first took over the strip, so how could he get that much clout? But even if so, that really only covers villains he created, and Dick’s son Joe. There are more than enough Gould characters to fill the strip, so it doesn’t explain why he’d introduce a new character mid-story (and then not have her do anything).
No, I still believe the problem with this strip is just plain slipshod writing and art.
Let me guess… the symphony conductor is actually in the witness protection program and there’s a demented woodwind player named Oh Bo who’s plotting against him…
Matt, Thanks for mentioning the Collins ownership of characters he created. Although my understanding is that they are “available” for use at a reasonable “fee”.
But in any event only three of the nine names fall into that category, Dick’s son Joe Tracy but who has been effectively “trumped” by use of a “look-alike” called “Cool Dude”.
And had they been “needed” I imagine the same simple technique using different names could have been utilized for Adonis and Lee Ebony. And I’m sure Dicky will confirm that he decided (as I’m sure he has already mentioned) that he’s keen to break up the concept of the “Major Crime Squad” (foolisly, may I opine) and developing Tracy as a sort of “lone wolf” detective, with SWAT teams following every time as I’ve observed elsewhere.
Remember Norman March and Dan Dunn? He was never sued for drawing a near exact replica of Dick Tracy, Take a look at the 2 presentations on Wikipedia
The point I’m making is that these are already “developed” characters with known and “well liked” personalities and available No need to mold new ones, and look at the poor job he’s done with Teevo, after two years the poor man doesn’t even have a “first” name yet! What could it be, “Fido” like in Maggie and Jiggs (?)
It would be unproductive to saddle the strip with another inept variant of Teevo.
Well I’m still confused as to why TMS would let Collins retain ownership of a character integral to the strip (Tracy’s son Joe), but anything’s possible. If that is the case, I think again that what is really needed here is a reboot of the whole strip. Have Tracy starting out again, pursuing Tess, joining the force, adopting Junior, and remeeting all the famous long-gone faces from his Rogue’s Gallery, under the hand of some new and TALENTED creators. I mean, why not? What is there to lose? This strip is coasting along on its legend, and slowly dying as a result.
Tracy wear a regular tie to the concert? I’m sure that’s how they’ll let him go.
My understanding is that Rick Fletcher was very conscious of those things, and in particular fashionable female attire. He subscribed to special publications for this purpose !
So they play so fast and loose with contracts that they inadvertently give away rights to characters, or even to the entire franchise, yet they simultaneously tie Locher’s hands with regards to violence and other “standards and practices” type things. Great.
R_Noonan63: Concerts such as this haven’t been black-tie for many years. Are you kidding? If theaters today demanded black-tie attire, they would be sued for discrimination. Our PC, casual society wouldn’t stand for it. That being said, I still try to dress up for an occasion such as a concert because it makes ME feel better about it.
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ almost 15 years ago
We’re really moving along now. I can see that this latest tale won’t be like the last one. Fast paced, action packed, and filled with suspense!
margueritem almost 15 years ago
VistaBill, I can’t handle any more suspence and fast paced action….
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ almost 15 years ago
Margueritem said, “VistaBill, I can’t handle any more suspence and fast paced action….”
I know what you mean, Margueritem. I’m tired and tense already!
Llewellenbruce almost 15 years ago
Tracy could fall asleep.
margueritem almost 15 years ago
Llewellenbruce, we all could fall asleep…
ridenslide65 almost 15 years ago
Would somebody, anybody, please find this story???
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ almost 15 years ago
ridenslide65 said, “Would somebody, anybody, please find this story???”
Patience, ridenslide65! All in good time.
watcha almost 15 years ago
And here we go again - is the next catch phrase going to be ’ ‘JUST FIND HIM’
‘JUST FIND HIM’ ‘JUST FIND HIM’ ‘JUST FIND HIM’ ‘JUST FIND HIM’ ‘JUST FIND HIM’
mjmsprt40 almost 15 years ago
“Legend of Bill” moves faster than this, and it’s only updated once a week. No pig on wheels to save us this time.
Elexia almost 15 years ago
I think Great Expectations moves at light speed compared to this.
By the time we tidy up the christmas decorations and fully recover from New Years, Dick Tracy and Tess might actually arrive to see the symphony… I stress ‘might’ there.
geoffreyricho Premium Member almost 15 years ago
Beethoven or whoever he is had white eyebrows matching his hair yesterday. Today they’re black.
Ray_C almost 15 years ago
Somehow, telling a police officer, “I don’t want excuses, JUST FIND HIM!” seems counterproductive.
Donaldo Premium Member almost 15 years ago
easy on the close-ups, Brorman
andy.vaughn almost 15 years ago
This is just so much drek! To believe that quote, “The first procedural detective” should be brought down to this level of mediocrity is beyond comprehension.
You could just skip to the next storyline, and chances are, it’s going to start in the same exact manner!
I just hope that, unless TMS finds somebody competent to do this strip after DL retires, they retire it also…or go into Gould reruns.
China60 almost 15 years ago
It appears that our pitiful cartoonist has finally realized that he can’t draw full figures and has given up trying. With any luck he’ll realize the same thing about his faces.
sydney almost 15 years ago
”Why do you feel so threatened by my presence here? I promised to leave when it seemed certain the strip was headed for the grave”
Now woe be me to take a statement as definite as that out of context. I don’t think I have !
That was Jeff Kersten posting on Dec.21, 2008. And if there’s one thing I believe I can count on, is to take him at his word. His last two post (that I could locate) were on 6-24-09 (less than 2 weeks away from the Circus tale). In the first he asked “…Riddle me this, how can one criticize if one doesn’t have all the facts?”
The final post was just a mocking? (knowing smile?) … *;)*
Can I assume that he already had “all the facts” and “cognizant” of what was just up ahead, poised to “pop out” in theDick Tracy (Circus) world?
Would it be too big a leap (or be unfair?) to connect his earlier statment to the FACT that he no longer posts on this board?
Can we dare to think the worst ?
Sometimes words come back to bite us !
fishbulb almost 15 years ago
Many folks, heck, myself included, would rather see classic Tracy/Gould reprints than this mess. But that may not be possible for 2 reasons.
The strip size. Mr. Gould had a lot more room at his disposal than today’s artists. It might not be feasible to reprint his panels in today’s micro mini comics pages. Especially his gorgeous Sunday strips. Which were shrunk from 16 to 12 panels while he was still doing the strip. What newspaper would be willing to give Tracy that much room?
If Matthew is to be believed, the constraints placed on the writers would make reprinting his work impossible. No way could death traps, shoot outs, torture, and the grisly end of the villains be depicted under TMS standards.
I am afraid we are stuck with what we got.
FLIGHT SUIT almost 15 years ago
This time around, Tracy won’t be able to pull “the popcorn trick!”
LudwigVonDrake almost 15 years ago
What could possibly go wrong at a symphony concert? The same thing that could possibly go wrong at the circus: a poorly written story.
JPBecker almost 15 years ago
fishbulb, No we could demand a new artist & writer. Who says they wouldn’t reprint the originals? After all they are doing it with “Bloom County” & a few other strips.
jumbobrain almost 15 years ago
@fishbulb: I think reprinting Gould strips in newspapers would be impractical for the reasons you cite: they ran MUCH bigger (the Sunday strip used to be a full page) and the violence often caused papers to complain even back then. Also, Gould’s politics would not fly today (one early story had Tracy go back to beat up the villain in his cell AFTER he’d been arrested, just to make sure he got the point). However, reprinting them online would be a whole different matter, and I would like to see it.
I have heard the rumors about how Locher is being straitjacketed by editorial dictates. There may be truth to that, but TMS runs numerous other features, like Gasoline Alley, that do not suffer from the basic problems of slipshod writing and art that plague this strip. Even if there are constraints, it’s no excuse for a four-month story that has everyone standing around talking in the same spot the entire time, or any of the many, many logic and continuity errors here.
mumbles almost 15 years ago
I hope Longhair has a good phone plan, this P/C has now lasted a week. Ka-Ching, Ka-Ching
jpozenel almost 15 years ago
Well, at least there’s no clowns in this one (so far).
ridenslide65 almost 15 years ago
OK VistaBill, I’ll have some patience. But I think it will be a lot more than “in good time”. The way Locher writes, we won’t know what the heck is going on untl Valentine’s day.
Rich
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ almost 15 years ago
ridenslide65 said, “OK VistaBill, I’ll have some patience. But I think it will be a lot more than “in good time”. The way Locher writes, we won’t know what the heck is going on untl Valentine’s day.”
That soon?
g6793 almost 15 years ago
What could go wrong? Tess…you have to ask??!
CougarAllen almost 15 years ago
Does it count as an adventure if all you do is stand around for hours, Dick?
I’m afraid we’ve probably seen the last of the Pig On Wheels, but perhaps a new protagonist will appear.
-Cougar :{)
G.V.007 almost 15 years ago
Dick relax get real the two words don’t mix.
coratelli almost 15 years ago
Tess is full of botox in the 2nd panel.
jumbobrain almost 15 years ago
@Joe- in and of itself the phone conversation is not a bad device to start a story…but in this strip, it’s the ONLY device. Every adventure for at least the past year has started this way. Which is why everyone is complaining about it.
@MPH- I’m surprised to hear of the rider in Collins’ contract that gave him ownership of any characters he created…he was not a very big name when he first took over the strip, so how could he get that much clout? But even if so, that really only covers villains he created, and Dick’s son Joe. There are more than enough Gould characters to fill the strip, so it doesn’t explain why he’d introduce a new character mid-story (and then not have her do anything). No, I still believe the problem with this strip is just plain slipshod writing and art.
steveyorkdesigns almost 15 years ago
Let me guess… the symphony conductor is actually in the witness protection program and there’s a demented woodwind player named Oh Bo who’s plotting against him…
sydney almost 15 years ago
Matt, Thanks for mentioning the Collins ownership of characters he created. Although my understanding is that they are “available” for use at a reasonable “fee”.
But in any event only three of the nine names fall into that category, Dick’s son Joe Tracy but who has been effectively “trumped” by use of a “look-alike” called “Cool Dude”.
And had they been “needed” I imagine the same simple technique using different names could have been utilized for Adonis and Lee Ebony. And I’m sure Dicky will confirm that he decided (as I’m sure he has already mentioned) that he’s keen to break up the concept of the “Major Crime Squad” (foolisly, may I opine) and developing Tracy as a sort of “lone wolf” detective, with SWAT teams following every time as I’ve observed elsewhere.
Remember Norman March and Dan Dunn? He was never sued for drawing a near exact replica of Dick Tracy, Take a look at the 2 presentations on Wikipedia
The point I’m making is that these are already “developed” characters with known and “well liked” personalities and available No need to mold new ones, and look at the poor job he’s done with Teevo, after two years the poor man doesn’t even have a “first” name yet! What could it be, “Fido” like in Maggie and Jiggs (?)
It would be unproductive to saddle the strip with another inept variant of Teevo.
But thanks for mentioning the situation.
jumbobrain almost 15 years ago
Well I’m still confused as to why TMS would let Collins retain ownership of a character integral to the strip (Tracy’s son Joe), but anything’s possible. If that is the case, I think again that what is really needed here is a reboot of the whole strip. Have Tracy starting out again, pursuing Tess, joining the force, adopting Junior, and remeeting all the famous long-gone faces from his Rogue’s Gallery, under the hand of some new and TALENTED creators. I mean, why not? What is there to lose? This strip is coasting along on its legend, and slowly dying as a result.
sydney almost 15 years ago
“Poor at writing at TMS” ?
Hmm! If it wasn’t for Jay Maeder I’d suspect it was “contagious” !
sydney almost 15 years ago
Tracy wear a regular tie to the concert? I’m sure that’s how they’ll let him go.
My understanding is that Rick Fletcher was very conscious of those things, and in particular fashionable female attire. He subscribed to special publications for this purpose !
ridenslide65 almost 15 years ago
Glad we have Mattie on board as our resident expert on Dick Tracy Laws and copyrights.
Yawn…………..
FLIGHT SUIT almost 15 years ago
So they play so fast and loose with contracts that they inadvertently give away rights to characters, or even to the entire franchise, yet they simultaneously tie Locher’s hands with regards to violence and other “standards and practices” type things. Great.
JanLC almost 15 years ago
R_Noonan63: Concerts such as this haven’t been black-tie for many years. Are you kidding? If theaters today demanded black-tie attire, they would be sued for discrimination. Our PC, casual society wouldn’t stand for it. That being said, I still try to dress up for an occasion such as a concert because it makes ME feel better about it.