Still a very confusing mix of styles to throw us off the time frame- front and cow-catcher of steam era, side rails, wheels and horn of the diesel. And it sort of looks like it’s got a tender behind it.
Yeah, fast trains take about a mile to stop. You can stop the wheels, but you can’t stop the train. Very little friction between the steel wheel and the steel rail.Never argue right of way with a train.
I shall wait on our authors for good answers, but there certainly does need to be some. It’s going to be quite a denoument for this story – explanations for the murders at Camp Freedom, the bloody hand print confession, skeletons in the mausoleum and the lake, Sweatbox’s connection to all this, etc. None of it explained yet. Oh yes, and Sweatbox’s assistant’s relationship to the action. He is still alive and roaming around somewhere.
The locomotive in todays strip looks like the child of an ALCO Milwaukee Road Hudson, and a Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster.http://www.american-rails.com/fm-train-master.html
I’d hate to be the guy who has to sponge Sweatbox’s remains out of the car.I have no doubt that we’ll get the answers to the murders at Camp Freedom, the identities of all the skeletons, etc.
NOW woulda been the perfect time for a “Travelling Wilburys” photobomb… imagine it, just as Dick Tracy says Sweaty has reached the end of the line, they all pop out and start singing “Well it’s alllll right…..even if the sun dont shine… well it’s allll right.. we’re going to the end fo the line”
btw, team tracy is turning into quite the morbid bunch arent they? Think about it, since i’ve been reading again…(at the end of the abner kadaver storyline october 2011)…. davey mylar killed, sweatbox killed, panda killed, teevo killed, mumbles quartet killed, measles (regrettably) killed… they keep this up and there wont be anyone left! lol
Exactly what was the point of this storyline so far? I’m still confused. Just why did Sweatbox intend to coerce a dud confession out of Sulu, and what does that have anything to do with the skeletons, and is the story coming to a screeching halt…like a train, say?
Today’s art is quite impressive. The way the train was portrayed for example. A mix of older, plus a bit of a science fiction, 50s pulp magazine style it appears.
Also as maligned as the colorest is here at times. I must admit this was a fine job. I loved how the characters was colored. But the train, background, and crash wasn’t Giving a “Reuben” feel to it.
However, I do hope they find the portly pile’s body. I would hate to have to wait six months to find he was /really dead/, much like Shakey was.
Panel one is nice, too. Mole’s protective hand on Toad’s shoulder, the kindly expression on the face of the officer, and Lizz! I sure do hope, though, that we get explanations for all the loose ends, as others have pointed out already.
I’ll believe Sweaty’s really, completely dead when I see the pieces of his body on slabs in the morgue. Meanwhile, this case is far from closed! Love panel 1 with Mr. Mole and Toad and the Chicago-style uniformed cop (and Lizz, of course); but Tracy should probably leave the quips to the folks commenting here….
What are the odds? Dropping off the overpass just as a train is arriving?At least it was coming out of the tunnel – a derailment in a tunnel can be messy!Happened in Hannibal, Mo some years ago – NS mainline crosses the river, crosses the BNSF main and directly into a tunnel that makes more than a 90 degree turn before paralleling the BNSF main. Car derailed in tunnel, and that limits working space to straighten things out!(Think I read someplace this is only RY tunnel in state of Mo.,true or false?)Sure stopped rather quickly for a speeding train! Or maybe tracy drove a couples miles down the main?
Great artwork, but the loco looks like nothing that ever ran on US rails (or probably even the world) But, maybe that was intentional. After all, with Sgt. Jim Doherty, railway detective (Hall of Fame) on the staff -—————-
Have you ever taken a photo of a diesel locomotive (or steam, for that matter) from a distance, as it is passing by, and then walked up to it when it comes to a stop, and taken another photo of the same locomotive, while standing right at it’s front? I have, and I can tell you, it is startling, the way the size of the engine seems to enlarge from the closer perspective. This art depicts that very well, I think. It always amazes me just how BIG a train locomotive actually is. If you are standing on level ground underneath the window of the cab, you would have a very hard time handing something to a crew member sitting in the cab, reaching out of the window. And, yet, if you are standing across a road from the tracks, you can get two or more locomotives in a single camera frame.
I like the body language of the crew members. It’s as if they are thinking, “Oy, yi yi, what a mess!” I have read more than once that a train crew’s worst fear is an automobile/train collision.
Starring as Sweaty in the movie version of this Goulash of a story? LOL!^^While there IS a resemblance, he’s too young…. maybe he could play the young Sweaty
Sydney & Otto – I stopped in last week to see what was going on with the Marty & Spud thriller, and was told to “get out” by none other than the artist himself! I should have called for SDM to come help me out, except I didn’t know how to find him.
If Sweatbox is still alive, that would mean there’s no body to recover from the wreckage. And if that’s the case, Tracy & team would begin searching for him and not close the case. If Tracy DOES end up closing the case, we can safely assume they found Sweatbox’s remains and that he’s definitely dead.
yep, the baddies tend to die both here and in Gould’s strips……I think the difference is Chester killed off a lot of good characters, too. Speaking of which……if Moon Maid is really coming back, then let’s bring back Model Jones too and REALLY heat it up for Junior, ha ha….
It’s lucky Toad doesn’t live in some states…..they’d probably try to charge her in some way for Sweatroadkill’s death by saying her assault with the softball contributed to it….and even luckier for her she didn’t reside in one of Gould’s strips, because it would be 50-50 she’d have been in that car at the end, too…
This strip reminds me of a sequence in the early seventies when some bad guys left obnoxious boy genius cartoonist Peanutbutter on the back seat of a car parked on the tracks. When Tracy and crew arrived…. Wow! what a mess! Probably mostly drawn by assistant Rick Fletcher. The kid was found (later) to have escaped in the nick of time.
I agree, it is a low POV making the tracks appear wider in the foreground and the train look taller. The catwalk also gives the train a wider appearance. An actual track is 4’8.5".
cpalmeresq over 11 years ago
James Bond couldn’t have summed it up better.
margueritem over 11 years ago
And scary looking, too.
margueritem over 11 years ago
Great drawing of Sweat Baux yesterday, and the locomotive today.
margueritem over 11 years ago
I’m just sorry that in real life, the engineer would have nightmares for years.
Mikeyj over 11 years ago
It LOOKS as if Sweaty is gone… but, until they find his body, I won’t be fully convinced
Llewellenbruce over 11 years ago
He’ll sweat a lot more where he’s going now.
Steve Bartholomew over 11 years ago
Hope he was wearing his seat belt.
Bill Thompson over 11 years ago
Sweatbox’s assistant is still on the loose. He’s likely to know something about the skeletons in the vault, the murder and Sweatbox’s personal life.
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ over 11 years ago
Plus it stopped on a dime!
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ over 11 years ago
Good morning all…
Bring on Moon Maid!
blunebottle over 11 years ago
Still a very confusing mix of styles to throw us off the time frame- front and cow-catcher of steam era, side rails, wheels and horn of the diesel. And it sort of looks like it’s got a tender behind it.
nerdhoof over 11 years ago
Sweatbox has reached [puts on sunglasses] the end of the line.Yeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!
thesnowleopard Premium Member over 11 years ago
I wonder how they’re going to figure out what the deal was with the lake and the bone-stuffed mausoleum.
Looks like Sweatbox has made his last railroad crossing.
upanddown17 over 11 years ago
The train wins, the car loses.
SlyMongoose over 11 years ago
I still want to know why all the bodies? Who were they? Why were they killed?
crobinson019 over 11 years ago
And I’ll make the pun…“That’s the way the Mercedes Benz…”
linsonl over 11 years ago
Yeah, fast trains take about a mile to stop. You can stop the wheels, but you can’t stop the train. Very little friction between the steel wheel and the steel rail.Never argue right of way with a train.
Major Matt Mason Premium Member over 11 years ago
(regards the mangled Mercedes sadly) Maybe it’ll buff out?
As always, nary a thought to the innocent victim in all this… ,^.^
hunt over 11 years ago
SCOTTtheBADGER over 11 years ago
The locomotive in todays strip looks like the child of an ALCO Milwaukee Road Hudson, and a Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster.http://www.american-rails.com/fm-train-master.html
Can't Sleep over 11 years ago
I’d hate to be the guy who has to sponge Sweatbox’s remains out of the car.I have no doubt that we’ll get the answers to the murders at Camp Freedom, the identities of all the skeletons, etc.
Mostly Water Premium Member over 11 years ago
No doubt the Mercedes “check engine” light is on. Mine usually was.
Durak Premium Member over 11 years ago
It’s a shame the engineer had to experiance the end of Sweatbox.
tsull2121 over 11 years ago
NOW woulda been the perfect time for a “Travelling Wilburys” photobomb… imagine it, just as Dick Tracy says Sweaty has reached the end of the line, they all pop out and start singing “Well it’s alllll right…..even if the sun dont shine… well it’s allll right.. we’re going to the end fo the line”
Durak Premium Member over 11 years ago
@ MikeyJNod, but it’s not cold where Sweatbox is heading. You think it’s hot enough for him?
tsull2121 over 11 years ago
btw, team tracy is turning into quite the morbid bunch arent they? Think about it, since i’ve been reading again…(at the end of the abner kadaver storyline october 2011)…. davey mylar killed, sweatbox killed, panda killed, teevo killed, mumbles quartet killed, measles (regrettably) killed… they keep this up and there wont be anyone left! lol
King_Shark over 11 years ago
Exactly what was the point of this storyline so far? I’m still confused. Just why did Sweatbox intend to coerce a dud confession out of Sulu, and what does that have anything to do with the skeletons, and is the story coming to a screeching halt…like a train, say?
Morrow Cummings over 11 years ago
Gotta love that engine! Even the horn on the side behind the radiator grille. It looks like the squeeze bulb even made it through the wreck!
sjsczurek over 11 years ago
That mangled Mercedes (or what’s left of it) looks like it’s actually grimacing.
Jerry1967 over 11 years ago
Nice to see Lizz, looking lovely as always.
kantuck-nadie over 11 years ago
Today’s art is quite impressive. The way the train was portrayed for example. A mix of older, plus a bit of a science fiction, 50s pulp magazine style it appears.
Also as maligned as the colorest is here at times. I must admit this was a fine job. I loved how the characters was colored. But the train, background, and crash wasn’t Giving a “Reuben” feel to it.
However, I do hope they find the portly pile’s body. I would hate to have to wait six months to find he was /really dead/, much like Shakey was.
Ken in Ohio over 11 years ago
Panel one is nice, too. Mole’s protective hand on Toad’s shoulder, the kindly expression on the face of the officer, and Lizz! I sure do hope, though, that we get explanations for all the loose ends, as others have pointed out already.
marvee over 11 years ago
Dead men don’t talk and we need answers. Taking him alive would be so much better, IMO.
Dragon0131 over 11 years ago
Even Tracy won’t commit to Sweat Box being dead. Now they have to get to the Baux mansion before the assistant finds out and can destroy the evidence.
Sisyphos over 11 years ago
I’ll believe Sweaty’s really, completely dead when I see the pieces of his body on slabs in the morgue. Meanwhile, this case is far from closed! Love panel 1 with Mr. Mole and Toad and the Chicago-style uniformed cop (and Lizz, of course); but Tracy should probably leave the quips to the folks commenting here….
jumbobrain over 11 years ago
A really well-executed resolution. Even if this murder or whatever Sweatbox was involved in was never actually explained.
Lyons Group, Inc. over 11 years ago
Anyone remember “Hardac” from the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Heart Of Steel”? (parts 1&2) Well, that’s what the train remind me of.
tuslog64 over 11 years ago
What are the odds? Dropping off the overpass just as a train is arriving?At least it was coming out of the tunnel – a derailment in a tunnel can be messy!Happened in Hannibal, Mo some years ago – NS mainline crosses the river, crosses the BNSF main and directly into a tunnel that makes more than a 90 degree turn before paralleling the BNSF main. Car derailed in tunnel, and that limits working space to straighten things out!(Think I read someplace this is only RY tunnel in state of Mo.,true or false?)Sure stopped rather quickly for a speeding train! Or maybe tracy drove a couples miles down the main?
tuslog64 over 11 years ago
Great artwork, but the loco looks like nothing that ever ran on US rails (or probably even the world) But, maybe that was intentional. After all, with Sgt. Jim Doherty, railway detective (Hall of Fame) on the staff -—————-
60sFan over 11 years ago
Yesterday’s strip was a masterpiece. Thought that was worth saying again.
ronpolimeni over 11 years ago
Strangest locomotive I’ve ever seen.
Ray Toler over 11 years ago
The artwork here is incredible!
lmonteros over 11 years ago
Wouldn’t this have caused at least a partial derailment?
Ken in Ohio over 11 years ago
Have you ever taken a photo of a diesel locomotive (or steam, for that matter) from a distance, as it is passing by, and then walked up to it when it comes to a stop, and taken another photo of the same locomotive, while standing right at it’s front? I have, and I can tell you, it is startling, the way the size of the engine seems to enlarge from the closer perspective. This art depicts that very well, I think. It always amazes me just how BIG a train locomotive actually is. If you are standing on level ground underneath the window of the cab, you would have a very hard time handing something to a crew member sitting in the cab, reaching out of the window. And, yet, if you are standing across a road from the tracks, you can get two or more locomotives in a single camera frame.
Ken in Ohio over 11 years ago
I like the body language of the crew members. It’s as if they are thinking, “Oy, yi yi, what a mess!” I have read more than once that a train crew’s worst fear is an automobile/train collision.
SYDNEY PHILLIPS over 11 years ago
Consistency in it’s size ?Odd, that was the same thing readers asked about those hands drawn by Dicky L.
No salt in the wound, but it’s almost as if Dicky was the one to patent the phrase . . .“**. . . it’s only a comic strip” !*
A simple comparison with other posts show that while most come here to praise, you see *
. . .** everything shaded through dark glasses with a Naperville ’ tint ’Mikeyj over 11 years ago
Starring as Sweaty in the movie version of this Goulash of a story? LOL!^^While there IS a resemblance, he’s too young…. maybe he could play the young Sweaty
Morrow Cummings over 11 years ago
Sydney & Otto – I stopped in last week to see what was going on with the Marty & Spud thriller, and was told to “get out” by none other than the artist himself! I should have called for SDM to come help me out, except I didn’t know how to find him.
frankt0001 over 11 years ago
If Sweatbox is still alive, that would mean there’s no body to recover from the wreckage. And if that’s the case, Tracy & team would begin searching for him and not close the case. If Tracy DOES end up closing the case, we can safely assume they found Sweatbox’s remains and that he’s definitely dead.
fredville over 11 years ago
yep, the baddies tend to die both here and in Gould’s strips……I think the difference is Chester killed off a lot of good characters, too. Speaking of which……if Moon Maid is really coming back, then let’s bring back Model Jones too and REALLY heat it up for Junior, ha ha….
fredville over 11 years ago
It’s lucky Toad doesn’t live in some states…..they’d probably try to charge her in some way for Sweatroadkill’s death by saying her assault with the softball contributed to it….and even luckier for her she didn’t reside in one of Gould’s strips, because it would be 50-50 she’d have been in that car at the end, too…
CaptainKiddeo over 11 years ago
This strip reminds me of a sequence in the early seventies when some bad guys left obnoxious boy genius cartoonist Peanutbutter on the back seat of a car parked on the tracks. When Tracy and crew arrived…. Wow! what a mess! Probably mostly drawn by assistant Rick Fletcher. The kid was found (later) to have escaped in the nick of time.
jonahhex1 over 11 years ago
It would appear that Dick Tracy and James Bond were honor graduates of the Snappy Repartee’ School of Ironic Commentary.
cpalmeresq over 11 years ago
Agreed.
Ray Toler over 11 years ago
I agree, it is a low POV making the tracks appear wider in the foreground and the train look taller. The catwalk also gives the train a wider appearance. An actual track is 4’8.5".