Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 14, 2013

Well, well . . .

Good morning all…

As Sunday approaches, one wonders if there will be enough space in the strip for “everyone” that will be in attendance at Wheaton Farm! Who’s gonna’ get shot sown? I hope it isn’t MM/Mysta! Hy Pressure appears to be the most expendable candidate.

Good morning, VistaBill and Rod. I can’t imagine seeing Mysta get shot. If anyone dies at the Wheaton farm, I have to think it will be lesser players from the rival gangs. And I agree Hy Pressure is an expendable candidate.

Looks like Diet’s been onto them for some time.I hope he (and the Space Coupes) survive the story!But in this tale, I’m not sure what’s going to happen next.

A veil now lifted, Smith understands just who Mysta isWrongs must be righted, justice done, responsibility his.Innovation, exploration, the Space Coupe did take flightCosmic wonders to behold, Lunarian delight.Moon Valley now in ruins, Mysta sadly unawareOf Méliès’ Original Plan or how she’s been ensnared.Smith takes decisive action, he’ll fly to Wheaton’s farmThe storm a sprinkle to the Coupe, he’ll save Moon Maid from harm.Ghote feels he must be dreaming as the Coupe takes to the skyKnowing this could end badly, yet too old and scared to cry.Smith understands the potential of the Coupe to violent criminalsNow in flight, grasping the plight, Diet foresees events seminal.

Did anybody have any bad luck yesterday?

Great job, Pequod77, enjoyed that..Nope, no bad luck here..I enjoy seeing the Space Coupe in action again. Wheeeee!

LOVIN’ the Space Coupe in flight again! Great memories! It’s nice to see a new artist’s version of The “Sparkle Plenty”! Long live the Moon era!

Is that an umbrella falling out of the space coupe ? he he

So, Diet Smith is not as naive as he sometimes appears to be. He knows that Ghote and Sail have been after the Space Coupe all along. Actually, even we don’t know that for certain, although the actions of Bardoll certainly point in that direction (not to mention the strategic placement of the Space Coupe model in much of the art). Being taken for a ride on the Coupe was clearly not part of Dr. Ghote’s plan, whatever that plan might be. I still wonder what they wanted to do with the Space Coupe.

(By the way, that’s a satellite dish on the roof, not an umbrella, though that’s kind of funny.)

That’s not an umbrella falling out of the space caoupe: It’s a radar dish — or the prototype for Diet’s new line of satellite dishes. :D

The one thing the space coupe doesn’t look like is a “garbage can.” I rather like its configuration myself.^^The Space Coupe and the flying garbage cans were 2 different machines… the ones I mean look like garbage cans with a couple of crutches for control

windows screen capture

Ironic, isn’t it, that the space coupe Diet is flying into the jaws of danger is named the Sparkle Plenty! I expect that he and the awestruck Ghote will have no problem getting to the Wheaton Farm. The question will be, who gets out alive once the shootout has begun and who (pardon the pun) buys the farm.

Seneca – “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Unless of course, you are Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes… (Here’s hoping Diet has some good luck!)

Both the Space Coupe and its passengers could be in danger. I’m wondering who those passengers might be, if that’s the case. Diet Smith did just say that he wishes both Dr. Ghote and the Space Coupe never existed. Hmmm. How easy is it to cause damage to a Space Coupe. Not very, from what I know.

Diet Smith moves his rank a notch higher – among those who may not come out alive! Mighty rash, blowing his cover that the Space Coupes were all grounded. Now, all the underworld will know – and Diet once claimed that he didn’t want them (the criminals) to know..Anymore, I don’t know what to think..I want the return of Moon Maid – Mysta, the original – but just the character, not the flawed sci-fi that Gould used to explain her existence in the first place..At the same time, I don’t want to see Diet do a deliberate “crash and burn” with himself, the space coupe, and/or most certainly Mysta..Perhaps Diet is going to “outsmart” both Tracy and the crooks, but flying right into their hornets’ nest would not appear to be the way to do it!.But it does seem to give credence to those who believe Diet is about to do just that – sacrifice himself, the space coupe, and Mysta, just to “set things right.”.At least, that seems to be what Mike and Joe want us to think for today.

I did not think the space coupe would be in this mess and like VB says, they’ll need more room.

Mighty rash, blowing his cover that the Space Coupes were all grounded.

I think he only said that they were too dangerous to operate, not that they couldn’t be operated.

He can’t do a “deliberate ‘crash and burn’” at the farm (if that’s what he’s thinking of), because too many innocent people would be put in danger.

Neil Wick: I agree – he wouldn’t crash and burn at the farm – though he has no idea of the gaggle that is assembling there..But suddenly, the speculation that Diet may dispatch Mysta, the space coupe, and himself, out of the Tracy-verse, once and for all – seems all too plausible..Of course, I hope that’s not the case..But as this story is (allegedly) winding down, obfuscation seems to be on the rise, not fall!

I love this new Mysta, as it seems you all do from the comments. I too really do not want Moon Maid to die. I’d like to see her as a semi-reoccurring character in the strip. Like VistaBill said, Hopefully it’s Hy Pressure (or one of the other villains)…

A space coupe to get to the Wheaton farm? Maybe he’s just going to fly into space.Vitamin Flintheart clearly said that one of his closest friends…he didn’t say exactly what would happen. But that some of the bad guys will die is a given, but wouldn’t fulfill the prediction.

Diet has shown that the Space Coupe can be controlled remotely. It can be completely shut down if needed.

It took a while and I’m probably real late to the game, but…MM/Mysta is a cyborg with MM’s very lunar brain. The damage from the blast caused the “holes” in her memory and might even explain the “misfire” at Hy Pressure. It also explains how Ghote & Sail know where she is (ala GPS). In any case, I’m re-hooked on DT just like I was as a kid although the key board & mouse don’t get my fingers black!

Good thing Wheaton has a lot of acreage! Looks like they might need valet parking!

I still think Mysta is going to die in a heroic act of self-sacrifice. Even with all the love she’s being shown in the comments here, she’s a gigantic complication for Junior and Sparkle (and Honeymoon, for that matter).

Are the “lightning bolts” by Tracy in the strip’s masthead flashing an S.O.S.?They seem to be flashing three short, three long, three short, like Morse Code.

I am beginning to think Moon Maid is a hoax after all. Diet Smith was disturbed by what Ghote told him. He regrets ever going to the moon. That doesn’t sound like the reaction of a person who thinks the original Mysta is still alive. Especially since he had feelings for the original Mysta. The only thing I can get is that there is something very wrong about the new Mysta. She isn’t the original who died. She’s not a clone. She’s something worse it would appear. I’m afraid to know what that might be.

I think the ‘flying garbage cans’ were officially called ‘magnetic air cars’

Paul1963: For what it’s worth, those complications (Junior, Sparkle, and Honeymoon) were what I was hoping Mike and Joe would explore. But there does seem to be a consensus that this is not where they’re going with this story..William Weedman: You could be right – a cyborg with Mysta’s brain. And the incident with Hy Pressure wasn’t the only “misfire”: While Mysta did not want to harm Sparkle, I have always been bothered by the fact that she “zapped” her in the first place. “Misfire” as in, “What was she thinking?”.fhofmann: And William Weedman’s scenario would fit your premonition, as well..Hoping I’m wrong but, for now it appears, Diet may be taking Sail, Ghote, Mysta, and even himself, for a one way trip..And even if he doesn’t, now that he’s given the bad guys exactly what they want, Diet is probably the most expendable character in the current equation…

I am SO jealous… I never got to draw the Space Coupe. Great to see it out of mothballs. :)

I was excited to see the return of Mysta and the whole moon theme. I would hate to see it end!

I sure hope Mike isn’t going to kill off Diet Smith and destroy all the Space Coupes.-I know a lot of readers who hated the ‘60s “Moon” stories don’t want to see the return of anything to do with them, but consider this: most potential new readers of “Dick Tracy” have never known a time without a PC or cell phone, or deep space studies like the Hubble telescope and Curiosity Mars rover.-Privately owned spacecraft and space stations were “sci-fi” stuff 45 years ago but are real today.-So the Space Coupe has a legitimate place as cutting-edge hardware, and the subject of industrial and military espionage (among other stories) and shouldn’t be trashed.

For those on the cyborg theory, don’t forget that the MCU ran a DNA check on her, so Mysta’s body must be at least related to the real MM. Unless the DNA source was fixed, which seems a little too remote.

I gotta tell ya, these writers are wicked good at their craft. [NOTE: the use of wicked is a very New England thing]. That so many of us are kept guessing and wondering is a testament to their talents. Cannot imagine what it is that Diet Smith needs to “set right” — poor Mysta, I’m assuming she was somehow recreated. I cannot imagine that Diet Smith would in any way want to kill her off, that’s too bizarre. Mysta/Moon Maid is a victim in all of this. She in no way bears any responsibility for what The Consortium’s scheme is — at least that we know of, thus far. I remain riveted to this storyline and remain hopeful that Mysta/Moon Maid shall remain alive and an occasional character if not a recurring one.Regarding Sparkle & Junior, it kinda flummoxes me that there has been no one-on-one between Junior and his former wife. It defies logic.

PatrickDC202: A quote from the sixties, You bet your sweet bippy! when it comes to the absolute lack of contact between Junior and Mysta! Especially since this is the only possible reason for Mysta to have zapped Sparkle – a partial memory of the situation may have left Mysta thinking that she was still married to Junior and that he was having an affair with Sparkle – the only possible “rational” excuse for her behavior back then, which has never been repeated..Boy, the grammar police should holler about the length of that previous sentence!

Ray Toler: Amen to that! Reanimated corpse is worse than a clone – on just about all levels, including religious..Of all the Mysta clone theories, this is the one that I most certainly hope Mike and Joe did not do!

@Cheapskate0: “You bet’cher bippy!” — great phrase. I use it sparingly, often to amuse myself and horrify “The Young People”

I’m not thinking a Frankenstein-esque reanimated corpse as the original one was blown to bits. It’s odd…I remember reading DT as a kid and recall with perfect clarity like it was yesterday the day Moon Maid was killed. I was horrified by it as a kid even though I had never read the original Moon Maid comic strips. I think one of the reasons we have become so fond of Moon Maid is that she’s back and we all somehow probably yearn for second chances and to have another go-’round with those for which we cared.

(I’m trying to lay it on heavy in case the writers of DT are reading our comments and we can collectively guilt them into keeping our Mysta around)

I have been more or less convinced that Mysta is the original Moon Maid for some time. But after reading the last few days, I’m much less convinced. Diet seems quite disturbed about what Zy Ghote told him about Mysta’s identity. That’s ominous to me. He wants to set things right, so why is finding Mysta “priority one?” What is the horrible secret he knows about her identity? I have always wanted Mysta to stick around as a cast regular when this is over, but it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be a happy ending for her.

Chief Patton: And the last word has to be – Ghote, whether original or fake – has proven multiple times over decades to be a pathological liar! Mysta may still be real, but Ghote may have lied to Diet just to get him to do something rash!.And, so far, Ghote appears to have succeeded – perhaps beyond his own expectations – and perhaps to both of their deaths!

Ray Toler: You know, I never thought about these ramifications before this story, either. Perhaps the problem here is that Mysta may be back for good, while each of the other examples, Frankenstein, &c, would “die” again at the end of each film. .Don’t know if that makes any sense.

Perhaps the problem here is that Mysta may be back for good, while each of the other examples, Frankenstein, &c, would “die” again at the end of each film. ___________________________

Wolverine comes back to life each time he is killed as does Jack Harkness on Torchwood and Doctor Who. Mythology written before the time of Jesus tells of men who came back to life after escaping Hades. And although they may not have come back to life, the countless ghosts in literature are reappearing even though they are dead—they are still “alive” but have not rejoined the world of the living.

Returning from the dead is an old plot device irrespective of any religious beliefs.

While Christians would insist that only one person ever came back to life (not counting Lazarus), I’m not sure the Jewish Sam Catchem would agree. Still I don’t feel this makes the Dick Tracy strip anti-Christian.

I think you are trying to read too much into it if Mysta turns out to be a reanimated corpse. After all, this is a comic strip, not the Pentateuch. Not meant to be fact, only a compelling story—to which it has succeeded.

I have not posited that Mysta is some kind of reanimated corpse but a total bodily regeneration._________________________

I was only using the reanimated corpse analogy because of the obvious Frankenstein reference in the stage speech by Vitamin Flintheart. Unless Mysta is something like that, I can see no reason for the Frankenstein similarity of Vitamin’s speech.

Please, people let’s not make this a platform for religious discussion.It’s a comic strip, that’s all.Regardless of how she came back, Mysta is back. For how long, only Team Tracy knows (right, Tarry? Tarry?).Remember: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy.” Hamlet about the ghost of his father.

Not a reanimated corpse, a recharged body. She’s solar-powered. Needed to have some parts of her body regenerated, which is how Ghote went beyond “regular” cloning.

Hmmm, did DT die or something? This ‘strip’ isn’t what I remember from the 50s.