Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 22, 2010

Yeah, Thick, water gets softer when you slam into it harder.

As he thinks of the time when he dealt with awesome supervillains, and won, Thick breaks into a song of his own:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V0VTlrCzW8

What is a ‘power approach’ and why is Dick about to make one to a flooded street?

What in the world is a power approach? Does this mean Tracy’s going to go at the flooded street at full speed thus overcoming any chance of grounding out the engine? The doctor has lost two of his ports and now the mouth port has two sections…

Tracy, you’d be fined in AZ for going through a flooded road.

Flooded roads here carry you down stream…

Dick must have learned to drive in California.

Once a detective of great renown Now he plays the roll of a clown His fortunes have sunk so low Could this be the final blow The sheer inanity of the strip Is reason enough for Locher to quit Dickie boy is in trouble now As he treats the car like a scow Deep water running swift Is about to give Tracy a lift Floating away in the rain Could this be any more insane Mordred’s laughing like a fool He knows Tracy’s nothing but a tool Each day it goes downhill Not even pigs will touch this swill The morbid curiosity of this strip Has us well in its grip Come back tomorrow for more of the same You have only yourself to blame.

Thank you, david42, billdi, and NVash

Let’s not even discuss the fact that the car has yet again changed shape, now assuming the profile of a two-door coupe. Nor shall we discuss the fact that not only has it gone from being a four door sedan to a couple, but it doesn’t appear to actually have any doors at all!

We won’t talk about that. Let’s just try to figure out which end of the car is the front. Once that’s established, let’s see if we can figure out whether it’s driving forward or if it’s backing up.

What movie is Locher ripping off here? “Animal House”? “The Blues Brothers”? “Thelma and Louise”?

“Power approach.” That sounds like what aviation crash investigators call “a controlled flight into terrain.”

YAY, BB! I can’t wait!

Nice one wndrwrthg.

It seems that Locher had a purpose in backtracking for that week. In doing that he has now thrown the four flat tires to the wayside in favor of Dick doing a ‘power approach’. I dont see this ending well for Dick. The fact that Mordred seems to think its hysterical is just one more problem. Maybe hes hoping Dick will crash so he can escape.

Why do they keep switching cars? This is the third different car they have been in.

Well if Mordred’s happy then I’m happy…

Was this “monsoon” unforeseen by the police dept.? One would think that they would have known about it and made other arrangements for the transport of Dr. Mordred. Where are the “unmarked” decoy cars? Do they change shape also? Will they also face the flooded street or will they find another route?

No, Mordred, you want to invoke Nyarlathotep, the dark god of chaos. Hohoharho is the dim elf of untidy dresser drawers.

I think Locher has cracked up and decided he’s HP Lovecraft. He’s following some of Lovecraft’s writing guidelines, which include “Never explain anything,” “The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind,” and most importantly, “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”

Thick is acting like a typical Lovecraftian hero. The more they learn about the universe, the crazier they get. Thick seems to have learned all he can handle and is literally going off the deep end.

Wonder Warthog and rightwingmoron, your works are inspired.

Shaking my head in disbelief. Locher/Tracy has been around long enough to know you don’t drive through floods because it doesn’t take much moving water to cause a car to leave the road.

Wasn’t there a Crimestoppers on this some time back????

How well can someone sing if they’re heavily sedated?

Tracy’s car appears to have two front ends and no doors.

Look out, Tracy! Mordred’s turned into a ‘52 Nash!

Not very well, LudwigVonDrake. In theory Mordred could be mumbling and slurring his words. It’s also possible that the sedative was ineffective on him, although it’s still likely he would feel some side-effects. It’s also possible that the most hated man in the country somehow influenced the doctor/nurse-practitioner/EMT to not drug him, and he’s been clear-headed all along.

Unfortunately Locher has waved bye-bye to realism and is now playing pat-a-cake with his inner goofball. Locher may have forgotten about the sedation.

Locher seems like he’s groping in the dark for a logical story line. First it’s four flat tires that doesn’t make sense followed by taking an alternate route, which does make sense. Now in this iteration we have an impassable flooded road, which does make sense followed by a “power approach”, which doesn’t make sense. Why couldn’t he have just written a flooded road and then take an alternate route? This “Locher logic” defies all reasonable comprehension.

So that isn’t a mask, it is just Dr. Mordred’s face after too much self-inflicted cosmetic surgery. Hence the variable eyes, mouth(s), central zipper for clogged sinuses, etc. etc.

I’ll bet there has been a crime stopper about NOT driving through standing water on a road … cuz you never know how deep it is.

What a maroon.

I finally figured out what’s going on. Somewhere in the middle of this story line the strip got offshored to Chenai. That’s how the blizzard morphed into a monsoon.

Naw. It was a decoy strip with an artist/writer look-a-like behind it.

Locher or someone spends a whole 5 minutes (max) a week in constructing the Booger-eaters Notebook, and then during the week, he takes Thick and violates every one of them! Amazing! Locher thinks making fun out of the young readers here is cool. Matter-of-fact, it borders on sickness when you constantly mislead and confuse kids. Locher needs to be writing for Mad Magazine. That won’t happen, though, because they want talent.

Panel 3: Looks like the drugs have kicked in.

Judging by Panel Two, Tracy’s now driving one of these:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4523538921_ccf051c4f3.jpg

WHOOHOO - New adventures of Our Hero against his arch nemisis Dr. Magpie!

Now THIS is something I know I’ll enjoy. What a great holiday treat from BB!

Thanks, BB! We need your guidance! BTW, as a teaser, will Simon Penn have a bit role in your upcoming opus?

Another good one WW. I think Thick will hit the water hard and the car will be swept away and never seen again and that is how the strip will end and Locher will retire. There will be a big ceremony about how Thick died doing his duty. Makes more sense than what’s going on now.

utterly ridiculous and senseless – maybe we’ll be treated to spacy and froggy floating uncontrollably, with thick squealing and froggy singing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ts2U1mkfz4

Puddlegum, I think you’ve found it!

Could Mordred be “Fred Astaire” Re: Singing in the Rain

That was Gene Kelly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ

Who knows what’s under that hood though. Could be Cyd Charisse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YWBOfsXsDA

-Cougar :{)

Thank you, BB! Now I have a reason to check in more often. Between you and WW, you cornered the market on talent.

Is Modread’s mask smiling?

Tigger You should know that Tracy never does anything sensible. That’s why they don’t send him to talk to school children as he will give them the wrong info.

Mmm. Cyd Charisse.

Well, I had a wish for Christmas Day, and I can see it’s not going to happen – at least, not by then. It should come as no surprise that my Christmas wish was for Locher to retire and the strip be continued by someone completely different … someone who could not only draw and write competently, but who also actually would know the character and his supporting cast, someone who cares about them and respects the legacy of Chester Gould. Someone like these guys:

http://www.plainclothescomics.com/

But it’s not happening, not in time for Christmas, anyway. However, seeing BassmanBob posting his wonderful prose here is the next best thing I could ask for. I’ve also been enjoying Wndrwrthg’s poetry each day. Bless you both.

Who did the power approach to Jim’s lawn?

And why do so many people whine on this board? We’re talking comic books, kiddies.

To the guy who writes poetry, how come none have ever been published?

Then there is a group begging for the job after Dick Locher dies. Let me tell ya, Dick Locher isn’t going to die for a long time so don’t quit your day job if you have one. Dying that gray hair might be something, but I kind of like it that way.

Hey Bill Thompson, try some ECT if Thorazine doesn’t work.

Quite extended crosshatching on Brozman’s part. Maybe he ran out of supplies. And what is that on the 3rd frame, a toaster?

so, mordred’s a hippo now, not a luchador

Locher is a good cartoonist. He has tried to update DT’s looks and still keep iit with some of Gould’s The first DT cartoons were way off on perspective and cars also changed from panel to panel. I’ve been there at DT’s birth. If you’re as aold as we are, then you expect to change. Get off Locher’s back and let him finish his story. DT will prevail

If you examine the center panel, you’ll see the beam of the headlight on the right side of the panel. So that means he’s going forward. Besides, there’s so much rain it’s hard to tell whether it’s a coupe or a 4 door. Locher, you da man!