Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 13, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1fWmc1y4qc

“…so that a serial killer isn’t still on the loose.”

He wasn’t “on the loose.”

He was in custody.

Until you messed everything up.

Speed? I would have guessed LSD.

Well then, that’s the end of that era.

A few weeks ago when we heard about the retirement of Locher, Bill Thompson posted that wonderful and very appropriate link . Here it is again :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RrdwElnTU

Bye Locher !

Thanks Bill .

High Speed Excitment???????

I’d hate to see a slow story.

They couldn’t put the remains of Mordred in a coffee can???

Mordred wasn’t in a high rise buidling where the rebarb and cement would crush him.

He was in an old wooden building on the second floor.

Give me a break.

oh - that’s right - we are all getting a break -

this is Locher’s finale. Thank God!!!!

Has Tracy in his entire life ever said “ye God?”

I’m going to sincerely miss this daily train wreck. I am most definitely not looking forward to the strip being in the hands of competent artists and writers.

Starting tomorrow, all we’ll be able to say is things like, “Ooh, look at how well-drawn those characters are,” or “Gee, that’s witty dialogue!”

Where’s the fun in that?

I’m sure the new guys will make a mistake, every now and then.

They are human, so it is bound to happen.

And when they do, we will be there to keep them in line.

Will Mordred’s remains be in a Folger’s Coffee Can.

“The best part of waking up, is Mordred in your cup”

I couldn’t resist.

It just won’t be the same, Safeway.

It won’t be the same.

Flight Suit has a good point. It’s gonna be awful being nice.

Btw, that rat picked the perfect spot to squat….

How much high-speed excitement can you pack into 110 days of cartooning? If you’re Locher and Brozman, you can give us the thrill of:

Dick Tracy gets into a car! (15 days) Dick Tracy drives the car into a lake! (17 days) Tracy and his prisoner get out of the lake! (21 days) Tracy and the prisoner exchange taunts and threats! (40 days and 40 nights) Rats tap-dance around the prisoner! (16 days) The end.

so nobody’s going to charge dick tracy with homicide? and they’re going to presume that poor mordred is dead because they found his helmet?

i also feel gipped we never got to see mordred’s face

Glad you enjoyed that find, Rene_Simard. And here’s one that makes a fitting cap to the passing error–uh, era:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4

I just noticed:

When Sam says: Tracy, it’s you.

Dick has his arms outstretched and yells “SAM”

But Locher didn’t show us the “Embrace”

Tracy was just toying with Mordred’s affections, it’s Sam who he really loves!!!!

“Tracy!”

“Sam!”

“Caleb!”

(You found him? Put him back!)

CretinCat, there wouldn’t be an investigation. In fact, isn’t it odd how Horn Hair is so casual about Mordred’s death? As though she expected this. (But I’ll stick to my theory that this arc is really a lame conspiracy-theory kind of story, and the “real” Dick Tracy would have a totally different version to tell.)

grazer, the rat proves that Mordred was a real potty-mouth.

Let’s suppose that Mordred was a doctor of divinity–that would explain why this arc is such a holy mess and stinks to high heaven. This means that when Horn Hair asks for proof of his death, she’s singing this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHz9Lw88XJE

(Fields of the Nephilim has a good version, but they aren’t on-line anywhere.)

What happened to his remains? Where did they go? Where did the bones go? Did the rats bury them like a dog does? So many questions, so few answers.

Those are some very efficient rats.

A video profile of “Richard”:

http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2011/03/09/profiled-locher-ends-32-year-run-with-dick-tracy/

Tomorrow start a new era!!!

And we bid adieu to another era in the world of newspaper comics.

I’m sure this crowd will find plenty to carp about (many a stand-up comedian could lecture on the vicissitudes of a tough audience). I wonder if Locher is going to continue his editorial work - although it’s not like this world needs another right-wing political cartoonist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXlvFpf56vU

And now onwards and upwards! :D

Thank you, Mr. Locher. All the best!!

Last panel says it all … Thanks Dick for all you did, I hope you enjoy your retirement!!!

Know why Thick could see inside the submerged car and the granary, even though there were no lights? Why Mordred could disappear so easily? Why Thick was so shocked when he saw what lay under that mask? It’s because Mordred was really–NEON NOODLE! So is it really lights-out for this villain?

Almost Forgot-0

Snotbusters slimebook-last week don’t let your pet out, this week, don’t referee animal fights-is this what they study at detective schools today?

Someone know what happen to Jim Brozman now?

Good riddance!!

Anyone else notice Jesus rat running across the water rather than swimming, while the water is still mid-calf on Tracy?

Ye God, this has been an awful story arc!

I know one of the new creative team and I can promise it will get better. Sure, mistakes may still be made, but not a constant drumbeat of them.

Ye gods, punch it chief! I’m gonna miss this sort of sterling dialogue. Dick, we hardly knew ye. Thank goodness.

Here’s to the hope that we’ll no longer need to poke fun at this strip again. Ah, well, there’s still Gil Thorp. And Mary Worth. Rex. The Judge. To quote NatLamp’s Gregory Puck, the list goes on and on. Aw, heck, it don’t matter. Wherever there’s a fight over a crappy comic, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a McEldowney or a Batiuk beatin’ up their readership with their high-falutin “writing,” I’ll be there. Etc.

So long, Locher and Brozman, and thanks for all the fish. And nonsense. And stubby hands. And 32 years of “high-speed excitement,” as the kids are calling it these days. I’d say something about seeing you in the funny papers but, well, you know…

WALKING THROUGH WATER on ’JUDGEMENT DAY’ ?’

How coincidental … Done the old Dick Tracy way !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSt11SA16KU

32 years of high speed excitement-reminds me of the guy stopping at my business selling anniversary envelope stickers-“25 years of excellence”-he didn’t have any that said “15 years of excellence, 10 years of mediocrity”

I have to ask: What high-speed excitement? There are comics that move far faster that only appear once or twice a week. Bill the Barbarian comes to mind. So does “Major Crime Squad” which, during its short time, managed to make for interesting pacing even though it appeared twice a week.

Locher managed to shoe-horn two hours worth of dialog into approximately three months of daily strips. I suppose for him, that might be blazing speed. If that’s the case, I shudder to think of what his retirement is going to be like. His loved ones will have to hook him up to monitors to be sure he’s still “with us”.

Side note about the comments about right-wing political beliefs: I’m a right-winger. Let me assure you, Locher in no way represents us. Especially as it concerns this strip.

IT HAPPENED!!!!!

“So that a serial killer isn’t still on the loose”

Since the last Lizz knew, Spacy had him in chains and drugged, she apparently assumed that Spacy would screw it up. No wonder she’s in charge.

What ever happened to the decoy cars?

SP’s link is high speed excitement – locher and high speed excitement? No. Not. Even. Close.

what a no-class and egotistical final panel.

Tracy should be saying: “Couldn’t have had my reputation and memory ruined without you, richard.”

runar said, about 5 hours ago

I’m sure this crowd will find plenty to carp about (many a stand-up comedian could lecture on the vicissitudes of a tough audience). I wonder if Locher is going to continue his editorial work - although it’s not like this world needs another right-wing political cartoonist. ——————————————————————————- As if there were no left-wing cartoonists. Give it a rest.

Well folks, see you all tomorrow. Best from Joe, Shelley, Shane, Jim Doherty and myself- the Five Monkees.

Mike

I can only guess that when Locher’s talking about high-speed excitement, he’s referring to Max Collins’s era, and the better moments of Mike Kilian’s era. Saying “Thanks for nine years of high speed excitement, fourteen years of moderately fast stuff, and five years of rambling insanity” (not sure where the other four years are coming from - I guess he’s including his time as Chester Gould’s assistant?) wouldn’t really have fit very well in a word bubble.

Having said that, Locher does deserve some props for sticking with the strip for so long even in the face of Parkinson’s Disease, the death of his son John, and the death of Mike Kilian, who he had been friends with for some time before they worked together on Tracy. It’s just a shame that he didn’t bow out, as he should have done, when Kilian died; that way we’d have been saved the last five years of crud, and Locher’s successor(s) would have been in a much better position.

Klypzyxm, as much fun as can be had here in the comments, but I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s strip. A return to the real Dick Tracy! A lot to pile on your team’s shoulders but I’ve seen your work on Original Crimestoppers and know you guys have the goods!

Good Luck!

I have seen some previews on the Chicago Tribune site, and they are awesome!!!

The End. (HOORAY!)

Definitely looking forward to tomorrow. It’s too bad that Locher’s finale on this strip is seen as such cause for celebration, though I have to agree. His earlier work as an artist was fine, but he never should have taken over the writing side of it. Brozman, well, that’s got to have been a thankless job.

The new guys have an obvious passion for the character and his history, so whatever mistakes they do make will be well-intended. Their take on Dick is their own but they’re excited about it, and the sense that the guys doing this strip are excited about it is something that’s been missing for a long time.

happyboi1982 said, “Thank you, Mr. Locher. All the best!!”

Agreed! I must say I did enjoy Locher’s version of Dick Tracy. He left something we can all look back on.

Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last. If you look back on 8-10 years and see much positive, Pollyanna has a bone to pick. Looking forward to tomorrow, and please, please new guys, don’t totally rely on “rebooting” old villains. I know this is rampant in comic books, but it’s best to keep the dailies fresh. After the 40’s Gould only brought 2 villains back to my knowledge in over 30 years, try to emulate that. Good luck fellas.

Chomp, chomp, chew, chew That’s just what the rats will do Tracy, that leaning tower of intestinal fortitude Certainly won’t earn Mordred’s gratitude Leaving him there with that bunch Where soon they’ll be having lunch What’s a serial killer to do When he’s in such a stew With their friendship wearing thin Tracy seeks to save his skin Jumping in the water so deep Of Mordred he hears not a peep The granary finally falls with a crash Settling there Mordred’s hash Sam gives a mighty shout As he sees Tracy paddling about Silly puns and rancid quips Uttered before Locher quits Mordred eaten by the ravening horde He’s gone to his great reward Now the end is here at last The Locher era slips into the past His deeds have all been done Can’t say it was any fun But the new team is in the wings We wait to see what tomorrow brings.

I am unexcited for tomorrow and sad about today, I enjoyed Dick Tracy everyday if I found something lacking or if I found something great, the new guys seemed bland from their original Tracy work which is now…missing strangely. I will stay hopeful though.

Do we really believe Mordred is dead?? gone?? That was too easy..He will be back .. want to see the FACE

Most rats will not ever touch humans nor will they attack them. Like the above poster it is only in time of need. They wouldn’t touch a living human for fear of the huamn waking and hurting them. And any animal that eats meat would do the same including dogs and cats for example.

Read more: Are there rats that eat human’s? | Answerbag http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/403223#ixzz1GViNHk85

True, doc, but Mordred wasn’t human. He was, and possibly still is, a monster! A yummy, delicious monster.

Where’s that Folgers can? I’m suddenly hungry for a Mordred sammich. A Mordrich, if you will.

The rats must have been speed demons to have disposed of him that fast. WW Enjoyed your poetry though it all. It was a long haul. May it be lighter with the new guys. It seemed to me that Locher just didn’t care how bad the story was.

Actually the Tracyism is “YE GODS”, plural. Under the circumstances, getting that one wrong is pretty ironic.

Yet another strip ends. But unlike the others that befall us (Annie, Cathy, and Cleats) this one will be re-born, not re-run like that of Peanuts, Clavin ‘n Hobbes and The Big Top (For which we all gather for breakfast, welcomes and topics). So let’s see what happen tomorrow with the all-new Dick Tracy

R_Noonan: This.

LMAO!

Oops, I’m getting rusty - Anyone also notice that Police Hdqs has shrunk down to a one story building?

Congress must have cut their budget since last Nov. 14, clearly two story. Or maybe the Napperville cops’ elevator never went to the top floor?

Good post, NightGaunt. Maybe Dick has to hold the wrist-radio close to his ear? I started reading this strip for the comments which were sometimes witty, but they, too, have deteriorated. And endings have certain sadness to them, whatever the circumstances.

Best Wishes to Locher for a pleasant retirement from another retiree. As they say, “old age ain’t for sissies” but there are still some good times.

doc1947g, I tried to find evidence about rats eating human flesh. The only verified accounts I could find came from WW I. Rats would eat unburied bodies, apparently because there was little else for them to eat in the front-line area.

There are numerous accounts of rats attacking living people, but those people are usually asleep. Even then a rat usually takes one bite, then runs off, most likely because their victim wakes up. As you said they don’t take on victims who can fight back (or maybe they think people taste bad).

Mordred probably would have been all right if he’d kept flailing around. The rats weren’t starving, not if they lived in an area that could support their numbers, so they shouldn’t have been desperate enough to attack a live victim. Or if they were, they should have attacked Thick as well,.

And, obviously, “There’s not enough left of him to fill a coffee can.”

A sad, true story. My husband had a brother who died in infancy, what we would now call SIDS. He died in the night and what haunted his mother was that he had been bitten by a rat(s).

Mordred was immobilized by fear. That gave the rats opportunity. Just a theory, and unbelievable that they could be that thorough in such a short time.

I’ve certainly contributed to the snide comments around here, but not today. Like others, I’m choosing to honor Locher and his stewardship of Tracy for over three decades.

He took the reins from the master, Chet Gould, and is now passing them along to a very capable team.

Mike/Joe and the other “Monkees”, best wishes for a long, successful run. If your previous work (as well as the glimpses we’ve seen into “new Tracy”) is any indication - and I know it is - you’ll do Gould’s legacy proud.

Locher must have been reading some Old Testament stuff. There’s a passage where Queen Jezebel is thrown down from the wall, and when King Jehu sends to have her buried there’s nothing left but a foot and a hand. Dogs had eaten her in the time it took Jehu to finish lunch.

So, I suppose if you consider the time it took Thick to abandon the granary, flail around in the ditch, be rescued by Sam and then return to search for Mordred— yes, a horde of rats just might have done the job. Especially if sent by God for that purpose (we don’t know about that because Locher doesn’t say, I’m just speculating on that last bit).

Wonder Warthog, that’s a fitting end to this era. The rats settled Mordred’s hash … settled it with Alka-Seltzer.

wndrwrthg, an excellent end to the era. Sadly I cannot say the same for this strip.

Thats it everyone, the pain is over. Soon we shall have good plots again! I wonder how long itll be before this board goes silent. Think everyonell stay around to make daily guesses as to where the story will go?

After viewing that video from ABC 7 in Chicago, one has to give Locher his due. Getting a Pulitzer Prize for political cartoons is no small feat, and a pretty good sculptor to boot.

Fare thee well Mr. Locher….fare thee well…..

neonleon59 – Actually, Locher took the reins from Rick Fletcher, who had taken them from Gould. Rick did the art for some of the best stories in the Max Collins era, and was a fine artist in his own right. He does not deserve to be overlooked or forgotten.

Thanks, Maxine. Didn’t mean to slight the Collins/Fletcher era and I remember it well (Gould retired a year or two after I started reading). But if memory serves, Locher started working with Gould way back in the 50s!

And great stuff, WW!

Locher may have taken over for Fletcher when Fletcher died, but he worked with Gould before Fletcher took over the strip. In fact, I believe that with Locher’s retirement, Dick Tracy loses its last personal link with Chester Gould.

Good luck to Joe Staton and Mike Curtis with the reboot!

Most of that 32 years of excitement was becasue of Max Allan Collins!

Me, too, Otto — as a previous poster said, Mr. Locher had a lot on his plate with the loss of family/friends. In this day of declining newspaper sales, I’m glad DL kept things going so that we can still enjoy the strip in 2012, and beyond…

Looking back, I believe that it is easier to rejuvenate a dying strip than it is to revive a cancelled one. Thanks to Locher for at least keeping DT alive all these years.