Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for June 03, 2011

Ah, those old 10 cent comics!

Good Evening All! Looks like you caught on to the clue I mentioned yesterday Marguerite. I wonder why they have a hatchets in the living-room. The new villain appears tomorrow, tomorrow.

Good morning all…

DetDanDone, how did your new job go today?

I’m assuming there is some syndicate mandate to keep the stories super short. Which makes sense, and I’m fine not having three months conversing in a circus tent. But the first two stories seemed to wrap up when I was hoping they’d take crazy turns.And I love Attitude Plenty. Starting the new direction with him is brilliant.

Mornin’ all! Good coffee, Aunt Marg!

Oooo! The Scarlet Sting! Is that a metafictional parody of The Green Hornet? —And, gosh, I’m old enough to remember 10-cent comics as my comicbook-reality.

We’ve said it before: That kid ’s got an arm!

The strip hasn’t lost its edge yet.

OMG, that baby it’s a killer!

Baby Plenty took a hatchetAnd the pucker factor, up, he did ratchetThough it just missed his hideB.O. took it all in strideYou might think him in a dazeBecause the luscious Ponytail holds his gazeShe’s the sidekick to the Scarlet StingAnd all men like what she does bringIn a tight sweater and denim jeans of blackFor fighting crime she’s got the knackA go-go dancer by the light of dayAt night she makes the criminals payShe packs a pair of thirty-eightsThat sends the crooks to their fatesThen there’s the Sting in his coat of scarletWho’s been the bane of many a varletHe’s a man who’s adept at snickersneeFighting the bad guys for you and meFor ten cents you can read their storyThose great tales of crime and gloryThat’s one thin dime, a tenth of a dollarSee them make those nogoodniks hollerJust what it all means we’ll have to waitI’m sure Joe and Mike will set us straight. Thank you, BillT, Det.DD, John R, woodworker318.

WonderingW, your poems are always an extra bonus here!

I love Joe’s rendition of BO’s face as the ax flies by.

BillT, I believe you are right (keeping stories short) is a TMS “thing-a-mi-jig” theory. Kllian who posted on the Yahoo D.T. Board said some years ago they believed readers today have SHORT attention spans and Joe Staton repeated the same mantra in one of his recent interviews. I’m guessing here that’s what happening. Both are fairly expert on this strip and are aware that Gould (followed by Collins followed a writing FORMULA of an early crime, CHASE and capture and that the chase sequence usually absorbed at least 50% of the story.

So it seems fairly certaiin It’s a TMS foible, and a requirement placed on the Authors. But I’m sure there will be continuing reader complaints and as with Kilian there will be adjustments out in the future..Gould’s average story ran 13 weeks and back then they had 4 panels per day. It was a practises that worked well in all his stories

What more could we ask for now, the ART is great (even stimulating), and the ideas are fresh - think, the baby Attitude Plenty.An inspired creation.

Their’s is a style that reaches out and grabs youe attention !

All the strip needs now is a reset of the TIME CLOCK and a reintroduction of (and some “emphasis” put on) the CHASE sequence !

Second time’s the charm? About the short requirement— didn’t anybody tell Locher that? I seem to remember marathon storylines that went nowhere fast. What we’re getting now—- short and to the point—- is a bit of a relief. Maybe they could flesh it out a little, but as is it’s not bad. Personally, I like the new set-up.

Fred Fredericks’ Mandrake story lines are like 6 months! An old strip written and drawn by an old man that will probably not be taken over by younger guns when Fred retires.

The previous two stories were written and appeared on their own website before it was announced they would replace Locher. I doubt if Staton & Curtis were under TMS guidelines at that time. This is the first story that is entirely new.

WW: Great one. I notice with the new strip your poems are longer. Keep up the good work. I thought crossed my mind (what little of it I have). Maybe the baby is so hansom, compared to his parents that people can’t handle it.

I’m old enough to remember being outraged when the price of comic books was raised from ten to twelve cents. OUTRAGED!

Short or long these stories by Mike and Joe are so much better than any syndicated strip still published today that I can’t complain.

@WaitingMan – me too. In fact, I rode my bike to my best friend’s house to spread the bad news, turned out I was the only one who cared.@wndrwrthg – poet laureate!

I agree that the chase, fight, and demise or capture of the villain should not be fast-forwarded. The look on the bad guys face as the gadget in his hand blows up, or as Tracy’s bullets hit, or Hot Rize realizes she is doomed, is priceless. Then Tracy and Liz looking down at the bad guy’s crumpled form and gloating a bit, perhaps with a wizecrack. All good stuff.

Lil’ Attitude is probably headed for the Astro’s bullpen. Like them, he can’t find the strike zone.

Let me see if I get this straight: B.O. has just had an axe thrown at his head— by his own baby— and he has to get back to the comix to find something exciting??? I don’t know how anybody survives the excitement they have in that house now. Further, that ten-cent comic must be really something else.

While there is a lot of sniping at Locher on this board, he still commands respect for the length of time he was custodian of the strip. And in all honesty, the strip didn’t start to go downhill until Locher assumed the writing duties himself (obviously not his forte). His earlier work maintained his own particular style while being reminiscent of Gould albeit more simplistic.Gould himself went down many blind alleys (the space coupe Moonmaid era, Dick Tracy with a moustache, etc.) that were not always successful for the strip and even his work seemed tired by the end of his career.With the length and repetitiveness of the later Locher stories, I can see that TMS would be a fan of shorter tales. But I don’t think the length of the stories is really the issue here. The real fact is that no one cares how long a story is as long as it maintains the interest and excitement of the reader.Stanton and Curtis have proven they are capable of maintaining interest and excitement even in the Flakey Buscuits story (who’s basic plot was Dick accidentally finds out about a drug crime so he goes over to the place where the criminals work has a gunfight and makes an arrest—pretty basic and uncomplicated).Yet it is a tribute to their talent that so many people (myself included) are clamoring for more. It reminds me of the old theatre idiom “always leave them wanting more.”

@ Ray TolerRay,very well put! I’ve been thinking that there shouldn’t be so much “Locher bashing” – we should just enjoy the ride now that Mike and Joe and team are driving the DT bus.

gotta third the brevity comments, it’s kinda like Hot Rize we hardly knew ye. Good villain, great art, too many loose ends(Geo. Romero) That short sattention span comment almost insults readers. I think every one here can follow a story longer than a month if it’s interesting. Worth a try ain’t it Overall though, I still look forward to reading daily, something I haven’t experienced lately.

Thank You Go Comics, The Avatar works and so did my password obviously . Is everyone getting paid now I see Pro after some of the names. lol.

Wndrwthg ought to get paid for holding peoples attention on this strip during the slow & creepy period before March of 2011.

SPOILER ALERT

TUMS spelled backwards is SMUT

Love the Scarlet Sting