Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 24, 2021

Let us now pause for loud applause. Staton deserves his due

Stellar art does stand apart. For a decade we did view

A strip enhanced. The lines did dance when Staton took up pen

Mysta, Méliès, and Doubleup. I’d look and gaze again.

Hat now off. ‘Tis time to doff your lid and give a cheer

Inkpot reward. Harvey Award. Our admiration clear.

Joe got his start at Charlton. Soon E-Man was his gig

DC, Marvel, and much more. The man can draw, you dig?

An artist’s eye. We say goodbye. Such talent is divine

Leaves the stage and turns the page. Rich legacy so fine.

Good morning™, everyone!

Joe always said he would commit to 10 years and he passed that milestone in the spring. He has made a huge contribution to this strip and I thank him very much for all his hard work, but I know that Shelley is very capable. We have seen her solo work on this strip in the past.

For anyone who doesn’t know all the Team Tracy members, they are from left to right Joe Staton (artist), Shane Fisher (colors, Sunday only), Shelley Pleger (inks and letters), Walter Reimer (Crimestoppers, Hall of Fame, etc.), and Mike Curtis (author).

All the wives and husbands are mentioned. I wonder if Hilarie is retiring from payroll and scheduling, along with her husband.

For those of you who haven’t heard it, there is a fantastic two-hour interview with Joe Staton from last spring, concerning Dick Tracy, Joe’s long career, and possible future projects. The podcaster/interviewer, cartoonist Geoff Grogan, is more enthusiastic about the current Dick Tracy strip than some commenters here, saying “the stuff you’ve been doing is just fantastic, it’s really terrific, I love it, and it’s just gotten better and better over the years.”

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-wyqr9-fce252

So long, Joe! It was fun!

So long Joe, thanks for the great work

One of the things that has kept this strip alive lately was Joe’s artwork.

So sad to see him go. Do we know why?

With Mike’s writing of late, with Joe’s departure, now I’m worried about the strip.

Second glance:

Is that a Svengoolie chicken in the front seat with Mike?

Take care, Joe. You will be greatly missed. I’m sad to see you go and wish you a happy retirement.

Let’s not say goodbye Joe, just “See ya later!”

Great job, always……..

Who are the two people in shadow behind Joe and his wife in the next-to-last panel?

Great job Joe Staton….enjoy whatever lies down the road.

Maybe Joe will come back as a guest artist once in awhile ?

Joe, sorry to see you go, but many many thanks for the ride! You and Mike made a great team, and I’m looking forward to what comes next!

Thank you Joe for helping save Dick Tracy and making the strip exciting again.

All the best to you and your loved ones!

Thanks for the great effort you put into the strip, loved it!

Thank you, Joe

I appreciate the challenge in writing for this strip. Joe deserves applause. What I would really like to see with this strip, with Orphan Annie, with Popeye, Mandrake, The Phantom and others are the original strips. Nothing approaches them in power. Sagendorf’s Popeye is a tamed version of Segar. Is there a place online where those strips can be seen? Hope so.

Ten years ago the change in art and story is why I started reading DT. It has been nice, thank you. All the best!

….so here, I reckon, is where we get the “comic relief” segment…..y’know, that which a storyteller inserts immediately after a high-stress scenario (e.g. Smith Enterprises going full-kablooey, and all the stuff that led up to THAT) to bring the stress level back down a notch or two? Well played!

Thanks for the fantastic work, Joe! We’ll miss you!

Thank you.

It’s funny; I’ve always pictured Joe Staton as looking kind of like E-Man.

Thank you, Joe Staton!

Joe went out with a bang-up ending of a story. I believe yesterday was the end of the Time Drone story because wouldn’t Joe continue to the end? He wouldn’t stop with just a few days of wrap-up left. BTW. I asked Joe – whaday know. He said he just got back from Kokomo.

Visiting his mom I guess.

Enjoy your “time off” Joe, thanks for your part in keeping Tracy alive #LEGEND

(back to lurking)

“Hello, all you hip cats and cool dudes out there in the swellest place on Earth, the Toddlin’ Town of Tracyville! I’m your super-fab deejay, JPuzzle The Whiz here, and I gotta tell you all, it’s a sad day for us here at BMBG — our great friend, Joe Staton, is leaving us after 10+ years of helping to chronicle the career of our favorite detective! But, I’m sure that I join you all in wishing Super Joe the very best in a well-deserved retirement! And to him I’d like to dedicate this very special tune, as only Ol’ Blue Eyes can deliver it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w019MzRosmk

What does “MORE TO COME!” mean? That he will return occasionally as a guest artist?

As many others have already said, thank you, Joe.

Thank you Joe for entertaining us all these days. I have followed this strip all my life (62 y)!

Uh oh. The art in this strip was always high quality, and will be sorely missed. Stories, not so much. Too bad the “retirement” wasn’t the other way around. Good work Mr. Staton.

Such a wonderful comment in full color – thank you from us lifelong fans of Dick Tracy!!

I’ve been reading Dick Tracy since I was a kid lying on the floor on the Sunday funnies. The last 10 years really put me back there. Thanks for that, Joe!!

It is not everyday that one gets to see the people behind the scenes. Reminds me of how Alfred Hitchcock made cameo appearances in his movies.

Today’s strip left me misty eyed. I’ve been following Joe’s work since his early days at Charlton Comics. George Wildman related the story of Joe and Hilarie visiting the plant on their honeymoon. “They were so cute,” he said.

Now who is that in the shadows under the street light? Who is that second figure by the street sign? Is art going to imitate life? Such as these two getting mugged before getting into their house. Then they would become a crime statistic in Tracy land.

I asked that question earlier and now I’m wondering if they’re Dick ‘n’ Sam watching Joe and Hilarie, making sure they get home all right.

I’m also wondering if Joe uses a mirror or a photo when he draws a self-portrait. A few artists, like Rembrandt, were able to do one from memory alone.

Notice that everyone but Mike wears glasses. And is it a good idea to have the one-eyed guy do the driving? :-)

Goodbye Joe and thanks for saving the strip. I’ve followed your work ever since your beginning at Charlton and you are my favorite living Batman artist to boot. You will be missed.

Not too long ago, I mentioned that I would love to see Shane’s Sunday colors, with the shading and subtle tones, over Shelley’s inks. I had no idea!

That said, big thanks to Joe for all he did for Dick Tracy over 10 years.

Thank you Joe and best wishes!!!! Please come back for a minute mystery once and a while.

I had a feeling that the Minit Mysteries with the “guest artists” were in reality auditions for new artists for the strip. Well, let’s have a look at who takes over… as we leave Tracy and Co. hanging…

Good-bye. Joe, & thank you for a decade of great comic strip art & storytelling. You will always be an important part of the Dick Tracy canon. I hope your years ahead are healthy, happy, & fulfilling.

the only one I knew was Joe. been a fan of his for EVER.

The Pre-History of Luminol

The first written acknowledgement of chemiluminescent reactions was made by Aristotle who noted weak emission from some dead fungi and fish.

1663: Boyle worked on oxygen which opened new doors for scientific explanation of CL. Mentions the CL of phosphorus.

1877: Radziszewski studies the CL of Iophine

1888: The term “chemiluminescence” is coined by Eilhardt Weidemann

1901: Dubois publishes the first paper on BL and introduces the phrases Luciferin and Luciferase

1905: Trautz publishes a review of known CL and BL reactions and attributes them to active oxygen

1927: Mallet discusses energy transport to fluorophores

1928: Albrecht is attributed with the discovery and characterization of the chemiluminescence of luminol

Thank you Joe for a decade of superb artwork and great stories!! I know the strip is in good hands with Shelley but I’ll still miss your brushwork on the Sundays. I hope you stop by here in the comments to pass along announcements on future projects, or have someone else do so. Wish you all the best…

Joe Staton… “Thank You For Everything!”

I’m enjoying this ride on the Tracy Express….

Good show, Joe, and best wishes going forward!

Joe Staton was at Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend. I’m nowhere near there, so I couldn’t go, but he was on panel discussions Friday and Saturday that would have been interesting:

https://baltimorecomiccon.com/guest/joe-staton/

One of Joe’s friends posted this picture on his Facebook page of him at Comic-Con:

https://www.facebook.com/jstatonenator/posts/4762189137146080

Thanks for the information! Thank you Mr. Staton!

Bye, Joe!

Thanks, Joe.

1.)Joe got a better goodbye than Max Allan Collins did!!

2.)Guy GARdner wants Joe back for a special project.Better listen,Joe.The man has a temper.

I’ve been a fan of Staton’s for decades.He’s versatile and can draw in a number of styles.That’s why he’s so good with faces.

A literal trope: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PutOnABus

Sorry to see Joe go… I’ve been a fan since way way back when he was drawing E-Man!

Much improved since you guys took over. Thanks very much.