Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 18, 2009

So…

Mr. Pops wasn’t in the circus when you were placed there by the FBI?

The circus you were in charge of?

So why’d you hire him!?

I hardly think he showed up for his job interview in full clown-makeup disguise.

Just a few of the many flaws in this here tale…

That’s not clown makeup. That’s his natural face.

Shouldn’t the clown who couldn’t walk earlier after his fall from the short/tall cage be getting medical treatment? Why aren’t Ringo & Pops on their way to jail? Go back to the beginning of this mess. What on earth are Pops & Ringo talking about? About July 23rd! Where is the ambulance Tracy called for on his wrist gizmo? Which disappears thereafter? What is the point of today’s strip. It’s as if DL hasn’t a clue what to do next, so the characters, 2 of whom should be in jail, just mill around as if waiting for a late bus.

It’s kind of touching that people still care enough about this strip to keep track of the amazing number of problems with it. On every level. Seriously, this has become almost a textbook case of how a successful comic strip can purge its appeal.

Stll “bla bla bla”?

Good artwork, anyway.

It’s been so long since I read a Dick Tracy comic strip.

good night folks

I think panel 2 sums up this entire story.

For Ludwigvondrake: I’m agree :D

That’s an understatement, Ludwig!

Flight Suit

You’ve got it right, that too was my thinking !

Ludwig

Your observation is right on, but I’d suggest a minor alteration. Change panel 2 to a profile of Dick Locher and in the “text” substitute the letter I for the word you

That would appropriately sort out any misunderstanding on how all the confusion “happened” !

And, Not only is confession good for the soul but it adds a deeper and more all-encompassing “meaniing” to Mr. Pops comment.

Three panels, three talking heads, yet not one opens his mouth when he speaks!

Who really has all the answers….The SHADOW knows…ha ha ha ha ha (eerie laughter)

It’s certainly not Locher who is bound to leave a million unanswered questions.

So what exactly did The World’s Greatest Detective do here? He watched a murder being committed in front of his very eyes. The FBI showed up and explained to him Ringo’s background. He then stood around asking questions while the circus performers caught the culprit. Tracy had no meaningful contribution to this entire story line whatsoever!

Joe, make that most of the time. The ringmaster is usually “talent” hired to emcee the circus.

I can’t wait to see the Sunday strip summarize THIS week. I think there’s a eight-head maximum allowed in most states.

See what did I tell everyone yesterday? I knew they just couldn’t let this sticker end. Noooo they got to drag us along till at least the end of the week or more likely through Christmas! I can see it now Pops and Ringo suddenly hear sleagh bells, looking up to see instead of Santa and the reindeer its the tiger and Barb!

Side to Taz: you still haven’t read a Dick Tracy comic. This stuff here just pretends to be Dick Tracy.

We can only hope that the Pig on Wheels rescues us!

ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz……………

Why is he still called Mr. Pops this far into the story - is he going to have his day in court under a clown name too?

(Unless “Pops” is his real name)

JPBecker said, “We can only hope that the Pig on Wheels rescues us!”

I agree!

While I can’t say this is the best Dick Tracy story, you people who say you hate it but keep reading it are like the man who says he hates his food but keeps cramming it down.

OzzieJohn said, ” * * * (Unless “Pops” is his real name)”

Probably is. Just like Della Contessa, Barb Els, Louise Trapeze, Fee Fi, Ringo are real names.

Today’s strip was completely unnecessary and makes no sense. One contradiction on top of another.

@Dberrymanal1- What can I say? I like the comics, and subscribe to a number of them. Some are good and some are bad. But Dick Tracy, it’s a favorite from childhood, and it was still pretty decent until the last few years. I still read it, and savage it frequently, out of some probably pointless hope that TMS will catch on and do something about it. Or at least, so that they can’t say “well no one was complaining about a lack of quality” when it finally loses enough subscribing newspapers that it is cancelled.

I kept hoping that the story would get better. Did they outsource the writing of this story to an elementary school???? With Thanksgiving coming up, the next story will most likely be about the Parade Marshal of the Macy’s Santa claus parade. Santa will also be in the witness protection program. Tracy’s daughter will bring him to the parade when all the giant balloons start blowing up and creating a riot. (hey, anything is better that what we just read for the past few weeks)

Hey Dingle- no one said they hated it! If you had followed this for the past several years, you know we all love it! It’s so gratifying to vent! (Hmmm, that might have another connotation there that was unintended) Just like our in-and-out resident clown, Mattie. At first blush, you’d think people hate him because he acts like a fool some of the time with his arrogance. But we all love him, as he is much more interesting than Macy. And sometimes, you’d almost think he was normal. Macy, on the other hand, will never be normal until TMS gets a new bus driver. The only people who we are allowed to hate here are ex’es and in-laws.

Joe Allen Doty said, “The circus “pig on wheels” probably was a BBQ vendor wagon.”

Next you’ll tell me there isn’t a Santa Claus!

How does Tracy know that Ringo has made mistakes? It’s not like Tracy has done any real investigation to find out the whole truth.

neonleon59 said, “Three panels, three talking heads, yet not one opens his mouth when he speaks!”

Ventroliquism! (Did I spell it right?)

The PIG ON WHEELS IS REAL!!!!!!

ridenslide65 said, “The PIG ON WHEELS IS REAL!!!!!!”

That’s the best thing that came out of this lengthy story!

VistaBill: it’s ventriloquism - you reversed the i and the o