Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 21, 2008

The human hand, fingers spread out, should cover the human face. Semi-shadowy CIA figure’s hand is much too small. Or, looking at the size of his right shoulder, his head is too big, your choice.

Mark: You’d have thought she’d have figured that out decades ago when her daughter-in-law was blown to bits by a car bomb meant for her husband…

Well, it appears both Sydney and Grokenstein have finally SNAPPED. Perhaps large quantities of single-malt Scotch and extended rest over the Christmas holiday will help treat your symptoms, fellas. I’m no doctor, certainly, nor am I a judge of any description. Just offering up a friendly suggestion I feel may serve your best interests in the long run.

“Happy Holidays…Happy Holidays…and the Merry Bells keep ringing…Happy Holidays to YOOOUUU!!” -the pre-skeletal Andy Williams

Grok - It’s on the lampshade in panel two. On another subject, I love it when Jeff and Mattie insinuate that they are “insiders” and have access to the Wizard. For they are ‘special operatives’, priveledged above the commoners like myself and other ‘unimportant’ Magpies, All of this is made possible because they volunteered in the now-defunct DT Museum, much like my wife volunteers at the local SPCA. (Special status when you wear a name badge!)

If someone almost ran me over with an antique car, I would not look nearly as happy as Dick does. That is actually the most pleased I have seen him look in weeks.

Nice of Tess to go give someone cookies who almost killed her husband. Is it just me, or is that completely illogical?

ps - those look more like cookies today.

Jabba’s secretary must be going to a Star Trek convention after work.

Is Robot-Dick saluting or sadly waving goodbye knowing that if he returns in a future story, he won’t look anything like himself.

Why doesn’t Jabba just buy gallon jugs of Milk to drink?

Grok - “Gunga Tin” is awesome!!!

Just so we are all clear, if you believe someone is going to do “something” illegal with large quantities of chemicals, you should let him/her leave the store with the chemicals, and THEN ask the cops to track him/her down? I think you could call the cops while he was in the store. Wish I was on the other end of that call.

Cops: “What did he look like?” Store: “Well he was poorly drawn, brown jacket and walked like a sissy” Cops: “Excellent. We will go arrest Dick Tracy”

Morrow, You easily won ‘Laugh-of-the-day’ with that post. It’s the best tickle of the funny bone since someone invented Officer Kersten in the Braces story. Actually, there’’s a lot in common here, ‘dissapearing’ and then suddenly coming back. I’m still laughing at today’s thrust. Two “Keen Obsevation” medals, one to margueritem who continues to note Locher’s artistic im-ballance. It’s more than the hands and the flute fingers. The other to LudwigVanDrake for the prescient note that were Traze-R to return he would look completely different. DL mastered that complex feat by designing and re-designing FBI Agent Hunter. Jeff thinks Groc and I have “SNAPPED”, but his pal Mattie easily wins the “Pouch” Award every every season. Incidentally, Jeff still has not responded to the practical point that if Locher’s strips were complete to 17 weeks ahead of publication that would have taken him tp December 20th. Not so? Then why the anguish and excuses for that middle panel of Tess, and the plee for understanding? As I said then, any artist worth his salt would have the next villain already designed and at least a rough story outline. No need to cry for a nascent Dickey Argentina. Only stony silence from the Praetorian Guard’s hallowed Halls, as in retreat, they have no viable shield for this one!

A second look at the CIA man! As I put my hand from chin up my face, it reaches almost to the hair-line. From the chin the CIA guy would have difficulty touching his nose. It ammazes me how Jeff and Mattie never seem to “see” what we do ? But then, they have the advantage of the ‘Downwind Jackson’ action … “SEE NO evil, hear NO evil, do NO evil. Then, not a ‘whisper’ of the flaw as we happily comment up at Naperville with a straight and proud face. Heck! We never saw it.

Sydney, you know what they say about “small hands”…

Artistically speaking, the strip has never been set apart as exhibiting realism in its design. The vast majority of Chester Gould’s characters do not fit into the perfect boxes of realistic design you now are criticizing the current creator of abandoning.

Large faces, small faces, large hands, small hands - the “perspective” of Gould’s illustrative design has been rooted in exaggeration since the late 1930s and most historians agree that Chet created an illustrative perspective all his own in Dick Tracy. No doubt, we witness the continuation of Chet’s design legacy in the strip since he retired, with Rick Fletcher being the notable exception.

Realism, however, in cutting-edge police procedure, another important piece of Gould’s legacy, has sadly been forgotten over time.

Why do you feel so threatened by my presence here? I promised to leave when it seemed a certainty that the strip was headed for the grave. Go back and ACTUALLY READ my comments. Sydney, why would a retired creator produce a story that would never see the light of day?

The CIA guy stole Tracy’s eyebrows.

Jeff, what in the world ever gave you tne impressiom that anyone regargded you as a threat ? You are a nice guy and we do like to pull your leg (serious though it may be)on the ongoing foibles of Dick the ‘handcuffed’ artist. It’s one of the things that help to have the board go.Chuckle after chuckle! Must take issue with you on Gould’s art. His caricature style was confined to heads on realistic bodies. Are you saying that DL IS now taking the practise to a NEW level, starting with “hands”.(Why? because Chet did that?) No sir! Sorry, if that’s the best you can do. The name of the strip is not ‘Dwuck Tracy’! Locher has been drawing small, almost deformed hands as long as I can remember.It’s a relief when he gets them right. Now, I’ve have read your ‘comments’ but none address to point I’ve made. Assuming he’s 17 weeks ahead as Mattie claimed Locher had finished the Braces story, signed, sealed and delivered; BEFORE, anyone spoke to him about ‘retiring’. On story completion date he would have had at least 10 days before he heard the bad news. The ‘plea’ is a little disengenious. It’s unlikely that at ‘bad news’ time he had NOT designed the new rogue OR hadn’t a rough out-line story. Then if not, he really must operate off the ‘seat’ of his ‘pants’, day to day?Does he only think where he’s going to take the story when he sits at the board. What chaios ! No wonder that when he does those so called ‘mysteries’ that he not only confuses his readers but ‘himself’ in the bargin. Frankly, the Baron story is a classic example of errors in tumbling tumble-weed fashion. At times it appeared he didn’t know if he was coming or going. The redeaming features were the cane fight and the ‘Baron’ design. See, I’m balanced! I speak for myself Jeff, but I hardly think anyone regards you as a ‘threat’. Pax Vobiscum!

TRACY TRIVIA: It was Dec. 23, 1943 when Flattop was paid $5000.00 to kill Dick Tracy. His usual fee was $1000.00. Flattop’s nickname comes from his head which was flat on top, just like the aircraft carrier’s flight deck of WW II.

Sydney- I really appreciate your kind words, but where your objectivity and fairness fails you is through your endless indictment of ME with regards to the comments of MPH.

Matt has a right to express his own opinions apart from his work on The Sunday Project and his relationship with the Museum. His words do not in any way represent MY thoughts or opinions or the thoughts or opinions of anyone or any entity beyond himself. He has expressed this over and over again, yet you continue to indict me for his commentary.

I’m not MPH – MPH is not me. I’m not going to defend or admonish his comments and I’d appreciate it if you finally accept this reality and stop accusing me of sharing his private opinions.

To those who believe the characterization that the Museum is DOA, you are simply misinformed. We will launch the Museum website in 2009 (at www.dicktracymuseum.com), and, absent the constraints we faced historically, the “virtual” Museum website will be more definitive than it ever could have been as a physical entity. The site is already bought and paid for, and our work, making Chester Gould’s archive available publicly as never before, continues in earnest. The Museum website, in time, will also feature more depth and detail regarding the Dick Tracy character and the collectibles it generated than ever before.

I can’t wait for you each to explore the site once it is launched. I’m confident you will be pleased with the results.

Morrow said: “All of this is made possible because they volunteered in the now-defunct DT Museum, much like my wife volunteers at the local SPCA. (Special status when you wear a name badge!)”

My blood and sweat went into the creation and maintenance of the Museum so that hundreds of thousands of Dick Tracy fans from all over the world could visit and enjoy it over the past 17 years, which they always did. Perhaps this will come as a surprise to you, but I don’t need your approval to sleep comfortably at night, whatever you may otherwise believe. The Chester Gould family invested over $1,000,000 of Chet’s estate into its’ creation and operation over the years. So, although your clever sound bite doesn’t affect me, it may be disappointing to others who invested so much for all of our benefit, out of extreme generosity and the kindness of their hearts.

Good gosh.

What is Diet Smith holding?? A cup of tea?? And who’s the suspicious looking character at the CIA with only half a face and no fingers?? HMMMMM - Looks like another great case coming!

Oh, oh. Looks like Tracy is going to collaborate with the CIA again. Tracy should get a contract with Foggy Bottom for piece work.