Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 07, 2012

The return of Moon Maid!! Yowsah!!

She appears again!

A shocking turn of events! Electrifying even.

Whoever this chick is, she has style. Fighting crime in thigh high boots, with high heels no less? I approve!!

She seems to have good timing, is she setting these encounters up?

Are those blue converse sneakers?

60sFan, maybe they’re just throwing out the old continuity and pretending she never died? I would be fine with that, because goodness knows a lot of the continuity from the Locher era has to go down the drain just for its lack of making any sense.

I love the multiple running plot lines. what a mysterious moon maid?

Perhaps the reports of Moon Maid’s demise have been greatly exaggerated these last 35 years.

And I bet blue shoes is about to get a rude surprise. Anyone wanna wager me??? :)

It ain’t Moon Maid, folks, she’s dead. And she hadn’t played an important part in Tracy for years before her demise in 1978, being reduced to a few cameo appearances in the 70’s. Peanutbutter, a 10 year kid had a crush on her, Junior no like, hi-jinx occurred. That was about her only story in that time period, so her demise was no great loss at the time.

so Honeymoon, Themesong, and Moon Maid all re-appear at the same time…

Ahh, the mysterious vigilante in high-heeled boots and with what appear to be magnetic powers! And looking rather like Moon Maid. Who could she be, really?

Whoever it is, the one thing I’ve learned since joining this site is I can trust Team Tracy. I just know things are going to be good, keeping us coming back for more. No worries, all.

TWENTY SIX?!?!? OH NO!!!! well, for all of you who have been clamoring for “Moon Maid”… there she is.. purple thigh high boots, electric bolts from her antenna and striking that “diva pose” in a back alley looking to lay the “lunar smackdown” on the purse snatcher!

Moon Maid??

It’s this possible?

Red is better, lace is best.

Great to see Moon Maid again, though I doubt it’s really her. Mike and Joe keep hiding her face for a reason. I wonder if Junior, Honeymoon, and the others already know about the earlier appearance (8/1). Personally I’d like to see their reaction. This city is a busy place… Mrs Flattop still on the loose, a Moon Maid-like mystery woman, and the phishing case all at once.

Is that Etta Candy getting mugged?

Looks like “Moon Maid” lost, or forgot to put on, a dress or pants? Well, we men all know that a true female super-hero simply MUST show as much flesh as possible!

I guess this is mainly a male comic.

Could it be Honeymoon?

I enjoyed all the positive comments about today’s strip. I NEVER forgave the team that killed off Moon Maid. I still say that the Governor (Moon Maid’s father) could have been watching on Luna tV and transported her before the bomb went off. Since he was a controlling father, he could have forbid she ever have contact with Earthlings again. (They did mention that in the strip). Anything is possible in Comic Strip Land. Please, STATON AND CURTIS. Let it be Moon Maid, bring her back. It is clear that Junior Tracy is happy with Sparkle, but Moon Maid’s return is exciting and refreshing, and need I add that this woman is muy caliente!

Moon Maid ! (or someone ‘disguised’ as her?) Here, we have what looks like her 2nd appearance in weeks (and a promise of more to come)-.Did Max Collins who killed her off in a car explosion (Aug.1978), and later Jay Maeder the DT Biographer who not only ’ applauded ’ her removal, but the strips quick turn away from everything Space related - UNDERRATE the future value of the character ?- It was all done without any " explanation ", Gould had back seated the Space Coupes, but the Air Cars were still in service. (?)And it would soon SURPRISE most readers to see Diet Smith shortly after, travelling to California in his Private Jet ! ?? Tha action seemed like a slap in the face, almost like flashing a finger.-Pundit Maeder extolled the moves with . . . " writer Collins effectively deleted 15 years of strip history, daughter Honeymoon stuck around, but she had a new hairdo that covered her horns. Widower Junior Tracy later married Sparkle Plenty " . . . "Bumping off Moon Maid was the single most loving and reverential action any TRACY devotee could have taken, and if Collins had never written another line, he would be living in memory for having done the strip this AFFECTIONATTE good turn . . . "

Had they both been RIGHT in their assessments. you’d think therer would be mounting PROTESTS - here. (?)On the contarary, Moon Maid’s appearance seems to have generated nothing but great EXCITEMENT, and apparently a desire for much MORE ! (?)-Can anyone offer an explanation ??

Thigh-high boots with high heels, body suit with high leg hems and no straps (presumably)? So sixty-ish, and I think the word today is “retro?”

You know, back in the ’70s all this would be considered highly sexist.

Most readers from the late ‘60s on forget that, when Chester Gould intorduced the Space Coupe, Moon Maid, etc., the whole country was fascinated (almost obsessed) with space exploration, and science fiction stories were popular.So it made perfect sense that Diet Smith’s futuristic technology would include an advanced space craft.

A lot of us loved Moon Maid and her super-powers (her eyes always kinda freaked me out, though), but as soon as the ‘60s optomism and interest in space were replaced by hard facts and problems, fans seemed to turn on Moon Maid like rabid wolves, and wouldn’t let up.I’m glad to see Mike, Joe & Co. have the courage to “bring her back” (even if it’s – my guess – a real-life super-hero imitator).And I’m glad to see I’m not the only one happy with her ‘return.’

If she didn’t dress like Moon Maid, how would we know who she’s supposed to be?

Ken in Ohio; Saw your response re: the strip length. Looks like you’re getting the old election year shuffle. I didn’t get any return. Maybe try that e-mail address provided. We got one of the most creative villains in years going and it would be a shame if he’s out of the picture by the end of September. Keep on trying folks.

I want it to be Mysta, but Notta was an engineer who used to work for Diet Smith. I think she would have the smarts to put together a rig that could imitate Moon Maid’s powers.

We’ll see.

I still don’t understand why no one has reacted to Moon Maid’s reappearance being noted in a television report, specifically Junior and Honeymoon. Also I remember that as a small child, Honeymoon was always drawn playing with metal objects, such as paperclips, hanging from her fingers, attesting to her magnetic capabilities. We haven’t seen teenage Honeymoon displaying any of her inherited powers.

Well, it IS science fantasy after all. Moon Maid is a superheroine, and she definitely has the 60’s retro look going. High heel boots fit right in with all that, along with the strapless outfit, long gloves, and big hair (see Mrs. Chin Chillar, Pollyanna, Mindy, Sparkle Plenty, and Lizz, who all dressed similarly at times in the ’60’s, and who also wore big heels). I respect your opinion, but on the other hand I would hate it if we let politically correct thinking govern Moon Maid’s fashion choices. Just like I would hate it if Sam were forced to quit smoking. Moon Maid has always dressed like this, in a way appropriate for a retro superheroine from another planet, especially one making a long awaited and greatly appreciated comeback. I absolutely adore her look! And besides, compared to the amount of skin most superheroines show these days, Moon Maid’s outfit is downright modest.

OK OK so this new team has been already bringing back a lot of the past “rogues” gallery supposedly dead so why not Moon Maid? It’s ok with me. The new team has brought back a great DT and the whole story has been revised. renewed and rewritten and it has been great! Welcome back Moon Maid!

I am wondering if Honeymoon had powers develop during her teenage years. She did seem to attract metal when she was born.

Or maybe MMs sister -coming back for revenge?

Good afternoon all…

Just reading all the comments wore me out! I hope it is Moon Maid.

Just noticing in panel 2, the lady’s hand. The detailed art work is excellent, even down to the long fingernails. What a difference from the previous artist’s attempts at hands.

I grew up during the Moon Maid era. I remember when she first showed up in scenes similar to what we are seeing now. If this isn’t the orinal lady, maybe it’s a sister or something. Aftre all, they are all still up there on the Moon.

I loved the moon era of DT and am of the firm opinion that it ruined absolutely nothing. Rather, it was a huge enhancement, creating a wonderful and entertaining expansion of the DT world. May the great “new” team bring back Moon Maid and pursue any and all creative possibilities as they see fit. Here’s hoping…

One thing no one seems to have mentioned: if it IS Moon Maid, what about Junior’s current marriage to Sparkle? Do bigamy laws apply when a spouse is presumed dead?

I’m another one of those people who grew up during the Moon Maid period of Tracy. In fact, given that my newspaper dropped the strip in the late ’60s, the Moon Maid Period was pretty much all I knew of Tracy until I hit University and started haunting the microfilm files every chance I got.

All that being said, I kind of agree with Ken in Ohio about Moon Maid and the whole Tracy in Space period. In retrospect it reminds me very much of 1950s Batman, where Batman was time traveling, going into space and fighting aliens in Gotham City. It was entertaining at the time and probably sold comic books, but by the 1960s it was worn out. Batman was close to being cancelled. BATMAN!! Then Julius Schwartz ditched all of the sci-fi crap (and it was sci-fi, not sf or science fiction) and brought in “The New Look” which saved the comic. The Space Period in Tracy begam when the world was mad for anything space and especially Moon related, but looking back at it today with a dispassionate eye, you have to admit it didn’t fit with the sort of gritty feel that the strip had in the decades before. Max Allan Collins’s sacrifice of Moon Maid and all things Space to get the strip back to what it was was probably the right thing to do to keep the strip alive and relevant.

WoW! I’m number 79 on the Dick Tracy “Hot 100” chart. Maybe next week if I comment on this strip, I will jump up several places!

Anyway, It’s good to see Moon Maid back in action! She looks great in any color of costume in my book! I wish I can see her take on Mrs. Flatop in the future!

I do have a little concern about Moon Maid. She might be Honeymoon fighting bad guys and I believe several months ago, I think Honeymoon’s Dad and possibly her grandpaw (Dick Tracy) wanted her to stay away from BB Eyes and his truck since she was a stowaway in that van that contained counterfeit tapes or DVDs.

Yes, Moon Maid looks fabulous but I hope it’s a not a minor that’s fighting crime in a good way. I don’t want to rain on the readers, Mike Curtis, & Joe Staton’s parade.

You know what they say about Thugs with large hands?

They make bad Pickpockets.

moon maid awesome!

Another aspect about today’s strip: In a perfect world, a woman should be able to walk anywhere she wants. But this is not a perfect world. What was that woman doing walking down such a nasty looking alley? Ladies: Be careful out there, please. Men, too, for that matter.

Two things:

1. The more I study Moon Maid’s silhouette, the more convinced I am that she’s still wearing a mask. It looks like a scarf or something.

2. I don’t recall ever being more excited to see tomorrow’s strip, as I am now. Well, at least not since being excited to see August 2. :)

I don’t know how many DT fans are also Batman fans but if you are and are long time fans then you might remember the writers at one time killed off Batman’s faithful butler, Alfred. He was even in a tomb at first! But they found a way to bring him back. And what a about Superman? Didn’t they kill him too about 20 years ago? But they brought him back too! Anything is possible in fiction.

Again I disagree with Ken. We saw Mumbles die and return and yet no whiff of parody doth waft this way. To evoke Fosdick is to insist that your opinion is the only reasonable view. Nonsense. Moon Maid’s grave and Honeymoon’s existence testify to the Moon era. The return of Moon Maid, were it to occur, would not necessarily call for trips to the Moon (not that there would be anything wrong with that). To insist on "reality " in comics is to miss the point, imo. To label those with a different view as “fans of silly” is to disparage Gould’s creative legacy, as well as those who embrace it s many facets. Instead, I prefer an embrace of the limitless possibilities of all DT can be in this wonderful new era.

Return of the Lunarians