Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 16, 2013

Sweet!

Good for her.

Excellent

Nice ending!

You will need a high hair do to hide the horns.

I was disappointed that she was not the original Moon Maid brought back to life. Moon Maid was my favorite Dick Tracy character.

I can understand her wanting to keep the face, but, why keep the horns?… protection, I suppose

So, Junior says he’s okay with it, and I think he is. I don’t suppose she’ll be hanging around the Tracy family all the time, anyway. She intends to make her own way and be her own person. I don’t think that getting plastic surgery to go back to Mindy’s old look would have been a good idea anyway, because the personality would not have gone with the physical appearance. This way, at least it all goes together.

Outstanding!

If she is keeping her power gloves and horns. I think Mysta Chimera might be making future appearances!

Good points.

I wonder if Honeymoon will feel any connection to her.

I think we will definitely be seeing Mysta Chimera again.

Stay stunning (in more ways than one), Mysta!

The following is not a spoiler because it’s so vague. But it’s still pretty interesting.Mike Curtis recently wrote in the Yahoo group is that the Moon Maid Mystery is something like a prologue to the next long story.So apparently the table is now set and we’re ready to get started. I like the sound of that!

Good morning fellow DT fans…

I’m really pleased that MM/Vista will remain in the DT strip. A very happy ending/beginning. Who in the name of Aksarben cuts Junior’s hair? I had a barber once that could cut hair that badly!

Top of the mornin’ to you too VB and all. Gotta agree with everybody so far. Glad she’s going to hang around, and glad things have worked out for her too. I believe Junior’s hair style was actually kind of hip a few years ago. Makes me think of Scotty 2 Hotty of the WWF/WWE awhile back, or maybe Guy Fieri from Food Network today. It seems to be falling out of style for now. (I am not a fashion expert, and may be wrong about this though.)

Okay, I’m slightly disappointed that she’s not the real deal, but to bring her back could’ve involved a lot of convoluted retconning that would’ve undermined a sizable chunk of the strip’s history. I’m pretty satisfied with the outcome.

And a belated congrats to Willy for calling it.

Now, about that headstone…

Just noticed that the banner has been fixed. Not a nominee anymore!

Mysta Chimera! —Now there’s a character I can live with (err, no DOM double entendre intended). It is still unclear to me how much, if any, of her fake Lunarian powers she will be able to retain without battery-charging, ray-glove maintenance, etc. Maybe Retik and Stellaluna will help her, either to retain those powers or to come to terms with loosing them, if that should be the case. Now it’s time to re-focus on all the baddies still running around loose!

I love happy endings , or great new beginnings!

Seems to be taking it remarkably well… for now…

Great job in finalizing this story line. But what of the missing space coupe with it’s criminal passengers, and the rest of the criminal element? Is this really the end of this story?

Given Glenna’s looks, I’d keep the Mysta face too… :D

I like Mysta’s decision except for one thing. I wish she had changed her first name too. Mysta was Junior’s first wife’s name. Out of respect for Junior and his family, I think she should have chosen Glenna, or Mindy.

they should make here a cop with her power :)

##COUGHCOUGH## COPOUT##COUGHCOUGH##

if it were ME and some looney tune was running around with my dead wife’s face, i would MOST DEFINITELY have a problem with it.

maybe she will just go away now and not come back… but unfortunately i dont think thats the plan

I have this story beginning on 4/26/13. That has got to be a record.

Disappointed that she wasn’t the real one.

davidfan42: Amen! As for tsull2121, lots of folks have similar looking faces; that ought not to be a problem, especially if it’s not her fault in the first place..But I do think she should have dropped the name since, one, she now knows it’s not her real name and, two, Mindy is a name she took when she was trying to go incognito..Not always sure about these visual cues – but do I detect a possible romantic entanglement also at its beginning?.If so, then tsull2121 – cough, cough, er – Sparkle ought to have no problem with the present developments, either.

No, but this is an entirely different situation. It’s just my opinion anyway.

Junior’s hair looks like this guy’s work..

Disappointing ending to a really great story. I was hoping she was the real moon maid, too, and that she’d go looking for her missing people…

I’m also a little disappointed Mysta’s not the original, but very happy she’s sticking around. What I’m hoping to see is a story with the moon people!

david, THAT’S the only thing that bothers you about this whole thing?

changing her name is gonna make up for her being a (no pun intended) dead ringer for junior’s dead wife?!?!?

like i said before, she SHOULD have accepted diet’s offer, but just to change her appearance and NOT go back to mindy ermine’s look.

i find it truly amazing how so many readers/fans are absolutely FINE with essentially killing a former character to alter her so that someone who was BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT DEAD could be brought back to the strip.

But.. ya know.. after i think about it, i GUESS its ok as long as the long dead character that comes back is SMOKIN’ HOT (which is a direct quote from more than just one poster on this board)

by the way, if you DIDNT get it, i was being sarcastic there.. i know, a real shocker! lol

also, the 360 drgree about face junior has done on his feelings about mysta-stein is unbelievable. there were nights after she “reappeared” that neither he nor sparkle could sleep, and his obvious concern by going into pattons office and hoping some leads popped up since she “came back”.. and his conversations with tracy on the subject OBVIOUSLY show that he had/has some issues with it, but now.. WHAM BANG, its ok cause youre not REALLY my dead wife just some lab creation that LOOKS like her, i’m ok with it all of a sudden?

i dunno, i’m calling a foul on this one! by the way.. check sparkle’s expression in panel one… SHE’S none too pleased with junior’s comments it seems.

oh GOD make it stop.. this is two days in a row stilldamatt and i agree… HEY MORROW.. wanna add to the pot? lol :)

For me, there is one really big loose end dangling out there, and that is this: 28 Dec 2012: Honey says, “I know my mom is alive, and I’ll prove it!”.And we also have Willy007’s poster, which prominently features both space coupe and Moon Maid. We now know that Mysta is not a real Moon Maid – and – at present count, there are no space coupes!.While there were some wild and out-of-sync panels in these last couple of weeks, something tells me that 28 Dec and the poster are not mistakes – the real Mysta is still out there and may just come riding in on that errant space coupe!

HELLO MY GOOD FRIEND! I trust you had a good night! I stayed awake all night fretting about what MML is gonna do that would be PC, considering everyone. And hello to you, Tim, my fine friend. The Tres Amigos ride again! Hi-Yo, Silver!

I think Diet needs to tend to his Human Resources move (hiring Stellaluna), and take her to the company infirmary for the “Employment Physical”. Betcha y’all didn’t know Diet was a doctor, did you? He can give Retik a pass on that step.

Oh, yes: tsull2121: What bothers me about the last conversation between Junior and Mysta is not that he’s “okay” with her not changing her appearance, but that Mysta asked him if it bothered him in the first place!.It is now well established that Mysta (really should change the name) was never his wife. Therefore, it’s none of his business what she does with her life – or her face!.The only surprise left now is whether tomorrow’s Dick Tracy will have yet another scene of Mysta – or we are finally ready to move on!

I wouldn’t underestimate Team Tracy’s capacity to surprise us. “Just a chimera” with superimposed DNA and a slew of fascinating possibilities for her future. Whenever the next chapter of Mysta’s story takes place, I know I’ll be reading.

I Love You, Mysta Chimara…..

My only remaining question: WHAT ABOUT MYSTA’s EYES???The “before” photo of Glenna Ermine/Mindy shows not only dark eyes and a different shape but the Mysta Chimera clearly has Lunarian eyes. They’re not only blue, but have what appears to be consistently white pupils and what might appear to be either a double row of irises and an outer white pupil. My making her actual eyes so clearly Lunarian, I think that this threw me more than anything.

If anybody notices or cares, my new postage stamp is a cartoon rendering of the Denver International Airport’s “Blue Mustang.” Blue Mustang is a 32 foot tall statue which greets travelers as they approach the airport. Other photos available online by searching DIA Blue Mustang.

yeh, the ONLY one in the film with a brain and REAL talent! :)

Come to think of it, I think the fact that nasty, hateful Mindy is transforming more and more to a level-headed sweetheart is evidence that the lunar DNA has become dominant in her brain. And if her brain is now essentially lunarian, can the rest of her body be far behind?

OOF!! One cozy ’lil picture!! Like those old Hanna-Barbera cartoons where Yogi or Snagglepuss or somebody would touch their closed fist solemnly over their heart and say: “Makes me feel it: RIGHT HERE!!”

Keeping the same fashion sense is a must. She’ll always stand out in a crowd that way.

I would guess he may only be creeped out by anyone who changed his name to David after having been surgically altered to look just like him. Can’t say that I’d blame him, either.

So, Glenna must be a missing person case somewhere. How will Tracy report this…death due to volunteering for a biological experiment? Then how do they explain the person Mysta Chimera? How will she become a naturalized citizen? Sooner or later someone will have to state openly that Sail/Ghote and the space coupe vanished at the same time…then look significantly at Smith. I really do like Mysta, but this resolution seems way too simple.

sorry puzz, i didnt mean to cause you confusion.. i replied to your comment only because it had david’s comment referenced.

I like how Mysta is waving to the readers today. Bye bye, Mysta Tracy, hello Mysta Chimera!

Mysta looks longingly into Retik’s eyes, and that’s at least the second time those two have held hands. I remember how Retik called her “Mistress” early in this story, and Mysta said he was “cute” another time. They’ve smiled a lot at each other, too. Is there a “thing” going on between those two?

Retik to Diet Smith: “Let me get this straight. You want to pay me money to keep an eye on the confused and suggestible space bunny in the Victoria’s Secret costume, and make sure all her needs are met?”.Diet: “Yes.”.Retik: “Let me think about it. (pause) Okay, I’ll do it.”

A disturbing modern problem in police work is an upsurge in police brutality (or at least of reporting it). I would like to see how Tracy deals with a bad cop lording it over civilians.

Thought all this moon stuff was dumb when it first came out and I still do. Looking for a new Dick Tracy police story line.

Night-Gaunt49: I agree. Even the “reanimated corpse” theory would not be the same for me..Swan Song.Want to see how I might have written the Mysta story? I didn’t think so, either. But here it is, anyway..I sent a longer version to Willy007 who seemed to like it, but made a couple of suggestions. I agreed with those suggestions. (Most notably, he corrected me on Junior’s emotional responses).Here goes:.From the annals of Dick Tracy, Alternate Universe, I found the following:.The story of Mysta follows what Mike and Joe did in this universe, with no real departures until the meeting of Sparkle and Mysta at the radio station. Mysta announces herself and her intention to get her husband back. A “cat fight” ensues, but no violence ensued. Both ladies were too classy for that..Sparkle has an accident on the way home from the radio station. Her car goes off a bridge, into the water, sinks, not found. But Sparkle is thrown from the vehicle and is found by Nelly, preserving the Hollywood amnesia sequence at the Wheaton farm..Real tears occur at the meeting with Honey..Once Sparkle’s memory is restored, the competition heats up between Sparkle and Mysta over Junior. I even see lots of dialogue from Sparkle like we have had from tsull2121..In the meantime, Mysta has sued to have her death certificate annulled. The question is now on the table: To whom is Junior married?.The big reveal:.In that meeting between Ghote and Dietrich, we learn that Sail was the corrupt coroner who had allowed the badly injured, but still alive, Mysta to be kidnapped and fall into the hands of the Consortium. Yes, Mysta was unconscious, also with a case of amnesia for a while, helping Sail and Ghote to keep her subdued until she escaped from them..Meanwhile, back at the Wheaton corral, all the same baddies appear, just as they did in our Dick Tracy universe. And yes, when Mumbles first sees Ghote, he shoots at him – perhaps the most dramatic scene in the series – except for the following Monday:.Ghote will be standing next to Mumbles, and it is Junior dead on the ground! “Wzstndn bhndja” says Mumbles..The space coupe departs empty, saving Sail and Ghote for more macabre mayhem in the future..Sparkle and Mysta now no longer have Junior to fight over. But Sparkle is now the single mom of two girls. Sparkle and Mysta make up and Mysta helps Sparkle raise her two children..Future stories: As the girls grow, the four women open their own detective agency, in memory and honor of their fallen husband and father. Potential for more feminine angle stories when the women have to help Tracy on certain cases..Alternate Universe fading away at this point.

As much as I despise most of this week, I do like the solution with what to do with Mysta here. She gets to retain her new face, powers, and personality. When I advocated that Mysta should be the original Moon Maid, I argued that the character we’ve gotten to know and care about was the character of Moon Maid, and for her to turn out to be anyone else would abruptly turn her into a stranger. With her not remembering her past identity, we get to keep the personality of the character we’ve gotten to know and care about.

In my headcanon, Moon Maid did come back from the dead. When Sail and Ghote extracted her DNA from the car wreckage and implanted it on Glenna/Mindy, Mysta’s spirit came back to life and imprinted herself onto the body (involuntarily, so no murder charge here).