Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 17, 2015

Honeymoon is growing up much too quickly.

Have the time stamps gone bonkers again …?

This story should make a lot of people happy!

A Night at the TheatreGoing to the Patterson Playhouse had been a family tradition for as long as Honeymoon could remember. Longer, actually. There is a picture in a family scrapbook of her mother holding her out front, the marquee overhead announcing Vitamin Flintheart as the star of “Love Rides the Rails.” She was too young to recall the particulars of the play, but being held by her loving mother, that she remembers vividly. What a year it had been. Looking at her hand holding the comb, it was hard to believe she had zapped Bribery into submission during the siege at Ace Tower. Onee-San had taught her well. Hearing gunfire intensifying, drawing near, had terrified her, even as she struggled to keep her composure. Mysta was courageous and powerful, yet not bullet proof. Any of the shots she heard could have been aimed at Onee-San. Could have found their mark. It wasn’t until Tracy and Sam appeared, decked out in Kevlar vests, that she regained her optimism.When Pop-Pop took her to Mysta she could tell she was hurting. Her eyes were wet with tears, something she had seen only once before. She had gone to Mysta with her worries after the two small bumps on her head had appeared. Onee-San comforted her. Whether coincidentally, or in accordance to Lunarian physiology, their telepathic connection asserted itself just as her horns were progressing beyond any reasonable attempts to delay their inevitable discovery. Mysta held her, eased her fears, and assured her that everything would be fine.Unlike the rumpus at the mall, Pop-Pop had managed to keep her presence at Ace Tower hush-hush. Only a portion of the SWAT team had seen her and they didn’t tell stories to the press. Going back to school was accompanied by some trepidation. She was different. This was noticed, not always with approval. Footage of events at the mall, captured by shoppers on their phones, could still be found on the “Weirdness of the City” website. Yet, her schoolmates had their own issues. Comments on her horns faded fairly quickly as school routines took hold.Often she would visit Mysta after school. Their telepathic communications were growing more nuanced. She didn’t need to text her to make plans. Onee-San would have enjoyed a night at the theatre, but Honeymoon didn’t want to put Dad on the spot. Mysta was changing, too. She was more Lunarian, more like her mother, with every passing phase of the moon. Honeymoon had returned home one day to find her father standing in the doorway of her room, gazing at the portrait of Mysta. They hugged. Words weren’t needed.Now, Dad straightened his tie, reminding her to take a hat, just in case her antennae flared during the play. He eschewed combing his unruly mop, looking spiffy in his tux. Opening night at the Patterson Playhouse would be a treat. With the festive holiday season underway, it was easy to forget Bribery’s powerful ring and his promise to abduct Mysta. Honeymoon wondered what adventures lay ahead. Were Bribery to make good on his threat she and her Onee-San would be ready.

.Good morning fellow DT fans!

Also …

Watch out, Tracy …

Another appearance by “Mom.” I always love seeing that pic, even if we only see part of it like today. Also, Honeymoon’s growing up!

Such a sweet strip today! You can really feel for Honeymoon with the concerned look on her face.

As a matter of practicality …

Wearing a hat while inside the theater is a no-no, as it might block the view of people behind you.

Couldn’t Honeymoon don more discrete “Horn Covers” or opaque ribbons of some type for such situations?

Guessing she hasn’t been to a movie-type theater lately, or the issue would likely have been brought up there as well.

Junior Tracy and Honeymoon getting ready for the theatre…. Hmm. Perhaps I was correct in seeing a foreshadowing irony in Tracy’s 3rd panel remarks on the 14th, that the father may cast a shadow over the son, and my comment that trouble may be facing the family….

Odd that Honeymoon refers to her as Mysta and not Mom, despite the large picture saying otherwise.

I hope they take time next week to acknowledge little Trey’s first birthday.

I promised to post a character list for Midnite Mirror so I’m posting what I can. I divide this story into three parts. The third part is the Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol play part which is just starting, plus whatever other Dick Tracy Christmas greetings there are. The list that follows shows how many days a character had speaking parts, followed by a slash and then how many days they appeared or were referenced without speaking.

First, the characters in the Midnite Mirror movie (25 of them in 19 days, plus a few references later), the top ones being The Chalice and “Trigger” Catchem, as well as Boss Tracy. Tracy was talked about a lot, but had less to say. Although they all reference familiar characters in the history of the strip, all 25 of these characters could be considered “new” characters.

5/12 The Chalice (MM)5/6 “Trigger” Catchem (MM)4/19 Boss Tracy (MM)4/9 88 Keyes (MM)4/9 Chief Boche (MM)4/5 Bud Jenkins (MM)3/5 Alfred Brau (MM)2/4 Officer Shoulders (MM)2/3 Lizz (MM)2/2 Reggie (MM)2/2 Officer Eizlander (MM)1/2 S.T. Ench (MM)1/1 Pat Patton (MM)1/1 Unnamed officer (MM Ownley Chylde)1/1 Mayor Trembly (MM)1/1 Jake (MM)1/1 “Big Ears” Finney (MM)1/1 Unnamed Officer (MM Itchy)1/1 Gertrude (MM)1/1 Unnamed officer (MM Mumbles)1/1 Smith (MM)1/1 Flyface (MM)1/1 Fifth (MM)1/1 Unnamed officer (MM Boris Arson)0/1 Arev Alldid (MM)

Secondly, the characters in Dick Tracy’s “real world” (37 of them in 47 days). It’s notable that there were only three days out of the whole 47 that Tracy didn’t appear and didn’t even get mentioned. He was everywhere in this story. There are two fictional characters in this list that are not “real” in Tracy’s world. They and several others appeared in pictures or in dialogue by other characters, but did not appear “live” in the story.

37/44 Dick Tracy16/21 Sam Catchem9/16 Lloyd Newman7/19 The Hangman5/14 Steve Forsythe (actor for The Chalice)4/8 Adam Austin4/4 Vitamin Flintheart3/5 Lizz3/3 Junior Tracy3/3 Pat Patton2/11 Morgan Byrd/Nash (actor for Boss Tracy)2/7 Unnamed director2/5 Vic Smith/John Cassaday (agent of Adam Austin)2/2 Coffee2/2 Mayor Armstrong1/5 Freddy Capp (actor for Aldred Brau)1/3 George Tawara1/2 Ms. Steffihawk1/1 Vera Alldid1/1 Honeymoon1/1 Wendy Wichel1/1 Unnamed movie crew member1/1 Unnamed police sniper1/1 Unnamed cameraman0/3 Accomplice of The Hangman0/1 Brad0/7 Byron Orlock (actor for The Chalice)0/2 Mr. Magoo0/2 The Eyebrows (F)0/1 J. Straightedge Trustworthy (JST)0/1 Flattop0/1 BB-Eyes0/1 Mumbles0/1 Venus0/1 Squinty Eyes0/1 Mr. Bribery0/1 The Brow

Ah, the tribulations of raising a Human/Lunarian hybrid (I know just how y – well, no, I don’t…)

Hmm…maybe Magoo is the play’s director…

Maybe Junior needs to take a hat also to cover his mop of uncombed hair while wearing a tuxedo.

Very sweet profile of Honey, in the first panel. I have thought however, It would be nice someday to see Honey wear her hair long. In my grandmother’s culture long hair was considered quite important for both men and women, and I honor her by doing the same.

Junior’s hair kind of reminds me of the guy on Ancient Aliens.

@Gweedo – It’s legal here !!! – Murray[I]giggles[/I] You honor me, Gweedo!

—Thank you, Gweedo. I should have thought of that. Still recovering from my last class’ finals.

I live to serve, Kan-tucky !

@McPheeters

Why yes he is. Quite the handsome one too! One I wouldn’t mind going on a date with.If Tess would allow [b]giggles[/b]—Tracy is a Dick … pass it on.

@Night-Gaunt49 said, about 21 hours ago

Most welcome, and good luck!—I shall look into it, thanx!

It is always a pleasure to see Honeymoon. She is a fantastic character, and one of the very many ways Team Tracy has made Dick Tracy an award-winning strip. We know about the Patterson Playhouse. We’ve seen Arsenic and Old Lace and King Lear performed there. We’ve witnessed a devastating explosion and the romantic aftermath with Vitamin and Kandikane. There’s a holiday production opening. Junior gets ready to take Honeymoon out for a night at the theatre, Sparkle presumably having her hands full with baby Trey. Santa is checking to see who has been naughty and who has been nice. Ignatz is quite beyond hope.

Thanks to Willy007, cpalmeresq, William Weedman, Gweedo and Ray Toler for the kind words. Very much appreciated!

I’m sure this has been noted before, but just in case…the original 1962 “Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol” will air on the CW network at 8:00pm Christmas Eve this year. Check your local listings!

I Love You, Honeymoon..

“Midnite Mirror” is opening THIS weekend?! Opposite STAR WARS!?

Yesterday Neil kindly recorded here his extensive list of characters from the just concluded Midnite Mirror and this morning Pequod introduced his pleasing perspective on Honeymoon * called *- “A Night At The Theatre”It was a truly enjoyable read !

Our just ended story was a ‘first’, for Mike and Joe - with a main character wearing a mask . . . So thought I’d try some recall of earlier story occasions were characters have done so . . .Here are those that I recall . . .

Gould’s 1937 Frank Redrum a,k.a. The Blank is not included but it seems clear that Dick Locher had a pronounced penchant for this device . . .And as great a rogue designer as he proved to be (Dab Stract comes to mind) … one begins to suspect Dick felt “stumped” in the creative process and relied on Masks.

The most ‘ingenious’, was likely that of J. Kindly Goodheart where we never saw a face,for the tale’s 8 weeks, only a ‘hand’ with a ring, until the end - when his dead body laid there on the floor,My “apologies” for the faulty labelling of “Goodfellow” just below the hand, The correct name is J. Kindly Goodheart as indicated.

Three ‘thoughts’ come to mind . . .

1) 1937 Gould’s -The Blank - - “INNOVATIVE” (!)2) 2005/10 Locher’s - 5 creations - - “EXPLOITATIVE” (?)3) 2015 Curtis’ - The Hangman - - “EXPLORATIVE” (?)

Always fun to catch up with Honeymoon. The trials and tribulations of an adolescent girl with horns. Also, thanks to Pequod for the fun read.

Many hours ago, Gweedo posted this reminder,C’mon, Bill !!! Shake a leg. It’s shoowwtiiime !!!-———————————————————————-.I’m taking a break for a few days, Gweedo.

Hi Gweedo. Thanks for coming to my party at Andy Capp! It wouldn’t be the same without you.

Hope you enjoy your trip on the 19th. Yes, I haven’t forgotton.

Finally Friday tomorrow!

Gweedo noted,Well, at least show up !-———————————————————————-.I’m dependable, Gweedo!

Gweedo reminded,So are Death and Taxes, Bill !-—————————————————————.I try to avoid both!

On the passage of time in comic strips …

People forget that, for the first three years or so, the characters in Lynn Johnston’s “For Better or for Worse,” did not age – It wasn’t till then that she opted to have the story unfold in real-time.

I’d have to research it to be certain, but I’m pretty sure “Real-Time” didn’t arrive in Gasoline Alley till the advent of baby Skeezix.

[ And even there, some of the peripheral characters (Joel, Rufus, Melba) seem to age little, if indeed at all. ]

“Funky Winkerbean” has undergone multiple time-skips, even though its sister strip, “Crankshaft,” has not.

Other strips (“Peanuts,” “Garfield,” etc.) are timeless.

In “Dick Tracy,” time passes, but more slowly than in the real world.

Joe Staton stated in an interview when he began drawing the strip that Tracy’s age was 52 or so – but a vital 52.

Assuming Tracy was in his mid-twenties when Chester Gould began to chronicle his adventures in 1931, between then and 2011 only about 28 years have passed for Tracy, while a full eighty have passed for us.

For convenience, let’s assume that roughly one year passes for every three or four in the real world.

Sometimes less.

Sometimes more.

The depiction of certain annual events, such as the celebration of Christmas or Hanukkah, might be considered apocryphal under this model.

Complicated, huh?

Anyway …

Honeymoon first appeared on-camera in 1965, so let’s see how the math plays out …

By 2011, using the one-to-four model, Honeymoon would be eleven-and-a-half years old.

The model breaks down a bit in that Honeymoon would only have been three or four when her mother died.

Still pretty close, though.

By that reckoning, if Honeymoon was eleven when Mike and Joe began their tenure, she’d be twelve now, going on thirteen.

Annie, by contrast, spent many decades as a timeless waif, hardly aging at all.

If she and Honeymoon were about the same age when they met, is Annie also twelve-going-on-thirteen?

Or does Annie only age in “Tracy-Time” when she’s on-camera?

Not even going to get into Joe Tracy’s bout with “Benjamin Button” syndrome.

Besides, pretty sure I’d written a longer, more detailed post on this topic, and how it relates to SORAS and SLIDING TIMESCALES a few months back.

By the way …

Counting backwards from today, using the “Sliding Timescale” model, Honeymoon was born in 2003.

Ask again in a few years, and you’ll likely get a different result.

Ain’t fiction fun?