Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 02, 2012

All right!! Moon Maid’s finally going to take center stage!!

finally they are going to look into it!

Aw shucks, I was hoping we might get a fourth day of Moon Maid in the getaway van, so we could learn more about Retik and his associate. But yay, it looks like starting now Moon Maid’s going to be a central focus of the story. A very encouraging development!!

I love the way Team Tracy teases a story. Last year, it was Mr. Crime, and now the return(?) of Moon Maid. I remember the storyline from the papers in the 70s, when Big Boy put out the contract on Tracy which resulted in Moon Maid dying in the car bomb meant for Tracy. If memory serves me right, this was put in to stop any Moon involvement and keep the stories down to Earth, as it were.

Argh, I wanted another look at Moon Maid, too. Sad face, but yeah, she’ll be a focus now for Tracy and Junior, and that’s all good.

The last week of DICK TRACY has been amazing. Joe Staton’s work is beyond the best I have seen in ANY comic strip in decades. I just can’t get over his style. He amazes me! Today’s strip is breathtaking. I can’t help but admire all three panels. When TEAM TRACY first took over the strip, and they included THE SPACE COUPE over at Diet Smith Industries in a story, it took me back to such a special time in my life. It reminded me of the Moon Era, but I NEVER in my wildest dreams ever imagined that they would ever do a story with my ALL TIME favorite comic strip character. THANK you JOE and MIKE!

Such giddy excitement the last three days! And now Junior and Tracy have to pick up the pieces. I hope we see the lunar lady again soon. She is the total package! In the meantime, great art and story and mood again today. I look forward to the investigation of Moon Maid. Bravo to Team Tracy!

Love the falling leaves! Really adds an element of melancholy to the scene. I like Tracy in the shadows, too. Great job today!

wonder if the appearances are designed to lure Tracy (or Junior) into a situation or action they wouldn’t do otherwise…

I haven’t been so eager to read a daily strip since Brenda Starr was pulled. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I was a reader back in the day (we used to get the Chicago Tribune every day, and way back, when newspapers were either morning or afternoon editions, sometimes other Chicago papers as well), and although I was never a fan of “the moon period” in DT, thinking it both poor science fiction (of which also I was an avid reader) and discordant in a detective strip, I am pleased with the new “take” on Moon Maid (or whoever/whatever the mysterious figure is) and happy that Tracy and Junior will be giving her some attention, even if they also have other cases to deal with at the same time. [A Dickensian-length sentence!]

Good morning all…

DT is better than any of us could ever have hoped for!

Calling Team Tracy: You guys set the bar pretty high with the “Mr. Crime” storyline. Now you’re doing it again. It’s hard not to tell you how much we (most of us anyway) are enjoying your fine work. On the other hand, because of what you’ve done, I’ve grown to expect it. Feeling kind of spoiled, I guess. Keep ‘em comin’ folks. Thanks again for giving us something fun to look forward to daily. You are appreciated.

better and better!

Can someone ’splain what/who Moon Maid is? I am newish around here (Tracyland, that is). Thanks.

As I sat here and pondered over the comments, it occurred to me that I never was much of a Dick Tracy fan in my youth, until the Diet Smith and the Moon era. As far out as it was, it struck a chord with the space theme and I started taking an interest.As for today’s developments: who knows what powers of regeneration the moon people had? And why does this Moon Maid have her face concealed? To hide scarring? No matter what the outcome of this investigation, it is bound to be very emotionally hard on the Tracys. I look forward to seeing how Joe and Mike treat this delicate situation….

Go Team Tracy! And I still don’t think it’s e original Moon Maid.

I just figured it out! Moon Maid is Nova Kane! (Shout out to Joe!)

So we have a story dealing with the possibility of the return of the dead Moon Maid… during Halloween month? Nifty!

AND WE’RE OFF! Funny how the subject of Moon Maid’s reappearance never came up between tracy and junior up until now. Only ONCE was there a reference to it and that was between junior and sparkle. obviously theyve known about it, but i’m willing to cut them some slack.. there WERE other “issues” that had their attention at the time….tho knowing junior i would have expected him to snoop around on his own before it ever got this far.

the pained look on junior’s face in panel two is heartbreaking and the “double turnaway” in panel three even moreso…its as if tracy cant bear to look at the destroyed headstone, and junior is all by himself.

on a side note, i LOVE how junior still calls dick by his last name, even after all these years, but tracy is always referring to him as “son” when he needs the emotional support. genuine love right there between a father and son…. i hope junior doesnt get the brunt of this in the end.

by the way, nice to see junior “aging gracefully” in panel two.. very much a grown up but still retaining those kid-like qualities (tho i DID like the way fletcher and collins updated his look back when he married sparkle. any chance of ANYONE here throwing up a pic of junior from that time period?)

Another great strip with the story advancement and art that make it so very captivating. Here’s my little tribute to Moon Maid:

I can still rememberMeeting my first loveShe wore a little black suitThat fit her like a glove.

Neither cold nor heat could harm herShe had powers to astoundShe sent my heart a racingShe spun my world around.

I could never wait to see herImpatient, I would sighCounting every hour‘Til to the Moon I’d fly.

A woman without guileBest mother, wife and friendI was not alone in weepingTo learn of her tragic end.

The seasons changed, the years did passI put away childish thingsNever daring to have hopeIn what tomorrow brings.

At first a distant rumorSoon the news did spreadBetter than my wildest dreamsMy first love wasn’t dead.

Life is filled with wonders‘Tis easy to lose sightNot all mistakes are finalSome wrongs can be put right.

So if you hear me singingOr see me dancing like a loonI haven’t lost my sensesI’ve found that Maiden from the Moon.

It doesn’t seem likely but I wonder if Lily Littel could be involved in all this somehow. Her husband Little set the bomb that killed Moon Maid. He later died while trying to disarm a bomb after Junior came seeking justice.

Good Morning Detectives!

I may be in the minority here that I sort of wished that the Chief Detectives Joe and Mike would tease us with Moon Maid sightings for another month or two, but alas, it appears the story arc we’ve been waiting months for is about to start and kick into high gear. By Halloween, we should all have answers to our questions and see which of our many many theories is correct (if any of us have really got it right, that is.)

Joe, Mike…..take it away!

Tracy turns to go, investigative questions on his mind. Junior stays to contemplate. They always assumed Moon Maid was incinerated in the blast. Tracy held Junior back from the wall of flames and smoke. Yet she was impervious to hot and cold. She had many spectacular powers. What if…

It’ hard to explain how excited I am with this story. I was a fan of Moon Maid when I was young, but I don’t remember ever being so anxious to find out what will happen next. What a thrill it is to read Dick Tracy again! Thank you Mike Curtis and Joe Staton for your fantastic work!

I wish I had a body like Moon Maids’.

Poor Junior. The guy can’t seem to get a break.

Awww. My avatar wanted another look at Moon Maid.

Thanks, Chief. Corp, all I can say is I saw BB Eyes and Mumbles drown, yet we saw them in a great story this year. I believe in the magic of comix and the wisdom of Team Tracy. I don’t see this as a cruel tease, but as a major turning point in the fabulous resurrection of Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy. Just one fan’s opinion.

Posted this late yesterday and thought it was worth mentioning again to see what you think:Moon Maid could potentially create a lot of sorrow for Sparkle and kids. But a love triangle is a classic plot device, and this situation as it is currently developing fairly screams for such a triangle to develop. Moon Maid was Junior’s first love, after all. How could Mike and Joe not explore their relationship and where it stands going forward (again assuming this is Mysta)?If sparks fly and Junior and Mysta embrace at some point, it will release an earthquake of emotion that will make the last few days of comments seem like nothing. Again, don’t mean to be heartless or exploitative, but this is fiction, and the point is to tell a story the fans will find exciting, entertaining and yes, controversial. That’s entertainment! And let me tell you, a Junior-Moon Maid kiss would be entertainment like this strip has never witnessed before. Moon Maid elicits a flood of excitement with Tracy fans whatever she does, and if Mike didn’t at least explore the tsunami that would result from a Junior-Moon Maid kiss, it would be a huge missed opportunity. Where it goes from there would ultimately be Mike’s call, but this is why I really want to see a close encounter between Junior and Moon Maid. I would bet money it’s going to happen.

Another great daily from Curtis and Staton. Seeing such pleasing work every day along with the comments makes me excited to come here.

Is there really a body in there?

An exhumation seems imminent.

Any more pictures of Moon Maid? I’m lonely….REAL LONELY!

I don’t think there’ll be any romantic moments between Junior and Moon Maid.Given her aggitated state, I think she’ll either end up in a hospital for serious therapy, or on the run.I don’t see any happy endings to this one.

Here is a LINK to the picture. You can enlarge it with your cursor on the picture and left clicking.

Sorry, the date is 8-13-1978.

Otto Baron, my friend, you need to be more ruthless in observing the rule! Think “Starvation Diet.” 8-)

If Moon Maid was supposed to be impervious to heat, then how would the fire after the explosion destroy all signs of her?

…..but think about this…..if turns out that this is NOT the real Moon Maid, it’s going to be a very depressing, sad ending any way you look at it…….for we readers, not really having her back, and for the stories characters too, of course…..I mean, imagine a presumably deceased loved one miraculously “discovered” alive……then it having been…..all a hoax. I think T’sull was the one who told us Mike was going to deliver a “grim” story in October…..and, well, it looks like that’s where we’re headed. Truly Chester Gould’s alley, the realism of life intertwined with his incredibly imaginative characters….

So very sad for Junior and Tracy. In all my giddy intoxication over seeing Moon Maid the last three days, I forgot that swinging that hammer would inflict some serious emotional blows against our heroes. I’m still excited beyond belief to have that glorious babe back in our lives and in this strip, but for today at least, I can’t help but feel anguish for Tracy and Junior.

can i say this @60sfan srry for makeingu mad yesterday

So if Moon Maid is back, does Junior become a bigamist?

My, my! Isn’t he active today!

welllll…if she’s back…we gots SISTER WIVES!!

mike just posted this recently (earlier today i imagine, i didnt check the time) on the yahoo group.. most of us will find it interesting

For many years, medicare was called the third rail of politics. You couldn’t touch it and live.

For many years, Moon Maid was the third rail of Tracy.

Joe, and Shelley and Shane and yes, Jim, and I (along with our editor) touched the third rail and lived to tell a tale.

Tracy went to the moon in his comic strip adventures, Ugly Christine was thrown from a flying garbage can (sorry I can never remember the names of those things) and went down a factory smokestack.

Haf and Haf was first defeated with the aid of the Space Coupe.

This story will be going on through at least the month of April 2013 if not longer, as I have one adventure to wrap up and then a week long tale before the actual wrapup story.

I told everyone there were other factors entering into the story. Like Retik and his friend in the car. The explosive Sunday of December 23.

And much much more.

Gould left Joe and I with a wonderful world of characters and possibilities. And with the exception of Memphis and Brighton Spotts it likely anything can happen in the Tracy strip now.

Well, I will tell you that you will never see the tagline MEANWHILE in Tracy. Can’t stand that word. I like ELSEWHERE instead.

Joe is busy on Sundays for BROADWAY BATES and I think the introduction to the story and why Bstes is coming back will be quite a surprise.

The MEASLES story is done, and is grim and even gruesome in spots.

And the villian in our January tale is possibly one of the most reprehensible criminals we’ve ever had. The real people who do his crime don’t last long in prison. They’re called “shorteyes” and meet an early demise at the hands of their fellow inmates quite often.

lets hope the “short eyes” doesnt affect jewel, honeymoon or joe!

95 comments as of 5 minutes ago…and EIGHT different people using Moon Maid avatars! That’s probably another record to go along with the 134 comments from the other day!

It’s been a rush for me, too! Like many others here, I loved Moon Maid as a kid. But you know, you move on, something all of us had to do after she was bumped off. Right? But now, seeing her again so gorgeously rendered by Joe Staton, and thinking more and more about her true identity, it’s stirred something inside. I’ve tried to keep my emotions in check (it’s just a character in a story, I’ve told myself!), but I’ve lost more ground every time I’ve seen her. Yeah, I’ve got it bad. The posters here who’ve expressed their childhood memories of Moon Maid? The ecstasy they’re experiencing now that she’s back? I’ve felt all of that. Still I’ve struggled to stay rational. I don’t want to sound like a goofy schoolkid! But yesterday, I finally let myself go. Gave into the pure joy over lost love found again. Gave into the ecstasy of loving Mysta. For those who think that’s goofy, I understand. For those who love her as I do, you understand. We love Mysta and never want her to leave us again.

This is a great tale! I wasn’t a space fan too much though Moon Maid was okay. But the art and stories are so excellent now that I’m hooked!

I’ll play!

Well, 99 posts !

The interest is so HIGH, I might as well round the SCORE out at 100 !

I’ll play too!

Sorry, Chris Robinson – No offense by only counting 8! Now, isn’t this avartar discussion better than all the sniping? (Not that a LITTLE controversy doesn’t make things interesting…& not “bland & vanilla”!)

Thanks, Gweedo! I am leaning that way, too. I thought the hammer was kinda odd at first, but the more I saw it, especially yesterday when she held it twice for us to see, the more I loved it. And after another day I’m thinking, “D@#% if it wasn’t sexy watching her hold that thing!!!!!!!!!”Anyone else?

Thanks, Gweedo!! I’m going for sexiest, and I think the hammer definitely raises her temperature! Anyway I made the change and will give you and JerryH some of the credit if I win!! :)

Willy, you’re going to be tough to beat!