Gather round me people, a story I will tellAbout the dreaded Blackhearts, Tracytown knows them well.Mr. Bigg has called a meeting, attendance mandatoryTo skip it disrespectful, the results rapid and gory..Doubleup is Doubleup, he chews his cabbage twiceBB Eyes, a vicious mug, cross him and pay the price.Mumbles is hard to discern, his words just so much mushMéliès appears so debonair, yet all your dreams he’ll crush.Apollo is all vanity, a silk adorning boorT-Bolt skilled in MMA, she’ll bounce you out the door..Blaze is a small package, yet still waters run so deepVenus is the Blackhearts’ Queen, her suitors known to creepOutside her boudoir chamber, with brains in a dense fogThrilled to wear the collar, they live to be her dog.Fishnet and lace, she sets a pace that few men can maintainCraves passion and subservience, or else she pulls the chain..Mr. Bigg, the King of crime, rules larceny, scams and viceHard work richly rewarded, while bunglers pay steep price.See the curtain rising on more crime and punishmentThe Blackhearts rule in Tracytown, much to its detriment.
Two questions. 1. Where is Mr. Bigg’s ring? 2. Why doesn’t the boss’ hand doesn’t look as old as when seen previously.? And, I know I made this guess once already when trying to figure out the 2nd Mr. Crime’s identity, but are we FINALLY seeing Cheater Gunsmoke in the DT strip?!! (I will now remove my tongue from my cheek!)
Well, there you have eight of them, along with “the hand.” I don’t suppose we’re going to see more than the hand anytime soon. Now that we see Mr. Bigg’s hand close up, it doesn’t look as old and scrawny as some people were speculating.
“… you are all wondering why I returned …” Aparently, he returned by his own will, so that doesn’t sound like he just got out of jail.
“And yet…” Yes, the Moon Maid Project is the crux of the problem. Which ones disappointed him on the Moon Maid Project? I guess that would be the two in the middle (plus the still-missing Munros).
The gang is assembled, and they’re waiting to hearWho will receive praise and which one’s will know fearSuccess they have had but it is never enoughThe boss is demanding and his punishment toughAll those who have tried to destroy his regimeHave quickly encountered a fat lady singHe baffles thier plots with impossible movesDefying all logic he shakes and he grovesAlone he has caused a great fear to take holdFor no one would dare cross Sydney The Bold!
Two things in today’s strip that fit with my Penguin theory:1. Mr. Bigg uses a cigarette holder. This fits well with the Penguin identity, since cigarette holders are a Penguin trademark: 2. At the the far right side of the panel, under Mr. Bigg’s hand, it looks to me as though we have a glimpse of Mr. B’s large, protruding stomach:Compare this with the 2013 silhouette of the Penguin:BINGO!
Méliès seems contemptuous of Mr. Bigg. Can’t figure out exactly why, but it has something to do with his appearance vs Venus and Apollo’s appearance. I think.
I wonder if it’s possible “Mr. Bigg” doesn’t know the ones who are responsible have for the most part already “paid the price” – they’re imbedded somewhere or or in the planet Jupiter.
Unless he plans to execute some punishment against the remaining Munro Brothers and Venus and Méliès, there is no one involved in the Moon Maid scheme to punish.
Note how the line of what first appears to be Bigg’s “stomach” goes BEHIND T-Bolt so that is actually part of the background.-——————————————————————I was thinking this too, but after looking a second time I think it may be the shape of a suit coat on a rather robust gentleman. Unless he’s standing at an odd angle, he appears to be a larger fellow.
Hmm. Really nice panoramic line-up of crime figures…. Mr. Bigg wears a dark suit and holds a cigarette-holder between his index- and third-finger, left hand. He threatens unspecified failed members of his gang from the Moon Maid Affair. BB-Eyes has recognized him (back in the limousine). I suppose Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot fits the physical descriptors, such as they are, and yet I find it hard to see him as the chief of the Blackhearts Syndicate in Tracytown. I will wait for further revelation(s).
Given this bunch of high-flying gangsters, AnyFace, I’d expect a rather different Casey Jones, one that I used to hear while overseas almost every morning back in the day over Armed Forces Radio (though I was not in the military)….
I see there was a long discussion late last night about the format of this comments board. My own thought is that I find Go Comics’ chronological method much easier to follow, even if it does make it necessary to copy and paste the comment you are replying to. Other sites, with their so-called threads, are very confusing to me.
jpuzzlewhiz (from yesterday):.The reason I didn’t mention Julie Newmar was a brain flap – I just couldn’t remember her name at that moment!.On the other hand, I kind of liked Eartha Kitt better, anyway!.How many versions of Santa Baby did she do, anyway?
What a great rogues gallery! The hand sports no gloves, but the cigarette holder certainly supports Willy007’s Cobblepot theory. Well done, to the surprise of none. While not as excited by a Penguin crossover as Willy, I very much like the idea of the mysterious big boss returning to town to strike fear into the ranks of the Blackhearts. The fall of the organization will cost some their lives, but I do hope Venus is a long-term character, especially given that her “sister” died all too soon. BB Eyes and Mumbles work well as ongoing classic, if minor, characters. The Painted Lady story leads me to imagine Venus running a nightclub in Tracyville. Notta sang and played guitar in jail, so maybe she could be an entertainer in Venus’s club. Today’s strip is another brilliant single-panel model. Like the Wonder Car airborne over the frozen lake, the single and double-panel strips are always visually striking. Here’s a rogues gallery that makes Tracy a little nervous.
Thanks to Ray Toler, Neil Wick, Night-Gaunt49, Gweedo, VistaBill, Starman1948, cpalmeresq, unclescrooge and Chris Sherlock for the kind words. Very much appreciated.
Could Mr. Big be… Pruneface?I know Pruneface used a cigarette holder. He returned in the 80’s, after being thawed out by some scientist.-In the only strip I remember, the scientist told Pruneface Reagan was president, and as proof, showed him a magazine like TIME, with Reagan on the cover. “That’s not Ronald Reagan. That’s my cousin Louie.”-I know it’s unlikely, but so are the Penguin and Mr. Bribery.Once Again, Mike has us guessing.
“But so is an umbrella, which, in this week’s strips, we don’t see.All we’ve seen is glimpses of Mr. Bigg: his left hand, a cigarette holder, and what may be a silhouette of his girth. Doesn’t mean he’s without an umbrella. Besides, Curtis and Staton want this mystery to linger for awhile, and at this point, including an umbrella would be TMI and a dead giveaway.”But the same shape can be seen on the far left, so that is not his stomach.I thought the same thing at first, and who knows, you could be right. It seems (to me) that Staton has arranged the scenery to leave things a bit vague, and whether that is intentional or not, the dark curved object at right can be interpreted in different ways. I will note again that the colorist seems to have understood the dark object at right as a profile, since the area below Mr. Bigg’s sleeve is reflecting blue, the identical color reflecting off his suit.Whether I’m right or not, I’m having fun!
“But B. B. Eyes thought-balloon that said he’d “seen that face before” might be the real deal killer.”Maybe BB-Eyes is a DC comics fan. LOL!!Seriously, though, the 1/4/2013 and 1/5/2013 strips tell us Cobblepot and apparently even Batman are alive and known to others in the Tracyverse:Tracy has done battle with Cobblepot’s brother, Broadway Bates. Tracy is obviously aware that Bates’ brother is a well-known crime lord in another city (“his brother’s shadow” suggests Cobblepot is infamous). Given these facts, it is entirely possible that a long-time criminal like BB-Eyes would recognize a criminal like Oswald Cobblepot on sight, especially given Cobblepot’s distinctive look.
AnyFace, thanks again for that pair of Sunday Strips including Blaze Rize on Wednesday. I am forced to conclude that my ‘crush’ on them thar ‘cute li’l freckles’ and other features was way off target! Not for a microsecond did it occur to me to turn on my gaydar first…My thanks for Friday posts also by:—NightShade09 (That Blaze and her late sister were gay is known). tsull2121 (Paraphrasing Mike Curtis: “As far as I am concerned both Rize sisters were gay”). Ken in Ohio (The “Fifty Shades of Grey” implication could be a deliberate misdirect by Mike and Joe). Neil Wick (Thinks it’s some sort of sex equipment, maybe s&m, that her “day job” is some sort of call girl and that Blaze was putting on a robe as she headed towards the door. Also that Blaze is attracted to women). NightShade09 [again, with wit, charm and ‘pure speculation’] (Blaze as a dominatrix? No. Her sister, yes. Using her own apartment as a dungeon? Very risky… and then there’s bringing up all that gear in a freight elevator, hidden in IKEA boxes…)!Neil Wick [again] (Maybe she could be a cam girl? Maybe her “day job” isn’t an important part of the plot).— and for clearing up all my Blaze Rize questions for me.
Hey unclescrooge, just wanted to say “Thanks” for taking a few minutes from hanging out with your friends to post such a constructive and meaningful comment! You can stop by my Wal-Marts anytime, the hays on me!!! _______________________Perhaps unclescrooge thinks your work to be more Moe Howard than Noel Coward.
What he forgets is that both were masters at using their humor to generate a laugh or a smile. Keep up your good work.
Two other things I neglected to mention before:1. Love today’s panel. I like the traditional 3-panel look, but combining everything in a single panel is a dramatic change of pace. I just noticed that Doubleup, Melies, and Venus have their face turned away from Mr. Bigg, while everyone else is looking directly at him. Probably means nothing, but the variety of perspectives make the panel more interesting. I notice that Melies seems to be showing contempt for Mr. Bigg — still pondering as to why he hates his boss. (Maybe for turning him into a grotesque?)2. Avenger09, I appreciate the rhymes you’re sharing with us. Thanks! I also have no clue why Morrow was banned. In fact, I just learned of it as you did.
Still Da Man! asked if you could let Morrow know how sad he is that Morrow finds himself banned. He wanted to make sure that everyone knows that he had nothing to do with this situation and that if he had that much influence with the boards distinguished moderator he would use that to get himself restored after 18 months in Siberia.
Off topic: Comet (my eight year old Vista dream machine) lost the copy and paste function. I did a system restore to fix it but it disappeared again. I put an instruction (Cmd /c"echo off|clip") to no avail. I have been using Shadow (Comet’s Vista companion) when I need to copy and paste. Any simple fix for Comet?
Well the Moon Maid project was about getting control of the space coupe, so I can definitely see Melies getting whacked, anyways, as he was in charge of the ones who messed it up. Doubt Venus goes, though…….Mike and Joe have had plenty of time to see how popular she was since her introduction way back……
The Painted Lady arc was the epitome of Gould’s “Pop Art” period which included the Space Era. His backgrounds became more minimalist and his brush strokes and colors became bolder. Sexuality became more explicit.
As @AnyFace commented recently: It was some wacky stuff. Tracy grew long hair and a moustache, wore a black shirt and tan suit. Sam ditched the derby for a plaid trilby and the green suit for a loud sportscoat. Tracy dropped napalm and zapped crooks with atomic lasers. Cops flew around the sky in what looked like garbage cans with crutches.
But it was the Tracy of my teenage years and I couldn’t wait to get the paper every day to read the latest episode. The shock at Painted Lady’s sudden death was not the first time this strip has stunned or surprised me.
“Willy !Thanks for the Painted Lady reprint and so nicely sized. If this were a Staton original I bet the detail would be fantastic !”You’re welcome, my man!
Thanks, Gweedo. Reinstalling Vista is the last thing I want to do. My files are backed up (several times) but reinstalling 200 programs is a real dizzying experience,
Pequod about 9 years ago
Gather round me people, a story I will tellAbout the dreaded Blackhearts, Tracytown knows them well.Mr. Bigg has called a meeting, attendance mandatoryTo skip it disrespectful, the results rapid and gory..Doubleup is Doubleup, he chews his cabbage twiceBB Eyes, a vicious mug, cross him and pay the price.Mumbles is hard to discern, his words just so much mushMéliès appears so debonair, yet all your dreams he’ll crush.Apollo is all vanity, a silk adorning boorT-Bolt skilled in MMA, she’ll bounce you out the door..Blaze is a small package, yet still waters run so deepVenus is the Blackhearts’ Queen, her suitors known to creepOutside her boudoir chamber, with brains in a dense fogThrilled to wear the collar, they live to be her dog.Fishnet and lace, she sets a pace that few men can maintainCraves passion and subservience, or else she pulls the chain..Mr. Bigg, the King of crime, rules larceny, scams and viceHard work richly rewarded, while bunglers pay steep price.See the curtain rising on more crime and punishmentThe Blackhearts rule in Tracytown, much to its detriment.
cpalmeresq about 9 years ago
Two questions. 1. Where is Mr. Bigg’s ring? 2. Why doesn’t the boss’ hand doesn’t look as old as when seen previously.? And, I know I made this guess once already when trying to figure out the 2nd Mr. Crime’s identity, but are we FINALLY seeing Cheater Gunsmoke in the DT strip?!! (I will now remove my tongue from my cheek!)
AnyFace about 9 years ago
The Line-Up!
AnyFace about 9 years ago
Love it when Joe draws larger-than-usual panels, or single-panel “Splashes.”
Neil Wick about 9 years ago
Well, there you have eight of them, along with “the hand.” I don’t suppose we’re going to see more than the hand anytime soon. Now that we see Mr. Bigg’s hand close up, it doesn’t look as old and scrawny as some people were speculating.
“… you are all wondering why I returned …” Aparently, he returned by his own will, so that doesn’t sound like he just got out of jail.
“And yet…” Yes, the Moon Maid Project is the crux of the problem. Which ones disappointed him on the Moon Maid Project? I guess that would be the two in the middle (plus the still-missing Munros).
AnyFace about 9 years ago
This is the point in a Bond film where an underling would be killed to show that the “Big Boss” means Business.
Could Double-Up’s days be numbered?
Be numbered?
Ray Toler about 9 years ago
Ahhh, a cigarette holder…who said Cobblepot?
avenger09 about 9 years ago
The gang is assembled, and they’re waiting to hearWho will receive praise and which one’s will know fearSuccess they have had but it is never enoughThe boss is demanding and his punishment toughAll those who have tried to destroy his regimeHave quickly encountered a fat lady singHe baffles thier plots with impossible movesDefying all logic he shakes and he grovesAlone he has caused a great fear to take holdFor no one would dare cross Sydney The Bold!
AnyFace about 9 years ago
@Pequod77
and the man at the throttle was Casey Jones.____________________
Why do I suddenly crave GOOD & PLENTY candy …?
The Ballad of Casey Jones
willy007 about 9 years ago
Two things in today’s strip that fit with my Penguin theory:1. Mr. Bigg uses a cigarette holder. This fits well with the Penguin identity, since cigarette holders are a Penguin trademark: 2. At the the far right side of the panel, under Mr. Bigg’s hand, it looks to me as though we have a glimpse of Mr. B’s large, protruding stomach:Compare this with the 2013 silhouette of the Penguin:BINGO!
AnyFace about 9 years ago
Mr. Bigg’s hand is much less dessicated today.
Proper hydration?
AnyFace about 9 years ago
Is that Spider-Man’s shoulder on the lower left?
No, wait …
… That’s Blaze Rize’s coat.
AnyFace about 9 years ago
Hurm …
Wonder if “Mr. Bigg” will kill Double-Up to make a point, then split the scene, rendering this an interlude.
AnyFace about 9 years ago
Lucky for them the surviving Munro Brothers missed Dress Inspection.
Not sure they’d have fit into the shot.
And it’s likely that they would be shot.
Out of a cannon.
Into the sun.
AnyFace about 9 years ago
Woo! Gosh!
Just had a majorly creepy thought.
What if “Mr. Bigg” …
… were Posie Ermine?!
willy007 about 9 years ago
Méliès seems contemptuous of Mr. Bigg. Can’t figure out exactly why, but it has something to do with his appearance vs Venus and Apollo’s appearance. I think.
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ about 9 years ago
Good morning fellow DT fans!
Love today’s strip plus the great poetry and comments.
jonahhex1 about 9 years ago
I wonder if it’s possible “Mr. Bigg” doesn’t know the ones who are responsible have for the most part already “paid the price” – they’re imbedded somewhere or or in the planet Jupiter.
Unless he plans to execute some punishment against the remaining Munro Brothers and Venus and Méliès, there is no one involved in the Moon Maid scheme to punish.
Starman1948 about 9 years ago
Hats off to Pequod and avenger09 our poet laureates!________@Willy007: thanks for the flashbacks.________Everybody have a beautiful weekend.
cpalmeresq about 9 years ago
Pequod77 & avenger09, I admire your talent!
nighthawk1 about 9 years ago
Maximara said, about 2 hours ago
@Willy007
Note how the line of what first appears to be Bigg’s “stomach” goes BEHIND T-Bolt so that is actually part of the background.-——————————————————————I was thinking this too, but after looking a second time I think it may be the shape of a suit coat on a rather robust gentleman. Unless he’s standing at an odd angle, he appears to be a larger fellow.
Sisyphos about 9 years ago
Hmm. Really nice panoramic line-up of crime figures…. Mr. Bigg wears a dark suit and holds a cigarette-holder between his index- and third-finger, left hand. He threatens unspecified failed members of his gang from the Moon Maid Affair. BB-Eyes has recognized him (back in the limousine). I suppose Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot fits the physical descriptors, such as they are, and yet I find it hard to see him as the chief of the Blackhearts Syndicate in Tracytown. I will wait for further revelation(s).
Given this bunch of high-flying gangsters, AnyFace, I’d expect a rather different Casey Jones, one that I used to hear while overseas almost every morning back in the day over Armed Forces Radio (though I was not in the military)….
Ken in Ohio about 9 years ago
I see there was a long discussion late last night about the format of this comments board. My own thought is that I find Go Comics’ chronological method much easier to follow, even if it does make it necessary to copy and paste the comment you are replying to. Other sites, with their so-called threads, are very confusing to me.
Can't Sleep about 9 years ago
Dear Lord, Gweedo!That GIF!No offense, but – dear Lord!And seeing it without a cup of caffeine to brace myself!
Cheapskate0 about 9 years ago
jpuzzlewhiz (from yesterday):.The reason I didn’t mention Julie Newmar was a brain flap – I just couldn’t remember her name at that moment!.On the other hand, I kind of liked Eartha Kitt better, anyway!.How many versions of Santa Baby did she do, anyway?
Pequod about 9 years ago
What a great rogues gallery! The hand sports no gloves, but the cigarette holder certainly supports Willy007’s Cobblepot theory. Well done, to the surprise of none. While not as excited by a Penguin crossover as Willy, I very much like the idea of the mysterious big boss returning to town to strike fear into the ranks of the Blackhearts. The fall of the organization will cost some their lives, but I do hope Venus is a long-term character, especially given that her “sister” died all too soon. BB Eyes and Mumbles work well as ongoing classic, if minor, characters. The Painted Lady story leads me to imagine Venus running a nightclub in Tracyville. Notta sang and played guitar in jail, so maybe she could be an entertainer in Venus’s club. Today’s strip is another brilliant single-panel model. Like the Wonder Car airborne over the frozen lake, the single and double-panel strips are always visually striking. Here’s a rogues gallery that makes Tracy a little nervous.
Thanks to Ray Toler, Neil Wick, Night-Gaunt49, Gweedo, VistaBill, Starman1948, cpalmeresq, unclescrooge and Chris Sherlock for the kind words. Very much appreciated.
Can't Sleep about 9 years ago
Could Mr. Big be… Pruneface?I know Pruneface used a cigarette holder. He returned in the 80’s, after being thawed out by some scientist.-In the only strip I remember, the scientist told Pruneface Reagan was president, and as proof, showed him a magazine like TIME, with Reagan on the cover. “That’s not Ronald Reagan. That’s my cousin Louie.”-I know it’s unlikely, but so are the Penguin and Mr. Bribery.Once Again, Mike has us guessing.
avenger09 about 9 years ago
Why anyone thinks I’m in some sort of competition with PQ77 is baffling. It’s also possible to compliment one individual without insulting another.
willy007 about 9 years ago
“But so is an umbrella, which, in this week’s strips, we don’t see.All we’ve seen is glimpses of Mr. Bigg: his left hand, a cigarette holder, and what may be a silhouette of his girth. Doesn’t mean he’s without an umbrella. Besides, Curtis and Staton want this mystery to linger for awhile, and at this point, including an umbrella would be TMI and a dead giveaway.”But the same shape can be seen on the far left, so that is not his stomach.I thought the same thing at first, and who knows, you could be right. It seems (to me) that Staton has arranged the scenery to leave things a bit vague, and whether that is intentional or not, the dark curved object at right can be interpreted in different ways. I will note again that the colorist seems to have understood the dark object at right as a profile, since the area below Mr. Bigg’s sleeve is reflecting blue, the identical color reflecting off his suit.Whether I’m right or not, I’m having fun!
willy007 about 9 years ago
“But B. B. Eyes thought-balloon that said he’d “seen that face before” might be the real deal killer.”Maybe BB-Eyes is a DC comics fan. LOL!!Seriously, though, the 1/4/2013 and 1/5/2013 strips tell us Cobblepot and apparently even Batman are alive and known to others in the Tracyverse:Tracy has done battle with Cobblepot’s brother, Broadway Bates. Tracy is obviously aware that Bates’ brother is a well-known crime lord in another city (“his brother’s shadow” suggests Cobblepot is infamous). Given these facts, it is entirely possible that a long-time criminal like BB-Eyes would recognize a criminal like Oswald Cobblepot on sight, especially given Cobblepot’s distinctive look.
RVLDeJung Premium Member about 9 years ago
AnyFace, thanks again for that pair of Sunday Strips including Blaze Rize on Wednesday. I am forced to conclude that my ‘crush’ on them thar ‘cute li’l freckles’ and other features was way off target! Not for a microsecond did it occur to me to turn on my gaydar first…My thanks for Friday posts also by:— NightShade09 (That Blaze and her late sister were gay is known). tsull2121 (Paraphrasing Mike Curtis: “As far as I am concerned both Rize sisters were gay”). Ken in Ohio (The “Fifty Shades of Grey” implication could be a deliberate misdirect by Mike and Joe). Neil Wick (Thinks it’s some sort of sex equipment, maybe s&m, that her “day job” is some sort of call girl and that Blaze was putting on a robe as she headed towards the door. Also that Blaze is attracted to women). NightShade09 [again, with wit, charm and ‘pure speculation’] (Blaze as a dominatrix? No. Her sister, yes. Using her own apartment as a dungeon? Very risky… and then there’s bringing up all that gear in a freight elevator, hidden in IKEA boxes…)! Neil Wick [again] (Maybe she could be a cam girl? Maybe her “day job” isn’t an important part of the plot).— and for clearing up all my Blaze Rize questions for me.
mumbles about 9 years ago
uh-oh, another Moon-Maid arc. Fanboys unite!!
William Neal McPheeters about 9 years ago
Putt ’em back in your pants and cool your engines!!!
Ray Toler about 9 years ago
Hey unclescrooge, just wanted to say “Thanks” for taking a few minutes from hanging out with your friends to post such a constructive and meaningful comment! You can stop by my Wal-Marts anytime, the hays on me!!! _______________________Perhaps unclescrooge thinks your work to be more Moe Howard than Noel Coward.
What he forgets is that both were masters at using their humor to generate a laugh or a smile. Keep up your good work.
avenger09 about 9 years ago
Morrow got banned? When and why?
willy007 about 9 years ago
Two other things I neglected to mention before:1. Love today’s panel. I like the traditional 3-panel look, but combining everything in a single panel is a dramatic change of pace. I just noticed that Doubleup, Melies, and Venus have their face turned away from Mr. Bigg, while everyone else is looking directly at him. Probably means nothing, but the variety of perspectives make the panel more interesting. I notice that Melies seems to be showing contempt for Mr. Bigg — still pondering as to why he hates his boss. (Maybe for turning him into a grotesque?)2. Avenger09, I appreciate the rhymes you’re sharing with us. Thanks! I also have no clue why Morrow was banned. In fact, I just learned of it as you did.
avenger09 about 9 years ago
Still Da Man! asked if you could let Morrow know how sad he is that Morrow finds himself banned. He wanted to make sure that everyone knows that he had nothing to do with this situation and that if he had that much influence with the boards distinguished moderator he would use that to get himself restored after 18 months in Siberia.
. Oh and he also said that Loves my poems! LOL!
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ about 9 years ago
Off topic: Comet (my eight year old Vista dream machine) lost the copy and paste function. I did a system restore to fix it but it disappeared again. I put an instruction (Cmd /c"echo off|clip") to no avail. I have been using Shadow (Comet’s Vista companion) when I need to copy and paste. Any simple fix for Comet?
fredville about 9 years ago
Well the Moon Maid project was about getting control of the space coupe, so I can definitely see Melies getting whacked, anyways, as he was in charge of the ones who messed it up. Doubt Venus goes, though…….Mike and Joe have had plenty of time to see how popular she was since her introduction way back……
Ray Toler about 9 years ago
@Willy007@Pequod77
Great Painted Lady panels, Willy.
The Painted Lady arc was the epitome of Gould’s “Pop Art” period which included the Space Era. His backgrounds became more minimalist and his brush strokes and colors became bolder. Sexuality became more explicit.
As @AnyFace commented recently: It was some wacky stuff. Tracy grew long hair and a moustache, wore a black shirt and tan suit. Sam ditched the derby for a plaid trilby and the green suit for a loud sportscoat. Tracy dropped napalm and zapped crooks with atomic lasers. Cops flew around the sky in what looked like garbage cans with crutches.
But it was the Tracy of my teenage years and I couldn’t wait to get the paper every day to read the latest episode. The shock at Painted Lady’s sudden death was not the first time this strip has stunned or surprised me.
Perhaps that’s why I keep reading.
AnyFace about 9 years ago
Definitely sound like horses. Not so very surprising, being named by our “Western Hero.” :)
AnyFace about 9 years ago
Yet another random guess at Mr. Bigg’s identity:
Could the cigarette holder belong to …
… STOOGE VILLER?!
AnyFace about 9 years ago
I’m not saying Stooge Viller is “Mr. Bigg,” only that Mr. Bigg’s cigarette holder used to belong to Stooge Viller.
(Yeah. Right.)
willy007 about 9 years ago
“Willy !Thanks for the Painted Lady reprint and so nicely sized. If this were a Staton original I bet the detail would be fantastic !”You’re welcome, my man!
willy007 about 9 years ago
Neil Wick about 9 years ago
Could the Bigg reveal be tomorrow?
It’s much too soon. Besides, the Sunday-only readers have to get teased, too.Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ about 9 years ago
Thanks, Gweedo. Reinstalling Vista is the last thing I want to do. My files are backed up (several times) but reinstalling 200 programs is a real dizzying experience,
celeste0416 about 9 years ago
why he’s going to do that
Pequod over 7 years ago
Gather round me people, a story I will tell
About the dreaded Blackhearts, Tracytown knows them well.
Mr. Bigg has called a meeting, attendance mandatory
To skip it disrespectful, the results rapid and gory.
Doubleup is Doubleup, he chews his cabbage twice
BB Eyes, a vicious mug, cross him and pay the price.
Mumbles is hard to discern, his words just so much mush
Méliès appears so debonair, yet all your dreams he’ll crush.
Apollo is all vanity, a silk adorning boor
T-Bolt skilled in MMA, she’ll bounce you out the door.
Blaze is a small package, yet still waters run so deep
Venus is the Blackhearts’ Queen, her suitors known to creep
Outside her boudoir chamber, with brains in a dense fog
Thrilled to wear the collar, they live to be her dog.
Fishnet and lace, she sets a pace that few men can maintain
Craves passion and subservience, or else she pulls the chain.
Mr. Bigg, the King of crime, rules larceny, scams and vice
Hard work richly rewarded, while bunglers pay steep price.
See the curtain rising on more crime and punishment
The Blackhearts rule in Tracytown, much to its detriment.