Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for April 01, 2018

Good morning™, superhero friends !

Notice that we are not being asked to solve this mystery ourselves. The setting seems to be taken from the death of George Reeves, who played Superman on TV from 1951 until 1958. He died from a gunshot in his upstairs bedroom at his home in Benedict Canyon (in Los Angeles). The death was officially ruled a suicide, but some believe that he was either murdered or accidentally shot.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Reeves#Death

This story is going to occupy us till next Sunday, so I’m declaring the following week, ending Sunday the 15th, as Vista Bill memorial week. We should be seeing some mention of Vista Bill in the strip sometime that week.

“ULTRAMAN” eh?

Obviously a different Ultraman than the one from DCU.

Looks like flattop coming out of the pharmacy, second last frame…. I like John Lucas artwork, what else does he do ?

No offense to John Lucas but I hate the look of Tracyville. Sam looks like a demonic version of himself.

Quite a bit different than Joe’s style, but for a change of pace I really like it.

The style change says we ain’t in Kansas no more.

Great variation. I LOVE Lucas’ work. This is wild for Dick Tracy, and fun too! Although Staton is the best in the business, I like the fact that Team Tracy allows guest artist’s on the strip.

This art looks like one of those MAD Magazine parodies of Dick Tracy. It is obvious that Mr. Lucas is very talented, and I like guest artists once in a while (I thought the “3 Margies” story had very good art), but such a drastic difference as this makes it look like a joke. Plus, with Flattop running around in the background, this cannot be considered part of the continuity in any way. This is disappointing.

Oh, yes. I remember now that “3 Margies” was actually drawn by Shelley. It was nice art. I also liked the art (although the “Mystery” was disappointing) in out last “Minit Mystery” adventure.

Good morning all y’all. Happy Easter.

The art is very different and strange. But I will give this artist a chance. He has obvious talent, and I think some of the negative reactions are because it is so different from what we are used to. Let’s give him the week before we make a final judgment of his work.

Crazy stuff. Love it.

Note the emphasis on the word “was” in the last panel. I think that the sentence is meant to imply that Reeds once played Ultraman on TV and is still alive (as far as Tracy knows), but doesn’t quite come out like that, at least to me.

Wow, I love it. It has this kind of “noir” feeling. Especially that 2nd to the last panel.

“There are eight million stories in the naked city, this is one of them.”

Nothing here to hate. Variety is the spice of life. John Lucas is a very talented artist. Durak rightly notes the noir aspect of the art, which is absolutely in keeping with the grittier characteristics of the strip. None need worry that Mr. Lucas is a permanent replacement for Mr. Staton, as the “Minit Mysteries” panel makes clear. Love the full moon that shimmers over the wide array of rooftop antennae. This suggests an earlier era in keeping with the George Reeds character presented in “black & white.” The black cat could be an omen of bad luck for whomever perpetrated a crime against Ultraman. Sam’s toothpick keeps the nicotine cravings at bay, even as he and Tracy speed toward the potentially gruesome crime scene.

I like the art! It gives the story a hard edge. Good job, Mr. Lucas! And kudos also to the magnificent Mr. Staton, who deserved some time off!

I’m gonna love this! Great art! I miss my Superman TV shows.

Since when is Tracy part of LAPD?

George Reeds as Ultraman = George Reeves as Superman??

Well, obviously the style is going to take some getting used to. I’ll read along each day anyway; just interesting that Team Tracy has its own take on the death of George Reeves in this fictitious case.

Is that Flattop in the background in panel 5?

Everyone’s complaining about the artwork style, but it looks exactly like how I imagined it would, based on the artist’s Kickstarter page from the link that was posted here yesterday. I look forward to trying to solve this mystery.

Ugh. Tracy and Sam are creepy looking.

When I read this was taking place in Benedict Canyon, my first thought was of Sharon Tate. Is Charley Manson going to figure in this story?

Just a bit derivative?

Calling it now: it was Lex Luthor in the Hall of Justice with the kryptonite laser…

April Fools, right? Yuck.

Fans of MST3K will know their riff on “White Goddess.” One of the male leads was played by George Reeves, and of course the Superman references flew thick and fast.

But they didn’t say anything about his co-star, Ralph Byrd, who had starred as… Dick Tracy.

Much grittier version of Dick Tracy. I wonder if Staton and Curtis are looking for people to pass the baton to. (Yes, that is considered bad grammar, but it matches modern speech patterns.)

A couple of notes from Mike Curtis:

1) The Vista Bill memorial strip will be appearing on Sunday, April 15.

2) The house in Benedict Canyon is based on George Reeve’s actual house, which both Mike and Joe Staton have visited.

:D

A question: how does one change typefaces? Just point me to the right page; I’ll appreciate it.

I find John Lucas’s style a tad unsettling (especially Tracy’s exaggerated train-engine-scoop chin), but the story looks interesting enough that I could be satisfied even if it ran two or three weeks rather than just one. I don’t know how the Ultraman/George Reeds case (if such it is) can be solved so quickly. I think I will enjoy this ride!

Hey John, glad to see a fellow minit mystery artist show off his stuff! Great work!

I just realized – Reeds looks Captain Everything, another spoof of Superman from the normalman comic book from the 1980’s. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/Normalman.jpg

A Flattop look a like is walking in the bottom middle panel.