Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for January 31, 2009

Not as good as the last couple of cartoons. What was Angeldustious going to call the perfume? Flaming Dick or something like that.

Yes Dick there is, and maybe if the authorities were to investigate the cause of the explosion, you just might learn why. As a matter of fact they should be pouring over the house now. I know, I know, it,s picking at nits, but holey moley, that’s sop to the fire and police. Just a dose of reality, Please.

So I guess Dick is finished speaking with Nubby? What has transpired that informed Tess that the perfume is going national? Did I miss something? Did they sign a contract Angelicious Rodman?

margueritemPro says:

Not as good as the last couple of cartoons. What was Angeldustious going to call the perfume? Flaming Dick or something like that.

Wow Marg, I am surprised the machine let you get away with that one. But it’s definely a catchy name. I will look for it next time I am in Nordstrom’s. … er, on second thought…..

Perhaps someone new is helping out on the strip.

Not much going on today except for panel 3. Tracy left Doc alone without “convincing” him to answer his questions. Second panel has Tess totally oblivious of what her husband means. Panel 3 is great! Lots of detail. Maybe the shadowy figure is the mysterious “Driller”. “So give it a famous name”. Hmmmm.. how about “Barack Aroma”?

Ok. I’m leaving now.

Joe

Looks like a total overhaul of DL’s ways! The story picked up; the artwork is more professional; and the effective use of shadows tell me our concerns must have gotten through! I doubt seriously if any coattail-hangers-on had anything to do with it, though. Thanks, DL!

I agree with other posters, artwork is very good and plot advancement today is OK.

Why are the police or FD not investigating the house explosion? That needs to be answered.

What happened to Tess’ friends that appeared on her doorstep and were going to sell the perfume door to door like girl scouts selling cookies?

Where did Anthraxalicious go?

CIA man was looking for Dr. Stumps. How come no one at the station is aware of this? Is there no bulletin? How does the CIA do it anyway? Do they go on America’s Most Wanted with John Walsh?

GROK says Tess is still dumb as a bag o’ lumpy rocks, sadly. My houseplant could rob her blind.

That is sooooo funny. LMAO. Especially since she’s been married to the greatest detective in the world for so many years.

The Tess Trueheart Tracy statement today is a good example. He has Tess quacking like a dumb rubber duckie in the mid panel. That’s a major “personality” change for her, but our Author likes to keep on altering the game rules when he plays his “marbles” in our favorite comic strip ! Tess has never been that naive. It’s one thing to completly redesign the appearance of “key” regular characters a HQ, but when the they insidiously start playing footsie with the “personalities” that’s a very different ball game. I clearly remember Kilian making a statement on behalf of himself (and Locher) back in 1995 as he introduced the strips new thrust into “extremly serious themes”, one where the “colorful villain of yore” was not appropriate and would have to take “a back seat”. It all “tanked” after two stories but I’m amazed that Senior and more experienced partner Dick Locher went along with what seemed like nonsense. For awhile back then I thought inexperienced Kilian lost his way and ‘dreamed’ he was writing ‘Editorials’ for the Chicago Tribune. It seems that’s when the “rot” in the strip began to set in (today circulation is down by 85% to 50 ‘papers) and It’s fair to hold Locher equally culpable. Kilian speaking (1995) for the team said, “Tracy himself will NEVER CHANGE. We HAVE and we WILL continue to see to that. He is the epitome of the good cop … as my partner (DL) says, he’s the pole that holds up the circus tent”. Gosh! What “Bosh”! For then, in an “exhilerating” modernisation mood, it was BLAM!… and the HAT was gone! And with it a large chunk of the unique Tracy persona. IN, like Flynn, were thick Groucho Marx eyebrows and for a while, the slit eyes left and we had expermental (?) larger eyes. Part of a ” breathtaking” relaunch all those changes proved a resounding failure if we ‘judge’ from the speed at which ‘papers dropped the strip. Then in an “breathtaking”, modernising mood, BLAM! …and the HAT was gone ! And with it a large chunk of the Tracy persona. Our man seems to have perfected the Anti-Midas ‘touch’ as every change touching the strip seemed to lose another paper. If nothing else, we have to sgree that he is firm in his convivtions, … pride perhaps? We’ll just have to accept that in the face of adversity he is one “Determined Dicky”!

Don’t missunderstand me I’m NOT anti Locher or Kilian (as some are wont to believe), for THEY in their own way, have done MUCH for the strip, it’s just that they seem to have taken some frustrating, wrong turns that have not worked well. And I speak out, perhaps in vain, but this strip and it’s “success” are very important to me !

Good morning, everybody! I hope your Saturday is treating you well so far. We’re told by the weather predicting folk here that we might break freezing today for the first time this year – I can hear “Der Bingle” already – “A tropical heat wave…”

I’m not sure, but because Tracy is still wearing the black turtle neck – this still must be the same day! He may have one for each day of the week in his drawer’s, I guess. With the trademark black with red pin-stripe tie and yellow coat & hat, it seems to me Tracy doesn’t branch out too much in the fashion dept. I like the effect DL was going for in panel 3, but digitally it doesn’t appear quite as neatly as it does in print.

Sydney, I’m attempting to be polite, but straight on this – the newspaper count doesn’t mean much any more since newspaper’s don’t mean much any more. Going with the syndicate confirmed # of 23 million reader’s is more accurate AND relevant now that so many reader’s are gauged by web-page “hits” like here and elsewhere. All comic strips have lost papers over the past ten years, to one degree or another, because newspapers have been dropping like flies or those that remain have been cutting their comics to save on the bottom line. This latter reason is ridiculous and will surely write these newspaper’s a one-way ticket to the grave, I fear.

Gweedo Murray says:

Did someone hijack your minotaur margueritem ?

No, it was just time for a change again. Is that Danni as your avatar?

I guess what was bothering me last night was Tess being ‘dumb as a box of rocks’. This is a giant step backwards for her character, as others have said. I think that is Driller in the last panel. Panel 1 looks good, as does panel 3.

From here on out, for me anyway, reading this strip will be like watching a tight-rope act at the circus.

I’ll take the bait, Marguiritem! ;)

I agree, this is dangerous territory. The characterization in the strip of Tess exhibiting lower than usual sensibilities could lose the strip valuable female readership it can ill afford to lose.

HOWEVER, DL has left himself more than enough room to redeem this characterization by having her essentially involved in solving the crime or apprehending the bad guy(s), whatever & whomever, exactly, that turns out to be. As Peter Sellers once declared: “I believe everything and I believe nothing. I suspect everyone and I suspect no one.”

Jeff Kersten says: HOWEVER, DL has left himself more than enough room to redeem this characterization by having her essentially involved in solving the crime or apprehending the bad guy(s), whatever & whomever, exactly, that turns out to be.

~I hope that he does so, Jeff. She’s not much of a role model right.now.

NotNormanChubsyUbsy sez:

“Despite the events of the last few days, this strip is STILL a pale imitation of what it was when Chester Gould was in control.”

I agree completely and I’ve never suggested otherwise, just to be clear. I’m of the opinion that it will NEVER be the strip that it was during Chet’s tenure. I wish it were otherwise possible, but history isn’t at all encouraging.

I think it’s worth repeating that I’m the historian of the CHESTER GOULD - Dick Tracy Museum – not the DICK LOCHER - Dick Tracy Museum, by the way. I’ve never suggested that any one creator, since Chet retired, ever came close to eclipsing his accomplishments.

READERSHIP and THOUGHTS on TESS: Jeff, you make a good point on the counter balancing readership on the Internet. But, I’m a cautious guy and tend to question those sweeping assesments (eg 23 million on the internet). For example GOComics carries many strips. I for one read only 12 or so. That does not include “Love is…” It’s reasonable to assume most readers at GOComics are also selective. TMS can’t count all subsctibers as readers of Dick Tracy(?). The same is true on other sites. How do they judge the readership? Is there something that tells how many “hits” a strip gets per day? DL tod Beau (DT Yahoo) 2 yyears ago that two thirds of readership was on the Internet (?) One other poinT, when Gould was doing Tracy I got the impression that DT and “Blondie” were both vying for the “top” spot. Both creators later passed on and others took over. Today it’s reported that Blondie appears in 2,300 newspapers worldwide in 56 countries and estimated readership of some 250 million people! While not ‘gosple’ accurate, the Blondie numbers assume some 109,000 readers per newspaper that carries the strip. Where(?) is Dick Tracy? I havn’t got the answer, but on the same “track” it does give ‘pause’ to query the estimate of 23 million readers (?) LOOKING at TESS now! Back in the Figment Froid story she inheritied $5 million and gave Alzheimers Research the bulk of it and “..We keep a small amount” (1-20-07). The motivation seems somewhat different today. a tad mercenary? “…Dick,this line of cosmetics … is a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity”. Of course we could do some “supposing”, if we had a mind to, and tell ourselves it’s all for ‘charity’, although the Author didn’t say so. I can hear the cog wheels turning ;). There is one other thing. I get the impression that in today’s strip, new things are introduced (eg. ‘Mind reading Machines’, ‘Police Robots’) and that when the story is over, it’s as if they never ‘existed’. There LIFE is confined just to that story. Even the Wrist Geenee seldom sees the ‘light of day’, and in 12 years I may have seen Sam and Lizz use it only once, and Tracy ONLY when away from the desk! The Cellphone easily rules supreme. It is “King”! A watering down of “tradition”! Wouldn’t you agree?

Applying similar assumptions from the Blondie figures, Sydney, and calculating the math results in about 23% of the 23 million reading the strip in the print newspaper, or about 5.5 million. Yeah, syndicates historically have been known to be very creative in providing readership figures when they are willing to do so. Some skepticism is worthy, as a result. I would imagine that the 23 million figure that TMS suggested to Matt is reasonable in comparison to a strip like Blondie, though.

I think your suggestion that the cell phone is “king” in the strip nowadays is obviously correct, given the absence of the Wrist Geenie’s wide use. I’m curious if the syndicate is worried about its’ appearance from a legal POV as the technology is evolving so quickly. I would prefer the use of the Geenie vs. cell phone’s any day.

There is a shred of tradition in the storyline here, actually – though I’m certainly NOT suggesting that DL is even familiar with this story, necessarily.

In the 1970’s, Tracy grew his hair out and sported a mustache, you likely recall. This was introduced into the strip because Gillette had approached Chet about tying him in to a new product they were about to introduce, through an expensive marketing campaign, called “The Fresh Look.” The only reason Chet had Tracy appearing this way was because he was lending Tracy to represent Gillette’s campaign. As I recall from Chet’s fan letters from this time – fan’s didn’t like it much.

Thought you might enjoy hearing the story behind the story. I really hope we don’t see a Dick Tracy line of cosmetics or perfume, though, in all honesty.

Jeff Kersten says: Thought you might enjoy hearing the story behind the story. I really hope we don’t see a Dick Tracy line of cosmetics or perfume, though, in all honesty.

I did enjoy the story. I agree with you about a perfume/cosmetics line, I don’t think it would sell.

I’m alarmed that we haven’t heard a word today from Bassman Bob. He must be really chiseling away at today’s movement in his continuing DT: Behind the Scenes series we all look forward to.

Jeff, Thanks for sharing the story behind the mustache (which I never liked, and secretly thanked Lizz for shaving it off) ;). I’d always assumed it was one of Chet’s many efforts to keep Tracy looking like “today” and that it had been patterned off TV actor Tom Selleck of Magnum P.I. My assumption are wrong sometimes ;D. Thanks for the info. When will Chet’s Fan Mail start being available (on line?) It must be a minefield of information ?!

Jeff Kersten Pro says:

There is a shred of tradition in the storyline here, actually – though I’m certainly NOT suggesting that DL is even familiar with this story, necessarily.

In the 1970’s, Tracy grew his hair out and sported a mustache, you likely recall. This was introduced into the strip because Gillette had approached Chet about tying him in to a new product they were about to introduce, through an expensive marketing campaign, called “The Fresh Look.” The only reason Chet had Tracy appearing this way was because he was lending Tracy to represent Gillette’s campaign. As I recall from Chet’s fan letters from this time – fan’s didn’t like it much.

Thought you might enjoy hearing the story behind the story. I really hope we don’t see a Dick Tracy line of cosmetics or perfume, though, in all honesty. ———————————– Jeff, I believe the commercials were for “The Dry Look” from Gillette. Here is (I hope) a link to an old commercial.

http://www.irememberjfk.com/mt/2007/07/thewethead_is_dead.php

Not the one featuring Detective Tracy. Those would show before and after type pictures with narration.

John Smith-the wet look John Smith-the dry look

Dick Tracy-the wet look Dick Tracy-the dry look

Joe

Jeff and margueritem keep on talking about a crime. Which “CRIME”? Will someone please call Dick Locher and remind him we need one so we can move on. We’re heading for EIGHT weeks now! Problem is, he drew all this 17 weeks ago ;D.

Joe thanks! Sorry the link did not work !

Jeff, thank you for being candid about your impression of today’s Tracy v. the Tracy of yesteryear. This is a momentous occasion, because MPH would never say those words. You are being honest and positive. I’d venture to say that most of the folks here will agree with you. And yeah, where’s BB? He’s gotta give us our daily translation of today’s episode.

The Dry Look - my mistake – yes, this is it. The print ad’s showed the before and after of Tracy as you suggest, as well. I couldn’t recall the name for sure without going to the archives, which I didn’t have time to do. Thanks for posting the commercial, Joe – funny!

You’re quite welcome, Morrow, and thank you for mentioning it. The crisis occurring in the newspaper business has prompted me to reassess my position on not talking about the current strip. I still try to be delicate in my remarks relative to DL ‘cause he is a friend, though I’m real concerned about the future of the Tracy strip, especially in this current economic environment.

Moreover, I suspect DL might be, too. I also suspect that there might be a silent creative transition in the offing, but I haven’t found enough “evidence” to be certain. This all causes me more concern than usual, I guess.

Sydney PhillipsPro says: Jeff, Thanks for sharing the story behind the mustache (which I never liked, and secretly thanked Lizz for shaving it off) ;).

Lizz had a mustache? I missed that story. That must have looked strange.

No wndrwrthg, I thing you know Lizz was never a “Sue Reel” and I think you knew Tracy with that mustache ;). It looked strange on Sue Reel !

Tess, theres more going on around her than meets the eye. So Dear, given that Dr. Noll nearly ran me down last month and that his flubber has blown up his house, I don’t think you should contract with him or these strange women in our house, who’ve entered without an invitation!