Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 01, 2016

At least he’s not strapped in the bed.

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (who was not a doctor) is possibly best known for the opening line of his 1830 novel, Paul Clifford:

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness. (Snoopy was apparently a fan.) Bulwer-Lytton was also the originator of phrases such as “the great unwashed”, “pursuit of the almighty dollar”, and “the pen is mightier than the sword.”

Dr. Lytton seems harmless, even if he is a little obsessed with Sherlock Holmes.

That’s an understatement, Neil.

I thought Lord Lytton’s be work and best remembered for for telling us about the eruption of Mt. Vesuvies (spelling wrong) in about 78 AD. I’ve never seen any link to Holmes — maybe he was a close friend of Doyle.

This is the Lord Lytton, in case you are wondering if our current character looks like him:

Mike mentioned the name of the character a few days ago on Facebook, but I carefully avoided mentioning it here because I didn’t want to spoil today’s reveal of his name.

In 1828 Pelham brought him public acclaim and established his reputation as a wit and dandy. The book also made a significant contribution in the changing of men’s fashion. Prior to the novel, evening wear for men could be of any color, but the upper class quickly adopted the habit of using black evening wear only, a habit that is still dominant.

Would it be the very first Cosplay?

It links to the children of the 4th Earl – “ … He married Judith Blunt, later Baroness Wentworth in her own right, in Cairo in 1899. The couple moved to the Blunts’ Crabbet Park Stud in England in 1904, and divorced in 1923. They had three children, Noel Anthony (eventually 4th Earl of Lytton and 17th Baron Wentworth), Lady Anne Lytton and Lady Winifred (Lytton) Tyron. The children inherited an intellectual and artistic heritage from their maternal grandparents, poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and his wife Lady Anne Blunt, daughter of the Honourable Ada Lovelace, and granddaughter of Lord Byron. A second marriage to Alexandra Fortel produced a fourth child, Lady Madeleine Elizabeth Lytton; the Earl and his second family resided in France. … ” —>in “Naked is the Best Disguise” Rosenberg also examines the influence of Conan Doyle’s writings on other works, especially James Joyce’s Ulysses. Published in 1974, this book argues for a surprising relationship between the Sherlock Holmes stories and Nietzsche, Oscar Wilde, Dionysus, Christ, Catullus, John Bunyan, Robert Browning, Boccaccio, Napoleon, Racine, Frankenstein, Flaubert, George Sand, Socrates, Poe, General Charles George Gordon, Melville, Joyce’s Ulysses, T. S. Eliot, and many others.

I suspect while Dick was there for Sherlock, Abner was there for “the creature” - as the flight to Switzerland to the falls is echoed by the pursuit to the North Pole.

Just a thought …

Bizarre.

Yesterday, someone asked about Sydney’s ‘LinkedIn’ page …

I think I’d come across it by googling “Sydney Phillips” and “Trinidad,” though I’m not entirely sure now.

In either event, it requested that I sign in to see more, and not having a ‘LinkedIn’ account, that might be problematic.

Also, as mentioned, a brief search of the White Pages turned up not one but two entries for “Sydney Phillips,” so the LinkedIn page might not even be the right one.

How’d you happen upon the location of Sydney’s brother, Neil?

How appropriate, then, that the Peanuts reruns have just been running the famous “It was a dark and stormy night.”

It does seem a lot like we have a “Misery” scenario here.

That did look like a dark and stormy fight.

If this freak brings out a pig he’s named Sherlock and then says “I’m your biggest fan” then I’m outta here!

Nice use of the Tracy/Holmes shadows in the background.

This Dr. Bulwer Lytton looks not at all like the most famous Edward Bulwer-Lytton, prolific author, politician, and rakish nobleman. Plus, he seems to be a good deal nuttier. Once Tracy is physically healed sufficiently, he will, I hope, not be too doped-up as Lytton’s new Holmes and will be able to escape this low-key madman’s clutches….

By NOT turning Tracy over to the authorities tells me this guy is up to no good. He probably has Abner in the next room…. just in case Mike/Joe need him for another story.

interesting…

I think that Dr. Lytton is keeping “Holmes” in hiding from “Moriarity’s” accomplices (and we have seen that Abner has at least two there), assuming that Dick will want to do the same as Holmes did after his encounter at Reichenbach Falls.

Great shadow faces in the Background….TBC

Lytton has the bust. Holmes acquired a bust of himself AFTER Moriarty’s death (and his supposed one) at Reichenbach Falls, to decoy Moriarty’s chief henchman, Colonel Sebastian Moran.

I learn so much from the Tracyville regulars. Thanks for the plethora of information and history!

I thought Dr. Lytton sounded familier so I checked google and it turns out that there was a Dr. Lytton who was a villan on the old Dr. Who series.

This doctor must have some screw loose. He must know that (even if Holmes is a real person in the Tracyverse) Holmes lived decades ago.

Dr. Wytton has gone a little wiggy on us. A decent chap, though, eh what?

.Good afternoon guys!.

Yikes! If anyone out there can assist, please do, I have been reading DICK TRACY faithfully for years online and loving it, but somehow I must have missed it when Abner Kadaver’s survival from the concrete pit was revealed. Was it ever shown? jclauser@yahoo.com Thanks!

In other news, I’m definitely not going to be at the BCC this year, committed to activities elsewhere.

Saying that he “wrote about” Pompeii and Vesuvius is a bit misleading. He wrote a novel set in Pompeii, with the destruction of the city by Vesuvius as the climax.

Chins Collide Again..

Goodness, y’all are so smart ;)