Huh? Aside from the idiocy of carrying a loaded weapon in a pocket, does this mean a government conspiracy to off D-cubed?
This is stupid with a capital Thick. Why did all of these agents spend so much time around D-cubed, if the plan was to kill him? “We found him! He’s living anonymously on the streets! But we have to wait for the right moment to kill him, so it won’t look suspicious! And now that an outsider has stumbled into our operation, let’s reveal the plan to him! He’ll never talk!” Or is the plan to shoot Thick, too?
Why shoot D-cubed? Why not knife him, or strangle him, or beat him to death? Make it look like a typical Skid Row killing? “Crazy rich guy hides out among homeless, gets robbed, what a surprise.”
As D-cubed is on the run, why not gun him down, plant a weapon on his body, and say he was shot while trying to escape? Oh, wait, that’s right, all conspiracy theories are required to have as many holes in them as a Dick Tracy story arc.
At least this bumbling conspiracy has come to the right town for it. The local ME would probably decide that D-cubed died from exposure. And he couldn’t be D-cubed, who was buried months ago.
And, really, shouldn’t Thick contact Horn Hair first? Beside, wouldn’t contacting Mrs. D’apostrophe reveal the next Big Surprise too soon?
Shoot Thick now–at least that would make sense–then catch D-cubed, bring him back to the alley, shoot him with Thick’s gun, then claim that Thick went all Lone Gunmanly on them and shot it out while they stood around with their thumbs up their Lochers. Oh, yeah, nobody has ever raised questions about the death of any major public personality!
By the way, isn’t that gun a bit too big to fit inside that pocket? And what happened to the tattered cuffs we saw in panel #2 yesterday? Does the conspiracy involve a tailor?
And when will Thick GET IT that the widow lied about D-cubed having a tattoo?
The shadowy figure in panel #2–is that the One-Armed Man from “The Fugitive”?
Since he went undercover, Thick has been consistently shown with a heavy beard and mussed hair. Locher is to be congratulated on this display of continuity. He should make a habit of it.
The trouble is that when we get to the end of this story sometime next year and all is explained, it still won’t make any sense at all. This whole plot must have been hatched by Mrs. D-Cubed, whose sole motivation is to get her hands on all those hard-to-get $1000 bills.
John Russco - BillThompson is my favorite contributor here. I actually plan my day after I arise and read his pearls of wisdom. You should do the same. My analyst says that daily exposure to BillThompson actually stimulates brain cell growth and develops a defensive force field (see Star Wars’ Death Planet) that fends off the likes of Simon Penn, Mattie, and Jeffie. You were born under a lucky star, John Russco. Your Karma has placed you within earshot of greatness and eternal universal understanding. Take it, be humble and you will be forever grateful.
zuiliang - Despite the level of severce that you mention, I am concerned about your mention of equal conditions in China. After all, David Dierdorf D’Buckworth worked the entire business world for billions, including Europe and The Orient.
Are you really the notorious (dun-dun-duuuuh!) D-cubed?!
Maybe the person with the gun is not one of the federal agents, but someone who was defrauded by D-cubed. BTW, what happened with the police officer who was told by a fleeing D-cube that there was a disturbance “over there”. He’s never arrived and where are all the other agents now? And why was Norton not worried about D-cube getting away and so sure he would not get far? Will any of these questions be answered?
wait didn’t penny identify swamp body as 3D way back when? was her ID based solely on the butterfly tat? and why would scarf-with-gun decide to kill 3D now? as BillThompson explained it makes utterly no sense…oh sorry i forgot myself there for a moment. in locher-world there is no sense.
btw BT and WW are the best things that ever happened to this absurdity of a strip. they have more imagination and writing ability than locher ever dreamed of having. thank you both.
jackdohany, morrow and billdi, thank you for your kind words. My renowned modesty prevents me from saying more.
billdi, my best guess about Penny’s ID of the body is that she’s running a swindle of her own. With her husband officially dead, she might inherit his estate, then leave the country before the truth comes out. As for Butterfly McCorpse’s real identity, maybe he was a Federal agent who tried to arrest D-cubed, and got murdered by D-cubed.
marvee, it’s hard to know with Locher, but it would make no sense for one of D-cubed’s victims to reveal his plans now, when presumably all the other agents want to arrest D-cubed. As for Norton, maybe she’s being arrogant, and maybe she has agents scattered everywhere, ready to nab D-cubed if he flees.
I dunno about the cop D-cubed saw, or the patrol Horn Hair dispatched. They’re like the cops who missed the action at the museum. Maybe their doughnuts were drugged and they fell asleep.
What next? Will it turn out that D-cubed is really a holograph, and vanishes into thin air? Is he an alien who escaped from Hangar 19 and supported himself by selling his planet’s inventions? Will Marvin the Martian show up to arrest him?
But, jeeze, Thick had better draw the line at letting D-cubed get gunned down.
Does anyone know if TMS plans to keep the strip going after Locher retires? Because with the way Locher is bungling around, maybe he plans to kill Thick.
Does anyone realize that 3D just jumped a train for Baltimore and will never be seen again? Oh wait that’s right…he’s waiting for the conversation to end on the street corner before making his move. Dumb, just plain dumb.
Question : How does Thick know he’s found David D’Buckworth ?
Did he recognise him ? Finger print him ? Got a verbal confession ? Seen the Butterfly Tattoo ? Did an on the spot DNA analysis with his Wrist Geenee ?
After one collasally stupid “I.D.” —you’d think he’d MAKE doubly sure THIS time !
If SimpleSimon and the Woodstock’s Praetorian Guard ever decide to open a Dick Locher Museum, they should frame the ’ORIGINAL ART’, with it’s scripting from this story-line for permanent display.
It reflects acurately Locher’s contribution TO the history of the Dick Tracy comic strip over these past 5 years
Why bother with ‘reviews’ ? As Confucious said : “One picture is worth a thousand words”
The panel ‘scratching the bottom’ yesterday (Oct.22) should do quite well !
Locher, in a recent interview with the Daily Cartoonist took CREDIT for ALL the “pencil work” in the strip and insisted that Jim Brozman was just an “inker”
So we should recall that as Thick approached the ‘Fire Barrel’ there were only 2 men, one he would identify as 3-D.
In short order there was “3-D, but now- three additional bearded men. In two days one of the men morphed into a woman, and by the time there was a need to ‘flash badges’, another man appeared :
http://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2010/10/17
Put another way, no REAL ‘street beggars’ were present, only Police and Federal Officers.
Tracy’s going to call Mrs. 3D because she was informed of 3Ds death. Didn’t she see him in the morgue and I thought I saw a gravesite with a tombstone a couple weeks ago. Based on Tracy’s taking to the streets to attempt to find 3D, it would probably be very late at night with the things that have taken place. Would Tracy be calling Mrs. 3D in the middle of the night? What happened to the patrol Liz sent to check on Tracy? I can’t keep up with this strip.
“Oh, hey, I know we’re right in the middle of an arrest in a complicated undercover operation, in an unsecured location, but let me just make a couple phone calls first.”
Sydney Phillips, it was good of the Locher Mess Monster to absolve Brozman of any complicity in perpetrating the words and drawings found in this strip.
You had lots of good questions. Maybe Thick is under the delusion that Penny must be honest. Maybe he has “deduced” that D-cubed and Butterfly McCorpse both had butterfly tattoos because they shared a mutual affection for Steve McQueen’s role in “Papillon.”
marvee, billdi and Rad ish also raised the possibility that someone outside the government might shoot D-cubed. The candidates and their motives?
Mrs. D-cubed. She knows hubby is still alive, and wants him dead. By now his will must have been probated and she has inherited his fortune. She might know where to find a hit man. D-cubed might run home, and get shot by her (but my guess is she took off for Rio with her banker.)
Sue Doko. She’s known him a long time, which seems motive enough. If I’ve guessed right about her being an activist, maybe she feels he’s betrayed her with his pretense of being charitable.
A former associate. Maybe, but American businessmen do not, as a rule, assassinate one another. Maybe D-cubed has more blackmail material up his sleeve, but we’re told that he inflated what he did have.
An unknown victim, as marvee suggested. Maybe, but he would have had to track down D-cubed, and carry some government ID to fool the other Feds into accepting his presence, and have been able to play the role of an agent well enough to fool the pros. That’s unlikely, but with Locher to help out it could happen.
Thor, God of Thunder. Back in 2001 the Mistress of Death arc ended when she got struck by lightning. As Zeus does not exist, and Jehovah must be bored stiff, I’m guessing that Thor will put in the hit.
D-cubed. Man, if I got stuck in this arc, I’d kill myself, too!
To the tune (sort of)
When I was a Lad
The HMS Petifore
When Bill T. was a lad he strived to learn
Under teachers that were both strict and stern
They pushed him to think and use his mind
And to use his powers to serve all mankind
He developed a wit so sharp and quick
Now he’s writing comments about a comic strip
Now Bills comments are a joy to read
They’re not just some hackneyed screed
He tries to make some sense of this mess
Some don’t appreciate genius I must guess
They need stop complaining and get a grip
About his writing comments about a comic strip
Out of nowhere they feel the need to opine
They complain how he makes use of his time
But the majority of us here all agree
What he writes we can’t wait to see
So let’s all try be a brick and not a prick
About his writing comments about a comic strip.
with his drawings of D-cubed? Because I’m wondering if D-cubed is Locher’s image of himself. Not just physically, but in other regards.
Right now all the negative information we have about D-cubed comes from his wife, his ex-associates and the Feds. But when we’ve seen D-cubed in action, he’s either giving away thousand dollar bills to reward charitable behavior, or he’s giving money to a senator who voted to help with the recession. And Sue Doko clearly doesn’t hate him.
Well, who among us hasn’t seen himself as being persecuted by one and all, save for the only hot chick in sight? If Locher is projecting himself into the story as D-cubed, then Thick will come to his rescue. In addition D-cubed will explain himself to Thick, who will approve of everything D-cubed has done and help him escape (or, if he’s nobly killed, bear witness to what a swell guy he was).
In other words, this arc has been the longest and most confusing Mary Sue in history!
FLIGHT SUIT over 13 years ago
The suspense is killing me.
margueritem over 13 years ago
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see Dick?
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
Huh? Aside from the idiocy of carrying a loaded weapon in a pocket, does this mean a government conspiracy to off D-cubed?
This is stupid with a capital Thick. Why did all of these agents spend so much time around D-cubed, if the plan was to kill him? “We found him! He’s living anonymously on the streets! But we have to wait for the right moment to kill him, so it won’t look suspicious! And now that an outsider has stumbled into our operation, let’s reveal the plan to him! He’ll never talk!” Or is the plan to shoot Thick, too?
Why shoot D-cubed? Why not knife him, or strangle him, or beat him to death? Make it look like a typical Skid Row killing? “Crazy rich guy hides out among homeless, gets robbed, what a surprise.”
As D-cubed is on the run, why not gun him down, plant a weapon on his body, and say he was shot while trying to escape? Oh, wait, that’s right, all conspiracy theories are required to have as many holes in them as a Dick Tracy story arc.
At least this bumbling conspiracy has come to the right town for it. The local ME would probably decide that D-cubed died from exposure. And he couldn’t be D-cubed, who was buried months ago.
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
And, really, shouldn’t Thick contact Horn Hair first? Beside, wouldn’t contacting Mrs. D’apostrophe reveal the next Big Surprise too soon?
Shoot Thick now–at least that would make sense–then catch D-cubed, bring him back to the alley, shoot him with Thick’s gun, then claim that Thick went all Lone Gunmanly on them and shot it out while they stood around with their thumbs up their Lochers. Oh, yeah, nobody has ever raised questions about the death of any major public personality!
By the way, isn’t that gun a bit too big to fit inside that pocket? And what happened to the tattered cuffs we saw in panel #2 yesterday? Does the conspiracy involve a tailor?
And when will Thick GET IT that the widow lied about D-cubed having a tattoo?
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
The shadowy figure in panel #2–is that the One-Armed Man from “The Fugitive”?
Since he went undercover, Thick has been consistently shown with a heavy beard and mussed hair. Locher is to be congratulated on this display of continuity. He should make a habit of it.
johnrussco over 13 years ago
BillThompson has way too much time on his hands.
goodyart over 13 years ago
The trouble is that when we get to the end of this story sometime next year and all is explained, it still won’t make any sense at all. This whole plot must have been hatched by Mrs. D-Cubed, whose sole motivation is to get her hands on all those hard-to-get $1000 bills.
jackdohany over 13 years ago
John Russco has way too little time on his hands. :D
JCFremont over 13 years ago
In the second panel, Gene Siskel comes back from the grave to give this story a “thumbs down.” Let’s see what Roger has to say…
DatBigGuy Premium Member over 13 years ago
This storyline has more holes in it than a gay Republican’s alibi.
Morrow Cummings over 13 years ago
John Russco - BillThompson is my favorite contributor here. I actually plan my day after I arise and read his pearls of wisdom. You should do the same. My analyst says that daily exposure to BillThompson actually stimulates brain cell growth and develops a defensive force field (see Star Wars’ Death Planet) that fends off the likes of Simon Penn, Mattie, and Jeffie. You were born under a lucky star, John Russco. Your Karma has placed you within earshot of greatness and eternal universal understanding. Take it, be humble and you will be forever grateful.
JCFremont over 13 years ago
zuiliang - Despite the level of severce that you mention, I am concerned about your mention of equal conditions in China. After all, David Dierdorf D’Buckworth worked the entire business world for billions, including Europe and The Orient.
Are you really the notorious (dun-dun-duuuuh!) D-cubed?!
(If so, can I have a thousand dollar bill now?)
marvee over 13 years ago
Maybe the person with the gun is not one of the federal agents, but someone who was defrauded by D-cubed. BTW, what happened with the police officer who was told by a fleeing D-cube that there was a disturbance “over there”. He’s never arrived and where are all the other agents now? And why was Norton not worried about D-cube getting away and so sure he would not get far? Will any of these questions be answered?
billdi Premium Member over 13 years ago
wait didn’t penny identify swamp body as 3D way back when? was her ID based solely on the butterfly tat? and why would scarf-with-gun decide to kill 3D now? as BillThompson explained it makes utterly no sense…oh sorry i forgot myself there for a moment. in locher-world there is no sense. btw BT and WW are the best things that ever happened to this absurdity of a strip. they have more imagination and writing ability than locher ever dreamed of having. thank you both.
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
jackdohany, morrow and billdi, thank you for your kind words. My renowned modesty prevents me from saying more.
billdi, my best guess about Penny’s ID of the body is that she’s running a swindle of her own. With her husband officially dead, she might inherit his estate, then leave the country before the truth comes out. As for Butterfly McCorpse’s real identity, maybe he was a Federal agent who tried to arrest D-cubed, and got murdered by D-cubed.
marvee, it’s hard to know with Locher, but it would make no sense for one of D-cubed’s victims to reveal his plans now, when presumably all the other agents want to arrest D-cubed. As for Norton, maybe she’s being arrogant, and maybe she has agents scattered everywhere, ready to nab D-cubed if he flees.
I dunno about the cop D-cubed saw, or the patrol Horn Hair dispatched. They’re like the cops who missed the action at the museum. Maybe their doughnuts were drugged and they fell asleep.
What next? Will it turn out that D-cubed is really a holograph, and vanishes into thin air? Is he an alien who escaped from Hangar 19 and supported himself by selling his planet’s inventions? Will Marvin the Martian show up to arrest him?
But, jeeze, Thick had better draw the line at letting D-cubed get gunned down.
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
Does anyone know if TMS plans to keep the strip going after Locher retires? Because with the way Locher is bungling around, maybe he plans to kill Thick.
Plods with ...™ over 13 years ago
Dun dun Duh
LudwigVonDrake over 13 years ago
Does anyone realize that 3D just jumped a train for Baltimore and will never be seen again? Oh wait that’s right…he’s waiting for the conversation to end on the street corner before making his move. Dumb, just plain dumb.
sydney over 13 years ago
” I’ll let her know he’s been found alive “
Question : How does Thick know he’s found David D’Buckworth ? Did he recognise him ? Finger print him ? Got a verbal confession ? Seen the Butterfly Tattoo ? Did an on the spot DNA analysis with his Wrist Geenee ?
After one collasally stupid “I.D.” —you’d think he’d MAKE doubly sure THIS time !
akado2000 over 13 years ago
Another totally unexpected plot twist – how does Mr. Locher DO this?
sydney over 13 years ago
If SimpleSimon and the Woodstock’s Praetorian Guard ever decide to open a Dick Locher Museum, they should frame the ’ORIGINAL ART’, with it’s scripting from this story-line for permanent display.
It reflects acurately Locher’s contribution TO the history of the Dick Tracy comic strip over these past 5 years
Why bother with ‘reviews’ ? As Confucious said : “One picture is worth a thousand words”
The panel ‘scratching the bottom’ yesterday (Oct.22) should do quite well !
sydney over 13 years ago
Locher, in a recent interview with the Daily Cartoonist took CREDIT for ALL the “pencil work” in the strip and insisted that Jim Brozman was just an “inker”
So we should recall that as Thick approached the ‘Fire Barrel’ there were only 2 men, one he would identify as 3-D.
In short order there was “3-D, but now - three additional bearded men. In two days one of the men morphed into a woman, and by the time there was a need to ‘flash badges’, another man appeared : http://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2010/10/17
Put another way, no REAL ‘street beggars’ were present, only Police and Federal Officers.
Something to ’remember’ as the story progresses
Midnite over 13 years ago
Wait. Why contact the wife? Isnt there a small chance she could be in on it?
And why is Dick giving a thumb down in the second panel?
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ over 13 years ago
Tracy’s going to call Mrs. 3D because she was informed of 3Ds death. Didn’t she see him in the morgue and I thought I saw a gravesite with a tombstone a couple weeks ago. Based on Tracy’s taking to the streets to attempt to find 3D, it would probably be very late at night with the things that have taken place. Would Tracy be calling Mrs. 3D in the middle of the night? What happened to the patrol Liz sent to check on Tracy? I can’t keep up with this strip.
Morrow Cummings over 13 years ago
I’m gettin’ up early in the mornin’ to get my daily fix of BillThompson and WW. If BassmanBob would only pitch in, it’d be like being born again!
Dr. Midnight over 13 years ago
“Oh, hey, I know we’re right in the middle of an arrest in a complicated undercover operation, in an unsecured location, but let me just make a couple phone calls first.”
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
Sydney Phillips, it was good of the Locher Mess Monster to absolve Brozman of any complicity in perpetrating the words and drawings found in this strip.
You had lots of good questions. Maybe Thick is under the delusion that Penny must be honest. Maybe he has “deduced” that D-cubed and Butterfly McCorpse both had butterfly tattoos because they shared a mutual affection for Steve McQueen’s role in “Papillon.”
marvee, billdi and Rad ish also raised the possibility that someone outside the government might shoot D-cubed. The candidates and their motives?
Mrs. D-cubed. She knows hubby is still alive, and wants him dead. By now his will must have been probated and she has inherited his fortune. She might know where to find a hit man. D-cubed might run home, and get shot by her (but my guess is she took off for Rio with her banker.)
Sue Doko. She’s known him a long time, which seems motive enough. If I’ve guessed right about her being an activist, maybe she feels he’s betrayed her with his pretense of being charitable.
A former associate. Maybe, but American businessmen do not, as a rule, assassinate one another. Maybe D-cubed has more blackmail material up his sleeve, but we’re told that he inflated what he did have.
An unknown victim, as marvee suggested. Maybe, but he would have had to track down D-cubed, and carry some government ID to fool the other Feds into accepting his presence, and have been able to play the role of an agent well enough to fool the pros. That’s unlikely, but with Locher to help out it could happen.
Thor, God of Thunder. Back in 2001 the Mistress of Death arc ended when she got struck by lightning. As Zeus does not exist, and Jehovah must be bored stiff, I’m guessing that Thor will put in the hit.
D-cubed. Man, if I got stuck in this arc, I’d kill myself, too!
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
Great riddles, Sydney Phillips!
Groucho Marx solved the first one decades ago. Tess once threw a bowl of Campbell’s at him, and that’s when Thick learned to duck soup.
Riddle two is obvious. What would Thick do with a boat? He’s never had both oars in the water.
wndrwrthg over 13 years ago
To the tune (sort of) When I was a Lad The HMS Petifore
When Bill T. was a lad he strived to learn Under teachers that were both strict and stern They pushed him to think and use his mind And to use his powers to serve all mankind He developed a wit so sharp and quick Now he’s writing comments about a comic strip Now Bills comments are a joy to read They’re not just some hackneyed screed He tries to make some sense of this mess Some don’t appreciate genius I must guess They need stop complaining and get a grip About his writing comments about a comic strip Out of nowhere they feel the need to opine They complain how he makes use of his time But the majority of us here all agree What he writes we can’t wait to see So let’s all try be a brick and not a prick About his writing comments about a comic strip.
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
Thank you, Wonder Warthog! I’m honored.
And I have another effort at making sense of this arc. Has anyone compared pictures of Dick Locher, such as
http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2010/06/22/aaec-convention-notes-saturday/
with his drawings of D-cubed? Because I’m wondering if D-cubed is Locher’s image of himself. Not just physically, but in other regards.
Right now all the negative information we have about D-cubed comes from his wife, his ex-associates and the Feds. But when we’ve seen D-cubed in action, he’s either giving away thousand dollar bills to reward charitable behavior, or he’s giving money to a senator who voted to help with the recession. And Sue Doko clearly doesn’t hate him.
Well, who among us hasn’t seen himself as being persecuted by one and all, save for the only hot chick in sight? If Locher is projecting himself into the story as D-cubed, then Thick will come to his rescue. In addition D-cubed will explain himself to Thick, who will approve of everything D-cubed has done and help him escape (or, if he’s nobly killed, bear witness to what a swell guy he was).
In other words, this arc has been the longest and most confusing Mary Sue in history!