Congratulations for not leaving after that last story. This one looks more promising. Mr. Roboto is about to pull a job of some kind, so, so far, so good, in my opinion.
No, my ᵉᵍᵒ ᶦˢ ᵛᵉʳʸ ˢᵐᵃˡˡ. Keep them coming, I need to inflate my ᵉᵍᵒ.
Pump it up, homeboy ! Been a long time since the company allowed the shrunken words, along with strike throughs. You must have something on someone. ;-)
So yesterday I was anticipating a new story, with a new master criminal to cause havoc in Tracyville. Don’t know whether Mr. Roboto is a master or not, but he sure looks bizarrely intriguing, and is definitely up to no good. Looks like this next adventure should be a blast.
Did some internet sleuthing and it turns out our Mr. Roboto here is a very faithful reproduction of the original design created by special-effects master Stan Winston for Styx’s 1983 album “Kilroy Was Here”. We know Mike is a cosplay fan and I believe this new villain may have been inspired by a cosplay designer’s dogged research & development of a replica Mr. Roboto costume several years ago as detailed in this article from the Stan Winston School of Character Arts web site:
Well, Blackjack always preferred to rob banks to Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping, so now we have someone who prefers Styx. I seem to recall another villain from the Dick Locher era who had an affinity for 1950s doo-wop. This leaves the door wide open for new variations… not to mention satire. (Crooks who prefer Lawrence Welk as their soundtrack? Lena Zavaroni? Captain and Tennille?)
I think Mike Curtis said that Mysta will star in the next story, presumably this one. Is she going to work with the MCU to foil Mr. Roboto? Maybe get involved in Vitamin’s production of “Metropolis”?
I’m surprised that no one has yet mentioned the Mr. Robot TV series, which just concluded December 22 after 4 seasons on the air. (The show finally used the Mr. Roboto music on its two-hour finale.)
Maybe Honeymoon’s friend, Astor (derivative of Astro Boy), could put on his Buster Bot costume from the 3 Margies storyline (https://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2017/04/28) and he and Mr. Roboto (derivative of Styx song) could duke it out. That particular storyline was a crossover and guest star utopia for Mike. Besides taking place at a cosplay convention (similar to the one Silver Nitrate tried to escape through and the one Gruesome tried to escape through), it featured Cosplay Costumer Connie Mail Wong, Horror Show Host Svengoolie, and defunct comic character Harold Teen (plus several characters from his dead strip).
If Buster Bot flames out, maybe we could bring in Traze-R from the Braces storyline (https://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2008/11/09 ).
But, of course, I’m sure this new storyline will be totally original and non-derivative…
Fat chance. Cosplay fanatics think only of nostalgia and mash-ups.
Team Roboto is ready to do some serious Evil, it seems. The armory is well-stocked (kinda reminds me of the old Equalizer TV series). Mr. Roboto seems to be a young guy as he suits up, arms himself, and snaps shut his two-piece helmet. He has one very creepy looking henchman (last panel, foreground) and also a supernumerary “Thug #2” (last panel, background). What in Tracyville might be the target of this heavily-armed raid? A bank? Or is some person targeted for kidnapping or killing?
This could get interesting (or it could fizzle; let’s wait and see), I admit that I was wrong yesterday in expecting filler until the arrival of the New Year; this is a fast start to this new story….
Greetings, future readers of past strips and comments! (Whomever you might be)
If you’ve been reading the DT strips and comments of the past 4 years, you’d know that this would normally be the time when I post my updated list of all the DT stories available on GoComics, and that I normally do this near the top. If you’ve read the past few months of strips and comments, you’d know that once in the previous few months, I posted my list near the top, but it has since been erased. This will happen once more in the future. I was unhappy about this and contacted the Moderating team, requesting that these lists be restored. They wrote back that once a message is removed, it can’t be restored due to the limitations of their system.
However, they didn’t give any reason for why this erasure happened, so I’m assuming that there is no reason for it, that this is just some innocent, unintentional blunder on their part that just keeps happening. And if GC is unable to fix their own blunder, I’m more than able and willing to fix it for them. So I’ll be recreating this list in the replies below.
Sadly, what I can’t do, since I didn’t know that this blunder was going to happen or keep on happening, is recreate the record of the number of likes these comments got at the time, the lists of the people who liked them, or any of the replies from other people these comments got at the time. However, I will be keeping track of these things, just in case this happens again. There’s one more list of mine in the future that got erased, a total of 3 erased lists. Hopefully, there won’t be a fourth, but if there is, I will be able to recreate the original likes and replies along with my comments.
Intro (skip if you’ve already read any of the previous intros):
Hello, greetings, casual readers of past Tracy stories. I’m here because I’m on 2 missions. The first is something I’ve never done before, read each Tracy story by Mike Curtis (or his occasional guest writer) in one sitting each. I feel his stories are worth it. IMHO, Curtis is by far the best post-Gould writer this strip has ever had, and we’re all lucky to have him.
My second mission is to provide an immediately useful Featured Comment whenever needed. My 3 friends below will reply to me. You can read their replies if you like, but their only real purpose is to bump up this comment to the Featured Comment.
There are 2 basic types of immediately useful Featured Comments: the first type is to provide you with a Mumblespeak translator when needed. The other type (this type) is anytime that day’s strip quotes a real song. I will provide an html to a recording to that song so you’ll know the tune even if you’ve never heard it before.
End Intro
We’re not told what tune our friend is whistling or humming to, but his appearance, and the name his lackey addresses makes it likely it’s the tum of Mr. Roboto. Here it is:
Pequod over 4 years ago
In this lair
Must have a care
The armory is full
This gang so prone to violence
Lifestyle seldom dull.
Ready to go
Let’s start the show
The boys loaded for bear
Meet Mr. Roboto
For restraint he has no care.
With special gloves and helmet
A formidable bad guy
Be a dunce and cross him once
The odds are that you die.
AnyFace over 4 years ago
Neil Wick over 4 years ago
Good morning™, faithful readers!
Congratulations for not leaving after that last story. This one looks more promising. Mr. Roboto is about to pull a job of some kind, so, so far, so good, in my opinion.
HarryCK over 4 years ago
GerardDine inflated himself about 11 hours ago
@HarryCK
No, my ᵉᵍᵒ ᶦˢ ᵛᵉʳʸ ˢᵐᵃˡˡ. Keep them coming, I need to inflate my ᵉᵍᵒ.
Pump it up, homeboy ! Been a long time since the company allowed the shrunken words, along with strike throughs. You must have something on someone. ;-)
22ph over 4 years ago
Hope the story will be interesting as it seems to be that
Counterpoint over 4 years ago
So yesterday I was anticipating a new story, with a new master criminal to cause havoc in Tracyville. Don’t know whether Mr. Roboto is a master or not, but he sure looks bizarrely intriguing, and is definitely up to no good. Looks like this next adventure should be a blast.
peterjr1961 over 4 years ago
Domo arigato Mr. Roboto mata au hi madeDomo arigato Mr. Roboto himitsu o shiritai
fredville over 4 years ago
Sure HOPE the story is better than the Styx album……what a comedown from previous (Paradise) one…
fredville over 4 years ago
I like scary (Sawtooth, Abner, etc) villains though…..this one just needs Toto and Dorothy to blend right in, lol
Gent over 4 years ago
Oh look, Roboto has a font face! ;0)
artsyguy65 over 4 years ago
Did some internet sleuthing and it turns out our Mr. Roboto here is a very faithful reproduction of the original design created by special-effects master Stan Winston for Styx’s 1983 album “Kilroy Was Here”. We know Mike is a cosplay fan and I believe this new villain may have been inspired by a cosplay designer’s dogged research & development of a replica Mr. Roboto costume several years ago as detailed in this article from the Stan Winston School of Character Arts web site:
https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/blog/mr-roboto-cosplay-fan-fabrication
wallylm over 4 years ago
I expect a Kilroy in this storyline somewhere.
iggyman over 4 years ago
“I am a modern man, with parts made in Japan” Mr. Roboto song from the 1980’s, I thought I would get that out of the way! This might be a good story!
nerdhoof over 4 years ago
I’m sure this will somehow connect with Vitamin Flintheart’s production of “Metropolis”.
SKJAM! Premium Member over 4 years ago
I suspect Mr. Roboto will (seemingly) die when his helmet won’t unfasten.
Me_ over 4 years ago
Wtf!?!
Sportymonk over 4 years ago
So a metal headpiece and gloves while the rest of the body is unprotected?? Guess we will have to wait and see but doesn’t look promising yet.
jrankin1959 over 4 years ago
Well, Blackjack always preferred to rob banks to Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping, so now we have someone who prefers Styx. I seem to recall another villain from the Dick Locher era who had an affinity for 1950s doo-wop. This leaves the door wide open for new variations… not to mention satire. (Crooks who prefer Lawrence Welk as their soundtrack? Lena Zavaroni? Captain and Tennille?)
tripwire45 over 4 years ago
He puts on the helmet twice?
TJ000 over 4 years ago
I think Mike Curtis said that Mysta will star in the next story, presumably this one. Is she going to work with the MCU to foil Mr. Roboto? Maybe get involved in Vitamin’s production of “Metropolis”?
trimguy over 4 years ago
Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto
Don Bagert Premium Member over 4 years ago
I’m surprised that no one has yet mentioned the Mr. Robot TV series, which just concluded December 22 after 4 seasons on the air. (The show finally used the Mr. Roboto music on its two-hour finale.)
micromos over 4 years ago
Why?
Modernistic Premium Member over 4 years ago
Stopping Mr. Roboto looks like a job for Sam Captcha.
Another Take over 4 years ago
1-Doh…2-…dee…3-…doh
4-MR. KABUKI: Hi guys. Thanks for waiting. Let’s Trick-r-Treat!
5-SOULFUL EYES: I’m not convinced people will buy your “December 29 is the new Halloween” grift.
MR. KABUKI: That’s what the guns are for silly! I must say though that it would’ve helped had you two worked harder on your costumes…
Blot over 4 years ago
What ever happened to: Open mind Monty (as a matter of fact), Sketch Paree’, Yogee Yamma, Happy, Mumbles, the Brow…etc?
buckman-j over 4 years ago
Did the boys get Styx permission…Babe?
iggyman over 4 years ago
All the whistling, he seems very happy at his work!
GoComicsGo! over 4 years ago
At first I thought it was going to be a Dr. Who crossover with the Cybermen.
harkherp over 4 years ago
Thank you very much, Oh Mr. Roboto ! Joe Jitsu turned Tracy onto Styx!
Space_cat over 4 years ago
Domo Arrigato Mr. Roboto!
Ray Toler over 4 years ago
Maybe Honeymoon’s friend, Astor (derivative of Astro Boy), could put on his Buster Bot costume from the 3 Margies storyline (https://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2017/04/28) and he and Mr. Roboto (derivative of Styx song) could duke it out. That particular storyline was a crossover and guest star utopia for Mike. Besides taking place at a cosplay convention (similar to the one Silver Nitrate tried to escape through and the one Gruesome tried to escape through), it featured Cosplay Costumer Connie Mail Wong, Horror Show Host Svengoolie, and defunct comic character Harold Teen (plus several characters from his dead strip).
If Buster Bot flames out, maybe we could bring in Traze-R from the Braces storyline (https://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2008/11/09 ).
But, of course, I’m sure this new storyline will be totally original and non-derivative…
Fat chance. Cosplay fanatics think only of nostalgia and mash-ups.
Timothy Miller over 4 years ago
Thank you very much Mr. Roboto.
Cheapskate0 over 4 years ago
My only concern is, what, another super-villain?
It seems Tracy City needs a caped crusader more than a detective.
Regarding Splitface: I went back and saw the Monday-Tuesday finish of the story.
Am I the only one who thinks the gator gave up too easily?
Sisyphos over 4 years ago
Team Roboto is ready to do some serious Evil, it seems. The armory is well-stocked (kinda reminds me of the old Equalizer TV series). Mr. Roboto seems to be a young guy as he suits up, arms himself, and snaps shut his two-piece helmet. He has one very creepy looking henchman (last panel, foreground) and also a supernumerary “Thug #2” (last panel, background). What in Tracyville might be the target of this heavily-armed raid? A bank? Or is some person targeted for kidnapping or killing?
This could get interesting (or it could fizzle; let’s wait and see), I admit that I was wrong yesterday in expecting filler until the arrival of the New Year; this is a fast start to this new story….
jonahhex1 over 4 years ago
Interesting – I’m betting Mr. Roboto is bulletproof thanks to all that gear….wonder if he has any interesting tricks he can pull with that getup?
mgleason51 over 4 years ago
Mr. Roboto worse Styx song ever !
boboscar about 4 years ago
Greetings, future readers of past strips and comments! (Whomever you might be)
If you’ve been reading the DT strips and comments of the past 4 years, you’d know that this would normally be the time when I post my updated list of all the DT stories available on GoComics, and that I normally do this near the top. If you’ve read the past few months of strips and comments, you’d know that once in the previous few months, I posted my list near the top, but it has since been erased. This will happen once more in the future. I was unhappy about this and contacted the Moderating team, requesting that these lists be restored. They wrote back that once a message is removed, it can’t be restored due to the limitations of their system.
However, they didn’t give any reason for why this erasure happened, so I’m assuming that there is no reason for it, that this is just some innocent, unintentional blunder on their part that just keeps happening. And if GC is unable to fix their own blunder, I’m more than able and willing to fix it for them. So I’ll be recreating this list in the replies below.
Sadly, what I can’t do, since I didn’t know that this blunder was going to happen or keep on happening, is recreate the record of the number of likes these comments got at the time, the lists of the people who liked them, or any of the replies from other people these comments got at the time. However, I will be keeping track of these things, just in case this happens again. There’s one more list of mine in the future that got erased, a total of 3 erased lists. Hopefully, there won’t be a fourth, but if there is, I will be able to recreate the original likes and replies along with my comments.
boboscar about 1 month ago
Intro (skip if you’ve already read any of the previous intros):
Hello, greetings, casual readers of past Tracy stories. I’m here because I’m on 2 missions. The first is something I’ve never done before, read each Tracy story by Mike Curtis (or his occasional guest writer) in one sitting each. I feel his stories are worth it. IMHO, Curtis is by far the best post-Gould writer this strip has ever had, and we’re all lucky to have him.
My second mission is to provide an immediately useful Featured Comment whenever needed. My 3 friends below will reply to me. You can read their replies if you like, but their only real purpose is to bump up this comment to the Featured Comment.
There are 2 basic types of immediately useful Featured Comments: the first type is to provide you with a Mumblespeak translator when needed. The other type (this type) is anytime that day’s strip quotes a real song. I will provide an html to a recording to that song so you’ll know the tune even if you’ve never heard it before.
End Intro
We’re not told what tune our friend is whistling or humming to, but his appearance, and the name his lackey addresses makes it likely it’s the tum of Mr. Roboto. Here it is:
h
t
t
p
s
:
/
/
www
.
youtube
.
com
/watch?v=uc6f_2nPSX8