Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 23, 2011

When it comes to tributes, the New Team really knocks ’em dead!

Big Frost is chilling it now!

Good morning everybody…

Ah, the perfect ending to a thrilling cameo-enriched arc. Happy 80th Anniversary, Dick Tracy!

And good morning to you, VistaBill, sir.

And they honor him once again. Well done.

Good morning, VB!

With all the cameos in this arc, I thought it would be hard to pick a favorite. I stand corrected, Mike you saved the best for last. Nice tribute to the creator..er.. coroner..

What a great anniversary story. A very appropriate way to include Chester Gould in the strip. Love it!

CHESTER GOULD

Thank you for the photo, Terry.

Fantastic!!!

Aye, Coroner Gould!

I used to enjoy Kilian’s often humor-laced columns from Washington in the Tribune. He departed life too soon.

Well another great tribute to Chester Gould. I just love this week.

Wow. (Insert applause here.)

I’ve been reading comic strips and comic books off and on for more than 50 years, and this anniversary tale has become one of my all-time favorite stories. Great writing and inspired art (above and beyond, especially the gray-tone flashbacks). Chet Gould would be proud. Thanks, Mike, Joe, Shelley & Shane.

Chester Gould. Yeah!

Mike, Joe et al, that’s gonna be a hard act to follow! But something tells me you have it licked!

Nice tribute to Chester!!! the whole story has be a great time!!!

Yes. :D

Wouldn’t it have been great if the last panel’s words were “crime doesn’t pay?”

Brilliant strip today!

Repeating and agreeing with what everyone else has said. Gould as the coroner was an excellent touch.

This has been a fantastic arc, guys. And kudos to TMS for letting you do it. I recall an interview with Max Collins where he said he’d pitched a 50th-anniversary story in 1981 and the syndicate rejected it “because it would make Tracy look old.”

This strip has gone from one I only read when the Comics Curmudgeon addressed it to a daily must-read.

For newer fans, this isn’t the first time Chester Gould, or an ink-on-paper facsimile thereof, has appeared in the strip. In December 1984 Locher drew Gould as the minister who married Lizz and Groovy Grove on the latter’s deathbed, and of course in 1949 Gould himself gave the villainous P.S. (Pear-Shape) Tone his own face. On top of that, Big Frost was originally a caricature of Gould’s mentor and original editor, Captain Joseph Meddill Patterson of the Chicago Tribune, making the last two panels today even more… interesting. ;^)

Looks like Big Frost’s on ice!

I was dubious after so many lame years that DICK TRACY could regain it’s glory…but I’ve been proven wrong…in spades.

It was a great surprise for me to see Mr. Gould at the last panel. Happy 80th Anniversary, Dick.

Joe Staton and Mike Curtis, you people are truly becoming famous with this stuff, and if you keep, it up you will go down in history as the greatest comic writer / artist team of all time. If this is what you have to offer this early in your tenure, I bet that there will be more folks reading Dick Tracy than anyone could possibly imagine. Cannot wait to see what happens tomorrow. Thank you too Tarry.

This. Could not have been better. I can’t recall the last time a comic strip literally brought a joyful tear to my eye like it has done today. Take a bow, Team Tracy!

Yes! They cannot win.

BRAVO !!!!! Joe, Mike, Shelley, Shane and Jim … you did it. You created a GREAT 80th celebration!!!!!

Excellent! My two favorites turned 80 this year – Dick Tracy, and Lum and Abner. Yay!

beautifully done — thanks

BRAVO! As I said when we got a clue earlier this week, this is my favorite twist in any entertainment media, ever. Well done, Team Tracy!!!

Great wrap-up! You guys are on a great streak! Thanks for successfully rejuvenating an old favorite…well done!

Great idea I hope this team keeos up the good work for many years to come!

It’s very classy to include Gould whenever and wherever possible in the strip! Great stuff!

He may gone, but his spirit lives on!

Dick Tracy has always been terrific! Great artists and writers. Joe and Mike are keeping up that tradition!

I treasure my personalized drawing of Dick Tracy on Chet’s stationary. Chet wrote my name and wrote a few words and signed his name with a drawing of Dick Tracy beside it.

I like that ME!

Oh YES! Nicely done……. So when are we going to bring back The Space Coupe??

DICK TRACY ROCKS