The Comics Curmudgeon

Main content:

Dick Tracy’s will to power

Judge Parker, 1/26/08

So the big interview with No-Legged War Hero Mama’s Boy Works-For-Nothing Steve is over, and it’s becoming more and more obvious that Gloria likes what she sees! Likes it so much, in fact, that she’s got to close her eyes in the final panel, because if she has to look at that hot hunk of filial piety for even one more minute, she can’t be held responsible for her actions.

I do think it’s kind of curious that, since one of Steve’s major characteristics is that he lost his legs in Iraq, we’ve never actually gotten a good look at his prosthetics. Not that we should let his disability and define him and I’m sure most people with artificial legs actually wear pants that cover them up, but it almost seems that the artist has gone out of his way to arrange the panel composition such that his legs are just out of view. Could this be one of the problems of a comics strip that’s a collaboration between an artist and a writer — could the artist have gotten the scripts and cried “Argh! Prosthetic limbs! My greatest weakness!”

Popeye, 1/26/08

Popeye is in the midst of some completely uninteresting plot about Sweet Pea’s allowance, but I have to pose this question to those readers who are part of the nautical division of the Jungle Patrol: What the hell does “typical fat-armed sailor” mean? I always assumed that Popeye’s bizarre physique was a result of artistic whimsy and/or steroid abuse, but are we to understand that his pencil-thin biceps and unnaturally bulging forearms are somehow representative of his profession — and are also somehow related to the cheapness endemic to seamen? I’m obviously way behind on my sailor stereotyping.

Dick Tracy, 1/26/08

In our upcoming storyline, Dick Tracy will drop any pretense about being a frank cheerleader for fascism as Dick is ordered to go break up a local showing of “degenerate art.”

Marmaduke, 1/26/08

For “lost,” read “ate,” obviously.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 01:15 pm and is filed under Dick Tracy, Judge Parker, Marmaduke, Popeye.

101 responses to “Dick Tracy’s will to power”

Lindsey ^_^
January 27th, 2008 at 1:19 pm [Reply]

I’m really not understanding what is going on in Dick Tracy so far.

And I wish Vera would get on with telling Drew whatever, it’s been a week. Even for Mary Worth this is taking forever.
Secret Santa
January 27th, 2008 at 1:24 pm [Reply]

We got a good look at Steve’s legs on New Years Eve. Judging from the way the prostheses are drawn, it appears that Steve has bilateral above-the-knee amputations.
Skullturf Q. Beavispants
January 27th, 2008 at 1:26 pm [Reply]

Oh, those typical sailors. Always inhaling spinach through a pipe.
Sheilagh
January 27th, 2008 at 1:28 pm [Reply]

Was that Von who just barged in on Vera and Drew? Or Vera’s new squeeze? Or both? I agree, I wish they’d cut to the chase already — I’m tingling with anticipation!

Also, I just loooove the posture of the art critics in Dick Tracey. Arms rigidly at sides, teeth clenched, eyes tight shut! Must be some ugly art!!! Unless it’s a mirror?

Josh, I’m buyin’ me a Jungle Patrol shirt just as soon as I get paid! You couldn’t do a sweatshirt, could you? It’s humid in those jungles…
Lindsey ^_^
January 27th, 2008 at 1:35 pm [Reply]

Today’s Family Circus: NOOOOO! We were SO DAMN CLOSE! Why did she have to make him wear that helmet???

Also, am I the only female that thinks Sam Driver is sort of hot when he’s wearing glasses? Yeah, probably the only one.

Thirdly, can someone explain what’s going on in Pibgorn? I just picked it up a couple of days ago and can’t figure it out. I don’t know who any of the characters are or what is going on.

Finally, I’ve heard a few people talking about the comic Luann… I’ve been thinking of picking it up, but it looks SO HORRIBLY BORING. Is it worth reading every day? You guys convinced me on Gil Thorp, maybe you can do the same for Luann.
The Other Commenter
January 27th, 2008 at 1:53 pm [Reply]

In Popeye panel 3, can someone please explain why John C. Reilly is wearing a pillbox hat and prosthetic boobs? And on his left – is that Harvey Keitel?
dreadedcandiru2
January 27th, 2008 at 1:55 pm [Reply]

#5: Lindsey ^_^: I have no idea what’s going on in the comic strip Pibgorn either. I don’t even think it’s supposed to make any sense, to tell you the truth. As for Luann, that’s easy enough to explain: everyone is smarter and better than the title character except for Tiffany the cheerleader.
Buck Ripsnort
January 27th, 2008 at 2:00 pm [Reply]

Wait– So Big Dog’s alleged owner can’t even remember where he lives, and has to follow Big Dog to get home?
dyslexic dog
January 27th, 2008 at 2:00 pm [Reply]

JP has also taken great pains to avoid showing all the other hungry jobseekers for Sam’s opening. (Or is it Gloria’s?)

It is woefully apparent that Steve has a leg up on his competition.
Maughta
January 27th, 2008 at 2:01 pm [Reply]

I thought for sure Popeye said “fat-ARSED sailor.”
Either way, it’s not funny.
The Spectacular Jungle-Brick
January 27th, 2008 at 2:03 pm [Reply]

DtM: Guest-scripting for Mr. Wilson today: Herb and Jamaal.

FC: Dammit! If only Thel hadn’t been so insistent, it might have been Billy wearing the wings and halo.

JP: “I’m sorry… what did you say? I was busy writing ‘Mr. and Mrs. Steve and Gloria Shannon’ on my legal pad over and over. Um… do you mind if I go freshen up a bit?”

Marvin: Sir, I have read Little Nemo in Slumberland. Little Nemo in Slumberland was a surreal, creative, gorgeously rendered, witty and intelligent comic strip that broke ground no comic had tread before and few have tread since. You, Tom Armstrong, are no Winsor McKay, and you, Marvin, are no rarebit fiend. You’re just a furless Garfield who shits his pants. Hang it up.

MW: Is that Von? That must be Von. Layering jackets of identical colors is a well-known Shields family trait.

MC: He’s got a point.
Joe Blevins
January 27th, 2008 at 2:04 pm [Reply]

Oh, what I wouldn’t give for this “Dick Tracy” storyline to turn into an “Apartment 3-G” crossover.

The DT artist shows the paintings as being giant Rorschach tests — abstract black blobs on a white background. Is it possible that the critical comments here reflect more about the spectators themselves than they do about the paintings? Maybe the artist really did just use those particular canvases to clean excess paint from his brushes. He can’t help it if these weirdos think they see the Infant of Prague vomiting blood onto the American flag.
asdf
January 27th, 2008 at 2:05 pm [Reply]

The insult, “Typical fat-armed sailor,” is obvious: Sailors hide all their money in their arms.
BlinkAndItsOver
January 27th, 2008 at 2:07 pm [Reply]

Rum, buggery, the lash, and fat arms. One of these hurtful stereotypes has to go!
Capt Big Sims a typical fat-armed sailor of the Jungle Patrol
January 27th, 2008 at 2:07 pm [Reply]

Typical Sailor – never heard it in relation to stinginess, but ok.
Fat-armed Sailor – accurate, but quite a stretch to get miserly out of it.
Typical Fat-Armed Sailor – no.
lesles
January 27th, 2008 at 2:11 pm [Reply]

DT: props to dick locher for using that second panel to finally own up.
Hank
January 27th, 2008 at 2:15 pm [Reply]

RE: Crankshaft. I realize that Batuik has an agenda here, but is a civil service school employee who presumably has better than average health and prescription drug coverage, really the character to make this particular point? In all likelihood, Crankshaft probably has health care coverage roughly akin to a member of congress.
Baka Gaijin Kusamuru Keiei
January 27th, 2008 at 2:21 pm [Reply]

Big Dog: Mr. Marmaduke threw his nametag at the dog and joined the Jungle Patrol!
DAS
January 27th, 2008 at 2:27 pm [Reply]

So is Vera gonna ask Dr. Drew to have a threesome with her and Von? Is that what she had to tell Dr. Drew? “If you want me back, you’ll have to be with me and another man”?
bats, Avian Division of the Jungle Patrol :[
January 27th, 2008 at 2:36 pm [Reply]

Godzooky re MW (from yesterthread): I’m positive that this is a new boyfriend; Von is a blond version of Drew (the same brushy hairstyle, a la Dan Fielding in “Night Court”).
Why bring a new bf to meet the ex? So the &#*@# ex quits calling day and night, begging to be given another chance.
If the new bf punches the ex into the pastry case, that’s a plus, too…

Saturday’s Lio: of you look really, really closely at the lady bun, there are two black dots under her right eye (where her “neck” is). I think the vampire bun got her.
Having never read the modern children’s classic of Bunicula, I don’t know if a vampire rabbit would have two canines that make the classic puncture wounds (as seen with vampires and venomous snakes alike), or some like a hyphen, with the paired canines making the wound.
I think about crap like this way too much…
Inspector Dim of the Jungle Navy
January 27th, 2008 at 2:42 pm [Reply]

I believe that the woman actually meant to say “fat-assed sailor,” but got distracted by Popeye’s most notable deformity.

It hardly matters, as soon she’s going to be a spinach-flecked smear on the pavement.
The Wild Sow
January 27th, 2008 at 2:44 pm [Reply]

Saturday’s Lio: of you look really, really closely at the lady bun, there are two black dots under her right eye (where her “neck” is). I think the vampire bun got her.

I thought she was supposed to be a bunny blow-up doll, and bunny in the bed was blushing ’cause Lio found his sex-toy!
jvwalt
January 27th, 2008 at 2:50 pm [Reply]

The new storyline in Dick Tracy is presumably “ripped from the headlines.”

The headlines of NINE YEARS AGO, when then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani got his knickers in a twist over a showing of controversial art at the Brooklyn Art Museum. Apparently Dick Locher gets his newspaper delivered by Pony Express.
dyslexic dog
January 27th, 2008 at 2:56 pm [Reply]

23 – jvwalt:

Locher stays nine years ahead in order to craft his intricate story lines.
Squeak
January 27th, 2008 at 2:56 pm [Reply]

Considering we’re all sitting around, talking about how crudely drawn and/or written these comics are, I’d say that the first two panels of Dick Tracy are art imitating life imitating art imitating life.
commodorejohn
January 27th, 2008 at 2:59 pm [Reply]

Cripes, post-jumped. On a Sunday, no less.

A3G – What the…? Insinuated sex in Apartment 3-G? It’s not even April 1st yet!

A.D. – …hey, that’s actually pretty funny.

BB – Unfortunately, the horribly graphic final panel was removed by the syndicate.

Curtis – Uh…um…er…um…WHAT!? Did I really just see what I thought I saw?

DTM – He is, Dennis. He’s reading Funky Winkerbean.

FC – Yeah, it sure would’ve been a shame if Billy had got a concussion from all that hard snow.

FW – What the…? A funny Funky Winkerbean!? It’s not even April 1st yet!

H&L – As long as Lois is wearing that outfit, I have no venom to expend on this strip.

JP – So…if she marries a guy with no legs…how do they…um…you know?

Lio – WANT

MW – Aw damn, let down by Mary Worth yet again.

MC – That’s…that’s actually a pretty good point.

OBH – haha YES.

RMMD – Good question, Niki – how could he possibly walk with an injured shoulder? Hmm, that’s a puzzler, all right.

Edison Lee – wants to remind you to vote for only the Democratic Party’s sanctioned candidate because he says so, like the mindless sheep you are.
Zaq
January 27th, 2008 at 3:03 pm [Reply]

It occurs to me… where DOES Popeye get his money? I know we rarely see cartoon characters with actual paychecks in their hands, and that’s a bit of disbelief I’m more than willing to suspend, except that we’re focusing directly in upon it with this storyline. I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Popeye, you know, sail or anything. All he does is punch stuff… and that spinach has to come from somewhere (no, I don’t believe that he grows it himself, as evidenced by the cans). Maybe Swee’Pea should be grateful that Popeye can spare twelve cents per week from his loose-change scavenging.
commodorejohn
January 27th, 2008 at 3:05 pm [Reply]

#27 Zaq – He grows, cans, and deals his own spinach. He might seem like a champion of vaguely justice-like principles on the surface, but inside beats the slimy heart of a drug dealer.
Hank
January 27th, 2008 at 3:11 pm [Reply]

RE: 27, 28/Zac, John: It’s not that complicated guys. Popeye is retired from the US Navy and lives off his pension.
Inspector Dim of the Jungle Navy
January 27th, 2008 at 3:19 pm [Reply]

Zaq,

I think you underestimate how lucrative punching things can be.

Although you may be right about the current state of his employment. If we are to believe popular songs, Popeye does, in fact, live in a garbage can where he eats all the worms and spits out the germs.
Inspector Dim
January 27th, 2008 at 3:26 pm [Reply]

Now not only does Spider-Man have a Spider Tracer which he can, apparently, place on people (God, I hope it’s shaped like a spider. Oh, please…), but now his vague, ever-expanding Spidey Senses apparently include sensing whenever things are going his way. If only his Spidey Senses would tingle whenever a storyline got too boring for anyone to follow. That would be the most useful sense of all.
Skullturf Q. Beavispants
January 27th, 2008 at 3:31 pm [Reply]

Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a feeling we’re all over-analyzing the puzzling Lio with the rabbit. I think it was simply that Lio found the boy bunny’s gal pal who was hiding in the closet, and so the boy bunny was embarrassed.

Lio had never seen the girl bunny before, and was wondering “Who is she? Where did she come from?” and the boy bunny is like “Oops, blush blush, now you know that I’ve secretly been screwing my girlfriend in your bedroom.”

http://www.gocomics.com/lio/2008/01/26/?uc_full_date=&campid=0&
Helena Handbasket
January 27th, 2008 at 3:34 pm [Reply]

MT: I once read in Scientific American that porcupines fall out of trees so frequently, poking themselves with their own quills, that they have actually evolved to have a residue on their quills that is a mild antibiotic.
rhymes with puck
January 27th, 2008 at 3:38 pm [Reply]

MW: Oh, Drew, you thought you were going to win back Vera’s heart with your nausea-inducing nightmare of a coat, but you weren’t prepared for the onslaught of a yellow jacket and pink tie! Enjoy, indeed.

Phantom: The Ghost-who-walks hates Indians and thinks they are smelly, too. Racist bastard. — Old Jungle Saying

Curtis: The hardest part of that cosmetic surgery? Yanking out the two top teeth, molding them into one, and implanting them grotesquely onto his lower jaw.

FW: Montoni’s pizza has crust with the consistency of dominoes. It’s probably laced with carcinogens, too, and possibly rat poison.
Poteet
January 27th, 2008 at 3:43 pm [Reply]

I’ve decided that I’m really not worthy of being in the Jungle Patrol unless I’m willing to read THE PHANTOM, or at least read all of the Jungle Patrol back story. And I don’t have the fortitude to do that, so I’m resigning my commission, with thanks for a truly memorable experience. I’ve never had a chance to bond with others on a mission like this, and I want you to know that…*sniff*…it’s meant a lot. It’s just that there’s only so much of Stripey Butt I can stand, and that “so much” is “as much of him as our Pope causes to appear on this site.” So farewell, and I wish you the very best, brave Jungle Patrollers. May the Snark be with you!
Poteet
January 27th, 2008 at 3:46 pm [Reply]

# 33 Helena Handbasket — Wow. Thank you. I hope that interesting fact, and similar nature facts, will gradually replace some of the bad song lyrics in the strange filing cabinet that is my brain.
Virginia
January 27th, 2008 at 3:51 pm [Reply]

OH, please please, everyone, go to A3G NOW. The gobsmacked look on Alan’s face in the second to last panel, as he discovers TWO glasses, one with LIPSTICK, brought me more laughter than any of the other strips.
True Jungle Fable Patrol
January 27th, 2008 at 3:52 pm [Reply]

I find Saturday’s Lio with the toy bunnies and the inference that they “go at it like rabbits when Lio’s not around” much easier to take than the thought that oversized forearms are supposed to be de rigueur among sailors.

“I mays be a miskshappien’ freak, but I yam what I yam” ?!
Cheeky Wee Monkeys
January 27th, 2008 at 3:54 pm [Reply]

So now old ladies care about kids’ allowance? And this could possibly result in a higher allowance? Damn, I missed out on my childhood.
commodorejohn
January 27th, 2008 at 4:03 pm [Reply]

Wait wait wait wait wait, is that supposed to be Von in today’s Mary Worth!? Maybe this won’t be such a let-down after all. Not that I’m excited for more Flowers In The Attic stuff, but at least it’d be a step up from Mary finding injured dogs and Dr. Drew narrating his own life while gesticulating like T-Rex from Dinosaur Comics. (http://www.qwantz.com)
Cheeky Wee Monkeys
January 27th, 2008 at 4:05 pm [Reply]

Maybe it’s the botched outline, but it looks like they’re releasing Steve smack into a wall. Ouch.
Secret Santa
January 27th, 2008 at 4:09 pm [Reply]

26: JP – So…if she marries a guy with no legs…how do they…um…you know?
— They do it with gusto. (Body armor does have crotch plates, doncha know?)

17: Crankshaft – Regarding Members of Congress healthcare, they have the Attending Physicians Office just a few steps from the Rotunda, staffed with Navy internists, and their own pharmacy. I don’t think Crankshaft’s healthplan can hold a candle to what Congress has provided for itself.
Fred P.
January 27th, 2008 at 4:12 pm [Reply]

At first I was thinking “far be it for the creators of Dick Tracy (of all people!) to express the opinion that any particular work of art could so utterly fail to meet the barest acceptable level of artistic ability as to be deemed too unworthy to be displayed in a public forum!” I mean, whatever it is exactly that Dick Tracy is supposed to be, a showcase of competent draftsmanship it certainly ain’t.

But upon further reflection I realized, hell, it’s not like it was those mutant freaks from Gil Thorp voicing the art critique. Now that’d be simply egregious.
Inspector Dim
January 27th, 2008 at 4:18 pm [Reply]

My only question about today’s Mary Worth, other than why the blond guy decided that a yellow shirt, yellower jacket and orange tie was a good fashion plan, is just how those doughnuts are staying on those display racks! I mean, they must be at an 80% angle! I actually suspect they’re glued there.
Chief Investigator Tracer Bullet of the Jungle Patrol
January 27th, 2008 at 4:18 pm [Reply]

Go ahead and throw yourself at him, Gloria. It’s not like he can dodge you.
Godzooky
January 27th, 2008 at 4:22 pm [Reply]

#20 bats, Avian Division of the Jungle Patrol :[ re: MW: Your scenario’s fun to imagine, but we have to keep in mind that Karen Moy still writes and Joe Giella still draws this strip. That means that nothing that interesting is going to happen and, since Drew doesn’t even look like Drew from panel to panel, Mr. Orange Suit/Pink Tie could easily be a strangely-drawn Von ( http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20071016&name=Mary_Worth ). We should find out for sure in a month or so.
Lou Shumaker, Jungle Patrol Reject
January 27th, 2008 at 4:32 pm [Reply]

Virginia: Oh, yes, thank you for telling us. That next to last panel when whois found the lipstick on the glass is priceless!
Dagger
January 27th, 2008 at 4:46 pm [Reply]

Dick Tracey’s going to be breaking up an a show featuring provocative art? Be on the lookout for his presidential run in eight years, in which he will vacation in Florida and call it campaigning.
Gabe
January 27th, 2008 at 4:51 pm [Reply]

Yes, Sailors who work as deck hands develop large forearms from hauling line. Most Boatswain’s mates I know have big forearms, its sometimes called “getting your Popeye arms.”
lynngineering
January 27th, 2008 at 4:57 pm [Reply]

DickTracy: “Yuk” – hm..is it half a laugh, the “yuk yuk” waiting to be? We’ll never know I guess.

Well, I for one would love to find that in the next panels a close-up reveals they are staring in revulsion at… a Pop Art panel with Dick Tracy as its subject! Ha HA! Take it to that Mr. Dis Gusting responsible for the fate of culture today. Just see Dick standing there: “What the…look! It’s…It’s me! What kind of sicko….. WHO did this! Someone has taken my image and made this subversive art out of it! Say what – who? Andy who? Oh my GOD… I feel… I feel so ..filthy!!”

Judge Parker: Steve appears to be a close cousin to Brock Sampson. And all the soldier backstory and potential double-speak about non-pictured or possibly just phantom limbs makes me believe they probably are related. Or maybe I will just try to see it that way, as a Venture Bros. reference alone could make it easier for me to believe it is plausible to be interested in the storyline of Sam’s “partner” secretary whom I never heard of before. Plausible. But she’s not Dr. Girlfriend either.

Foob:Look! I didn’t mention FBOFW at al!
DOH!!
Mim
January 27th, 2008 at 5:05 pm [Reply]

JP: actually, we have seen his legs. Just looked it up, and it was the December 31 strip: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/judgeparker.asp?date=20071231
Marty Busse
January 27th, 2008 at 5:10 pm [Reply]

Dick Tracy is not making a reference to Giuliani. The strip is set in a thinly-disguised Chicago, after all.

It’s been a bit more than 20 years since Harold Washington died, so there has been a lot of Harold remembrance going on about town. I think the current storyline in Dick Tracy is referencing the time a bunch of Aldermen stormed into the Art Institute of Chicago to remove a painting that depicted Harold Washington in lingerie.
Poteet
January 27th, 2008 at 5:14 pm [Reply]

MW — History and mythology all over the world are replete with stories of brother-sister incest that have amazed, appalled, and fascinated human beings for thousands of years. And now, MW presents us with: The Story Of Vera And Von. I could weep.
Jen
January 27th, 2008 at 5:15 pm [Reply]

Has anyone been following this week’s FBorFWs? Poor Iris. It’s like she was the understudy for the 1st chair violinist on the Titanic, and her first big chance to play was on the night they hit the iceberg. (Other theory: Iris is guilty of Münchhausen by Proxy.)
lynngineering
January 27th, 2008 at 5:16 pm [Reply]

#51 – True indeed, although in fact, we see his replacement-limbs : )
Plus a constant
January 27th, 2008 at 5:21 pm [Reply]

Is it wrong to find the image of a “cheerleader for fascism” kind of sexy? Or do you mean Dick Tracy is like Ann Coulter? Never mind, my imagination just threw up and died.
Little Jungle Patrol Guy
January 27th, 2008 at 5:21 pm [Reply]

Jeggs Parker: I know why I’m bored. Black doesn’t show off boobiage.

Doonesbury: Well, that wraps up *that*sub plot…. um, when did this subplot start?

Blondie: Today, the titular character will be played by Dr Julii.

PBS: *snarf*

Candorville: For a moment, I thought Roxanne hacked his cell.

Prince Valiant: Fan service for the grimey Viking lovers out there.

Brewster Rockit: *snarf.2*
Rusty
January 27th, 2008 at 5:26 pm [Reply]

It would be great if the Judge Parker artist resorted to Batiuk’s rolled and pinned-up empty sleeve to represent the war hero’s missing legs. Just have him in a chair with his pants cuffed up by his groin.
Jym
January 27th, 2008 at 5:27 pm [Reply]

=v= JP (Josh): Maybe they could hire G.B. Trudeau to pimp Steve’s gimp …

=v= Popeye (Josh): In the earliest appearances of Popeye, his arm build kind of matches his bell-bottoms. At some point his biceps and torso actually got skinnier (ditto for Olive Oyl, who used to have a motor in the back of her Honda). Some other sailors such as Barnacle Bill are built the same way, though others have menacingly beefy bodies. So perhaps E.C. Segar had a “typical fat-armed sailor” thing going, and communicated it Bud Sagendorf when Sagendorf was his assistant. :^)

=27= Popeye (Zaq): Popeye gets all sorts of treasure from his adventures, though at times he manages to lose it and has to pick up spare change prizefighting.
Helena Handbasket of the Jungle Patrol
January 27th, 2008 at 5:28 pm [Reply]

As I stood outside in the rain today in my Doc Marten’s, skirt tied up to my thigh, fiercely hacking through the overgrowth of ivy and Virginia creeper that threatens to engulf the backyard should it be left alone until Spring, I thought to myself, “This is great preparation for the Jungle Patrol!”

Now that The Phantom has declared pirates to be utter wusses, the only logical next step is ninjas, zombies or robots. Or maybe ninja zombie robots. Place your bets now!

Given the true-to-life milieu of The Phantom, I’m voting for tax collectors. So, um, I guess that would be zombie robots.
Islamorada Girl, Jungle Patrol Reporting for Duty
January 27th, 2008 at 5:33 pm [Reply]

Ah, Dick Tracy finally discovers the works of Robert Maplethorpe!
Harold
January 27th, 2008 at 5:34 pm [Reply]

A3-G: “Oh, man, I really messed up…I swore I’d never do another drag show!”

On the subject of Popeye’s arms, I read somewhere recently (which means it was probably a reference somebody dropped here) that massive forearms were typical on sailors in the old days of sailing vessels, when many of the routine tasks would require (and help develop) tremendous forearm strength. Sorta like wide asses and carpal tunnel in the Internet era.

Speaking of wide-asses, I’m sure I missed a Patterfoob/Johnston hatefest when Lynn was showing her typical heartfelt concern and empathy earlier this week with her “Why the hell is Grampa so depressed? Why can’t he just cheer up?” storyline. Maybe this will be Michael Patterson’s next instant bestseller, “Quit Your Whining and Cheer the Hell Up: Choosing to Defeat Depression.” At least April continues to rise above the rest of the horde.
Ogg Ogglesby
January 27th, 2008 at 5:34 pm [Reply]

MW: Waitress, out of frame “Ok, who ordered the Vera sandwich?”
Harold
January 27th, 2008 at 5:35 pm [Reply]

And I beleieve the art show is “Too Ugly to Live: The Grotesque Art of Dick Tracy”.
Harold
January 27th, 2008 at 5:40 pm [Reply]

Has anyone cracked the “blue and gold” steganography code in the Sunday Mary Worths? What does it mean when none of the characters are half blue and half gold?
Mibbitmaker
January 27th, 2008 at 5:42 pm [Reply]

MT: Wow, an entire Sunday strip dedicated to Larry Fine (as narrated by Moe Howard).

FC: Billy’s Oedipal adventure begins…

FW: Even when Batiuk is being funny he isn’t funny. Whither 1970s-80s?

Drabble: Frankly, I don’t know how Casey Kasem does it, at least once a week for decades.

Drabble2: Hey, why don’t you guys find one of the many stations that doesn’t have a show on that caters to stereotypical gender fare? It’s as though these two are choosing which movie to see, chickflick or action movie.

FOOB: Handyman overload (Wait! — John Patterson is handy??).
Josh
January 27th, 2008 at 5:51 pm [Reply]

#51 Mim — Thanks, I had missed that! Now I’m glad we don’t get to see them regularly, since the colorists apparently decided to make every component of them the exact same color as his skin, which I find unrealistic and kind of creepy for some reason.

Josh
Secret Santa
January 27th, 2008 at 6:03 pm [Reply]

67: Following up on #2, it looks like the devices might be out of the Advanced Prosthetic Lab at Johns Hopkins — your stomping grounds, I have heard — though there is work being done at labs across the country. The newer limbs can provide a gait approaching normal. Latest developments include improved fit, battery time, and weight reduction. Wilson and Baretto did their homework on this one. (Further information on prosthetic limbs can be found on the Internet.)
Inspector Dim
January 27th, 2008 at 6:11 pm [Reply]

#54, What, is FOOB still going? I stopped paying attention after the first round of horrible, horrible flashbacks.
Alt Comix
January 27th, 2008 at 6:24 pm [Reply]

Rex Morgan The tension between Rex and Nikki has been building up (no pun intended) for too long. I’m afraid I’m going to have to burst everyone’s bubble. I just can’t take any more of this.

Nikki shuts Rex down: http://www.flickr.com/photos/altcomix/2224402424/
ChattyGenes of the Jungle Patrol, Far East Division
January 27th, 2008 at 6:26 pm [Reply]

#5 Lindsey ^_^ .

“Also, am I the only female that thinks Sam Driver is sort of hot when he’s wearing glasses? Yeah, probably the only one.”

No, you’re not! I’m with you!

In fact, Sam in glasses is one of the things that’s getting me interested in this strip. (Though I’ve been told by a friend of mine that he’s a pretty cold fish:-)
bats, Avian Division of the Jungle Patrol :[
January 27th, 2008 at 6:40 pm [Reply]

Oh, well. There’s no shot like a cheap shot. Sorry, Alan, you just happen to be in the line of fire:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9545446@N07/2224629354/
Jamus Of The Jungle Patrol
January 27th, 2008 at 7:11 pm [Reply]

27-30. Back in his early days, he’d also get money for prize-fighting, which is how he met WImpy. He was a referee.
Artist formerly known as Ben
January 27th, 2008 at 7:14 pm [Reply]

#6 TOC

In Popeye panel 3, can someone please explain why John C. Reilly is wearing a pillbox hat and prosthetic boobs?

PT Anderson has decided that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so he’s remaking Robert Altman’s “Popeye” movie.
name
January 27th, 2008 at 7:29 pm [Reply]

Two great things about Sunday’s Marmaduke

1) It admits that the faces of children are one of Marmaduke’s favourite foods

2) It shows how detached the artist is from his subject matter with the line “whatever dogs eat.” It just shows how the artist ’s fictional dog has become totally untethered from the confines of real world doghood, and such petty details as what dogs eat. This comic isn’t about facts, it’s about the truth.
Buck Ripsnort
January 27th, 2008 at 7:40 pm [Reply]

Zaq, doesn’t Popeye collect a Navy pension? I know he was in uniform during WWII. Also, as mentioned above, prizefights. And Gawd knows, the spinach people and that fried chicken franchise must pay him a bundle.
Artist formerly known as Ben
January 27th, 2008 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

1/27

A3G: it gets worse Alan. The glass with the lipstick is yours.

9CL; Piano lady did at least get Seth to say Bootylicious, which sounds pretty funny in the Frasier Crane accent I imagine him having.

Frazz: Nice shoutout.

Curtis: Is there a teacher who looks like Beetle? I bet he soends a lot of time in the dean’s office too.

Blondie: I’ve actually seen the ad Dagwood’s talking about. It ends with the husband not getting any. Dag either forgot that part or doesn’t care.

Zits: Isn’t it funny how all the errands take you past Viral’s house?
Uncle Lumpy of the Jungle Patrol
January 27th, 2008 at 8:09 pm [Reply]

Curtis — the Dean? In a public high school?

OK, he’s the Dean because otherwise you’d have to get rid of principal what’s-his-name. And that would be a shame, what with him being the linchpin of the strip ‘n’ all.
Hasty Penguin
January 27th, 2008 at 8:17 pm [Reply]

A talking watch in an art museum? The nerve of some people.
Bobdog
January 27th, 2008 at 8:29 pm [Reply]

Popeye – Isn’t Sweet Pea an infant? What is an infant going to do with an allowance?

Further more, not having followed this plot line (and not being particularly interested in following up), but to assume that it is merely out of cheapness that Popeye is not raising the allowance — he may well be a well motivated desire to instill a sense of the value of money and hard work into his progeny. And really what right do these judgmental harpies have to interject themselves in the way he chooses to raise his family?

And what of this psy-ops campaign Sweet Pea is running in order to secure this raise in the allowance by spreading news of his father’s (?) alleged miserliness among the local populace? Should that be rewarded and tolerated? Is that the sort of world we want to live in?
True Jungle Fable Patrol
January 27th, 2008 at 8:32 pm [Reply]

#5 Lindsey and #71 Chatty Genes – Hey, what the hell is this about Sam Driver looking hot in glasses?

Oh I get it… “Men seldom make passes at girls wearing glasses, but men wearing specs are more appealing than pecs.” Harumpf!

We feel so used, and frankly we LIKE it. ;-)
dale
January 27th, 2008 at 8:40 pm [Reply]

FOOB Sunday
Grandpa John would be happy to work on a little girl’s dollhouse. The problem is he’s thinking: “This is my son’s daughter. My son is a worthless piece of shit. He can’t write. He can’t fix things. And he just passed up an opportunity to spend some time with his daughter.”

I could see a worse scenario.
Deanna calls. “Mom, Mike is deep in authorish thinking and Meredith’s dollhouse needs work. Could John come and fix it? If he needs help carrying all his tools, tell him not to strain himself, just make two trips. And try not to come at lunch time, that’s when we’ll be eating.”
Poteet
January 27th, 2008 at 8:50 pm [Reply]

# 81 Sir Fable MTK — As an example of a man who does NOT look hot in specs, I present RMMD’s Lee, a.k.a. (to me), Doc Ock II, Cheap Knockoff Division. Only Doc Ock had more brains, and a person could at least wonder about what he might be able to do with all those arms. Not me, you understand, just a generic person.
Eric J
January 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm [Reply]

Heh Heh. You said “seamen.”
mort
January 27th, 2008 at 9:08 pm [Reply]

So that image on Dick’s wrist isn’t his chief. I mean his boss. I mean the chief of police. It’s his cat, named Chief. I hadn’t been aware that his cat was a kitler:
http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigboard.pl?1867
And The
January 27th, 2008 at 9:12 pm [Reply]

DT: This better be one hell of a art show emergency, to justify Liz calling Tracy in a stonefaced panic moments after he’s arrived home on his day off after just returning from a major case. Particularly irritating after the last case started with Tess angrily badgering Dick over the phone (while he was saving D.C. from bomb equipped terrorists, no less!) to tell him he had to come home at once. Because she had a secret. That she refused to tell him over the wrist-phone. She would only tell him in person. Which turned out to be that she signed him up without his permission for an immediate, unadvertised charity night at a haunted mansion due for immediate demolition the very next day. Oh my head, I’ve got to lay down.
ChattyGenes of the Jungle Patrol, Far East Division
January 27th, 2008 at 9:32 pm [Reply]

#81 True Jungle Fable Patrol.

Um…Mr. Fable, am I to understand that YOU wear glasses?

Reading glasses count, by the way.

(And I’ll like you a lot anyway, even if you don’t:-)
alamo
January 27th, 2008 at 10:05 pm [Reply]

jp — gloria has no noticeable rack. what gives???
Anonymous
January 27th, 2008 at 10:32 pm [Reply]

In the 2nd panel of MW, the guy with glasses & a glass of milk appears to be reading instructions on how to drink milk.

My first comment here. this site has given me many hearty laughs. No spit-takes yet, though.
True Jungle Fable Patrol
January 27th, 2008 at 10:34 pm [Reply]

#87 Chatty Genes of the Jungle Patrol Far East Division – Yes, I do wear reading glasses but I must admit, I haven’t learned to snatch them off my head and pose with them as spectacularly as Sam Driver does.

It’s not sour grapes *cough* of course, that this inherited Fable hottness tends to melt plastic and warp glass, and it’s damn tough to look cool with clear lumps of plastic draped across the bridge of one’s nose.

….and the reason my eyes are brown is that I’m obviously so full of shit! :P!
Jana C.H.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:23 pm [Reply]

The Navy? Isn’t Popeye a Coast Guard man?

Jana C.H.
Seattle
Saith E.G. Forbes: Never spoil a good story with too much truth.
NotThatJunglePatrolGuy
January 27th, 2008 at 11:52 pm [Reply]

You know, Josh, we loves ya with a passion, but if you’re reading Marvin for us, you don’t have to, really. Really. Please. Stop. Please.

In other arcane factoidisms (which may already have been discussed by Faithful Readers, call me lazy), sailors do have well-developed forearms from all that rope pullin’. At least back when they sailed ships. With sails. The ships. Anyway.
Ed Minchau
January 28th, 2008 at 1:30 am [Reply]

5. Lindsey ^_^ :

As near as I can tell, part of Pibgorn is set in an alternate universe, where apparently although it is possible to die in horrible, nasty ways, it is somehow not possible to stay dead for more than a panel or two.

This pretty much started around the time that McEldowney got Pibgorn kicked off the syndicated cartoon site for being too risque. That pink haired chick with the sword (and I still don’t know her name yet, even though I’ve been faithfully reading the strip for months) killed Pib ohh, six or seven times.

There is also some kind of interdimensional portal between this universe and the alternate universe, something resembling a cross between a computer and a torture rack for a nearly invisible soft-core version of Pibgorn, created by a crotchety old man who subtly resembles Brooke McEldowney and who makes Crankshaft look like Santa Claus.

Now this interdimensional portal thingy has snagged the succubus Drusilla into the alternate reality, where her brain is slowly being possessed by the apparently finally disembodied soul of Pibgorn. Other recent entries into the alternate realm include some geeky guy who bears a passing resemblance to Amos, and his infinitely evil sister. The Amos-clone fell in love at first sight with the pink-haired psycho with the sword, and after proclaiming his true love she was immediately whisked away by Drusilla, subsequently to suffer a nasty violent death and immediate resurrection, at the behest of the soul of Pibgorn.

I know, it doesn’t make a damn bit of sense to me either, but at least the storyline has Megatokyo beaten hands down for resemblance to a plot. Also it looks like McEldowney is running out of ideas for ways to make Pibgorn even more pornographic without getting kicked off of GoComics – he has resorted to submitting sketches of previous days’ episodes in lieu of coming up with new stuff.
bunny mcintosh
January 28th, 2008 at 10:28 am [Reply]

I like the fact that Popeye is just hysterically ranting down the street that he’s not going to give his wife any allowance like it’s the goddamn 1940s and she doesn’t have joint custody of their account. I also like the fact that three irate women decide to respond to his seemingly schizophrenic tirade and openly damn him, and all the Navy, for having fat forearms and for being cheap, even when they are fat everywhere.

Next: Popeye turns around and beats them all unconscious and tells them how that will teach a woman to talk back.
kingklash, Jungle Patrol, Orbit Guard, Cheese Fighter, Chicken Plucker's son
January 28th, 2008 at 2:33 pm [Reply]

There was this one time, at Jungle Patrol Band Camp…..
queek
January 28th, 2008 at 2:35 pm [Reply]

93: in fairness to Brooke, Pibgorn still has the new strips on MWF, the sketches are extra content posted the day after the new ones.
D. E. I.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:29 pm [Reply]

I wouldn’t read too much into the typical fat-armed sailor comment in Popeye. Let’s chalk it up to the further degeneration of the American comic strip.
Ed Minchau
January 29th, 2008 at 1:58 am [Reply]

Yeah Queek, and I suppose I could cut Brooke some slack, seeing as how he’s going in for gallbladder surgery soon.
Colonel Tavington, Jungle Patroller
January 29th, 2008 at 8:13 pm [Reply]

Wait a second… If Popeye’s last naval escapades were during WW2, why does he have the forearms of a deckhand on a sailing ship?
*Ponders*

And the last panel of Judge Parker, in a just universe, would be the beginning of an anime sequence ending with Gloria sqeaking “Hentaiiiiii!”
td
January 29th, 2008 at 9:31 pm [Reply]

swee’ pea.
A Monkey's Uncle
January 30th, 2008 at 10:21 am [Reply]

Why would Popeye have fat forearms of a deckhand when he’s supposedly the captain of his own ship. At least I thought he was.

Please read the posting and discussion policies before posting. You are not required to supply an e-mail address to comment; however, doing so decreases the likelihood of your comment being flagged as spam. E-mail addresses will never be made public or seen by anyone but the site writers, who may use them to communicate with commentors.

Archives:

Comment of the week:

Main navigation:

Main content:

Dick Tracy’s will to power

101 responses to “Dick Tracy’s will to power”

Leave a Reply

All the cool kids…

Randomly Selected Post O’ Mystery