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Monday, December 30, 2019

Number 2434: Dick Tracy gets his man woman

Dick Tracy was a perennial favorite for years, a very popular comic strip, and popular comic book. I bought Dick Tracy Comics Monthly, as it is titled, from 1957 to the end of the Harvey Comics run.

This Tracy story involves a female villain, a sultry woman called Sleet.

According to the Grand Comics Database the story, which the cover touts as “Another Complete Detective Adventure,” is actually edited down from a three-issue telling of the tale from Dick Tracy #'s 57-59 in 1952. (The original newspaper appearance was from March 3, 1949 to April 5, 1949.) The Comics Code had its way on this reprint, removing weapons they did not think appropriate for young readers, including a tomahawk. The Code had it removed altogether. Here is an original panel from the 1952 printing with the tomahawk:

You will see the censored panel toward the end of the story. Most important of all, there is a gorilla! My last shot at showing a comic book gorilla before going into retirement.

From Dick Tracy Comics Monthly #118 (1957):

























For Pappy readers, a goodbye, a thank you, and a happy New Year to you all!

Looking back, it doesn’t seem like Pappy’s Golden Age has been going for as long as it has. I could not expect it to last forever. With age I have slowed down...considerably. Mrs Pappy said what she saw of me in my peak years was the back of my head while I worked at my computer for hours, every day. She is not complaining. She liked having me busy, and quiet.

I want to tell you again how much I have appreciated all the readers who have been reading this blog from its beginning, right up to those who just joined in. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed doing it.

This is my last posting, but before I go I want to wish everyone a happy New Year in 2020.

Goodbye! Pappy

24 comments:

Larry Rippee and Molly Rea said...

Sorry to see you go.

Larry

Daniel [oeconomist.com] said...

Two issues about the story come quickly to mind. Sleet could easily have claimed that her conspiracy was simply a much-needed cover story; and ambulance service in that town was truly dreadful.

It was interesting to see that, as well as crudely erasing the tomahawk from Sleet's hand, the artist also drew it back in the hand of the manikin where, in the original, it was shown removed.

Thank you again for the many entries of this 'blog! Not only did I get to read stories for which I had a pre-existing, conscious liking; I was also exposed to work in genres that I had ignored, which work proved to be interesting from a sociological perspective and sometimes excellent as visual story-telling.

RickH said...

Been here almost since the beginning (2007). Thank you Pappy for everything.

The Old Curmudgeon said...

I used to love the Dick Tracy stories published by Harvey. Even with the Code, they were twisted compared to the wholesome fare published by National. I think the Code gave Tracy more leeway because it was a "respectable" newspaper strip. Of course, my little seven year old brain would have liked those stories even more without the Code toning it down! Can you imagine newspaper comic strip pages running that stuff today? On TV, there's way more violence depicted than in the 1950's, but comic strips are free from anything disturbing. Now you have to go to the news pages!

I just want to say again that I'll miss new posts from Pappy! Your taste in comics is wonderfully eclectic. I've recently been exploring your links to other websites, and have discovered a lot of pages I've never found on my own. Many of those sites are actively posting, so I commend your links to your other readers.

Brian Barnes said...

Thank you Pappy, for all the entertainment, joy, and good conversation in this comment section over the years. I'll miss visiting this daily to look for new content, and obviously the content itself. Note that your turkey day celebration of the worst of the worst lives on a bit in my endeavors.

2019 has oddly been the end of an era for many sites I visited daily, and this is one of the great ones. All the best in your retirement, and thank you!

Mike Gold said...

Pappy, my deepest thanks for entertaining me and educating me for the past decade. I've truly enjoyed your blog and will miss it. Going out with the Harvey Dick Tracy run is fitting, for me, as I had the same exact experience with the series as you did, back in those thrilling days of yesteryear. I wish you a wonderful retirement -- I'm a bit envious. Take care and, again, thank you!

cartoonjoe said...

Thank you, Pappy, for your hard work, insights, and good humor. You will be missed.😔

William A. Nericcio said...

What a wild ride, Pappy. Thanks for your wonderful and masterful curation of my favorite blog on the world wide webs! A huge loss to be sure, but that gives us more time to thank you for all your splendid work!

Russ said...

Happy Trails, Pappy and thanks for being here.

Mr. Cavin said...

Bye, Pappy. Thanks for every single thing. There are maybe a dozen artists and titles--and three or five tip-top favorites--that I only know about because of this blog. I'll remember the Golden Age Blog Zine every time I read Dick Briefer or Jesse Marsh going forward. Or Boody Rogers or Herbie Popnecker or or or. Happy New Year; all the best.

Oscar Dowson said...

Farewell, Pappy, and thank you. Bon voyage.

Unknown said...

Sure will miss you, Pappy.
Mike

darkmark said...

Goodbye, Pappy!

BretSector said...

Thanks for all of the years of posts. You've introduced me to writers and artists I now really love that I probably would never have heard of otherwise. Enjoy your retirement and have a happy new year...every new year!

jhegenbe said...

Thank you Pappy, for all the entertainment, joy, and good conversation in this comment section over the years. I'll miss visiting this daily to look for new content, and obviously the content itself. Me, too.

Manqueman said...

Gonna miss you, Pappy.

rnigma said...

Farewell, Pappy... hate to see you go!

Michael Laperle said...

thank you to France, Pappy

Kevin H said...

Thank you Pappy, best wishes

Jediskater said...

Thank you very much for all these years of joy with the vintage comics you presented. Thank you and good luck in everything you do.

Muchas gracias por todos estos años de alegria con los comics vintage que presentabas. Gracias y buena suerte en todo lo que hagas.

Paul Brigg said...

Thanks so much for such a great blog. Hope it will stay in place as an archive, so that newcomers can still discover the many delights here.

Uncle Ernie said...

All the best wishes and thank you.

Ken Dudley said...

Pappy, I have only been reading your blog for about 4 years, but I went back to the beginning and have slowly been working my way forward. I just noticed a link to your blog on The Silver Age Gold blog. The blogs always link to the most recent post, which indicated it was four months ago. I had to come to this most recent post to see what happened. I'm glad to see you are okay, and just voluntarily retired. Enjoy your time with Mrs. Pappy. I hope this finds you and your family well and safe from this COVID-19. Thanks for the years of fun entertainment. I still have a lot of years to enjoy, but it is sad to know that "Lo, There Shall Be an Ending!" Ken Dudley

AB said...

Thank you Pappy