I cannot imagine Chaster Gould turning out a story arc like this one, not even during his decline in the late 60’s when things in Tracyland became truly bizarre.
I like the new team and their restoration of the Tracy Brand after the horrific Locher Era (akin to Batman’s ‘kitchen sink’ period of the 60’s) but it seems to me that there is now a Clear and Present Danger of this strip jumping the shark.
I agree with Jim in CT – these crossovers really are getting out of hand. You CAN have too much of a good thing. At this rate, jumping the shark can’t be too far off.
When LOA ended its run, weren’t Punjab and the Asp still missing?
Yeah, looks like Doc Wonmug will soon be appearing.
Having read all of the EC Weird Science and Weird Fantasy titles from the 50’s, which examined time travel from every conceivable angle, I’ll be curious to see how this arc plays out. One of those plots involved a time loop in which events occurred over and over – LOA used that plot as well at one point. Since this is a strip in which very few villains ever seem to die (are we sure the Fifth and Flyface were done in this last time?) maybe that is already taking place. Gould probably regretted killing Flattop off, and his substitutes, Angeltop, Blowtop, etc. just don’t do the job.
Interesting, so long as it doesn’t incur an Angus-style lapse in logic.
Axel was the “villain” in the Mad Magazine parody “Little Orphan Melvin” circa 1953. He’s been around that long.
I think the Alley thing was just a throwaway nod to Alley Oop. If you’ve never seen the original V T Hamlin strips of Alley Oop, you’ve missed things! It was a great strip through the 1960’s.
Dick Tracy was so awful in the early 1980’s, that my paper dropped it right in the middle of the Angeltop continuity. It’s definitely gotten better. Does anyone here remember Smallmouth Bass and the heart thieves in the 60’s?
LOA in the late 1960’s was as violent a strip as has ever seen the comics pages. Harold Gray decided to go out with a blaze of glory, and he sure did. There was one continuity where the Asp rescued Annie and had his henchmen treat the villain to the Death of a Thousand Cuts. Just barely out of panel too.
I don’t have the name of who sent the 1937 ANNIE strip. but whoever it was, it was Great ! Thank you, it’s a long link, but very interesting reading.
Read the Anne link you posted. The whole story and now I get it. Harold Gray . Great writer.
You’re welcome. Be sure to check out that whole site to see Classic Annie fighting the Nazis.
Once again:http://www.stuartliss.com/loahp/mram.html
If you didn’t notice, Mr. Am brings Warbucks and the Asp back from the dead in the 1937 continuity. I AM, indeed.
I too am concerned about this strip doing too much too soon and simultaneously. I like LOA and was sorry to see it canceled. Of course, I was one of the last 12 people to read Steve Roper and Mike Nomad before it was canceled.
You can have too much of a good thing.