Dick Tracy and Mary Perkins

Mike Curtis and Joe Staton have taken a moribund vintage comic strip -- Dick Tracy -- and turned it into a fresh new strip full of surprises and delights. For me, many of those delights come from recognizing crossovers and cameos with other comic strips (both current and historical).

In a sequence started in March, 2014, Vitamin Flintheart takes center stage once again. This former matinee idol (and unabashed ham actor) first strutted into Dick Tracy in 1944 as an unwitting dupe of Flattop, Sr. Although a movie and TV actor, Flintheart's heart belongs to the theater. (click on images to enlarge). In this sequence, he performs the lead in a play by the Immortal Bard.

His co-star has also had some interaction with Flintheart in his offstage drama with con artist Silver Nitrate and his sister Sprocket. Newer readers might assume she's a minor character -- but she's really much more. Mary Perkins was the star of her own soap opera/adventure strip, "On Stage." The strip ran under a variety of titles (depending on the newspaper); "Mary Perkins," "Mary Perkins, On Stage," and "On Stage," from 1957 through 1979. Brilliantly written and illustrated by Leonard Starr, the strip won several professional awards for it's innovative storytelling.

Of course such a major star of stage and screen like Mary Perkins would eventually work with the equally famous Vitamin Flintheart! Curtis and Staton's subtle nod to a comic strip legend did not go unnoticed (at least by this reader).

Diabelli Project 035 - Invention in A minor

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

This week's entry is just a little invention in A minor. Of course, it's a little unusual -- it's in 5/8 time, consistently broken down into a group of 3 followed by a group of 2. (click on image to enlarge)

 If I were to continue with this, I would probably break the motif apart, playing with groups of 2 over groups of 3. But that's just me. What would you do? As always, the invitation is open. Feel free to use this as you will -- just let me know the results!

The Straco Layout, Part 32 - Things go better with coke

The Linemar Central Coal & Coke Co. dump truck.

Read all the installments of the Straco Express layout project here.

It wasn't that long ago that I purchased a Linemar fire truck for the Straco Express display layout. But since that time, I discovered that the Linemar vehicles were all part of a set (see: Collecting and Collecting Information, Part 13). So I've been on the lookout for other 3" vehicles produced by this Japanese subsidiary of Louis Marx Co.

So when the Linemar Central Coal & Coke Co. dump truck became available at a reasonable price, I took it. The body was stamped from essentially the same mold as Linemar's fire engine (click on the image above to enlarge). The front fenders have the same contours, and both have a crease bisecting the hood  (that's actually a good thing -- it strengthens that surface and helps it resist dents).

I'm really happy with the other embossed details, too. The surface of the coal load is lumpy, to simulate individual chunks of coal, and the lip of the dump bed can be seen across the top of the cab.

There is a little bit of a cheat -- the lithography shows double axles in the rear, but in fact there is only one. But since the chassis has a significant overhang, you really have to look closely to see the actual wheels.

All in all,  a nice little piece, and a good addition to the layout.

Total cost for the project:
Layout construction:

• Pegboard: $4.95
• Flathead Screws: $0.40
• Molding: $2.49
• SilClear: borrowed from a friend
• Green Paint: left over from another project
• Wood Screws: $3.60
• Felt Pads: $1.99

Power Pack: $5.90
Small Houses: $3.00
Testor's Gray Paint for road: $1.29
Bandai Areo Station: $8.99

Vehicles:

• Two Japanese toy cars: $2.00
• A.W. Livestock truck: $4.99
• Taxi: $2.99
• Ambulance: $2.99
• Two Japanese patriotic cars: $6.99
• Namura Police Car $2.52
• Haji three-wheel sedan $3.00
• Namura lumber truck $3.48
• 1950's sedan $2.99
• 6 Namura vehicles $16.99
• LineMar Pepco Truck $8.50
• LineMar Bond Bread Van $8.00 
• Linemar Fire Engine $4.95 
• Linemar Dump Truck $12.99
• Namura Red Sedan $5.00
  

Total Cost: $120.99

Game of Attrition: Arlene Sierra's compositional conflict

Game of Attrition: Arlene Sierra, Vol.2
BBC national Orchestra of Wales
Jac van Steen, conductor
Huw Watkins, piano
Bridge Records

This release features four orchestral works by Arlene Sierra. Listening to the entire album, one gets an overall sense of Sierra's style. A small, simple musical idea -- a repeated note motif, a grouping of instruments -- is set in conflict against a similar version of itself. And that back and forth conflict forms the building blocks from which larger and more elaborate structures form.

"Moler" is a jittery, sort orchestral work. The title refers to grinding teeth, and although the music won't set your teeth on edge, it does have that relentless, restless motion and undercurrent of anxiety that teeth-grinding suggests.


PDQ Bach wrote a concerto for piano vs. orchestra - and that seems to be the relationship of forces in Sierra's piano concerto, "The Art of War." As the work's subtitle suggests her point of inspiration is Sun Tzu's classic military treatis.

In the first movement, the piano attacks the orchestra and become overwhelmed by its superior numbers. The repeated note motifs Sierra uses suggest a stabbing motion. One can almost hear the conflict move back and forth through the orchestra.

The second movement casts the piano as an insurgent, darting in and out of view, making quick jabs before retreating. It's an exciting work that requires great virtuosity from both soloist and ensemble.Pianist Huw Watkins and the BBC national Orchestra of Wales directed by Jac van Steen are more than equal to the task.

According to Sierra, the extra-musical genesis of her work "The Game of Attrition" is different species competing for limited natural resources -- in this case represented by different instrumental groups playing in the same registers. As with the piano concerto, there's a sense of conflict in the work, but it makes for compelling listening, even without knowing the background. There are no hackneyed orchestrations here. Every moment the listener is presented with fresh instrumental combinations.

The motifs in "Aquilo" seem to form a chain, with one leading into the other in an interlocking fashion. This work seems less about conflict (though it's still there) and more about an imbalance that continually tips the music forward as it rushes to its conclusion.

"Game of Attrition" is an album of urgent, high-energy music. But for me it was a rewarding listen -- and a refreshing one.

Lio and the Fourth Wall 5

Mark Tartulli's humor is definitely outside the box -- literally. His innovative comic strip Lio often plays with the confines of the comic strip panels, breaking through them and other wise incorporating them into the story (see Lio and the Fourth Wall for other examples). In his 3/14/14 strip, Lio's in a perilous place. (click on image to enlarge).

What's the role of the panel border? At first glance, it looks like the edge of  the paper being shredded -- paper that the two-dimensional Lio's trapped in. But when you orient the comic vertically, it appears as if the panel border isn't just the edge of the paper, it's also a framework that Lio can wrap his hands around! So is the border two-dimensional, or three-dimensional? Like a detail in an Escher picture, it's really both. Brilliant.

One more thing -- note how all the normal details of Tartulli's strip reinforce our perception that Lio exists on the surface of the paper. The signature, date, copyright notice and web address are all tumbling down the page.

Another comic tour-de-force by Tartulli.