Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 13, 2013

☞ Good morning fellow DT fans…

Good question, Gweedo.

Liz and Sam don’t see it yet, but his face and his statement tell me that Tracy is beginning to take this “nut” seriously.

Medieval pastry? An hard coockie to chew!

According to Wikipedia, there’s a medieval pastry known as a “coffin”…

Yes.

There are/were so many pastries back then!

I think he is referring to the pastry known as a Napoleon.

I think that fits better in the context of his message.

He may seem like a joker, but this riddler, Mr. Jumbles, is more sinister than Tracy or we can yet see….

Why did his hat change between panels two and three? There is a J in panel two but a puzzle in panel three. (also his shirt changed colors).

Well, “jumble” is also a type of cookie that dates back to the Middle Ages, so maybe he’s repeating himself….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumble_(cookie)

somebody needs to keep track of all the answers to his clues… i’m betting they tie into the crime somehow…

All the time I was stationed in Europe, I saw and tasted many fine pastries.But they never had doughnuts.I had to wait until I was back in America to get doughnuts again.

A medieval pastry could be a Twinkie — some of the ones on the shelf were made back then.

My wife is a history professor specializing in medieval Europe. Culinary history isn’t a common discussion theme for us, but I’ll post if she has any ideas.

Well said, Bassman Bob! Hope you keep posting, too.

Hate to bring up a reference in this story arc, but it doesreminds me of “Riddler’s Reform” from Batman: The Animated Series

I agree, Gweedo. So good to have Lizz back.

We, the magpies, salute you for your contribution and join in your heartfelt appreciation, thanks and best wishes to Mr. Locher.

I think AKHenderson has made a correct guess as to what is being referenced. A coffin is the old term for what we know as a pie crust, and coffin also fits a crime mystery.

I rather doubt that the word grids on his shirt or elsewhere are in any way relevant. Look back to when he said he was a Scottish rummage sale. None of the grids at that time were the six spaces needed for the word “jumble.”

In medieval England the standard fee of the hangman was 13 pence. In ancient times the number 13 became a number of fear and superstition because the 13th card of the Tarot is the card of Death, and is pictured as a skeleton (the symbol of death) with a scythe reaping down men in a field. Coincidence?

somehow i think the answers to his riddles and the times that he is posting the videos are clues

What? I can eat pastry just fine and my moustache is quite a bit larger than Jumbler’s. It’s all in the wrist.

Pretzel.

@ Bassman Bob, Good post! I’ll add my good wishes for Dick Locher and all of us who feeling some losses as we age.@JM, I like the idea of a pretzel or “twist”.

Well-said, BB — I’m doubtful any of us commentors (including myself) could’ve maintained such a pace for such a long time…

Very well said, sir!. I do not care for the last several year’s of Mr. Locher’s Tracy, myself. But I think his early work on the strip was quite good. And I do not like the way some of the comments came close to personal attacks. Mr. Locher is, after all, a person with feelings, like all of us.

The glasses, the time, and the length of the video.1,3,5,11,13,29See any sort of pattern?Going with the older belief that the number one is a prime number. Current mathematicians have decided that it is not. In the Tracyverse they are not so enlightened. Maybe that is why they can get the Space Coupe to operate. Something we have yet to accomplish.Also, red, blue, and yellow. as a color theme. All Primary colors.I think Christopher Shea had the correct answer to the pastry riddle that The Jumbler sent to Tracy.

Good piece, Bobby! We also had a lot of fun with it, too! Remember, that’s when Matthew was born! And that 3-ring circus brought more fans to the site than Locher did.

In the sequence Tarry listed we are missing 2, 7, 17, 19, and 23. If Jumbler’s pattern continues, look for these numbers to play into future clues.

I’m curious, where is this going? So far, the only “crime” I can see Jumbler committing is time-wasting. I daresay the MCS is guilty of that crime already if they’re like most office workers. LOL cats don’t post themselves, you know.

Sorry, I can’t salute Locher, he was the worst thing to ever happen to the strip and I won’t miss him