Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 20, 2014

Loose yips sink ships?

Good morning everyone!

Tomorow’s the big day at Simmon’s Corner! I’m pleased that smoking is back in DT. We readers all know that smoking is not good for one’s health but it is a necessary part of the DT strip!

No dogs? That cinches it – Simmons Corners isn’t a real town. (Every town has at least one dog whose only purpose is to bark continuously.)

I have to wonder if Harold Gray didn’t use Groucho Marx as the basis for Axel.The shape of the face, the straight, thick brows, a mustache, and the trademark cigar are all Groucho-esque.Loose the glasses, tilt the mustache, give him a fake beard, and it’s Groucho at Halloween.

Leopold is apparently a pretty lousy watchman, although he did hear the dog (or at least thought he did). I suspected that Sandy following Annie around would be a dead giveaway, but I didn’t think it would be this clear. Let’s hope that the surprise attack comes quickly before Axel figures things out. Evidently, he did not spot the parachutes, though I wonder if his sentries noticed something amiss.

All the living inhabitants of Simmons Corners are there because Axel put them there. He says that “there are no dogs in Simmons Corners.” Is it possible that he’s afraid of dogs? Are dogs his kryptonite? (“I’m me-e-e-lting!”)

If Axel dies, we may never find out what was going on there.

If Axel had sentries, they should have warned him about a plane dropping parachutists. So the sentries must be missing or dead.

My theory is that the sentries sleep through just about everything.

Wild theorizing—dogs are immune to whatever brainwashing Axel was using.

The sentries obviously didn’t see the parachutes last night or they would have reported it.

Someone commented the other day that we haven’t seen any other children in Simmons Corners and that Annie has not mentioned school. The absence of dogs might affirm this. Is the absence of dogs, cats, and children an oversight in Axel’s design of the phoney village?

Seems like both Axelville and Tracyville are really just Swiss cheese!

At least Sandy isn’t a yippy dog, he sez “arf”

Good morning DT and Annie fans. Axel and Leopoldo are about to get a big surprise!

I was concerned about Sandy’s appearance…

I think I’ve figured out why Axel doesn’t have the classic “Orphan Annie Eyes”. It’s because he’s a shifty-eyed scoundrel, and it’s hard to draw shifty eyes in the Harold Grey style.

I think that the sentries might have found the parachutes. But that would interfere with the anticipated Main Event, which usually comes on Sundays.Meanwhile, I see that on this fine morning, there is only one negative comment. Does anyone want to take a chance in guessing whom that may be? For an advancement to the Lightning Round, which poster made the negative comment? Don’t peek, now! Hint: if you are looking for the signature LOL, you are wasting your time!

UH-oh…

It appears to this humble reader that seeing the shape of Axel’s hat might lead this reader to believe he’s our mystery guy in the shadows from panels past.

Chet had a very special way of cartooning characters smoking…it was way cool in 44..anybody remember “Duke” Keene..or “88 Keys”…its not so cool here in 2014…Surgeon Generals Warnings and all..

On the other hand, Axel may have no sentries to check with….Asp and Punjab having quietly and efficiently disposed of them all…..

The strange case of THE DOG THAT BARKED IN THE NIGHT!!!

Boy, I can hardly wait for the Jim Doherty entry tomorrow.

The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, reversed.

Been around and reading comics and comments for quite some time. I’ve noticed something…Realistic thinking folks sure ruin a good fantasy.Comics are a fantasy… an escape from the real world. I really need to quit reading the comments.

GWEEDO! I disagree with you. Nothing my on stalker or his Baba Lou has said today deserves to be flagged.

Axel’s henchman Leopold is no better at his job than Leopold, Scary Gary’s henchman. Strange that a “town” would be put together without dog(s). Perhaps because they are not susceptible to the Belinda treatment, they would be too much of a risk; but how? Would they distract Prof. Kenyon from his crucial work by barking? And what of these “sentries”? How many? Where? Armed? Not noticed by the townsfolk of “Simmons Corners”? And, BTW, is this the “real” Simmons Corners from pre-1944, or a reconstructed fake Simmons Corners? In either case, how do we account for the real Ma and Pa Silo?

I really think it’s time Tracy, Sam, Liz, Chief Patton, et al should quit carrying guns. It’s a bad influence on children and they might think it’s alright to play with a gun. My cousin’s friend’s father in law’s ex-wife once got shot with a gun and almost died. So guns are bad in comic fantasies. Let’s update Dick Tracy to current political correctness now. Maybe Sam could start carrying a taser or club in lieu of his gun.I’m okay with the bad guys keeping their guns because hey, they’re bad guys as I’ve always been told by certain people if you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns. Besides, this way we could easily decide who’s bad and who’s not by noticing if they’re packing heat, smoking or wearing a black hat.