Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 12, 2015

The 3rd panel is what you could call, “eerily quiet”! It looks like there is a breeze blowing through the room (all that’s missing is some tumbleweed!) And finally, I’ve wondered if that window getting blown out on August 30 (as reported by Wendy Wichel) was Apollo taking out himself & Venus with his “big gun”. He didn’t look that healthy after accidentally killing Melies.

Good morning guys!

Don’t you have to have the megaphone close to your mouth for it to work? Perhaps it’s connected to Tracy’s headset. Just wondering.

Gotta luv the disco ball in panel 3. “Do the Hustle”!

Ambush …?

I thought Dick & co. were falling back. It appears that they did the opposite and the Blackhearts were the ones who did and are now on the 5th floor. If we base it on the exchange of fire last time and the looks of that door, at least some people there are wounded at the very least. Interesting as to what is going to happen tomorrow.

Hmmmm…..where did everybody go?

Good morning, DT fans!To me, it’s an ambush.

Abner Kadaver, “the vampire killer’s killer”! I knew the two of you would bcome friends, Gweedo!.Howdy, Gweedo!

Bleeding heart on the third panel says Blackhearts are down.

What I want for tomorrow are:1. To know happened to Mysta and T-Bolt.2. To see what’s inside Suite 6B3. Who are dead fish dead on 4th floorMy crystal ball says Bribery/Bigg escapes, regroups the remaining Blackhearts and will now focus his attention on Mini Moon Maid.

Gweedo inquired,Is it normal for people (or what passes for them) to drool red spittle when they get worked up over sump’m ?-————————————————————————————————————-.Them’s Abner’s Twizzlers drippin’, Gweedo!

The set-design clues in panel 3 show that this bullet-riddled, smoking wreckage was once the lair of Venus, Apollo, and the late Méliès. If any of them live, surrender would be very wise. If they’ve retreated up to the fifth floor, they will find even more unpleasant fates awaiting them from on high (meaning Mysta, Punjab, and Honeymoon)….

Reminds me of the bad guy from the movie House

I hope there’s more mayhem tomorrow. I hate to think we might get a panel of Diet Smith looking at the pile of bad guys (Mumbles, 6 or 7 Munro brothers, Apollo, Venus, Dr. Fu Manchu, Lex Luthor, etc.) all thumped by Mysta and Punjab off panel.-Maybe we’ll get to see them in action. Honeymoon and Mysta zapping in stereo, Punjab dicing and slicing, and Annie smacking a few with her official Jack Armstrong Portable Pocket Blackjack (patent pending).

I found it:

I wonder how many body bags they will need? The bad guys just cost the taxpayers a few well spent dollars. Never the less 1st Timothy 1:9 … the law is for the lawless …

Quite the ominous sign.

Wonder if Bribery has a jet wing like Yyes Rossy made.

So, where did they retreat to is the obvious question. Do they have a chance of escape?

I don’t think any of them have a chance of escape. There are bodies or wounded somewhere in the rubble. The only chance of escape is onto the roof, but Bribery has that locked out.

Speaking of Diet Smith mysteries, here’s one I’ve been pondering again lately. Smith Enterprises HQ reduced to rubble, with aircraft flying overhead?It’s very possible that this scenario is far into the future, maybe even a few centuries, but it’s also possible that a future strip might deal with it.

Smith speaks of the “era” that the “mystery ship” would travel to, which suggests something far into the future. The mention of aircraft filling the sky seems to suggest World War III or the end of civilization to me. That is something I don’t expect to see in the strip.____________________

My guess for awhile has been that this foreshadows the 100th Anniversary Story Arc, which would likely feature Time Travel, a Flash Forward to adult versions of Honeymoon, Attitude Plenty and Trey, with a full-on Smith Industries/Luna War, reminiscent of the first TERMINATOR story.

Plus maybe a side-trip to the past to pick up FLATTOP!

The recent introduction of Anti-Lunarian Battle Suits might be further foreshadowing as well.

[But what do I know?]

Thanks to Willy007 for reminding us of that loose end from the words of Diet Smith. I didn’t notice this when that strip first appeared, but here’s an interesting thing:Although Diet clearly says he was trying to go back in time to save Brilliant, his words indicate that they ended up going (or at least looking) forward each time they tried. I wonder if that means anything???

While Vegas is not giving odds on a “Montauk Chair” being in suite 6B, stranger things have happened. Before we pick up Flattop, let’s pay a call on Mysta Tracy and keep her out of that car with the @#*%! bomb in it. Then we save Groovy, so Lizz won’t be lonely. Then comes Flattop’s turn…

I guess I missed a strip or two which explains it, but rather than have to re-read everything, perhaps someone here can tell me……what grounds, exactly, do the police and SWAT teams have to come in guns ablazing? Although Honeymoon knows about Diet being there, she hasn’t been able to inform them yet…and even if she did, they are already far too numbered and organized in the short period of time since. There’s no proof the rest of the Blackhearts have the gold, or even know about it. The fact Jimmy had it instead of higher ups supports that (even though Bribery did get it) They certainly have to suspect the Blackheart organization of crime, but they’ve been aware they were in that building a long time. Why the attack now, ie; this specific time?

Whenever I cobble together a continuity-heavy, thematically dense bit of fan-fiction which pays off a character arc in shocking – often redemptive – fashion, I’m always reminded of this quote from soap opera great Agnes Nixon, as it covers most of the dramatic bases …

“The Great and the Least, The Rich and the Poor, The Weak and the Strong, In Joy and Sorrow, In Tragedy and Triumph, You are ALL MY CHILDREN"

Pequod, in case I’m not on until tomorrow afternoon, thanks in advance for tomorrow morning’s poem!

Darn, gotta throw Mr. Bribery into the next draft of that fan-fic, have him team up with the heroes to provide them with Anti-Lunarian Suits.

In the face of an extinction-level-event, he’d be well-motivated.

Plus, teaming up with “Bigg Bad” to fight “BIGGER BAD” is a popular trope.

“Bigg Bad.”

See what I did there? ;)

And “City on The Edge of Forever!”

And adding to the list of time travel stories I’d cribbed from, to be thorough …

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Gweedo mentioned,I always had Ab pegged as a black Twizzlers kinda guy. Red’s my fave too !-———————————————————————-.Abner enjoys both, Gweedo! Did you ever try the chocolate ones?

Gweedo reminded me,… He may have told you and Rikki he was settling into life in the crypt but can’t until he scratches that cop killer itch, before he can finally rest in peace.-—————————————————————————-.We are trying to cure Abner of his urge, Gweedo. It’s not working, though. I suppose. “old corpses never die!”.

Gweedo reminded me,… He may have told you and Rikki he was settling into life in the crypt but can’t until he scratches that cop killer itch, before he can finally rest in peace.-—————————————————————————-.We are trying to cure Abner of his urge, Gweedo. It’s not working, though. I suppose. “old corpses never die!”.

Have a tranquil night everyone.

I forgot about that sequence with Diet Smith telling his experience with time travel. While I like some aspects of time travel I’ve seen instances where it made a real muck of the time line. In last year’s Annie story Mike wisely explained the scenario in a way that was physically possible. I hope the time travel concept, if used, is handled carefully. I’d prefer not to see “Crisis on Infinite Tracy Worlds”.

Something else I just thought of was that if Diet Smith really believes his complex might be destroyed in the future then I would think he’d want to come up with a defense to prevent it. If this is a possible Lunarian attack wouldn’t an effective defense include advanced models of Space Coupes? Diet might still be living in his delusion that he’s protecting us from stolen space coupes but someone else will build them and he will need them again someday. Hopes he wises up soon.

One last comment before Sunday’s strip comes out. I wouldn’t read too much into that 3rd panel quiet scene. It’s still possible we’re in for some kind of surprise. I really don’t think they’re all dead.