Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 13, 2015

Hangman proves persistent by the billboard in the skyBullet passes through him, does not fear that he may die.Forsythe laid out motionless, needs medical attentionActor, not a criminal. Revenge was his intention.Tracy scraps with Hangman in a bout of life or deathCatchem helpless down below. Mensch gasps and holds his breath.Fighters take a tumble, as the battle takes a turnCould Hangman best Boss Tracy? Will killers never learn?The men doth fall and through it all Dick Tracy keeps his coolThe harness snaps the Hangman’s neck, he dies a violent fool.Time to peel away the mask, one cannot hide when dead‘Tis Alfred the sad son of Brow, seems that he lost his head.Ashamed so of his father, vile traitor foul and meanReformation slipped away, thus behold a deadly scene.Fearing Midnite Mirror would dredge up his sordid pastHe authored his own downfall, father’s son unto the last.His rage it came to rule him, stirred up evil thoughts withinThe blood that now stains his own hands not caused by father’s sin.

Well, some time ago, we were promised a return of the Son of the Brow, and we were promised that we would learn his real name. Promises kept in a 2 panel span! You gotta love it! (Well, at least, I do!)

Okay, this is how I figure that the whole thing went, chronologically. Yes, it does contain a bit of speculation, but it seems right to me, given the facts that we know.

The Hangman was upset that the film was being made, so he tried to find a way to stop it. At this point, the only actor that had been hired was Byron Orlock, starring as The Chalice, who produced some test footage that producer Lloyd Newman and author Adam Austin were using to attract investors. The Hangman wrongly assumed that if they lost their star, the author and producer would just give up on getting the movie made. Morgan Byrd said that “the threats started when the movie was in pre-production” so I assume these threats were made directly to Austin. The police apparently decided that Orlock had committed suicide, but that seemed quite out of character for Orlock, so I’m not sure what prompted that false determination. It’s possible that Orlock covered it up so as not to spook his investors, but I have no proof of that.

The death of Orlock didn’t stop Newman and Austin, who were determined to make the movie. Newman apparently had a part in scripting the movie, since Tracy credits him with coming up with the blockbuster ending, but it seems that it was still Austin’s baby. Austin, as the author of the source material seemed to be very hands-on all though the filming. At this point, The Hangman started sending warning letters to Newman. Despite receiving three warning letters, Newman didn’t contact the police because Austin said he didn’t want any personal contact between him and the police who were portrayed in the movie.

When Austin refused to budge, The Hangman carried through with his threats, killing Austin’s agent (Vic Smith/John Cassaday) and leaving a warning that further deaths would follow if Austin continued to ignore his warnings. The Hangman probably figured that wiping out someone close to Austin would finally get Austin to change his mind about stopping production, but Austin remained undeterred, determined to carry through with his big-budget production.

Having failed to convince the author to halt production, The Hangman turned his sights on a very personal target, killing the acting portraying Alfred Brau (The Brow) to minimize the portrayal of that character in the movie, which was really his main purpose from the start.

That still didn’t stop Austin from pushing on with the production, so The Hangman made a last-ditch effort to kill the new star of the film, Morgan Byrd. Shocked to find that his old adversary Dick Tracy was almost in his grasp, he abandoned his quest to stop the movie, concentrating instead on killing Dick Tracy, as he had tried to do before and had not succeeded.

On that basis, I’ll accept it.

By the way, I have to congratulate Tim (tsull2121) who I think was the first (and probably only) person to identify the son of The Brow as The Hangman here on the comments.

I will post an update of the Death List now that the Hangman has been exposed as a past major character. It will be: The Hangman/The Brow’s Son/Alfred Brau, Jr.. The first name is the name he was known as for most of this story, the second is the name he was known as for most of his existence in this strip, and the last as his real name. Unlike past updates, I won’t post this two days in a row because I’m not adding a new name to the list, just updating on a name already on it.Should be up in a few minutes.

Now onto unscrupulous producer from making dear Richard a star

The Unofficial GoComics Staton/Curtis Death ListAs compiled by boboscar, Tarry Plaguer, and AnyFaceNOTE: Names with a + were found dead or killed prior to the story start.+ Wormy & Thistledew (Reported dead in armory fire) 3/21/11Flyface 4/22/11The Fifth & Eddie Garcia (Caught in ’Thor’s Hammer’ beam weapon overload explosion) 4/25/11Earl (Flaky and Hot Rize’s innocent co-worker) 5/12/11Hot Rize (Asphyxiated in flour silo) 5/28/11Emma Parks (A.K.A. Ponytail Mk I) 6/14/11The 2 terrorists who tried to hire and double cross Morning Gloria 8/13/11Big Frost 10/20/11Apparatus Member (Killed by DoubleUp) 10/25/11 & fed to Tonsils 10/27/11Flaky Biscuits (Never confirmed, but implied) 10/29/11+ Sizzler Sitzes (Hired by Kadaver to kill Charles Adams A.K.A. Baron Clovis in a hit and run. Was then shot and killed by Kadaver to keep him quiet) 10/31/11 identified 11/9/11Cueball 1/31/12Mr. Levitz (Doubleup’s main henchman in his first story; later killed by Kadaver to get Doubleup off) 3/13/12+ Vincent Vinyl 5/5/12 confirmed 5/11/12The 3 supporting members of the Mumbles Quartet (Car bomb explosion arranged by Abner Kadaver under Panda’s orders) 5/20/12Lt. Teevo (Fed to Muerte Vine by The Mushroom Lady) 7/6/12 confirmed 7/18/12Panda (Tripped and fell into Tonsils’ tank under smoke cover released by Abner Kadaver, then eaten) 7/15/12 confirmed 7/23/12Davey Mylar (A.K.A. Mr. Crime Mk II) 7/13/12 tombstone 9/30/12+ Arthur Curry (Aquarium director) 8/22/12Bookie (Measles’ partner) 10/14/12Measles (Overdose) 11/10/12+ Stephen Baux’s fiancée 2/8/13 identified 2/27/13Simon Baux A.K.A. Sweat Box (Struck by train during car chase) 2/24/13Diet Smith Industries Guard (Supposedly killed by Bardoll) 6/25/13 (Uncertain; shown lying on the ground and called a “casualty” on 6/29/13, but unconfirmed)Bardoll 7/7/13 confirmed 7/16/13Hy Pressure 9/28/13 confirmed 10/8/13Drs. Sail, Ghote, and Flash Munroe? (Still alive last we saw them, and ambiguous that they’re dead, but it often sounds like Curtis thinks of them as dead) 10/18/13Bill “Shortcake” Mitchell (Apparatus member) (never confirmed, but implied) 10/31/13Miles Mycroft (Garroted by Silver Nitrate, then fed to Lena the Hyena) 1/26/14Mr. Kolossal 4/30/14Ed Rosato (Never confirmed, but implied) 5/14/14Tabby Angus 5/28/14The Butcher of the Balkans A.K.A. Henrik Wilemse (Punjab placed his magic blanket over him, sending the Butcher on to “fly with the Maji” where none have ever returned) 7/27/14Axel’s “crack combat troops” (Implied to have all gone the same way as The Butcher of the Balkans a la Punjab) 9/30/14Axel (Blown up by Dr. Kenyon’s unstable experimental explosive) 10/5/14Otis (Killed by Gruesome) 12/5/14Mrs. Flattop (Flattened by 70-pound Film Canister thrown by Sprocket Nitrate in self-defense) 3/1/15 confirmed 3/6/15Cork 4/29/15 confirmed 5/1/15Fontane 5/6/15 confirmed 5/12/15Jimmy Choo Shooz (Sucked into undertow at Lake Prachett) 6/4/15Méliès (Accidentally shot with 50 caliber bullet – Possibly in right eye – By Apollo) 8/23/15 confirmed 8/31/15Rocket Munroe & Apollo (They would’ve been fatally shot by 9/12/15, on 9/13/15 it’s implied Venus is the only one on that floor still alive, on 9/21/15, Rocket & Apollo are among those on that floor who are identified.)VENUS IS DEAD FISH DEAD!!! 9/22/15+ Vic Smith /John Cassaday 11/7/15+ Byron Orlock 11/16/15Freddy Capp 11/23/15The Hangman/The Brow’s Son/Alfred Brau, Jr. (caught and hanged in Tracy’s safety cable while trying to hang Tracy) 12/10/15

Damn! I was wrong! The Tracyverse continues to have its funny pages tainted by J. Straightedge Trustworthy! But anything’s better than The Invisible Tribe.

The Son of The Brow is now escaping those painful memories the hard way…..and no way of ever escaping publicity now.

As he said up on the billboard ledge, Brau Jr. had tried to kill Tracy once before and failed. Back in 1979, he and Angeltop left Tracy wedged into the underpinnings of the replica ship where Brau Sr. had been wedged and died. They expected that Tracy would eventually tire of keeping his head above water and he would die, but it didn’t happen. Tracy got away, but the Brow’s son was freed by the D.A. due to his rights being violated.

Wonder if the copter pilot was related to Flattop or Pruneface?

I never claimed that I knew everything, but I didn’t disagree with Tim at the time.

By the way I’m determined to make a plot diagram for this story as I was hoping to do for the last couple of stories. I’ll wait a couple of days for some wrap-up, and then I’ll try to post it if I can. I expect we’ll soon be seeing Vitamin’s Christmas Carol musical, which is properly a minor sub-plot of the Hangman story, but I won’t wait that long, so long as I manage to get my plot diagram done.

In hindsight, this was the pivot point …

Kick ass story and art. That’s why I’ve been a true believer since the 60’s. Whoops sorry for the Marvel plug but this is so awesome .I was only 10 years of age when started reading Tracy and Spider-man, The 60’s Chet Gould and John Romita were my favorites Go, Go Team Tracy

.Good morning guys!.Nice poetry Pequod.

Gweedo rhymed along and poeticized,I think Bill is getting too cozy…-——————————————————————-.Stay tuned, Gweedo…

Wow! The Big Reveal…. “The Hangman” was in fact Alfred Brau Jr. (just as the original Brow was Alfred Brau)! And his helicopter henchman was (neatly, for the sake of the story) forced down by the police ’copter. So we also see his motivation, as conveniently and cogently explained by Neil Wick, above [though note that in the last sentence of the second paragraph, Neil, I think you wrote Orlock accidentally while meaning Newman covered it up, etc.]

Brow Jr. did not care much for his father but was enraged by the death of his beloved Angeltop. He appeared both during the Fletcher/Collins years and during the Locher/Collins years. He shot Vitamin Flintheart and gave Junior a concussion during a scuffle.

Now, on to the “Theatah” for some culture. Time for Vitamin’s debut as Mr. Magoo. "Deck the Halls!’

@tsull2121

Great call, Timmy.

Here’s what happened when Brow Jr. tangled with Lizz:

While any story that followed the return of Bribery, the changing Honeymoon, the heroic Mysta and the fall of the Blackhearts was bound to pale in comparison, this three part crime story had a lot to like. The film set. The fact gathering. The action up on the roof. The film set was a creative way to “bring back” some old favorites created by Chester Gould, while putting a criminal spin on crime fighters of the MCU. I got a kick out of seeing Trigger, 88 Keyes, Pruneface, Shaky, Shoulders, Jenkins, Brow and Chalice. The pace slowed for fact gathering, yet was kicked into high gear by Mayor Armstrong’s edict, “Get thee to the film set.”Tracy becomes “Boss” and roof-top action ensues. Smoke gets in your eyes at the foot of the Blisterfield billboard, but the fog of uncertainty is cleared away today. Junior Brow lost it at the movies. His reformation couldn’t hold up in the face of his past. Shameful to be so hung up on his family history being dug up. Now there is fresh violence to add to the disgraceful Brau legacy.

Thanks to cpalmeresq, Neil Wick, Gweedo, Vista Bill, Ray Toler (thanks for posting the panels!) and Chris Sherlock for the kind words. Very much appreciated.

cheapskate0, I totally agree with you. Totally lost me. Yawnnnn! Z-z-z-z-z.

What a great comic strip, Thanks Joe & Mike

Gweedo answered,I’m on it, Bill !-——————————————————————-.Where did you get that contraption, Gweedo? I gotta have one of those! “As Seen on TV”, perhaps?

*If he were the offspring of both families he

would be FlatFace. ← (Author take note)*-——————————————————————————

Gweedo answered,RoncoTM Pocket Fisherman guy branched out, Bill !Betcha didn’t know THAT !-——————————————————————.Wow! I can have it all now!

Gweedo continued,It tunes in the oldies too, bill !-——————————————————————-.I wouldn’t want it any other way, Gweedo! I can put my crystal radio aside when my new “AIO Collander™” arrives! I’m excited!

Night-Gaunt suggested,Metal colanders work well for a helmet.-—————————————————————-.Darn! Mine is a Tupperware™ plastic one!

Gweedo assured, With this baby the (image) will go straight to your brain, Bill-———————————————————————-.I trust Ronco™ products and "As Seen on TV’ items. How can I possibly go wrong?

Hanging is much more often a method of suicide than it is homicide, so I have to wonder how—if, at all—the hangings are going to be explained.

Gweedo stated,If you put on a plaid jacket and polyester pair of pants I would buy a car from you !-—————————————————————.When I work the used car lot, I wear my zoot suit, Gweedo! Don’t concern yourself about the car smoking. It’ll wear off as you drive it.

And yet another villain goes off to be worm food. That’s something that has always – and I mean back to the1960s when I read the strip as a kid – bothered me about Tracy. A good villain is too big an asset to waste by killing them and leaving them dead. Bob Kane killed the Joker in the first story in Batman #1 (which I think was originally intended as a story for Detective) and then brought him back for the final story in that issue. But Gould disposed of his grotesques like they were used up toys at the end of a storyline, and his successors have done the same thing. If the writers on Batman had followed Gould’s standards, Joker would have died from his own Joker venom, Catwoman would have drowned, Riddler would have been caught in one of his own traps, Two Face would have been split in half and the Penguin would have been impaled on a giant, umbrella. What happens in Dick Tracy might be slightly more realistic, but really but what happens in Batman gives some more continuity and a chance to develop their characters.

Boys and girls. Autoerotic asphyxiation, or AEA is a very dangerous practice that results in two or three deaths every year.. if you have an overwhelming urge to hang yourself in a closet and polish the one-eyed gopher, be sure you have a qualified person on hand to over see the process.

As long as the GoComics site allows space for all the deaths, I see no reason to shorten it.

He should have gone after funding. That kills many a movie loss of funding.

I’m confused by this statement. He did go after finding, didn’t he?

Gweedo asked<But, Bill ! a lot of places prohibit smoking now. Where I can go when I am in it will be very limited.-——————————————————.You worry too much, Gweedo. Trust me, would I sell you a lemon? One place you can drive it is to the repair shop. That’s where it’ll be most of the time..The car comes with a genuine US Army oil trailer. You won’t need to stop for oil every few miles with the trailer. We think of our customers!

Wow, well done again, Pequod! Thank you.

This time, we had an actual baddie being a baddie in this story. I enjoyed the story and our forum’s vast knowledge of Tracy history.

As an epilogue to this story, I would like to see Tracy wipe that smirk off Newman’s face—a bit of karma to bite him in the tookus.

I’d like a scenario that the cameraman forgot to load the film, hence missing the action of Tracy vs. Hangman.

As NightGaunt suggested: loss of funding? They got the picture completed, but the money flow doesn’t stop there—you got post-production and marketing budgets to fill, and would a production company would like to promote a movie that had actual homicides, and hence “shelving” the movie?

“Twilight Zone—The Movie” (1983) comes to mind (actor Vic Morrow’s accidental death with 2 child actors in a helicopter.) Plenty of headlines but for the wrong reasons.

“I think the current team has come to a good compromise. Many characters last for more that one story, which allows additional character development, but villains eventually get imprisoned or die, so that we don’t run into the phenomenon of the unbeatable criminal. It has long been a byword of this strip that “crime doesn’t pay.” Criminals who constantly come back to offend again are anathema to the very idea.”.Especially the line: “It has long been a byword of this strip that “crime doesn’t pay.” Criminals who constantly come back to offend again are anathema to the very idea.”.To me, criminals that constantly come back is the weakness of the Batman franchise. Even the movies: The first WB Batman movie had an origin – and death – of the Joker. What did we have ten years later? Heath Ledger and a reprise of the same – origin and death of the Joker..Flattop fans got to see a revisionist version of him. Hope that provides them their “fix.”.Shameless plug time: I know I’ve said it too many times before, but there was only one character in this strip I would have loved to see come back from the dead – and as a Lunarian, she might have had the powers to pull it off….The original Mysta Tracy.

I don’t recall it being mentioned at all.

You can’t recall what being mentioned at all? I’ve said too many things here today to guess which thing you are referring to.

Gweedo spoke with a degree of concern,The Sunkist stickers on the dash are taking the juice out of my confidence, Sgt. Billko but hey, it’s a short walk from the shop to my place for the days I am not able to drive by it.-——————————————————————————-.Gweedo, when you reach the end of the lot, the wheels will fall off and the engine drops out. You’re on your own for then on. Wanna’ buy a replacement while you’re nearby?

Gweedo is still concerned,I hope the seat belt holds !-—————————————————————-.Seat belt? What for? The car doesn’t have seats. These Yugos have only the basics.

ROTFLMAO…..I’d love to see that character….

I just want to point out to some people, the Joker doesn’t die in The Dark Knight. He’s still alive the last we see of him. The door was left open for him to return in a sequel, but Heath Ledger’s death put an end to that.Can we break a hundred in the 90 minutes we have left?

I got a parcel today by Priority Mail (! on a Sunday!) with the signed original artwork for being the first to post the origin of Reggie from the beginning of this story to the Facebook Dick Tracy Fan group. Many thanks to AnyFace for pointing me in the right direction to solve that little mystery. It’s a pencil drawing of the August 17 and 18, 2011 strips, featuring Panda, the first meeting of Doubleup and Mumbles, and the strip where we learned the name of Blaze Rize. I’ll see if I can post a picture of it here tomorrow night.

Hangman proves persistent by the billboard in the sky

Bullet passes through him, does not fear that he may die.

Forsythe laid out motionless, needs medical attention

Actor, not a criminal. Revenge was his intention.

Tracy scraps with Hangman in a bout of life or death

Catchem helpless down below. Mensch gasps and holds his breath.

Fighters take a tumble, as the battle takes a turn

Could Hangman best Boss Tracy? Will killers never learn?

The men doth fall and through it all Dick Tracy keeps his cool

The harness snaps the Hangman’s neck, he dies a violent fool.

Time to peel away the mask, one cannot hide when dead

‘Tis Alfred the sad son of Brow, seems that he lost his head.

Ashamed so of his father, vile traitor foul and mean

Reformation slipped away, thus behold a deadly scene.

Fearing Midnite Mirror would dredge up his sordid past

He authored his own downfall, father’s son unto the last.

His rage it came to rule him, stirred up evil thoughts within

The blood that now stains his own hands not caused by father’s sin.