Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 18, 2021

”Unreliable Narrators.” ✨

Once again, Tracy doesn’t get his man!

Sorry, I know I gave a compliment a couple of days ago but today’s strip is poorly drawn and the action just silly.

Talk about a rough day for the tiger.

Good morning™, intervenors!

I have to say, this is a very odd strip with no backgrounds at all on the last three frames. I guess it’s because it’s a story told by B.O. and not live action. Anyway, Tiger Lilly made his last mistake in the attempted escape by trying to order around the Plentys. B.O. can stand up for himself and I think he may have helped Tracy before.

Good morning™, crook conkers !

That old boy’s still got it. Send some uniforms to pick up the trash while you guys head over to the park and see if anything is going on there.

Meanwhile… Oscar, Cheesecake and Auntie must be about back to the house, or diverted by Oscar to a more nefarious outcome with big bad brother Bellum.

A few days ago Sisyphos announced the passing of poster Lonewolf. I met Lonewolf back in ’10 on a trip east.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUTCo5P

Text below 3 of the shots. Click pics to enlarge.

Yep, they were making out.

Tiger Lilly just got his ass kicked by a hillbilly called Bo……..Well what ya know!

Called it!

It was good to see B.O. and Gravel Gertie…

How the Sam Hill did the Plenty’s know his name was Tiger Lilly?

In the meantime, I smell another Sweatbox Express, coming right up!

Yup. That’s right. I called that one big time! Am I the man or what?

Didn’t Gertie’s hair use to be all white?

Wonderful strip, today!

Last panel "True Love+!

B.O. still calls Tracy Macy!

Called it! If you pull a stick on BO you’d better be prepared to use it!

The art is so weird, I wonder if Joe had to hastily re-draw it with less “realistic” violence.

Called it! They’re my people, and you don’t mess with us! :)

I always tend to think of B.O. and the comic relief (no pun intended) of the pair and was waiting for Gertie to take Tiger Lily out ’rasslin style.

he shoulda just accept defeat by the police. that way, he wouldn’t have gotten clobbered.

Today’s strip looks more like an outtake from the UPA Dick Tracy cartoon show.

HOORAY! B.O. is the best!!!!

Knock him cold with that little branch? B.O. must have one heck of an arm!

Hmm youd think that somewhere along the line…even in just a passing conversation or an off the cuff comment that…oh I dunno…tracy or Sam would have maybe mentioned that the location was near the plenty’s residence? I dont think that Bertie and b.o. would be travelling too far from home for a ‘date night’ rendezvous

I like todays script as usual and the boot to the chops is traffic , but ? Macy ?

Staton and Curtis seem to have (temporarily?) exhausted their creative abilities after 3/15-3/17 sequence to introduce 3/18. Maybe they employed a child who wants “to be a cartoonist” but never will to provide them some respite.

Spring is coming to Montana. Almost time for B.O, to take his biannual bath. Bob Oscar “born” in 1945 and three years older than me. DT has always been my favorite comic strip.

Nice to see that Gertie and Bob Oscar have managed to keep the spark alive in their marriage.

Tiger Lily should know not to bring a stick to a B.O. fight.

Gosh. An auspicious “date night” for the Plentys!

When I first saw this comic I thought that there must have been a change in the the art team, the strip looks so different. Put it side by side with yesterday’s, and wow. It would make sense for the second and third panels to look odd due to subjective storytelling, but the first and last panels, which take place in “reality,” also look different.

…well, not so much the first panel, on second look. But in my eye the colors tie all the panels together, making them look unusually cartoonish.

1-DT: So it’s not even officially Spring and you two old farts are out here making like teenagers?

BROOMHILDA: Well, when you see the farm critters starting to get after it, it kinda gets to you. DT: Yuck. Anyway, what happened here?

2-BROOMHILDA: Well, that man told Pappy to get out the truck. But when Pappy tried, he couldn’t bend his leg because he had a big ol’… DT: YUCK AGAIN! I get it! Go on.

3-BROOMHILDA: So, Pappy kicked him on accident on account of he couldn’t bend his leg. So then he just went ahead and finished him off with his wood… DT: OH…MY…G…

BROOMHILDA: You didn’t let me finish! Wooden stick, it was a stick.

4-PAPPY: Yep, that’s how it were done, all right. I can show you how to use “personal excitement” as self defense if you want AND if you got the right equip…

DT: NO THANKS!

@Neil Wick – You are right B.O. has helped Tracy before. I really enjoyed his reaction to Tiger Lilly interrupting their date night. Right Mr.Macy!!

And still, the worst part for Tiger Lilly was seeing the two of them making out!

Really not what I expected, but, hey, a Big Salute to the Tough Guy, B.O. Plenty! —Of course, that is taking Gravel Gertie at her word; but we have nothing else to go on.

I’ve joined in above on speculation as to why today’s strip looks “different,” but since the principals (Tracy, B.O., Gertie, Tiger Lilly—whom we probably now should call Kitten Lilly—) are all rendered as we expect, the big difference is that panels 2-4 lack background “realismo” detail and so look “unreal,” whether by storytelling choice or maybe simply because Joe was rushed and/or forgot to fill in the setting/details….

Comedy relief? ;)

Hey, gang?

Thought you all might want to see today’s “Rex Morgan” installment:

https://www.seattletimes.com/comics-king/?feature_id=Rex_Morgan&feature_date=2021-03-18

“Again, Gertie”