Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for February 12, 2013

One little hit and she’s Babe ruth!

The car is a late 60s or early 70s Mercedes-Benz

Some people who outwardly appear to be mean or cranky are often the ones with the biggest hearts!

it appears he wants to be her sponsor…

This guy’s trouble, of that I have no doubt.Run, Toad!

I don’t know….somehow, I can’t see SB as being up to no good, at least as far as we’ve seen- he’s not made any attempts to be secretive. Even has his name on the ego-plate.

So, is the Tribune running a different strip today, also?

look at yesterday’s posts for the details

The alternate final panel that the Chicago Tribune ran yesterday will be the final panel in tomorrow’s strip.

Well! And what of the skeleton found in the bottom of the lake? I wonder who that is and who did that and how and why! Was the mausoleum just too full that a killer started dumping bodies in the lake? So many questions!

Just use caution, Toad. Don’t sign anything without your mama and Mister Mole looking it over!

It’s premature to start trusting Simon “Sweatbox” Baux. And whatever he may be thinking about little Toad Spencer, I wish she would get away from him, fast, and tell all that transpired to her mom and Mr. Mole!

You know, just because this guy is a suspect, doesn’t make him evil.

If Sweatbox is not the Rogue in this tale - who is ?Dick Tracy and the story needs a Villain . . .and we are already several weeks in . . . ?

He may be Mr. Nice Guy, but I still wouldn’t want MY 10 year old daughter hanging with him! Run Toad, run!!

Maybe he’ll introduce her to “juice” so she can continue with the longball….. and later be her agent.

Dick Tracy hasn’t present much in the comic strip that points Simon Baux- he didn’t even reinvestigate the original crime e.g. He didn’t state who the victim was.

Didn’t anyone teach that kid not to talk to strangers, especially creepy ones?

We need a Crimestoppers panel for this week’s strips:Children, if a man in a car stops to ask you questions, do not talk to him. RUN!!

This reminds me of that one time Crankshaft was a pedophile.

Wow, I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Sweatbox’s car being a totally different design than the one shown in Sunday’s strip.

Good morning all…

Suspense is part of the pleasure of the DT strip.

Hopefully, that 40 watt bulb in the beacon isn’t one of those “Lifetime” or 100,000 hour bulbs!

And good morning to you, VB.

As to Sweat Box:1) There has been no reason to suspect him of anything yet-he’s an unattractive, private old man who keeps to himself.2) He’s not necessarily cranky. If he was when he got the word about the broken window, he would have gone ballistic over it and ignored the bodies.3) He’s handing Toad a flyer about the league, not a contract. As to cost-he sponsors the league. There may be several players on the team that have a ‘scholarship’.4) He does have that assistant who I find to be a little shadier than SB, but that’s just me.

It could be the villian is someone within his organization. Remember Hot Rize?

Where I’ve run into the predatory type is in the scouts. Big time! Since the scouts is a magnet for single parent kids, a lot of predatory action is from the troop leaders toward the mothers.

You’d think with all his money he’d be able to afford a decent set of dentures.

Yeah, that’s the way it is nowadays….first society comes up with some new, decent and sensible safeguards in these matters, then the lawyers smell blood and sue away, and the poly-correct crowd jumps at every little chance…..ok, back to Simon……what bothers me is that he sponsers the whole program, so he obviously doesn’t have any special interest in getting a good player for his “team”. And you’d think he’d either want all the kids playing, or none. On the other hand, why would he want to harm a kid for breaking a window…..if he had THAT bad a temper, he’d have been locked up long ago. And the skeletons appear adult……another clue he isn’t a predator. My money is on the baddie being someone else. And finally, having read early Dick Tracy, I still get a chuckle out of all the readers clamoring for Toad to run from the (at this point) innocent old man to Mole, the convicted murderer. Sorry, but it is what it is…..

Hmmmm…….just read “tomorrow’s” last panel……and now it looks like its setting us up for a “SuperMole to the rescue” scenerio….. Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if the killer turned out to be Dick Tracy, and they just changed the strip to “Sam Catchem” afterwards, lol? No one could accuse the writers of being predictable THEN……

well lets see sdm…. first definition is condition of being unsure or in doubt of something…. we’re unsure what sweatbox’s connection to the whole story is and we are in doubt that he is unaware of who REALLY is in the crypt. so that definition is fulfilled… second definition is a feeling of tense excitement about how something such as a mystery novel or movie will end… well we’re MOSTLY all tense about the potential fate of toad, and the ultimate unveiling of how exactly sweatbox is involved so… definition two is fulfilled…definition three is a state of anxiety or intense worry about something.. well, MOST of the readers who can actually APPRECIATE great storytelling.. are concerned for toad’s safety so i would go out on a limb and say that definition three is ALSO fulfilled….. but again, like you stated we are all entitled to our opinions… just because youre blinded by ignorance and hatred for “the new team” (who by the way are on what.. year TWO now? so they are hardly “new”) doesnt mean that the definitions are not fulfilled.

“My name is Simon Baux, but most call me Sweatbox” is certainly atypical of your standard DT villain. Usually, it’s not a nickname, but the crook’s only moniker. I don’t think we’ve ever heard Mumbles, or Pruneface, or the Brow referred to as anything else. One recent exception is Littleface who now prefers his real name to be used. So maybe Sweatbox is not the villain of this story. I would find that refreshing.

We’re talking 30 yrs ago, SDM. The scout leader was indicted and went to prison (in Texas). After 2 years, he must have contracted a virus or something and mysteriously died while incarcerated. One of the boys was my son, who is 38 now.

And I guess we don’t actually know the Mole’s real name, either. But being one of the good guys now, maybe we’ll find it out eventually.

To be honest, Timmy, I highly doubt Mike would replace a pedophile storyline with one having someone attempting to murder a child instead…..also the only reason Mr. Mole is “above” suspicion is because C. Gould is no longer writing the comic……despite Mole’s happiness at his Christmas present back then, Chester would have no problem surprising us with Mole becoming evil again, I’m sure. (and what exactly did he serve for those1st degree murders, anyways? You’d think he actually be paroled that soon….or really, at all?) But it’s all good……..as long as Pruneface and Flattop don’t return and join the force as Dick Tracy’s assistants, ha ha..

Thanks, SDM. He turned out ok after he got out on his own. He understands there are sickos out there.