Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for January 08, 2021

Good morning™, hard bargainers!

He’s gone from $5.00 for one balloon, all the way up to a $20.00 bill for the bunch. It looks like four balloons to me ($5 each). Since Pouch is supposedly closed for the day, he can hardly refuse. Day-old balloons are generally not very good, anyway. Since the police are standing right there, I think he has to behave.

Good morning™, referees !

And what’s the first rule of fight club®…..

Looks like Pouch is trapped. Does he part with the balloons, or explain to the cops why he is turning down the offer.

What IS in that blur balloon? Tomorrow maybe?

“I can only do 3 for $20 — the blue one is my logo and it’s not for sale.”

Or I am saving the blue one for a kid I had promised it to!!!

Good thing the sign points at the BLUE balloon. I had no idea.

Okay, this is fast going off the rails. I’m not going to try to list the logical holes and inconsistencies from the last few days. Suffice to say, this does confirm there is something about the blue balloon.

Apparently they are both lying to the police is the best hope of explaining some of the problems.

It does not indicate whether Aquarius knows that (and how in the hell would he?).

And Pouch has no obligation to sell. “No, this guy was being jerk and I’m not going to do business with him,” is what he tells the police.

I am more interested in who wanted the contents of the blue balloon. Why weren’t they there earlier to buy it? What happens if they’ve arrived and are watching the police talking with Pouch now? But that would make sense.

Instead Pouch will feel pressured to sell balloon to Aquarius, who doesn’t know contents of blue balloon, and Tiger Lilly with invade the commune to retrieve the balloon. It will either turn to slapstick comedy with his efforts to get it back or end with a grand finale of epic battle between Ty & Tiger Lilly and Auntie Bellum (still unseen) dying with a broken neck.

Good to see that the cops knows him, and good comeback by Pouch. Pouch should tell Aquarius to shove his $20, but that would mess with the plot.

1-OFFICER ROOKIE: I don’t think I was clear a second ago when I said this guy is selling “it” for fifteen cents. By “it”, I meant he’s selling S-E-X, SEX! SGT TRAINOR: Is that true, Pinky? Was this not just a casual rub-n-tug in the park?

2-NARKY MARK: You got me all wrong, officer. What’s it gonna take to make this all go away? How’s twenty and…

3-…some balloons for your kids sound? I know you got some at home because, you know, you’re a woman. Do you miss a lot of work because they’re sick and all?

SGT: Bring me my night stick, Rookie. This one just assaulted an officer of the law. Or insulted. Either way, it’s Street Justice time! NARKY: GULP!

Are Sam and Dicko in an escape room in that big house? They seem to have disappeared.

Isn’t it up Pouch whether he wants to sell Aquarius the balloons? The police can’t make him carry out this transaction.

Is the arrow stating blue pointing to a particular balloon a note for the colorist? Or more than likely in a black and white rendition it would be necessary?

Aquarius at first just chanced to ask for the Blue Balloon, but Pouch’s obvious extreme reluctance to sell it has prompted Aquarius to persist, sensing that there must be something Special about that particular balloon. Neither he nor we yet know why it is special, but it seems most likely that Pouch has stashed something of value in it that was intended for a client who failed to show up on time as scheduled. Hence, Pouch parked on a park bench after Closing Time,

Whether the presence of the two Park Beat cops will force him to accept Aquarius’s cleverly-made latest offer of $20 for the balloon-bunch remains to be seen. He might come up with a pretext to refuse that will pass scrutiny….

yes it is