Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for June 17, 2021

Good morning™, everybody!

Well the “old Alldid charm” sure didn’t work this time! He should realize that Mysta is just not interested in a date. I think it’s about the third time that Coletta’s (Mike Curtis’s favourite restaurant) has come up in the strip. It’s near where he lives.

“Zaaaaaaaap!”

Does this mean, another inappropriate approach in Thursday…Friday…Saturday?

Good morning™, demurring refusers !

Mysta is trying to avoid having to get tough. She likes the gig, just not the man, so much. Vera needs the distraction of cartoon competitor(?) guy to get his mind off the hijinks he has in mind for our Mars gal.

I guess Dick ‘n’ Sam have gone home too.

Because of her unique physiology, is there any Earth food she can’t eat?

Well thanks alot Tracy, you messed up Vera’s game!

Alldid: That’s even better! Did I tell you I keep massage oil and incense in my car’s glove compartment for just these situations? I’ll follow you back to—

Mysta: ZZZAAPPP!!

Derby Dugan: Well, don’t it just go to show ya… a heartsick fella can’t never get an honest break.

Fuzzy: Maybe not, but a heel can sure as shootin’ get a compound fracture if he ain’t careful!

Mad Mindy’s Spidy senses have kicked into overdrive. It’s all Tracy’s fault for planting the seeds of doubt regarding Alldid’s character!

I’ll bet ten to one he won’t take no for an answer.

(Yawn)

Mysta is giving Alldid a gentle brushoff-this time. If he becomes to agressive, I’m sure there are penalties, and, even be some in the contract. But what about the figure behind the other comic, will he be going after Alldid, or, Mysta? Because it locks like he’ll be the heavy in this storyline.

Is Coletta’s perhaps run by a guy named Vincenzo? No wait, his name had two "l"s.

So, I guess the guy with a mustache we saw in line on Tuesday was not the same mustachioed man we saw on Monday.

Why are there always lightning bolts coming from those things on her head?

Say, is this place Coletta’s run by an Italian guy named Vince?

Could it be what Tracy told her is why she is turning down Vera’s dinner invitation?

I’ll find out tomorrow on how Vera handles rejection.

Golly! His book of comic strips must have sold like hot cakes. Seems like Vera would want to go home and rest up for tomorrow. Unless his food groups include caffine and energy drinks.

I have a splitting head-ache.

The set up has established Alldid’s new storyline in J. Straightedge Trustworthy. He has added a new character, “Mars Maid,” and hired Mysta to help with the promotion. Tracy and Sam are aware of Mysta’s work, having visited Frady’s bookstore, where Alldid had a book signing. Alldid asked Mysta to dinner, an offer she politely refused. She rebuffed him on the film set (zap!) and now at the bookstore. The unknown element, shared in a single panel (6/14), is the man with an interest in (and a collection of?) Derby Dugan vintage comics. He felt it was big news that Alldid and the “Mars Maid” were appearing at Frady’s. A comic connoisseur? What’s his angle, I wonder? Solid set up so far.

Hmmm…. I suppose Mysta could just microwave food herself by zapping it, eh?

VINCE Coletta perhaps?

Is the beginning of his womanizing?

And another episode of How the Stomach Turn in the hopper.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For those of you who wondered what happened to yesterday’s Alt Take… *COME ON! SOMEBODY MUST’VE! … I fell asleep halfway through the Original Take and woke up too late to write an Alt Take. Anyway, on with the show!

1-VERA SEMILITUDE: Judging from the 4 copies of Beowulf here, I must’ve sold one copy of my comic. I started the day with FIVE free copies of Beowulf! So, a pretty good day for me!

2-…To reward your help in this successful effort, what say we grab a bite somewhere that your appearance won’t make the other diners ill. One of those all-you-can-eat buffet joints like Slops-A-Lot

3-HORNY:* No thanks. I got a moon cheese sandwich waiting for me at home. Besides, the only food that isn’t wiped out by the time I ever manage to get to the trough are broccoli and cauliflower. Unless it’s breaded and deep fried. And when that’s the case, there’s NOTHING!

VERA: Yeah bad idea. I wasn’t thinking. They don’t serve booze there. What a dolt! How can I get you drunk and in the sack at a place that doesn’t serve booze! DOH!

HORNY: What? VERA: What?

….shoot him down early, Mysta……that way the smoke from the crash will clear out sooner………

Aw, and Vera was gonna treat her to the Elvis Room!

Introduce him to your pet electric eel!

We all suspect that Vera has his purient interests at heart but his invitation to dinner was pretty non-aggressive so far. It just seemed like the boss wanted to treat her to dinner after a long day. Depending on his tone of voice, which we cannot hear in a comic strip, his small-talk-like invitation did not seem that particularly lecherous.

If Vera is on a book-signing tour with a lot of appearances, it seems that he and Mysta will be working in close quarters for a while. A tour may even require them to go out of town. Of course I am not a beautiful woman but I have been in situations where the boss took us out for dinner or drinks after a hard day. Vera’s invitation could be innocent or not (likely not) but at this point we don’t know.

I would think that Mysta’s appearance would help his books sales. He would not want her to quit on him. Where would he find another actress who could fit the part so perfectly? He may straighten up his act just to keep his employee from quitting and the cash rolling in..

What’s with the comment policy link? Who ratted Gweedo out? LOL!

Just say No!

Don’t waste time and effort trying to be polite, Mysta. “Polite” is a concept foreign to the likes of Vera Alldid, Famous Cartoonist.

In any case, we’ve had enough banter, chit-chat, and small talk; time to get this Crime Story moving! Bring on the Mustache Guy by Sunday at latest and show us some worthy Evildoing!