Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 22, 2021

Does Diet Have a Time Drone at his house??

“Give me your Netflix password!”

Forget about how ridiculous it is that Diet has hardly any wounds or the silliness of Tracy trying to sound hip,

HOW ABOUT THE MIRACLE OF NO CIGAR IN HIS MOUTH OR SMOKE FILLING THE AIR!

He knows……..

And Diet has to suffer the mindless banality of TV…

Good morning™, _debilitated Diet discoveries !

“Tracy, wait !”  Make sure the potted plants in the atrium get watered. What !  The plants got fried ?  Put them out for compost then.

How can Diet be so sure it wasn’t human error or equipment failure? No way any investigation could have been completed so quickly.

Good morning™, everyone!

Diet Smith is okay and I do think that Tracy rescued him. He sees something on the TV.

So ol’ Diet survived. I can accept that. Should’ve known he’s one of the immortals of this strip. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Wonder what horrifying thing Diet Smith just saw on that TV?

Aw, no weird time Hijinks? I was kind of hoping to see Rommel vs. Hannibal with cyborg soldiers and trained Megatherum, or Hammurabi chatting with Leadbelly or something like that.

The lightning bolt between Diet’s remote control and the TV does it have significance? Odd they should show it!

On the television, the commentator just mentioned, “…and in the White House today President Snoop Dogg signed legislation making Puerto Rico the forty-second state…” and Smith knew his time top had damaged history.

“Can you smuggle in some Ding Dongs?”

So who did Tracy rescue after the FD showed up?

I agree with avenger09 (OMG?!) that Tracy saying “Later, Diet” doesn’t sound right but I think that’s because it’s been forced into the dialog to spur Diet’s thinking. ”Later” is the operative word and it has (conveniently, miraculously, deus ex machina-ly) led Diet into thinking that the explosion simply must have been caused by someone trying to send the time drone into the future. Now, that conclusion does more leapin’ than one of Annie’s lizards, but y’all mark my words…

Or maybe Diet just doesn’t want Tracy to leave without getting a hug.

Never mind what the doctor says, TRACY said I can go home NOW.

1-DT: Not to be outdone by fireman who collect for MD using their rubber boots to hold the donations, we at the police force are using our hats to collect for…oh, I don’t know…whatever disease you got I guess.

2-DOIT: GET OUTTA HERE YOU IDIOT! You think sick people in the hospital wanna be bothered with your nonsense or that these gowns got a wallet pocket?!?

DT: Cheapskate. I hope they don’t give you ice cream after they take your tonsils out.

DOIT: Forget you! What’s on TV?

3-…WTH??? A 60 Minute expose~ on the number of malpractice lawsuits brought against THIS HOSPITAL!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE, TRACY! I’LL DONATE! I’LL DONATE!!!

Tribune issued a press release about the future of the strip yesterday…it’s good news….

https://tribunecontentagency.com/dick-tracy-first-female-lead-artist-shelley-pleger/?utm_source=tca-homepage&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=5892-promo-dick-tracy

What just came across the mind of Diet Smith? It couldn’t be the time drone? Nah! Not whether the stoves were left on in the lunch room at Smith Industries. I’ll find out tomorrow.

I’m casting my speculative lots on this one, and I’m going to guess that Diet turned on the TV and saw news footage that showed him where in the building the center of the blast happened. He realizes that it came from the time drone lab. He either has an idea that Sterling was harmed or involved, or may have an idea as to some important factor that caused it.

My guess is that it’s a Blue Bloods re-run and Tom Selleck just dripped mustard on his shirt. Who cares,? moves this snail on.

Ah…as owner of the company, aren’t you responsible for the explosion Diet?

Okay,a few hours have passed.

Diet Smith has been rescued and he’s in a civilian hospital,watching TV and wearing one of those little plastic armbands. I hate those things.Watch out for that hospital food,Diet.It’ll kill ya.

No mention of Mysta—-or more important,no mention of possible body count.It would seem impossible that NOBODY died in something this huge.

But if somebody did die,it permanently changes the public conception of Diet

Oh,and Diet—-no smoking.It explodes oxygen tanks..

TO DMITRIO:

Once again,,I ask you to drop the “block” on Wikipedia/Fandom te.All I want to do is pitch in,and my information is accurate.

Nice job on Flipside.

Tracked down the TRIBUNE press release and got the good news/bad news.

But from the art samples provided,I think we’ll be in familiar hands;Thank Goodness.When Rick Fletcher died unexpectedly,his Sunday strips continued for at least 6 weeks.How much more “Sunday Staton” will we have?

Maybe Joe can drop by DC COMICS now and then.Dan Jurgens is about the only old timer left there,and t hey’ve been slipping badly lately

“you’ve got to draw like DIck Sprang”—“Watch me”.

“Live from the scene, this is Briar Rose reporting . . . .”

Hospitals do not allow smoking at all.

SMITH: Tracy, wait! (Music playing in background) After my near-death experience, there’s something I must confess to you before it’s too late! (Suspenseful cliffhanger music)

ANNOUNCER: Stay tuned for panels from tomorrow’s “Dick Tracy” LOL j/k

What could be on TV that is so arresting that Diet calls Tracy back? News somehow involving the Time Drone would be my guess; but what exactly?

In retrospect it seems clear that over the last few strips Tracy, the Security guard, and the Tracyville FD were rescuing Diet Smith from the debris of the explosion at Smith Industries, though how he happened to be close enough to the blast’s Ground Zero to be buried in the collapse is probably best left not too scrutinized….

OFF TOPIC: Just read about Shelly succeeding Joe Staton on TRACY. It was a pleasure working with Mr. Staton on my second TRACY script. I wish him well in his retirement from the strip. Kick back and relax a while, huh? And good new for Shelly!