Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 23, 2022

Good morning™, all!

Blaze reports back, but mostly a bit of review today for those who didn’t read the 1980 story or forgot what it was about.

A bit of a cliffhanger at the end of today’s strip, though.

Why are they repeating a previous strip?

It must be a repeat, right?

I mean, “Haven’t we heard all of this before???”

Haven’t seen those oddly-shaped monitor screens in awhile. ✨

Tracy’s sure giving out a whole lot of information to a civilian, don’tcha think?

Did Fart always go on his nightly shopping sprees wearing two different color shoes?

What in the world is Blaze’s bowtie attached to on that very weird looking shirt she’s wearing?

“So he went to prison for a long time then?”

“Well, there were some civil rights issues. The usual for Tracyville.”

Good morning™, what did I just tell you in P.2 ?

He looks too slippery not to be up to his old tricks. Just tell the dame you’re playing a hunch.

The cheeky monkey!

Is he going to tell Blaze that the stuff she bought might be fake?

is it just me, or does Dick’s hair look a bit different than usual in the panels?

“He resold stolen art…” In real life, stolen art is usually not resold to fences or third parties, but ransomed back to the insurance companies the original owners had it insured with. Still, panel 2 is a fantastic example of comic strip art, packing a lot of visual information in a small space, essentially telling a mini-story in one picture.

I really would’ve liked to have seen the conversation between Blaze and Lee, and then DT (presumably) briefing her.

Is this what 30s years old Tracy looked like ?

I like the way Blaze is depicted first panel, well done!

Er… Is there any case for this to be the “first break” in? (Yes, I ended the sentence with a preposition. It isn’t as great a grammatical sin as the pedants claim.) Tracy himself says they don’t know that Dekko is engaged in anything illegal. I think keeping track of ex-cons who are not suspected of anything illegal is the job of parole officers. The police sending in someone to check on who you’re calling borders on harassment.

To the top of the roof, to the top of the hall—Steal away Steal away Steal away Steal away all….

he probably could have retired after one Picasso

Just look at Chimp Boy’s face. That sell ‘honest’?

“We think he’s up to his old tricks.” “Why do you think that?” “There wouldn’t be a plot to this story if he wasn’t.”

….D.T. replies: “Because you can’t trust a comely assistant who’s sporting a moustache”………something in Denmark (or someplace like there…) begins to smell rotten………

Because a “Leopard never changes his spots.”

1-DT: Thanks for the help, Butch. Aren’t you glad I didn’t tell you that your life was in grave danger (is there any other kind?) BUTCH SASSY DEE: Huh?

2-DT: Sure. Art was a cat burglar specializing in high end art. And even when he apparently had managed to pull off the heist without a hitch, he would SLAUGHTER THE ENTIRE FAMILY FOR FUN!

BUTCH SASSY DEE: Huh???

3- …So, I guess you’re lucky to be alive. Mucho gracias again for the help.

BUTCH SASSY DEE: HUH?

(Anyone spot the A Few Good Men reference?)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my friends here on the Dick Tracy chat board.

With this undiscovered Da Vinci Art has commissioned someone to paint, he got his criminal enterprise act together. However, this is a dream on my part.

Only a matter of time before Art or Sue gets careless and gets caught.

Is it just me, or does Art Dekko look like a well-groomed chimpanzee?

“Art Dekko—a Person of Interest” as we now say (being so terribly PC), rather than the old-fashioned “suspect” (of course it would be convenient if we could specify a crime here). Conversation ostensibly between Blaze and Chief of Detectives Tracy is actually between Mike and us, the readers….

Art Dekko is drawn like a monkey in the tree !!! But probably not as smart !!!