Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 04, 2023

What he knows and what he’s seen lead to deep contemplation

Expert on rare manuscripts left him with consternation.

Library on massive scale. Sure sign of an obsessive

Hand briefly touched upon her blade. Behavior thus regressive?

Now Tracy ponders what he knows: calm, pensive, and still

Must learn more ‘fore he can act to stop another kill.

Such excitement!

What a twist! The killer was the detective all along. Congrats Eric.

Good morning™, suicide contemplaters (?) !

DON’T DO IT, DICK !!! :-o Is Tracy thinking how that cutter looks exactly like what Libby uses ?

Tracy! You just contaminated evidence!

And, MCU keeps appearing: license plate, notebook cover, now a letter opener.

Please don’t tell me Dick is about to have a “hang on a sec” moment?

Say has they even investigate the stab wound of recent victim? Ya knows that thing where they is measure the size of stab wound during postmortem or something which is gives clue about the size or type of sharp weapons. Is that why he gaping at thing like that now for it match the wound dimensions? Or is he in deep thoughts about another plot hole found?

Two bodies in Tracy land, one in New York and one across state lines…Tracy is holding the common denominator in his hand.

Are any lab results ever going to reveal whether the stabs were upward or downward? The guest writer along with Mike and Shelley are keeping this story in a who done it mode. To the three of you don’t string this out too long lest the readers head to the concession stand. Oh, mercy me, I almost forgot I am reading a comic strip, started mistaking this for a movie. Might get a “G” rating. Not “G” for great but G for the Geritol generation.

Where is B.O.’s chicken when you need it? MCU may need help from the FBI.

“Could that someone be Mack the knife…”

It’s the woman with a billion books and a bad temper……seems pretty obvious and she could hide the stolen ones pretty easily in that huge library……

Does he have it figured out, or just deep in thought?!

Even though it isn’t there, he probably saw blood on that letter opener.

The grey hair is a nice touch………

Good morning™, all!

I fell asleep before the strip went up while Tracy is in deep contemplation about the murder method. I’m still not sure about whether the murder weapon could have been a letter opener. It’s still an open question.

Top marks to Shelley for her images today : )

Something about the GUI on that screen makes me think “1980s Mac OS”. Anyone else have that reaction?

A small cast of characters/suspects?

Deleted panel 4: Same as panel 3, but with a shining light bulb above Tracy’s head.

I can’t quite read the lorem ipsum text on Tracy’s computer screen.

“Don’t do it, Tracy!”

“I’ll never have to hear Sam’s voice again.”

“Sam, we’ve been looking at this all wrong. The murderer isn’t a book thief! They are a mail thief!”

A-HAAAA! TRACY is the unsuspected killer!!!!!!

Or…

could it BE…

SKRULL AGENT TRACY???!!!

TRACY (thinking): Hmm. MCU. Those initials! Must be the killer!

Wait. Is station house pilfery so bad they have to use a label maker on everything to make sure Sam won’t steal it??!?

At his advanced age, Tracy has “Author-its” aggravated by all those books!

1-Tracy’s fan mail, internal and external, awaits his attention…

2-JAB JAB! Tracy thrusts his “dagger” into the belly of an imagined villain…

3-Tracy mentally upbraids himself for using a blade on the villain instead of his service revolver “I’m so stupid! Moron! Idiot! Wise up! Who uses a knife unless they have a need to keep the killing as quiet as a library reading room?!? WAIT A MINUTE…”

If this story arc stretches out too much longer I may be ready for the nursing home.

Oh-oohh!!

“Is this a dagger I see beforw me?”

You can see the neurons making the connections. And smell the smoke. YEP SHE DID IT! Of course she did! You didn’t think of it when she stood over you, slammed the knife-like object and said with malice in her deep voice, “NOBODY TOUCHES MY STUFF!”? Dude.

To nobody’s surprise, Tracy finally snaps and horribly murders the man who invented paperwork.

Book Woman did it. (Blondie Redlips).

DON’T DO IT, DICK!!! IT’S NOT WORTH IT!!! Oh, wait, he’s just thinking. ;^.^

It all began innocently enough on Tuesday. I was sitting in my office on that drizzly afternoon listening to the monotonous staccato of rain on my desktop, and reading my name on the glass of my office door—“regnaD kciN.”

His suspicions are probably true.

Three panels without any dialogue convey more meaning than many a more garrulous strip. Shelley’s excellent art conveys the meaning from Tracy’s body language and furrowed-brow cogitation.

Yes, a letter-opener could have been the murder weapon.

But was it?

The frustration of a tough job.Dick knows what’s going on but he has to be able to proive it.And in the meantime,there might be another victim.