Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 10, 2024

What is the deal? Is this threat real?

Enter with guns drawn

Gun play fraught but worry not.

All live past the dawn.

A clever ruse? Was trust abused?

Where for art thou, Boris?

‘Tis eight o’clock. Hear the tick tock.

Chimes are like a chorus.

Wielded guns could end all fun.

Watch where you point that thing

Gray couple deft. This is no theft.

They’re not here for the bling.

Enjoy a brand new Vengey Mystery;

Ring of Fire – Part 5

“Free, as a Bird!”

https://youtu.Be/xyQrVg09igU?si=IS9gA7t7mLSVjAh_

Good morning™, everyone!

So, I think that this is where the story finally begins. (She’s not pregnant again, though Charles told us she wasn’t supposed to have had the baby yet.)

Here is where it gets complicated. They are working for Sirob on the kidnapping of Warbucks, but we saw them say before that it is up to them to stop Sirob. Sirob’s car is going to pick them up at 8 and it’s almost 8 now as they face Warbucks and Tracy with their guns drawn. Where do we go from here?

Boris Sirob here reminds me of Victor Buono as Count Manzeppi on the Wild Wild West…

Confusion

Confusing

Confused

“Tried to tell that no good comes from working late!”

FBI agents that betray their oaths? That’s not possible is it?

Roll of Honor: Justin McIntire

The community held a candlelight memorial service on the one-year anniversary: https://youtu.Be/G93ftB4iExE

More details on what went down last year: https://Www.wtae.Com/article/brackenridge-police-chief-justin-mcintire-investigation/43058303

Good morning™, Kidnappers(?) !

If they’re going to help Bigbux then let it be known as Tracy might try something sneaky that can get them hurt. P.5., looking up shot with the mountains painting backdrop, is lookin’ mighty good. The images are good and crisp. :-)

To me, going by the length of each hand, it looks like the clock says twenty minutes to twelve.

Well, I admit confusion. Team Tracy aren’t going to make Annie’s parents a pair of no good kidnappers, are they? Of course, it might explain why nobody have wanted to talk about it for so long.

But me, the stickler for detail, am wondering about the significance of the time, which seems to be given extra emphasis. Top right, there is a clock that seems to say 11:40, except that the hour hand should have been 2/3 between the 11 and the 12.

Then Tracy says that the time is “just about 8.” Um, Mr. Ettinger? You do know that the long hand shows the minutes, and the short hand shows the hours, don’t you?

What kind of clock is it, anyway? It can’t be a wristwatch since it has a pendulum. Seems a lot like a piece of clip art.

So Annie’s parents are working undercover? I doubt they would have been made FBI agents following an actual life of crime.

I hope Tracy remembered to set his watch forward one hour for daylight savings time!

I hate to admit it, but this story has me so confused. The only part I’ve understood so far was Vitamin’s history lesson presentation last week :( The artwork is fine but the plot seems to bounce around a lot

Further thoughts. I said before that I don’t know much about Annie from before she started appearing in Dick Tracy. I’ve seen the movie, of course, but I know that movie adaptations often change things. Still, Annie’s parents have been unknown since the strip started, so long ago, right? It seems a stretch to have them turn out to be someone Warbucks and Tracy actually knew, and no one even suspected.

“Something Happening Here, What it is ain’t Exactly Clear’, There’s 2 folks standing over there, telling them the gotta beware”! (Apologies to Buffalo Springfield!)

Has anyone worked out the date / timeline of this story when Daddy Warbucks was suppose to be kidnapped by Boris and his gang? FBI director Hoover, when he was appointed in 1924, requested the three (3) female agents that were employed by the “Bureau of Investigation” (as the FBI was then known) resign and they complied. Hoover made one exception, due to political pressure and changed the status of one female employee from “special employee” to “special agent”- this agent resigned at the end of 1928. After Hoover’s death in 1972 females were allowed to apply for employment as an "agent candidate ". On July 17, 1972, Joanne Pierce (Misko) and Susan Roley (Malone) were sworn in as FBI special agents and began training at Quantico.

If I’m interpreting the second (third) panel correctly, their “ride” aka the getaway car will be there at 8. And they, with Warbucks, will be driven to the hideout where they’ll hold Warbucks to whatever end that Mike thinks up eventually. So they need to keep up pretences until it’s safe to reveal who they are, if they actually do. It’s common in the real world where I believe a (former) police detective on here could attest to if this correct or nit.

I do not think Boris is dumb enough to completely trust the “housekeepers” Harold & Winifred Gray. Boris is bound to have a Plan “B” for backup. Boris did not get to his position as a gang boss by taking things for granted and trusting his associates – even his own gang members.

I don’t like the “elsewhere” caption on the bottom row. Usually that means the next scene is at another place, but at the same time as the previous one. The transition in time seems forced by having Tracy tell Warbucks when it was (with his pre-wrist radio watch!)

He got confused changing his clock last night. Spring forward or spring backwards?

At long last ! The coloring is subdued a bit and has more contrast . Much better suited to a crime and mystery story .

….“it don’t say nothin’, ya gotta look at it”….Shemp Howard….hey, made ME laugh, back in the day……

What’s Tracy doing at Warbucks’ office past quitting time? Did he just drop by to nag Ollie to hurry up? I think they were going to the strip joint. That’s one of the only things that’ll make Tracy smile that lecherous smile. (How does Tracy have his head at one angle and his face at another? Actually, I thought Mike had created a new villain, Crookedface.)

Is this before the days of the two-way wrist radio? Tracy seems to be wearing a regular watch. I guess this story is being told back in the 1930s and Annie was frozen in a block of ice with Captain America to keep from aging (as I posited before). But, then again, Ollie seems to have a somewhat modern computer monitor. I guess Tracy forgot his most important piece of equipment that day. Well, that famous aptly-named Tracyland stripper, Lain Behr, was performing, and, like Stupefyin’ Jones, she has the power to cloud men’s minds.

Similar to Rikki, Winnie ain’t preggers no more…Harold better get busy again if he’s gonna have a little red-headed moppet to abandon.

Hello, my learned friends! I never read “L. O. Annie” in all my many years. Is this even close to the real story? Thanks.

“Warbucks, we’re back to reclaim the pupils you stole from us and based your empire on. You can keep the kid. She always kind of creeped us out.”

INTERCOM: Tracy? A Mr. Big Bird is here to tech you how tell time. Oh, wait. it’s just terrorist flunkies. Never mind."

TRACY: Just as long as it ISN’T that Count fellow. Takes him FOREVER to get to midnight!

WARBUCKS (ticked): Look! I told you terrorist flunkies, I MIGHT be able to fit you in at nine in the morning, between converting the orphanage into a combination truck stop and strip club, and razing the old peoples’ home for my new Mega Daddy Mart!

Time to call in The Armchair Detective Division and truss this turkey up .

OFF TOPIC:

Although I have retired and have moved to Florida, I am still designing some sets for Chicago theatres over the internet. My latest set is featured at City Lit Theatre in Chicago and is for an evening of two one-act plays presented under the title of Two Hours in a Bar. The plays began previews the day before yesterday.

The first play, Looking for Tina Meyer is a farce by Larry Shue (who wrote The Nerd) and Kristine Thatcher (City Lit’s playwright in residence). The second play, Text Me is a one-act musical by Kingsley Day (City Lit’s Musical Director). As the title implies, both plays take place in a bar.

Here is my set design (this is a lobby rendering that I do for each show I design):

https://i.postimg.Cc/QtV50hth/Final-Render.jpg

Good morning, devoted DT readers! This is the strip I warned you about. So 1: Yes, I know how to read an analog clock. 2: The clock is supposed to be at 8. 3: Winifred is still pregnant at this point. 4: All of it was corrected but not before it was too late to resubmit (and I argued about it because I don’t understand in a digital age how you can’t just switch files but uh-kay). 5: The ship is hopefully steering correctly from this point. 6: Ima go crawl back into my hole and try to get some work done.

1-GRAMPA BORIS: Aren’t you pregnant yet??? I want a grandson!

2-HAROLD: Yeah, well you try, Dad. I mean – check her out – a classic Two Bagger! GRAMPA BORIS: Hmmm. I’ll close my eyes and try to imagine it. NOPE! HARD PASS!

3-DT: You beckoned me, boss? I was kinda busy working a triple homicide..

4-WARBUX: Yes – this is important! WHAT TIME IS IT? DT: About 8. I’m not sure though. I left my bifocals at the murder scene. WARBUX: You’re useless! Get out!

5-HAROLD: Hello. Don’t be alarmed. We’re undercover FBI Agents and we’re showing you our guns to prove it. DT: Guns? Come closer – I can’t see a thing without…

WARBUX: Whatever – just don’t vacuum in here – I’m working. WINNIE: But we’re here to tell… WARBUX: AND DEFROST THE FREEZER! IT’S ICED UP MORE THAN MY COLD HEART!

DT: HA HA! It’s funny ‘cause it’s true – he has an ancient refrigerator AND A COLD HEART! ALL: HA HA HA!!!

Today’s my one year anniversary of being on GoComics and illuminating all of you with my wit and wisdom . How do you like me so far ?

Leaping lizards!

It’s cool seeing Annie and Warbucks again, but really, GoComics should just go ahead and revive the Annie strip. It’s nice to see the characters guest starring in Dick Tracy but they don’t truly “belong” here.

Chef Mcintire? That’s a police rank I’ve never seen before. I’ll bet they have some great food in the cafeteria at that station.

It comes down to the hands although the lengths of each hand is the same distance, the hand on 12 in stature smaller than the hand on 8. so the time must be close to 12 even as tracy says "your working late " ( 8 oclock would not be working late ) so I guess tracy pulled a Biden and I guess read his clock upside down, but I hate to admit “This time It may be a legit mistake” unless Neil can figure it out.

Boris must be what used to be called a criminal mastermind. He wants to kidnap Warbucks. After that, his agenda is clear as mud.

I see it now! Tracy is going to be the one who shoots Annie’s parents!

Does anyone understand what time period we’re in here? (The actual LOA stories involving Sirob date to the 1930s, of course, but we can put that aside, along with the time indicated on the wall clock.) Warbucks has a computer on his desk displaying what appear to be windowed applications, so it’s in the 1990s at the earliest. Perhaps 15 years ago, as Annie looks to be maybe 12 now and wasn’t born yet in this story line. On the other hand, Annie’s apparent age never changes, in keeping with Warbucks, Tracy, and everyone else, so …. Still, it’s been a little confusing.

I think you’re fabulous! Just wonderful! The star of the show! :-)

In the old days, cops g ot assigned as personal bodyguards to the rich and theatened.This is one of those times.