Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 22, 2020

Good morning™, non-tempted readers!

Again, I’m not sure I believe the Prof, but I don’t think that drinking blood is his aim. On the other hand, I don’t know what his aim is.

Days in the story so far: Dick Tracy 6, Brenda Starr 3, Annie and Honeymoon 8, Stokes 14. I still don’t detect Brenda taking over the strip, but the girls pull ahead by one since Tracy is off the edge of the view today.

The prof seemed prepared.

Icky. ✨

Why’s he collecting Faith’s blood and intending to collect her family’s blood too?

Professor, don’t forget the selfies with your latest victim. I think you put them under those books.

Good morning™, erudite professors !

He is so polished. Must be from all those inquiries he fields from the curious. What will get Tracy on his case ?

Stokes. Stoker. I just got it.

And now for something really different:

Last night’s Late Late Show with James Corden featured a pretty good video clip of a pig on (one) wheel.

Actually, it was a pig balancing itself on top of a ball and traveling at a pretty good clip while at it.

Pigs on wheels forever!

The list also features a preface from the late Bob Hope: “Fangs for the Memories”.

It’s impossible for the girls not to have noticed those fangs.

Prof. Stokes is looking pretty sexy there. I guess you could say he’s quite the lady killer. Also, loving how the shading of his coat in the last panel looks like Dracula’s cape.

Handout for a necking party!!!

Every college has its “Cool” professor, its “tough” professors it’s “sexy” professors and even the occasional “eccentric” professor. I think Stokes is the professor everyone has to take, but no one really likes

Also, in panel 2 Stokes reminds me of the late William Schallert.

Who are these “volunteers” who let people drink their blood? The idea would completely creep me out. And even if it didn’t, I want to keep my blood.

Annie seems interested.

Annie’s laughing because all this seems pretty tame compared to the re-run of her strip today where they’re dealing with Satanists.

1-THE SHARP TOOTHED INSULT COMIC PROFESSOR: You don’t have to leave but you can’t stay here. Small Sa-Nap!

2-BLONDIE: Will you pierce my tongue like you did Red’s before we go? TSTICP: EEE-YUCK! Not on a bet. Get back to me in 5 years though and we’ll see…*3-…WAIT! I think you might be interested in my auto-biography. Just $12.95 and only available from me after my shows.

BLONDIE: Funny name for a book about you.

TSTICP: That’s the name of the vanity house publisher. The name of the book is there below, see? INSULT YOUR WAY TO FAME AND FORTUNE; (Why Dale Carnegie Was Full of Crap) It’s kind of a self-help book and auto-biography.

ANNIE: I would a gone with FANGS FOR THE MEMORIES.

TSTICP: SHADDAP! I feel like I’ve heard that 100 times in the last 3 weeks alone!

ANNIE: Geez. Fang you, jerk. SAAAA-NAPPPP!

I’ve read about the vampire subculture. They will actually consume blood, usually from beef. They get it from local meat markets.

These folks need jobs

I hope he’s not actually planning to drink blood because I believe that ingesting even a small amount of blood could cause iron poisoning.

Stokes is one of the better villains to appear in a long time. He acts like a normal person who indulges in his interest a little too much for some. He can even talk to Tracy without being the obvious bad guy, or giving him reason to get a search warrant.

Stokes is glib and quick-witted, as a college professor needs to be, answering numerous and often completely unexpected questions from young (usually) students while keeping in mind social boundaries in such power relationships (yeah, I know those boundaries are violated often enough, but that’s a entirely different topic). He has undoubtedly fielded all manner of vampire-related questions for years already and has stock answers ready to hand. But his polished replies and turning the direction of the interview to his book and website list probably won’t fool Tracy, nor even for long the girls, I suspect. It is probably time for Stokes to think about possible ways to escape the Law, and I believe he is aware of that….

Dick Tracy’s off the side of the fourth panel wildly shaking his head and drawing his thumb across his throat.