Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 03, 2024

Annie knows adventure. Has traveled far and wide

Sometimes upon a lonely road. Sometimes she’s had to hide

From scoundrels, thieves, and con men, plotting for tainted gains

Some times were marked by laughter, some fraught with foundling’s pains.

Sandy often by her side. A friend who does protect

When trouble comes a-calling or fortune does neglect

To shine a light upon her path when lost or blue or ill

Things did take a happy turn: Welcome to Tracyville!

Warbucks a protector, as are Punjab and Asp

Honeymoon a trusted friend. Contentment in her grasp.

Yet time is never standing still. No place will keep us long

Sun will come up tomorrow. I heard it in a song.

You’ve got to be kidding.

Good morning™, all!

We pause the story, already in progress, to introduce it and give a little background. This should probably have come first, but that was impossible because Minit Mysteries stories need to end on a Sunday. I wonder if Mike intends to continue this story all the way until August.

Charles, you’ve drawn Vitamin spectacularly. Well done.

Unfortunately, Vitamin is such a waste of space. He’s so annoying.

I can see Vitamin and Firestrike hitting it off as BMF’s! LOL!

Mike got the dates of the 1930’s Movies wrong! It’s 1932 (RKO) and 1938 (Paramount) Not 1931 and 1939 – and they didn’t bomb, they just were not hits – they just did ok.

Good morning™, Franchise Pluggers !

…And now a pause for station identification.

I can’t remember when Vitamin looked this good. Like !

It seems fitting for a musical adaptation to show up at Vitamin’s playhouse. Everything else has. Only a matter of time before an adaptation of Dick Tracy is on that stage. Everybody can portray themselves.

I will say this about Vitamin, whatever he brings to his playhouse always has sell-out audiences. Must be the marketing.

B-E-S-U-R-E-T-O-D-R-I-N-K-Y-O-U-R-O-V-A-L-T-I-N-E

Yikes! That little girl is OLD!

My dad often sang the Little Orphan Annie theme song, followed by the Thrive-O jingle. Here they are, for those of you who don’t know. "Who’s that little chatterbox? The one with pretty auburn locks? Who can it be? It’s Little Orphan Annie. Bright eyes, cheeks, a rosy glow. There’s a store of healthiness handy. Mite size, always on the go. And if you want to know, “ARF!” says Sandy. Always wears a sunny smile. Now wouldn’t it be worth your while, if you could be like Little Orphan Annie. Leapin’ lizards! Leapin’ lizards!"

And now the Thrive-O jingle:

“We feed our doggie Thrive-O. He’s very much alive-o. Full of pep and vim. If you want a healthy pup, you’d better hurry up. Buy Thrive-O for him.”

Vitamin also forgot TV kids show host Chuck McCann doing Annie (and reading the comic) when the New York newspapers went on strike in the earlly 60s…..

Nice work Officer Davis

….yeah we saw “A Christmas Story”, all right….how could so much of America miss it during the “Holiday Season”…….many stations ran repeat-a-thons of the film that ran for 24 hours ……

….and wasn’t the time-frame of “A Christmas Story” set in the 1940’s? Correct me if, blah blah blabblaaah…..

It appears there was a 1918 Silent Film, Little Orphant Annie, also. Unusual spelling of Orphan.

“Still, I loathe the pathetic ‘critics’ who falsely claimed my innovative and brilliant HISTORY OF LINT: A LOVE STORY FOR THE AGES was ‘mindless drivel’ an ‘incomprehensible doodoo’. A pox on their puppies and kitties unto the ninth generation, as Hamlet oft said!”

Another wasted day. Does no one know how to plot and write a detective comic anymore?

Popeye says you all have it wrong. says it’s ‘ORFINK Annie.’ Just so you all know and will hereafter be repentant.

Is Vitamin staging a production of Annie? If he is, I hope he isn’t doing Oliver Warbucks, Don’t want to see him in a skin wig.

Nice page, Charles.

Except for that Master Thespian , our beloved Vitamin Flintheart , who cares ?

Oh, wow! Thank you so much for announcing this great comic strip’s centennial anniversary!!

Dick Tracy, like Gasoline Alley, is becoming a collection site for old comic characters. And I love it.

The art work is really good!

Oh joy – a story with Orphan Annie, Vitamin and Daddy and no sign of a mystery or crime.

WARNING: May cause drowsiness. Do not operate machinery after reading.

Thank you Dickepedia.

This backstory should have been narrated by Harold Gray rather than Vitamin, just as Lee Falk sometimes steps into The Phantom strip to explain events in his “For those who came in late…” interludes.

On the topic of crossovers, when do we get a hard-hitting TRACY/DOC SAVAGE one???

1-VITAMIN SKINFLINT: I apologize for the misprint in the ads promising performances by Rodney Dangerfield, Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra…

2-…They should have read “TRIBUTE Performances” by yours truly…

3-…In my defense, you’re all dam dumb to believe those people are still alive. ON WITH THE SHOW!…

4-♪♫ MAMMY DON’T I LOVE YA, DON’T I LOVE YA! ♪♫

5-♪♫ THAT’S WHY THE LADY IS A TRAMP! ♪♫

Speakin’ of tramps, my wife – you all know my wife, Kandi Kane – my wife comes in after midnight last night stinking of BOTH Brut AND English Leather. So I ask her if she just had a Devils 3 Way and she tells me “Don’t be silly – they waited their turns!” I tell ya, I don’t get no respect – no respect! AUDIENCE: BOO! YOU STINK! REFUND!

KANDI KANE: It’s funny ‘cause it’s true!

So, has Shelley left the party for good?

Where can one read Dick Tracy if one has never been an Annie Fan? Maybe Wick knows.Neil, Neil, where are you?

now that we are now about to embark into a combined Dick Tracy and Annie adventure, are we to call this…

the Trannie universe?…

Why can’t the Dick Tracy strip focus on ,,, Dick Tracy?

Did half an Annie radio script a few years ago (along with Popeye, Dick Tracy, and Superman). We skipped the 15 minute Ovaltine commercial. (I played Mr. Silo, a farmer Annie was staying with; Vitamin Flintheart; and the villainous Yellow Mask.)

So was this the reason behind all the anticipation for this story? I have to say, I like it a lot.

So….got dizzy and lightheaded at work tonight around 8:15 or so, pharmacist on duty was leaving and I mentioned it to him, so he took me into the one exam room we have and took my blood pressure….178/114…pretty high, the 2nd number is supposed to be in the 80’s…heart rate was 96 which he said is alright since it’s under 100…but I decided that since this has been going on for a week now, I’m going to the urgentcare in the morning and having them check EVERYTHING out for me…and if it means blood pressure pills, then its gonna have to be blood pressure pills…I’ll keep y’all updated

The sun will come out…tomorrow!

Flashing back to Vitamin’s “Frankenstein” speech when the second Moon Maid was introduced. Heck,why shouldn’t a 100 year old strip be introduced by a 100 year old man?