Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 19, 2014

Morning, everybody.

Gertie’s story sounds a little familiar….

Good morning guys!

Good morning VistaBill, David f42 and fans. I bet Gertie is telling a good story. Y’all have a blessed day.

Well, there goes my hypothesis about A.A. being the oldest and G.G. being #7, since A.A. is younger. Eight girls! Wow, that would be quite a family.

It’s the same story B.O. has told so many times, only Gertie’s family is going east and the Plenty’s were going west.

I was waiting for that line. I figured if Mike gave Gertie a family that i t would have to have a arge number of girls traveling east to match BO’s famous brags of an evergrowing number of boys traveling west.

“Eight Brides for Eight Brothers,” although obviously it didn’t play out that way.

" BIDING OUR TIME AGAIN " ?

" It appears that today, we are Just BIding Our Time Again as Nothing of Import (again), is happening "- Sisyphos - Last week (Nov. 19)

So he’d OPINED last week on A.A. Stone’s newspaper report on Gruesome (with which I agreed), but more IMPORTANT, this week, one get the feel’ that it’s ‘reoccurring’ right now, *- once AGAIN ! (?) A review of the last 2 days strips should urgently RING that bell . . .

Yesterday’s strip, it was (Sam and “Ham”), together with today’s (Gertie’s “1 of 8 girls”) above. Nothing more concrete ! You might easily concede there’s a mild touch of humor there, but remain really puzzled at HOW these strips serve to MOVE the story forward ? Perhaps they weren’t ? Just there to ‘mark time’ ?

Now not Complaining - mind you, just Observing !

It’s a mood, like it had been in Simmons Corners - those relaxed walks in the Park (pacing around without good _story ‘PACING’), and then the glass of water needed to ‘wake’ Tracy up ! And not just from his Hypnotic stupor !

Bach here, I’m sure, they’ll be a few, more magnanimous (ready like Freddy) readers, to *explain

to the less perceptive ones (like yours truly), exactly how or why they’re MORE than ‘Glide Over’ strips, and do meaningfully take the story forward ! (?)

Last week, I really liked that ‘turn of phrase’ (Nov.19), from Sisyphos, as he speculated on the future relevance (if any) of A.A. Stone’s compliment on Gruesome’s acting. It was a lot more ELEGANT than my less discrete phrasing in observing much the same thing

.-——————————————————————————-Sisyphos more fully said. on Nov’19 . . .

" Good grief! Could Christopher Cushing possibly convince Gruesome (so to speak) to go straight?! Or is paying him a compliment in the press going to get A.A. Stone into dire straits? And unless A.A. Stone turns out somehow to be a ‘major plot’ point, it appears that today we are just biding our time, as nothing of import (again: unless A.A. Turns out to be important!) is happening"

Some of you early commentators have already alluded to this, but for readers who have joined Dick Tracy later, and may not know:

Whenever B.O. was asked any question about almost anything, he would reply with his life story. This was introduced almost as soon as the character himself made his initial appearance.For example, B.O.would be a witness to some crime, and Tracy would say something like, “Calm down now, B.O., and tel me all about it.” And B.O. would answer “Wal, you see, I was one of eight boys when Pappy took us West. . .”This became a running gag in the strip. But we never knew much, if anything, about Gertie’s family background, except, Gertie told Tracy that her father died of a drug addiction. So, if he “took his family East” like she says here, when did he get into drugs?

Morning, Tracyville!I’m glad Mike is giving us background material for Gravel Gertie. We have been totally ignorant of her family for way too long.

What’s this? Here, now! The Stone girls don’t progress in alphabetical order?! How’s a man (I mean their father) to keep track of them (including birthdays)?!

Uhh, thanks, SYDNEY PHILLIPS, I think….

O Boy, the origin of the Plenty’s..