Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for February 15, 2015

Inferno at the old theatre, the Wonder Car burned brightSilver bought the metal frame, restoration then done rightBy Sprocket in her bare feet, welding she did dareAttention to each detail: skill, panache and care.Now here sits Stiletta with her filtered cigaretteOffering a princely sum, so sell it or regretOffending Mrs. Flattop, mother of the deadAngelica and Junior, who engaged in crime and bled.Woo Gosh! Once back at Blowtop’s, Stiletta makes it clearShe has a hankering to snatch what Tracy holds most dear.Blowtop expresses outrage, a death wish is not for himStiletta prone to violence, makes a choice both fast and grim.Her blades come out! Slice and dice! Blowtop takes a fall!His lifeblood quickly spilling out, dying he doth crawl.Injuries are critical, his blood won’t stay insideBlowtop loses consciousness, his insides opened wide.

My original comment was to be: “Blowtop is like Mumbles…Can’t see him leaving anytime soon!” Shows whatI know!

PQ, Excellent as always, but you had your poem ready to go within 10 secs of today’s strip being posted! Obviously, the strip is posted somewhere else earlier than CoComics posts it. You gettin’ a “look-see?”

And, Good Morning to you, as well, Morrow. And praise as always to Pequod 77!

Mornin’ CP! Did you see how quick PQ is this morning? WOW!

I could have lived without a reminder of just how ugly the “fashionable” shoes were, back then.

She did it! I’m quite sure Stiletta is responsible, though she may have tried to set it up to look like Tracy was involved (hence, his picture prominently displayed in the newspaper account).Woo gosh! “Thirty years ago” was only the mid-1980s—just like yesterday to those of us who’ve been around a while longer…. But the fashions and hairdos sure were ugly! “Big hair” and revolting shoulder-pads for women, and galumphy platform shoes for everyone….The nature of Blowtop’s critical injuries is not spelled out in the strip, though Pequod77’s version seems likely, unless Mrs. Flattop sought to disguise her trademark weapon-of-choice….

Happy Sunday to you all!I knew it! Yesterday’s was Blowtop’s last blow!

Blowtop’s not dead yet.

Elsewhere …

… Commercial Successfully Cast.

Blowtop will be glad seeing Vitamin viusiting him at the hospital!

Good Morning Vista Bill—Looks Like your pal Vitamin didn’t wake up well.

Pequod—I am wowed by your talent. Can’t wait to see how this will all intersect!

Morning, Tracyville!

Mahvelous, Pequod. Simply Mahvelous.

If Stiletta didn’t do it, then who did?

By having Vitamin bring the newspaper in to the ad studio, Joe and Mike managed to move two threads of this story along in one Sunday strip – the phony ad being created by Kandi Kane for the Nitrates’ scam, and the outcome of the “talk” between Stiletta and Blowtop. Very clever! Gould would frequently show us two or more story threads developing on a Sunday, but he had 12 panels to work with for most of his career. Joe and Mike only have 5 or 6.One small error – and believe me, I know how a typo can slip by the best proof reader – it looks like somebody misspelled “cruising” in panel 2. How is lettering accomplished in comics these days? Is it done on a key board?

Good morning everyone.

@Pequod: your talent is amazing.thanks for posting.

Have a warm and safe Sunday my friends.

If he survives, Blowtop should buy a Hyena as a pet!

Brrrrr! Bitter cold day!

Good morning guys!

Blowtop must learn to control his anger..

Vitamin is a man of honor. I didn’t see Blowtop’s injuries or demise coming, so I find it too strange. I may be wrong, but I do not think Stiletta did it … unless she was afraid he would squeal. Nonetheless there is honor among-st thieves (that is in most cases). Cannot wait for Avenger09 to get a hold of today’s episode! … and as he’d sat LOL

The actress in the commercial DOES look a lot like a young Agate Aggie.

Yesterday’s strip made it clear that Blowtop crossed the line with his foolish talk. He should have kept a lid on it, but knowing when to keep quiet is not his strong suit. Stiletta knows that dead men tell no tales. Yet, “critically injured in home” is not the same as “killed in home.” Stiletta was sloppy, it seems. An interesting choice to keep the knife attack off-panel. As Ray Toler points out, there seems to be a rule that most violence occur off-panel. Instead, the fake commercial is cast and shot, leaving us to imagine the blood-letting back at Blowtop’s. The front page spreads the news, while “Hy Saylors” hawks some shoes. Hoping that Blowtop pulls through. As Vitamin remarks, “He wasn’t a friend, but still…”

Thanks to cpalmeresq, morrow, Night-Gaunt49, Neil Wick, Chris Robinson, davidf42, Starman1948, Ray Toler and Chris Sherlock for the kind words. Very much appreciated!

Why’s Tracy’s face on the front page? And who found Blowtop? As far as to who did him in, that depends on the method that was used! Was it a blade or garrote? If I remember correctly, the garrote was Silver’s signature.

Assuming Stiletta’s behind the attack on Blowtop, she works fast!

If Stiletta wanted Blowtop dead, he’d be dead.

It’s possible she “critically injured” him enough that he’d have plausible deniability, and/or be incapacitated till she has time to set her plans in motion.

Who found him?

Heck, Stiletta might have been the one who tipped off the authorities, to make sure Blowtop survived.

Just guesses though.

We’ll learn more this week.

Here is another possibility. Could Blowtop’s injuries have been self-inflicted?

Yesterday he seemed like he had been pushed into a corner. He did not want to be pinned with a federal offense or suffer the wrath of Tracy, yet he still felt a sense of family loyalty regarding Stiletta.

With his volatile temper and sensing no way out, he could have become completely irrational and turned his anger toward his own self.

Kandikane is a clever director. Notice how the Agate Aggie stand-in does not have the same prominent chin as the real Aggie. So her right hand conveniently covers her jaw as she points at the shoe.

I’m grinnin’ … :)

Awesome poem as always, Pequod!

“Promise me you’ll give this up, and I won’t say a word…”

I concur with NightShade and NightGaunt:A veiled warning (or threat) to Stilletta from Blowtop, and Stiletta’s “ho hum” reaction to it—Blowtop was going to sing to Tracy to avoid jail, and Stiletta probably cut out his tongue (punishment tor stool pigeons) or worse.

Only sweatbox dies in this strip

So Kandi’s in her fifties.

Woo Gosh! Did Stiletta try to kill her brother in law? She’s one mean momma! Silver better have her son’s car or else he’ll feel her wrath too, that is if his scam doesn’t blow up in his face first.

Strike one….unbelievable Stilletta would try to kill a relative….strike two….she would screw it up if she did.

Inferno at the old theatre, the Wonder Car burned bright

Silver bought the metal frame, restoration then done right

By Sprocket in her bare feet, welding she did dare

Attention to each detail: skill, panache and care.

Now here sits Stiletta with her filtered cigarette

Offering a princely sum, so sell it or regret

Offending Mrs. Flattop, mother of the dead

Angelica and Junior, who engaged in crime and bled.

Woo Gosh! Once back at Blowtop’s, Stiletta makes it clear

She has a hankering to snatch what Tracy holds most dear.

Blowtop expresses outrage, a death wish is not for him

Stiletta prone to violence, makes a choice both fast and grim.

Her blades come out! Slice and dice! Blowtop takes a fall!

His lifeblood quickly spilling out, dying he doth crawl.

Injuries are critical, his blood won’t stay inside

Blowtop loses consciousness, his insides opened wide.

Many years late,I want to say Curtis missed a good bet when Vitamin DIDN’T visit Blowtop in the hospital.AND brought the shrunken head.(“When do we start casting?”).You could have taken up a whole week just from Blowtop’s facial reactions.