Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 06, 2020

Nice. ✨

Good morning™, talkers!

I guess they’re working out the details of what to do now.

Good morning™, coffee tête-à-têtes !

To heck with this extortion business let’s enjoy our time together.

“Suddenly she does something unexpected, like admit she’s being extorted but hadn’t told you, and you see the woman you fell in love with. She’s everything to you. Now—more than ever—she needs her big, strong Dick. That’s why there’s a little yellow pill for daily use…”

Nice 1950’s house!

……and the point of this is? Easy day at the office, lol?

Planning the shakedown of Shaky.

This is going to be a long case.

Nice to see husband and wife discussing extortion, threats, and blackmail over mugs of hot coffee.

Coffee shop,see the “Double doors”?

“Two silhouettes on the shade, Oh what a lovely couple they made”

They don’t generally keep secrets from each other do they?

“Nighthawks”

So will the window be intact tomorrow?

Nice art. And I guess Joe and Mike needed to stretch to make it to Saturday.

It must have cost a pretty penny to replace the double doors destroyed by Sawtooth and Tracy in their fight. Tess has told Tracy about Shaky’s shakedown. Now she’s saying they need more Windex.

https://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2018/07/20

The calm before the storm?

Tess did say they needed to talk. If it’s over a cup of coffee, then it must be some talk.

My first thought when I saw today’s strip …. the writer took the day off

Sitting at the kitchen table, viewed from the patio.

We’ve been spinning our wheels since Shaky’s first visit to Tess on Feb. 22 when Tess called Dick and asked him to drop by the office, presumably to tell him about Shaky.

The following day, Sunday the 23rd, Shaky makes a stupid deal with McQueen (who’s getting out in 2 months anyway) to risk his parole for half a grand ($500, big money). Monday=Talking Heads. Shaky and Edison go to bed and Shaky brags about his plan even though we logically can’t quite figure out how it works. Tuesday=Talking Heads. Shaky and Edison wake up and Shaky brags some more (filling us in with information we already know). Wednesday=Talking Heads. We learn Tess didn’t tell Tracy (why not? didn’t he drop by? ships in the night?) Thursday=More talking heads. Johnny decides to do a background check on Shaky. Friday and Saturday=Annie.

Sunday Mar 1=Shaky stupidly goes to the police station and announces himself to Dick Tracy and the whole squad. Monday and Tuesday=Shaky visits Tess and basically tells her what he told Tracy on Sunday. Wednesday=Phone Tag (more ships in the night?). Thursday=Tess tells Tracy they have to talk (even though she asked him to drop by the office way back on Feb. 22). Today=Single silent panel of them talking (which is so solemn that it almost looks like a couple planning their divorce—awfully overly-serious for a couple who deal with crime and criminals every day of their lives). But at least they finally talked after two weeks. Ain’t communication grand?

This story is being stretched more than Reed Richards’ arms.

A one panel filler? Oh great.

Riffin…1- DT: Here’s lookin’ at you kid. BLONDIE: Here’s mud in your eye.

(I don’t think I should try any harder than Mike did)

Those who think they’ve got Tracy’s house all mapped out in their heads are acting mighty confused today.That’s the rear of the house,sliding doors leading out to a patio.Restaurants do not have sliding doors.Must say this was the last style I was expecting today.And that a sniper would have a perfect view,if there were one handy.This is like Wild Bill Hickok sitting with his back to the saloon door.

Someone above mentioned “Writer took the day off”…Actually it’s been months. Maybe recuperating from a creativity injection? Oh, and once again, Neil hits the nail on the head…Deep.

“Why must you steal?”——-“Because I like to steal”Audie Murphy in “NIGHT PASSAGE”(1957).

Be with us on Sunday,when Influence talks his way out of a traffic ticket.

So Tess you wanted to talk about something? Talking in a diner is nice and cozy and sort of private.

Here’s another little detail best left alone.I hope Dick doesn’t burn his hand,because he isn’t holding his cup by the handle.

is that their home or a restaurant? (referencing the doors here)

Location, location, location!

This issue has become surprisingly contentious. After looking at today’s one panoramic panel sans dialogue, comparing the view of Tracy’s crash through the back door posted by Pequod, and evaluating the similarities and differences, I have reached the point of needing some “disambiguation” (as Wikipedia likes to say). Since Mike has a pass today, there is no text to point the way. We rely totally on Joe’s always-fine artwork. I think Tracy and Tess have probably gone to a local coffee shop, despite having had some coffee at home. There is no lantern hanging beside the double doors as there was at Tracy’s home; the doors do not look like sliding doors even simplified (I concede an absence of hinges, but note especially the handles that seem far more suited to hinged double doors). And while the Tracy’s do seem to have a spacious house, the second big window (at viewer’s left) does not seem suited to a kitchen or even a home’s dining room. And there is no evidence here for the second story Tracy’s home does have, nor any bbq equipment. So, though not certain, I feel the preponderance of the evidence points to a local coffee shop with compatible architecture for its neighborhood. The most nagging issue left to me is, why would Tracy and Tess bother to go there when they had coffee at home?