Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 29, 2013

Unexpected!

Good morning fellow DT fans…

Like a three ring circus here! Ring One: Doubletalk and Hy Pressure (with new hairstyle). Ring Two: Mumbles and Dr. Ghote. Ring Three: (Answer corrrectly and win a prize!).

Great art! Great story! Didn’t see that coming!

Hi, and goodbye to the Doc!

Happy Sunday everyone!Tomorrow I’m finally going home from the hospital!Can’t understand why Mumbles is killing ol’ Ghote. He couldn’thelp it if Mumbles is a violent, dumb goon.

I wonder if Diet will immediately take off in the coupe? Thereby ruining the plans of Melies, Sail & Co.

Looks like the Ghote is headed for that big hootenanny in the sky. (No space coupe needed!)

Whoa! Anybody see that coming? (Mumbles really was the last person Ghote expected to see!)It’s amazing the tension and surprises Team Tracy’s been able to keep going in this story.Great art again, especially the first two panels, with the Space Coupe hovering above the farm, and with Mumbles and B-B Eyes silhouettes in the lower left of panel two. (Literally, foreshadowing!)I’ve never enjoyed a daily comic strip as much as I’m enjoying Dick Tracy!

And good morning, VistaBill, and all the rest of the Tracy fans who couldn’t wait!

Ghote was working for “Moonface” & the Consortium, but Mumbles is working for the Apparatus.

Time for a reunion down on Wheaton’s farmSpace Coupe drops in from above causing some alarm.Méliès instructs Sputnik, “It’s time to make your move”Sail and Flash prepare to dash, Diet Smith may not approveOf thugs who covet the Space Coupe out in this lashing rainThose with eyes for this prize enter a world of pain.Ghote spies Mumbles with B. B. Eyes, raises hands in greetingMumbles sends an unwrapped gift, which makes the meeting fleeting.Zy Ghote clutches at his wound. Will the next breath be his last?If Sail’s to prevail in stealing the Coupe he’ll need to act and fast.

I had been wondering how Mumbles would react when finding out about Ghote’s resurfacing…

The art and story are fantastic today, as always. Things are getting hot and heavy at the Wheaton farm!Great poem, Pequod77, thanks. Your contributions are always a highlight, even if I forget to say so.

Mumbles shot Dr. Frankenstein!? Didn’t see that coming.

I read the entire Cloning of Mumbles story the other day. Mumbles and Ghote were partners in crime, but they didn’t part company on the best of terms.

Apparently Mumbles wants to go to the Pen

So how is it that Tracy and Sam (first panel) were not the first ones to the door to welcome Dr. Ghote. They must be close enough to eye-witness the transaction. Certainly so, If Moonface can ID Ghote from his remote viewpoint!Hope Diet has closed the hatch.

It certainly looks like Mumbles is the perpetrator of the BLAM and I’m sure he has the motive but the short could possibly have come from BB Eyes. Seems unlikely but you never know what is going to happen in this strip. Anyway, it seems that the secret of how Mysta came to be walking around in the present day has now permanently gone. Whatever she is, there’ll never be another.

the shot not the short

Well, golleee! Now there’s a twist. The muzzle flash illuminating Mumbles’ face is all we see of the shooing, but given who is where down on the farm, the most reasonable assumption is that Mumbles just gut-shot Zy Ghote. Not nice.Sam and Tracy seem next closest after the Apparatus team of Mumbles and B.B. Eyes; they may be exchanging gunfire next. The Consortium boys, Flash and Stim Sail, seem to be farther away and may be late to the party, though they will still have favors to exchange. Team leader Méliès is hanging back, a prudent move by a veteran assassin. We are left hanging for the moment as to the whip work of Doubleup and toasted formerly Hy, now distinctly Low, Pressure…..

Crikey! First Pressure gets whipped to death, and now Dr. Ghote is the 2nd fatality. Or is he? The last panel will keep us in suspense for at least another day. And what does Diet have in mind for our favorite blonde in boots? Stay tuned, kids, this is getting good!

Ghote & Diet scenes, now Ghote mini-reunion w/ Mumbles. Consider this reader SATISFIED.

Second row, second picture: it seems that 2 peoples are going out the Space Coupe, so unless Diet set up some protective devices, the Space Coupe will be taken by Spoutnik.

What motivation would Mumbles have to kill Ghote?

Why is doctor Ghote so anxious to find MM? If he dies, we may never know the truth about MM.

The shot could have come from elsewhere and it could be Mumbles is the victim.

Mumbles plays a major role in the Tracyverse. Like BB Eyes, Abner, Mrs. Flattop, and Doubleup, Mike and Joe aren’t going to waste them. It’s my guess that the minor baddies like the Elvis groupies and Bardol that catch the lead. Jus’ thinkin’ out aloud.

No shortage of nogoods, anyway. Is everybody here? Let nobody escape, BWA-HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Safest prediction is that Ghote’s wound is mortal, but he’ll survive long enough to gasp out the full truth about Moon Maid as his dying words. Ghote has a past history of being a crook, but in this story often seemed to be trying to redeem himself while still hanging out with the wrong crowd. The combo of that and apparently finding a way to resurrect the dead, and he might as well be wearing an April Fools tag on his butt, only instead of saying, “Kick Me” it says, “Kill Me”.

Mumbles shoots Zy Ghote as he exits the Sparkle Plenty in search of Mysta Tracy. Did I miss anything?.Ghote only appeared interested in redeeming himself (whatever that means) when he was in the presence of Tim Sail. Once reunited with Smith (whom I like to call Dietrich), it looked like Ghote was back to his mumbling, bumbling lies..I hope there were, in fact (whatever that means in a comic strip), two Ghotes; else, Mysta’s secret has just gone to the grave..boboscar: We can certainly hope that Ghote “lives” long enough to spill the beans about Moon Maid, but that would be a rather cheap “plot device” and, of late, I don’t think there have been any cheap plot devices used in this strip. It also looks like a rather close range shot; I don’t see how Mumbles could have messed up and left Ghote alive..Or that Mumbles would have wanted to have left Ghote alive..If there is a cheap shot going on, it may be this: Who, how, and why Moon Maid is with us may never be told!

Joe, Mike, Shelley, Shane and Jim have created the best syndicated adventure strip in 2013 !!! BRAVO !!!

I love Tracey’s hat in the 2nd panel. Makes me want to run out and buy one. It’s a great look on him.

Looks like Ghote got ganked, but it’s not certain.

Also, do we know for a fact Hy Pressure is now dead? Did I miss a panel or were we still at the part where Double Up was getting ready to kill him?

JPuzzleWhiz: Re: Doubleup and Pressure. Not sure how high-triggered Doubleup is, but I could imagine Pressure blurting out, “You have no idea what’s in there!”.Or, “You think you can do a better job? Okay, you go in there!”.On the other hand, re: the tsull2121 spoiler of four going to buy the farm, we may well be half way there!

DT has gun in hand he will surly snuff out a bad guy or two here. BB eyes and mumbles are in plane sight for DT or Sam to shoot them. ( I hope, I hope, I hope) I am also hoping that Melies get taken out, that guy creeps me out! Dr. Ghote is not all that of a great loss, but when it is all said and done I bet that there will be a big pile of bodies out at the Wheaton farm!! awesome story! awesome story!

I still think Smith is going to be among the casualties. I fully expect him to get shot – though he may be allowed to live afterwards. (Among other things, Ghote may have delivered Mysta’s secret to him).But for now, it certainly appears that Smith has back-stabbed Tracy in this part of the adventure..And Mumbles may have more against him than he had against the old Ghote..The artwork Pequod77 shared with us yesterday makes it clear that Moon Maid is here to stay. But Mike and Joe continue to make it clear that they are not going where Gould originally took the character and storyline..This may well be the last flight of the Sparkle Plenty and its captain..On another note: I am kind of sad to see Ghote go. Dick Tracy has had, and is famous for, ugly-as-sin baddies and thugs. Ghote represented a new kind of bad guy, both extremely good looking and quite possibly super-intelligent..(So did Bardoll).Some character development here and Tracy might have had a really devilish villain to deal with…

Thus endeth the medical career of Dr Ghote…..

Has everyone forgotten that Ghote was supposed to make a Diet Smith double, clone, or whatever it is?

I believe that you might be correct. JPuzzleWhiz!

Will the secret of Mysta’s reappearance die with Dr. Ghote? Maybe… maybe not. We still do not know the details of his conversation with Diet Smith.

Ken in Ohio: While I respect that deathbed confessions are a common plot device in detective mysteries, it is my opinion that they do cheapen the story – considerably. I suppose my lack of respect for deathbed confessions stems from their letting the detective off the hook – just wait for the crook to kick the bucket and he’ll spill the beans!

It’s a real treat to see the Space Coupe, and today we get three different vantage points in three excellent panels. Friday’s two-panel format provided a powerful portrait of the Coupe arriving. Long ago resigning myself to having seen the last of the Space Coupe, it has been a real pleasure to see it back in action again. December’s wild ride ended with the mystery of Moon Valley, destroyed and abandoned. Would-be Coupe pilot Bardoll never got off the ground until Tracy gave him a ride off the roof. Now the Coupe has landed in a hornet’s nest of danger. Sweet! Applause to Team Tracy.Thanks for the kind comments, 60sFan, Willy007 and Gweedo. Much appreciated.

I think Ghote already told Diet Smith the truth of Mysta’s return, considering the way Smith was feeling he had to ‘make things right.’ I’m sure he didn’t tell anyone how he did it (whatever ‘it’ was), but, maybe a few years from now, somebody will find his notes (like that copy of “How I Did It” in “Young Frankenstein”).

Crimestoppers: In some places the DA is called the Circuit Attorney as in St. Louis.

Time for a reunion down on Wheaton’s farm

Space Coupe drops in from above causing some alarm.

Méliès instructs Sputnik, “It’s time to make your move”

Sail and Flash prepare to dash, Diet Smith may not approve

Of thugs who covet the Space Coupe out in this lashing rain

Those with eyes for this prize enter a world of pain.

Ghote spies Mumbles with B. B. Eyes, raises hands in greeting

Mumbles sends an unwrapped gift, which makes the meeting fleeting.

Zy Ghote clutches at his wound. Will the next breath be his last?

If Sail’s to prevail in stealing the Coupe he’ll need to act and fast.

“What’d he say?”

Mumblespeak Translator: He said, “Hey, you! What’s the rush?”

“What’d he say?”

Mumblespeak Translator: He said, “Doc Ghote? Well, I’ll be…”

“Ouch! That gunshot was loud! What’d he say?”

Mumblespeak Translator: He said, “Good to see you!”