Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 06, 2013

This . . . is creepy on so many levels.

Good morning all! Just as I guessed yesterday, Dick Tracy is the one who Stiletta wants “offed.” And again, it doesn’t really look like she is on Abner’s hit list.

Stiletta is so hot

Good morning all…

The artwork is fabulous

better (looking) have tried and failed, what makes us think for one second that this ugly pain in the rear would be so lucky.

He’ll bring his all, and he’ll fail, just like everyone since the early years of the depression has,

But outside of Dr. Ghote’s hypothetical Flattop clone walking out of the mists, I have to admit, this is the best of all pairings. And I can’t easily think of one better.

The new D.T team continues to amaze!

I do not understand why she wants to hire Kadaver instead of taking Tracy out herself. She came pretty close to it the last time.

Kadaver is really creepy. Mrs. Flattop is very happy with the contractor she has hired for this hit-of-all-hits, and Kadaver relishes the assignment just way too much….

So what would Joe do without cigarette smoke to give the atmosphere to so many of his panels? Love the second panel especially in black and white as the artist intended. Great job as always. Been then I have follow Joe since his days on E-Man.

The money just walks right in the door for the suddenly popular Kadaver. He’s probably thinking he can off Tracy and then when Stiletta returns to pay him off, he can off her. Only one flaw in this plan – trying to kill off Dick Tracy is a losing proposition. Just can’t be done.

And remember—Tracy is convinced Kadaver is dead—so there’s an added surprise of finding a “dead” villain holding your fate in his hands…

I don`t think Kadaver will be here for Christmas…

Wouldn’t Abner have been surprised if Stiletta had actually wanted him to kill someone we’ve never heard of! Another possible twist thugh, the Black Hearts might get annoyed at Abner accepting freelance work in addition to his continuing contract with them.

Mrs. Flattop has to be the hottest female villain in Dick Tracy history! She’s even hotter than Tess, Sparkle and Moon Maid! And she has courage, she’s not afraid to be alone in a room with someone as creepy and dangerous as Abner Kadaver!

Famous last words..\\//_

yes, but Hu is Dick Tracy.?

I will gladly accept your contract… have a seat..

:D

Is this Flattop Jr.‘s mother?? She seemed to be a law-abiding citizen in the 50’s. And if she is Flattop’s wife….how come there is a such a close resemblance??

ok.. who is this "pod person " impersonating stilldamatt? ;)

“Slipshod artwork”???? This is a comic strip, not a blueprint, and Joe’s artwork is top notch….that last frame today….brrrrr…….no less than GREAT!!!!

Also….I’ve read virtually every Dick Tracy strip, love Gould’s work, but this Abner Kadaver character has become my all time favorite…..he is like walking into a nightmare become real!

Well, Abner is kind of right at that respect. You are as great as the enemies or the perils you confront.Take the so called Greatest Generetion, for instance, no WWII and they would not be remembered as such, maybe just for overcoming the Great Depression, and then WWII had its part on that too.Or Dog Fights in History Channel: WWI and WWII shows were great, Korea and Vietnam were good, 6 Days war was so so, and the first Irak war was boring. And what is the glory in “piloting” a drone?

The woman in the Flattop Jr. story (1956) is Flattop’s sister. She tells Tracy that she raised Flattop’s boy, but failed, as he was too much to handle. Tracy returns to speak with her again, and she remarks that, “Being his Aunt, it was natural that I should raise Flattop after his father died.” She never mentions the boy’s mother. It is interesting that Skinny, the young woman Flattop Jr. murders, bears some resemblance to Stiletta. When Tracy is talking with the Aunt, Sam spies a portrait of (presumably) Flattop’s father hanging on the wall. A few strips later, we see a portrait of Flattop’s mother hanging on the wall. The tops of their heads are indeed flat.

Picked up one of my Li’l Abner books at random — a 1961 volume — and opened it to a character who looks a lot like Abner K., though he speaks in something of a Cockney accent. More loose-limbed, in a Jack Rickard sort of way, but if I were classifying, I’d call them cousins. His name’s Fagin (I just went and looked), and his face is rather more expressive as well, not unlike one of the Scragg boys.

Enjoying the heck outta this! I started back here on gocomics as far as their archives go (2001). I wish there was a place that had reprints of the old stuff from the 60s when I was a kid.

koff Suck up!

Is there any lingering doubt that the Dick Tracy comic strip, if it hasn’t already done so is on the verge of obtaining the greatness it once had??

I think it has already done so. In many ways, recent strips are the best ever in the entire history of Dick Tracy. Of course, they do have the advantage of building additional complexity onto the already complex characters that came over the last many decades, but they are also adding great original content in themselves.

I will be very disappointed if Dick Tracy doesn’t win the Harvey Award again next year, as much of a long shot as that would seem to be.

I wonder if Kadaver’s mission will be in the background lurking while other stories come and go for maybe a year.

We shall see, but I kind of doubt that Kadaver’s mission will be lurking in the background for long, particularly his contract on Dick Tracy. The whole Murder Mansion idea has been carefully set up for just that purpose, so I’m sure that something will happen to Tracy before long.

I’m not sure if the whole Apparatus contract will ever be carried out, though. Kavader is obviously gleeful about the Tracy hit, so that will distract him, and we know from past experience that that’s not likely to end well for Kadaver. Tracy always comes out on top in these situations.

Abner is so slick and cunning! And what a way with words! He gets Stiletta’s attention and then BAM he melts her heart with his high praise of Flattop.

I agree wholeheartedly. He’s super slick and cunning. We need no debate whether Flattop was really “Tracy’s greatest challenger” (probably not, as Gleeb just pointed out Kadaver’s only saying that to impress Stiletta, and it seems to be effective.

You think he won’t tell Tracy who he is? I’m not so sure about that. He is very confident and didn’t waste any time revealing himself to Mitchell. Of course, Mitchell wasn’t very challenging to capture. Kadaver will definitely want Tracy’s death to be “both picturesque and emotionally satisfying.” I agree with you there. It’s an ego thing.

This is not going to end happily for Kedavar. Next time, his apparent death may not be merely apparent.