Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 26, 2014

Joe and Mike just get better and better … and GoComics finally changed the Harvey Award heading!!!

Good morning fellow DT fans…

Isn’t modern technology marvelous. If Tracy had that when he was at the Science Museum, he could have detected Johnny Nothing/The Blank instantly and saved himself from needing to hide in the submarine and the airplane!

I knew Tracy would recognize Gruesome. Why did he agree to be in a play exposing himself?

Good morning VistaBill, davidf42, Gweedo and other fans. What Tracy do now? Call for backup or go it alone? Y’all have a blessed day.

Morning, Tracyville!I imagine he intends to call for MCU backup and wait to apprehend the suspect in his dressing room after the play is over. But his plans will go awry when the actually body is discovered in the window seat.

This is cool, and it’s fun that we were discussing this very possibility yesterday. There’s one thing I’m not getting: if Tracy sent a sample of his voice over to be compared, wouldn’t the identifying photo sent back be of his old face? How does anyone at NCIC know what Gruesome’s new face looks like? Or, if Tracy is sending them a sample of how he looks now, how does that help, when his new face is not on file anywhere? But, this is still great stuff from Team Tracy!

Y’all have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Good questions there, Ken. Maybe Team Tracy will answer in the next day or so.

Sorry, but I call cowpies on this strip today. Ok i can accept that tracy recognizes Gruesome’s voice.. i got no issues with that. However, unless tracy’s wrist wizard records EVERY sound in his vicinity 24/7 then how can he check NCIC records for a voiceprint match? And HOW does an image of the plastic surgery “improved” gruesome come up on his wrist wizard?

Unless it’s an image that tracy TOOK of gruesome while he was onstage?

If Neil will forgive me, here’s an “insightful” viewing of recent “developments” - through ‘Lighter Hearted’ Eyes (??) ;-)

Tenuously, one might observe that the Authors have really “picked up” SPEED on the PACING - this past week . . . Like again noticing, that ‘bare-foot’, flat on the pedal - as the Nitrate’s car ‘shot off’, up in the Air, and over the Lake.

You first ‘sensed’ it might come, after (those who ‘cared to’, and ‘counted’) the 27th new “expression” on Gruesome’s face. (Or a Vitamin ‘Head’, right behind him at the tape, ‘clocking in’ at an impressive 26)

You then, really got a shot of adrenalin when Janitor Otis asked for his $hare - and he got it, ‘faster-than-the-eye-could-follow’ - astonishingly, all we saw was a filled Body Bag - swiftly leaving the room. Talk about speed ! ?

Just like this morning, Tracy seemed ELECTRIFIED - as he dashed away (don’t mind, he hadn’t gone far) just behind the curtain, but you could see the ‘Crackle’ of Excitement all around him ! He hadn’t been this ‘Animated’ since he heard (Mar. 2011) that Dicky Locher was (somehow) becoming an ‘Auditorium’, Junior was morphing back to a ‘familiar’ (facial) appearance, and Pat Patton was returning as Chief !

As Mike choreographed this relatively quicker speed (and Joe’s pen moved in unison), “thoughts” of Mount Rushmore quickly faded, and you might’ve ‘wondered’, for a second or so, could this, really be Dick Tracy ?

No, not Ally Oop ! More quickly forgiven, for thinking - Jack Robinson ! ?

Gruesome is an actor on stage, thus, he is projecting his voice all the way to the back row. Tracy recorded his voice and captured his image with the handy Wrist Wizard. It will be good to have Gruesome’s new mug on file, in case he escapes the theatre. Good data to have if an APB is issued. Tracy is on the case, as another “relaxing” evening turns into a night on the job. The tension mounts in another fine story. That Wrist Wizard can do everything but baste a turkey!

This is the pace I’ve been looking for! Bravo, Team Tracy! Not to whip a dead horse, but four years ago, can you imagine these three panels appearing in the same 3 month period? Not to mention the different depiction of the main character! I’d bet my life that even Stilldamatt prefers today’s Tracy over Wimp Tracy of yesteryear.

I feel sorry for Vitamin – if Tracy captures Gruesome, the play will be closing on opening night.--Maybe Gruesome can get one of those probation deals they give pro athletes, so he can continue to star in the play, if he promises to be good and not kill any more janitors.

.Let’s Go Tracy….don’t let Gruesome time to grab a hostage..

I haven’t been able to follow the strip everyday, so I have likely missed something, but Tracy’s comment that"that actor isn’t christopher cushing" confuses me. I assumed that “christopher cushing” was Gruesome’s “real” name. Is there an actual actor named “christopher cushing” in Tracy’s world that Gruesome has been trying to impersonate?

Did Tess have a botox job on her lips today?

I have been wondering why the actual murder of Otis was not shown. Did Gruesome shoot him? break his neck? stab him?

I understand that TMS probably does not want the strip to become too graphic but it is a crime strip and showing the murder would not be any different than on a police program on television.

We know that Gruesome is a murderer now but not showing the murder does not instill hate or disgust for him—it only makes him more creepy. His name is Gruesome. Did he get that name because of the gruesome way he murdered his victima? If so, what was gruesome about Otis’ murder? It was a murder but did not seem particularly gruesome to me. Perhaps there will be more murders in Gruesome’s wake which will be more indicative of his name.

Still, I am enjoying this story and appreciate the quickened pace in the last couple of days.

Maybe all of those skulls in Sweatbox’s family tomb were actually remains of where Gruesome stashed his victims.

Here’s a Rogue’s Gallery image of Gruesome that appeared after the showing of the film, “Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome.”

Sound Questions today, on Tracy’s observation (panel 2) and on that Face projected from his Wrist Wizard (panel 3)

. The latter first. Believe we’ve been a tad quick to make the assumption that what’s projected is a FACE received by Tracy in return from the NCIC Network ? It’s quite possibly not, but rather, just a part of his recording which included the voice.

I’d assume, what was really sent for an I.D. was a VOICE which turned out to be that of “known” criminal Gruesome. Problem was Tracy wasn’t ‘seeing’ Gruesome on Stage, he was seeing Boris Karl ! . Some may recall Sam had told Tracy that escapee Gruesome had plastic surgery

.. Neil always seems to be “right there” - at the Elbow, (to defend the Status Quo?;-) But I’ll happily agree (in part) with his ‘accommodating’ supposition - on this occasion. Tracy is likely there, as he talks, looking at the IMAGE which was part of his recording, it will no doubt be needed by the Police and the MCU to have before them, as the NEW face they’ll all be Looking for !

The word “Actor” in the context of panel 2, is a bit misleading.. More accurately, it could’ve been something more like . . . “That’s a hauntingly familiar voice, but that’s not the person that goes with it”. But long and cumbersome, given the space available for text. No great harm, I’d suggest, give it a ‘Pass’

Tracy was very quick on the uptake today, and his NCIC records-check went through quickly, too. I think Tracy will let the performance conclude before making any move. Let us just hope that Gruesome doesn’t sniff out the likely dragnet before he can be captured!

Isn’t it pleasant here today! Happy Turkey Day to all and may all you old coots get a visit from Kandikane – sugar-free, that is!

I feel that is too much guessing for us, the readers, to have to be doing. Wherza 4th panel when ya need one !?!?

I’m hoping that the answers to the guessing will come out tomorrow or the next day. It didn’t strike me as at all unusual that Tracy had a recording of Gruesome’s new face. As others have said, he probably recorded that when he recorded the voice. As for why he’s projecting it on the wall, I think that’s for our benefit more than anything.

Again, I wish I could write more comments about a few things today, but I’m running short on time.

I guess he would’ve gotten caught even if he hadn’t killed Otis.