Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for June 11, 2015

OMG!!! I’ve hinted, “predicted” and HOPED for this FOR YEARS!!! I freely acknowledge that I may very easily be mistaken or maybe it’s just wishful-thinking on my part…but, is this THE RETURN OF MR. BRIBERY???!

Bigg is singing sweetlyBasks in a golden glowBillion in a stack of barsA gaudy, glistening show.A rose serves as his confidantAn audience of oneRich beyond his wildest dreamsDeserves to have some fun.He’s King of Crime in TracytownOf vice, the lord and masterPossessing a rare Midas touchFeels shielded from disaster.Yet a rose is more than petalsBeware of those sharp thornsTake up with the devilYou’re bound to feel the horns.

Tell me that 14 isn’t Karat. That’s what they make bling out of!

Son of Mr. Bribery…?

The Gold’s on the Shelf, . . . no need to try looking again - in a Library . . .

He’s “booked” the Gold, a flash of ‘common sense’, chicanery and just plain robbery

No Face to See . . . Your Clue in 3 is Free . . .That’s a Hand / Rose gesture, … out ‘teasing’ - so flowery . . .

He fell from high . . . Up in the Sky . . .And though a little shaken, he;s stirred, though his back is somewhat Doddery . . .

Yet very much alive, having just used the Axelrod drive

And feeling now, like a Mr. Am on top, raising a “High Five” !

So, no need to really tell . . .

You already know too well . . .

His Cat and Sis’ remains, rot on in the Cemetery . . .

While Mr. Bigg thrives, on High Acclaim - under ‘real name’ Mr, B***ERY !

But beware the Clues that come with . . * EASEThey could be placed there simply to *Mislead (?)

Mike and Joe, love to goBack and forth like a toy yoyoOne day up, the next day downSeems they love to clown aroundA train, a boat, a fatal dipA friend, a mug, a phoney chickThe gold I’d never care as muchAs learning if Bill buys Rikki lunchPerhaps one day this all will endBut certainly till then we can dependThat MJ’ll make us twist and turnAnd beg for Johnny’s fate to learn.

.

What can I say, this is what you get on a slow news day..

For Eldo, you’ll never know how much I appreciate you!

Good morning guys!

Nice poetry today!

Bribery? But how could he survive that fall? And how did he manage to bring the gold in his office?

Syd, you’re going to put Stilldamatt out of a job!

Mr. Bigg is Mr. Bribery? These scenes from February 1966 are pretty compelling evidence that the answer is yes:

This could easily tie in to the return of Notta Chin Chillar and the Blackhearts’ great interest in the Space Coupe. Let me enjoy this while I can!

I meant to ask AnyFace yesterday if there’s a hidden message behind his avatar of stolen property!

Willy, thanks for giving me a headache at 1:20 am! LOL!

Aha! So the gold is in a big black building with hearts on it, obviously the Blackhearts’ building. Mr. Bigg with the rose is intriguing, but I’m still trying to figure out how he got the gold.

Well, I suppose all of that will have to wait while we go back to Honeymoon’s room to learn what it is that has her all upset.

Yesterday there was a discussion of Japanese phrases. So for today’s poetry, how about a haiku?Honeymoon distressed.Mysta’s hug provides comfort. Horns could be sprouting.

You have a valid point!

Hey Willy007 – — that was AMAZING, many thanks!!!

Wow, Willy007…What a summation! It is sad that my only comment can be,…“Yeah. What HE said!”

Or, as is briefly noted in the Wikia page for Mr. Bribery, “He was never explicity declared to be dead by any character or image.”

If Mr. Bigg isn’t Mr. Bribery, he’s someone who acts an awful lot like him.

Willy007 nice presentation, but…Mr Bribery, even if he survived was in prison, awaiting the eletric chair for his crimes. How did he get out?

The 14 could be a banker’s mark. But I’m betting it stands for weight … An international gold bar is usually 12.4 kg – we may be seeing a solitary 14 kg bar. Which is worth $5.5M

I too figure Mr. Bribery as DEAD….but this “Mr. Bigg” certainly has some of Bribery’s habits.

What a day to get here late.

Quite a remarkable bit of strip-history and analysis by Willy007, proposing that the "Mr. Bigg " of the Blackhearts and Mr. Bribery from the Gould era are one and the same!This doesn’t answer the question of how the gold came into his hands (whoever he is), though the unaccounted-for Axelrod may have played a key part in the surreptitious recovery. This could get interesting.

I was excited because Moon Maid was back with Honeymoon. But now Mr. Bribery is back too? Maybe? WoW!

Where’s the cigar-smoking cat?

The hand holding the rose and the voice singing to it would appear to confirm that Mr. Bribery is back. More delightful audacity from Team Tracy. While I guessed (hoped for) this on March 25, I figured it was wishful thinking..Bribery was an especially captivating villain in a decade chock full of them. While his surviving the fall from the Space Coupe was a long-shot, there are some important things to keep in mind before declaring that Team Tracy has done the impossible. Canon is safe..George Chin Chillar lowered the Coupe down to hover over the prison yard, so Bribery could be found. The roof of the building Bribery passes through is rather thin. It was flimsy enough for Bribery to pass through, leaving a perfect outline of his body, a-la Wile E. Coyote. The use of the “cartoonish” body outline is an interesting choice. Was Gould being playful near the line of irretrievability? No body is ever seen..The roof clearly broke his fall. Bribery is last seen falling from the Coupe. Once he crashes through the roof he is never seen again. He is never declared dead by any character or image. We see a crowd gathered in the shop, apparently looking down at something on the floor. One man is taking photographs. A man asks, “Who is he?” No one asks, “Did you call an ambulance?” Still, while strip strongly suggests that Bribery is dead rather than very badly injured, this is never declared by dialogue or image..We see a headline that reads, “Bribery and Gang-Style Ride Rock State Pen.” The headline is not “Bribery Dead” or “Bribery Killed in Drop.” It is remarked that the Chillars “dumped” Bribery, not ever that they killed him. The story shifts to Tracy and Smith chasing the Chillars..To survive such a fall is unlikely. It is certainly not impossible, especially in a comic strip. I imagine Bribery’s time in traction was considerable. Did he convalesce in Europe, only now returning to Tracyville to personally oversee the Blackhearts? Again, no body was ever seen. No statement was ever made declaring Bribery dead. Bravo to Team Tracy for (apparently) bringing back Bribery. And bravo to Willy007 for the excellent detective work and accompanying panels. Nice job Sydney Phillips, ave09 and Jonathan K..Long live Bribery!

The Blackhearts’ desire for a Space Coupe (to return to the Moon for some unknown reason? To recover the money still floating in space?); the earlier spoiler that a story was coming that featured Notta (and Purdy?); Honeymoon Tracy (who was kidnapped by Bribery and his sister Ugly Christine)….All the stars (and characters) are coming into alignment.

The original Bribery story was one of Gould’s longest, lasting two years or more and had many sub-plots and side excursions.

Noting Honey’s age now, we can imply that the original Bribery tale took place only about 12 years ago in Tracy time.

I am interested how the bloodthirsty and goulish Bribery (real name: Joie Packet) survived his fall and Willy’s explanation is compelling.

The original Bribery tale was considered to be one of Gould’s masterpieces (though personally at the time I got a little tired of Bribery and his madness). This is quite an exciting development.

Man, oh man today Dick Tracy has a lot of good stuff!I have way too much to do today to be here reading and contemplating all of this … but my mother says that we’ll take time for the things that are important to us … and … apparently …. oh well … I’ll have to come back around lunch time and see what else has been said. Thanks all of you D.T. fans! … apparently I can’t get enough of this …

Please understand that I mean nothing offensive by this. It’s mere curiosity. I’m just wondering where you find this much spare time. A government job, maybe? In any case, it made fascinating reading.

One possible explanation for Bribery’s survival of the fall may lie in the mystical powers of his head-shrinking henchman NahTay. Nah Tay while being chased by Sam during a blizzard leapt from a 3-story building and sustained no broken bones to Sam’s amazement. Nah Tay worshipped Moon Gods and mixed alcoholic potions said to give him great strength He was shown as being intoxicated after consuming his potions). Bribery was quite drunk (on one of the potions?) when he fell to his death. Did NahTay’s potion give Bribery the strength to survive the fall?

ok… if this is the office building of the blackhearts.. then not only must the MCU be full of idiots, but the entire tracyville pd needs to be fired! how much more OBVIOUS can a building be than one emblazoned with a enormous heart on it?!

If Bribery survived his fall, perhaps so did his sister Ugly Christine, who leapt into a smokestack.

Good morning Tracy fans.-——-Pequod77, SYDNEY PHILLIPS, and avenger09: wow 3 great poems today. Thanks.-——-Willy007: thanks for the excellent background info and comics. Thanks.-——-Much good input from many commentators today. Thanks-——-Be happy and healthy my friends.

Where is Adonis???

The Moon Governor was heavily featured in the original Bribery tale. We have seen the Moon Governor at Mysta’s grave so we know he is still around somewhere even if the Moon has been abandoned by the Moon People. Could we expect to see more of him in the upcoming story?

Another brilliant actor gone, but 93 is not too shabby!

Concerning the building’s security guard not noticing the gold, maybe the guard was, um, bribed! lol (BTW, notice the scene appears to be just before sunrise, matching the time frame of the 6 am crisis at Junior’s home. Just something to keep things busy while Junior wakes Sparkle up! hehe)

I thought I’d post this since it seems Honey Moon may be experiencing an increase of her Moon abilities as she goes through puberty.

Gold bars would not be 14K, they would be 24K, pure gold.

We have an interesting convergence of events happening, (at least apparently). Seemingly, Mr. Bribery, Notta and her brother, Honeymoon seems to be gaining moon powers, and I’m really suspicious that Venus and Apollo are some kind of space aliens. Plus, the Space Coupe got woven through this somewhere. Meliès, lest we forget him, also has an obvious space theme. It’s shaping up to be a dynamite summer!

Come to think of it, it almost had to have been made of a softer material for Bribery’s body outline to be as distinct as it was.-————————————-It was (sort of). The Wiley Coyote outline was made in the snow. Sure, it should have gone down with the broken roof, but I think it was just a gag by Gould.I mean, that whole story was pretty over the top: Bribery’s dancing, the cigar smoking cat, the Mushroom Lady with her man-eating plants, plus the shrunken head collection. (They were all featured in that story, weren’t they?)I think it was Gould’s version of a James Bond movie. We had a bizarre master criminal, bizarre henchmen, even a cat. (Bloefeld had a cat he stroked, Bribery had a cat who smoked…)

Look at Notta’s profile in a number of those panels Willy posted: the woman’s profile (especially with her mouth open and teeth showing) was that of a goat.I know she’s got a lotta followers, but they don’t include me.Horned alien hotties, yes; bearded goat women, no.I’m funny that way.

I don’t know what’s more exciting, the fact that so many great characters from the 1960s are reassembling for this story, or the all the fun comments people are posting!Thanks to everyone, but especially to Willy007 and Pequod77 for your great research and entertaining comments. The contributions of passionate and knowledgable fans makes following Dick Tracy so much more enjoyable.Like Neil Wick was saying, this is shaping up to be a bangup summer!

Could this be a son or some other eccentric family member (of Mr. Bribery)?-——————————-Maybe, but would BB-Eyes have recognized him, as he did when he met Mr. Bigg?

Thanks to Pequod, Sydney, Avenger, and Jonathan for the poetic contributions. They are all great and make this a very poetic day here in the comments.

And also, if Bribery were that drunk, between that and the blunt force trauma, he probably doesn’t remember much of anything from that night.

Another thought …

We’ve seen Purdy Faller’s defrosted, vegetative body and similar scientific revivals …

… was there anything/anyone in Europe which might have abetted Bribery’s recovery?

Dr. Kryos Freezedrei maybe?

sanitzining is spelled sanitizing to my knowledge!

Just discovered!!! Rare picture of Fred and Barney exercising their right to smoke while enjoying listening to Mayor LaGuardia reading the Dick Tracy comic strip over the radio! .

……….of course it’s Mr. Bribery! He’s a great character; but sure wish they’d bring back the cigar smoking cat, too! Meow!

What’s So SPECIAL About Apollo and Venus - in the Blackhearts Group ?

Like myself, some readers have been mildly ‘curious’ at the ‘possible’ deeper meaning of the statement Venus made on 3-26-15 below . . .i.e. (“Méliés, remember yourself.! You know why Apollo and I are different”)

I might be interesting to engage in a little ‘SPECULATION’ particularly, if Mr.Bigg IS confirmed as Mr. Bribery! (?)

Although there had never been any indication of a Private Life - these Characters, Apollo and Venus may be grown, privileged children of Ugly Christine.Alternatively, they could be Bribery’s (outside?) children, Miss Deal (his Secretary) as a mother is not impossible, She is seen hugging and “kissing” him directly on the lips (10-12-66*) ?He’s no ones image of the Macho type, but the scene opens a door ? And while she’s not in the Rikki class she does have an attractive (sexy?) figure ;- )Enough room for “speculation” . . .

And the ‘Off Spring’ of either, might fit ‘comfortably’ within the parameters of that rebuke Venus gave him ! ?

Hmmmm …

Skylight beneath the snow cover?

Potentially more forgiving.

Somewhat.

Willy, you’ve presented some great research today. Obviously, you put a lot of time into it. Many thanks for sharing it!

@Gweedo: you have many years to live before reaching 93 after all you’re only 39.

@avenger09: sad indeed that Christopher Lee has died. He was a great actor as was Ron Moody who also died today.

Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle!

I’m loving all this: the vast knowledge and poetry of longtime DT fans. Many threads coming together, and teases from Team Tracy having us all on edge. This is going to be quite an “electrifying” summer!

I just realized today – today’s strip doesn’t say which stolen gold bullion this is – from 1924 or from 2015.

Gweedo! We’re talking 39 in human years, not hound dog years!

I had just finished reading the original Mr. Bribery story a few months ago (it’s posted at the ilovecomix Directory archives).A very enjoyable story. When I get some time I plan on reading the strips that featured Bribery’s return.This brings up the point someone mentioned about Bribery crashing through a snow-covered roof. The strips reproduced here have a June date. Since the DT strips ran in “real time” there would be no snow on the roof during that time of year, unless the prison was located in Alaska or at some extremely high altitude.If Bribery’s cat makes a return, I would be willing to bet the cigar habit will be replaced with some other addiction. I can hear him saying something like “Oh, Kitty! I finally broke you of that cigar craving and now all you want is (insert new habit here).”

Thank you to Pequod77, AnyFace and Chris Sherlock for the compliments. My apologies if I left anyone out. So many comments today! We may surpass the comment records set during the Mysta stories.

@Neil WickThank you for the compliment. I was afraid I had missed someone in the midst of all the comments here today.