Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 06, 2016

Far better late than never, Specs begins to glean the scoreMendoza has a hostage, a detective and what’s moreSeñor Wunbrow and the Russian, also close at handDJ plots an ambush. Deadly rock fall would be grand.Through stolen magic spectacles a line thin as a razorDiscernable on the rock face, pin-pointed with a laser.Mendoza’s boys take aim and fire. Look out down below!Such treachery buys infamy that none should ever know.Are Ivanov and Wunbrow buried deep beneath rocks?Alive or dead? Breathing or not? A twist of fate that shocks.Elsewhere in hot Havana DJ chats with Ace of SpadesDuplicitous, conniving, and mendacious are their trades.Dirty deeds are done dirt cheap, dishonesty the glueOnce Specs serves his purpose days of breathing shall be through.What of Spicy Condiment, the apple of his eyeShall she make a fortune or die in the by and by?

DJ and Little Notting are actually in cahoots! This makes things even more interesting!

It’s all connected~!!

Aside from having a multi-talented specs, X-ray Specs has another talent — to be at two places at the same time. He uses his glasses on top of a hill and then uses his laser pointer from a distance, all happening at the same time.I thought DJ runs the Cuban operation of The Apparatus. It turns out that he is just available to do the job. Spicy will now regret having left a calling card to The Apparatus. Bright girl that Spicy.Thanks Pequod.

It is now time for Wunbrow and Ivanov to use their Wrist Wizards to pulverize those falling rocks.I think Specs and Spicy will be sent back home alive. The Apparatus still has a use for Specs’ talent

That tattoo of DJ’s is respelling itself yet again. Now, “sucio” has become “succio.”

More proof Specs really IS stupid.

Wunbrow & Ivanov dead? I’m not ready to believe that yet. And (as we all know from decades of reading DT) DJ should not count his chickens before they’re hatched!

.Good morning fellow DT fans!.Nice poetry again today Pequod.

Maybe I missed it before, but is this the first mention of the Ace of Spades and the involvement of The Apparatus in the Cuban caper?

Wunbrow and Ivanov are buried under the rocks?That was the plan, but has Specs smartened up enough to give the gunman a fake target?The only way he and Spicy can get out alive is if they turn themselves in to the law.

OK, “falling rocks bury”….. that description, if it doesn’t leave them dead, sure leaves them down for the count in terms of helping Tracy…..

Thanks Pequod…for the Intelligence…

Now, you KNEW this was coming, right?

If this isn’t cleared up soon, the Rolling Stones Cuba concert might be cancelled!

DJ looks much like the “Dark” Beast

Both in open air and DJ’s lair, we have a sweet Sunday strip from Team Tracy. Loving the “goggle vision,” as Specs scopes out the fault in the cliff, rather than in himself. As all can see in figure 3, having a cliff drop in unexpectedly is worse than the in-laws. DJ could use some fresh air. Smoke gets in your eyes but what DJ has planned for Specs is a crying shame. I wonder if DJ and Diet smoke the same brand stogie. Best get back to the city, this hike is bad for the health.

Thanks to 22ph, Ray Toler, Gweedo, cpalmeresq, Neil Wick, Night-Gaunt49, Vista Bill, Willy007, abdullahbaba999, Chris Sherlock, Jonathan K. and JPuzzleWhiz for the kind words. Very much appreciated!

Gweedo mentioned,I guess you can’t hurry when new shoes for Comet come first !-———————————————————————-.Alas, Gweedo. Comet needs more than new shoes, I fear. Whatever is ailing Comet is beyond my abilities to cure the problem. Shadow is filling in nicely. .’mawning, Gweedo.

Though the current version of the strip hasn’t been casualty-free, there were a lot of random deaths during the Gould era.

Case in point …

Skinny.

I’m sure some “Good Guys” have fallen in the line of duty as well, though the only one who springs to mind is *Groovy Grove," and that was on Max Allan Collins’ watch.

Speaking of Groovy Grove …

… Whatever became of his daughter, Tinky?

If this isn’t cleared up soon, the Rolling Stones Cuba concert might be cancelled!

Is that the one sponsored by Rolling Rock Beer?

……………………………………………………….

Here’s a few pics of Tinky, which I’d meant to apply to the above posts …

Not to make Tracy too much of a soap opera strip, but I could easily see Tinky returning – Likely from boarding school – To reconnect with step-mom Lizz.

It’s also not that much of a stretch to imagine that a relapse of her blindness might lead to a Smith Industry’s research program, even a callback to the X-Ray Specs and anti-migrane technology.

Don’t recall what her age was relative to Honeymoon, though such things tend to shift anyway.

And another thought …

In-story, Tinky was said to be a fan of Vera Alldid’s “Invisible Tribe” – Depending on where her age settles, I could see her as a vehicle towards redemption/romantic interest for him.

Redemption arcs can be a lot of fun.

I knew those gangsters couldn’t be trusted! And doesn’t DJ look like the offsprng if Wolverine and the She Hulk?

I think the “fig. 1; 2; 3” labelling suggests that what we see in those panels (and, BTW, Specs pointing with his laser should be considered part of “fig. 2” and hence is not doubling him up in “fig. 1” even though both are shown in a single Sunday panel) is The Plan, the way the baddies want it to go down, not what has actually transpired. Hence, after a moment of shock initially that Wunbrow and Ivanov had been killed off so abruptly, I now think they have more likely somehow survived, even if they are temporarily out of commission. We do see DJ’s easily-bought treachery, however, and now know that he intends to betray Specs (and Spicy, too, I should think)….

Gweedo in his infinite wisdom asked,If Shadow were a girl would her name be Flicka ?-—————————————————————-.Never gave that a thought, Gweedo! Comet will be back. I need time to get some other things taken care of before I cope with Comet’s problem. I suspect a hardware failure.

……wouldn’t be all that surprised if X-Ray ends up having something to do with Tracy getting saved, perhaps because he figures out it’s HIS only chance, too. And yeah, gotta wonder why with 10 billion, the Apparatus even gives a damn….

Far better late than never, Specs begins to glean the score

Mendoza has a hostage, a detective and what’s more

Señor Wunbrow and the Russian, also close at hand

DJ plots an ambush. Deadly rock fall would be grand.

Through stolen magic spectacles a line thin as a razor

Discernable on the rock face, pin-pointed with a laser.

Mendoza’s boys take aim and fire. Look out down below!

Such treachery buys infamy that none should ever know.

Are Ivanov and Wunbrow buried deep beneath rocks?

Alive or dead? Breathing or not? A twist of fate that shocks.

Elsewhere in hot Havana DJ chats with Ace of Spades

Duplicitous, conniving, and mendacious are their trades.

Dirty deeds are done dirt cheap, dishonesty the glue

Once Specs serves his purpose days of breathing shall be through.

What of Spicy Condiment, the apple of his eye

Shall she make a fortune or die in the by and by?