Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 30, 2016

Blaze Shot First~!!

.Good morning all!.It’s all happening at the local Suds and Duds today!

Since this strip not only confirms Flakey’s death, but that it also happened right after the last time we saw her alive, I’m reposting my death list with Flakey back in her original position, but with her name the only one boldfaced on the list (except for Venus because VENUS IS DEAD FISH DEAD!!!). I’ll post my final version of the list with all the names boldfaced tomorrow.

The moment of truth…..will she do it – or will she make like a clam? Will she wind up with her sister in the hereafter……..? We shall see……..

Wonder if Dick and Sam realize that they are speaking to the would-be assassin. At least this may explain why Blaze thought she had killed her. Well, I guess she did, but more indirectly than she thought.

The Unofficial GoComics Staton/Curtis Death ListAs compiled by boboscar, Tarry Plaguer, and AnyFaceNOTE: Names with a + were found dead or killed prior to the story start.+ Wormy & Thistledew (Reported dead in armory fire) 3/21/11Flyface 4/22/11The Fifth & Eddie Garcia (Caught in ’Thor’s Hammer’ beam weapon overload explosion) 4/25/11Earl (Flaky and Hot Rize’s innocent co-worker) 5/12/11Hot Rize (Asphyxiated in flour silo) 5/28/11Emma Parks (A.K.A. Ponytail Mk I) 6/14/11The 2 terrorists who tried to hire and double cross Morning Gloria 8/13/11Big Frost 10/20/11Apparatus Member (Killed by DoubleUp) 10/25/11 & fed to Tonsils 10/27/11FlakeyBiscuits 10/29/11, confirmed 5/29/16 (of a heart attack brought on by Blaze’s murder attempt)+ Sizzler Sitzes (Hired by Kadaver to kill Charles Adams A.K.A. Baron Clovis in a hit and run. Was then shot and killed by Kadaver to keep him quiet) 10/31/11 identified 11/9/11Cueball 1/31/12Mr. Levitz (Doubleup’s main henchman in his first story; later killed by Kadaver to get Doubleup off) 3/13/12+ Vincent Vinyl 5/5/12 confirmed 5/11/12The 3 supporting members of the Mumbles Quartet (Car bomb explosion arranged by Abner Kadaver under Panda’s orders) 5/20/12Lt. Teevo (Fed to Muerte Vine by The Mushroom Lady) 7/8/12 confirmed 7/18/12Davey Mylar (A.K.A. Mr. Crime Mk II) 7/14/12 tombstone 9/30/12Panda (Tripped and fell into Tonsils’ tank under smoke cover released by Abner Kadaver, then eaten) 7/15/12 confirmed 7/23/12+ Arthur Curry (Aquarium director) 8/22/12Bookie (Measles’ partner) 10/14/12Measles (Overdose) 11/10/12+ Stephen Baux’s fiancée 2/8/13 identified 2/27/13Simon Baux A.K.A. Sweat Box (Struck by train during car chase) 2/24/13Diet Smith Industries Guard (Supposedly killed by Bardoll) 6/25/13 (Uncertain; shown lying on the ground and called a “casualty” on 6/29/13, but unconfirmed)Bardoll 7/7/13 confirmed 7/16/13Hy Pressure 9/28/13 confirmed 10/8/13Drs. Sail, Ghote, and Flash Munroe? (Still alive last we saw them, and ambiguous that they’re dead, but it often sounds like Curtis thinks of them as dead) 10/18/13Bill “Shortcake” Mitchell (Apparatus member) (never confirmed, but implied) 10/31/13Miles Mycroft (Garroted by Silver Nitrate, then fed to Lena the Hyena) 1/26/14Mr. Kolossal 4/30/14Ed Rosato (Never confirmed, but implied) 5/14/14Tabby Angus 5/28/14The Butcher of the Balkans A.K.A. Henrik Wilemse (Punjab placed his magic blanket over him, sending the Butcher on to “fly with the Maji” where none have ever returned) 7/27/14Axel’s “crack combat troops” (Implied to have all gone the same way as The Butcher of the Balkans a la Punjab) 9/30/14Axel (Blown up by Dr. Kenyon’s unstable experimental explosive) 10/5/14Otis (Killed by Gruesome) 12/5/14Mrs. Flattop (Flattened by 70-pound Film Canister thrown by Sprocket Nitrate in self-defense) 3/1/15 confirmed 3/6/15Cork 4/29/15 confirmed 5/1/15Fontane 5/6/15 confirmed 5/12/15Jimmy Choo Shooz (Sucked into undertow at Lake Prachett) 6/4/15Méliès (Accidentally shot with 50 caliber bullet – Possibly in right eye – By Apollo) 8/23/15 confirmed 8/31/15Rocket Munroe & Apollo (They would’ve been fatally shot by 9/12/15, on 9/13/15 it’s implied Venus is the only one on that floor still alive, on 9/21/15, Rocket & Apollo are among those on that floor who are identified.)VENUS IS DEAD FISH DEAD!!! 9/22/15+ Vic Smith /John Cassaday 11/7/15+ Byron Orlock 11/16/15Freddy Capp 11/23/15The Hangman/The Brow’s Son/Alfred Brau, Jr. (caught and hanged in Tracy’s safety cable while trying to hang Tracy) 12/10/15

So Blaze did shoot at Flakey. That mystery is solved! But I can’t tell about other things going on here. Are Tracy and Sam trying to tell Blaze that they know she is the one who shot at Flakey Biscuits, wink wink? I gather they at least suspect her of it.

I have another question that I have not seen answered. Do we know why Notta Fallar wears a beard? Was that ever mentioned? I know we have some experts on Notta here and maybe they can tell us. Thanks.

Gweedo said,Good living Memorial day morning peace time warrior, Bill !-—————————————————————————-.Good morning Gweedo. I am officially putting comments regarding my military endeavors behind me for now. Memorial day is a day of remebrance of those that sacrificed their lives to keep the U.S. peaceful and safe from what could have transpired.

Stunning, Gweedo!

Doesn’t Tracy mean the ‘bullet’ was lodged in the seat? Not the ‘shell’?

I believe because her bullet did not enter Flaky’s body. The maximum they could charge her with is 3rd degree manslaughter or attempted murder. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Blaze will henceforth go straight. She implied to T-Bolt a couple of days ago that she longed to be back on her own to live an independent life.

Is it official? Sam stopped smoking

For anyone who’s interested …

This blog discusses the “Mysta” strip in considerable detail.

I called the “Rat Attack” a couple of days ago. If Blaze testifies she’ll be marked for life. Crime doesn’t pay!

How much do the police know about Blaze trying to kill Flakey? Since Blaze is a criminal and Flakey killed Blaze’s twin sister, the cops would be stupid not to suspect that Blaze is the one who shot Flakey, or shot at her rather.

Oh, Lizz loves detective work! She also knows high fashion. Wise enough to keep her lovely face free of whiskers, she tops off her ensemble with a spiffy hat. With legs so long and heels so high, Lizz catches crooks and makes ’em cry.

Thanks for the panels and Notta nostalgia, Willy007. I thought this one worthy of a repeat. Oh, I love Lizz’s fashion sense.With police having witnessed BB’s gun-play, with or without Blaze’s rat he is going away. I assume a failed attempt at murder that leads to death brings charges. Is Blaze really in the clear? Will she rat out Notta? Very interesting.

Blaze missed at close range? She should accept Tracy’s offer and strongly consider a career change.I still believe that VENUS LIVES

Now let’s find out if Blaze purposely made sure that Putty Puss’ tattoo showed during the porno film.

I for one would not have objected if Mike and Joe had postponed today’s strip for a tribute to our troops.

Today’s the day we stop and pauseTo remember those who fought for the causeSo many paid the ultimate priceBy becoming freedom’s sacrificeA debt to them we can never repayBut by our actions and the words we sayWe can ensure their sacrifice is not in vainBy remembering freedom is a blood soaked stain.

“Thank you for the history and the visual aids.”Very welcome, Night-Gaunt49.

No, her death has been indeed confirmed.

Aside from the last-gasp-of-breath scene on 9/22/2015, there was no confirmation of her death. Everything was assumed based on that Did Venus die or she just lost consciousness?I think VENUS LIVES!!!!

How I wish there’s an edit button on the posts….

More thoughts about chin beards – they came up in Dick Tracy fairly frequently in the late ‘40s thru until the Notta story.Just off the top of my head, and without checking dates, in the late ’40s, we had the second appearance of Shoulders. At one point, he was trying to fence hot jewelry, and the crook in question was named “Beardsly the Fence” – he had a chin goatee quite similar to Notta’s.Then, in the late ‘50s or very early ’60s, we had the appearance of a little baby boy who had a chin beard, and his crazy grandmother forced his mother to abandon him. (It turned out the mother, Fresh Upp, was a widow of a distant cousin of B.O. Plenty.) At one point, the folks at HQ were trying to think what to call the baby, and Lizz said "Well, we certainly won’t call him ’Beardsly’", or words to that effect. They ended up calling him “Little Boy Beard”. For days and days, everybody made a big deal about the fact that this little tyke had a goatee. A corn flake company paid big bucks to use his image in an advertising campaign, until his crazy aunt arrived on the scene and set his beard on fire – but of course, it grew back.There were other characters with pronounced goatees, too, but I can’t remember just who.Gould seems to have been fascinated by unusual chin beards. I haven’t got a clue if that means anything ,or not. Maybe he just liked to draw them.

Jeepers, detective!It’s like you read my post from yesterday—

But I am nearly as shocked as Blaze to hear Tracy claim that Flakey Biscuits died of a heart attack! I reconstruct the (to me) most probable scenario thusly: Blaze intended to shoot Biscuits with that suppressed (silenced) pistol, and did indeed fire at her—but must have missed! Flakey, on the other hand, with her poor diet, excess weight, and extreme fear, had a heart attack on the spot and died. The troublesome loose end in my reconstruction is that the police CSI guys apparently never found any bullet hole or bullet in the car. Could Blaze’s poor aim have sent the bullet out an open window? And did she police her own brass in the front seat?Maybe I’m just trying too hard to understand what really happened and am overthinking it….

—and said this today just to prove me wrong and spite me! Well, Blaze is still in a pickle. She can either clam up and just go along with what Tracy said, or she can tell the whole truth and face the music…..

There’s some question as to what the MCU knows about Blaze. Recently I looked back at the Mr. Crime storyline and there’s a point just before he dies that Dave Mylar told Blaze that he had either altered or destroyed her criminal records so that she could do anything she wanted now. Since then, Blaze has largely been on the edge of things, like her involvement with Mr. Bribery, and now with Notta Fallar. So, I think that if she want’s to go straight (you should pardon the double meaning there) there probably isn’t much they could hold her on. On the other hand they could be helpful in getting her re-established on a law abiding course.

I think there is a tendency in comic strips & books to make it appear that a character has died. Sometimes the writers do even say that the character is dead but as we can see death is seldom final except in real life. Look, Mumbles, Flyface, Fifth, BB Eyes, and Bribery were all thought dead at some point only to be brought back in unusual ways. I don’t think leaving a death as vague is the way to kill off someone you really want dead. Despite what Mike Curtis says now he left it open to change his mind later. It really wouldn’t surprise me to see the Space Coupe 3 return some day. Writers change their minds all the time.

Let’s start a write in campaign. Bring back Venus!

Thank you for the reminder of how Davey erased any trace of Blaze’s involvement with… ? ?

I’d have to go back and look at that. He might have erased her from the gang’s records, but I don’t think she’s ever been arrested or convicted of anything.

Give me a break, if they had any evidence she would be under arrest right now. No way in Hell she would say anything, even in the old strips no one knows who shot at Flakey Biscuits.