Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for July 20, 2016

.Good morning guys!.Clean sweep, Rikki! On to Abner in London now?

Rikki is very efficient.I guess the death list needs some updating.

Something about the structure of that name rings bells..

“Cheater” … something-something.

Cheater Gunsmoke was a villain in the Dick Tracy cartoon show from 1961.(No, I didn’t remember. I recognized the name and Googled him.)

Jim in CT said, 1 day ago

Reminds me of the “Weird-Oh’s” from the 60’s, cartoon monsters driving goofy cars with giant slicks in back. One was an outhouse on wheels, another a coffin, you get the idea.Wacky Races:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESi7uGMNaMs

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 10/27/11Flakey Biscuits 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 10/8/13Bill “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 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) 12/10/15Cheater Gunsmoke and his driver (crushed to death by Rikki Mortis’ special car) 7/19/16

Here’s a video of the Cheater Gunsmoke episode from The Dick Tracy Show. We never saw his face until now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn7yFyQpGhs

Well, there goes my guessing Cheater Gunsmoke as being the head of any future crime syndicates. I’ve done it twice in the Curtis/Staton run. Cheater, we hardly knew ye!

Thus ends the crime career of Cheater Gunsmoke. Now THAT is a name I’d be interested in knowing the origin of.

Also whoever ordered the hit on the aforementioned Mr. Gunsmoke evidently knows how to hold a grudge.

Maybe Rikki’s killing spree will include OTHER obscure Tracy villains that haven’t been used in years or seen outside the cartoon.

By the way… I seem to recall mike saying that PHISHFACE was going to return.. I guess that story is several months away at best

Excellent rendering of the crushed car by Joe Staton.

Perhaps I’m forgetting something. Do we know who hired Rikki/Abner to do this hit?

Yes, I immediately thought of Chester. I don’t think they ever explained Chester’s injury on the show, but the showrunners did this so that Chester would always be around the office to talk to (for exposition reasons) when Sheriff Matt Dillon came in. Otherwise, the Sheriff should have been out patrolling while the Deputy was manning the office, and vice versa.

Little-known (and uncredited) fact — cartoon legend Mel Blanc voiced the “Cheater Gunsmoke” character in the 1961 Tracy shorts…

The episodes with Chester were all black-and-white, and about 2/3 of them were in the original 30-minute format, so most people have only seen the color shows with Festus as the deputy.

Cheater Gunsmoke & the Dick Tracy Cartoon show was like a Hanna Barbera Cat & Mouse cartoon with Cops & Robbers chasing each other around in circles…I remember watching it on the old B&W TV..

22ph said: “I guess the death list needs some updating.”JPuzzleWhiz replied: “If and when they’re pronounced dead.”Seemed like a pretty safe bet so I went and updated it anyway. If I’m wrong, I’ll repost the death list with their names no longer on it.

Hey, BobOscar!Once it’s been confirmed in-strip, I’d like to request that – for specificity’s sake – cause of death be ammended to "Crushed to death by Rikki Mortis’ special car, The Vampire Mechanique …… or however it’s spelled.Sure thing, but unless it happens tomorrow (when I repost the list with all names boldfaced, not just the latest additions), I won’t repost the death list until the next time it needs an update (whether to take a name on or off the list).And it’s just “boboscar”, I don’t need any capitalization although I respect yours, AnyFace.

I have my own theory concerning the character of Cheater Gunsmoke from “The Dick Tracy Show”:He was the only “made for the show” villain to appear in the cartoon series. Though Chester Gould did not create him, there is some speculation as to whether Cheater was actually supposed to have been an animated caricature of Gould, his true identity (in the cartoon) forever hidden by a cloud of cigar smoke.Note that they had the same initials (C.G.) and that “Cheater” and “Chester” are but a single letter apart from each other. Also, Gould was originally from Oklahoma, which is close enough to Texas to make Gunsmoke’s cartoon accent an appropriate one.Of course, the ‘Chester Goode was Marshal Matt Dillon’s sidekick on “Gunsmoke.”’ is a good theory as well. But I do like the idea that maybe, just maybe, the character was a nod to the original creator of Dick Tracy.

With Lizz and Sam on the case, maybe Rikki should be vigilant about keeping herself and the Vampire Mechanique under cover as much as possible as she proceeds with further contracts (I seem to recall that Abner did specify “contracts” [plural])….

I always like to see Lizz. I’m still hoping for a solo Lizz adventure like we often saw in the old days. I’d love to see fashionable, sexy LIzz like in the old days, too. Like someone posted today on Facebook, “BRING BACK THE MASCARA & CHIC, JOE!”

The Monopoly guy had a nice set of “Cheaters” (whitewall side inserts) on his ride. Sam oughta get them. Classy.

AAAAAAAGHHHH — I gotta start getting into the habit of reading further before I post!!!!!!

I usually click reply on several things as I read. Then when I get to the bottom, I go up to fill in the reply boxes and submit them. It reduces the likelihood of repetition, though it doesn’t eliminate it.

Jerryjohn52 said, late yesterdayThis seems to go against Abner’s usual method of operation which is more subtle rather than being so obvious.

I think you’re right about this. It’s not Abner’s typical method, but it’s also not Abner doing the killing. It seems that Rikki has always been Abner’s #1 fan club member. She has also been shown to be kind of an apprentice.

I may not have Internet access off and on for a few days, in case anyone wonders why I’m not posting as usual.