Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for July 27, 2016

.Good morning guys!.Two favorite characters! For 22ph, Bribery and for me, Rikki!

Seems Mr. Bribery wants to call the shots for Kadaver’s operations….wonder how long it will be before Kadaver decides to cancel his contract with Bribery the hard way…..?

When you hire one person you don’t want it outsources to someone else.

Mornin,’ Vista Bill and your trusty steed, Comet!-And now we get Mr. Bribery into the mix!I wonder how many of these characters we’re seeing will be involved in the actual story.So far, we’ve had Tracy, Tess, Junior and Honeymoon; Sam, Lizz, Chief Patton and the mayor; Gravel Gertie and radio host Tom Wood; Abner Kadaver, Rikki Mortis and Mr. Bribery; a reference to Mysta; and our He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named guest hero and his wolf, Devil.And Tracy isn’t even involved in the case yet!

You can tell that Joe and Shelley are having fun today.

That’s perhaps their finest “Mr. Bribery” yet.

So delightfully off-kilter in its mien.

Looks like Rikki was offended by Bribery’s remark I think you need to talk to Rikki, Vista Bill. I do not like that look on her face.

Still thinking that we’re skirting the periphery of “The Moon Trilogy” with all of these Bribery teases.

Here’s a thought though.

Might the ultimate reveal be that Bribery has an unseen boss.

Should said boss eventually make the scene, that would make for quite the Intro, Mister!

I don’t think Kadaver would take too kindly to Bribery’s interference in the ways he decides to fulfill contracts. He’s already shown his displeasure to Bribery.

My, my! Rikki is certainly playing the Tough Guy with relish today, dissing none other than Mr. Bribery with curt and negative responses! Still, Bribery cannot deny that she has done a fine job with the Gunsmoke hit. But has she drawn too much attention to herself and the Vampire Mechanique? Or, will Bribery take umbrage and plot against her?And how soon, and where, will Abner Kadaver be taking his best shot at Tracy, now that he has tracked Tess and Dick to their off-Fleet Street London hotel?

Rikki’s handling the hits—and the hits keep coming. Wonder what Bribery’s overall game is?

What else? Eliminate the competition!

@ JPuzzleWhiz:From late yesterday:You asked – Why would Diet Smith guzzle Bromo Seltzer?Originally, part of Diet Smith’s character design was that he was this big wheel industrialist, rich and living in a mansion, but his life style was taking a big toll on his digestive system. He had ulcers, could only eat strained peas and bottles of other baby foods, was constantly burping, etc. while he answered three phone calls at a time ""Ship 10,000 units to Detroit, tell Cleveland we need their order tomorrow"). His name “Diet” was more a reference to the aforementioned character traits than because he needed to loose weight.

Excuse me but… did Rikki NOT say the other day before Kadaver left that the people who supplied MOST of his contracts aren’t around anymore? Abner replied that its a matter of honor now.. so why omit the fact that Bribery had a contract to be filled?

June 3rd Rikki and Abner talk about him going to Europe and her fulfilling his contracts for him. She mentions that Rracy’s name isn’t on the list and says she wishes he would just drop it. He says that he wishes he oculd too and she replies “All those that hired you are gone because of Tracy.” which he replies to with the matter of honor.

Now, unless she MEANT that everyone who contracted him to kill Tracy are gone BECAUSE of Tracy, I took this to mean that all his CONTRACTORS (for lack of a better term) are gone because of Tracy.

Both Stiletta and Venus (through Melies but ordered by Bribery, I assume) contracted Kadaver to kill Tracy. Other contracts were aimed at Apparatus members. We don’t know the late Gunsmoke’s affiliation, but Bribery is clearing the field of competitors. Great to see Bribery on tilt. The third panel is an especially fine rendering of Rikki Mortis.

Gweedo indicated,Good Morning, Bill !-——————————————————————————-.Good morning Gweedo!.Rikki is maturing.

The witness to the hit on Gunsmoke was definitely a loose end that Nikki did not take care of (although the witness claims she tried to). The crunched car would have been enough to put fear in any potential contracts.

Oh now that was an interesting twist.

Gweedo emphasized,Cute Polar bear babies “mature” too, Bill !-————————————————————————-.Leapin’ lizards!

Good to see Bribery again.

…..can’t see either of them killing Bribery, as he is most likely their best customer by far now……

Wouldn’t Mayor Armstrong be a strong candidate for that position?

Never heard of a black widow scorpion? Well, here she is! Shazaam!

.Regarding the black widow scorpion Gweedo referred to, there are colonies of them in my world of make believe. Gweedo has visited and has seen them.