Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for July 02, 2020

Wonderful wrap up to this story!

Happy Canada Day™, detectives!

So, it was a setup after all! The buckle is really only worth $20! Who guessed that Crystal knew all along?

Happy (for the 2nd time) Canada Day™, soppy swansongs !

Such a sweet daddy-daughter moment. Being concerned for a new friend and acting on it has brought Crystal another step removed from the kind of family she came from.

Just waiting for the other Bob Oscar to start singing (his end-of-arc summary, that is)

And…today, Sam’s miraculously healed from yesterday’s skull buckle dent!

Will there be a “Sprocket Nitrate” type ending for Edison and Lafayette where they marry and Edison cam leave her past life with “Shaky” ?Hmm…

Yawn…onto the next story

I’m kinda sorta gonna miss Edison….

My question about Edison from yesterday was answered!

Yay! There it is.

And now back on the farm…….

Isn’t Edison and accessory to anything?

Some are excusing the lame, directionless and plot hole filled recent stories on Go comics censorship.

I can accept that.

At what point is this no longer an excuse and we have a right to expect team Tracy to adapt to the restrictions imposed on them?

So, all the key players who aren’t shaky are gathered together for the wind-up. Crystal is becoming more mature. But it is the presence of Edison that is somewhat surprising, considering her compromised background, yet nonetheless good to see.

Since there are only two more strips before Sunday, we may see even more tying of loose ends in this low-impact story (but Saturday’s strip could be a teaser for the new arc that I expect to begin “for reallies” on Sunday). Shaky Mk.2 is just not a credible villain. He’s more of a buffoon—a two-time looser in only a brief span of time….

Well, maybe Edison is changing her spots.

“Crystal Blue persuasion” and she did well this time!

Lafayette reminds me of one of the Osmond brothers…

The born of a new family?

So there wasn’t a felony? It looks like the biggest crime they can charge Shakey with is assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. Beyond that, it’s breaking and entering and (cough) “harassment.”

anyone else wondering why the ‘silver’ buckles are all yellow?

All’s well that ends well.

1-DT: And with gratitude for your help in apprehending the dangerous felon, Jay Bogart, the city hereby awards you with this solid gold belt buckle. Congratulations.

2-CRYSTAL DAD: Thanks. Say…isn’t this from my collec…

DT: Hang on. We just got a report from that Breathless director, Senior~ Slick, that his neck-kerchief was stolen last night…

3-CRYSTAL BETH: MY HERO!

WHATSRNAME: So, when’s Jay getting out? I’LL BE WAITING MY DARLING!!!

Just re read this whole story arc to try to make sense of it. Not much excitement overall, but nice to get some background on the Plentys, Crystal & Lafayette. Tess looked fantastic with her tresses down post gunshot wound, she looked less harsh and 10 years younger. I’d love to see her grow her hair out. Would have been nice to show “Breathless” with an actual black eye, not just squinting in one Sunday strip. The assault by Shaky part was a bit vague because we never saw a bruise. I’d have liked “Breathless” to fake a bruise with her theatrical makeup skills and frame Shaky to get him out of her hair. Shaky II was a incompetent mess, keep him in prison or let him go back to being king of the school yard where he really shined. Edison needs to grow a brain, a spine and make better friend choices.

Being a seasoned gumshoe, Tracy swiftly tracks down Lafayette at the corner greasy spoon, where he’s having a cuppa joe with his talent agent, Ratso Rizzo, and doing their best to smooth talk the beached blonde, gum snapping floozy waitress. “Hey, Baby, how many towns you been run out of?”

“More than there are, honey. You gonna eat the rest of that prune pie? I’m kinda hungry.”

Once back at Police HQ, Tracy proudly presents Lafayette with his cherished belt buckle. “Here you go, Lafayette. Normally we would keep this as evidence, but, hey, you’re a kind of ….um…special guy, so what the heck. Plus, here’s a bus ticket out of town. Heck, make it two so you and the bleached blonde, gum snapping waitress can ride the Greyhound into the sunset to Hicksville, U S A.”

“Thanks, Tracy! Despite having a heart and a head full of lead, you’re a swell guy!”

“I love you Pops, and I’m sorry!” says Crystal.

“I’m just here for the group hug and to cop a feel from a cop!” says the comely and delectable Edison.

They all chant out in unison. “GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!”.

Meanwhile, back at the Whatchamacallit Playhouse, the stoic Vitamin Flintheart, is planning his next blockbuster extravaganza. He’s torn between two titles: “The Rocky Snorer Moving Picture Show” and “Take A Walk On The Wild Side”. He decides to defer his decision until he sees who responds to his casting call offering a free sandwich and hot shower to anyone who shows up.

And so it goes, by gar, by gar…

So – Lafayette and Edison, maybe?

What we have here, right before our eyes, is a new star being born, the comely and delectable Edison Lighthouse. I’m sure the writers of this strip realize this and will keep her active in future stories.

On another subject, has the group noticed the changes in being able to access Comic Kingdom strips in newspapers like Denver Post? My favorites won’t work anymore, adblocker has to be whitelisted, then I’m having to go down the list to find the ones I read. I assume they are trying to get everyone to subscribe to their online papers.

The Go Comics Rule on length is a bogus excuse. Back when these guys started they had good characters; Hot Rize, Phishface, Blackjack, Abner Kadaver, Morning Gloria etc. with relatively short arcs. Has there been anything close lately..Crossovers, recycled dead guys “Minit” Mysteries. It looks like they’ve quit trying. This ain’t Marvel fellows.

The really valuable one is the flawed run of buckles with the Panhandle on the wrong side. Only 5000 made. Those fetch $75, easy.

It would be nice if Edison cleans out Shakey’s bank account, and scrams.

What a waste…

OF OUR TIME!!!

Only because most of my theories are so wrong I feel compelled to point out:

I called Crystal’s setup!

Okay, I feel better. Go about your day, nothing else to see here…