Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for August 24, 2020

Good morning™, horribly shriveled thespians !

Like the pruney look Vitamin is sporting. LOL !  That thing needs to go into protective custody A.S.A.P. !

I’m not sure I believe Vitamin.

Good morning™, bell-ringers!

Could Vitamin help to find a clue to the person who is holding the city for ransom? He doesn’t think so, but maybe Tracy can provoke a memory.

“Aha! Your so-called ‘mystery’ is easily solved! You see, my superior intellect is equally matched only by my superior memory. And I plainly remember that asking for ‘one million dollars’ is the calling-card of some bald-headed schmuck who calls himself Dr. Evil. Ergo, your letter writer is not Presto, but is in fact Dr. Evil! Child’s play if you think about it. Listen to me or you’ll fall victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well known is this; never go in against a Sicilian, when ransom is on the line! Aha ha ha ha… (thud)”

Maybe he Presto-change-o’ed his name.

The magician from the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon snapped after too long away from Earth.

Presto? Wasn’t he the Mexican magician who boast that he could disappear and in under 3 seconds? He use to stand on stage and go “uno”, “dos”, and poof. He was gone with a tres.

It is unclear where Aurora Rising is displayed—maybe some Tracyville municipal plaza or downtown park. No doubt uniformed police (and perhaps undercover as well) will be deployed to protect it from Presto’s ransom demand and threat (surely a few can be spared from their ordered duty protecting Mayor Armstrong’s fortress-home). But who is this Presto? And why doesn’t the Old Thespian recall the name, if it is a stage name?

Something is fishy here. Is a vainglorious criminal using a pseudonym? Most, I think, would loudly proclaim their own name or stage name….

This sounds like a publicity stunt by a magician. When the crime is carried out, Tracy will consult with Penn and Teller to determine if Presto fooled us.

Presto-Change-O and we got a mystery!!!

The art style is reminiscent of the 70s animation.

“Oh shux, I guess we’d better pay up then.”

DT: Remind me not to order a cup a mud anymore. This joint takes it literally.

SUGAR DADDY: Could ya back off a little, Tracy? You’re so close that by the time you get to the last gulp, you’re liable to break my nose again.

DT: Sorry. It’s my job. SUGAR: To get in peoples’ faces? Yes, I get that. DT: No. To break… SUGAR: NEVER MIND! WAITRESS: More mud, hon?

The Presto Kid. secondary character/story in Red Mask /Tim Holt comics. Anyone remember? (Bonus: you got to see how to do magic trick each month!)

While I am struggling with the way Tracy looks (like a parody of Fearless Fosdick) – I really like this artist’s various “camera angles”. Showing the two main characters talking in the background, with a waitress pouring coffee in the foreground in panel two, is very nice.

Posted by Bruce Shults on the Facebook Dick Tracy Fan Club:

https://i.postimg.cc/Bvc1M56P/118085356-2741502949413162-7448808137786848251-o.jpg

The artwork is awful.

The b/w version of today’s strip looks like the kid’s coloring book version of Dick Tracy.

https://tribunecontentagency.com/premium-content/comics/dick-tracy/

I don’t mind the art (I’m a tough guy). It’s when the story goes south (like that toilet that didn’t work for 50 years, and nobody checked why) that bothers me.

This artwork is horrible beyond belief. OK, I gave it a chance. Thumbs down.

Yesterday, Mr. Baeza circled the booth before a long shot, closing with a close-up of Tracy. Today, we again get a nice silhouette two-shot as the waitress pours a fresh cup of java. Tracy is obscured by shadow. That cup o’ joe isn’t the only think percolating. We’re off to a promising start. Cheers.

Someone is a fan of Rick and Morty.

“…I mean besides literally every third two-bit showbiz magician who named himself ‘Presto’ I’ve met in nearly 90 years of acting, obviously.”