Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for August 09, 2021

Good morning™, crimestoppers!

That should be enough information for Tracy to find her. I see that Archival is wearing the ring, but I still say there is nothing recognizable about it unless he’s using it. He’s showing off to Sam, so he doesn’t hear Tracy’s private call.

Despite predictions to the contrary, Honeymoon did not go solve the crime all alone, nor did Annie ever show up. Like Honeymoon said, Annie is travelling this summer. Honeymoon did end up providing important information, though.

”Fast Turnaround.” ✨

Good job Moon Gal !! :-)

Archival soon will be archived in a soft cell…because is raving mad

And here comes the train

Speeding down the track

When it hits the curve

No one ever comes back

Though scattered brained and dazed

A detailed message gets through

Miracle of miracles

Tracy knows exactly what to do.

Anyone out there STILL not convinced that team Tracy CAN’T finish a story on a plauable note???

Guess we are approaching that rapid end to a storyline….

Good morning™, soon to be sweating bullets !

Will there be a shootout between Dick & Sam and the toy soldiers ?  Will “archi-enemy” and company attempt to leave with the prisoners, with a gun held to their throat ?

I would not want to face panel 3 Tracy’s withering glare.

“Help!”

“Archival House”

“2nd Floor”

“Bring Big Mac and fries”

“Diet Coke, not Smith”

“Playing strip poker with guards with funny hats”

“Need more clothes, FAST!”

I was going to chime in yesterday, but I have at least 2 members of the Tracy Family called out. At the start of this run, I said that it would be nice to see all of Team Tracy (DT, Jr., & Honeymoon) in this. I am still waiting to see if Jr comes in on this besides just being part of the background. I do not feel sorry for Archival here.

As for Mystra only having enough power to send an SOS, I think that was possible, however weak she might have been. With time people do heal some from severe pain. True, MM might have gotten better with a lot more sunlight, but I do think that gain strength over time is workable in this situation.

In real life, you’d think he’d call for back up besides Sam; in a strange place with armed guards out of sight……

Great Poem !!! School starts this week and I may use this as an example for my students !!!

In panel 2, Tracy’s wrist wizard is on his left wrist as it should be. In panel 3, it’s on his right wrist. His arms are folded, but it’s still visible.

Lord, I’m turning into another avenger09….

I wonder if Dick ‘n Sam are armed. Probably not, since we can’t see any weapons in their hands, right, tsull2121?

Booooo!!! I mean granted we’re accepting telepathy as real in this series—but this is Deus ex machina! Tracy isn’t a detective here. He doesn’t have a warrant to search the house. And what judge will issue a warrant on a young girl’s “I got a mental message from Mindy” testimony?

I wonder if Tracy has to get a search warrant, and in the ensuing time Archival tries to spirit away his captives?

Not sure if the courts would recognize, “My granddaughter got a telepathic message that Mysta is being held here” as probable cause. At least courts in our world don’t recognize telepathy. Of course Tracy’s world has things ours doesn’t – like children who are the cross-bred offspring of humans and lunarians. Might be fun trial. Tracy arrests Archive for kidnapping. Archive sues saying Tracy had no probable cause. Court rules Tracy out-of-line so the evidence against Archive is ruled inadmissible and Archive walks. (Meanwhile Vera and Mysta file a civil suit and the courts award them everything.)

Good — they have probable cause to search the second floor.

This strange thread is running out. Flat Top is already teed up and ready to go.

Looks like time for Dick and Sam to join the collection!

The beginning of the end…

Sigh. This story had nothing going for it, then became rom-com interesting, then squandered the potential in the worst way possible. What is holding back the story telling?

Unless Honeymoon is on the force now, Tracy’s watch isn’t police issue. Of course, tech has changed and such devices are more ubiquitous. It’s good to see that she’s having a part in solving this case.

I do wonder, however: Mysta tried to reach her before and couldn’t. Now she can. Any speculations on what changed?

“One word for ya Tracy – Searchwarrant. Wait. Two words – Search warrant. No, three – Search warrant ya idiot!”

Honeymoon’s message has reached Tracy. Now some action!

1-HONEYMOONS: Hey Pop-Top. What’re ya doin’ right now? I’m considering going all the way with Asteroid and I need a father-figure to discuss it with.

2-DT: You got me at a good time – I’m not doing anything. First, lets consider the pros and cons of such a big decision. The pros are all on the boy’s side of the ledger who gets to brag to his pals about “gettin’ some” and…hold on…

3-…Hey Stan Lee. I need to have a private conversation. Do you have like a safe room where I won’t be bothered?

STAN LEE: Sure. Follow…OOPS. Ummm, it’s a mess right now. You know – movin’ and all to a private island…

DT: That’s ok. Let’s go.

STAN: Dang it!

Chief of Hat Police reporting in: Sam is not wearing his customary Homburg today, the one with the faux-bow on the left; Sunday’s strip showed Tracy wearing his usual Fedora with the faux-bow on the right (not the one he sports in the logo).

If Tracy has probable cause to suspect Archive is involved with kidnapping it doesn’t matter what the current level of danger is.

Police work in a context, not a vacuum. There is the crime before and the court afterward. And, as someone who has read a number of the Ephraim Tutt stories, I think the technicalities of the law can a story more interesting. Here I think a civil case against Archive would be even more interesting than the criminal case against him.

here’s something all the “legal experts” should consider: Exigent Circumstances" no warrant necessary.Another thing; it’s a friggin’ cartoon, if you want reality, read Andy Capp

Yes, I know all about the hassles of legality on psychics and the law & order enforcement from my experiences of watching special TV detective shows and reading a lot of certain stories – wowee!!

Honeymoon may have contacted Tracy before he got a chance to look at Archival’s hands. Right now it looks Sam and the guy are making small talk.

“Excuse me, Mr. Archival there’s been a change of plans”. Hmm…does this mean: (a) Tracy and Sam have decided to take the guy up on his guided tour of his collection? (b) they leave to get a warrant and come back with the S.W.A.T. team. © Tracy and Sam park down the street from Archival’s estate and begin a stake-out.

Archival is giving Tracy “the old oil”,but Dick won’be buying it.

Archival will plead insanity.The judge will agree that anybody who collects old HAROLD TEEN strips is nuts,

One possible explanation for Flattop——Diet s stated he’s trying to experiment with time travel.What if he’s found a way to VIEW the past without actually interfering with pastevents?This might help solve unsolved crimes.

Pop-Pop about to Kick-Kick your Butt-Butt!

Another storyline that began with a somewhat leisurely pace that is now rushing to curtain, as William Goldman used to say,

I’m surprised Honeymoon hasn’t developed an app that will interface with the Diet Smith devices.

I’m glad Tracy wears a felt hat (hats?) with two dents in the front, creases about his mouth and eyes, ties and white shirts with stiffly starched collars, or what would we have to look at? Maybe we could see some of the abrasions on his neck? Parts of walls and black ceilings are nice, but what were the characters near the wall saying? Maybe Tracy has oddly variant toes? Could we have a glimpse some time? as the saying goes, “I’m just saying….”

Before rushing to assume that the story is rushing to its conclusion, we should consider whether Tracy believes he and Sam can carry the day in an immediate rescue inside Archival’s estate. We don’t know if he observed the Tin Soldiers (who are armed) on his entry or not, but I should think his prudent choice would be not to try to use force at once until he has a chance to size up the situation more completely. What’s more, he hasn’t yet had a chance to inform Sam of why there is this “change of plans.” Best to reconnoitre, formulate a plan (maybe involving bringing in SWAT), and only then act….

Lots of interesting arguments regarding legality, admissibility and probable cause. Of course, everyone in Chicag – er, I mean Tracytown – by now was well familiar with Moon Maid, so there is a basic awareness of the Lunarians. Given that, I foresee an eight-month period during the trial for expert witnesses alone. Anatomy, physiology and powers of Lunarians, Lunarian-Human hybrids, both natural (like Honeymoon) and artificially created (like Mysta) analyzed so much by the prosecution and the defense that the jury (having been bored to tears by it all) rebels against the court and spends the next year deliberating the verdict, living on court-ordered takeout and not returning to their normal jobs. (Not to mention that Sauron himself (Mr. Bribery) will try to cash in on this and cut a deal for a shorter sentence in exchange for his testimony. This will all serve to make the Archival trial the most expensive in U.S. history.