Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 14, 2021

Good morning™, everyone!

Here’s the discussion of Diet Smith’s technology like the Wrist Radio. This could be a bit of a tie-in to the Time Drone story.

“Am I boring you yet, Ms. Beehive? Do you need another cup of coffee in your color changing cup? Do you need a ten minute break to close your eyes? Do you regret taking this assignment?”

Good morning™, mouldy memories !

Don’t hate me for putting euphonious words together. First panel guy looks like a pudgy Jimmy Olsen.

I didn’t know that Gertie and the Mole were redheads. This colorist must love red hair.

With the “Compacted Timeline” – Dick Tracy would have gotten his “wrist radio” around 2000! (And the Moon era would have started mid-2000’s!)

I love flashbacks!

Very interesting sojourn back into time! Did not know B.O. was a criminal at one time!

If the colorist isn’t going to make any real effort to be accurate I’d prefer that they didn’t even bother coloring the strip. This strip would look absolutely fine with no color.

A real journalist would have done a little research on being given an assignment and would be asking more questions. The article is supposed to be on the MCU anniversary and not Tracy’s opinions. (Yes, Tracy’s POV is pertinent to the MCU, but the article is because of the anniversary and not Tracy per se.)

There must be some kind of swamp nearby, with radioactive waste stored in it, producing all these genetically defective criminals. A secret underground genetics program, run by CHAOS, perhaps?

Hey! That’s what Team Tracy needs! A Get-Smart/Tracy team up.

Panel Three shows The Reformed Criminals on the cover of their one and only hit single, “We All Have Real Names (Call Me Leonard)”, a genre-busting mix of mountain music, smooth jazz, and hammering pipes in a semi-rhythmic fashion with a dirty toothbrush you found somewhere.

I found this on the net. B.O. and his twin brother Goodin robbed a gas station in 1938.

Was Littleface supposed to look like Ernie Bushmiller?

Dick Tracy is not a storyteller….is he?

And let us not forget Lips Manlis, who also went straight and changed his name to the totally inconspicuous ‘Bob Honor’.

The Clipso Brothers (Jim and John) were apparently identical twins. They were heavyset, with thick dark hair. (Dick Tracy Wiki).So who are those blonde dudes?

Strange, I saw in the reprinted comic strip magazines of Blackthorn the Clipso Brothers were dark-haired, not fair-haired!!

1-DETECTIVE SMILES: Hey fellas! Tracy just told that chick that he killed her father!

DETECTIVE PETE: HA! That Tracy really knows how to impress a girl!

DETECTIVE REPETE: HA! That Tracy really knows how to impress a girl!

2-DT: UMMMM, UHHH, Well, I don’t always kill a suspect! I can name four who survived meeting me and, uh…

3-…oh, look it the time. I have a wrist call. I mean a meeting. Time flies, don’t it. Sorry ‘bout your dad. I’m sure he was a swell guy.

SUKI: WE AIN’T DONE YET, BUSTER.

“Sometimes when it gets dull on a crime scene, I tune it to techno mixes!” “Uh, Mr. Tracy? TMI!”

B.O. Plenty…I wonder what did his criminal life involve…making moonshine? Oh wait a minute, I got him mixed up with Snuffy Smith.

The Mole, Gravel Gertie…if Tracy does not watch out…he too will be a red head before this story ends. I guess Joe and Mike are going to get all the mileage they can from that bottle of Miss Chairol…only their hair dresser knows for sure.

B.O. Plenty first came to Tracy’s attention during the Breathless arc, when BO attempted to steal money from her (Shaky’s haul) and actually strangled her. His arc was long and varied, almost dying at the hands of Itchy. He eventually went “straight” married Gravel Gertie, and has been a lifelong character in the strip. The Goodin arc came a bit later, and is only referenced as a holdup.

I never knew B.O. and Gertie used to be crooks.

For t he uninitiated,The Clipso Brothers came along in mid 1957,and they were supposed tolook like ELvis Presley(although they were more like “Fat Elvis”.)

Con men turned murderers,the wife of one of their victims shotgunned them to death.

Were responsible for death of Morin Plenty’s wife(B.O.’s father).

Are we gonna montages the whole 90 years worth, we are gonna be here a minute.

I appreciate how Dick and Sam never look at each other and go, you know, we’ve been at this a minute. Shouldn’t we be in the old policeman’s home by now?

Contrary to popular thought,Hawaii didn’t have an actual tidal wave until AFTER Flyfaceand “The Fifth” went under in 1960.

Luckily, Tracy blew through all that history in very laconic fashion! I hope Ms. Briar Rose absorbed at least some of it!

But I hope she wasn’t misled by the visuals, with that epidemic of faux red hair unleashed by the Mad Colorist!

Tentatively, I can foresee a swift return to the presumed main theme of the arc, viz., New Ace’s scheme to steal the Time Drone and use it to amass ill-gotten gains! (And of course the side issues, like his disdain for the Apparatus and his partnership-with-benefits (?) with Queen of Spades….)

So did Laffy distribute his product in taffy? ;) :o