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

I bet Sam is headed to that deli!!

Why is Sam talking with his neck on the (cordless?) phone?

Finally, after years of recycled stories something new is about to happen. When Sam goes to the deli (you fill in the blank)_________________.

Commenting on real life delays of the Dick Tracy collections?

Good morning™, breaks in the action !

How many are going to be all over this stop dead-in-the-water insert ?  I think Ray’s going to be all over this one. I hope Sam has exact change when he is at the Soup Nazi joint.

Good morning™, everyone!

Yeah, I think there’s a good chance that Sam may be heading to a certain deli.

So Blackjack doesn’t figure in this story I guess…..

Why is Dick Tracy so happy today? See that sweeet smile in p3? A nice change from the angry Tracy a few days ago.

I just heard that longtime actor Dean Stockwell died at 84 "of natural causes. He started as a child actor in the ’40s. Today, most people would recognize him from Quantum Leap and the remake of Battlestar Galactica. Rest in peace, Dean.

Derby Dugan collections must be cheaper than some Dick Tracy ones if Sam can afford them on a police detective’s salary.

Will Sam save Briar Rose from being killed? Will find the body? Will he be able to gather evidence about the assailants? Are we about to witness yet another colossal coincidence, or even the writer was so confused by the multiple story lines he had to throw in a day of nothing while searching for a resolution?

Sam goes to lunch at a deli and happens to see Briar moving in.

Can the DT collective explain anything about the book he’s ordered?

So Sam will be at the Deli as Briar Rose is moving in (and the Apparatus moves in for the kill?)

something significant just happened

“A clue, perhaps. A felon or two? Something on rye?” Sam, you goofus.

Is this a brief pause that refreshes?

I still think Sam’s up to something

From today’s Comics Curmudgeon:

When your mind finally snaps, what gibberish sentence will you be vacantly pecking out on a typewriter, over and over? I was never sure until today, but now I know it’s going to be “My name is Sam Catchem. I ordered Volume Six of ‘Derby Dugan: The Geebus Years.’” And you know what? I’m at peace with that.

A supply-chain issue with the printer, perhaps? It’s a common problem these days.

Is that the deli next door to Hope Brown’s travel agency over on the corner of Happenstance Ave. and Coincidence St.?

Don’t tell me….I asked you not to tell me….Sam is going to encounter the movers taking Briar Rose’s stuff into the safe house.

Tracy is obviously going to settle for the vending machines offer, maybe after all these years the police station has a lunch room with a staff to serve hot meals.

1-SAM: Hello? Is Stu Pedasso here? I don’t think so…

2-…Jack Mehoff? No. Not familiar with him either. Ok. No problem. Really? Great! See you in 5 minutes then. Goodbye.

3-SAM: I’m going to lunch Tracy. Some guy I never heard of – Mike Hunt– offered to buy me lunch at the deli down the street. DT: That’s nice. Enjoy.

Out to lunch??

Sam’s the guy who used to carry deli sandwiches in his coat pocket in case of emergency.

Okay,a slow day today.But ask Sam to bring me backa Reuben.And none of that sissy turkey meat.

As with many things on this strip these days, what seems like an innocuous and even boring moment can turn out to be incredibly significant later on. I predict that either the printing delay or the book itself will be a plot point later on.

I guess it’s all right for Sam to make a personal call on “company” time.

MOVIE QUOTE—

“We take you to The Lord Of The Assassins”

“You gotta be kidding”(Everybody draws bows and arrows)

“You’re NOT kidding!”

Elvis Presley—“HARUM SCARUM”—1965

Can’t help but agree with the host of posters who expect that Sam will in some fashion run into or at least observe Briar Rose (remember, she’s Wanted-APB) at his favorite deli, which just happens to be the same one above which the Apparatus has secured a flat to be Briar’s (un-)safe house (if they intend to smoke her there—no cigar smoke pun intended). Why they would even bother to rent/buy the flat if they intend to kill Briar is problematic, though. Maybe there is some notion of having the cops (Sam) find her there either dead or at any rate in no condition to talk? Don’t see how Ace could count on that, though, unless he had planned to drop an anonymous tip on the MCU….

This seems like a rather pointless interlude.

Well, today’s strip should brought the narrative momentum to a screeching halt.