Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for April 24, 2022

Begin again. Matt pulled back in. Here on the precipice

Ill-tidings near. Inhale fraught fear and make the best of this.

Matt was a fool. Dot now grown cool. The flame seems to have died

Matt must explain. Ease her fresh pain. Dry every tear she cried.

Have no fear. Dick Tracy’s here! Is Coffy caught red-handed?

He made Matt sweat and feel regret. Payback now demanded.

I’ve heard some say, “Crime does not pay.” Can’t say I disagree

Matt walked away yet here today his lovebird’s set to flee.

Good morning™, everybody!

Still no shootout, but there is a lot happening in today’s installment.

They are all shocked to see Dick Tracy show up. If Coffyhead was really “on his toes,” as he claims to be, this visit would not have been such a surprise. If we had any question of whether Matt was wearing a wire in cooperation with Tracy, I think this settles it. He had no idea that Tracy would show up.

In yesterday’s strip, Coffyhead made Matt promise not to diss him again, but Coffyhead is only too ready to diss Matt every chance he gets. Dot looks slightly less angry in the bottom row of panels. I think she has a certain sympathy with Matt being verbally abused like this.

Tracy is not buying Coffyhead’s story of being an innocent citizen entrapped by “Tonsils.” How nice of Tracy to invite him over for coffee. ;)

I’m assuming that “after dark” is very late on the same evening of the first meeting at the Ajax Café.

I’m sure you couldn’t literally “mainline” espresso (inject it intravenously) but the expression gets the point across very well, I think.

Wow, can this story get anymore anticlimatic than today’s installment of; “How the world snores?”

Sam has Dot covered!

Who’s the bait

What’s that catch

The Mother hen

Or the chicks that hatch

The story goes

What you reap you must sow

Are we the cause

Of all our woe

I stay up late

Tempting fate

Hoping today’s the day

I’m left high and dry

But I can’t say goodbye

Try again is all I can say.

I think now would be a good time for Tonsils and Dot to sing that muddy rainbow song!

I like the way Matt is trying to shield Dot with his body and how she seems only too glad for him to do so. I think this story is pretty interesting. I’m really not quite sure where it is heading from here and I am enjoying each new development. And Tracy is really cool and smooth today with his delivery too.

Good morning™, deflected guilty parties !

To his credit Coffy is keeping his head for all the good it will do. Matt should have revealed all this before making delivery instead of assuming it would all work out on its own. If Tracy hadn’t shown up how would Coffyhead deal with Matt to make him stay on without keeping Dot indefinitely which would compound his crimes exponentially ?  Now he will suffer the ultimate indignity of drinking Sam’s brew. He will wish he were back at that joint where he so despised the Espresso and let it be known with no uncertainty. Dot looks so sweet and vulnerable in P. 3. What can she be thinking ?

Why would Coffyhead ask Tracy what he wanted with Tonsils, when Tracy confronted him? Interesting what is to happen now!

By the way, a nice police car in Gasoline Alley yesterday!

Rather impressed with the art work today. It has a real 3D feel to it.

Very , very cool images again today , especially the one of " coffee head " with that fist-finger pointing at " tonsils " , super just super : )

“And the reason you needed to kidnap Dot View to force Matt to implicate you was…?”

Old jungle saying, ‘When you’re in it up to your nose, keep your mouth shut.’

“A cup of joe at headquarters? Oh, no! I’ll confess to anything if you’ll spare me that!”

“Espresso keeps me on my toes. Otherwise I’d make poor decisions.”

ka-funny

Why do I have this odd feeling that – unlike real police procedure – Tracy will feed Coffyhead (or at least Dot) some slightly fake story about Matt working with the TTPD all this time as they clamp down on drug sales, for Matt’s sake since Dot looks ready to bail on him.

Sounds like he just admitted to buying drugs…

It is certainly irritating that we still cannot click on replies to our comments and have the page go to that comment. I wonder what was wrong with the previous code that seemed to work?

1-DT: Hi Coffee Head. You’re looking fit in your pinched waist sport coat and crisply pressed pants.

2-COFFEE HEAD: Thank you. I see you haven’t updated your wardrobe in 80 years.

DT: If it ain’t broke! I do have to buy a new hat every now and then.

3-COFFEE HEAD: I’m going to open a nightclub here and was auditioning Tonsils…

4-…FOR DISHWASHER! HE CAN’T SING A NOTE! HE LIP SYNCS TO A HIDDEN CASSETTE PLAYER!

5-DT: I know. Vitamin told me. That’s why we busted in here with guns drawn ready to use any level of violence needed to enforce the MILLI-VANILLI FRAUD LAW! Too bad we missed him in the act – so to speak. We would’ve been justified to shoot to kill if we had!

MILLIGAN: So THAT’S why we’re here!

And Dot will implicate him in a kidnapping. I hope Coffyhead likes prison coffee.

Wait, Coffeehead’s right! Arrest Tonsils.

OFF TOPIC: Artist James Bama, who painted some of the most striking covers for Bantam’s DOC SAVAGE reprints, has passed away.

Who was Joe, and when did Tracy turn cannibal?!?!?!?!

What a bunch of pushovers Coffyhead and Luigi turn out to be! Of course, it is the prudent thing to do, with three cops training their weapons on you (and Sam is right-handed again). Especially given Tracy’s reputation as a dead shot (as in “you’re dead!”).

Naturally Coffyhead tries to re-direct blame onto Matt, who seems at a loss. Interesting, too, to note the expressiveness of Dot View in the three views we have of her, taking refuge behind Matt’s back. Maybe she is reconsidering how to evaluate, and treat, him.

Tracy is looking very Tracy-like (especially in panel 3; I think Shelley’s rendering of his visage has improved rapidly) and being circumspect himself.

Everyone could use a cuppa!…

So for the next day or so we’ll get Tracy at the MCU, saying how “Tonsils” has decided to come clean & help the police round-up his drug trade contacts & then start a new life & then on to the next story.

1.)A bloodless arrest,to the disappointment of millions.

2.)Tonsils’ main interest is to shield Dot with his body,so there’s hope for Mr.Cockeyed yet.

3.)Dot has y et to yell—“That squarehead jerk kidnapped me!”

4.)We still don’t know why Coffyhead left California,so it would be wise to see if he’s “Wanted” back there.

Book him, Sam-o!