Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 09, 2022

Good morning™, everyone!

VIN cloning is on the increase lately. For example, thieves take the vehicle identification number from a wreck and apply it to the stolen car, making it look legitimate.

“Davis warned that the number of law enforcement agents dedicated to auto theft are dwindling rapidly. The Toronto Police Service, which once had 32 agents in its auto theft unit, today has just two. Police units in Cleveland (OH), Chicago (IL) and Milwaukee (WI) have none, he added.” More here: https://www.rigdig.com/vin-cloning-a-closer-look/

Car thefts are a big problem these days, so at least the strip is topical. I hope Steelface enjoys his joy ride, because he’ll be a lot less calm if he ever remembers who could have taken the radio.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaspar_Saladino

Something feels wrong with the story, like a bunch of individual puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit together properly.

Have we ever gotten an explanation why Unc wears that stupid steel plate on his forehead?

Good morning™, uneasy drivers !

What a conundrum. Poor metal face has a car of his dreams and a gremlin on his mind. He will just happen to be on his joy ride when Dick and Lizz arrive at the shop.

what a dumb-ass Steely is turning out to be… it doesn’t occur to him that it has to be Robert, the only person who was in his office when he last saw the two-way?… that metal plate on his forehead must be interfering and malfunctioning his thought processes majorly when it comes to his own flesh and blood…… Hector Hammond he ain’t…

Who drives by who tomorrow?

RUN ROBERT RUN !!!

at the brewed, stewed biker.

Is that personal rolling stock and if not must be the cause of many wet dreams ? ;-p

BTW that’s a Mustang!

I feel like his decision to go for a ride in the stolen car is the act that results in the story of the car theft ring being wrapped up.

If he hadn’t carelessly left the wrist radio on his desk, he wouldn’t have lost it.

I hope for Steelhead’s sake that his crew changed the plates on what appears to be a classic Mustang, and, he remembers to obey all the traffic regs. Otherwise this arc will be ending sooner than we expected.

Maybe Steelpuss grew up idolizing “Open~Mind” Monty and came up with a knock~off gimmick??

I wonder if Shelley drew pictures of muscle cars and front engine “rails” and Big Daddy Don Garlits’ half foot when she was in third grade like I used to. Her Mustang is excellent!

guess who’s getting pulled over tomorrow

MOVIE QUOTE—-

“Go ahead,it’s your funeral”

Cave explorer to friend—TROG—1970

May this “relaxing car ride” turn out to be like Big Frost’s,in a rental car he didn’t know was “wired” 8 ways from Sunday.

1-STEELY DAN: Why you always wearing shades inside, Gaspar?? GASPAR: So you won’t see me staring at your forehead.

2-GASPAR: Check out this ride we just stole from some Little Old Lady From Pasadena!

STEELY: SWEET! I think I’ll give her a spin before we tear off the windshield wipers and scrap the rest.

3-… I thought the Little Old Lady From Pasadena drove a brand new shiny red super stock dodge? And that she died in a crash on Dead Man’s Curve where she was racing a Little Deuce Coupe on her way to Surf City? Guess not…

Oh big whoopee…the C.E.O. of the stolen car ring decides to go “joy riding”. Will “wonders” ever cease? Yes, this is sacastic but the oblivious is being placed in the faces of the readers.

It seems like these stories in Dick Tracy came off of an assembly line…of “clunkers”.

While y’all offer your unique comments…Steely boy will take a ride in favorite stolenvehicle hoping that Mike Curtis can tie that into the story and make sense!

Steelface decides to take out the late-model Mustang muscle car for a little spin before VIN-cloning or other attempts at disguising its original identity/ownership?!

What could possibly go wrong?

Lizz to shotgun-seated Tracy: Did you see who was driving that muscle car that just sped by us?!