Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for February 18, 2023

not the usual lengthy trench coat for Dick… never saw him in a mid-length one before… and so ratty-looking, at that…

Good morning™, everybody!

Well, case solved. It seems obvious to Tracy, but not to Sam or to us. Tomorrow, the “exciting” conclusion.

It’s obvious John Lucas is a very talented artist. I just don’t enjoy how he drew this story. Makes me love and appreciate Shelley’s work all the more.

I know this week’s been frustrating for some of you, but for me, it’s been a relief.

Last Saturday, it looked like maybe the Art Dekko story was coming to an end and maybe Sunday would be the start of a new regular story, which is normally when I post my updated story list. But I spent much of that Saturday at the receiving end of a vicious, unfair, undeserved berating, and as Saturday night crept into early Sunday morning, the last thing I felt like doing was posting my story list. So when I saw the Minit Mystery and instantly recognized, and since Mike had done something similar last year, I exclaimed out loud, “Thank God!” A Minit Mystery reprint I’ve already read? I don’t have to care that much about it! For me, it’s been like a weeklong vacation.

Cataract surgery went well yesterday. Some expected pain. Right eye done. Left eye in two weeks.

Tracy Meets Doctor Fix

Chapter five

Crystal was more ticked off than she could ever remember being. Except maybe that time she was forced to give up her slingshot. She still misses it.

“Bad enough we agreed to wear these stupid chicken costumes and hand out flyers for Tracy’s MCU show to get shopping money from him, but crazy Honeymoon is actually enjoying it!”

Crystal was embarrassed how Honeymoon kept clucking and walking like a chicken while giving out the flyers.

“At least she’s too busy to see that I dumped most of my flyers in the garbage can!” Crystal laughed to herself.

“Come on Honeymoon, let’s go shopping!”

“But Crystal, I still have a lot of flyers. We promised my Pop Pop to hand each one out before going shopping!”

“Don’t worry about it. Give them to me and I’ll take care of them!”

“Thanks Crystal, you’re a great friend!”

“Sure, sure”, said Crystal, while making a mental note to ask around about what was Tracy’s real deal with this stupid MCU show.

“Somethings up, that’s for sure. I know from my uncle that Tracy’s not the upstanding citizen he acts like!”

To be continued(probably)

How is Dr Quincy still working with hands swollen from Arthritis?

cue the ominous music

The butler did it.

Is it possible for a suicide victim to fall on top of the cartridge that was ejected from the gun they just fired?

Perpetrtor? Is this a new anti-hero, ala The Punisher?

Hmmm. So, he could tell it was an exclusive Luger cartridge without even picking it up and examining it? So far as I know, Lugers didn’t fire an exclusive cartridge. I bet it was really Miss Scarlet in the Conservatory with the Lead Pipe!

First time I can recall seeing Tracy’s coat wrinkled, and, his hat in anything but pristine condition (at ;east before the occasional bullet hole.)

Looks kinda like Colombo?

“And after the arrest, maybe I can find something to take care of this awful gas pain I’m having.”

DR. SCHNOZ (having returned to practice after losing his bid for office somewhere): Did I say “Lugar”? I meant “there’s a cartridge next to the LUGEE I hacked up.” Don’t bother to test the DNA – it’s mine.

Weird art work recently. Preferred the Dick Tracey of old. Its my age, I think . . .

Wild guess: Ning did the shooting. First of all, she has no dialogue throughout the story, which is a clue itself. Lots of murder mysteries turn out to be done by a background character, someone who doesn’t appear to be relevant to the story. Secondly, in the two panels she appears in (Tues, Fri), her right hand is covered, perhaps due to some gun residue or some other reason. The other possibility is Jerry Lennox. How did he know Mr. Reeves was hurt?

So….the ekg yesterday went fine (it said “probably normal” which made me chuckle) and the procedure today was (to me at least) pretty quick..they took me in around 9:40am and I was done and back outside before noon…no pain at all and obviously blood when I first used the bathroom at the office, but nothing else afterwards…I made sure the doctor wrote a prescription putting me out from work til next Sunday and he gave me a prescription for 15 percocet…which goes nicely with the 10 I still have left from December lol…all in all, everything is good

This “artwork” is terrible. In P1, that’s a knarly looking hand. And that nose…..please.

Sam: Eh? How do you know who did it?

Dick: I don’t. But it’s almost dinner time, and I promised Tess we’d eat at the new Chinese place downtown… let’s just arrest someone and call it a day.

Tracy has solved the case, based on a dubious clue (as many have pointed out already, a 9mm Parabellum spent cartridge does not automatically mean a Luger P.08 semiautomatic pistol was used). I’m not sure the position of the shell relative to Reeds’ body is probative, either.If there was a murderer, poor bussing of brass would be quite careless and/or amateurish. Maybe that is what helped Tracy leap successfully to a conclusion of someone’s guilt, even if not really logical….

……..he didn’t say that he necessarily knows who it is, just that they should go down and arrest the perpetrator….or will that be the percolator? Barney Fyffe had a knack for arresting some “cagey bird” or “foul fiend” before he knew what the hell he was doing….often someone innocent of everything……..

Migawd,that is one horribly homely crime scene technician.