Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 04, 2023

Good morning™, everybody!

He actually left without his dinner! That must have been some telegram! There’s still no evidence that it’s a kidnapping if nothing has been heard for a week.

nice image of Dick in shadow in panel one…

Careful wording in Panel 2. Archie saw a cab pulling away. No one in the strip or the readers actually saw Wolfe get into that cab.

If Archie hasn’t seen or heard from Wolfe since, how does that equate to Wolfe being kidnapped? It only equates to Wolfe exhibiting unusual, but not unlawful, behavior. Archie apparently has not received any type or ransom note or he would have responded differently to Tracy’s question. It would not be the first or only time Wolfe has attempted to keep Archie in the dark about something he is doing.

Good morning™, baffled right hand !

Arch aint the only one who is puzzled over Nero’s sudden unexplained departure. P. 1. Tracy is in his old man of the mountain groove.

WITHOUT DINNER!?!

Has that clever legman checked with the cab company to see if they have a record of picking Wolfe up and where they dropped him? Will Tracy?

Isn’t this based on the novel where Wolfe either tries to go back to Montenegro, or join the Army in WW II, hide his addiction to Moon Pies or something?

Judge Crater got into a taxi in New York City, and…..

What’s Archie been doing for the past week?

Maybe it was Steppenwolf that got into the cab? (Sorry)!

When Mom calls, she means NOW, and she don’t want to come lookin’ for ya!

That doesn’t mean kidnapped it is at best a missing person who clearly left of his own free will

Did Archie get that cab’s license number? Did cabs in those days keep trip sheets? Tracy does not have a lot of clues to work with. I suppose due to his reputation, the department will be only too glad to devote manpower to finding Nero Wolfe.

Wolfe skipping dinner?! If Wolfe was still at the brownstone, Archie would’ve called Dr. Vollmer, because obviously Wolfe is sick. (and, then there would be a scene of of a mountain of yellow. WOlfe’s pajamas, his bed spread, etc. )

1-ARCHIE: So I come to you hat in hand for help, Mr. Detective Dick Tracy. DT: You don’t literally have to have your hat in your hand – that’s just an expression. What else do you remember?

2-ARCHIE: Well, I saw a cab listing hard to starboard leaving the house.

3-DT: To summarize what you’ve told me, he left without eating his dinner and that he’s been gone a whole week. My training and keen intuition suggests that… YOU MUST BE HIS MOTHER!

ARCHIE: Nah, I just need confirmation that he’s dead so I can collect on that insurance policy I took out a week ago.

Maybe this is a Knives Out Glass Onion deal where Wolfe is staging his own “kidnapping” just to see if Tracy & Archie can solve it.

So why do you think he is in Tracyville?

It was a “Tag Team” abduction, by Jenny Craig, and Richard Simmons

….perhaps ye telegram informs him that they’re cancelling the two-for-one on Big Macs a week earlier than the date on his coupon….he’s actually leaving dinner at home to get cold as he heads to McD’s headquarters to do a “Don’t you know WHO I am”, pronto?

I think we can accept that Nero Wolfe got into that Yellow Cab, which then drove off. The questions that remain are (or include), what did the telegram say (that’s the prime issue); where is Nero headed with that taxi; will he rendezvous with a gang of kidnappers; why does Archie believe Wolfe is now in Tracyville rather than NYC?

I expect at least some of these questions to be answered by Archie as his narrative continues. So far, I am not bothered by the pace of revelations….

The comments here are filling in a lot for me. Thanks folks !

anything to help the newbie in the ward here… loosen up that straitjacket, take your sneakers off, get comfortable and set a spell, as you’ll be here for awhile and never want to leave… LOL…

There is no way he left without dinner. He must have smuggled a whole turkey out for a snack !