Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 24, 2023

Recently discovered and lovingly restored early audition tape of Sprocket.

https://youtu.be/5BWhHC_Et5s

Wow, Shelley really drew Sprocket as a real Geoffrey in panel 3!

That neck is impossible!

How sad. No child should ever have to see their parents die through violence.

We finally get to see Mammy Nitrate, even if it’s just her hands!

So is anyone else allowed to comment? ;p

Good morning™, children of strife !

What a crap existence to start life in. They woulda been better off at the orphanage while waiting for something (someones) better to come along. Who vets the adopters anyway ?

Oh, what the heck. This is the perfect training ground for a guy like Silver, with his ever adoring protective sister along for the ride.

Such a scant amount of talk. People must really not like this one but I find the early life of the Nitrate kids to be fascinating.

Good morning™, everyone!

So, I was wrong about their mother not travelling with the kids and their father. There she is forging a certificate of authenticity, probably the same kind of fake vintage film that Silver tried to make to scam Vitamin Flintheart and Agate Aggie.

I feel sorry for the kids sitting there in fear while their dad’s angry customer bangs on the door. It’s kind of traumatic for the kids, especially Silver who just went through a candy-stealing scare.

In a well-run con, the mark never knows they’ve been taken. Guess the Nitrates messed up on this one.

I wonder if pop had to beat up on that customer. Probably didn’t get any referrals from the guy after doing it.

Are they related to Art Dekko ?

That’s a harsh origin so far. I mean origin because I haven’t seen these characters before. Have they ever appeared?

Oh yeah, and also, I love Pleger’s artwork! So dynamic!!

Is there a particular reason the Nitrate kids wear sunglasses all the time?

Papa Nitrate’s wristwatch is highlighted again. Hmm…

Here’s an example of a cop talking to Pop Nitrate: “My son says your kids stole his sunglasses.” LOL

1-HIYO: When the authorities thought me and Skeeter should go to school, Ma showed them High School Diplomas for both of us and they left us alone after that.

2-…and when the authorities tried to arrest Skeeter for killing Butch with a wrench…

3-…Dad shot them and buried the bodies in the back yard. They left us alone after that.

It does make the Nitrates an interesting family. Conmen (a “con-couple”?) who want to adopt orphans and try to give them a family. You don’t think of conmen with a heart, and while using a hyena to murder people isn’t exactly wholesome goodness, this explains Sprocket’s anger at Mrs. Flattop for trying to kidnap the infant DT III.

Pop made “special” films . I am intrigued.

MOVIE QUOTE—-

W.C.FIELDS

“What’s the penalty for murder in China?”

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE—1933

Sprocket’s “big leap” into romance makes more sense when you see t hey’ve never had any kind of “permanency” in their lives.

Someday you have to find out what it’s like to put down roots.

I have no idea what’s going on right now. Can someone please fill me in?

Love Sprocket’s smirk in panel one. Like McKayla Maroney.

Why does Silver remind me of Eddie HaSkell??

I’ve got it! Silver is talking is to his cellmate – Art Dekko! Both of them deal with counterfeits: one with film, and the other with art! LOL

More memories of the chaotic childhood of the Sprocket siblings aid us understanding their motivations.*

The circumstances of these revelations as told by Silver remain unclear, however.

*Does every acting-schooler really ask, “What’s my motivation?” Just wondering….