Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for August 11, 2023

Good morning™, everyone!

Sprocket/Susan’s yelling “Fire!” provided just the right distraction for Madsen to look away from Audie. It wasn’t planned that way, I’m sure, but it was effective.

Was Sabrina pulling her car keys out of her purse when they were suddenly confronted by Madsen? That’s how I read the middle panel.

Sprocket saves the day! “Who was that masked woman?”

Audie seems to have gotten Madsen’s gun. But is he prepared to shoot it out with Tracy?

Good morning™, death dealer diverters !

For that Sprocky deserves to get away, provided Mike told the sub writers to Leave her alone. She’s mine !

‘fire.’ so he did…

Madsen did not think someone would interrupt him. The other guy is going to mop the floor with him.

I hope that the shot from Madsen’s weapon went through the ceiling and did not ricochet.

Fire, yes, but fire in the warehouse or fire from the gun!

Cliffhanger!!! Wait til next week!!!

Let’s hope he splits Banana Brain with his fist and then puts a bullet in him !!!

She may have been comfortable playing the phone scammer game, but in a situation where she knows she’s gotta clear out ’cause the cops are coming she still wants to warn people about a potentially deadly fire! She really is good people inside!

Sprocket provides a diversion. But I’ll bet her bare feet are REALLY suffering

WOW ! Terrific Images by Shelley today BIG ! time : )

thanks for the saving distraction. :D

armed robbery, attempted murder, felon in possession of a gun and this bad boy is being brought down before tracy can even clear his holster.

(throws hands up in the air) What did I just read?

In fairness, this is very obviously case of a set deadline, and these have to be rigidly enforces in cases such as continuity/continuing strips. I’m not carping about the other writer, but the fact that the story is running up to the end of the allotted window and they are attempting to avoid a last-minute log-jam..

Today (for me) today created a mayor flaw. I feel (and this is strictly my opinion) there needed to be, say, 2 additional days devoted to set-up both linear flow and suspense for what is a clearly key dramatic scene.

DAY ONE:

Possibly a shadowy hand on a back door knob. No identity clearly given way. Who is it? Madsen, transported on the wings of the booze fairies? Ernesto, trying to give Tracy a helping hand? Another unsuspected baddie about to be introduces in divergent plotline for future use? Sarge? Rosemary the telephone operator?

A character (seen from their visual POV) entering. Hands on the server case, removing it with a screwdriver. Possibly with brief, set-up overlaying dialog from outside to suggest urgency (maybe on the lines of ‘taking care of loose ends’ in the server room room’).

DAY TWO:

Final set-up to today. Baldy about to enter the room, giving , say, a ‘Give me a hand’ to his female second-in-command. Then a reverse shot through the opening door, possibly with the pair still in discussion, Baldy’s head turned as he is still addressing her and not looking straight head .

Last panel a shocked facial reaction.

In this version, there’s no indication that Madsen actually reached the building or explanation how he entered unseen. Things just happen.

Overall, I feel it would have been better to go with the other writee and leave me out of this.

So, she’s telling Madsen to shoot ’em? ;

Who am I supposed to root for here? The scamming con artists taking money from folks on a fixed income or the murderous goofus trying to shake them down? All I want is for Sprocket to get out of there and run back to her husband and be a good girl.

That Audie is a fast one. Both of his hands are moving as soon as Madboy looks to the door. If his left fist hits Madsen’s face, he may very well be down for the count. The ladies better run while they have a chance.

Finally some action……..great art work!

I can’t find the strip for August 10.5 :)

Shazam !

Oh – you meant as in stuff burning, didn’t you?

After weeks of enduring endless, boring babble (the strip, not Firestrike) we finally get a very good day’s strip!

Finally!

Don’t yell “fire” at somebody who is aiming a gun at your friends. Just sayin’…

Good old Sprocket: Honor among thieves, I guess. At least she isn’t a murderer like Mad… oh, wait.

Since I suspect my original ending will have to be replaced by a standard ‘and Tracy arrives and arrests them all’ ending, due to the number of characters now involved, here is the plot progression in my script, minus the two points that ended my script:

1) Having found a partial theft report of communications electronics during his all-nighter, Tracy heads to Argos to check on the address of the recipient of the hijacked equipment to determine why they didn’t file a report.2) Given a false address, Tracy heads back to HQ, having called in the address for confirmation.3) Notified of the shooting at Argo by Riger’s drone, which was en route to Argos and spotted the police car, Tracy returns and finds the stucco clue. At this point, Anders as dead in the original version.4) Reasoning it comes from the one pocket of the chief remaining stucco-fronted buildings in the city, Tracy heads there.5) Sam’s ready for the case to be closed, figuring the Nomar district will be riot of colors, so finding the appropriately colored building will be a snap. 6) No such luck. The color seems to be largely universal. Sam is abashed.7) Madsen has had time to arrive via bus, and is heading back to the call center (in a closed low watt TV station building). Spotting a police car and already paranoid from his ‘misplacing’ a bullet at Argos, Madsen ducks into cover, then reaches the closed TV station once the car is out of sight.8) Tracy approaches Ernesto, a habitually laconic local who spends much of his time watching the world pass by, to ask if he’s noted any unusual (either foot or truck traffic).9) Tracy has asked HQ to check with the utilities to see if any closed buildings in the area have been using uncounted-for electricity – the results found are the warehouse and closed TV station.Due to posting limits, I add the rest in comments below.

MOVIE QUOTE—-

“He was medically rejected. He’s a borderline manic depressive with schizophrenic tendencies”

“You can’t reject a man over a little thing like that!”

Army Psychiatrist&Bob Hope—-OFF LIMITS—1953

I’m serious here.I’m writing but nobody’s listening. Am I getting through out there? This is 198.23.5.11, who had to change his password on a glitch.

Well, it’s a free for all and it’s anybody’s guess who’ll get caught and who’ll get away.Baldy was sure he could "handle " Madsen, but it’s turning out to be more difficult than he thought. Sabrina seems to have lost a few inches in height.

So what comes next, and written by who?

A gunman should never move closer than within an arm’s length of the intended victim.

1-CHAINRING: I GOTTA GET TO SAFETY!

2-…Ooops. Wrong door. Carry on! Don’t mind me. I was never here. Talk about your "Bullwinkle Wrong Hats!

3-AUDIE TORIUM:* Ooooh! I’m going to give you such a smack!!! SABRA: SCRATCH HIS EYES OUT, AUDIE!

Good thing she opened the door.

To be followed by the Sisyphos wrap up.

A timely distraction by Sprocket “Susan” Nitrate! Inept Audie is saved, for the moment, from an armed killer, Leeland Madsen. Then, Audie seizes the opportunity for a defensive strike! Will it work for him, and for Sabrina, who is in momentary shock and unable to react cogently?