Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 17, 2023

Tea for two

Pour more for you?

I know why you are here.

Grandpa’s “toy”

His pride and joy

The thing he held most dear.

Gloves are good

Wear them you should

Be cautious with the prize.

Stop right there

You would not dare

There’s murder in your eyes!

and Elvis Costello continues the scripting duties…

yes, I KNOW it’s ‘Eric’…

Don’t forget to take the batteries too!

Good Morning™, everyone!

Well, Eric Costello is back as the writer, presumably for a whole story this time. It seems like an Agatha Christie murder mystery, which could be a different sort of tale for Dick Tracy. I think it’s interesting so far. I assume that whatever she keeps in the safe is very valuable.

Good morning™, imminently deceased !

This doesn’t bode well for Grandma. Looks like we’re going to get the criminal act early before heading over to the MCU. Is it possible that Eric will write us a tale that bears more resemblance to the Tracy of old (as much as current standards permit) ?  Looks like Shell is illustrating this one. :-)

What dastardly deed is Firestrike up to?

Tune in next week, same fart time, same fart channel!

Hello, fellow Tea Sippers!

A new story has begun with Eric, the guest writer again. I like the mysterious beginning so far. Will the tea lady survive to sip another day? Will she have crumpets with her next cup of tea? Will we find out what “grandfather’s toy” actually is? For answers to these and many other questions, tune in to the next exciting installment of… DICK TRACY!

“And now for something completely different.”

With the old story wrapped up, we’ve undeniably started on a new story today. When I’m sure a new story’s started I go over to the Dick Tracy Wiki and update the page I created there, “List of Dick Tracy stories in GoComics”, adding the most recently finished story to the list. Normally I name the tale after its main villain. This one’s a little trickier, but not by much.

First off, the tale’s definitely about Sprocket. That’s clear/consistent throughout. And she’s technically a villain (wanted fugitive) so it makes sense to at least partially name the tale after her. But she isn’t the main villain. Aside from eluding authorities, all crimes she did here, she did for Audie whom she never betrayed. Madsen, as by far the most malevolent character in the tale is the best fit for main villain. As for Audie, if he ever returns in a tale where he’s undeniably the main villain, I’ll edit the title to include him, before Sprocket (who worked for him here from start to end), but after Madsen (who did betray him and was the bigger threat). As for the MM’s title, its writer posted his title for it in one of the DT Facebook fan clubs, and it’s a better title than what I’d come up with, so I used it here:

Madsen and Sprocket Nitrate (May 22-September 16)

Minit Mystery # 10: The Curse of Nuremoh (August 27-September 10)

Say hello to my little friend … or, in this case, my wonderful toy. Gloves means no fingerprints. Great artwork today, & an intriguing first strip of a new story.

Is this lady about to get her skull bashed in over the “toy”? Maybe Liz and Lee will catch this case. Haven’t seen either one in a month of Sundays.

I do love Shelley’s images today : )

Last panel…looks like she’s related to the brow, lol

I’m guessing that Grandpa’s toy is an antique gun. If that is a Liberty safe, then there was no need for the mystery person to harm the woman. Mystery Person could have told Liberty they were the FBI, and Liberty would be happy to provide the safe combination.

What a tease today’s strip is! What will happen next!

Mary Worth finally caved and dyed her hair “to look younger, and more ravishing”?……

This is why you ALWAYS keep a loaded M1911 in the safe. Or a crossbow, if you’re feeling nostalgic.

Very interesting .

Well, it looks like the loose ends have all been stated so that the arsonist mystery can be picked up later if necessary. And any of Sprocket, Audie and Sabrina can return if appropriate for a future, different story arc.

Now, is the “toy” something of value, or something potentially dangerous if put in the wrong (gloved) hands?

Tracy: “There are two cups of tea here, so the victim knew her assailant. And no prints on the cup, so they either wiped them clean or they wore gloves.” Darn clever fellow, this Dick Tracy….

PUT AWAAYYYYYY THOSE FILTHY MUPPET POSTCARDS!

Trust can be a bust!

Time for an estate sale!

Great art and color work….as the story begins…..

cue the dark ambient music with discordant overtones which, although broadly tonal, is inflected with chromatic and polytonal passages representing the archetypal example of a florid, melodramatic style without being interpreted as an overly heavy-handed metaphor within the context of the thematic material a bit on the frenetic and frantic side

Good to see Aquarius’ aunt (or whatever she was to him) up and about!

Something new begins! This page is fun, like a clip-show highlight reel of what otherwise might have been a very long scene, to get the ball rolling on a new caper!

Ah, “The Wonderful Toy.” It goes zip when it moves and bop when it stops and wrrrrr when it stands still. I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.

1-MRS. BIDDY: So kind of you bring me this delicious tea. You say it’s Ayahuasca? Interesting.

2-…Ah, but you wanted to see Grandfather’s toy, didn’t you?

3-…He played with it so often that we couldn’t bear to bury him with it so we had it cut off and preserved. Isn’t it huge?!?

4-…Wait. What are you doing with it? Pull your pants up this instance!

5-… NOOOOO! DON’T STICK IT THERE!!! YOU HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE MAN! YOU’RE OUT OF THE WILL!!!

At least the HOF Guy didn’t die this week

new story time!

I wonder if this is the missing “toy”

https://www.youtube (dot) com/watch?v=CzFuHz2uHZI

I’m thinking tomorrow’s strip will show the nice lady dead from a lethal dose of lead poisoning…..

What’s with the guest writer on the main story? Mike need to play catch-up again due to health? It sometimes feels he’s auditioning his replacement or a future co-writer…

And so it begins!

With guest writer Eric Costello (who wrote the just-ended Minit Mystery), the new arc gets off to a fast start. The somewhat eccentric-seeming nameless mature lady in the old-fashioned setting offers tea to an unseen guest, as well as to show grandfather’s “wonderful toy” that she keeps in a wall safe (how many “little old ladies” do you know with wall safes?!).

—And then, the final two panels: we don’t know exactly what she sees that is so alarming, but it may very well be the last thing she ever saw….

To be continued!…

Another episode of Murder She Dyked!