Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 01, 2023

Murder most foul for manuscripts. Tracy on the trail

Anticipate what may come next. Deadly should he fail.

In days of old did burnished gold make pages come alive

On modulating colors feast, they make the pages thrive.

The glory of scriptoria in monasteries started

Now a killer walks the earth whose victims have departed

Robbed of rare treasures and heirlooms. Research also plundered

In Tracy’s town the criminal may have thus badly blundered.

Illuminated manuscripts can bring a hefty price

Covetous greed. Knife-work with speed. Ability to slice.

wow, the entire band’s back together again at HQ…

Good morning™, all!

So, the “toy” is a medieval manuscript, definitely another link between the two murder (besides the M.O. of the killing). Lots of lab work being done, so that’s appreciated, and when did we see these five sitting around a table before? Nice.

Good morning™, MCU gang gatherers !

I thought getting The Fab Four together in one place would be easier than this. :-O  Lawyer lady is pretty cavalier with security. Does anyone see that as even a remotely “strong box” ?  She must be the bleeding heart public defender who has an unwavering faith in the goodness and kindness of all humanity. (Was defunding police really a good idea ?)

even though I’m glad to see that Lizz is still among the living, why is she even IN the conference room, as she’s not even involved with this case?…

Pat was dismayed at the lack of progress with the story and finally questioned Tracy about it.

As Tracy was basically rehashing old information, Pat was astonished at the size of Tracy’s gorilla hand!

Wanting to change the subject back to Tracy’s “Problem”, and seeing the brochure Tracy had for Gweedo’s goat therapy farm, Pat blurted out, “Anything come up?”

Tracy’s sly grin told Pat all he needed to know.

My version is much more entertaining than the snoozefest they give us.

Lee’s body language shows how bored she is, while Sam is hallucinating and sees Tracy as a talking Pastrami sandwich! Yummy!!!

13th-century womanuscripts are even rarer. Were any of those taken, too?

Next step – find out what those ancient manuscripts were about. That might give a clue as to who the person is that’s willing to kill to possess them.

Isn’t Dick too old, or possibly because he is, to speak like a child; “ME says”?

Ah Ha!

I’m trying to think of a common 13th century manuscript.

Eh, me says you is tries to copying how me is talks, Tracy.

Meaning that it was produced two centuries before the printers Aldus Manutius and William Caxton began printing books in Ital and England respectively.

Dear Tracy Team: Please put periods in M.E. to avoid making it look like Tracy suddenly has English as a second language.

single stab wound/ didn’t they originally day the first was multiple stab wounds?

“Manuscripts for Dummies”

When is Sal Monella going to show up ? We need some action .

“Well, Sam got lot of clues and went straight to the pawn shop, so we’re back to Square One. Anyone have any ideas? And, no, they don’t HAVE a butler, there was no alien abduction, Judge Crater wasn’t the killer, it wasn’t all a dream and I didn’t wake up in the shower, it WASN’T ‘those darned pixies gain’, and there isn’t LSD in the water supply. I mean, any OTHER suggestions besides the usual.”

Apparently MCU knew about the safe all along? A couple of lines to clarify this would have been nice. “There’s a safe here. Get someone to open that safe!”

Poor Dick had another stroke. He’s talking funny and using the phone as an ashtray.

CHIEF: Oh?

TRACY (grimly) Yes, an unpublished Dr. Seuss original, but the inclusion of Big Bird in the plot makes me question its validity!

SAM: Yeah! Now, if it was LAMB CHOP…

(Tracy tases Sam and mails him to some unsuspecting large city in China)

NEXT WEEK: Let’s all welcome B.O. Plenty in as the new ‘vexing sidekick’! We’ll ll enjoy a good humored snicker or two when B.O. sets up a tomato plot in the trunk of Tracy’s car and uses a LOT of ‘natural’ fertilizer.

Will Tracy notice? Will B.O. also go to china and become part of the new ‘buddy’ ROAD TO franchise with Sam? Will I never remember to take my meds first thing in the morning??

And what of sweet, innocent young Nell and the Spanish Inquisition?

wow…imagine that library fine

Tracy is speaking of Medical Examiner; periods should have been used (M.E.) to clarify that.

The shading by Shayne is terrific and adds to Shelley’s great art.

1-CHIEF: Anything going on that I might have to cover my arze about? DT: Hmmm…can’t think of… hang on – that’s probably for me…

2-…Tracy here…yes, reservations for 4. CHIEF: wide eyed FOUR!

3-…I’m hungry too, ya know. DT: Of course, Chief! You can have the bologna sandwich Tess packed for me. It’s in the breakroom fridge. Let’s wrap this up or we’ll be late…

4-…Old Biddy’s lawyer discovered a safe that had escaped our thorough exam of the murder room. No matter – it was empty anyway.

5-…Get the car, Sam! Lunch is on the Department today! EVERYONE BUT THE CHIEF: WHOO HOO! SKY’S THE LIMIT! LOBSTER! FILLETS! DOUBLE PASTRAMIS FOR ME!

Anybody seen or heard of a suspect yet?

I wonder if the missing volume Lee noticed was also rare. Surely whoever committed these murders won’t try to sell those manuscripts on Ebay.

Dum dum dum da!

Interwoven are the Caxton-Manutius murders and the rare 13th century manuscript now reported missing from Wilhelmina Caxton’s wall safe (the “toy”?). I’d take that terse description a step further and suggest that it was an illuminated manuscript, making it ever so much more lucrative a prize than if it had no pictures! How much does Ms. Caxton’s Lawyer Lady(accompanied here by her paralegal assistant, a timid-looking “Girl in Green,” as seems to be the standard supernumerary’ costume) know about the missing manuscript? Had she ever seen it, or been given a detailed description by the late client/collector? I expect we may only get partial answers to such questions.

Meanwhile, it’s good to see the MCU detectives and Chief Patton sitting down together around the conference table to share their information on the cases. Lizz, Lee, Sam, Tracy, and Pat are rarely seen all together like this, brainstorming the murders….

Exactly what I said a week ago. “Check the safe…see what’s missing.” But did anyone listen to me? No… of course not!

It must be “The Book Thief” !

A rare look at the back of Sam’s un-chapeaued head. Nicely rendered.

Okay,I say somebody thinks if you glue all the stolen manuscripts together they’ll form some wonderful treasure map.

Of course, they’ve never considered that the treasure might not still BE t here after all these years.

I say Stonewall Jackson found it first

The artwork is excellent……