Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for January 28, 2024

Rumpus caused by elephant did leave a mess to mend

Reconstruction and repairs will soon come to an end.

Fata needs to disappear. This calls for an encore

Becoming Baxter does the trick. Fata is no more.

Bob and weave. Try to deceive. Look close to see plan B

Temper may flash. Do not crash or you shall have to flee.

“Watch me pull a rabbit from the hat here in my hand

Third time’s a charm. Here’s Harvey! Thus on my feet I land.”

“That trick never works!”

Good morning™, all!

Sam wasn’t kidding when he said that Baxter is a different kind of act than Fata is.

I feel like this isn’t the first reference to Harvey the imaginary rabbit in this strip (possibly best known from the Jimmy Stewart movie of 1950).

Gosh, what a total waste of a Sunday(I’m being nice and holding back). The only thing we learned is that

Dick is a dope!

It’s been established that Tracy has been fooled.

Unfortunately, this story has definitely gone off the rails. Too bad, it started with promise.

well, if Fata’s intent was to put across Baxter as being a pitifully inept magician, she’s succeeding quite nicely…

but if Baxter is known to have a rep as a lame-ass magician, then why would Vitamin even bother with him?… and surely there have been reviews of his past lousy performances, so why would the general public even BOTHER spending the time and money to see someone lacking in prestidigitational expertise and talent?…

and it seems that Dick is completely clueless as to Baxter/Fata…

Mike sure is making Dick seem even more dopier as the strip goes on…

We got the final tests in overnight that confirmed my father had really been gone since Tuesday so we shut off the ventilator, and he passed very quickly, thankfully.

As for the story, I’m enjoying it a lot. The very high collar Baxter is wearing to hide that there’s no Adam’s Apple is a very good touch. I wonder if Tracy is going to keep lurking backstage and catch her taking that off to catch her. Or if something else is going to give her away? Hopefully, she doesn’t try to kill him.

These magic shows sure have sold out crowds. I am surprised that B.O. Gertie and Lil Attitude Plenty have not appeared in the audience. Vitamin could get complimentary tickets for them.

The last story, as drawn-out as it was, at least had Tracy engaged in an actual criminal investigation. In this story he’s basically just hanging out at Patterson Playhouse, waiting for something to happen, clueless all the time. Come back to us Tracy!

Good morning™, Manly Men !

P.4. has Fatty looking her manly best. Dicky’s bamboozled (I got that part right).

Tracy is standing in the wings. Does he figure that these magicians must talk with each other? And the conversation goes beyond " how’s tricks".

“He’s a card, all right”. Ladies and gentlemen for the next trick. Baxter is going to do a tribute to Harry Houdini.

No way shoulder and chest width look so broad and hip look so narrow if it female in disguise. Even if she use shoulder padding and all it be evident.

Just what me always wanted. Me very own little bunny wabbit. Me gonna call him George. And then me is going to pets him and pats him and hugs him and squeeze him and eats hims and … and he very useful when me is go for walk in tha woods.

Kinda looks like Jimmy Stewart in some panels. And I’m guessing his/her magic is based on the likes of Tommy Cooper…..

I read Harvey in high school.

He’s trying for the funny, where Fata runs to the “mysterioso.” And in Real life, it must be expensive to develop and use different styles of magic, patters, and costumes to keep your identities separate.

As IvanB.Cohen commented we see Tracy standing in the wings. Why? If he’s clueless about the identity of “Baxter” he should be working any one of the cases I listed yesterday. If he has a clue standing in the wings watching the act doesn’t accomplish much of anything. There are a lot of things Tracy might be doing to check on ID if he’s suspicious, but standing in the wings is the least effective.

Nuthin’ up my sleeve… Presto! No doubt about it. Gotta get a new hat.

You can add “comedian” to Fata’s resume… Itvtakes a lot of talent to mix comedy and magic and succeed in doing so…

I’m wondering if everyone is making a mistake in calling Tracy a fool in the last panel as he watches on.

Did Lois Lane ever realize who Superman was ? If she plays the part right she might get away with it.

Perform poorly enough during this disguise, and eventually no one will want to book Baxter and then Plan B is blown. Oops, another stupid villain…

Not a lot of difference between this Sunday strip and last Sunday’s strip. If Baxter sees Tracy standing in the wings she may have to do another elephant vanish to get away.

What? She doesn’t have the elephant anymore? Well Plan C could be a rabbit vanish. It probably won’t be as effective but it’s very comical to see Harvey trying to crash through Vitamin’s dressing room wall. Poor little bunny repeatedly crashing into bricks until he knocks himself out can be very comical—(possibly if you’re Elmer Fudd).

A diversionary tactic trick……don’t be fooled Tracy………..

The GoComics ads appear to be trying to work some kind of A Clockwork Orange diversion trick on me. The ad with some babe with biguns is right above a disgusting ad showing intestinal parasites. Are they trying to get me excited about the sight of worms or disgusted at the sight of biguns???

Cute bunny though. So nicely drawn that you is drawn towards wanting to pets him.

1-BAXTER: You all probably recognize by now that VITAMIN has already pulled the best trick tonight…

2- POOF! He got you suckers to pay to see Fata Morgana and you got me instead!

3- HA! Big money for kid’s birthday tricks!

4- And Vitamin’s best trick of all…

5- NO REFUNDS! DT: I thought I was gonna see Junior but I see now that’s he’s The Amazing BAXTER, not BASTERD. Glad I didn’t pay for a seat at least. HEY! WHERE’S TESS???

Can someone tell me of every DT crossover in 2023? I’m collecting for the Crossover Universe wiki.

No disappearing act this week. We also have a talking Baxter and no means indicated for hiding a female voice in there somewhere. Tracy’s waiting on her so apparently he’s not done talking. Kind of a no-movement day.

MOVIE QUOTE—-

“The egg trick is OUT!”

Oliver Hardy—-HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929

My Condolences