Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 29, 2024

Good morning™, all!

I like the “MCU-7” license plate. So, the tower is about to be lit. I wonder if something dramatic will happen at that time.

I’ll point out the obvious, the tower was lit before the break.

Even Tracy is baffled by this “Long and winding road” of a story.

At this rate, he’s gonna need a visit from Dr. Robert!

The “blame” game never grows old.

Good morning™, Irritated Big Wigs And Flummoxed Detectives !

Maybe JPuzz can Jumbler those words into what they really mean ?

Fun fact: While they were in power, the Nazis, who were the world’s biggest cornballs, liked to play glockenspiels in their cornball parades, which were sometimes erroneously referred to as xylophones. Maybe Junior plans to turn on the lights in the tower, have glockenspiel music come out, & then blow up a big bomb to get revenge on America because he’s a cornball Nazi too, & Springstiff (whatever his name is) who seemed to know of Junior’s scheme is mistakenly referring to the glockenspiel as a xylophone. As for “beach”, who knows?

I don’t know if this has been mentioned already but “Xylophone” was the nickname for a US multiple rocket launcher system used during WW2. “Beach” could be referring to D-Day which in this care would be the day Junior decides to launch whatever he has planned.

Is that Tracy using his own car to make a night visit to the construction site? He didn’t want to bring Sam along.

“Circle back??” Shades of Jen “Peppermint Patty” Psaki, nowadays entertaining the few thousand Marxist media viewers remaining with lieberal commentary~~~

Excellent artwork today though.

I like the take of Ying-Yang in the first panel!

Well, as Brian pointed out, it has already been lit. Why is Tracy out there watching? Is he hoping to see it lit up for the first time (again)? And how would he know it was going to be lit? Why were the mayor and governor anxious to get it lit enough to pressure Totten to do the electrical work? (Publicity for themselves, one would guess. But this was never spelled out, and would be a lower priority than getting the shops opened and businesses hiring people, the politicians would be delaying the project by their whining – but would stage a grand lighting ceremony to claim credit they didn’t deserve.) And why did Sr cave into the pressure that eats into Totten Co profits.

And, of course, we still have the impossible murder of Springheels Jack as the only crime and absolutely no reason for it.

Kinda ironic eh. Kooky clock tower story still wasting time of audience.

What?!?!?! THAT Junior? Egad, has the lad gone voer to the dark side?!?!?!?!?!!!! ;)

(in worst John Wayne voice) Well, get those politicians in a CIRCLE!

Very cool image in the top right corner , is it two puppies or two sharks ?

Instead of action on a Sunday canvas, we are given more talking heads in single panels. This story is stretched out so far that we have forgotten the original point. No way to keep track of clues without a score card. But you’ll have plenty of time to mark your score card. Nothing ever seems to happen. We are not given the full information.

Who is the woman Toten is talking to? We have no idea who most of the incidental characters are because we are not told who they are or what is their function. Do people even try to read what they write? If they do, they have a high tolerance for boredom.

“Circle back?” Psssssssh, who’s said THAT lately? Oh, right…..SHE did…..vital to whatever plot’s going on here………

The placement of the tower and the windows will provide a code to whoever they are working with that the coast is clear.

▼ SPOILER ALERT BELOW IN MY ALT TAKE – BEACH AND XYLOFONE EXPLAINED (I’m pretty sure…)

1- FRED SR: Hello? Hookers 2 Your Door? Cancel my order. I’m so sleepy I can hardly keep my eyes open.

2- Madam Madam: I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Totten. Xyla Fone should’ve been there already! Oh well – just send her back here when she gets there. OH! Have you heard from Peach lately? She hasn’t reported to work since her last appointment with you…

3- FRED SR: NO! SHE WAS STILL ALIVE WHEN SHE LEFT THE CLOCK TOWER LAST WEEK! AND I …UH…ALREADY SENT XYLA BACK! WITH FULL PAYMENT! CLICK! Whew! That was close!

4- DT: I love parking in a “No Parking Or Unloading Zone” and then flashing my badge when some beat cop tells me to move along! I hope they come by soon – I’m sleepy. Hmmm.

5- DT: I bet a little romp in the backseat with Peach and Xyla would wake me right up. I wonder what they been up to lately…

I think I figured out what’s happening with the Premium members on Comics Kingdom no longer being allowed to post on their boards: Premium members like me are making posts on CK ahead of their non-Premium members, which probably didn’t go over well with them.

Feh? Feh??!?

Anything to do with the Looney Tunes Xylophone gag?

Well,Tracy will be a witness to whatever’s g oing to happen, which is probably NOT JUnior’s fondest wish…..

And Dum and Dee found a way to get the mortgage from the old buzzard