Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for July 22, 2015

Well, VistaBill, IS that Abner or Rikki? And what is Melies up to now?! And, once again, “Mr. Bigg” is shown with his rose. No matter where this all leads, Team Tracy has a winner on their hands! I look forward to the new strip every day!

Méliès comes in, unwelcomed guestTo present to Bigg the kidnapped SmithBigg is busy being unimpressedThat the prowess of Abner is a Myth!

As the smoke around him curled,The slowest hitman in the world.Bigg demands an explanationfor the lack of strangulation.

(Yeah, I switched rhyme schemes in mid-poem.)

AAAh, so Abner is still alive!

Good morning guys!-Welcome back Abner!

I wonder if this is the first time we’ve seen Méliès in a full profile view.

Abner lives! It’s been so long since we’ve seen him, it was easy to forget the Blackhearts hired him to kill Tracy. I’m glad we’re revisiting that subplot!

Didn’t Rikki have an Abner Kadaver mask in her apartment???

Hmmmm……Halloweens still three months away……Abner’s early. I was thinking……maybe, as with L’il Attitude, we’ll NEVER actually see Mr.Bigg. Anyways, he better not mess with Abner, or he’ll have to face the combined fury of Rikki and Vista Bill……look out!!!!!

Whoa…..it just occurred to me…..if this IS Bribery…..why is Notta still alive and kicking……

Is there anyone who isn’t in this story?!

Well, Abner Kadaver certainly makes a dramatic re-entry! But Mr. Bigg immediately brings him down to earth.So, yeah, why is Tracy still alive? Can anyone think up a few good reasons? —Such as, he’s a darn good cop, and very resilient? Etc. (Please continue….)

I think our melies is about to rat out his own plan. As for Bigg the looks very feminine

I have always liked the Mysterio vapor.

Does anyone else think that Mr Bigg’s arm and hand looks rather … feminine?

I have the feeling that when we finally do see Mr. Bribery, he’ll look pretty gruesome, too. That fall must have left a mark.

Abner’s Back…what a gas..I Love this Show..

Abner was last seen during Gruesome’s escape attempt.

Well done, Neil. The two-panel format is put to excellent use yet again. The mask we saw suggested to me not that dear Rikki was fibbing, but that Kadaver’s true face has not yet been revealed. Time will tell.

Since Stiletta, before her death, wore a black heart on her fencing jacket, I’m wondering if she was also connected to the Blackhearts. Of course it could have been because it WAS a fencing jacket (some of which have heart symbols). Still it begs the question as to why Mike continues to come back to the black heart theme.

@Ken in Ohio

“He’s in the shower” sounded like , "Oh, he just stepped out of the office, or “No ma’am, you husband hasn’t been in the bar all night.”_________________________

That was also the way I took it at the time.

Concerning the mask, it was stated that Abner did not need makeup to look as he does.

The reason I brought up Stiletta and her black heart jacket earlier was because it was she who originally hired Abner to kill Tracy. I was just wondering if there was a connection between her and the Blackhearts. It seems too coincidental that she would wear a black heart and in addition have the same goal to kill Tracy as the criminal organization.

Oddly, both Bribery and Stiletta were mangled beyond recognition when they were killed. If Bribery still lives, does Stiletta?

Hi DT friends & family, with the use of powerful narcotic sleeping pills I slept lastnight all through the night for the first time in what seemed like forever. No hangover too!.Gordon Heav…. I am going to send you an email this evening. I do hope to see you in the weeks to come!Kadaver knows that better thugs than he has tried to kill Tracy and we know that is not going to happen. Pray for healing & restoration for Starman1948 he is such an inspiration. ..personally I am so excited because the work on the farm here today will be accompanied by an energy that was robbed by sleeplessness. I really do not want to use a sleep aid, but Albert Einstein once said; common sense is working with theories that have already been proven. .Now, in the words of the great Starman1948 himself ;( to anybody that reads this) have a wonderful, blessed and peace filled day. .All of my faith and hope & love is in you Jesus. Thank you sir jmrMy email is; johnrussco@gmail.com

Gweedo, I’d LOVE f it turned out that Abner was some supermodel prettyboy…now THAT would be a stroke of genius!

Artist Joe Staton and writer Mike Curtis co-author “Dick Tracy,” – they have taken the strip so far from the premise that Chester Gould established it is unrecognizable. I don’t know, or understand, how they got involved with the Dick Tracy Strip. They should try to place it somewhere else. But it probably wouldn’t be accepted.

It is a terrible strip now.

Gleeb, abner avoided a prison autopsy when he faked his death to get out..Rikki (sorry…BILL’S RIKKI) was waiting for the “corpse” outside the prison

It’s easy to see where this is probably going… a perturbed Abner joining forces with Melies, as I was only was joking about last week, lol.

By the way, Diet Smith may have destroyed everything related to the Space Coupe technology but Bribery already had the blueprints. There is no reason to believe he still does not have them. But as his men stated, stealing one is easier than building one.

Looks like yes indeed, the bands getting back together! Could this be shaping up to be Team Tracy’s best storyline ever? The bar is set pretty high, but I think it just might be. Also, I’d love to see a one on one battle between Abner and Punjab…

Gweedo noted,The more I look at Rikki, the more I see “sideshow” cuteness. I will never try to steal her. She’s all yours, Bill-————————————————————————

You’re a good man, Gweedo! Good afternoon.

Which has caused me to wonder if the guy behind the mask is a babyface pretty boy just upping his scare factor.

I doubt that. If anything, maybe he looks worse without the mask.

Lonnie Cavenee remarked,Nice avater Vista Bill ;)-———————————————————————

Thanks, Lonnie. I had intended it to be a one day special but since Abner Kadaver is back, I’ll stick with it for a few days.

@John Russell: I’m glad you are getting some sleep now. And thank you for your kind words my friend.-——-@Ray Toler: Thanks for jogging our memories about the bad guys and gals.-——-@Willy007: I agree Stanton and Curtis have done an excellent job.-——-UPDATE ON MY LEFT EYE I saw the eye surgeon today. He said that my eye is healing faster than most. (The result of your prayers and best wishes). There is still some inflammation in the eye. He phoned in two prescriptions. They are to be used 4 times daily until I see him again on August 31. Thanks again. Have an abundant day my friends.

@Gweedo ‘the Magnificent’: Keep you eye out for wooden stakes when you visit Vista Bill and Rikki. LOL.-————Have an abundant day my friends.

@Neil Wick, et al: Thank you. All your prayers are greatly appreciated. Have an abundant day my friends.

Keeping Notta hooked on drugs would effectively keep her under Bribery’s control.

I love the history reviews. Thanks.

This is my 1500th Comment,, and I’m dedicating it to directing well-wishes towards those who need it, particularly John Russell and Starman1948 …

John, I can understand your reluctance to use prescription meds for your sleeplessness, it’s a slippery slope for many.

Have you considered meditation or relaxation techniques?

[Sounds sort of new-age-y, but sometimes even just the sense of taking positive action can have positive results.]

Lots of daily exercise can be beneficial as well.

Starman1948, as I’d mentioned before it sounds to me as if you’ve undergone a very similar procedure to the one my late father had done: If I remember correctly – and it was the better part of 10 years ago at this point – sometimes there can be a slight swelling of the retina as it heals, which might account for the wavy lines.

There could be other issues in play [… I’m hardly an opthamologist] but with luck things should hopefully improve.

Good luck, guys!

@Chris Sherlock and Ray Toler: Your prayers and good wishes are helping. Thanks again my friends.-—-@AnyFace: Thanks for the refresher on the new weapon.-—-Have a peaceful night my friends.

@AnyFace

Is there anyone who isn’t in this story?!

Well, they haven’t put me in it, yet…LOL!____________________

Me, neither.

[Though as AnyFace, it’s kinda hard to tell!]

Gweedo stated,Now wait a minnit, Starlight Starbright ! I’m not the vampire here. I’ll bring “stakes” and whine.. of silver bullets.-————————————————————————————————

Don’t forget to bring garlic cloves and wolfsbane, Gweedo!

Gweedo mentioned,Thanks, Bill. In case I didn’t say it before, Rikki’s sister, Riga, left me feeling rather stiff and was always putting me on ice when I tried to “advance”. Good afternoon o’ pallored one.-—————————————————————————-

That’s how the entire Mortis family is, Gweedo. Just play it cool.