Smith has been abducted! Subdued and brought to BiggA gift from those in his old crew that Bribery will dig.Tightly bound, makes not a sound, until his eyes can seeGasp of recognition. Presumed dead, it’s Bribery!Head tilted over to one side. In his hands a roseHis smile makes Smith’s blood run cold, recalling what he knowsOf crimes and misdemeanors, dead man falling from the skyChin Chillars killed his double. Joie Packet could not fly.Bribery a naughty one, his friends tend to expireMatty Square boiled alive, a termination dire.Nah Tay was a special pal with skills that did amazeBigg put him into orbit. How he misses those fun days.Most of all he misses her: the ugly one, ChristineDove down a fiery chimney. The rank smoke not pristine.The cat that sat upon his lap, foul cigars it did smokeAs if the stench weren’t bad enough, upon the fumes you’d choke.Yet Bribery as we can see lives in the here and nowGold in hand. Smith in restraints. He might just take a bow.Time to pay outstanding debts. A Space Coupe settles allPlacate the man with rose in hand or take a nasty fall.
A LOT to absorb, beginning with the almost 50 year old info dismissed that Mr. Bribery was not originally Joie Packet (which brings up the new question: who was Bribery really? Was his name actually “Bribery”? Or will he be one of the Tracy villains like “Little Face” & “Flattop” who we found out had another actual name years later?) No matter how this plays out, I give Team Tracy SO much credit for getting our interest, keeping our interest, and making this IMHO the best storyline they have ever done! (And THAT’s saying a lot!)
In answer to the people who thought yesterday that something had happened to Mr. B’s neck, I went gathering some sample poses from 1965 and 1966. The interesting thing I found was that the angles tended to get more extreme as time went on.
1: Mr. Bribery is less tightly wrapped than I remember!2: Dick Tracey’s Rouges gallery has more lives that a box car full of cats! (I mean that in a good way!)3: Is it just me or does Mr. Bribery remind anyone else of the Chief Blue Meanie from “The Yellow Submarine”?
Questions have been asked about Miss Deal, Bribery’s secretary who at one time had the hots for Mr. B. A few posters have wondered whether she might even show up in this story at Bribery’s side. As things stand now, that would be unlikely.Miss Deal was at one time intensely loyal to Bribery and apparently in love with him. After Bribery’s fortunes turned south (Ugly Christine was killed and he lost his money), he became despondent and attempted to commit suicide, but Miss Deal intervened. Miss Deal then went to the bank to withdraw some of her own money for Bribery, but unbeknownst to her, the police were monitoring her account. While at the bank, Lizz secretly placed a 2-way wrist TV on Miss Deal’s backside, which Tracy & Co. used to track her back to Bribery’s hideout. Just as she was returning, Bribery looked out the window and saw Tracy in an air car. He mistakenly concluded Miss Deal had betrayed him to the police and flew into a rage. He wrestled his assistant to the ground and pulled out a knife, intending to stab her, when Tracy literally burst into the room to save her. As Bribery lay wounded on the floor, Miss Deal twice declared her hatred for her now former boss while grinding her high heel in his face. Both were then taken into custody.Miss Deal has never been seen or heard from again. It’s certainly possible that she and Bribery have reconciled, but there’s been no evidence of that up to now. Blaze is functioning in Miss Deal’s old role, making the latter’s absence even more conspicuous.But who knows, maybe Mike & Joe will throw us a curve and the curvy Miss Deal will indeed show up to play a role in this story.
Happy Sunday, DT fans!His “body double?” Was that a twin? A clone? Nice trick, anyway! Who would have guessed? Maybe one had the head tilted left, the other tilted right? Too bad Chet didn’t think a similar ruse for Flattop. “My body double went with Vitamin, I got the other way”. I got it! It was a Tibetan “Tulpa” created with the power of mind! If so, all is clear…
Wow….very interesting explanation. But I wonder how Bribery got such power in the underworld? In any event, I look for to Bribery FINALLY getting what’s coming to him.
Facile, surprisingly simple, effective explanation of how Mr. Bribery survived his big fall (technically, he didn’t, as we are now told that Joie took the fall for him).Now, can he bring enough pressure to bear on Diet Smith to force the industrialist to give up something of value: if not a space coupe, maybe some information that just might lead to one?
All of us “kids” (I’m 48) Mr. Bribery/Bigg is a brand new bad guy to us. I started reading DT toward the end of the “flying trash cans” (My child brain) and tried to keep up more or less as not every paper carried DT (my hometown dropped it in the 1980s)but Stars & Stripes carried it during my military days. I love these long summer stories, it is much more fun than reruns or third rate TV summer fill-ins….
Bribery says, “I expected Piggy Butcher to eliminate the couple…but alas, he was too easily distracted.”——————————————————————Is Bribery saying he wanted Piggy Butcher to kill the Chin Chillars? I guess I don’t follow that since they worked for him and rescued him from prison. And what does he mean that Butcher was too easily distracted? Distracted by what exactly? I’m not as much of an expert on these older stories as some of you, and if you can help fill in the blanks here it would help a lot. Thanks.
A blissful Sunday to everyone.-——-An abundance of good cooments today.-——-Pequod77: A fitting poem. I don’t see how you do it every time. You are our ‘Poet Laureate’.-———Willy007: Thanks for the Miss Deal background-———Have an abundant day my friends.
He did enjoy the lady Chillar’s facial hair. And wasn’t he “getting some” on the side, with all the personal waitress service ?_________________________When he wasn’t doing as you say, he was also portrayed frequently laying in bed reading porn.
Today, in Dick Tracy, it was explained that Mr. Bribery wasn’t the one that fell from the space coupe, but Joie Packet. Until now, Joie was presumed to be one of Bribery’s aliases, but today, Bribery announces that Joie was his “body double.”.The Chin Chillars (misspelled in the comic as Chinchillers) were actually involved in getting Bribery out of prison and putting Joie back in his stead. Bribery maintains, though, that Piggy Butcher was supposed to get rid of the Chin Chillars, but he was “distracted.”.Doesn’t make much sense to me..One, if Joie died, then the Chin Chillars were indeed involved in a murder, a murder which Tracy would have certainly known about, but never pursued against them..Two, as researched by other commentators, there was this implied confession of the Chin Chillars in which they may have admitted to Piggy that they had killed Bribery..Most of all, if in fact the Chin Chillars were doing Bribery’s bidding, liberating him from jail and putting his body double in his place, then why would Bribery want Piggy to have killed them?.But then, Bribery was a cold blooded murderer and he probably didn’t need much of a reason to kill his accomplices, the Chin Chillars. After all, they were witnesses to Bribery’s survival and escape, now that this is the official explanation to what went on in 1967.
Problem: The Chin Chillars were actually seen in the Space Coupe discussing disposing of BRIBERY, not any body double.
How did Bribery know they were even going to Piggy Butcher’s ’Farm"? In the original strip, it was indicated they decided to go there later as a place to escape and lay low.
Wouldn’t the real Bribery have still been in the Space Coupe when it landed at Piggy’s? Or did they drop him off somewhere at some point? I don’t recall the Space Coupe shown stopping anywhere from the time Bribery was picked up at the prison until they returned to it.
I absolutely feel the Gould intended at the time to kill off Bribery. Staton and Curtis are stretching it to bring him back, but under the circumstances, I will suspend disbelief, accept and enjoy it!
So I saw the reprinted strip from the ’60’s with the shrunken heads, and read on the Dick Tracy wikia about Nah Tay, who is dead. Someone recently also mentioned about Abner Kadaver freaking Tracy out with a (fake) shrunken head of Diet Smith. Any connection?
I love that Team Tracy has brought Bribery back to the strip. What a great character. He was both comic relief and a ruthless, violent criminal. He demanded loyalty, branding those he felt had earned his trust. Yet Bribery himself was not a loyal boss. He had Nah Tay killed. He and Christine killed the twins. He even tried to kill his cat, Kitty. Having a body double is in keeping with his paranoid mindset, as he made many enemies. He was in the habit of picking the pockets of those he had just bribed. No doubt he would have seen the Chin Chillars as disposable loose ends once they served their purpose. Is he now paying Notta for her silence, or is she a courier involved in Blackheart business? With new associates, Bribery looks to again become an entertaining character in this fabulous strip. His bold sharing with Smith the tale of the body double does not bode well for the Industrialist. He’ll need to be rescued, as he can expect no mercy from Bribery, Space Coupe or no. Could it be that Bribery will need mercy from Mysta? Smith has been a kind benefactor to Mysta. His abduction won’t go unanswered. Heaven help the fool that messes with her friends, especially her Imoto-Chan.
Thanks to cpalmeresq, Willy007 (Did Miss Deal get her fashion sense from Moon Maid?), coldsooner, Neil Wick, Night-Gaunt49, Gweedo (nice!), Vista Bill, Starman1948, Ray Toler, Chris Sherlock and JPuzzleWhiz for the kind words. Very much appreciated!
If Bribery was a “pauper” when he was apprehended, how could he regain wealth and power? Not certainly with the million floating in space, burned by the Chin Chillars! By the way, a bunch of banknotes floating in space should have been dispersed in orbit, certainly not staying a compact cloud like in Gould’s story! Come to think of it, Bribery behave in a strange erratical way, sometimes being frankly silly, like when he chanted “no more corpus delicti”, and playing ouja boards, sometimes more competently. A case of split personality that created a “Tulpa”? And who was the Tulpa, Joie Packet or the Mr Bribery who is talking to Diet Smith? Probably the latter. Moreover, Bribery never bore rings!
So Let me get this straight. The Chinchillas through Mr. Bribery body double off the Space Coupe and was alive all this time? So maybe it wasn’t Ugly Christine who threw herself down a chimney. Bring her back too.
Eurypides in the drama “Helen” claimed that it was not the real Helen that followed Paris to Troy, but a duplicate. The real Helen went to Egypt. So our Authors have an illustrious precedent. But this way, why not bring back Flattop or Breathless Mahoney?
Having a body double sounds plausible, but so does pulling a Pruneface, IE not actually dying at all, but being severly damaged or in a coma from such a fall. His medical records may have been ‘doctored’ by a confidante (Dr. Freezdrei perhaps?) and placed into cryogenic storage. Doctoring records has been done before in the Tracyverse (IE Mumbles) as well as staging ‘dissapearances’ (Willie the Fifth and Flyface).For closing, here are some links to drawings I did of Bribery and Ugly Christine!
I remember Piggy Butcher from back in 1967 or 1968. One of the grossest Dick Tracy villains ever, and that’s saying a lot. He came to a really nasty end, as I recall.
Further, on the reappearance of Mr. Bribery:I did not read that story at the time it was published. But from all the excellent research others have done, and the reprints they have posted, it seems that the Chin Chillars truly believed they were, in fact, dropping Bribery himself out of that Space Coup. What I mean is this:Look at the dialog. They are alone with themselves in the Space Coup as they discuss their plans. No one else is there, or listening in. Yet they talk as if they really believe what they are doing, not just play acting to put across a clever deception. Who are they posing for?No, I think Gould was telling a straight forward tale, and now Mike and Joe are trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Bribery is, for sure, a fascinating character, worth a new adventure, but I wish they could have come up with a more plausible explanation. Even some of our group did – speculating that he survived the fall and was injured but not killed. That would have been simpler and more believable.But now, on with the story.
The explanation of Bribery’s survival, while good, has a few holes in it. Who was it exactly that was picked up at the prison, Bribery or Joie Packet? It appears Packet was running international drug operations disguised as Bribery. Now, how did they wind up with both Briberys aboard the Space Coupe? There was never an indication of 4 people aboard. So, when did they make the substitution? Why would Bribery leave the Chin Chillars alone with the money? There appeared to be no time where they could’ve dropped Bribery off either before or after they disposed of Packet. Ah, what a mind mess. I hope we get more clarification on this but somehow I don’t think we will.
Pequod over 9 years ago
Smith has been abducted! Subdued and brought to BiggA gift from those in his old crew that Bribery will dig.Tightly bound, makes not a sound, until his eyes can seeGasp of recognition. Presumed dead, it’s Bribery!Head tilted over to one side. In his hands a roseHis smile makes Smith’s blood run cold, recalling what he knowsOf crimes and misdemeanors, dead man falling from the skyChin Chillars killed his double. Joie Packet could not fly.Bribery a naughty one, his friends tend to expireMatty Square boiled alive, a termination dire.Nah Tay was a special pal with skills that did amazeBigg put him into orbit. How he misses those fun days.Most of all he misses her: the ugly one, ChristineDove down a fiery chimney. The rank smoke not pristine.The cat that sat upon his lap, foul cigars it did smokeAs if the stench weren’t bad enough, upon the fumes you’d choke.Yet Bribery as we can see lives in the here and nowGold in hand. Smith in restraints. He might just take a bow.Time to pay outstanding debts. A Space Coupe settles allPlacate the man with rose in hand or take a nasty fall.
cpalmeresq over 9 years ago
A LOT to absorb, beginning with the almost 50 year old info dismissed that Mr. Bribery was not originally Joie Packet (which brings up the new question: who was Bribery really? Was his name actually “Bribery”? Or will he be one of the Tracy villains like “Little Face” & “Flattop” who we found out had another actual name years later?) No matter how this plays out, I give Team Tracy SO much credit for getting our interest, keeping our interest, and making this IMHO the best storyline they have ever done! (And THAT’s saying a lot!)
AnyFace over 9 years ago
Neil Wick over 9 years ago
Very surprising explanation. We always thought that the “body double” was just an alias — until now.
cpalmeresq over 9 years ago
Very slight correction to an otherwise perfect story: the name was always “Chillar” with an “A” as opposed to Chiller…Now, let’s move on!
Neil Wick over 9 years ago
In answer to the people who thought yesterday that something had happened to Mr. B’s neck, I went gathering some sample poses from 1965 and 1966. The interesting thing I found was that the angles tended to get more extreme as time went on.
doctor075 over 9 years ago
1: Mr. Bribery is less tightly wrapped than I remember!2: Dick Tracey’s Rouges gallery has more lives that a box car full of cats! (I mean that in a good way!)3: Is it just me or does Mr. Bribery remind anyone else of the Chief Blue Meanie from “The Yellow Submarine”?
willy007 over 9 years ago
Questions have been asked about Miss Deal, Bribery’s secretary who at one time had the hots for Mr. B. A few posters have wondered whether she might even show up in this story at Bribery’s side. As things stand now, that would be unlikely.Miss Deal was at one time intensely loyal to Bribery and apparently in love with him. After Bribery’s fortunes turned south (Ugly Christine was killed and he lost his money), he became despondent and attempted to commit suicide, but Miss Deal intervened. Miss Deal then went to the bank to withdraw some of her own money for Bribery, but unbeknownst to her, the police were monitoring her account. While at the bank, Lizz secretly placed a 2-way wrist TV on Miss Deal’s backside, which Tracy & Co. used to track her back to Bribery’s hideout. Just as she was returning, Bribery looked out the window and saw Tracy in an air car. He mistakenly concluded Miss Deal had betrayed him to the police and flew into a rage. He wrestled his assistant to the ground and pulled out a knife, intending to stab her, when Tracy literally burst into the room to save her. As Bribery lay wounded on the floor, Miss Deal twice declared her hatred for her now former boss while grinding her high heel in his face. Both were then taken into custody.Miss Deal has never been seen or heard from again. It’s certainly possible that she and Bribery have reconciled, but there’s been no evidence of that up to now. Blaze is functioning in Miss Deal’s old role, making the latter’s absence even more conspicuous.But who knows, maybe Mike & Joe will throw us a curve and the curvy Miss Deal will indeed show up to play a role in this story.
Ashmael over 9 years ago
Happy Sunday, DT fans!His “body double?” Was that a twin? A clone? Nice trick, anyway! Who would have guessed? Maybe one had the head tilted left, the other tilted right? Too bad Chet didn’t think a similar ruse for Flattop. “My body double went with Vitamin, I got the other way”. I got it! It was a Tibetan “Tulpa” created with the power of mind! If so, all is clear…
60sFan over 9 years ago
Bribery’s back and I’m on cloud nine! Thank you Mike Curtis and Joe Staton for bringing back this fantastic villain!
Tommygunner over 9 years ago
I read years ago that Bribery is supposed to look like FDR, and that Gould made him look that way because he hated FDR’s politics so much!
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ over 9 years ago
Good morning guys!-Nice work, Pequod77. Beautiful, AnyFace! What a strip today! So much to read and see! I’ll return to bed and continue tomorrow!
jonahhex1 over 9 years ago
Wow….very interesting explanation. But I wonder how Bribery got such power in the underworld? In any event, I look for to Bribery FINALLY getting what’s coming to him.
Ashmael over 9 years ago
Now Diet is in dire danger of having his head shrunk- or would be if Nah-Tay hadn’t been dropped in space, unless he, too, had a body double ;-)
AnyFace over 9 years ago
Agreed!
Bribery definitely shares some “Blue Blood” with those Blue Meanies.
Sisyphos over 9 years ago
Facile, surprisingly simple, effective explanation of how Mr. Bribery survived his big fall (technically, he didn’t, as we are now told that Joie took the fall for him).Now, can he bring enough pressure to bear on Diet Smith to force the industrialist to give up something of value: if not a space coupe, maybe some information that just might lead to one?
William Weedman over 9 years ago
All of us “kids” (I’m 48) Mr. Bribery/Bigg is a brand new bad guy to us. I started reading DT toward the end of the “flying trash cans” (My child brain) and tried to keep up more or less as not every paper carried DT (my hometown dropped it in the 1980s)but Stars & Stripes carried it during my military days. I love these long summer stories, it is much more fun than reruns or third rate TV summer fill-ins….
fhoffman01 over 9 years ago
Bribery says, “I expected Piggy Butcher to eliminate the couple…but alas, he was too easily distracted.”——————————————————————Is Bribery saying he wanted Piggy Butcher to kill the Chin Chillars? I guess I don’t follow that since they worked for him and rescued him from prison. And what does he mean that Butcher was too easily distracted? Distracted by what exactly? I’m not as much of an expert on these older stories as some of you, and if you can help fill in the blanks here it would help a lot. Thanks.
fhoffman01 over 9 years ago
I’m totally enjoying all this by the way!
Starman1948 over 9 years ago
A blissful Sunday to everyone.-——-An abundance of good cooments today.-——-Pequod77: A fitting poem. I don’t see how you do it every time. You are our ‘Poet Laureate’.-———Willy007: Thanks for the Miss Deal background-———Have an abundant day my friends.
Ray Toler over 9 years ago
He did enjoy the lady Chillar’s facial hair. And wasn’t he “getting some” on the side, with all the personal waitress service ?_________________________When he wasn’t doing as you say, he was also portrayed frequently laying in bed reading porn.
Cheapskate0 over 9 years ago
Today, in Dick Tracy, it was explained that Mr. Bribery wasn’t the one that fell from the space coupe, but Joie Packet. Until now, Joie was presumed to be one of Bribery’s aliases, but today, Bribery announces that Joie was his “body double.”.The Chin Chillars (misspelled in the comic as Chinchillers) were actually involved in getting Bribery out of prison and putting Joie back in his stead. Bribery maintains, though, that Piggy Butcher was supposed to get rid of the Chin Chillars, but he was “distracted.”.Doesn’t make much sense to me..One, if Joie died, then the Chin Chillars were indeed involved in a murder, a murder which Tracy would have certainly known about, but never pursued against them..Two, as researched by other commentators, there was this implied confession of the Chin Chillars in which they may have admitted to Piggy that they had killed Bribery..Most of all, if in fact the Chin Chillars were doing Bribery’s bidding, liberating him from jail and putting his body double in his place, then why would Bribery want Piggy to have killed them?.But then, Bribery was a cold blooded murderer and he probably didn’t need much of a reason to kill his accomplices, the Chin Chillars. After all, they were witnesses to Bribery’s survival and escape, now that this is the official explanation to what went on in 1967.
TracyFan 65 over 9 years ago
Problem: The Chin Chillars were actually seen in the Space Coupe discussing disposing of BRIBERY, not any body double.
How did Bribery know they were even going to Piggy Butcher’s ’Farm"? In the original strip, it was indicated they decided to go there later as a place to escape and lay low.
Wouldn’t the real Bribery have still been in the Space Coupe when it landed at Piggy’s? Or did they drop him off somewhere at some point? I don’t recall the Space Coupe shown stopping anywhere from the time Bribery was picked up at the prison until they returned to it.
I absolutely feel the Gould intended at the time to kill off Bribery. Staton and Curtis are stretching it to bring him back, but under the circumstances, I will suspend disbelief, accept and enjoy it!
Now. About Kitty………………
jrankin1959 over 9 years ago
RE: Any Face’s “We’re all back!” In the case of Moon Maid… “sorta.” (The “submit” link did not function.)
436rge over 9 years ago
When I see Bribery in my head I hear the voice of the actor who played Captain Hook in the old Peter Pan on tv in the 60s. Cyril Richard.
Don Bagert Premium Member over 9 years ago
Well, now we know why Mr. Bigg was regularly sending packages to the Chin Chillars, of which we saw Blaze deliver one a few months back.
Don Bagert Premium Member over 9 years ago
So I saw the reprinted strip from the ’60’s with the shrunken heads, and read on the Dick Tracy wikia about Nah Tay, who is dead. Someone recently also mentioned about Abner Kadaver freaking Tracy out with a (fake) shrunken head of Diet Smith. Any connection?
Pequod over 9 years ago
I love that Team Tracy has brought Bribery back to the strip. What a great character. He was both comic relief and a ruthless, violent criminal. He demanded loyalty, branding those he felt had earned his trust. Yet Bribery himself was not a loyal boss. He had Nah Tay killed. He and Christine killed the twins. He even tried to kill his cat, Kitty. Having a body double is in keeping with his paranoid mindset, as he made many enemies. He was in the habit of picking the pockets of those he had just bribed. No doubt he would have seen the Chin Chillars as disposable loose ends once they served their purpose. Is he now paying Notta for her silence, or is she a courier involved in Blackheart business? With new associates, Bribery looks to again become an entertaining character in this fabulous strip. His bold sharing with Smith the tale of the body double does not bode well for the Industrialist. He’ll need to be rescued, as he can expect no mercy from Bribery, Space Coupe or no. Could it be that Bribery will need mercy from Mysta? Smith has been a kind benefactor to Mysta. His abduction won’t go unanswered. Heaven help the fool that messes with her friends, especially her Imoto-Chan.
Thanks to cpalmeresq, Willy007 (Did Miss Deal get her fashion sense from Moon Maid?), coldsooner, Neil Wick, Night-Gaunt49, Gweedo (nice!), Vista Bill, Starman1948, Ray Toler, Chris Sherlock and JPuzzleWhiz for the kind words. Very much appreciated!
seanyj over 9 years ago
Hey hey, that goofy looking picture of Mr. Bribery in the first panel is hilarious!
Ashmael over 9 years ago
If Bribery was a “pauper” when he was apprehended, how could he regain wealth and power? Not certainly with the million floating in space, burned by the Chin Chillars! By the way, a bunch of banknotes floating in space should have been dispersed in orbit, certainly not staying a compact cloud like in Gould’s story! Come to think of it, Bribery behave in a strange erratical way, sometimes being frankly silly, like when he chanted “no more corpus delicti”, and playing ouja boards, sometimes more competently. A case of split personality that created a “Tulpa”? And who was the Tulpa, Joie Packet or the Mr Bribery who is talking to Diet Smith? Probably the latter. Moreover, Bribery never bore rings!
seanyj over 9 years ago
So Let me get this straight. The Chinchillas through Mr. Bribery body double off the Space Coupe and was alive all this time? So maybe it wasn’t Ugly Christine who threw herself down a chimney. Bring her back too.
Ashmael over 9 years ago
Eurypides in the drama “Helen” claimed that it was not the real Helen that followed Paris to Troy, but a duplicate. The real Helen went to Egypt. So our Authors have an illustrious precedent. But this way, why not bring back Flattop or Breathless Mahoney?
abdullahbaba999 over 9 years ago
This takes me back 50 years…what a flashback…PQ77 you are awesome..
s.gottlieb over 9 years ago
A few thoughts.
First, BRIBERY’S BACK! YAY!!!
Having said that, HOW DID HE SURVIVE?
Having a body double sounds plausible, but so does pulling a Pruneface, IE not actually dying at all, but being severly damaged or in a coma from such a fall. His medical records may have been ‘doctored’ by a confidante (Dr. Freezdrei perhaps?) and placed into cryogenic storage. Doctoring records has been done before in the Tracyverse (IE Mumbles) as well as staging ‘dissapearances’ (Willie the Fifth and Flyface).For closing, here are some links to drawings I did of Bribery and Ugly Christine!
http://fav.me/d4hehfq
http://fav.me/d8a3u6h
stuart over 9 years ago
They say everyone has a dopplegänger somehwere in the world.
WLG12037 over 9 years ago
I remember Piggy Butcher from back in 1967 or 1968. One of the grossest Dick Tracy villains ever, and that’s saying a lot. He came to a really nasty end, as I recall.
Ken in Ohio over 9 years ago
Further, on the reappearance of Mr. Bribery:I did not read that story at the time it was published. But from all the excellent research others have done, and the reprints they have posted, it seems that the Chin Chillars truly believed they were, in fact, dropping Bribery himself out of that Space Coup. What I mean is this:Look at the dialog. They are alone with themselves in the Space Coup as they discuss their plans. No one else is there, or listening in. Yet they talk as if they really believe what they are doing, not just play acting to put across a clever deception. Who are they posing for?No, I think Gould was telling a straight forward tale, and now Mike and Joe are trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Bribery is, for sure, a fascinating character, worth a new adventure, but I wish they could have come up with a more plausible explanation. Even some of our group did – speculating that he survived the fall and was injured but not killed. That would have been simpler and more believable.But now, on with the story.
Ken in Ohio over 9 years ago
BTW, doesn’t Mr. Bigg’s silhouette in the last panel look something like a praying mantis?
abdullahbaba999 over 9 years ago
I can see now why everybody has such a funny look on their faces when they talk to Mr. B…
Darryl Heine over 9 years ago
BRIBERY likes his rose!
Jerryjohn52 over 9 years ago
The explanation of Bribery’s survival, while good, has a few holes in it. Who was it exactly that was picked up at the prison, Bribery or Joie Packet? It appears Packet was running international drug operations disguised as Bribery. Now, how did they wind up with both Briberys aboard the Space Coupe? There was never an indication of 4 people aboard. So, when did they make the substitution? Why would Bribery leave the Chin Chillars alone with the money? There appeared to be no time where they could’ve dropped Bribery off either before or after they disposed of Packet. Ah, what a mind mess. I hope we get more clarification on this but somehow I don’t think we will.
Starman1948 over 9 years ago
@SYDNEY PHILLIPS: Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Your comments add much to this story line.
Pequod almost 8 years ago
Smith has been abducted! Subdued and brought to Bigg
A gift from those in his old crew that Bribery will dig.
Tightly bound, makes not a sound, until his eyes can see
Gasp of recognition. Presumed dead, it’s Bribery!
Head tilted over to one side. In his hands a rose
His smile makes Smith’s blood run cold, recalling what he knows
Of crimes and misdemeanors, dead man falling from the sky
Chin Chillars killed his double. Joie Packet could not fly.
Bribery a naughty one, his friends tend to expire
Matty Square boiled alive, a termination dire.
Nah Tay was a special pal with skills that did amaze
Bigg put him into orbit. How he misses those fun days.
Most of all he misses her: the ugly one, Christine
Dove down a fiery chimney. The rank smoke not pristine.
The cat that sat upon his lap, foul cigars it did smoke
As if the stench weren’t bad enough, upon the fumes you’d choke.
Yet Bribery as we can see lives in the here and now
Gold in hand. Smith in restraints. He might just take a bow.
Time to pay outstanding debts. A Space Coupe settles all
Placate the man with rose in hand or take a nasty fall.