Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 29, 2016

Look to see in Suds and Duds rich array of coin machinesBlaze Rize encounters T-Bolt, more than dirty clothes come clean.Unburdened over coffee, while the cycle starts to spinTrusted her at doomed Ace Tower, will trust her once again.Confesses to fixation on a certain bearded ladyA complicated tragic dame, complex and oh so shady.T-Bolt seeks to intervene, means well despite deceptionFloats a notion on the breeze, gets back a warm reception.Elsewhere, at the MCU, Sam relays Lee’s good wordBlaze doth have a song to sing, she’ll chirrup like a bird.Yet Blaze is not the only one who has a tale to tellTracy likes to share the yarn of the time that Flakey fell.Was not of a bullet wound, as Blaze had thought the caseStunned to hear “a heart attack,” can’t keep a poker face.

.Good morning guys!.Nice poetic summary Pequod!

WOW! So Blaze really does have a clean record.

i was wondering how Tracy was going to spin this.

Time to update the old death list (for the first time in over six months!) only this time it’s to move an old name already on the list to the very bottom now that we finally got confirmation and that her death was somewhat different from what it seemed. Coming right up!

AnyFace said yesterdayThere might be a little bit of the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis movie Artists & Models going on there, too.

The little skirt, the spiked/feathered choker, the beehive hairdo, and even the boots (though they’re a slightly different style) and all look much closer to Diana Rigg’s look in that episode of the Avengers than the character you showed from Artists and Models.

The Unofficial GoComics Staton/Curtis Death ListAs compiled by boboscar, Tarry Plaguer, and AnyFaceNOTE: Names with a + were found dead or killed prior to the story start.+ Wormy & Thistledew (Reported dead in armory fire) 3/21/11Flyface 4/22/11The Fifth & Eddie Garcia (Caught in ’Thor’s Hammer’ beam weapon overload explosion) 4/25/11Earl (Flaky and Hot Rize’s innocent co-worker) 5/12/11Hot Rize (Asphyxiated in flour silo) 5/28/11Emma Parks (A.K.A. Ponytail Mk I) 6/14/11The 2 terrorists who tried to hire and double cross Morning Gloria 8/13/11Big Frost 10/20/11Apparatus Member (Killed by DoubleUp) 10/25/11 & fed to Tonsils 10/27/11+ Sizzler Sitzes (Hired by Kadaver to kill Charles Adams A.K.A. Baron Clovis in a hit and run. Was then shot and killed by Kadaver to keep him quiet) 10/31/11 identified 11/9/11Cueball 1/31/12Mr. Levitz (Doubleup’s main henchman in his first story; later killed by Kadaver to get Doubleup off) 3/13/12+ Vincent Vinyl 5/5/12 confirmed 5/11/12The 3 supporting members of the Mumbles Quartet (Car bomb explosion arranged by Abner Kadaver under Panda’s orders) 5/20/12Lt. Teevo (Fed to Muerte Vine by The Mushroom Lady) 7/6/12 confirmed 7/18/12Panda (Tripped and fell into Tonsils’ tank under smoke cover released by Abner Kadaver, then eaten) 7/15/12 confirmed 7/23/12Davey Mylar (A.K.A. Mr. Crime Mk II) 7/13/12 tombstone 9/30/12+ Arthur Curry (Aquarium director) 8/22/12Bookie (Measles’ partner) 10/14/12Measles (Overdose) 11/10/12+ Stephen Baux’s fiancée 2/8/13 identified 2/27/13Simon Baux A.K.A. Sweat Box (Struck by train during car chase) 2/24/13Diet Smith Industries Guard (Supposedly killed by Bardoll) 6/25/13 (Uncertain; shown lying on the ground and called a “casualty” on 6/29/13, but unconfirmed)Bardoll 7/7/13 confirmed 7/16/13Hy Pressure 9/28/13 confirmed 10/8/13Drs. Sail, Ghote, and Flash Munroe? (Still alive last we saw them, and ambiguous that they’re dead, but it often sounds like Curtis thinks of them as dead) 10/18/13Bill “Shortcake” Mitchell (Apparatus member) (never confirmed, but implied) 10/31/13Miles Mycroft (Garroted by Silver Nitrate, then fed to Lena the Hyena) 1/26/14Mr. Kolossal 4/30/14Ed Rosato (Never confirmed, but implied) 5/14/14Tabby Angus 5/28/14The Butcher of the Balkans A.K.A. Henrik Wilemse (Punjab placed his magic blanket over him, sending the Butcher on to “fly with the Maji” where none have ever returned) 7/27/14Axel’s “crack combat troops” (Implied to have all gone the same way as The Butcher of the Balkans a la Punjab) 9/30/14Axel (Blown up by Dr. Kenyon’s unstable experimental explosive) 10/5/14Otis (Killed by Gruesome) 12/5/14Mrs. Flattop (Flattened by 70-pound Film Canister thrown by Sprocket Nitrate in self-defense) 3/1/15 confirmed 3/6/15Cork 4/29/15 confirmed 5/1/15Fontane 5/6/15 confirmed 5/12/15Jimmy Choo Shooz (Sucked into undertow at Lake Prachett) 6/4/15Méliès (Accidentally shot with 50 caliber bullet – Possibly in right eye – By Apollo) 8/23/15 confirmed 8/31/15Rocket Munroe & Apollo (They would’ve been fatally shot by 9/12/15, on 9/13/15 it’s implied Venus is the only one on that floor still alive, on 9/21/15, Rocket & Apollo are among those on that floor who are identified.)VENUS IS DEAD FISH DEAD!!! 9/22/15+ Vic Smith /John Cassaday 11/7/15+ Byron Orlock 11/16/15Freddy Capp 11/23/15The Hangman/The Brow’s Son/Alfred Brau, Jr. (caught and hanged in Tracy’s safety cable while trying to hang Tracy) 12/10/15Flaky Biscuits death confirmed 5/29/16, but occurred sometime around 2011

Uh-oh……little bit of shock registered for that comment.

Gweedo greeted,Good morning, “Sir” !-————————————————————————-.Good morning Gweedo!.BTW, skip the formality, Gweedo. We’re friends!

I posted this somewhat late in the day yesterday, in response to posts by Lou, Chris Sherlock, and Neil about a costume worn by Diana Rigg in a 1966 episode of The Avengers. I thought it might be worth posting again for more people to see (with some added material) since it seems to solve one of the mysteries about Mrs. Chin Chillar — the inspiration for her costume.I believe Lou and Chris have nailed it. You can see in the photos below the clear similarities between Mrs. Peel’s outfit and Mrs. Chin Chillar’s. The corset, spike-heeled leather boots, and beehive hairdo are all reminiscent, and the choker collar/necklace is especially telling, though Notta’s necklace is more feathery instead of spiky. Add a few tweaks and accessories and you have Notta! The timeline fits well in relation to when the Avengers’ episode aired, about a year before Gould began working on Mrs. Chin Chillar. It also fits that Gould traveled to England on occasion and seems to have had a special interest in British fashions. (Sydney Phillips told me once that Gould visited England in the mid-60’s and remarked about all the miniskirts he saw.)I’ve wondered at times if Gould modeled Mrs. Chin Chillar after a specific look. Saloon girl? Playboy bunny? I have little doubt now that Mrs. Peel’s roaring hot “Queen of Sin” costume was his primary inspiration.By the way, the Avengers’ episode in which Diana Riggs dressed like this (“A Touch of Brimstone”) was the most watched episode in the history of the Avengers. (Interestingly, it was banned in America for being too racy! Never shown here in the 1960’s, though Gould could easily have gotten his hands on some still photos, as there were magazines that printed them.) This parallels the success of Notta’s original story, which sparked a Dick Tracy newspaper circulation peak (late 1967, the peak for the decade), and it’s also interesting because in a 1968 NBC documentary, Gould identified Mrs. Chin Chillar as one of his most popular characters ever. The fans obviously loved Mrs. Chin Chillar’s look, just as the Brits were dazzled by Emma Peel’s!Mrs. Peel’s attire (designed by Diana Rigg herself along with fashion designer John Bates) was definitely intended to be a dominatrix submissive costume, which fits with what some have wondered about Notta’s costume. It appears conclusive that Notta’s look was heavily influenced by dominatrix attire.Note, too, in the below photo that Mrs. Peel was shown with a chain on her left wrist and a collar around her neck. She, the “Queen,” was also a collared and leashed submissive. It’s an ironic combination, and it correlates well with the Tracy story, where we saw Notta play the role as Piggy’s love goddess, along with her dual role as his submissive and slave. The following is a quote from the article I linked in the last paragraph (I’ve bolded the most pertinent language):“Emma may see her role as the Dominatrix Royale, but Cartney has also cleverly garbed her as the collared and leashed submissive, he wants to discipline her, enslave her, possess her…Is it possible that Mrs. Peel provided inspiration for Moon Maid’s costume redesign, which launched two months before Notta first appeared? There are clear similarites between Mrs. Peel’s corset and the corset Moon Maid wore for the first time in April 1967, as well as between the opera gloves and stiletto-heeled boots (MM almost always wore flat-soled boots before then).It’s pretty compelling evidence: the primary inspiration for Notta’s attire was Mrs. Peel’s dominatrix costume, circa 1966!

This is just amazing stuff on these posts. I really wish I was this dedicated.

Here also is a slow motion, two and a half minute clip from the Avengers episode that shows Mrs. Peel being introduced for the first time in her costume:Emma Peel exhibited – slow motion

“There was no murder attempt.”Are you sure? I suspect we’re going to find out pretty quick, one way or the other. I would lean to the idea that Blaze did try to kill her, and that the reason she’s so surprised in the last panel is because she obviously failed, or at least failed to kill Flakey with bullets. I could be wrong. We shall see.

Gweedo clarified,Just getting in the “holiday” spirit, Bill after all you outrank me !-—————————————————————————-.Alas, Gweedo, I turned down the chance to be a commissioned officer. Thus, I was never called, “sir”!.I admire your mobility, Gweedo. You sure do get around the U.S.A.

Well, I was planning a “Part 2” of yesterday’s State of the World of DT, but I had to work a bit and then I got obsessed with Lou‘s speculation of the connection between Diana Rigg’s costume in The Avengers and Notta Fallar’s costume.

I was only going to be short anyway. We only had one additional character to add this past week, which was the little man that ran in to alert the mayor. I was going to talk about a few of the new characters from earlier in the story, but those will wait. I will post it when I get a chance, maybe later today, maybe on another day.

Not sure yet where this is going. But, if they’re saying that Flakey died of a heart attack because Blaze frightened her when she (Blaze) confronted her, then Blaze would still be responsible for her death. I guess it wouldn’t be 1st degree murder, but it certainly would be manslaughter or something

I’ve found at least three additional similarities between Emma and Notta’s costumes, which strengthens the argument that one inspired the other:1. Emma wore a see-through miniskirt that barely draped over the bottom of her corset. It provided a dynamic, frilly look to the lower part of her costume, especially during action scenes. Notta also initially wore a miniskirt that draped over the bottom of her corset, which she eventually removed after the first month of her adventure. After this, she wore only the corset, the bottom of which flared upward on Notta’s hips and became progressively skimpier as the story progressed. The point of all this is that Notta’s costume was originally modeled closely after Emma’s, until Gould later tweaked Notta’s look as he got a feel for her individual style.2. Emma’s neck ornament was more of a collar than a necklace, as evident in the still photos. Emma’s neck band looked to be about an inch wide. Similarly, at the beginning of her story, Notta’s neck ornament also had a wide band, giving it the appearance of a collar. As the story progressed, the neck band became thinner and wispier. Once again, Gould went initially with the look of the original model (Emma), then modified things later.3. Emma had a chain attached to her left arm, which symbolized her (ironically) submissive role — the “Queen” was a slave. Notta never wore a chain, but she was alternately tied up to hang by the waist, held with her hands clamped behind her, tied up and made to hang by her tiptoes, and finally handcuffed by Tracy. As with Emma, the bondage imagery symbolized Notta’s captivity and forced submission. Piggy’s Love Goddess, to whom the gangster willingly yielded his thoughts and desires, was forced to have sex with him (as Piggy’s radio warned her, “Love me or I hate you”), forced to serve him meals, forcibly shaved, forced to hang by her arms, and forced to submit to Tracy (handcuffed at arrest). As an aside, this is why I’m so sympathetic toward Notta, because she’s suffered so much cruelty and loneliness in life (losing her parents when she was very young, losing her brothers, losing her husband, losing her freedom, and suffering at the hands of Piggy), and why I would really love to see Mike Curtis take a crack at freeing her from her sad and cynical mental tomb, and bring out in her character the compassionate streak we know is there (e.g., her willingness to raise her brothers and her willingness to take care of Purdy even now rather than abandon him). She doesn’t have to fully reform, but it would be good to see her soften some and experience a little joy in life, you know? Maybe I’m just a softie, but I think Notta is a very special character, endowed with physical beauty (maybe she can shave?), amazing sensuality (change her character, but don’t ever change her costume!), and a rich and complicated life story (has had interactions with Bribery, Piggy, Diet, Tracy, Junior, and even Moon Maid!). She has the potential to become an incredible asset to this strip as a recurring character. Hey, if a murderous jerk like the Mole can turn his life around . . . Also as an aside, the undoubted dominatrix/submissive influence that inspired Notta’s costume and has affected her personal history also raises questions about what exactly is going on between Blaze (herself a dominatrix) and Notta (who has effectively brought Blaze to heel). Remember Notta’s comment to Blaze last year (4/3/2015) when they met for the first time? “I always prefer to work with people who are experienced, don’t you?” It seemed sexually suggestive the first time around, and in light of subsequent developments, I’m thinking more and more that it had to do with Blaze’s profession. I know Notta has become a controlling and abusive person, but is something deeper going on between her and Blaze?So many complexities to Notta! After all this time, and we’re still trying to unpack and understand everything Gould packed into her.

I’m a little lost here… I presume this detour is leading up to something.

I’ve had a heart attack, it can ruin your whole day…

Gweedo added,…What kind of degree have you Not sir, Vista Bill ?-——————————————————————————-.You seen to have pieced together a lot of (mis)information about me, Gweedo. I have no degree(s).

Great use of Wrist Wizard projected images to mesh background with current events. Lizz lost her grip on her mug o’ Joe when she spied Notta and Dick on Wendy’s show. Now Blaze sends java airborne at the news of the heart attack of the heartless Flakey Biscuits. Seems that Blaze is being scrubbed clean for a long-term role. She had the drop on Flakey, no doubt.

Thanks to Willy007, Vista Bill, Gweedo, Night-Gaunt49, 60sFan, Chris Sherlock, Ray Toler, fhofmann and JPuzzleWhiz for the kind words. Very much appreciated!Thanks for the Emma Peel links, Willy007. I chuckle when I see Diana Rigg as the wise and cunning Lady Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones. She is still wonderful at 78, a twinkle in her eye.

@Neil WickI was only going to be short anyway. …..Not satisfied with your current height ?

Arghh! This is why I need to proofread these posts better, especially the long ones.

And that’s about all I can do, Bill, as without a blasted passport I can’t even go back and forth to my favorite northern neighbors these days.

I think I’ve mentioned before that it’s not Canada’s idea to force Americans to have a passport, but they don’t want to let you in knowing you’ll have trouble getting back. You should probably just get the passport card. It’s only half the price and lets you travel by car across the border. I know you don’t want to give in but you’re only limiting your own options.

On Jim Doherty’s tiny history of Memorial Day, it deserves to be pointed out that commemorations of both Confederate and Union soldiers in the South apparently predated the annual commemorations in the northern states and served as a prototype for the Memorial Day that we know today. There are a lot of competing claims about where the first Memorial Day was held, but the end result is a sort of combination of former regional ceremonies.

It’s nice to see that Jim’s work is still alive and well.

Gweedo further remarked,…need for some college under your belt to even be considered for officer training.-———————————————————————-.Not in the 1950s, Gweedo. I completed US Army OCS – OCLS in 1956. Turned down the opportunity to become a commissioned officer.

I’m 6 feet tall, by the way — not too short, really.

I come here for the great Dick Tracy strips and get all kinds of amazing photos of Diana Rigg. Thank you all so very, very much. ;) As someone who wasn’t born when that show aired, I got to watch the reruns on the old independent TV station (see I’m old enough). Loved Diana, and the Avengers wasn’t the same when she left. One of my great annoyances of having satellite TV is that I can’t get the oldies channels (MeTV and the like). Got spoiled when a local station showed The Saint with Roger Moore, then they abruptly stopped. :(

Though a Confederate Memorial Day is like honoring John Wilkes Booth & Benedict Arnold the way I see it.

Yeah, I know that. On the other hand, young men (most men, I think) were sacrificed for the cause, even if it was the wrong cause. There are still people, I’m sure, who would like to start up that civil war again. I know that I have read that some in the former Confederate states didn’t think much of the north taking their commemoration idea.

I am not aware of a “passport card” but am aware of enhanced driver licenses, with an additional fee, available only in border states.

I have one of those enhance driver’s licenses from the Province of Quebec, but they apparently weren’t very popular and Quebec no longer issues them. I will have to get a passport again when mine expires this summer. The DL+ was cheaper.

In the U.S. you can get a “passport card” which is cheaper but is only good for land and, I think, sea crossings. It’s not good on airplanes. I believe that U.S. books and passport cards are all good for 10 years, so it’s not something you have to renew too often.

As for “a Donny” I don’t want to get too much into politics, but I don’t think that stepping up the rhetoric is going to deter any terrorists. If anything, it would just make them more aggressive.

A few years ago getting a passport was made much more difficult. The kinds of information they demanded was considerable to obtain. Very detailed.

There are new international standards now for passports. They now have to have chips in them (Canada was very slow adopting that). It’s very hard to get a passport photo matching all the criteria that it has to match. People’s pictures are often turned down. A few years ago, Canada actually made renewing a little more streamlined. It used to be like starting from scratch every time, and Canada used to have only 5-year passports. We now have the option of either 5 or 10 year validity. You can’t order extra pages anymore in the U.S., though. You have to get a whole new passport. If you travel to Canada, they very seldom stamp the passport. It would use up too many pages for frequent travellers.

I know a lot of Iranians and they’re all nice folks, but they go through difficult time quite often negotiating officials in the airport. Some Iranian-Canadians have had problems with their bank accounts being seized in recent months.

Fascinating. I am a fan of The Avengers (specifically, in the Steed/Peel era) and of sexy Diana Rigg, who reputedly (I read it in one article) had a somewhat NSFW nickname on the set relating to two of her finer points.But I am nearly as shocked as Blaze to hear Tracy claim that Flakey Biscuits died of a heart attack! I reconstruct the (to me) most probable scenario thusly: Blaze intended to shoot Biscuits with that suppressed (silenced) pistol, and did indeed fire at her—but must have missed! Flakey, on the other hand, with her poor diet, excess weight, and extreme fear, had a heart attack on the spot and died. The troublesome loose end in my reconstruction is that the police CSI guys apparently never found any bullet hole or bullet in the car. Could Blaze’s poor aim have sent the bullet out an open window? And did she police her own brass in the front seat?Maybe I’m just trying too hard to understand what really happened and am overthinking it….

Another bit of trivia: some people feel that Judi Dench’s M in the James Bond movies was actually supposed to be Mrs. eMma Peel. For instance, Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill went with that theory in their League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series (see http://www.jessnevins.com/annotations/2009annotations.html)

I love the look on Blaze’s face in that last panel. This is good stuff. It looks like the groundwork is being laid for her complete rehabilitation as a character. I hope that happens for Notta some day, or at least she gets to a better place. It’s going to get bad for her if Blaze betrays her and I hope she doesn’t flame out and die in the end. Cannot must not happen. Why exactly would she go to jail, anyway? It’s not been made clear, but unless they have evidence that Notta has committed a crime, I’m not exactly sure why the police are even after her. I’m sure it’s not because Tracy wants to punish her for what she did to his reputation. So why is she going to be arrested exactly? What is the charge? I suppose I’m just biased because normally I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the villains in this story. But I have a soft spot for Mrs. Chin Chillar and want to see her free and able to be with Purdy. She needs to stick around and keep working with Mr. Bribery too, whatever that’s all about. Don’t kill or send Notta away, please!

I don’t think Mike and Joe do anything special on Memorial Day. I know they always take a break on the Fourth and Christmas. Maybe Thanksgiving, too? This is not to speak against Memorial Day, it’s important! But I think a couple or so breaks a year is enough in my humble opinion.

Tomorrow, I expect that we’ll take a one-day break from the current story to recognize the country’s fallen.

They usually take a break to commemorate September 11 because it involved police officers directly. I don’t think they’ve ever done a special strip for Memorial Day. As important as the day is, I don’t think this is the best place to break the action for it.

Night-Gaunt49 said,I am also glad that you survived.-——————————————————————————.I was very fortunate. I served just after the Korean War and before the Vietnam War.