Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 04, 2020

Some fans they like to send me things: Godzilla or a bat

A model hearse. A charcoal sketch of me in my top hat.

I knew who I must reach out to when this came to my door

Dick Tracy of the MCU. The criminals abhor

That when the man is on the case their dirty deeds soon end

The thieving, violent, and corrupt do not call him their friend.

Now here’s the box that holds a toxic thing of ill repute

When put to use deadly abuse occurs, there’s no dispute.

Does anyone care

That I no longer care

If the strip stays here

Or if it will disappear

I no longer fear

That my heart will tear

Though sadness is near

It’s a cross I have to bear

Good morning™ working death machines !

Looks like the prof modified his a bit to make it more wearable.

https://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2020/09/17

I’m agreeing with Little Timmy on this one: A whole week of sandbagging leading up to this?

So Sven received what looks like the “tradeshow demo” version consisting of only the essential components. No harness for wearing, much shorter tubing, etc. Sounds like something the inventor or consulting engineer would do to show how the much-publicized vampire killer committed the murder. But why send it to Sven and not to Tracy, unless the sender is someone who is brilliant yet does not have the capacity to separate fantasy from reality and thinks of Sven in a superhero/authority figure manner. They may have initially thought of Stokes in that manner, never conceiving that he might actually use it instead of just putting it in a display case as part of his vampire lectures.

With all the spare time in between plot points I’m afraid I can’t help but write and re-write different scenarios in my head to keep things interesting. Plus: It’s more fun than complaining! Thoughts?…

“HO HO HO! Well, Timmy, your mommy says that you’ve been a good boy this year. What would you like Santa to bring you?”

“Gee, Santa, I want a genuine Wham-O Working Artificial Vampire Apparatus!”

“Well, Timmy, Santa’s not sure about that.”

“Gee, Santa, I promise that I won’t use it on my brothers or sisters! Just the kids at school, especially that icky Suzy girl that keeps trying to kiss me!”

“Well…okay, Timmy, Santa will see what he can do.”

“Jeepers, Santa, you’re the bestest! How come you smell like cigarettes and beer?”

“Your mommy’s calling you, Timmy.”

And so it goes…

Good morning™, toppers!

“Why would a criminal show his hand?” It’s a question we readers have often ask each other.

The big question mark at the end look familiar. I feel like I’ve seen an example of Gould doing that, but I can’t really place it.

Lovely packing materials! It kind of looks like the living of a coffin.

Should get a fair amount of fingerprints off that, no matter how it’s been cleaned…

I’m seeing some “reasonable doubt” creeping in here. How many of these things are out there?Who really benefits if Faith, Hope, and Charity exit stage left? Or is Faith as victim sheer coincidence? Still a whole lot of directions this story could go. I’m guessing it will run to Halloween.

I thought we’d seen Stoke’s device, and Honeymoon and Annie found a link to build one on line—this CAN’T be all that uncommon.

A mad criminal, maybe?

In all fairness; that’s not a hand.

Great images again today , but what is the deal with the girl with the electrodes in her head ? And the top right image is fantastic .

Why indeed?

Today’s “First Responders’ Roll Of Honor” proves that the lead time of this strip is two months. (Check the “End of Watch” date.)

I don’t understand why we have the ridiculous idea that vamps have hollow teeth and suck blood through them. Their fangs are just teeth to tear flesh (you know, like wolves, lions, etc.). For a story about tracking a murderer, there is almost no sense of urgency. By now, Count Floyd could have drained the blood of the entire population of Wyoming.

Happy birthiversary! Today, in 1931 – “Dick Tracy” comic strip (originally Plainclothes Tracy), by Chester Gould, debuted.

Meanwhile, Dracula is reading this and thinking, Amateurs…

1-SVEN: If you’ll excuse me, I have something to do before the show.

2-BLONDIE: IN THE BOX! IT’S A BLOOD SUCKING MACHINE!!!

3-ANNIE: You’ve tipped your hand now, Sven! Arrest him Dick!

4-DT: You have the right to…uh…hang on. I got it on a card in my wallet.

SVEN: STOP! It’s not a blood sucking machine ya dolts! It’s my catheter! See! The pee goes in that bag there.

5-DT: Uh, so how do the two tubes work? YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO…

SVEN: ALL RIGHT! You got me. I’m a such a frequent donator to the local sperm bank that they hooked me up with this gadget to get the product straight from the ‘factory’, if you will. See, you stab those sharp things into your…

DT: COME ON GIRLS. NOTHING TO SEE HERE!

The vampire device looks like some type of medical apparatus from the 19th Century, right down to its container with the cloth lining similar to that found in caskets.

I’ve seen examples of these on various History Channel programs. Some of those old devices were pretty creepy looking. The function of some of these instruments and how they operated would make your skin crawl.

Happy Birthday Dick Tracy. Here is the first strip October 4, 1931.

https://i.postimg.cc/Bn6V4157/First-Tracy.jpg

Steampunk uterus.

I’m away for a week only to come back and find yet another real-life guest star. Seriously…can we have ONE STORY with just Tracy, Sam, Lizz and an interesting, original villain? No crossovers, no guest stars, no recycled villians, just something NEW. Maybe I’m asking too much, maybe I’ve just been spoiled by repeated readings of the classic Gould strips, but this strip is becoming a parody of itself.

Sorry Neil, nothing, repeat nothing in this strip has anything to do with Chester Gould. 90 years, and it was very very good at one time. Now, the strip has died.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DICK TRACY!!! To 89 more!!!

Speaking of ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night, I was always afraid of the Boogerman when I got the flu as a kid.

I also thought my house was haunted because of the night time weird smells, grunts, and groans until I realized that it was just my grandfather going to the bathroom.

If this story was a movie Sven & crew would be mocking it mercilessly on their show.

The working vampire apparatus sent to Sven and passed on by him to Tracy looks like a Steampunk version, mostly for display (or for cosplay), whereas the system actually used by Stokes is more streamlined and practical. Nonetheless, they may have a source or sources in common. I still expect that this will indeed serve as a clue for Tracy, though I’m not sure how direct the connection can be. While it seems doubtful that Stokes would have sent an (earlier?) apparatus version to Svengoolie, I don’t know who else would (despite the online discussion that Honeymoon tapped into).

HAPPY 89TH BIRTHDAY DICK TRACY!

What we may have here might not be a comic strip but a strip opera. Just like the daytime soap operas on television. Everybody will get their 15 seconds of strip time. Today and yesterday, it’s Lizz and Sam. Now when does Junior make his cameo appearance?