Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 25, 2021

Good morning™, all!

The 10 of Spades has been spying on Abner? I guess the Ace of Spades really didn’t trust Kadaver, just as her said.

“Damn, I wish I had a cool costume instead of the ninja outfit with a playing card stapled to it.”

Good morning™, wild cards !

Vas ist los ?  If Abner fails he will be finished, quite literally.

Wow, I guess they’ll let anyone in for this dress rehearsal. So much for security.Security Guard- “Well, yeah, first there was the guy with the skull face and then the ninja dude but I didn’t think they were suspicious.”

There’s an old-timey sandbag counterweight for the stage rigging… is it mere background detail or perhaps foreshadowing?

“We can’t miss this chance”? That’s the opposite of what he said when some dealing with the Nitrates brought him close to Tracy, whom he still had a contract on. Then, he was going to follow his own plan.

Of course, he might have guessed that since Charlie is here now, he won’t be at the premiere.

I wonder if the 10 of spades was sent to kill Charlie21 after Abner failed and is surprised to see Abner and Rikki at the theatre ? Hmm…

And will Mysta, Honeymoon, and Crystal show up ?Stay tuned…

As Jimmy Durante said :" Everybody has ta get into the act" ! ROFL !

Why do they bother selling tickets to the show, when anyone can just wander in from off the street and watch the dress rehearsal for free?

Back up assassin

Another Assassin just in case Abner blows it again?

This story is like a shows blooper reel. The sloppiness is getting so much harder to ignore that even Neil is pointing out mistakes!

On another note, Rikki is looking quite healthy these days!

You forgot the hubba hubba.

Ah, The Phantom Of The Shakespeare Theater.

Guest starring: the Royal Flush gang!

If 10 of Spades is there to spy, wouldn’t it make more sense to not do it in costume?

Rikki is sexy in the first frame , and also in the second one , super great images again . And what is with the 10 of spades , he is guessing about what I wonder ?

this plot getting all shuffled

Psst – Abner! Alternate target at 1 o’clock…

For bad guys, this would be the equivalent of what teachers must periodically endure – the walk-through by the assistant principal to make sure you’re doing everything the way they want.

Supposedly a final dress rehearsal is going on, but no one noticed Rikki calling Abner, and the backstage is currently empty, and they’re able to move around freely within the theater?

Meanwhile, the Apparatus is broke from hiring Rudy Giuliani to handle their defense (he needs the money to hire competent lawyers to handle his own defense) and is planning to pay Abner off in something other than cash…

Has the Apparatus tapped Abner’s phone, or is it pure coincidence Ten is there? Is the Ten a theater buff hoping to see the play – and will quietly blow Abner away in the firm belief that the show must go on?

busted before they started.

My guess is that 10 is following Abner, and is wondering what they’re doing at a playhouse dress rehearsal.

HUGELY OFF TOPIC. Please don’t beat me with rubber chickens!! Just reviewing the new audio book of my story DEVIL’S DICE and I love the cheerful slimeball voice the reader used for my morgue attendant. SO, I’m breaking protocol and linking a small sample: https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21APg%2Dg5m9NRyBBkY&cid=269E3B73541C24E0&id=269E3B73541C24E0%212932&parId=269E3B73541C24E0%211456&o=OneUp

Looks like everyone is taking in this play! Is the payoff a high POV shot of the packed theater after the rehearsal, and everyone is dead in their seat?

SAM’S SCHOOL FOR SUPERVILLAINS – Bayonne, Marsailles, Whitechapel Lesson #71: Choosing Your “Front.” One little-known fact about Mr. Kadaver (Class of 2011) is that his “cover” occupation – that of a TV horror movie host – almost ruined his preferred occupation, that of professional assassin. In his early days, Mr. Kadaver would try to get himself into a proper location to take out his target, only to be interrupted by some kid looking for an autograph. Out of sheer necessity, Mr. K had to master the art of stealth, entering and exiting public buildings virtually unseen or with theatrical smoke despite his 19th-century style of dress and generally creepy appearance. Of course, Mr. K has three things working against him now; his archenemy (an early graduate of our rival academy), the passing years with declining health and his employers who, as we see, have backup waiting for him out of distrust if his motives or his abilities due to his health. Although The Tempest is not one of our more preferred Shakespeare plays (we prefer Richard III), we will stick around to see how all this plays out.

So 10’s been tailing Abner – shouldn’t be a surprise, since Ace didn’t expect Abner to stick to the deal. But he must be surprised that Abner’s going to work at a dress rehearsal. 10 might see Tracy, think he’s Abner’s target, and interrupt the hit.

Well, at least the question mark balloon isn’t BLUE?

The first floor of a theatre is called the Orchestra. The second floor is called the Mezzanine. The third floor is called the Balcony. Box seats are on each side of the stage (not completely around the Mezzanine or Balcony like arena Skyboxes).

Box Seats are nearer the stage but so far to the side that they do not give good views of the action. In fact, Box Seats are often sold at a discount because the view is so obstructed. If the stage thrusts out, patrons in box seats are often looking directly backstage or at the backs of the actor’s heads. Most newly-built theatres do not include them anymore and in theatres where they are present, they are generally used for lighting towers, sound speakers, or some other technical purpose now.

If Box Seats are sold now, they are less to see than to be seen—something Abner would certainly not want. Then again, if he is in a fully visible Box while wearing that costume, there will be no way he will be missed.

It is an extremely large theatre that has an Orchestra, Mezzanine, Balcony, and Box Seats. It seems that Patterson Playhouse has morphed into a theatre larger and more grand than anything currently on Broadway.

1-A.B.: So you got a role in the play? I guess you’ll need your hat…

2-…and maybe, if you get the opportunity, you could blast Charlie and Tracy with this blow gun. Try to make it look like something that’s a part of the play.

RIKKI: Maybe I’ll just shoot them with these two finger guns. PWEW PWHEW!

3-AB: I don’t think you’re fully grasping our mission, Rikki…

TEN SPADE (Sam’s neer-do-well brother): HA! The best part of this costume is the ability to sneak into theaters without pay…HEY! What are THEY doing here?

RIKKI: Sorry, AB. I’m not willing to jeopardize my big break by killing the audience. Except with my fantastic performance of course.

AB: Actually, THAT will probably get the job done. RIKKI: What? AB: What? TEN SPADE: What?

Capt. Obvious, Just as HER???? said. OMG, bad Canadian English, but nice summary of what we just read. Comments continue to be amusing

This isn’t so much an actual story as much as what can the writer out in the strip today, regardless of its connection to what happened previously or what might happen tomorrow or having any internal narrative logic. Again, I wonder if Mike has gotten completely bored with the Tracy strip.

That should be “writer put in the strip”

The lovely and gracious Miss Rikki is way beyond hot. But I digress, who is this 10 of spades?

I am as puzzled as anyone here by the sudden appearance of Ten of Spades in black bodysuit. Even he himself seems puzzled, as shown by the Question Mark thought-balloon in panel 3. None of the explanations I’ve read above seems completely convincing. Has he been tailing Abner? Or Rikki? Or Charlie 21? Or Tracy and Sam? In each case, why? Is he the designated Back-Up HitMan? Or is he the Cleaner, tasked with taking out Abner regardless of anything else?

The utterly porous Patterson Playhouse has horrid Security, to say the least! This supposedly “closed” dress rehearsal has attracted an ever-growing crowd of uninvited guests, to go along with those who were invited! It all surpasses understanding….

Why does she keep saying her seats are in a booth? The only “booth” in a theater is the space way in the back where the lighting and sound operators sit. Is she buying box seats? “Box seats” is a pretty well-known term.