Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for April 21, 2013

Best collection of DT villains ever!

Hoo hoo! Blackjack is back, baby!

Hale, hale, the gangs all here!

Good morning fellow DT fans…

Looks like the gang’s all here! Where’s Abner?

Crimestopper’s Textbook: It’s always best not to get into an elevator with a gentleman wearing a mask and holding a chainsaw.

Quite the gallery of past and present Rogues. But now, with Blackjack in the mix? I can’t wait to see if Moon Maid gets weaved into this one.

Blackjack! Kind of a fish out of water in this crowd. He seems to love Tracy while the others here, not so much.

I think that’s a robot in the elevator.

Blackjack reminds me of Jim Carrey in “The Mask”

Mumbles doesn’t know how lucky he is.Say… is that Double guy part badger or is he wearing a toupee made from a badger?

Hang on…

I predict Doubleup is Tracy in disguise! Based on the Tubthumping comment…

Looks like Blackjack and Doubleup share the same tailor. Same tailor.

Aww, poor harmless cosplayer in the elevator.

You mean it’s not a good idea to get on an elevator with a a big dude wearing a fright wig, green plaid jacket and hockey mask? Huh, who knew?

I’m being reminded of a JUSTICE LEAGUE episode… and Blackjack is the Trickster

This whole situation just became a whole lot less sinister with the arrival of Blackjack.

Yes.

Let’s see you try that in real life Mrs. Flattop! About one second later you would be a corpse on the floor riddled with bulletholes!!!!

So, some of the Davey Mylar (Mr. Crime II) gang is getting back together with a couple of new members. Mumbles, B.B. Eyes, and Doubleup now off the hook by Mr. Kleen at the request of The Apparatus. The question: “Is this clandestine meeting for the purpose of working in conjunction or in opposition to the Apparatus?”

While I have enjoyed ALL of the stories Mike has written (some to a greater extent than others), I am not a great fan of these “super-villain” coalitions. Each member of the current un-holy group is a strong enough character to warrant his or her own story line. Together, they seem diminished and these miscreants who have been major foes of Tracy in the past are relegated to supporting roles.

When the Davey Mylar storyline (one of Mike’s best in my opinion) was being developed, Mike indicated that he and Joe were somewhat inspired by a whimsical drawing by Chester Gould speculating about Tracy’s response if attacked by all of his foes at once.

Well, now we have seen what would happen. So have B.B. Eyes, Mumbles, Doubleup, et.al. They have no motivation now to remain together (unless it was a condition of being sprung by The Apparatus, in which case: “Why is no one from The Apparatus a party to this clandestine (although it seems a lot of people know about it, ie: Stiletta and Blackjack) meeting?”

With the exception of Doubleup, every person involved in this meeting is a leader and not a follower. (Doubleup is the exception as he seems like a big dumb thug) They don’t work well with others (in the past, both Mumbles and B.B. Eyes have murdered members of their own gangs).

As Kantuck Nadie Nata-Akon said on April 18th: “…can I suggest to the new team. I would personally like a new long sub-plot with just one villain. Much like the way Mr. Gould did with some of my favorites; 88 Keys, the (Original) BB Eyes, or even Flattop? It’s more realistic at times and Hollywood’s obsession with either weak villains, or multiple villains in movies really needs ended.” and confirmed by Day-Day2001: “I also agree with this statement by Kantuck. Putting many villains together makes each of them a bit player. That was a problem with the Dick Tracy movie, the audience didn’t connect with the villains.”

I am a big fan of Mike Curtis’ writing and his storylines always offer surprises so I am sure he has interesting plans for this development. However, I find it a bit difficult to see these particular villains showing any cooperation or loyalty to each other when each has proven in the past to be strictly out for themselves and not necessarily willing to let anyone else take the lead.

Well, we knew Blackjack would return,but he seems out of place here. I wonder if he’s being set-up to take a fall or simply be a distraction?

There is a very nice tribute to 10 Sunday comic strips, including “Dick Tracy”, over at the “Nancy” comic site today! Sluggo with Tracy’s jaw (or Tracy with Sluggo’s nose.)

The “Tracy” panel in the Nancy Comic Strip today is a re-imagining of a specific panel from Chester Gould’s “interrupted honeymoon” story, where Tess and Tracy are newlyweds, heading to a mountain resort. I have the panel right in front of me as I type this. Very nicely done.

yep, a current gang so fearsome, their combined crimes don’t even warrant jail time, apparently. A gang whose only accomplishment thus far is getting their collective butts kicked by Dick Tracy so many times you need a calculator to total it up. Yes, Flattop was the real deal. As was Pruneface and many others. As is Abner K. But the ones we’re dealing with now should be assigned to Hemlock Holmes…..

I wonder was Blackjack invited or did he invite himself?

Less than 40 posts . . . for a SUNDAY.PAGE ?.Guess this tells us, it’s not a ZINGER., even with a current Rogues Gallery presentation.

To be fair, we all know it’s an interlude, a break / update between stories.

But most know, what’s just ahead. It’s the CALM before the STORM.

Where’s Pruneface and Big Boy? I wish Flattop was still alive. He was my favorite villain.

Hey! Dual purpose here!

“What’d he say?”

Mumblespeak Translator: He said, “What’s the big idea? Why’d you throw a knife at me?”

And the return of Blackjack and Tubthumping by Chumbawamba:

https://www.youtube.Com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc