Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for June 17, 2014

Okay! Now this will be interesting!

Coded?

Hmmmm……interesting indeed…..

Baby names?How about Junior Jr.?

I guess that would be Junior Tracy Jr.

Morning, all!A strangely written letter with familiar handwriting?Oh, this has so many possibilities…

Is Kamina a good baby name? Cause I think so

Seriously, if this is indeed a letter from Little Orphan Annie to Sparkle Plenty back when she was a child and Sparkle is grown up now and a mother, does that mean Annie is an adult now too?

“does that mean Annie is an adult now too?”Good question, but I doubt it. The promo pics have all shown Annie as a girl.

- It’s from her childhood singing career (or at least, it seems to be)- It’s rather strangely written (what’s strange about how it’s written?)- Junior recognizes the handwriting (does he remember it from his own youth? Has he seen similar handwriting recently? If so, whose could it be?)- I wonder what it says.

I’m suspecting that it might have been written recently, and is only pretending to be from Sparkle’s past. Something about a missing ZIP code, a postage rate that never existed, and the fact that it’s “postage due” when it would have had sufficient postage if mailed years ago, doesn’t quite add up in my mind.

I wonder if it could be some sort of trap by Annie’s kidnappers. Why they’d want to expose themselves like that is anyone’s guess. If it is one of the suspects in the Annie case, would Junior recognize it? We haven’t seen his until now in this story, but the entire MCU is supposed to be on the Annie case. He’s part of the MCU, isn’t he?

I hope it is not Ownley Child again. Seems they would be more alarmed after that sequence, that finally got the original strip dropped from my local paper.

At least let us know what the letter says!

This letter needs further, forensic study by an expert. …And we need to know what it says and why it looks strange and why Junior thinks he recognizes the handwriting!Now, let’s consider baby names. Boy or girl?

How old is this letter; 25,30 years? Looks in better shape for its age then I do! LOL!

Oh, heck! Why not Chick Tracy?.(I mean, we have a Chick Corea, don’t we?)

Bet the letter is from Mindy Ermine

“A ‘Help Me’ letter from Annie with a location encoded ?”Please don’t tell me that it says “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.”

Neil Wick, I hate to correct you, but the postal rate did exist. Google it.

No, that would be Fruitbat Plenty.My bet is, it’s a girl and she’ll be named Annie. Or Gertie. (I’d prefer Annie.)

Maybe Annie is stuck in a time warp — before Sparkle grew up and before “zippy codes.” (Possibly bringing Diet Smith together with Mr. Am and Punjab and the Asp into the search for her.)

Good morning guys!

“Bet the letter is from Mindy Ermine”.I like the idea since it means Mysta would play a role in this tale..But I seriously doubt it. I can’t see the letter being from anyone but Annie.

Possibly a fan letter to Sparkle from Annie?

Baby names should be good….I wonder..

It couldn’t be from Annie. Junior has never seen her handwriting.

And who is Professor Kenyon?

I’m enjoying this story.

Hmmm, Junior has Red/Orange hair, no pupils, is adopted. Veddy interesting!

If it is Annie, and it is written in code, it most likely says Don’t Forget To Drink Your Ovaltine!

Hmm..If it’s a girl Withowta Tracy, or maybe Parcela Tracy.If it’s a boy Justin Other Tracy.Any other ideas?

Could the letter be from an adult who wrote it for a child? Maybe (long shot here) Junior recognizes the handwriting from someone involved in an orphanage, where he spent time?(Mike, stop toying with us! Tell us, already!)

This says it all…

Lionheart was Richard I.

@TXPAScot: Richard III? The ultrasound say the baby’s going to be a hunchback?LOL! Took me a couple of seconds…

And that’s why I think we’re jumping to a lot of ‘contusions’ here. Could be painfully embarrassing !

Well, it’s mere idle speculation on my part. None of what I’ve been saying is the least bit conclusive and I’m sure that most of it is wrong. I’m just kind of throwing some things out there to see if any of them are plausible. I think such things go through anyone’s head when reading a mystery.

It seems to me that Mike Curtis is much more of a mystery writer than any of the previous writers of this strip. Chase scenes don’t really come naturally to him, but mystery certainly seems to, in my opinion.