Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 25, 2014

“It was very good exercise.” Gotta love it!

Blast from the past! Axel’s puny men are no match for Punjab.

@SYDNEY PHILLIPS repeated from late yesterday for your convenience:

Syd, we’ve seen Axel on the phone many times -————————————————————————When ??You must have read that Strip of July 12 many times ?

Axel has been known to talk on the phone at least three times:June 12:We discussed this extensively at the time, two different days, I think, but I can’t find any of that now, probably because I was quoting somebody who got banned and all reference to them is now erased. I know we talked about whether the curly receiver cord is accurate for that era, but it certainly seems to be the Model 300 (actively being installed from 1937 to 1952) that he is using:On July 12, Ma Silo identifies the caller as “Mr. Axel,” so I don’t think there can be any doubt that it was him who called and that means he has a phone.He didn’t speak to Annie on the phone, no doubt for confidentiality reasons. Calls would more than likely go through a local operator who had the ability to listen in.Lastly, Axel used the phone again on September 20 to call his sentries:

It appears that Kenyon may not have a phone, since he sent Annie to deliver a message to Axel. On the other hand, maybe he does have a phone, but doesn’t use it because of confidentiality.

We saw him communicating with his superior via a laptop computer, but that may be again for confidentiality reasons. I suspect that the townsfolk cannot communicate outside the town because there is no long distance operator who can or will connect them. We forget that direct-dialled long distance calls were not available until more recently. Where I grew up, you couldn’t even dial the next town until 1959-60. (I wasn’t born yet, but I know it from news reports of the time.)

Just now, I noticed that Axel switched from holding the phone in his left hand and the cigar in his right to the phone in his right hand and the cigar in his left. I guess that’s what comes of multi-tasking.

Punjab had quite a growth spurt in the last panel.

And it looks like we may be heading for a showdown at the Kenyon farm. Farms have featured prominently in the strip for the last year or so. I guess it’s a domain that Mike knows well.

Axel employs midgets? He’s quite a progressive person!

It is refreshing to see Punjab and friend Asp in action, à la Gray! Soon again it will be time for the real thing! I would not want to be one of Axel’s sentries on this day!

action today!

I’d say the “Harold Gray” look only makes the nostalgic factor here even better. Bravo, Team Tracy.

Punjab seems to have shrunk a bit since then. Probably from breathing Asp’s second hand smoke.

Seems like an awfully long set-up; the payoff should be good… I hope.

Nice touch with the Harold Gary look. Punjab had to downsize to fit inside the barn. Though outnumbered, the odds remained in his favor. Nice that he and Asp can reminisce before a fight. Memories, like the windmill of my Scimitar…

Good morning DT and Annie fans. The grand finale soon!God Bless the USA!

who knew punjab was 756 feet tall… either that or axel was guarded by the best security that munchkinland had to offer

Anyone here have easy access to the original Harold Gray strip that this is copied from? It would be interesting to compare the two.

Good morning guys!

Late start today! I love today’s strip and all the comments. It’s like Gulliver’s Travels! Axel should have been arrested for using child labor!

I can see it now…a new blockbuster movie…“Punjab vs. the Munchkins.” Make it so, Hollywood!

NG, compare the height of the guy draped over “P-Jabby”s leg.. IF the guy is six foot tall (beign generous) then P-Jabby is at LEAST twice his height making him twelve feet tall

Friend Asp is on the move…

How old is Annie supposed to be? Wasn’t she like 13 last time we saw her?

Punjab could dispatch of the munchkins quicker with an Uzi…… or a 12 ga “Streetsweeper”.

I did not notice this earlier, but Mike and Joe and Team give credit for this art at the bottom of panel 3 today: “Recreation of Harold Gray Panels.” I only saw it when I used the enlarger.

@Neil Wick

I guess it’s a lot easier to shout a small “eureka” by finding another panel with Axel on a phone, which, serves to POINT the >> FOCUS >> only there ? Surprisingly, no concern that it ‘side-steps’ (and IGNORES), the more profound ISSUE, raised ?? The puzzling absence of outside COMMUNICATIONS into Simmons Corners ? Even from the nearby Mainland ?

After all, there’s almost certainly a RADIO in every Home and Office ? A MUST ‘hear’ - Belinda broadcasting - convenience !. The original post tried to Query and Examine the available devices that would allow inward communicationsNo television it seems, antique phones (The Silos) - but Radio from any age/time should pick up more than ONE station

Highlighting,, the puzzling Inability for residents to receive Live INFORMATION from the Mainland or other sources from off the Island . . .which could serve to alert (at least some) that said Local station with ‘Belinda’ was intentionally “misleading” them, and spreading the IDEA that they were not back in 1944

Take a ’ peek ’ at my post on Punjab’s height on the DT Yahoo board ;- )

Believe it’s a SPLENDID art technique that Joe Staton uses on occasion.He USED the SAME “Larger than Life” technique on the Blaze Rize GUN - in the Taxi, used to kill Ms Flakey Biscuits (Oct 29, 2011)