Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 11, 2014

Very clever! Last panel reference especially funny!

This is insanely silly!

I’ll say!

G’morning all!

Why didn’t Sam use the radio when he was in the trunk?

Sam’s a little to smug for someone who got put in a trunk, don’t you think?

Sorry, I’m not following the Mad Magazine thing.

Mom’s back in the hospital, bronchitis and congestive heart failure this time. It’s frustrating to say the least. Today’s the 32nd anniversary of my dad’s unexpected departure so she better not get any funny ideas!

You should have exited stage left when you had the chance Gruesome.

Gweedo – It’s legal here !!! – Murray  said, 5 minutes ago

@avenger09

Punk inna trunk ?.More like Sam the man ruining the plan of the stage ham

Here’s the Mad Magazine story Joe & Mike were referencing. Well, the relevant part at least. http://cdn.comicartfans.com/Images/Category_2953/subcat_32890/woodgouldcaf.jpg

So, with the Nitrates on a collision course with Gruesome & Company, dare we hope for …

… a chase? :)

So even if I’m helplessIn your evil gripYou can not kill a flatfootIn a comic strip

The MAD quote was from an article on what if famous writers and composers would have done comic strips, and this was if Gilbert & Sullivan had written Dick Tracy.

For those interested in Melvin Purvis, here’s his 1957 appearance on TO TELL THE TRUTH …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vogKm-CS-AE

And the first few minutes of the 1974 Made-For-TV Movie, MELVIN PURVIS, G-MAN, directed by DARK SHADOWS creator Dan Curtis …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv0WR178w_Q

A few fun facts …

*Dale Robertson portrayed Purvis in both MELVIN PURVIS: G-MAN and its 1975 sequel, THE KANSAS CITY MASSACRE, also directed by Dan Curtis.

*One of the cast members of MELVIN PURVIS: G-MAN is BONANZA and ALL MY CHILDREN alumni David Canary.

*Another cast member is Dick Sargent, the second actor to portray Darren Stephens on the 1960’s sitcom BEWITCHED.

*To paraphrase from Wikipedia, these TV Movies were spin-offs of the 1973 theatrical film DILLINGER, which also featured Melvin Purvis, portrayed there by actor Ben Johnson.

*DILLINGER was written and directed by John Milius, who would likewise pull double duty on 1982’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN.

*Neatly dovetailing with both this storyline’s Christmas theme and Tracy’s overarching Law-Enforcement motif, DILLINGER featured the voice of Mr. Paul Frees — whose vocal talents graced many a Rankin-Bass holiday special — reading aloud words originally written by former F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover!

Morning, Tracyville!Two unanswered questions:1) Are they backstage or on stage?2) How did Sam get his Wrist Wizard back?

Classics of the stage done in freestyle – hey, this could catch on! (Melvin Purvis? How about Elliot Ness?) And major kudos for the Mad Magazine reference!

Here ya go, folks!

The MAD “Comic” Opera

Also: Original Wally Wood art from “If Famous Writers Wrote The Comics”, MAD #56

This time, Tracy seems (panel 3) to be holding a gun on Gruesome. Let’s hope he does better at it than Sam did!

Best wishes for your mother, avenger09.

Good morning my friends.@avenger09: sorry about your mom. You and your mom are in our prayers. God bless you.Have a blessed day my friends.

who knew tracy and the mcu were so skilled at improv?

This arrest of Gruesome seems almost too simple. I am thinking something else is about to happen, like the Nitrates unexpectedly barging in and disrupting the procedure. It could create enough of a diversion to allow Gruesome to slip away. Perhaps there will be another car chase involved soon?

Nice use of light and shadow in Panel One.

Avenger, tell Stilldamama she needs to move in under the bridge with you! The al fresco breezes mixed with that fresh diesel bouquet will pep her back up!

Nice references to Melvin Purvis and Mad Magazine today!

Probably. Gruesome sure as heck wouldn’t strap it on, walk out in the limelight, and have it start blaring police calls. So, NG, you are probably right!

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=927974

I’m with Sam on this. Tracy should have identified himself as Melvin Purvis.Okay, so Gruesome had Sam remove his wrist wizard, and after locking Sam up, Gruesome left it there (as Night-Gaunt49 and Morrow said).But what did he do with Sam’s gun?

its a wrap…or is it?

@avenger09Your mom has my prayers. I know what and how you are feeling. Last Friday (12/05) was the 45th anniv of dads departure. Mom struggled with congestive heart failure. But my friend, we serve a God who supplies all our needs....The strip is going forward at a nice pace. Gonna be interesting. But I’m betting Gruesome gets away for now.

I’ll bet I know what Tracy gets Sam for Christmas…a trunk.

Is Sam in violation of federal law by posing as an albeit dead federal official?

A bit confused here, so I defer to the experts:

Sam, after confronting Gruesome backstage, was put in a trunk, and we read that Gruesome had taken his Wrist Wizard (as an angry Sam fumed) and (presumably) Sam’s gun. So now we see Sam again, quoting from Mad Magazine, and holding up his wrist—it looks to me, that’s a regular watch, NOT Sam’s Wrist Wizard.It looks like Sam’s making a joke about the “wrist radio” since he didn’t have his Wrist Wizard.Also, where’s Sam’s gun?

Punk inna trunk?Here’s a real one from Mad magazine, circa 1967:.We know a punk whose name is Yunk. They put him in jail for killing a monk..He wasn’t told by Officer WunkTo call his lawyer, Bernie Shtunk..His legal rights had therefore shrunk.And his confession was deemed “bunk,”And in the street he went, ker-plunk..So if you’re caught while pushing junk,Or stuffing someone in a trunk,And you are worried that you’re sunk,Just remember the tale of the punk named Yunk..The End.

Thank you everyone for your concern, best wishes and prayers for my mom, she’s so far responding well to the treatment she’s getting. And thank you LeftThighBrainiac for your consistency, it’s somehow comforting! LOL!!!

I would have accepted Tracy’s stage name being Ralph Byrd.

@Futabakun: I remember those old serials. Those were the days.

Thanks to all for the trips down memory lane.

Have a blessed day my friends.

Sam is currently wearing an old - Wrist RADIO . . .Not a Wrist Wizard - That was taken by Gruesome along with his gun !

Well have to guess, he just kept the old device in his ‘back pocket’ ??

Mad Magazine: http://cdn.comicartfans.com/Images/Category_2953/subcat_32890/woodgouldcaf.jpg