Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 26, 2014

From a few short hours ago:Jim Doherty said, about 3 hours ago“Katy and I would like to wish all the Tracy fans who gather here a very merry Christmas..For those of you who don’t share my religious beliefs, I offer this salient quote from Scrooge’s nephew, Fred:.“. . . I am sure that I have always thought of Christmas Time, when it has come round— APART FROM THE VENERATION DUE TOITS SACRED NAME AND ORIGIN, IF ANYTHING BELONGINGTO IT CAN BE APART FROM THAT” [capitalization mine] “—as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts, freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say God bless it!”.So if you choose not to celebrate it as a commemoration of the birth of Christ, feel free to celebrate it as a secular holiday during which people are moved to treat each other more charitably and to enjoy the company of loved ones..God won’t mind either way, even if you don’t believe in Him.”Well put, Jim. Thank You for all your contributions! And a very Merry Christmas to you & you Katy!

Good morning guys…

Kandikane and Vitamin. I like that!

No fair, how does an old dude like Vitamin get a hot young chick like Kandikane Lane? Must be the money!

I figured we’d have to check on Vitamin in due course. Kandikane’s question in the last panel is more typical of the type of thing someone in a relationship with a police officer might ask, but I suppose that Vitamin does fond himself in peril quite often, not necessarily just due to his profession, but to the friends he hangs around with.

Took awhile, but there’s Vitamin. Whew!

Kandikane’s dialogue in panel three is pretty much word-for-word something either of her sisters might say.

And Vitamin’s dialogue would sound most excellent read by the late Hans Conried …

Uh-oh. If Kandicane is indeed in a relationship with Vitamin, I don’t see her as being a part of the cast for long. His romances don’t happy endings, they have casualties.

Today’s strip should prove that the story has been moving quickly since the blast (seen in the Dec. 13 strip), and several days have not passed since it happened.

Somehow or other, I can’t get excited by VF…… maybe because I know a few people like him.

Kandikane cutey could make any man feel twenty (or more) years younger than what the calendar claims! Vitamin certainly looks much younger here, though that’s mainly due to his “Teddy” makeup. I do hope she survives, with or without a relationship with old Flintheart….

And to Jim and Katy:God bless you. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and will have a joyous New Year!

I hope of all of you had a wonderful, joyous, Christmas (or whatever you choose to call it)

Meh, Kandikane is a “situational character” she wont be round for much longer. She’s ether gonna finish up her documentary and leave (after a call to her sister remarking how difficult it must be for THEM to maintain a relationship with someone always in harms way) or maybe (if we’re lucky) she’ll just get killed off.

I’m not a fan of the “wide-eyed puppy dog misdirected romance” angle

Good morning DT friends and fans.@cpalmeresq: thanks for sharing the post.Y’all have an awesome day.

Welcome to Tracyville, Kandikane! (You might want to pick up a copy of Tess Trueheart Tracy’s book on the subject…)

Does this mean that Tracy et al felt it was more important to take off after Gruesome rather then help rescue those still buried in rubble?

A big thank you to tsull2121 and big Vista Bill for the Attitude Plenty info.

I suppose I could spend some time looking this up, but I’ll take the easy way out and ask the experts here. Has Kandy ever seen the great thespian without his makeup on? WE sure have!

@ Jim Doherty:God won’t mind either way, even if you don’t believe in Him.”Actually, Jim, I believe He does mind. I Timothy 2: 3-4 says:God our Savior. . .desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.May we have His peace, through Jesus Christ, in the New Year.

Hmmm. Not sure what Kandikane or the Vitamin film documentary have brought to this storyline? Remove either element & Gruesome-in-Arsenic & Old Lace still “plays” out (oho! see what I did there!) & still includes Vitamin as a guest star. The romance angle is a stretch— Kandikane is still too underdeveloped a character for there to be much reader investment in her. All I know is she likes to talk on the phone w/ her sisters. And somehow she got a big film studio to invest in a documentary about an aging thespian.

Go, Vitamin! You are lucky!

“……is it ALWAYS”? Looks like dangerous times or peaceful ones, Kandikane has decided Vitamin and her are “always” now. Hey, she gets a luxurious standard of living for a few years, a huge inheritance, and Vitamin gets a companion for his final years…..not a bad deal for either, really. Know what would REALLY be a cool plot twist, though? If she ended up being hooked up with the Nitrates, and just playing Vitamin, lol.

I always am amused when people of different religions discuss “God”, though…..as the “Gods” in several of these religions have significant differences in them, and basically each religion doesn’t recognize the other’s God. I just respect everyone’s right to believe in whatever they want, as long as it doesn’t involve hurting others……

someone HAS to play the part of the troll. Timmy is happily filling the role.-————I’m not singling out tsull, I know there are others who share his view, but Morrow’s comments inspired the following (to be sung to the tune of “Rawhide”)

How Tracy Outta Be

Trollin’ trollin’ trollin’ (hyah!)trollin" trollin’ trollin’He’ll keep them complaints rollin,’ yes, he’s tried

He doesn’t like them femalesJust wants a strip with he-malesShooting and chasing crooks side by side

Be no more hesitatin’Just leave them gals a-waitin’Go nail B-B Eyes’ and Abner’s hides

So roll ’em out, siren onHead ’em off, take ’em down,Drag ’em in, and lock them up With Pride!

(and apologies to Frankie Lane)

Ken,.Re your comment below:.“Actually, Jim, I believe He does mind. I Timothy 2: 3-4 says:

“‘God our Savior. . .desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’”.Certainly God wants all people to come to know Him and His truth..But I can’t believe He turns away people who seek the truth with a sincere heart, because they make good faith errors..And truth is a relative thing, after all..In James Hilton’s LOST HORIZON, a Buddhist monk says something to the effect of “Many religions are moderately true.”.When I call my own faith “the True Faith,” it doesn’t follow that I believe all other faiths are patently and absolutely false; just that they are not as true as mine..I believe Jesus was the Human Incarnation of God, who came to Earth to redeem humanity..Jews, on the other hand, don’t believe that Jesus is Divine, but they do believe in God. And, presuming I’m right about Jesus, it follows that, if Jews are sincerely worshiping God, they must, even if they are unaware of it, be worshiping Jesus. Otherwise, the bedrock foundation of my Faith is incorrect..In my religion, we call Abraham “our Father in Faith,” and acknowledge that the Jews, God’s Chosen People, were the first to hear His word. Our central prayer, the Mass, is essentially a reenactment of a Seder supper..Similarly, virtually every faith in the world has some form of the Golden Rule, the ethic of reciprocity. .Christianity’s most famous declaration of this rule comes from Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”.But, as Jesus himself points out, this ethic was already part of the Old Testament, as Leviticus 18:19 has it, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” .Islam tradition has it that Mohammed proclaimed that we should “Wish for your brother what you wish for yourself.”.Buddhism teaches that we should “hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”.So there is an element of truth in the teachings of all these disparate faiths..Even the most primitive tribal faith is based on the presumption that there is something greater than ourselves that is owed worship and obedience. And that is the presumption on which every religion, ultimately, is based. The acknowledgement that there is some sort of omnipotent Creative Intelligence to which we own our existence..But even if this is denied, if one is an absolutely committed atheist, but an atheist who strive to live an ethical, moral life, hasn’t that atheist at least grasped the truth that we owe it to each other to conduct ourselves honorably and honestly in our interactions?.When I say God won’t mind, I don’t mean to imply that He doesn’t want us to come to see the full truth. I do mean that he cuts us imperfect humans slack if we are at least sincerely seeking the truth, and trying to live our lives according to the truth..I don’t really think this is the proper forum for a theological debate. I do think, however, that, especially at this time of year, we honor God more by trying to find common ground, and celebrating that common ground, than by condemning each other for our differences.