Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 01, 2015

  1. Mmdash6
    Pequod  over 9 years ago

    Street legal is the Wonder Car, repaired and good to goWashed and waxed, buffed to a shine, chrome polished to a glow.Look to see film history: lost role of Vista BillA forgotten epic Western: outlaws he did kill.Stiletta pays a bonus, so the Nitrates stay discreetHush, hush and utter nada or sharp blade prepare to meet.Stiletta’s plans are devious, demonic beyond the paleAttempts to recruit Sprocket, who’s appalled and says “no sale.”Running scams and conning fools is a game she likes to playBut to snatch a baby from his crib, to that she says “no way.”Stiletta unaccustomed to rejection or dissentShe lets fly a lethal blade, for Sprocket’s heart it’s meant.Sprocket dodges danger; deadly blade misses its markHurls full film can at her foe; Stiletta’s world goes dark.Should have kept her sharp blade sheathed: lived life another dayShe’ll not kidnap the baby boy, for her life now ebbs away.

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    cpalmeresq  over 9 years ago

    Good for you, Sprocket!

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    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    Stiletta didn’t go for the kill.

    Big mistake.

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  4. Bill 1960
    Vista Bill Raley and Comet™  over 9 years ago

    Good morning fellow DT fans!

    Sprocket appeared to be girl that could hold her own in a fight and she seems to be proving her ability now! But, she had better be careful… Stiletta is wll armed! Opps! Will Silver get in the way of a flying knife! Shudder! One can down, two to go. I hope my movie isn’t damaged!

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    cpalmeresq  over 9 years ago

    “Attempts to recruit Sprocket, who’s appalled and says “no sale.”Always, (at least) one classic line that stands out to me…Thank You, as always, Pequod77!

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    seanyj  over 9 years ago

    CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT!

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    doctor075  over 9 years ago

    Any woman that can throw a 70 lb movie cannister like a shot put,my money is on her!

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    22ph  over 9 years ago

    Vista Bill to the rescue!Stilleta is losing her touch!

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    phinnmam  over 9 years ago

    What’s behind that door? And what will happen to Stilletta? If she’s still alive, will the Nitrate’s arrange for her to be picked up by Tracy & Co.? The N’s will probably have to abandon their hideout now, for Stilletta can tell the cops where they’re at. And what about the Agate Aggie con? Will they be able to pull that one off, or will they have to junk it? Stay tuned Tracy lovers! Same Tracy channel, same time, for the answer to all these questions!

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    Ashmael  over 9 years ago

    Happy Sunday, DT fans!Sprocket objectsTo Stiletta’s projectsA knife fliesReaction ensuesWhich Silver decries

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    Ashmael  over 9 years ago

    I think Sprocket’s thoughts about his brother’s question would be quite unprintable…

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    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    Could Stiletta’s blades be dipped in poison?

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    jonahhex1  over 9 years ago

    Even so, getting hit with anything weighing 35 pounds is gonna hurt like hell.

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    Ashmael  over 9 years ago

    @ GweedoThanks! I like haikus, limericks and epigrams. Short is vermy line! I like Pequod77’s verses, too!

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  15. Blunebottle
    blunebottle  over 9 years ago

    Stiletta has seriously underestimated her opponent. Her plans may not succeed after all.

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    coldsooner  over 9 years ago

    Disagreeable? Is that what you’d call it?

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    coldsooner  over 9 years ago

    Haiku? Gesundheit!

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  18. Neil2009
    Neil Wick  over 9 years ago

    70lb can … NOT EVEN!

    I’m sure you’re right, but this is fiction. for the purposes of this story, it’s 70 lbs., or at least it’s pretty solid and heavy. I know I wouldn’t like a 30-lb. can of film hurled at me.
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  19. Thinker
    Sisyphos  over 9 years ago

    Sprocket has proved her mettle! Unless, as AnyFace queried, Stiletta’s stilettos are dipped in poison, Sprocket has suffered only a flesh wound [Fearless Fosdick springs to mind, once again!], while Mrs. Flattop, on the receiving end of 70 pounds of steel film canister—worse than Captain America’s shield, I dare say—must at a minimum have severe contusions and probably cracked ribs.As for being able to hurl the 70-pounder a short distance I am certain Sprocket could do it, especially with the adrenalin rush of having just been wounded by her enemy’s blade. We have been foreknowledged that she has been lifting such cans since her youth; we know she stays in shape with yoga and dance-exercise; and she has great resilience and self-control as seen by her going always barefooted even in winter. In my distant youth, at summer jobs when in high school or college, weighing from as little as 120 to no more than 140 pounds at those times, I lifted, carried, and stacked 80-pound bundles of mattress boxes on the loading dock of a corrugated box company, and another summer tossed 25-pound boxes of nails around for fun or competition while working at a nail-coating facility. One gets used to it and develops the needed muscles….

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    willy007  over 9 years ago

    I just never expected this. Which is great because it means the strip is becoming more unpredictable. I also like how we’re getting more emotionally connected to the characters. We find ourselves rooting for Sprocket here, or I assume most fans are. That’s good, because the best and most memorable villains are usually the ones we’ve come to sympathize with, at least on some level.

    Finally, great work, Peqod77! Always enjoy your rhymes.

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  21. Bill 1960
    Vista Bill Raley and Comet™  over 9 years ago

    Thank you Gweedo! Made me feel young again! Good morning.

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  22. Oddball
    Morrow Cummings  over 9 years ago

    Bravo, PQ! (throwing roses out on the ice, as PQ did the poetic equivalent of a triple axel)

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    Tarry Plaguer  over 9 years ago

    70lb can … NOT EVEN!As a projectionist in my field, this can holds three reels of film and total weight was more close to 35LBS tops. Now, if she hurled two film cans at the same time to Flattop, then you got the 70LBS

    From what little bit of research I have done, I may agree that 70# is over estimating for 35mm, 70mm on the other hand would be correct. In any case a 4 reel can of 35mm should weigh around 60# according to this site I found. Scroll to bottom for info.Mike Curtis used to run a movie theater and so he would be the one who used to lug these full film cans up to the projection room and mount the film. I’m sure that to him they felt a lot heavier. (grin)

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    SYDNEY PHILLIPS  over 9 years ago

    Doing the Harvey Award Proud !

    Give Mike Curtis top credit, he’s raised the Nitrates to a NEW (respectful) level. One where Sprocket drops the awesome Mrs. Flattop easily into her ‘Side Pocket’ ! ?

    Who could have envisioned THIS turnaround of an outcome ? Heck ! Wasn’t this the dangerous woman that had Mumbles looking like ‘Fumbles’, and recently after another “Hmm!” - sliced up Blowtop like a block of Swiss Cheese ?

    This really ‘rachets UP’ for the Sprocket profile . . .Tomorrow we’ll see, if Mrs. F really is a Pro . . . or at serious, “stand up” time, just a hollow So and So ?

    Difficult to understand how Silver punches HER and still walks away unharmed (?)

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  25. Rick
    davidf42  over 9 years ago

    Morning, Tracyville!

    Wow, talk about action! This is a great way to start the morning!

    Pequod – Great job once again!

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  26. Bill 1960
    Vista Bill Raley and Comet™  over 9 years ago

    Does the movie starring Vista Bill require all three cans? That must have been a Cecil B. DeMille several hour long epic!

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    Ken in Ohio  over 9 years ago

    If perhaps it makes a difference, Sprocket made the point last Sunday that these were the old type of steel cans. From that, I took it to mean that newer cans were made of some other metal and were considerably lighter. I have no knowledge of these matters, but maybe the older cans weighed more?

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    Starman1948  over 9 years ago

    Good morning my friends. Another great poem Pequod! Excellent comments everyone. In the last panel we see the knife which grazed Sprocket has stuck in the door. This is getting exciting so the storyline will probably change tomorrow and leave us hanging. We will probably have to wait a week or more to find out what happened next. Have a peaceful Sunday everyone.

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    jrankin1959  over 9 years ago

    Uh, bro? A little help, here?

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    nighthawk1  over 9 years ago

    And the fight is on. Get ’er, Sprocket!!

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    maxmung2  over 9 years ago

    Will it be time to feed Leana ?

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    Ray Toler  over 9 years ago

    As a projectionist in my field, this can holds three reels of film and total weight was more close to 35LBS tops._____________________The films in these canisters are antique cellulose based prints not plastic/polyester based like the modern day. A lot more weight in the old stock.

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    boboscar  over 9 years ago

    Yesterday, I said goodbye to Sprocket. Looks like I said goodbye to the wrong woman.Poor Mrs. Flattop (except, not really). She made the big mistake of bringing a knife to a 70lbs steel can fight.

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  34. Jeep head 02
    Ray Toler  over 9 years ago

    Sprocket objectsTo Stiletta’s projects ……__________________________

    My stars, I’m getting vertigo.Reading all these rhymes isn’t easy, you know!

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  35. Mmdash6
    Pequod  over 9 years ago

    A stunning turn of events, as Sprocket dodges danger and turns the tables on Stiletta. A full film can introduced earlier had to later become a deadly projectile. She wasn’t fibbing about her strength. Stiletta nearly had her revenge on Tracy a couple of Harvey Awards back, yet Sam slipped in to save the day. Vanquishing one’s foe is hungry work. Having worked up an appetite taking out Stiletta, maybe the Nitrates will retire to the Wonder Car for a tasty repast.

    Thanks to cpalmeresq, Night-Gaunt49 (bravo!), Gweedo, Ashmael (well done!), Neil Wick, Willy007, Morrow, davidf42, Starman1948, Chris Sherlock and Ray Toler (Nice! I like Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart, but when I get Vertigo it is primarily for Kim Novak.) for the kind words. Very much appreciated!

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    abdullahbaba999  over 9 years ago

    This strip is getting good…

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    PatrickDC202  over 9 years ago

    Ah, but you are all assuming that there are actually movies in those cans.

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  38. Oddball
    Morrow Cummings  over 9 years ago

    Now we are fixing to see if Silver’s protective instinct for his sister is the same as hers for him! I, for one, wouldn’t mind in a second if they fed Stiletta to Lena. The ribs might be a little bare, but good chewing. Not much of a backstrap, though.

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    mumbles  over 9 years ago

    Bring in Ronda Rousey, then you got some pay-per-view action

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    HAL69  over 9 years ago

    Pequod and NightGaunt49—great rhymes, thank you!

    Stilletta was faster on the draw, but Sprocket leapt aside, wounded. Adrenaline rushing, heaves the heavy can, slamming Stilletta (she does look small in respect to the can), but she’s wounded as well. Sprocket is in the zone with gritting teeth, more cans at the ready, though Stilletta has her other knives handy.

    Two wounded mama bears (nod to NG49), and Silver just coming out from whatever he’s doing in the other room.Will Silver jump in? Will he side with Stilletta, or Sprocket? Or will he fall to an errant knife…or a heavy can?Oh, the possibilities……gotta love this! Carry on, Team Tracy!

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    HAL69  over 9 years ago

    Addendum: drink poster in the background. $1 soda? At the movies?

    Who has ever heard of THAT??(in sarcasm mode, mind you)

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    seanyj  over 9 years ago

    I gotta feeling based on Silver’s reaction that he already agreed to help Stilletta kidnap Tracy’s grandchild.

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    harkherp  over 9 years ago

    Last panel Sprocet is working up a sweat!! Smell like Hippie perfume? Cigareets and cheap body wash?

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  44. Gedc0042
    johnrussco  over 9 years ago

    I am not a real fan of Sprocket Silver, but in this case … way to go ugly gal.

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  45. Gedc0042
    johnrussco  over 9 years ago

    I am guessing that a certain someone is in church and I’m sure that he’ll have some pretty cool input today … so I’ll just sit back & wait. Have a blessed day all of you Tracy fans.

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    seanyj  over 9 years ago

    Oooooh..that’s gotta hurt! I hope Mrs.Flattop didn’t suffer any facial fractures!

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    Weegel  over 9 years ago

    Phil,.Re your comment below:.“You ever notice that the policemen featured in the hall of fame have careers of under 20 years. Presumably after that they retire, in their thirties, early forties, I guess? ".Today’s Hall of Famer had a 27-year career, and it says so right in the copy..Her LAPD colleague, Det. Paul Bishop, from just a few weeks ago, spent 35 years behind the badge before pulling the pin..The very first Hall of Famer, Chang Apana, was in the Honolulu Police for 34 years. He died a year and a half after retiring, and his pension was so generous, that he had to supplement it by working as a private security guard at the Hawaiian Trust Building..Frontier Marshal Bill Tilghman served almost a half-century as a peace officer at various, city, county, state and federal positions, and was over 70 when he died in the line of duty serving as police chief of Cromwell, OK, so he never collected a cent of pension money..His colleague, Marshal Bass Reeves, served 34 years as a federal deputy, and another 2 years as a Muskogee policeman. He was forced to retire, at the age of 70, due to illness, and died less than a year later..LAPD Homicide Detective “Jigsaw John” St. John served in the LAPD for 51 years. After retiring, he spent a whole 2 years collecting his pension before passing away..I grant you that’s just a few off the top of my head, but I suspect if I went through each one since the feature began, most would have had similarly long careers. While your point about long pensions after short service may be well-taken, I fail to see how my Hall of Fame selections prove that point.

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  48. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    Since Stilletta had at least two children, and both grew to be adults, I would say that she is at least 16 (assuming she had Flattop Jr at age 16) + 25 (assuming Flattop Jr was a few years older than Angeltop, who was at least 22 when she met her demise) = 41 years old. Probably older.____________________

    If Angeltop’s son remains in-continuity, definitely older …

    Mind you, Dick Tracy has always operated under SORAS (“Soap-Opera-Rapid-Aging-Syndrome”) rules when it comes to children.

    Kids grow up quickly, while the adults already in the strip tend to remain disproportionately young.

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    thesnowleopard Premium Member over 9 years ago

    Wow, Sprocket’s got some feelings, after all.

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  50. Groucho marx
    coldsooner  over 9 years ago

    Thought I’d push today’s number closer to 100. Seems I’m about the only person who hasn’t mentioned Pequod or Nightgaunt today so, nice job guys! I don’t say it daily because Pequod has gotten SO good, I just kinda expect it. And BRAVO Jim Doherty for setting the record straight. As for early retirement, many pro athletes make more in one season than I’ve made in my lifetime.

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    K M  over 9 years ago

    Nice throw by Sprocket. But how did Mrs. F get turned around? She threw the knife right-handed; her right shoulder is turned toward Sprocket as she lets it go; yet Sprocket’s film can hits Stiletta in the left shoulder. Fire the continuity editor!

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  52. Bakuman kato
    Tarry Plaguer  over 9 years ago

    Nice throw by Sprocket. But how did Mrs. F get turned around? She threw the knife right-handed; her right shoulder is turned toward Sprocket as she lets it go; yet Sprocket’s film can hits Stiletta in the left shoulder. Fire the continuity editor!

    It’s possible Stiletta is ambidextrous, she does have knives on both hips. She may have been in the process of throwing another knife left handed and then ended up blocking the blow with her left arm. We don’t see another knife, but she may have dropped it as she tried to protect her body, or she could have been reaching for the knife on her back.

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  53. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    yes, Kira Touzer’s Kagome is so close I forget sometimes that it isn’t Moneca Stori. True the lack of David Kaye does hurt the character some, but I adjust. Just happy to see this story wrapping up.____________________

    It’s not that the actor currently voicing Sesshomaru is bad, I’m just not used to the character showing so much emotion.

    And Kira is a wicked close vocal match.

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  54. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    Since it’s towards the end of the posting day, and we’re well over 100 posts anyway, for those not in the know, here’s one of the opening title sequences from INUYASHA

    … and the credit-free version, in its original Japanese.

    Enjoy!

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  55. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    Oh, and I’d invoked this earlier as well, here’s recommended reading on the subject …

    Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome

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  56. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    Actually, for Dick Tracy to make sense requires (… as do many long-running comics properties) a combination of SORAS and a “Floating Timeline” …

    Floating Timeline

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  57. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    About 3 years back I watched the entire Inuyasha series on hulu, including the finale….. in the native tongue with the english below subtitles. After all that I found some that were done with English overdubs.Do yerself a favor and do it in Japanese. The emotions expressed by the characters in native speak makes the program so much more powerful !!!____________________

    I’ll need to go back around and do that at some point, Gweedo.

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  58. Neil2009
    Neil Wick  over 9 years ago

    I can’t get today’s strip to zoom. Is anyone else having that problem or is it just me?

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  59. Komi 0001
    AnyFace  over 9 years ago

    Back to sliding timescales for just a sec …

    These work well enough to maintain a semblance of internal continuity, unless you intersect with a reality which operates in real-time.

    Then all sorts of weird things happen …

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  60. Neil2009
    Neil Wick  over 9 years ago

    In response to your comment the day before yesterday, my bank account isn’t too healthy these days. I’d probably have to skip two meals to buy that magazine. :( New job soon, I hope.

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  61. Kay 0216 edit
    Kay Kirscht Premium Member over 9 years ago

    Unleash the Hyena while you’re at it, Darlin’ – I like you!

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  62. Catinma
    BeniHanna6 Premium Member over 9 years ago

    Tough gal, yah have to love her.

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    celeste0416  over 9 years ago

    yeah she might be always disagreeable.

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  64. Mmdash6
    Pequod  almost 8 years ago

    Street legal is the Wonder Car, repaired and good to go

    Washed and waxed, buffed to a shine, chrome polished to a glow.

    Look to see film history: lost role of Vista Bill

    A forgotten epic Western: outlaws he did kill.

    Stiletta pays a bonus, so the Nitrates stay discreet

    Hush, hush and utter nada or sharp blade prepare to meet.

    Stiletta’s plans are devious, demonic beyond the pale

    Attempts to recruit Sprocket, who’s appalled and says “no sale.

    ”Running scams and conning fools is a game she likes to play

    But to snatch a baby from his crib, to that she says “no way.”

    Stiletta unaccustomed to rejection or dissent

    She lets fly a lethal blade, for Sprocket’s heart it’s meant.

    Sprocket dodges danger; deadly blade misses its mark

    Hurls full film can at her foe; Stiletta’s world goes dark.

    Should have kept her sharp blade sheathed: lived life another day

    She’ll not kidnap the baby boy, for her life now ebbs away.

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