Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 08, 2015

Wages of sin have done her in; Stiletta is no moreSam discovers her mangled corpse, animal fur and gore.A bloody mess leaves him to guess specifics of her fateSuffice to say on her last day the suffering was great.Look to see Flintheart in love with luscious KandikaneThe old ham has always loved himself: preening, proud and vain.Yet loving her has changed the man, his heart doth grow in sizeInfatuated not with self, but his beloved prize.For Kandi he’d lay down his life, romance has made him gallantHeart and mind loving and kind, she means more than his talent.To see her now in danger, situated in harm’s wayLeads him to take action, even if he dies this day.He rushes to be at her side, to save her from gun fireTheir lives now at the precipice, grave situation dire.To die saving one’s beloved, there are worse ways to go outFlintheart flies to save love’s prize, sans hesitation, fear or doubt.

Here’s one tragedy that Vitamin didn’t predict!

Chance for Redemption … Falling …

Urge to Kill … Rising …

Good morning fellow DT fans!

Outstanding poetry, Pequod77!

“…The old ham has always loved himself: preening, proud and vain.Yet loving her has changed the man, his heart doth grow in sizeInfatuated not with self, but his beloved prize.”Always a masterpiece, Pequod77!

Please don’t let any harm come to Kandikane and Vitamin.

Good one today, Pequod77

Package delivered a job very well donepayment received, in more ways than oneShe’s somewhat naive, thinks it’s simply a gigthe Nitrates are different, saying zag but doing zigThe lineup is perfect, “Sprocket will you do the deedOf closing this deal, Sister please will you heed?”“Gladly dear brother, the pleasures all mineunlike in the movies, no Calvary’s in time!”Sweet Kandi is blind, to what’s heading her wayBut maybe her Knight can still save the day!

.Sorry so late, knee hurts and couldn’t type fast!

We fell below 100 comments yesterday for the first time in a week.

Dang it.

I’m still not over Mrs. Flattop’s abrupt demise

FINAL REPORT – COMMENTS BOARD

The last two weeks have been a regular roller-coaster ride (as suggested by AnyFace‘s video yesterday) in more ways than one.I have only been on this board for a couple of years and don’t recall ever breaking the 200-post mark, not even during the Mysta and Annie arcs.The number of posts has seemed to have reached former levels, for the time being. Who knows what the future could bring?

“Hurted”? Oh, brother. :) I like the “knees” and “please” rhyme.

Yet another Dick Tracy Sunday strip … without Dick Tracy.

Something tells me the Nitrates are not long for this world, though I have no idea what will happen next.____________________

NO ONE Does.

Except Mike & Joe.

To-wit to-woo said the melancholy bird …

Interesting lyrical choice of words, from “endsville” (very appropriate to the hippie-esque Sprocket) to the “the game is afoot” (from Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I, but perhaps better known from Tracy’s progenitor, Sherlock Holmes).

Behave Gweedo! Don’t discount how my involvement has risen everyone’s game in the poetry trenches!

* fredville said, about 8 hours ago*Still don’t know why the big rush……it’s not like anyone else knew they were there. But, killing off Mrs. Flattop was a good start, if they added KandiKane to the list, we’d be right back in the Goulden Era mindset. Of course, we’d also be losing two hotties, but we still have Rikki and Ponytail on the bench…..

Fredville, You have to remember that Stiletta isn’t alone. She was dropped off by her henchmen, and they know where she was last seen. If she turns up missing, guess where they are likely to look for her first. Silver isn’t the smartest cookie, but he isn’t a total idiot. The Nitrates both knew they had too get away quickly and disappear for awhile and stay on the down low, because it wasn’t the police that would be looking for them, but whoever Stiletta was working with. Given the Flattop family’s known tendency for seeking revenge, I’m guessing the Nitrates may be looking into changing their names and relocating to another state, if not another country.

sister wouldn’t hurt a baby, but she’s willing to inject some lead poisoning into VF’s lil girlfriend … GLADLY! is what came out of that sinister ugly face. … Sprocket is such a female dog

Excellent poem, PQ! Remember what I said last week about “imitation”. It was worth staying up for!

There’s no carpet at Locher’s office?

Morning, Tracyville!

@Pequod – Bravo!@Avenger – Wheee! Wooo! Clap, clap!Great work today, y’all!

That Vitamin can move pretty fast when he needs to! Much better than I can, for sure. Pequod, enjoyed your work again, especially that last line. Nice. You too, Avenger.

Calm down Ebenezer! LOL!____________________

Pretty sure our “unclescrooge” is invoking THIS “Uncle Scrooge” …

Scrooge McDuck

Someone on another comic site noted yesterday that Sprocket’s profile looks a lot like Michael Jackson, and you can see the same thing today in panel 4 – the first panel in the last row. She does look like Michael Jackson!

Good morning my friends. Will Kandikane be dispatched? The machine gun sound will draw attention to the Nitrates._________________@avenger and Pequod: once again, you have both outdone yourselves! Great job!

“Aim the air horns…” instead of “kill her where she stands” don’t be fooled by the Nitrates’ small time cons, they are cold blooded killers.

Sprocket had morals when it came to kidnapping a Baby but shev had no problem committing murder!

Vitamin’s picking up some of Kandi’s bad habits, he’s stirring his beverage with a candy cane.

I suspect this is somewhat like the Joe Period character where the villain became “popular” and C.G. Had to show him as a terrible person.

Try typing with your fingers. It will go much quicker.

.

Kinda late with the lame joke Ray. A few others beat you to it. My knee hurts so much it hard to sit still let alone ponder and type out a poem on my cellphone. It’s alright, bring it on, I can take it. Just please, no more typing with my toes comments!

Killing off Mrs. Flattop last week was a masterstroke that makes this situation all the more nail biting. Mrs. F was Mike and Joe’s own creation, a major villain off and on for the past three years. The fact that she could be killed off so abruptly makes it a little more likely that M&J could also kill off either or both Vitamin and/or Kandikane. I’ll be on the edge of my seat till 1:10 a. m. EDT. I wrote a big post last week on how the Nitrates could get off. If anybody remembers it, forget it all now. Now I want both Nitrates to die horribly.Of course, they haven’t fired their guns yet, and there’s the faint possibility that Sprocket is lying and only pretending to be an evil, sadistic monster who’d “gladly” submachine gun to death a defenseless person who has done no harm and a great deal of help to her and her brother. But that possibility is about as faint as the possibility Mrs. F was still alive after being hit by the 70lb steel can. Sprocket has always had an irrational hatred of Kandikane, has talked about wanting to kill her in the past, so it’s only too plausible she’d “gladly” try to kill her now.I really hope both Vitamin and Kandikane survive this.And avenger09, I really hope your knee gets better soon. That “typing with your knee” gag isn’t really all that funny, especially when multiple posters make that same gag. :(

Brutality is the opposite of compassion. Sprocket apparently swings from one side of the coin to the other. This depth of character is the reason Sprocket’s favorability rating seems to also swing back and forth. It is these extremes that have elevated the Nitrates from small time con artists to major villains in the Dick Tracy canon. While interesting in their first run, the emphasis seemed to be focused more on the Amazing Wonder Car than the personalities of the pair.

They remind me in a sense of Mysta/Mindy’s father Posie Ermine (still in prison?) who was a totally devoted father (good trait) who brutally murdered the entire Board of Directors of the Sunny Wheat Company.

I suspect that the Nitrates will eat lead by the end of this arc, and I usually agree with many posters here that it often becomes tiresome for villains to constantly reappear. However, I have grown to like this pair as we are learning more about tham and would not mind a third run (perhaps after a suitable prison sentence). But, like I say, I am doubting that it will happen and any punishment (including being gunned down) seems suitable and well-deserved for some of the grisly things they have done.

In my mind, this particular arc has been filled with humor, romance, action, surprises, close calls, and it is not over yet. I think that this particular story has been one of Mike’s best.

Who says gallantry is dead? Vitamin likes candy in his coffee, yet hates to see his beloved in danger. The old actor still has moves, but is he faster than an air horn when Sprocket’s on the trigger? Sprocket’s ethics are decidedly elastic. She hated the idea of kiddynapping Trey, but will gladly take aim at Kandikane. That Kandi has absolutely no designs on the tarnished Silver matters not to an obsessive, jealous sister. Is Flintheart faster than a speeding bullet?.Another great week in Tracyville! The demise of Stiletta was as big a surprise to her as it was to us, I’ll wager. Just how traumatic was her death? That depends on the morbidity of one’s imagination. I know my mind took a dark turn even before Sam urged Tracy to come take a look. Tracy remarks, “That’s got to be Mrs. Flattop,” while noting the animal fur. The need for insistence as to the identity of the body speaks, to me, of extensive mutilation. Sam wouldn’t have guessed that a film can could make such a mess. Speculation is fun. All we know for certain is that neither Lena nor Stiletta are talking.

Thanks to VistaBill, cpalmeresq, AnyFace (Barks!), Neil Wick, Jonathan K., Night-Gaunt49, Gweedo, Willy007, John Russell, unclescrooge (cheers), Morrow, davidf42, coldsooner, Starman1948, ave09 (good one), JPuzzleWhiz and Ray Toler for the kind words. Very much appreciated!

Great poem PQ77…i didn’t see any of this coming..The Tracy world is always a surprise..

I like the touch that you can actually see the air horns turning through the window. I wonder why they need both.

When the body-shop guy restored the Wonder Car, he moved the horns from atop the front fenders to down on the side. Wouldn’t that take away the ability to turn them? Maybe turning them up and down works for the Nitrates. I, for one, would like her to turn them on Silver.

I see the Nitrates as a sort of Joker, Harley knockoffs.____________________

Like these two?

(…who predate Harley by a considerable amount.)

My fear is that would Vitamin will have his demise right now? We had one surprise already with Sprocket getting rid of Mrs. Flatop with that film can. Will Kandi survive this too. Meanwhile, The Nitrates’ are thinking “The future is so bright, I got to wear shades!” Thank u TimBuck3!

Over 100 Comments again …

I see the Nitrates as a sort of Joker, Harley knockoffs.Good comparison, Gweedo! I can definitely see that.

Come to think of it, why would Silver bother to go in and pay Kandi Kane if his intention was to have Sprocket turn the machine guns on her?

I made it to Hawaii all in one piece…pearl harbor tour tomorrow…connecting to hotel wifi was a task… just thought id give ya all a heads up :)

Fabulous poems, especially Pequod, resident DT poet!

Sprocket has been a puzzle—she’s bad, she’s good, now she’s bad again. Bipolar disorder? Perhaps.

But another angle for you: Someone mentioned on a previous day Silver and Sprocket, while they love movies, popcorn, and theaters, don’t look alike physically to be siblings. ARE they siblings or “posing” as “siblings?” (They are con-artists.)

They had said that they are siblings, but a couple of things come to mind:

1. Flattop’s family: don’t they all resemble each other (Flattop, Flattop Jr., et. al)?

2. The scene of Silver and Sprocket dancing together, and Sprocket, with a seemingly loving look to Silver to skip town.

3. Sprocket jealously guards Silver, as she had shown against KandiKane. She would have broken her in half, if she wanted to. She’s certainly against kidnapping babies, but has no qualms to “GLADLY” turn the air-horn guns to mow KandiKane down (…will she? Tune in tomorrow!)

As mentioned earlier, physical attributes: Silver has a long swooping chin, and Sprocket’s short and angular. Along with their close relationship and devotion to each other, maybe they are NOT brother and sister. Perhaps they are not who—or what—they say they are?

Speculation on my part, of course.

Yesterday, when I posted the full Curtis/Staton death list, NightShade09 pointed out I’d overlooked Axel’s “crack combat troops”. Today I’ve had a chance to go over that story and realize NS09 was right. So here’s the fully updated and corrected list.

The Unofficial GoComics Staton/Curtis Death ListAs compiled by boboscar and Tarry PlaguerNOTE: Names with an + were found dead or killed prior to the story start.

+ Wormy & Thistledew (Reported dead in armory fire)03/21/11Flyface 04/22/11The Fifth & Eddie Garcia (at the same time) 04/25/11Earl (Flaky and Hot Rize’s innocent co-worker) 05/12/11Hot Rize 05/28/11Emma Parks (A.K.A. Ponytail Mk I) 06/14/11The 2 terrorists who tried to hire and double cross Morning Gloria 08/13/11Big Frost 10/20/11Apparatus Member (Killed by DoubleUp) 10/25/11 & fed to Tonsils 10/27/11Flaky Biscuits (never confirmed, but implied) 10/29/11+ Sizzler Sitzes (Hired by Kadaver to kill Charles Adams A.K.A. Baron Clovis in a hit and run. Was then shot and killed by Kadaver to keep him quiet) 10/31/11 identified 11/09/11Cueball 01/31/12 Mr. Levitz (Doubleup’s main henchman in his first story; later killed by Kadaver to get Doubleup off) 03/13/12+ Vincent Vinyl 05/05/12 confirmed 05/11/12The 3 supporting members of the Mumbles Quartet 05/20/12Lt. Teevo 07/06/12 confirmed 07/18/12Panda 07/15/12 confirmed 07/23/12Davey Mylar (A.K.A. Mr. Crime Mk II) 07/13/12 tombstone 09/30/12+ Arthur Curry (aquarium director) 08/22/12Bookie (Measles’ partner) 10/14/12Measles 11/10/12+ Stephen Baux’s fiancée 02/08/13 identified 02/27/13Simon Baux A.K.A. Sweat Box 02/24/13Diet Smith Industries Guard (supposedly killed by Bardoll) 06/25/13 (uncertain; shown lying on the ground and called a “casualty” on 6/29/13, but unconfirmed)Bardoll 07/07/13 confirmed 07/16/13Hy Pressure 09/28/13 confirmed 10/08/13Drs. Sail, Ghote, and Flash Munroe? (still alive last we saw them, and ambiguous that they’re dead, but it often sounds like Curtis thinks of them as dead) 10/18/13Bill “Shortcake” Mitchell (apparatus member) (never confirmed, but implied) 10/31/13Miles Mycroft 01/26/14Mr. Kolossal 04/30/14Ed Rosato (never confirmed, but implied) 05/14/14Tabby Angus 05/28/14The Butcher of the Balkans A.K.A. Henrik Wilemse (Punjab placed his magic blanket over him, sending the Butcher on to “fly with the Maji” where none have ever returned) 07/27/14Axel’s “crack combat troops” (implied to have all gone the same way as The Butcher of the Balkans a la Punjab) 09/30/14Axel 10/05/14Otis 12/05/14Mrs. Flattop 03/01/15 confirmed 03/06/15

With all this poetry around lately, I wonder what happened to wndrwrthg. He (or she?) seems to have vanished about 3 months ago.

GO VITAMIN!

I see DT and Sam pulling up just as Sprocket gets ready to unleash the power of the airhorns… thus saving the day for Vitamin and Kandi.

Uh-oh. Vitamin Flintheart has a history of being unlucky in love. He could be on the brink of losing this Sweet Thing in a terribly grim way, right before his eyes (and ours). Would Team Tracy actually kill off two striking female characters within less than a week?Well, it would enhance the unpredictability of the strip, though at the risk of irritating readers’ sensibilities: “It ain’t fair, boys!” No matter how trivial Kandikane Lane may be in the larger scheme of things, no matter how cloyingly sweet, no matter how improbable her romance with the old thespian, we still like her and don’t want her to be killed off by Silver’s devious trail-cleaning and Sprocket’s crazed jealousy….

I figured wndr was a man — 90% of the active commenters here seem to be men — but you should never assume. I saw the the account is still open, but after consistently making a comment every couple of days, it suddenly stopped nearly three months ago. I guess something happened.

@ AnyFace@ Pequod77

Yes, that is the book I used as a reference. My dear departed Aunt Marge saw it advertised while I was in Japan with the Air Force in the early 70s, and she bought it for me because she knew of my keen interest in all things Tracy!The introduction is written by Ellery Queen, and has some very interesting observations about Tracy. The claim is made that Tracy was the first police procedural detective in modern fiction, well before Ed McBain’s famous 87th Precinct novels.Many of Tracy’s scientific methods were used by Sherlock Holmes, but Holmes was a private consulting detective, not a member of the police dept.Although it is a great book to have in your Tracy collection, it does have the problem that most of the Sunday pages are missing.

Tim, have a good time in Hawaii. If you ever get around any of the Hawaii 50 group, tell Steve McGarrett and Danno hi for me! Be sure to get a tee shirt that says, “Book’em, Danno!”

wow he save his life for hers.

Wages of sin have done her in; Stiletta is no more

Sam discovers her mangled corpse, animal fur and gore.

A bloody mess leaves him to guess specifics of her fate

Suffice to say on her last day the suffering was great.

Look to see Flintheart in love with luscious Kandikane

The old ham has always loved himself: preening, proud and vain.

Yet loving her has changed the man, his heart doth grow in size

Infatuated not with self, but his beloved prize.

For Kandi he’d lay down his life, romance has made him gallant

Heart and mind loving and kind, she means more than his talent.

To see her now in danger, situated in harm’s way

Leads him to take action, even if he dies this day.

He rushes to be at her side, to save her from gun fire

Their lives now at the precipice, grave situation dire.

To die saving one’s beloved, there are worse ways to go out

Flintheart flies to save love’s prize, sans hesitation, fear or doubt.