Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 29, 2015

Johnny in the alley takes a vicious, brutal poundingT-Bolt lands successive blows, concussive force resounding.Both body guard and chauffeur, handles matters large and smallProviding Bigg safe passage; his foes fresh ways to fall..Blaze, she has the lowdown, the skinny, scoop and moreBB smiles to himself, he’s seen that face before.Bosses come and bosses go, ambition, guile and greedBig Chief always gets his way or those beneath him bleed..Up top in the penthouse, first to panic is ApolloCries that they’ll be dead fish dead, a fate so hard to swallow.Méliès voices disdain for Bigg, even as he is ascendingVenus calm but none too pleased, sensuality unending..Mr. Bigg loves holding court, loquacious and persuasiveOften known to hold a grudge with influence pervasiveNot new news to those who know: The Moon Maid Project failedLast seen leaving Wheaton’s Farm, the Space Coupe ship has sailed..A venture most ambitious, yet fools dared to rush inFracked the plans of Mr. Bigg, so owe for grievous sin.Usher in young B.D. Eyes, an effective threat so crudeBigg hammers home the obvious: interfere and be imbrued.Bigg rules with an iron fist, cross him and live in fearThe few who tried, they quickly died; paid a price too dear.

Now, THERE’S a blast from the past (never seen together before, if I’m correct)!

Interference is always such a Scroogy old dragChanging something beautiful into a nasty old hagAnd just when you think that the gigs in the bagYour clothes are destroyed and you’re left holding ragsI’ll not stand for this because I am the manYou’ll can’t interfere with my dreams or my plansYou never will stop or resist my demandsI hold all the chips all the dips and beer cans!

Good morning fellow DT fans far and wide!

Outstanding poetry Pequod77 and avenger09!

Pequod77 & avenger09,(naysayers aside), you are both talented in your own right, andI thank you equally for your contributions!

Even BB-Eyes has a soft spot for family. B.D. Eyes first appeared April 3, 1983.

So, Mr. Bigg blames BB-Eyes in part for losing the Space Coupe, even if he wasn’t part of the Blackhearts at the time! He also helped lose Dr. Sail and Dr. Ghote. In fact, I think Mumbles shot one of the doctors at close range right about then, so even Mumbles is not “without sin.”

Great job, Pequod77 and avenger09. Thanks for entertaining us with your work! By the way, avenger09, what is the context of your rhyme? It doesn’t seem to correlate to anything going on in the story — unless I’m just missing it all.

B.D. Eyes!

Asked some questions early on, last night, but didn’t see any answers…anyone? anyone?:“Two questions. 1. Where is Mr. Bigg’s ring? 2. Why doesn’t the boss’ hand look as old as when seen previously?”

I was out for most of yesterday, so I didn’t get a change to put in one comment that I wanted to make. I really admired the nice balanced layout of yesterday’s strip. Have a look here:You’ll notice that Méliès and Venus are right in the middle of the group. The focus is on them.

The others are arranged in two triangles that are a reflected mirror image of each other. On the left are BB-Eyes and his two long-time associates, who were partly to blame for the loss of the Space Coupe, as we’ve found out today.

On the right are three others who were not present at the loss of the Space Coupe. There is Apollo and T-Bolt, presumably both long-time operatives in the inner circle of the Blackhearts and then there is Blaze, blameless for the Moon Maid fiasco but positioned along with the faithful.

Blaze is perfectly positioned for a trusted assignment. Someone was saying that she gets overlooked because of her short stature, but she’s in a position of opportunity now. She seemed to already know it was Mr. Bigg on the way almost before anyone else and it was she who called the riff-raff to the lineup.

“1. Where is Mr. Bigg’s ring?”No telling. We only saw Mr. B’s ring one time, and since it’s virtually identical to the ring we’ve seen on Venus, perhaps the only purpose of Mr. B wearing it was to signal us, the readers, that he is connected to Venus and the Blackhearts.

Great comment & depiction of the “…balanced layout of yesterday’s strip.” Unique to this board. Thank You!

The ring seems to be on the left hand, today we see the right.

Sorry, I muddled the question by using the word “today” in my reply. The question was why we didn’t see the ring yesterday.

I blame it on the colorist !

Actually, you can’t blame the look of the hand when we first saw it on the colourist, because that was a Sunday strip coloured by Team Tracy itself. Looking back on it, I think it was the harsh directional light coming from the alley, more than any other factor, that accentuated the boniness and wrinkliness of the hand in that scene.

Any relation …?

Under pressure from Mr. Bigg, BB-Eyes holds his own pretty well, even when threatened through the person of B.D. Eyes, his kid brother. But he will have to be on the crooked "straight and narrow,’ at least in the short term, while under the boss’s scrutiny. In the long term, the relationship may be soured for good, one way or the other. I note in particular Blaze Rize’s disdainful gaze at BB-Eyes as he makes his excuses. She is an assassin….

The vote is on, is this storyline going to be another big winner, yes or no. Results? The “eyes” have it, motion carries!

Oh yes, welcome B-D. Glad to have you with us.

@AnyFace:A question for you from yesterday – Where did that picture come from that you posted late last night? Of course, I recognize Tracy, Flattop and Big Boy and Mumbles from the Dick Tracy movie, but i don’t recognize the scene, and the architecture in the background looks Japanese (or maybe Thailand) to me. Was that taken at some sort of theme park, maybe?

Good morning Tracy fans. Excellent poetry and comments today! Have an inspiring Palm Sunday my friends.

Okay, a bit more digging.

Given The Hollywood Theater is fairly prominent in the background, that photo was likely promotional material for …

Dick Tracy Live

… or it’s a pic of the “Men-In-Suits” who walk around at Disneyland portraying various characters.

That’s even more likely.

Mr Bigg: “The Moon Maid is in the hands of Smith Industries!”Sounds like the Blackhearts may try to reacquire their asset. Watch your back, Mysta!

Beautiful updates in verse by Pequod77 and avenger 09But if I could be ‘forgiven’, may I add just a line . . .

“Cross Mr. Bigg - and live on in fear ?A disproportionate example, B.D. Eyes with a tearWhile Méliés and Venus escaping, not even a glare (?)In the past guilty ones died, today they were - spared !”

The ring seems to be on the left hand, today we see the right.___________________________Yesterday we saw the left hand. The cigarette holder was an intriguing clue but the ring was absent. That said, I often change rings (other than my wedding ring) and wear different jewelry with different clothes. The usage of a cigarette holder (which is a bit pretentious) gives me the indication that our Mr. Bigg may be somewhat of a dandy.

… the lil guy is a block head …

“Hey, me and my boys (no offense, Blaze Rise)…”

I dug around in the 2013 Mysta-ry and found evidence that the Blackhearts probably will go after Mysta at some point. Mr. Bigg’s comments today (“The Moon Maid is in the hands of Smith Industries!”) are a pretty good hint that they will.The thing I’m wondering is if the tracking device they planted inside Mysta has now vanished along with the rest of the “subcutaneous circuitry” in her horns? Either way, I don’t expect Mysta will go peaceably if, say, BB-Eyes or Doubleup tries to reacquire her. I expect they’ll be “seeing stars” in that case. :)

“The ring seems to be on the left hand, today we see the right.”I believe the question about Mr. Bigg’s ring was asked yesterday, and had to do with why it was missing on his left hand — the hand where we saw the ring originally.

I know Jacques was BB-Eyes’ brother and was killed YEARS ago… but I also thought BD Eyes has bought the farm too. Anyone clarify this for me? (and why does bd eyes look like DJ Conner from Roseanne? lol)

I’m wondering about Melies head. Is it a mask or his real head? it’s extremely out of proportion with the rest of his body. If it’s his real head, I don’t see how his neck could support it. It would be too top heavy.

Nothing like threatening the life of a family member to underscore displeasure…save for going ahead and taking that life to make an even stronger point. Mr. Bigg is none too pleased at the outcome of the bungled Moon Maid Project. No return on that rather large investment. Nice work, Neil, with the diagramming of yesterday’s stellar single-panel pow-wow. Doubleup is the most expendable of those who were down on Wheaton’s farm in the early morning rain. The interlopers got off easy, for now. BB understands the game. He’d be sorry to see B.D. go, but business is business. I’m guessing that Méliès is on thin ice, but it looks like no one is leaving in a body bag from this meeting. BB Eyes was as surprised as Mumbles to find Méliès at Wheaton’s farm. When two criminal enterprises meet up in the rain things can get messy.

Thanks to VistaBill, cpalmeresq, ave09 (good one), Willy007, Neil Wick, Gweedo, Night-Gaunt49, gomaxmike, Starman1948, Sydney Phillips, Ray Toler, John Russell and JPuzzleWhiz for the kind words. Very much appreciated.

Grace Jones would make a great T-Bolt!!http://shirletteammons.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/1284680742_5335-1.jpeg

We need Mysta back! It’s been too long!

Nice job as usual on the poetry today, Pequod and Avenger!

Thanks to everyone for the kind words towards today’s poem.

“I like how BB goes . . .”-—————————————————————-Good point Gweedo, he seems to be coming into his own at the higher Managerial level, there ‘speaking up’ for the former Apparatus colleagues.It’s never been clear (to me) that he was ever a Manager in the Mr. Crime days although like others, he had downstream responsibilitiesThe position in the Blackhearts that Abner K brokered for him was as I recall just personal not for a group, and (while no names) it seemed relatively clear then, that the two remaining members to be disposed of were Doubleup and Mumbles.While Blaze Rize was seen to be recruited,(a whole Sunday page) - Doubleup and Mumbles just appeared IN, surprisingly - without a word, out of nowhere on each occasion ;-)

But glad you ‘mentioned’ it, in the flurry and excitement of the moment, his leadership and courage did stand out !Given the ‘identity’ of the hostage - Mr. Bigg did apparently, think so too !

They’ve had almost 15 hours, Ken. :)

Mr. Bigg doesn’t seem interested or knows that the Space Coupe had already been sabotaged to fly away, it wouldn’t matter to him now.-—————-Mr. Bigg can’t be bothered with facts, all he wants are results.It’s easier to blame it on B-B Eyes, than to examine a the plan to see what was wrong.

Have to thank Willy007 and Sydney Phillips for the detailed information on Mysta’s involvement with the Blackhearts. I’d honestly forgotten about her origin and connection to the attempted Space Coupe theft.Thanks for bringing me back up to speed, guys. Much appreciated.

I thought the laughy said it all but, apparently, it didn’t.

It’s not that I didn’t notice the “laughy,” but I decided to point out the obvious anyway. Also, that’s a good observation about the contract between and open hand looking more wrinkled than a close one.

WOW! Good comments, poems and DT info! Thanks again to all who posted today! And there are over 100 comments today! We must be on a roll.

@NightShade09@Neil WickI understand the principle of “comic strip physics” to a point, but, in my mind at least, there is a world of difference between Wile E. Coyote and Dick Tracy. People don’t suspend in mid air while they turn and break the forth wall by talking about the fact that they are falling in Dick Tracy – except in those silly 60s cartoons, which were something of an insult to classic Gould work, although I watched them at the time. For all of its’ outlandish style, there is more of an element of realism in Tracy.I was also wondering about the size of Melies’ head. I guess he doesn’t wear any pull-over sweaters!

“Your almost page size Mysta has melted my heart all over again.”Glad you enjoyed it. Moon Maid (especially Joe Staton’s version does the same thing to me. Just a beautiful character that makes me happy inside. The original Moon Maid did the same thing to me as a kid. Like she says, “Perfect!”

“Such aggressive DNA almost like it was programmed to change a human into a Selenite.”I remember when you presented that theory during the Moon Maid Mystery, Night-Gaunt49, and I’ve always liked it. I don’t know what it is about Mysta, but ever since it was revealed last year that she’s evolving into a lunar woman, she has become even more fascinating to me. She was already a sympathetic character, of course, having been kidnapped, her mind erased, false memories implanted, and surgeries forced on her. It’s heartening that she’s overcome all her sorrows, and that good (her personal evolution) is coming out of all the evil she had to endure. Knowing that the Blackhearts are behind all the mischief and that they are likely to come after her now is making me root that much harder for her. I hope she eventually has a chance to zap the you know what out of the individuals who planned all the evil against her.

"She sure is. She shuuuurr is !!A beautiful character with a beautiful heart. I get a little silly inside when I see scenes like these. Vrroomm Vrroomm!!

Such aggressive DNA almost like it was programmed to change a human into a Selenite. (Some time back I posited that maybe the Lunarians are artificially created from humans by some other advanced human civilizations thousands of years before our own more recent civilization came to be.)____________________

Like The Inhumans …

… or Jack “King” Kirby’s other creation, The Eternals.

Occam’s Razor states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one, and given that Lunarians are genetically compatible with us, that one makes the most sense.

It’s likely the origin of “Moon Escargot” as well.

Blaze always knew not to wager risky betsWhat Mr. Bigg wants Mr. Bigg always getsThere was really no good reason to reject his firm requestSo she might as well resign herself to do her very best. “Anyway” she thought to say “I’m glad to finally get awayfrom all the smoke that stinks the airIt does a number on my hair”.She hoped that nothing would delayHer preparation time to playThe job she took a liking toAlthough she wished her mom approved.

i hope he does not kill him

Johnny in the alley takes a vicious, brutal pounding

T-Bolt lands successive blows, concussive force resounding.

Both body guard and chauffeur, handles matters large and small

Providing Bigg safe passage; his foes fresh ways to fall.

Blaze, she has the lowdown, the skinny, scoop and more

BB smiles to himself, he’s seen that face before.

Bosses come and bosses go, ambition, guile and greed

Big Chief always gets his way or those beneath him bleed.

Up top in the penthouse, first to panic is Apollo

Cries that they’ll be dead fish dead, a fate so hard to swallow.

Méliès voices disdain for Bigg, even as he is ascending

Venus calm but none too pleased, sensuality unending.

Mr. Bigg loves holding court, loquacious and persuasive

Often known to hold a grudge with influence pervasive

Not new news to those who know: The Moon Maid Project failed

Last seen leaving Wheaton’s Farm, the Space Coupe ship has sailed.

A venture most ambitious, yet fools dared to rush in

Fracked the plans of Mr. Bigg, so owe for grievous sin.

Usher in young B.D. Eyes, an effective threat so crude

Bigg hammers home the obvious: interfere and be imbrued.

Bigg rules with an iron fist, cross him and live in fear

The few who tried, they quickly died; paid a price too dear.