Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for June 17, 2015

Won’t Wendy Wichel love this!!!

A bonus certainly sounded niceBut Blaze remembered her moms adviseNever depend on gifts from menThey’ll use you it’s not if but whenMr Bigg might seem impressedBut sooner or later just like the restHe’ll pass her by for some worthless guyAnd all her work will be tossed asideShe won’t allow herself to restUntil they know that she’s the bestOne day it’ll be his grave she’ll digAnd she’ll be called the fearsome Ms. Bigg!

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Hope no one minds, I decided to try and create a plausible background story for what has motivated Blaze. Plus mr.Kleenex annoys me for some reason. Must be the boogers ZZZZZZZZzzzzz….

“Mr. Kleen” wipes the black marks on the Blackheart’s records away!

Love the figure placement in all of the panels – especially the first one – today.

Great sense of space and depth, plus effective use of silhouette – thoughtful staging keeps Mr. Bigg’s true identity a mystery …

… For now.

… Though long-time readers know who “Mr. Bigg” might be.

Shouldn’t Mr. Kleen have a gold earring?

Well this little legal “flashback” today - with Mr. Kleen repeating his “Hand Disinfection Act”, might further bore the Judge, but it gives us time to ‘watch’ Blaze as she “contemplates” Doublup’s Whip (Got an Eye on it in 1) then think about what it might bring to her mind ? Fanciful thoughts no doubt !

But we have cause to ‘wonder’ how yesterday no one here seemed to ponder on exactly WHY - those in the room were being “Congratulated” ?Did anyone ‘pause’ for a second, to scratch the Head ?

And today’s strip. Serves to ‘postpone’ for yet another day, an “explanation” of HOW Bribery (Can I, call him that?) - came into possession of the Gold !

That’s part of the Writing Skill and (preferred?) Technique of Mike Curtis, and like many others here, I’ve come to expect it may be “several” weeks before we “hear” how it was arranged.

The “hand”, particularly Mr, B’s HAND is quicker than the Eye, and as he flourishes it we “hear” of ‘High Praise’ for a Job Well Done “showered” on - B-B Eyes and Blaze !The casual reader, might quickly come to the conclusion that they delivered the Gold ? But they COULDN’T ! they were out trying to hold and question Jimmy Shooz to ensure he had indeed arranged the Gold Train theft. They missed him, and he went straight away to where he thought the Gold had been buried (Lake Prachett)They had been ‘helpful’ - Yes ! Good servants of the cause. But a Far Cry from delivering anything Concrete - Continuing Suspicion of Jimmy perhaps ? But not - the Gold !

There had to be another source acting at the same time that came directly - to Mr. Bribery’s attention. So, short of a new enabling “Back Story”, four “known” potential individuals stand out. Each one as an informer. Three of them, the original assistants (Cork/ Fontane/Axelrod). All three “handled”, carried, and buried the Gold, and could collectively (or individually) have sold then “delivered” it it the Mr. Bribery !The 4th possible person being Ted Tellum, who theoretically, might have ‘observed’ the burial and without the headache of having to touch it (might through his ‘connections’) have sold the information directly to Bribery, who in turn had others recover and transport it.Now safely “stashed” in the Blachearts’ Building.

Short of brand NEW ‘enabling’ information (say, some “observer” on the Rig to from the Salt Mine) and who also sold the INFO. That seems to be IT !

Guess by week end the segment with Honeymoon (and Annie) going to school for the Bully embrace will be with us

But with some luck,.perhaps tomorrow, with a further “burst” of (Meaningless?) Congratulations Bribery will serve some Highballs and served disdainfully in some “discarded” MCS (Major Crime Squad) mugs,,after the Groups ‘designation’ was changed to MCU

Good a time as any, to start recovering some ‘change’ from B-B Eyes pockets and to check what Blaze can contribute. The information and the Gold delivery must have cost Joie a Packet - “Pun” intended ! (Mr. Bribery’s ‘real’ name).

My apologies. I wasn’t able to get on again until very late last night. But, since I didn’t want my comments to be lost on those people I wanted to reach, I will reprint them here:@Starman1948“I will be having eye surgery to remove scar tissue from the retina of my left eye. Prayers and best wishes are appreciated.”Prayers AND best wishes will be with you, Starman 1948. You have certainly shown your faith and honesty on this sight! This is the least we can do in return. Please keep us posted on your recovery. This bunch here is a mixed group, but it seems to me that in some ways we are like a family…Praise, argue, squabble. But, when it comes down to the personal stuff (the reality of our lives), a great number of us gather together and show support.@avenger09I try to read all comments before I reply’ As such, I missed avenger09’s heartfelt comments about his brother-in-law:“On a serious note please keep my brother in law George in your thoughts and prayers. He was diagnosed with liver cancer and is currently too weak for chemotherapy. My wife (she’s his health care proxy) and I are meeting on Thursday with his doctors to discuss a plan of action. We’re trusting God for a miracle.”You, your wife, and family are certainly in my thoughts and prayers!@Starman1948By the same token, I wished all sort of well to Starman1948 early on, not realizing until I read the rest of the comments that his surgery was a success. Be that as it may, I am happy that everthing turned out well for you and that it will continue to be!"

Neal recused himself till morning, up to the rest of us “Common ’Taters” to carry the ball on the late shift …

… And I’m out for awhile, too!

♫♫Mr. Kleen gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute.Mr. Kleen defends your case in courtand makes sure that you win it.Mr. Kleen…Mr. Kleen…Mr. Kleen…♫♫

Good one, Jonathan K – And with the Musical Notes as well!

Okay, now I’m off for awhile, will check in later today.

Since no one has pointed it out yet…..typo in last panel. Let’s file those changes!

President Eisenhower! When did you start working for the Mob?

“Harassment changes?”

Good morning guys!

Pleased that the surgery was successful, Starman. Hoping for better news from Avenger09.

Gweedo sputtered,Does he get some of yours in return, say on a bad night when the supply of ready humans is wanting ?-—————————————————————————

The count uses Amazon’s “blood on demand” service. Jeff Bezos is making a killing with that!

Can’t remember, but what was the charge on Doubleup?-————————————————I don’t think they ever said.

For me, Mr. Kleen is the most annoying bad guy in the story. He’s too true to life.(He’s even drawn more realistically.)

Could Mr. Bribery be the head of The Blackhearts?

I am okay and ready for the adventure new bad guys bring and also like keeping touch with the past.

I’m fine with keeping in touch with the past, as long as “recycled” stuff doesn’t dominate. It seems that we are starting to experience a long story with a villain from the past (we will see whether that is true), so a year of mostly new bad guys (and no crossovers!) is justified.

Mr. Kleen is the kind of greasy defense lawyer that makes one think of all the bad lawyer jokes in circulation: a bottom-feeding scumbag of sanctimonious righteousness misusing the law to facilitate crime. He makes DoubleUp and Blaze and BB-Eyes look like saints by comparison. Here’s wishing he gets what he deserves….

If Mr. Bigg was really smart, he would nix Mr. Kleen’s plan to file charges against the police dept. Why bring extra police scrutiny upon the organization? They have been more or less “under the radar” until now – Mr. Bigg should want to keep it that way.

Can’t remember, but what was the charge on Doubleup ?

I think it was a kind of “better safe than sorry” charge. I remember that we questioned at the time whether there was justification for it. It seemed like Doubleup violated some condition of his being out on bail (weapons? consorting with criminals?). The case was always pretty weak, but I reasoned that it wasn’t Tracy’s role to be the judge and jury on the spot. Mr. Kleen (of course) has a different opinion and I expect Wendy Wichel will, too.

Shouldn’t Mr. Kleen have white eyebrows?

It may be my imagination, but there is a speaker grill below Mr. Bigg’s hand and below that are two dots that almost look like cat’s eyes if you zoom in on them.

This is the part of the frame I’m talking about:

are “HARASSMENT CHANGES” different than harassment CHARGES?!? :)

Gweedo, you know as well as everyone else here that its RIKKI that “gets Bill’s juices flowing” and not the count ;) As for using his electricity…well, the count doesn’t need it during the DAY does he? why let it go to waste:)

changes? sup with that?

Avenger, mi amigo – I apologize that I’ve only been scanning the comments the past several days, got a lot on my mind right now. But I missed your mention of your brother-in-law until just now. My prayers go out for him and the family. God bless you, mein Freund!

Can’t remember, but what was the charge on Doubleup ?-—————————————————————————————I don’t think it was ever mentioned. Perhaps it had something to do with Doubleup using his whip to hit Jimmy?

Chris Sherlock, you just beat me to it LOL

And the Beat goes On….TBC…

My Prayers go out to all of you who suffer. May God’s Healing be with you in the name of Jesus..

Why couldn’t Wendy have been in the boat with Jimmy ?

You wish. ;) Inevitably, she’ll show up again soon, especially if Mr. Kleen follows through on his threat to file “changes.” The mayor (who wants the gold found “yesterday”) won’t be happy about being charged, either.

From Mike Curtis ‎DICK TRACY FAN CLUB (Facebook)5 mins · Would some nice reader here that can post to GoComics please convey the best wishes of the Tracy Team to Starman 1948? As the majority of you know, I lost my left eye some years ago, so the issue is a sensitive one to me, and I hope all the best in his surgery. Plus Starman is one of my favorite characters.

@cpalmeresq: thank you for your prayers and kind words. The eye doctor removed the patch today. He said the eye is doing well. I can see blurry images. It will take several months for my eye to complete heal. Have a prosperous day my friend.

@cpalmeresq: indeed, we are like an extended family. There are many loving people in comic community.-——- Thanks again to all for your prayers and best wishes. Have a great day my friends.

The reaction of everyone to Bribery after his fall “Wile E. Coyote-style” through the roof of a prison carpenter shop indicated that his body was pretty mangled. Perhaps he has become Davros-like with only a head and a hand?

Oh, yeah, one more thing…If the Blackhearts found the phony gold, the information was likely squeezed out of Axelrod.Remember how Doubleup recognized Jimmy was doing a Lufthansa stunt, killing his partners?Well, Jimmy was about to kill Axelrod, which means he had to be one of the gang. So, he could tell where the gold was hidden..Yeah, I know. This has more holes than a pound of Swiss cheese.But it was fun to read, right?

Bribery’s fall through the roof. Grim humor by Gould.

BB knew that Jimmy was up to something. He was tipped off when Shooz asked for an extension, seemingly a first-time occurrence. BB asked Jimmy if he needed a hand, as the Blackhearts possess many “specialists” among its members. Did Jimmy take on a helper who turned out to be BB’s mole? It seems as though Robbing the Rails tells the “how.” Someone who participated in the job knew where the gold was buried and tipped off the Blackhearts, who had it dug up and brought to Bigg. That stack of gold bars reminds me of Purdy Faller. What if Purdy is not really wheelchair bound? What if Purdy led the team that stole Jimmy’s stolen gold? Stranger things have happened (such as Bribery surviving his fall?).

Good health and rapid recovery to you, Starman. Cheers.

Gweedo replied,You mean Jeff actually has leftover blood to share with the count ? -——————————————————————-

Jeff draws upon the resources of his employees. He maintains a blood bank where the workers ‘voluntarily’ contribute at the end of their shift.

Starman, I have to share an eye-surgery experience with you. About 15 yrs ago, I had Lasik surgery and when they finished, the doc sat me up on the table, opened the blinds and asked me what I saw. Well, his assistant who was in the room was a solid ten, even in a labcoat. I looked at her and blurted out, “I got X-Ray vision!” Didn’t go over so well, needless to say.

I trust Mr. Kleen wants to file harassment CHARGES (not changes) — but kudos to the authors for spelling “harassment” correctly.

Is this Mr. Kleen Lex Luthor’s half brother ?____________________

Kleen is looking like somebody in Panel Three!

I’ll have to remember that one for my next cataract surgery! The right eye was done about a year ago and now it’s time for the left one.____________________

Ouch!

Best wishes on the next one, Lonnie.

Hope the first turned out well, too.

Gweedo replied,Those daily blood lettings must put a real drain on the employees.-————————————————————————

… but not on Jeff’s $30+ billion!

I’ll have to remember that one for my next cataract surgery! The right eye was done about a year ago and now it’s time for the left one.-—-I had my left one done about a month ago and had the right one fixed a bit over a year ago. Good luck on your surgery, Lonnie!

Doubleup’s story sad as it isReminds us that the choice was still hisTo respond to the hurt and pain that he feltWith a worse set of cards from the deck that he dealtTwo wrongs are never right yet more often than notThe response to being bullied will affect quite a lotIf only we would learn to live and let liveWho knows how much good each of us has to giveDoubleup’s decision to respond with so much rageIs regrettable that he missed the point of the comics pageA hero isn’t someone who can administer greater painBut the one who stands tall Despite the hurt of it allIs the one who’ll lead the world to greater gain.