Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for August 28, 2015

Don’t see Bribery as the suicidal type, but it does LOOK like he’s running out of options. Interesting that he still wants to protect the Moon Maid (IF that is his intention…) Would still like to see him face-to-face with Tracy one more time. (Would have liked to have seen Tracy meeting Melies, mostly because I don’t know if Tracy even knew of Melies’ existence!)

Mindy never counted on turning into thisAll she ever wanted was her own Moon Minute Maid blissShe never considered that one day she might actually becomeAn almost exact carbon copy of a friend, a rival, a chumBut at what a terrible cost to everyone involvedA painful memory of a past a mystery to be solvedThe nightmares the fear the uncontrolled rageThe destructive nature rising up, her past becoming a blank pageLook at her now, a compulsion to zapAnd knock off the pilot his glasses and capWill she become a menacing trollPossessing a power she cannot controlBanished from all she loves and holds dearLabeled a freak, something to be fearedMindy pondered if she’d continually fadeWhile zapping and melting the helicopters blade.

Looks like Bribery might wind up “dead fish dead”…..but it won’t be Melies who does the deed…..

Mr. Bribery knows better than to tangle with “the moon maid.” However, it looks like he’s not going to be escaping by helicopter. He’s kind of stuck between “a rock and a hard place.” Hope he has a Plan B.

…..looks like Bribery’s going to need more than bribes to get out of this one!

…..be kind of fun to see him encounter an untied and furious Diet……

If there is a secret exit from that building, it looks like it is only known to Mr. Bigg. He is now trapped and his only chance to get out is a secret passage. I will be very disappointed if that building has no emergency exit.

Mysta’s on the loose!

With first Stiletta and now this whole bunch gone, hope Abner got his contract money up front!

With first Stiletta and now this whole bunch gone, hope Abner got his contract money up front!

And by the way, Mindy doesn’t really need her gloves now, does she.

Finally! As much as I enjoy Dick Tracy now, what I look forward to the most is Moon Maid’s next appearance. Does anyone else feel that way? For me it’s not even close. Ever since Team Tracy brought MM back, there’s nothing that gets me more excited up about a story than the promise of seeing MM in the spotlight, dealing out mayhem on the crooks. What would really put me on cloud nine would be to see Mysta’s evolution completed, just in time for the return of the moon people!

He’s slower than molasses in January! He doesn’t seem to be doing anything.

Mysta is acting that way because she wanted to save Honeymoon whom she knows is in danger.

Thank avenger09 for today’s poetry.

Shouldn’t the rose be wilting ?

The rose can’t be happy!

Be sure to check out the latest Dick Tracy Depot post, which talks about “The Energizing Art of Joe Staton,” a 40-page illustrated interview with Dick Tracy artist Joe Staton and his wife, in Comic Book Creator magazine. You can read the first 15(-ish) pages of the article for free and you can buy the whole issue in digital form for under $4.

By the way, he pronounces his name “stay-ton,” not “stat-un,” and definitely not “stan-ton,” though he gets that a lot. That’s just one of the interesting topics discussed.

No, she’s not going darkside, she’s just there to rescue probably her two favorite people in the world, Honeymoon and Diet. She means business!

I was correct in my prediction about a week ago that she would do a Broom Hilda zap on the helicopter! Looks like maybe one on the pilot too?

Mysta is disarming. The rooftop is secured. She knows Honeymoon needs help, so she’s putting herself on the line. She looks fabulous. Classic Mysta. I love the way we see the action on two screens. If Bribery escapes it won’t be by helicopter. Mysta is not finished changing. She possesses many of the same qualities as Tracy: courage, tenacity and a willingness to put the needs of others above her own safety. More of the good stuff from Team Tracy.

Bribery’s pilot vaguely reminds me of a certain someone …

Wasn’t Bribery working on a “suit” that negated Lunar capabilities? Even a prototype might give him some protection…

So, to summarize, bottom-to-top …

First & Second ‘Gallery’ Floors’ – Occupied by joint MCU/FBI forces. Warrant served. Treasures of The Great Am presumably secured for posterity.

Third Floor – Accessed by Tracy & Ketchem via assault ladder. Shots fired. BB-Eyes is hit. Doubleup surrenders, secures promise that MCU summon medics to tend to BB-Eyes. Mumbles makes escape up stairway.

Stairway between Third & Fourth Floor – Fritz Ann sights Mumbles fleeing towards the Fourth Floor.

Fourth Floor – Mumbles alerts Rocket Munro of the situation. The two conspire to plot an ambush.

Fifth Floor – Méliès & Sputnik Munro likewise prepare, as do Venus and a nervous Apollo, who shoots Méliès by mistake.

Sixth Floor/Penthouse – T-Bolt conveys Diet Smith to a safe location, one already occupied by Annie & Honeymoon, as Mr. Bribery attempts to manage the situation from his office.[Note: Bribery has yet to be seen in anything other than a seated position. Whether this is coincidence, or whether he lacks the use of his legs remains a topic for speculation.]

Ace Tower Rooftop – Mysta Chimera arrives on-site via Smith Industries helicopter, renders Bribery’s own escape helicopter inoperable, and Bribery’s pilot unconscious.

Current whereabouts unknown: Abner Cadaver, who may or may not be in the building.

Did I miss anyone?

I’m sure there’s at least one Munro Brother unaccounted for somewhere.

Good morning all!.Frequent Verizon DSL disconnects this morning. Curses! Melting blade? And the pilot is not deserting his ship? Faithful? Not very bright?.BTW, I replied to more comments regarding MS and it’s operating systems that caught on yesterday. See yesterday if interested. I’ll move on now. Don’t start looking for “10 Spot Bill” anytime soon!

Mr. Bigg may not yet have panicked, quite, but one-by-one his possible escape routes are being cut off. He is wrong in mistaking Mysta Chimera for Moon Maid, but that’s a common mistake. Mysta, BTW, has done a first-rate job of disabling Mr. Bigg’s chopper and its scruffy pilot. But there is still a tower-load of armed baddies to be subdued. This adventure is far from over!

When did Mike say he finished writing this? On the 6th?

How far ahead do the boys work?

When Mike titled this arc “The Fall of The Blackhearts,” he definitely had a Double Meaning in mind …

Not to step on anyone’s toes, but as 24 hours have passed since Méliès’ tragic demise, figured I’d do a temp update the Death List – Feel free to re-edit it at leisure …

The Unofficial GoComics Staton/Curtis Death ListAs compiled by boboscar and Tarry Plaguer

NOTE: Names with a + 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 (Caught in ’Thor’s Hammer’ beam weapon overload explosion) 04/25/11Earl (Flaky and Hot Rize’s innocent co-worker) 05/12/11Hot Rize (Asphyxiated in flour silo) 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 01/31/12Mr.. 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 (Car bomb explosion arranged by Abner Kadaver under Panda’s orders) 05/20/12Lt. Teevo (Fed to Muerte Vine by The Mushroom Lady) 07/06/12 confirmed 07/18/12Panda (Tripped and fell into Tonsils’ tank under smoke cover released by Abner Cadaver, then eaten) 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 (Overdose) 11/10/12+ Stephen Baux’s fiancée 02/08/13 identified 02/27/13Simon Baux A.K.A. Sweat Box (Struck by train during car chase) 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 (Garroted by Silver Nitrate, then fed to Lena the Hyena) 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 (Blown up by Dr. Kenyon’s unstable experimental explosive)10/05/14Otis (Killed by Gruesome) 12/05/14Mrs.. Flattop (Flattened by 70-pound Film Canister thrown by Sprocket Nitrate in self-defense) 03/01/15 confirmed 03/06/15Cork 04/29/15 confirmed 05/01/15Fontane 05/06/15 confirmed 05/12/15Jimmy Choo Shooz (Sucked into undertow at Lake Pratchett) 06/04/15Méliès (Accidentally shot with 50 caliber bullet – Possibly in right eye – By Apollo) 08/23/15 confirmed 8/27/15

Added “Cause of Death” to a few entries.

Loving this storyline!!

Yes, the Lunarian Battle Suit could be Bribery’s secret weapon. I’m still curious how or why Mysta would participate in the attempted assaults against the battle suit unless Bribery had some ‘remote control’ over her?

A pleasant day to all my friends.-—————-I sense that this story is NOT going to end this week. As some have suggested, Bribery may still have an ace up his sleeve. As a famous man once said:It ain’t over til it’s over.-—————-Be happy and healthy everyone.

The last time Bribery (and Ugly Christine) came up against Moon Maid:-—————————————————————————————————————

She paralyzed them and left them in the snow.They would have frozen to death if Nah Tay hadn’t rescued and revived them.

I’m thinking that Plan B might “go right out the window” — if you catch my drift…

There are people waiting outside the window (down below it, at least). I think he might need to be sneakier to get by them, unless he has some alternative aircraft, but I don’t see how. There’s no way that the theme park ride car is any kind of option.

Certainly a lot of action going on..Am I the only one miffed that Melies went out so early and in a rather pointless way?.Among other things, with all that “foreshadowing” many of you noted earlier, where is that shot of the man-in-the-moon-with-the-bullet-in-his-eye?.As Bardoll’s “replacement,” I suppose Melies was never meant to be anything more than a “henchman,” but hey! This character seemed to have so much more potential..Now, I suppose we’ll get to know nothing more about him, where he came from..And especially, we’ll never know how he came to look like the man-in-the-moon.

Also disappointing is the whole bunch of them – Venus and Apollo are looking more like buffoons – with the implication that they have always been incompetent – even back when we first met them..That is when they messed up the original Moon Maid and space coupe caper, right?.I don’t think they can blame that one on Bardoll.

And then, there’s Mumbles..Regardless of his past, these days, he seems more like “comic relief” – from Stilleta (the knife incident at EJ’s) to his brief cameo with Ghote (“you lousy fraud”), to his current run-in with T-Bolt (whom most of us now guess is Lee Ebony in disguise)..Another thought: Perhaps Mumbles is the only one who knows what’s really going on. He gets around, he sees things, and he remembers them..Like, Johnny Adonis, whom T-Bolt was supposed to have taken out….Perhaps we’re about to get a real caper with a classic Tracy villain – Mumbles – Still Da Man!

There was an early episode of MASH with Billy Green Bush as a helicopter pilot called Cowboy, who looks a lot like Bribery’s pilot, too. (In the episode, Cowboy is wounded and wants to go home to see his wife, and when he can’t, he tries to kill Col. Blake. It was funny. Honest.)

I just checked back a few weeks, and saw that the police arrived on the 13th, Mysta appeared on the 15th, and the first shots were fired on the 18th.So no one can complain about this story being rushed!

Let’s try this again…There was an early episode of MASH with Billy Green Bush as a helicopter pilot called Cowboy, who looks a lot like Bribery’s pilot, too. (In the episode, Cowboy is wounded and wants to go home to see his wife, and when he can’t, he tries to kill Col. Blake. It was funny. Honest.)

I Love You Moon Maid…Show Mr Bigg your Power..

He may have been more than just “disarmed” he may have been “dislifed”.

I think Mysta has learned to control her powers to the point that she’s not going to kill someone accidentally and I don’t think she’d purposely kill anyone except as a last resort. She is on the side of good, after all.

That’s right, stay back you …Ole Mr. B is about to be reduced to an inmate. Now that Mr. Ugly Melies is out of the picture things can almost run on cruse control..I have been real busy and have not read Wednesday’s, yesterday’s or today’s comments yet, But I am wondering what’s up with T-Bolt helping the good guys! Did I miss something? I hope I can read or at least speed read all of the comments tonight and get caught up & informed..Be blessed today my friends and Dick Tracy readers everywhere, but especially to these awesome folks; AnyFace, Neil Wick, V.B., Gweedo, Ashmael, Willy007, Night-Gaunt49, Chris Sherlock, Morrow, JpuzzlerWhiz, SYDNEYPHILLIPS., Ken in Ohio, Fredville, Sisyphos, Pequod77, tsull2121, avenger, Jim in CT, 22ph, and the special one and only R.Starman1949T God bless you all!

I find it baffling that some people still accept Mindy as Moon Maid. She’s not! She’s a human being who was altered to become a Moonie. She’s no more moon than Melies was. At least he was natural as far as we know! LOL!

S.I.T.O.A.M.M.G.O.T.N.M.I.

Here’s what Moon Maid originally thought of Earth fashions:

Holy smoke! We’re over 122 comments today and there are many hours to go.

For those of you interested in space travel, you might like to watch a new TED-Ed video on what it would be like to move to Mars (it’s animated, too). It sounds like Mars might be tolerable for the Moon people.

There has to be some sort of confrontation between the ‘Moon Maid’ and her ‘creator’ …

… doesn’t there?

Y’know, a “Luke … I am your father!” – type moment?

Heck, she might even let Bribery escape if he plays the proper psychological cards, such as pointing out that her life as ‘Mysta’ is a happier one than her life as ‘Mindy’ ever was.

Not saying that’s how it will go down, just dropping this into an ‘Empire Strikes Back’ context.

Incidentally …

… the ‘Moon Governor’ had to have been a caricature of Buster Crabbe’s FLASH GORDON

WHO REALLY is T- BOLT ?

Lee, Lizz or a “3rd Mystery Female” ??

First an overview and some fresh “detail” on Lee Ebony !It’s possible that I’ve not paid close enough ‘attention’ to the ‘detail’ in the many Posts that have hailed Lee Ebony as being the ‘secret’ individual, appearing in undercover garb as T- Bolt, Martial Arts expert and Body Guard for Mr. Bribery (?)

As a result, I may have overlooked (missed ?) some ‘key’ information or phrasing, that might’ve for others, served as a strong indicator, (or Clue), over and beyond just . . .

1) Her skin color 2) That she had done undercover work in the past and 3) Observing that she’d not been ‘seen’ in her regular MCU role this year. Indeed, not seen since - Oct. 18, 2014

Certainly, “more than enough” pointers to bring her into Orbit for Consideration, particularly now that it’s becoming clear that.T- Bolt is likely “more”(?) that she first ‘appeared’ to be . . .

Yet it’s ‘known; (or should be), that Lee Ebony is not, and never been among the more Prominent Character in the Dick Tracy story line. She’s a secondary or supporting character, one appearing only occasionally. And ‘absences’ for months, are not unusualFor example, a check on year 2011 (10.5 months) shows she only appeared in 6 strips in that year. Only ‘twice’ each in Sept, Oct, and November (?) In 2012 she moved up to 29 strip - appearances. And close to a third of those were in Sept. 2012, in the Phishface story where she was seen to handcuff him These “counts” include many “fill in” background shots of her, without benefit of any dialoguePoint here, is to note, that she’s ‘No Stranger’ to absence ! While the biggest factor in favor, is not a ‘glimpse’ of her since T-Bolt’s been here?

Said before ‘no recollection’ of her being engaged in any ‘martial arts’ activity, far less the “icing” of winning awards in competitions (?) Just doesn’t add up*!* ‘Sad’ that she hasn’t been properly prepared for the part.

Perhaps she’s just left there as a ‘lure’, a slightly visible DECOY to pull “eyes” on her (and extra absence), as Mike prepares to “drop” an unexpected “bomb shell” surprise on his readers

Lizz, another possible suspect, is a ‘Martial Arts’ expert, and she too has been absent from the strips ‘far more’ than normal (while ‘present’ on ‘dates’ that do not automatically exclude her). Additionally, she’s considerably more experienced at disguised Undercover Work than her female counterpart, and visible skin color could easily be a part of her needed “make up” !

Now it may seem ‘far fetched’ to some, but there’s yet another, a 3rd “suspect” - that might well be ‘considered’ by Mike

Tomorrow, you’ll ‘read all about it’. And I promise, you’ll ‘agree’ it’s - ‘entirely possible’ !

THANK YOU to everyone who enjoyed today’s poem and especially to those who took the time to comment. Greatly appreciate it. Don’t worry; it’s the weekend coming up so my amateur hour will move over for the truly gifted! LOL. Cheers!!!

Boy, your recap of the uses of Superman’s cape brought back fond childhood memories. Most (if not all) of those stories were in 1950s and early 60s comics, which my buddies and I sat reading in the breeze-way of a friend’s house, on pleasant summer afternoons. He had a whole laundry “vat” full of comic books, and that is where I found my very first Harvey re-print of a Dick Tracy story -“The Case of the Tele-Guard Terror”, in addition to all the Superman and Batman books.

Regarding the possibility that Mr. Bigg uses a wheel chair, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt used a wheelchair and much of his handicap was disguised when he was shown in newsreels and photos. I was an elementary school student during WW2 and was unaware of his having had polio.

143 comments!? Gah! (Feeling like Diet seeing Bribery for the first time.)I wished I had checked in sooner. Missed out on a lot of fun discussions!Mysta sure has a way of stirring people up. Look forward to seeing more of her!

One of the G.I. Joes. Can’t recall his op name.____________________

That particular Joe was called “Wild Bill” …

… no relation to our own Bill, of course.

And I think he might have been voiced by Frank Welker, but I’d need to check on that.

@John Russell: Thank you my friend. Have a blessed night everybody.

Yup.

Frank Welker did provide Wild Bill’s voice.

Just checked.

I’m sure Tracy and the MCU will have some means of obtaining access. They wouldn’t come unprepared for such a contingency.

I agree that Tracy and the MCU will be prepared to get in, somehow. What I was trying to say was that other members of the Blackhearts would not have the means to cross that barrier. It’s likely they will arrive at the barrier before the police and FBI do.

Not for nothing, but I don’t think Melies has been officially declared dead in the comic strip yet, only that he has been shot.

There’s no possibility that he could have lived through that. In case there is any doubt at all, Mike \Curtis has said, “Well, Melies has bit the dust, and everyone who read the strip from his first appearance knew how it would happen.” We can forget about him.