Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for August 23, 2015

Inside the Ace Tower cornered criminals don’t cowerWielding handguns brings a sense of potency and power.All except for Doubleup who brandishes a whipAt a disadvantage, BB-Eyes is quick to quip.Ambush an empty elevator, filling it with leadSam and Tracy come in through the window pane instead.Lead flies throughout the area like an angry swarm of beesSam and Tracy cool and calm when bad guys fail to freeze.BB-Eyes he takes a hit! His gun flies from his handDoubleup without a gun must follow Sam’s command.Mumbles quick to turn and run as BB-Eyes lies bleedingElsewhere, Apollo loads his gun, a cannon he’s now needing.Venus glances at the gun, which does not suit her tasteToo much firepower tends to go off in great haste.Méliès sees a golden chance to come out of this on topGreat shall be Bigg’s gratitude if Dick Tracy he does stop.Apollo’s hands are shaking now. He feels far too young to dieHyperventilates and twitches, puts a round in Méliès’ eye.Apollo scared out of his wits, fires into Méliès’ headA cannon shot through his right eye leaves Méliès dead fish dead.

Unexpected turn of events! Apollo did seem shaken.

Uh-oh! That’s looking very bad for Méliès! Never sneak up on a nervous guy carrying a huge gun!

I’m thinking that Sputnik went up a floor to bring the news in person.

Eye-Eye-Eye!

Did Apollo just shoot Melies?

Seems Apollo is trigger-happy…..I wonder who or what now has a large hole where there didn’t use to be one?

Every so often, on the Sunday strips, they’d show that still from “A Trip To The Moon.” I got a feeling that was probably one of the greatest examples of foreshadowing I’ve ever seen.

If this the end for Melies, I’m a bit surprised. I was expecting/hoping he’d exit with Mr B his captive, only to make his final appearance, tables turned on him, as a globe in Mr B’s trophy case, when Mr B returns in the Chin Chillar/Fallar wrapup

Where did that name come from anyway ?

He’s told us before that it was the name of the ship in Moby Dick. In Chapter 91, one of the mates of the Pequod fools the captain of a French whaler into abandoning the corpse of a sperm whale found floating in the sea, so he can check it for ambergris. Does something sound familiar about that?

I think he took out one of the munros

Who was hit? Was it Melies? One of the Munros? Mumbles? Or Apollo shot himself on the foot. Or it is another empty elevator. A long shot is Mr Bigg went down to check on the troops.

Inever thought that Melies might be on the receiving end until I read Pequod77 ‘s recap of recent events, Nicely done Pequod77. Now I am waiting for avenger09’s version. :)

It appears that Melies is not after the leadership of Blackhearts but was envious and just wanted to get back into the good graces of Mr. BiggMelies head might roll before the siege is over.

Looking at it again, I think Melies got it in the gut.

We know the Nervous Nelly, Apollo, discharged the .50 hand-cannon. We do not know for sure, yet, whom or what he might have hit. Méliès’ startled look in the last panel could indicate that he’s been shot (but not in the right eye, Pequod), or it could indicate that he has witnessed something startling. To be sure, Apollo’s hasty overreaction to the “click” he heard in the penultimate panel does seem to have been his firing at the sound of the moon-faced man’s re-entry into that room….

Wow! What a day! Good morning guys!.Nice work, Pequod! It appears certain that Apollo’s cannon has a hair trigger… but who did he shoot?

Morning Vista Bill! Lookin’ BAD for the Blackhearts. You’d think a criminal organization with the emphasis on planning they have, would have an escape plan in place….

Apollo: “Oops! Sorry, Mr. Bigg… does it hurt?”

A blissful Sunday to everyone.-—————————-Is Melies dead fish dead or is Mr. Big?-—————————-Another winner, Pequod07-—————————-Have an abundant day my friends.

.50 caliber round. It probably won’t stop until sometime next week.

Forgive me for not having read all the comments..But I’m still confused: Just why is the MCU at the Blackhearts’ headquarters in the first place?.I’m not at all sure that they are, as yet, aware of Dietrich Smith’s abduction, let alone the Blackhearts’ role in it..I’m pretty sure the MCU is unaware that Mr. Bribery has the gold that they have, presumably, given up on looking for. To the MCU, I’m sure they thought it sank in the lake with Chew Shoes..And I’m really, really sure that they are totally unaware that Mr. Bribery lives on as the Blackhearts’ Mr. Bigg..So, what the sam hill has been going on these last few weeks (our time, minutes in Tracy time)?.By the by, in response to others’ comments,.Melies’ actions today seem far more consistent with what I thought were his motives all along – just to get back in the good graces of Mr. Bribery. Yes, Willy007 pointed out a week or so ago where Melies talked about killing Bribery, but that comment seemed like an outlier to me..Especially when, in the next panels, he delivers Dietrich to Bribery..Getting on his good side seems to be his primary motivation, and has been, even when he hinted at his killing – which is now revealed to be a shill.

Excellent work, PQ. But tell me – how do you know Melies bought the farm? I don’t see it!

Has anyone else ever really watched “A Trip to the Moon”? It’s on Netflix right now. Not what I expected and one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen.

Viewing comics through too literal a lens can spoil the fun. It is well known that graphic violence is not allowed in today’s newspaper comics. It must be suggested. It must be subtle. Team Tracy can’t show graphic violence the way Gould could in his era. I assume the bullet is still in flight. Méliès’ face suggests shock beyond the sound of the gun’s discharge. Is there a slight difference between his eyes? This death has been foreshadowed since Méliès replaced Bardoll on August 10, 2013. The A Trip to the Moon poster can be seen on the wall behind him. It is seen again the following day. We see it again today. This has been shown repeatedly for good reason. Méliès has been a fascinating character.

If T-Bolt is actually Lee Ebony working deep undercover, the MCU was tipped off as to the location of the gold. They do not know of Diet Smith’s abduction unless Honeymoon telepathically told Mysta of finding a piece of his robe in the alley. I’m guessing Honeymoon’s message was brief and to the point: “I need help, Mysta!” Méliès’ goal was fluid. Either to kill Bribery (and steal the gold) or to get back in his good graces, both would serve his interests. Tracy showing up made getting back in Bribery’s good graces an appealing option. Thanks to Neil Wick, Day-Day2001, cpalmeresq, Gweedough, 22ph, Vista Bill, Ronnie Thompson, Sydney Phillips, Chris Sherlock, Morrow, JPuzzleWhiz and Night-Gaunt49 for the kind words. Very much appreciated!

I think it would be fun if that “cannon” of Apollos fired the shot right through the wall and into the janitors closet finding that stored propane tank next to the gas line. That would be a blast…

Oops – we have a typo today – that’s not how you spell “caliper” in Venus’ dialog ballon.

Where did that name come from anyway ?____________________________

Read Moby Dick. It’s a whale of a name.

The whole premise behind the Blackhearts thinking is really strange; they act like all they have to do is win a gun battle and their problems are over, when in fact they are surrounded by massive law enforcement. Like all they have to do is swat a troublesome bee,, when in fact they are being swarmed by the whole hive. And Mumbles really isn’t a bad longshot guess…..hard to see him escaping guns drawn Tracy and Sam bacc there unless the storyline had something more in store for him…

@AnyFace-———————————————————-Thanks for the visuals!I’d never noticed before that young woman in the second row, on the right, who ducks when the cannon goes off. That cannon had to be a flat piece of scenery, so the ‘gunshot’ was right over their heads. (Yeah, I know it’s a silent movie, but that little explosion effect had to make noise.)

Glad to see how several commenters actually look. I haven’t seen this many “mug shots” since my last trip to the post office. Just kidding folks. Be well my friends.

@doodlerjeff: I have watched the film several times. It is well done considering that the producer had ‘primitive’ special effects compared to much more recent films. Be well my friend.

What is going On??

“The film was influenced by Jules Vern’s idea of using a giant cannon to send humans into Earth orbit. Could work.

They needn’t worry about sending cats into space — a certain canine by the name of Poncho has this idea of building a giant catapult, see, and…."

Well, I see Red has managed to send Rover to Mars successfully.

a certain canine by the name of Poncho has this idea of building a giant catapult, see, and….

Don’t encourage Poncho! I pretty sure he would succeed if he tried it!

And as the “Moon” sets in the west.

@Gweedo ‘the Romantic’: I am no 10 on the list. I was no 11 but the caught no 10.-————Good night y’all.

T-Lee realized she had so very little time to wasteShe knew things were collapsing so she had to drag Smith with hasteMy goodness he’s certainly not very slimIf we get out of this alive he’s gotta hit the gymWhat this two rugrats how’d they get in hereJust what I need I’ve now got three to hide till it’s clearI’ve got a job to do so I’ll leave Smith with these twoAnd enter this assignments last phaseWhen the final word’s said and Biggs is captured or deadTracy better approve my request for a raise!

.

I’ve decided to only post my poems Monda through Saturday and leave Sunday for the award winning professionals! LOL!

Inside the Ace Tower cornered criminals don’t cower

Wielding handguns brings a sense of potency and power.

All except for Doubleup who brandishes a whip

At a disadvantage, BB-Eyes is quick to quip.

Ambush an empty elevator, filling it with lead

Sam and Tracy come in through the window pane instead.

Lead flies throughout the area like an angry swarm of bees

Sam and Tracy cool and calm when bad guys fail to freeze.

BB-Eyes he takes a hit! His gun flies from his hand

Doubleup without a gun must follow Sam’s command.

Mumbles quick to turn and run as BB-Eyes lies bleeding

Elsewhere, Apollo loads his gun, a cannon he’s now needing.

Venus glances at the gun, which does not suit her taste

Too much firepower tends to go off in great haste.

Méliès sees a golden chance to come out of this on top

Great shall be Bigg’s gratitude if Dick Tracy he does stop.

Apollo’s hands are shaking now. He feels far too young to die

Hyperventilates and twitches, puts a round in Méliès’ eye.

Apollo scared out of his wits, fires into Méliès’ head

A cannon shot through his right eye leaves Méliès dead fish dead.