Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 22, 2015

Okay, break out the Death List! At least, Venus died surrounded by kindness.

Poor, sad eyes Venus, snared in an inescapable trapHer ending an oozing conclusion, shut the lights, it’s a wrapThe indignity of knowing that the last sounds she’ll ever hear Pathetic words of pity from Dick Tracy is more than she can bearAlways taken for granted, thier roving eyes and filthy handsShe yearned to be independent, stand her ground and take a standShe lived her life as she chose, fast and hard with no regretShe leaves defiant to the end, so shed no tears or get upsetBut let it be know on this day that she goes She followed her path and always did her dutyAnd let her obituary say, on this dark and violent dayTwas the beast that finally killed the beauty.

There’ll be tears shed here later today.

The artwork today is fantastic! It eeks of sorrow and sadness.

Cue the mellodramatic music!

That death scene is as good as any film noir scene I can recall….nicely done. Besides, I somehow don’t think Venus would fare well in a maximum security penal institution.

Not with a brand. Did Méliès show up DOA?

How much difference a day makes! Yesterday, we feared for Tracy. Today, we bid farewell to branded beauty Venus, too fragile a flower for the life of big-time crime. But there is no time to spare for sentiment; on with the clean-up, lawmen!

Don’t just stand there, Sam. Give Venus CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Tomorrow the EMTs will arrive and bring Venus to the hospital. VENUS LIVES! I am sure that Mike Curtis is not going to kill Venus, at least not on this story. and to avenger09, the return of the daily verses. is much appreciated. Thank you.

Tracy has a soft spot for redheads as I recall.

Sad that an attractive woman as her took up a life of crime.

This might be turning into a bloodbath.

Looks like Bribery did indeed get away Scott Free …

I wonder if Tracy & Sam will see her brand?

Is her right hand (knife hand) on backwards?

Sure looks like it. Perhaps she is related to J Geil of “Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure.”

Buying gloves must be a hassle.

Nobody has actually mentioned this, but Tracy’s dialogue seems to indicate that Venus was trying to kill herself. Maybe that swift raising of the knife yesterday was part of a motion to stab herself in the chest.

Good morning guys!

Top of the morning everybody.-—————Avenger: A fitting poem for the departed.-—————AnyFace: Good comic. Thanks for posting it.-—————Where are Rise and Notta? Where did they escape to?-—————-Have a prosperous day my friends.

Powerful end for Venus. Sorry to see her go. Her screen wasn’t bullet-proof. I thought with Méliès and Apollo dead, Venus would live to see another story down the road. Alas, ’twas justice killed the beauty. She was strong and forceful until Bribery showed up to assert his authority. Appreciate the homage to the Painted Lady. More of the good stuff from Team Tracy.

August 27 showed Venus and Apollo still standing. Then the scene shifted to other parts of the building, and we didn’t see her again until September 13, when Tracy found her down and hurt, behind a pile of rubble. So what happened? Did she attempt to shoot it out with the SWAT team? Did she get hit by crossfire as she was trying to make here way to an exit? Did she get caught in one of the so far unexplained explosions? Curious Dick Tracy fans would like to know!

Awww! I was just sure Venus would survive. Maybe she’s wrong and will after all?

ALERT JOE AND SHELLEY: – She has two left hands today.

In retrospect, maybe we should have realized that Apollo and Venus were doomed when we saw those brands on them.

O no, poor Venus….more characters are disposable than we figured..

The narrative of Venus’s last moments (as it appears to be) refers to the person she holds responsible for her death as a beast. I doubt that at these last few seconds of life she suddenly realized her life choices were incorrect and that Tracy is really a hero. Plus, I thought the play on the classic line, "Twas beauty that killed the beast” was pretty cool. (Just my opinion). Sorry if anyone was disturbed by the concept that not everyone in Tracyville thinks He’s a great guy! (Just ask Stiletta, oops, forgot, she’s gone).

.Also, didn’t Mama teach you; “uf ya git nothin gud tu sa thin dun’t saa iit???

LOL!!!

Happy to oblige. Revised Death list coming up! (First time I’ve had to update the list two days in a row).

Nooooooo! We never settled the debate.

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 (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 03/06/15Cork 04/29/15 confirmed 05/01/15Fontane 05/06/15 confirmed 05/12/15Jimmy Choo Shooz 06/04/15Melies 8/23/15 confirmed 8/31/15Rocket Munroe & Apollo They would’ve been fatally shot by 09/12/15, on 09/13/15 it’s implied Venus is the only one on that floor still alive, on 09/21/15, Rocket & Apollo are among those on that floor who are identified.Venus 09/22/15

Either the two left hands are a drawing error, or Venus is a “grotesque villain” in the vein of those created by Chester Gould.

These scenes have a Batman v Catwoman tension about them. I like it! Maybe Venus survives after all and becomes Dick’s Selina?

Tracy cradling Venus mirrors the scene with Sam and Fritz Ann. I wonder how Fritz Ann is doing…?

Well done, gentlemen. No one should die afraid, or alone.

RIP, Venus.

Funny how readers are lamenting the “death” of a comic character, ne who had been a big cog in the wheel of organized crime…karma is a female dog, ladies and gents..venus got what was coming to her…including two left hands it seems. I wonder, if you have two left FEET you are said to be clumsy..could the two left hands mean she was clumsily trying to kill tracy? NAAAAAH…joe just screwed up that’s all

I don’t think two left hands were much of a handicap. I suspect what she was good at didn’t take much dexterity.

There is always room for improvement, no matter how good things may be. I look forward to more excellent work.

I don’t think we’re likely to get the back story on Venus, but we’ve seen her authorize killings. She seemed a bit lazy, but she seemed to be directing things back at the office.

Good afternoon Gweedo. I’m getting my strength back and am more rested today. I wonder what was in that potion Rikki whipped up for me?

I have been reminded of something many do not understand well. Why is it people will become emotional over a character’s events?

Plainly, it is because when you write, and write well you become friends, lovers, haters, parents, and sidekicks of said character. They become living because deep down they remind us unconsciously of someone we knew. As writers too, we’re god to those people. We can make them live, die, or take another path.

We all have gone though life battling bullies, falling in love, having our hearts ripped out, betrayed, but also shown exceptional loyalty. Forgiven, and never. If you instill that into a character then they become alive because we as humans see that.

When Barry Allen and Kara Zor-el died in the Crisis, I actually grieved. Barry was a man whom I could easily marry, with no qualms. He was an idol to me for he represented all I found good in a person and in myself. A strong sense of Justice, compassionate, willing to help others without regards for himself, intelligent, a scientist. Wonder Woman was too much, too good, too ‘perfect’

Kara was someone I watch grow up; from an insecure teenager, with the powers of a god, into a beautiful woman and all she cared about, at the very end, was if they won and her cousin was safe (Superman). She nearly killed the Monitor for the sole purpose to avenge and stop the madness that destroyed countless lives.

I grieved because those two could do something I couldn’t, I mourned the death of two close friends, for I knew them intimately.

Back then, I kept it to myself. Now, I know what I did was right and understand.

Do I grieve for Venus? Not as strongly. She was a villain, I grieve for her life She got into something over her head, she embraced it. Why, only the current team knows, but she was alive and I grieve for a fellow being, and a sister.

I do not apologize for that.

Yeah, looks like Venus is a goner. We never saw enough of her, but for a criminal, she did a good job running things. Under her direction, the Blackhearts took over all criminal operations from the Apparatus smooth as silk. Her only real failure as far as I can remember was not securing the space coupe, which would have been successful if Diet hadn’t twice sabotaged the coupe controls. All told, a sad and wasted life for a beautiful and well-endowed woman.

I think Joe was showing Tracy twisted her wrist to make her drop the knife, so it would be the back of her hand we see.

Easy boy. Still need official C & S Company notification.I’m about 99.99999% certain that Venus has just died. If I’m wrong, I’ll post a retraction on the day I’m proved wrong. No biggie.Technically, no one has outright said yet that the last 4 names on my list (Melies, Rocket, Apollo, Venus) are dead. C & S are working under ridiculously strict censorship and have to be very circumspect how they depict death in the strip, so I take my cues where I can.You’ll note I list Melies as confirmed 8/31. What happened that day? The omniscient narrator began with, “The Blackhearts have lost Melies. Is another casualty to follow? The strip then follows Fritz Ann. “Casualty” can mean either dead or wounded, but since we already saw Fritz Ann getting wounded, she’s already a “casualty” by that definition. So the narrator must mean “casualty” to mean “death”, as in, “Will Fritz Ann die like Melies died?”As for Apollo and Rocket, on 9/13, Sam asks, “Anybody left?” Dick answers, “Here, Sam,” and they focus all their attention to talking to Venus. Now either A) Dick and Sam are too callous to care about the other people lying on the floor, B) They’re distracted by Venus’ pretty…face, or C) They already know everyone else lying on the floor is dead. Since Dick and Sam are good, experienced professionals, I think C is by far the most likely option.As for Venus, normally I’d wait for the confirmation, but I’d still just list this date since if she is dead, she clearly died today. Normally I publish this list two days in a row, the first day to emphasize the newest addition to the list, the second to emphasize all the names on the list. It’s the fact that she dies the day after we got confirmation of Rocket and Apollo’s deaths, and the clamor for a new update that made me think, “Yeah, why not?” Again, if I’m wrong, I can correct it later.

…..which begs the question……“medics are on the way”……Tracy and co. went in with guns drawn, backed with a SWAT team……shouldn’t they, uh….have figured there might be a need for medics in advance, and have them ready on site? I mean, not just for the bad guys, but themselves – like Fritz-Ann? A few minutes can make a biiig difference in these situations….

Killing off Venus became almost a necessity after they transformed her into a bimbo from a smart leader somewhere along the way……I mean, even if she went to prison and escaped, she doesn’t seem bright enough anymore to actually be much of a threat.Now, I have a question….there was another cutie, that was introduced for all of one strip, next to Double-up…..I’m too lazy to go back through a years strips and find her, but whatever happened to her…and did Mike change his mind about using her, too? That means with Venus, Stilletta, her, and that other blonde from the cos-play adventure all gone, only Rikki remains, and she’s taken (Vista Bill). A sad day for us guys….

Thanks to everyone who liked my poem today. And thanks to everyone who didn’t, I appreciate you reading it!

Gweedo mentioned,…but as I am girless, don’t think I’ll be losing so much strength.-————————————————————————.G’wan Gweedo. You’re a youngster. A good tryst always perked me up when I was young!

Gweedo, I have examined all the facts in the situation and determined medically that unless Venus is attended to properly, she is going to die because of arterial strangulation, which is another way to say her blood circulation is severely restricted by her wardrobe, which is intentionally too tight to enhance her unusual physical features. Now, I know if you were among the first EMTs to arrive, you’d know what to do to save her……… right?Sincerely,Dr. Morrow

I think Joe was showing Tracy twisted her wrist to make her drop the knife, so it would be the back of her hand we see.

So, there are a bunch of horndogs here. I think that some people were sympathetic to Stiletta’s demise, but maybe not for reason of her curvaceousness.

If Fritzy dies I am thinking it would be of some kind of infection as an arm/shoulder wound would not in and of itself be a cause of death.

Well, the strip suggested that she might have succumbed like Méliès did, subsequent developments seemed to suggest that it was only a shoulder or arm wound. I think in the end that she’ll keep a scar from it as a badge of honour, much like Tracy’s hats with the bullet holes, but that she will recover okay.

Gweedo confessed,I am shriveling away from lack of use here !-—————————————————————.I wish I had some advice for you Gweedo. I know how you feel. .Are the girls crossing from the other side of the street to your side? Or are they crossing from your side to the other?

A little off topic, but I wanted to mention here that actor Jack Larson died on Sunday, better known to many of us as Jimmy Olsen in the 1950s Adventures of Superman TV series.

Larson got typecast as Jimmy Olsen, but he did some work with his partner (“long-time companion”), James Bridges, with whom he lived for many years in home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (whose design inspired Ted Tellum’s house over the creek). Bridges died of cancer in 1993 at the age of 57.

Larson ended up playing in three Superman projects in later years. I guess he finally gave in to the typecasting. There is a full obituary in the Hollywood Reporter.

I intended to mention that Jack was 87. Noel Neill (Lois Lane) is still living at the age of 94.

Here’s the house. Jack still lived in it and owned until his death:

This has gotten me thinking of how female characters fared in Tracy since the current team took over and there have been few female deaths. Before this there was Hot Rize, Ponytail and Stilletta with Thistle Dew and Flakey Biscuits off scene. If indeed Venus has died I am disappointed and sad because I thought she had potential that wasn’t used once Mr. Bigg showed up. On the other hand during the Gould era there were many more sympathetic female characters that he killed off such as the Summer Sisters, Model Jones, Breathless Mahoney, Junior’s mother, Wormy’s wife, Crystal (1974) and many more.

He twisted her right hand so hard it became a left hand.

rassen frassen first they turn Venus into a do nothing and now they kill her off!?!? She rocked as a crime boss but now she’s gone. we never even got a good look at her! I’m upset as you can tell.