Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for December 02, 2015

Byrd has flown the coop!

.Good morning guys!.So, what’s the hangman going to do now?

If Sam is not willing to shoot, I think Tracy will do it willingly if The Hangman gives him a chance.Why is Newman so tense? Is this his idea of a movie within a movie?

SHOWDOWN!

Looks like The Hangman is about to do what no smart criminal should do…..get in a gunfight with Dick Tracy. He’s one of the deadliest shots there is.

Keep rolling!

Darn straight, that’s not Morgan Byrd, Hangman! Great third panel art with Red Hat Tracy laying down the law. But, like most of the villains Tracy encounters, The Hangman will probably not heed his advice, and a shoot-out will ensue. Who will be be shot? Who will survive?I can hardly wait to see.

Why is The Hangman addressing Tracy and Forsythe by their movie names? It almost seems like it could be a part of the movie.

The Rubber is about to Hit the Road in this case . . .

One where instead of our Detective using physical or gathered ‘evidence’ to identify and apprehend the suspect (as is usually the case in a Mystery) … it seems a confrontation is about to emerge by the villain returning to the scene to commit another murder ?

All those clues, interviews, the browbeating of Newman, the days of exposition of Orlock and Byrd were really (at best) only “fillers” ? And that telephone call to George was similarly a ‘waste of time’, unless the trifle of Brad’s raison d’étre (or posture) in the relationship was indicative of anything related or important to the case?

Yesterday, "Anyface* struggled so dauntlessly to identify the masked offender. But “oddly” (unexplainably). even the pilot was masked also ?That was ‘bizarre’, ‘freakish’, another mystery in itself ! ?

Morning, Tracy Fans!

Some real action artwork in today’s strip! Wow! Fantastic!

I’m hearing “The Hangman’s” lines read by Adam Sandler today!

Is it TRUE that Chicago Mayor (Armstrong?) FIRED his Chief of Police (Patton) ??

We’re always being told that that the strip’s (Tracy’s) CITY is a shadow image of Chicago ?

Remember when up until mid 2012 we had the “Major Crime Squad”, and then - it was changed to the “Major Crime Unit” . . . to more actually “reflect” the Chicago reality !

Yesterday, the ‘reality’ was, that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy

The rationale for ‘in the strip’ may be different, but equally valid.- the Chief of Detectives did recover the stolen Train Gold but FAILED to apprehend the main culprits’ *Axelrod (one original thief – still alive) and receiver Bribery

Will Patton be “RETIRED” again ?Just a question with a curious smile ? ;-)

Wonder if Mike & Joe had this story in the back of their minds?

@Ken in Ohio:However, Tracy might not like that so much.

Get ready to update the official “Dead” list

Blast it, Hangman! Quit ad-libbing. They’ll have to redub your line.

Which I guess is why the mirror (movie) Sam is portrayed as a ruthless killer! :)

Might Mike & Joe have hidden a hint at “The Hangman’s” true identity in plain sight …?

Surprise, Hangman!

Love the confrontation, especially the art in the third panel.-The Hangman can’t be working closely with Newman, or he’d know Tracy has stepped in for Byrd.

The Hangman don’t know Dick,,

Panel three is a classic!

Surprise!

The Hangman just made the running for the “Captain Obvious” Award for 2015 with his exclamation in panel three.

Today has been very hectic for me and I haven’t had a chance to comment, but I’d first like to say that I love today’s artwork, especially panel 3!

I don’t know what could keep the pilot hanging around unless he’s very loyal to The Hangman. I don’t quite know what he has to gain from the whole situation. I wonder if we’ll ever find out.

I really can’t say if he would rat out the pilot. In fact, one of the things that makes this story so unusual is that we really don’t know anything about the Hangman. We know he desperately wants to stop the movie but we can only speculate as to why that is.

In contrast to many other recent stories where there was so much focus on the villain(s) that people were wondering where Tracy was, this villain has been seldom seen. We saw a note from him with a simplified drawing, we saw a video from him and we are seeing him in person for the first time yesterday and today.

It looks like we are very close to the climax of the story (as well as the climactic scene—interrupted—of the movie) and we know almost nothing about The Hangman’s personality.

As for your question, he might not have to rat out the pilot. I think the pilot will be very easy to catch. In fact, I can’t see how The Hangman expects to get away after killing in plain sight of everyone with cameras rolling.