Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for April 18, 2016

.Good morning guys! Happy Tax Day!.Not a good day for Dick Tracy!

Uh oh….can’t wait to see Dick’s reaction….oughta be REAL interesting.

When we last saw Wendy, she was rushing a story for the 6 pm news. The Dick Tracy story she got on for the News at Noon!

Good Morning, VBR & C, Jonah, & Neil!Doesn’t Sam looksto be the picture of health and happiness with just the toothpick in his mouth?

Here it comes …

Good morning all!How unscrupulous from Wendy. She is entitled to croticise Tracyfor his methods and conduct as a police officer, not to spread dirty gossip on him!

Notta has Dick in a tight spot!

But – it has no chance of succeeding – people can verify where the genuine Tracy was.

I haven’t get my report on the current Notta story ready quite yet. I got distracted by the list of past Dick Tracy stories that boboscar posted yesterday. The first version of that is now online at http://dt.canadatoyou.com and the storyline map for the previous story is now at http://dt.canadatoyou.com/threedetectives. There is a link to it from the home page also.

That’s a really nice little drawing of Liz in the last panel.

So… do we go for the scoop and the immediate jump in ratings or – knowing the nature of the criminal elements in this town – do we thoroughly check the story? Hmm…

Gweedo suggested,If the taxman comes knocking, don’t answer !-———————————————————————.I’ll let Abner answer the door. He can drop a couple smoke pellets and sing a song….Song

But Dick has an airtight alibi, he was in Cuba with witnesses.

Most legitimate journalists will give the subject of a piece the opportunity to respond, and put that response in the story as well. (At least, that’s what they do for print journalism) They don’t just spring the story on the subject like this. But, I guess, Wendy is not very conscientious about her work.

From late last night, I said:

Tracy has a history with Putty Puss. He has had the experience of Putty Puss impersonating him (and Sam, too) before. Now, if this accusation suddenly comes out of nowhere, and Tracy gets a look at a photo of “himself” dallying with Notta, what’s the first thing that will cross his mind?

“I know that’s not me, so how was this done?” Certainly, he would then remember his past experience with Putty Puss, and check to see if he is still locked up like he’s supposed to be. When he finds out that Putty Puss was let out on a “day trip” , it should be a slam dunk to explode the phony accusation. Check and Mate. Then it’s just a matter of gathering enough forensic evidence to prove Notta is behind the whole thing. Now, if the story actually goes along these lines, I will be impressed.

This is not the first time someone has tried to smear Tracy’s good name. Spinner ReCord and the Police Custodian tried a frame up to make it appear that Tracy had pilfered cash and jewelry from the Police Vault.

Of course, Tracy and Sam wasted no time; bringing out the big guns from the lab: Spectro-Analysis of paint scrapings from the vault safety deposit boxes, measurements of the boxes to prove that they could be interchanged with boxes from outside, etc. etc. Crooks in Tracyville tend to get very nervous when Tracy does his “Sherlock Holmes” routine; the Custodian was no exception. So Spinner shot him, and the rest of the story was a satisfying variation of a Tracy Trope: the cops trying to catch Spinner before Spinner was able to destroy a crucial piece of evidence.

This story has all kinds of potential for that sort of thing. Putty Puss’ DNA must be all over Notta’s apartment, for example.

Gweedo suggested last night that Bribery might have enough influence to fake an “alibi” for Putty Puss – buying off the attendants at the home, so they would testify that Putty Puss was there, when he actually wasn’t. That is a very real possibility. Maybe it is why Notta needed to bring Bribery into this thing – she couldn’t pull it off by herself.

We do not know what is shown on the DVD (there is likely one in the envelope) or in the photos. Are they grainy like security camera video or do they look posed and professional? Do they show Notta’s face or only her legs with the henna? Can her leg tattoos be her only identifying factor? They will fade making identification difficult if her face is not shown.

Notta may have been glad Tracy was in Cuba but we have no indication of when she alleges these pictures were taken. To scandalize Tracy, it is not necessary that the incidents she claims happened while he was in Cuba.

On the other hand, she may be claiming these incidents happened while Tracy WAS IN Cuba. Tracy may find it hard to prove exactly where he was while he was being held captive there. Who will testify in his behalf, DJ? Obviously neither Wunbrow nor Ivanov could testify definitely about what Tracy did while he was missing.

JPuzzleWhiz stated,…but I’m betting that it’s a certain Liverpudlian quartet…!-———————————————————————-.I’m not familiar with that quartet. Who are they JPuzzleWhiz?

Here is an interesting link about Chester Gould’s writing and drawing style in Dick Tracy:

The Gould Rush

Depending on the time between Panels 1 & 3, Dick may get out of all the dreaded paperwork from the Cuba trip. It would be funny to get one panel of him thanking Wendy for that just to see the reaction on her face.

And I think all of the “evidence” is on film in the form of pictures which is going to beg the question that Wendy doesn’t care to ask. Where can you get film developed anymore if you don’t do it yourself or at a college? Didn’t think they showed anything taking video thus no DVD.

Gweedo suggested,Bill ! You can make a fortune renting Abner out this time every year.-————————————————————————.Poor old Abner is skin and bones as it is. I wouldn’t want to overwork him!.

I know money would be involved but think it might be a good idea for Mike to consult with a person who has experience doing story work that way so that we can get some honest to goodness sleuthing by the MCU.________________________________

Well, I think Mike is perfectly capable of writing his own story lines.

But Tracy’s crime lab has always been on the cutting edge of detection—sometimes even more than the cutting edge into futuristic with help of some of Diet Smith’s inventions.

Sherlock Holmes is England’s most famous fictional detective. Tracy holds the same position in the USA. Holmes works outside the law and Tracy within it but their intelligence and techniques have always been similar: observation and attention to detail. That is what makes a good detective.

Here’s a link for you:

Modern Forensic Techniques

How bad for TracyWe don’t see film or photosCan we see NottaDebate on the boards is highSo is the assist that’s great

Sam does seem to have found the Fountain of Youth today. He looks younger, easily by decades. Maybe he’s had cosmetic surgery (though I never took him for a guy that would go that route)?If Tracy is bemoaning his paperwork load now, wait until he is obliged to extricate himself from the Notta/Blaze/Wendy Smear Job! It will be like overcoming Identity Theft, only worse….And, Ray Toler, thanks for the link to that interesting but at times tendentious article about Gould; to me, it reads more like an argumentative legal brief than simple “lit crit”….

Which only shows that readers here weren’t the only ones chafing at the extremely painful story protraction …

I can understand why they would have imposed such restrictions. That Dr. Mordred story went on for nearly four months and I don’t remember all that much happening in all that time.

I updated my page with the list of storylines, adding comments about who was doing the writing and drawing in each era. I left out any of boboscar‘s opinions about which ones are good or bad quality because I want to separate opinions from what are essentially lists of facts. We’ll have to see how successful that separation is.