Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for April 19, 2016

No doubt Tess will also know that that is not Tracy!

“Very graphic,” she says? Maybe you guys were right about it being pornographic.

.Good morning guys!.DT has some explaining to do!

“Not The Nine-O’Clock News.”

Soooooo many comments yesterday …

I expected Dick to say “Ye Gods!” :)

What would Schrecker do if in 15 minutes he gets a call from Tracy’s lawyer? Telling him, “We’ll see you in court!”

… AKHenderson’s comment in particular made me laugh very hard.

TV isn’t supposed to air “very graphic” images whwn there could be kids watching! And haven’t the MCU something else to do than watching daytime TV?

There’s a rather … disturbing … scene in an episode of the quite excellent Cartoon Network series “YOUNG JUSTICE” of which I’m reminded …

… where Superboy and his shape-shifting gal-pal Miss Martian are caught on tape, with Miss Martian ‘Role-Playing’ as Black Canary.

So, Notta’s defense might be …

“Sure, my boyfriend Putty Puss and I like to roleplay, but what we do in private is our business!”

“I’ve no idea how that video and those photos got out.”

Might Blaze end up taking the fall for her own gal-pal?

It would certainly be a noir-ish finish.

To Anyface: Blaze could say: She made me do it!

I love Lizz’s reaction that’s a hoot…..not to mention Tracy’s complete shock.

And Sam has the perfect comment – don’t tell us, you better clear things up with the missus….

Honest, TessI was having not flingWhit that naughty nottaIt was my body doubleBelieve me, you gotta!

It was Dick-Face did it, Ma..

It doesn’t have to actually be “very graphic”, that could be just a hook statement to get the audience to look up and pay attention to the screen rather than their lunch plate.The network will have all sorts of ways to show something like this. They received it anonymously, it shows a public servant in a compromising situation, and the public have a right to know.In fact, if she’s smart, NOTTA could sue the network herself for violating her privacy since she is a private citizen, assuming she covered her tracks well enough.As for dating the video, that could be tricky. All the metadata could have been stripped from the file, and I’ll bet it was shot indoors without any handy clues like newspapers or TVs in view.But I bet it won’t take long before someone makes the connection with the recent prison release.

I’m betting that Tracy’s many scars from years of near-death experiences will be enough to show that isn’t his body, even if his face looks right.

This is ridiculous.. the fact that “Tracy” is in the video with NOTTA FALLAR should make it blatantly obvious that it’s a set up. Tess must be incredibly stupid if she falls for this.. tho explaining it to Joe might be touchy. Absurd storyline, completely absurd

What a riot. The Lizz panel is classic: wide eyes as her java flies. This smear is no blackmail. Tess is a true heart. But the general public will have the images they should notta seen seared into their minds’ eye. Gossip and salacious footage are fairly routine these days. Infotainment is fobbed off as news every day. Great story-line.

For those wondering about a TV in the squad room, I just assumed that they have it on in the background in case something happens that they need to know about right away. TV news isn’t all that reliable for exact facts, but they are famous for being quick with breaking news.

Tracy claims not guiltyFriends and wife believe in himNews makes him guiltyMedia works that way oftenInnocence Guilty Reversed

Yes, Tracy loves dames with goatees !!!!

Notta’s revenge makes perfect sense. Dick Tracy has a sterling reputation, while in her mind he’s an evil man for killing her husband, sending her to jail, and ruining her brother’s life. The best way to make Tracy suffer is for everyone to see him the same way Notta does, which will ruin his life as he did hers.

Yesterday, Neil Wick pointed out that he didn’t always agree with me on the date when stories ended and listed them differently on his site. Today, I think I’d like to point out what those differences are. I’ll give my reasons for why I ended stories when I did, and people can use their own judgement over which of us is “right” (technically there is no right answer). There are 7 differences between us in all. I will make 7 posts today on this, 1 for each difference.The first difference is in 2011, and I think is just a mistake and typo on Neil’s part. Where I list:Doubleup (June 3-25)B-B Eyes II (June 26-July 30)Neil lists:Doubleup (June 3-24)B-B Eyes II (June 25- July 30)Again, I think this is just a mistake. On June 25, they’re still wrapping up the Doubleup case with absolutely nothing whatsoever that hints at what the next story will be about. The next day, a Sunday, June 26, is mostly wrapping up the Doubleup story with a final panel showing Honeymoon declare that Pop Pop ought to see something which will lead into the return of B-B Eyes.The rest of our differences, however, are not mistakes, but different conclusions we each made about which day an old story ended and which day a new story began.

Plus, who said it was the evening news?

It wasn’t the evening news. From yesterday’s strip: “This is Wendy Wichel for SBN News at Noon.”

Now that we know Notta made a porno film, it’s no surprise Blaze didn’t like the idea.Seeing your girlfriend and Putty Puss? Ewwwww.

The next difference between me and Neil Wicks is from 2012. Where I listed:Blackjack (March 8-April 24)The Second Mr. Crime, B-B Eyes, Blaze Rize, Mumbles, Doubleup, & Abner Kadaver II (April 25-July20)Neil lists:Blackjack (March 8-April 25)The Second Mr. Crime II (April 26-July 20)April 24 is set in the MCU office and marks the departure of Fritz Ann. April 25 is also set in the MCU office and features the arrival of BO and Gertie. Fritz Ann is nowhere to be seen, so at least a little time has elapsed in between strips, anywhere between seconds and days. The main importance of their visit is that they mention (on April 27) Tess’ new job. This leads into the next story, because Tess’ new role as private investigator will play a key role in taking down the Second Mr. Crime’s criminal empire.

Our next disagreement is in 2013 and it’s a bit of a doozy. There are three stories in a row where Neil and I don’t agree on where they end and begin. Where I list:The Jumbler (March 4-April 16)The Return of Moon Maid (April 17-October 19)The Blackhearts, Mrs. Flattop, Abner Kadaver, & Blackjack (October 20, 2013-January 4, 2014)Neil lists:The Jumbler (March 4-April 25)The Return of Moon Maid (April 26-October 21)The Blackhearts (October 22, 2013-January 4, 2014)By April 16, the Jumbler case is wrapped up. On April 17, the scene abruptly shifts to a seedy bar at nighttime where 5 recurring villains are hanging out: B-B Eyes, Mumbles, Doubleup, Mrs. Flattop, and Blackjack. This sequence lasting over a week from April 17-25 has nothing to do with the Jumbler and very little to do with Moon Maid’s return. On April 26, the scene shifts to an old, abandoned discotheque where Retik and Stellaluna are discussing Mysta’s behavior. Curtis often does this, interspersing a largely unrelated subplot in between stories with the subplot lasting a week or so. In general, if I feel that a story is finished, and the scene shifts to something completely different, I’ll decide that’s when the story ends and the next one begins, even if the new scene doesn’t have much to do with the next story. Here, I feel comfortable with this decision because 3 of those 5 villains in that bad guys’ bar (B-B Eyes, Mumbles, and Doubleup) later turn up in the climax of Moon Maid’s epic return several months later.I’ll discuss Neil and my differences on the end of Moon Maid’s return and the start of Abner Kadaver’s second attempt on Tracy’s life in my next comment.

This next difference is probably the one I feel strongest about. On October 19, 2013, several silhouetted Moon People (two of whom like Moon Maid’s parents) place flowers on the original Moon Maid’s grave. On October 20, the scene abruptly shifts to the MCU taking out an Apparatus drug lab that’s secretly been infiltrated by Ebony Lee. On October 21, Lee discusses with the others how the Apparatus is being edged out by the Blackhearts and the scene shifts to Venus and Melies discussing their failed theft of the Space Coupe and the disappearance of their associates. On October 23, we learn of Abner Kadaver’s “death” (which I’m sure fooled no reader).Overall, I prefer a “neat” ending to introducing new subplots on where I place endings in comic strip stories. In my opinion, that graveyard scene was a great, neat ending to Moon Maid’s epic saga, a powerful one. It almost made up for the saga’s (what I still feel to be) largely disappointing final week. The Blackhearts are the “Big Bads” of both stories, but I feel the next two days are more about the Blackhearts’ rivalry with the Apparatus (the Blackhearts’ main role in Abner Kadaver’s story) than they are about stealing the Space Coupe (the Blackhearts’ main role in Moon Maid’s story).

The next difference is in 2014. Where I list:Silver & Sprocket Nitrate (January 5-March 19)Tabby Angus (March 20-May 31)Neil lists:Silver & Sprocket Nitrate (January 5-March 22)Tabby Angus (March 23-May 31)March 19 is the last we see of Tracy and Sam trying to catch the Nitrates. March 20 abruptly shifts for the next couple of days to Mysta and Honeymoon. On March 22, we see Tracy find out about J. Straightedge Trustworthy, and clearly showing he’s no longer chasing the Nitrates. My decision is based on my overall “rule” if a story ends and the scene shifts to something different, of ending it before the shift. My decision is strengthened by the fact that Mysta had nothing to do with the Nitrates (and still doesn’t) but is involved in the Tabby Angus case.

Ok, common sense here…..if it’s pornographic, or anything close, obviously Putty Puss’s body is no where near like Tracy’s…..end of story.

Our next difference is in 2015. Where I list:Gruesome (October 13, 2014-January 18, 2015)Silver & Sprocket Nitrate and Mrs. Flattop (January 19-March 21)Neil lists:Gruesome (October 13, 2014-January 11, 2015)The Return of the Nitrates (January 12-March 21)While Gruesome was still on the run, we learned on Christmas that Junior and Sparkle’s baby was born but without getting the answers to the 2 questions that arise at any birth (boy or girl? What’s its name?). It wouldn’t be till after Gruesome was caught, on Sunday January 11 that we learned the answers to both questions (boy and Dick Tracy III aka Trey). But on that same strip, the scene abruptly shifts to the “introduction” of T-Bolt and her mostly unseen boss. I would hate ending the story on that strip. January 12 re-introduces the Nitrates, January 13 reintroduces Mrs. Flattop with Blowtop. But the rest of the week shifts to Junior taking his daughter to work while Sparkle calls up her mom and we see more wacky antics with BO and Attitude, concluding when Gertie’s sister Agate Aggie shows up at their place on January 18. January 19 starts the unrelated Funky Winkerbean crossover. To me, the days of T-Bolt, the Nitrates, and the ‘tops are of the same pattern of villains and subplots brought up three days in a row that don’t immediately lead into anything, while Agate Aggie (who debuted in the Gruesome story) showing up makes a nice, comical wrap-up before shifting to the next unrelated thing.

Am I the only one who’s hoping we see a few scenes of the video? Or the still photos? It wouldn’t be appropriate to include anything that’s too graphic, obviously. But it would be nice if Curtis and Staton added a few pics that are tame enough to include here.

Our final difference is also in 2015. Where I list:The Great Train Robbery (March 22-June 13)The Downfall of the Blackhearts and the Return and Rise of Mr. Bribery (June 14-October 11)Neil lists:Million Dollar Limited (March 22-June 5)The Fall of the Blackhearts (June 6-October 11)On June 6, the narrator brings up the question of the stolen gold that’s still missing, which makes it feel like it’s still the same story, then shifts the scene to Annie staying overnight with Honeymoon. Beginning June 7, we have Mysta coming over because she senses something “wrong” with Honeymoon. This storyline continues for the rest of the week until a cutaway on June 11 reveals that the missing gold is now in possession of Mr. Bigg (with huge hints that Bigg is Bribery), with June 12-13 finally revealing Honeymoon’s growing antennas and her family’s accepting of that fact. On June 14, we learn from Chief Patton that the pressure’s on the MCU to make recovering that missing gold a top priority, which feels more to me like the lead in to the next story than the June 6 strip did.

Seemingly contrary to the majority of our commenters, and until shown otherwise by the strip itself, I am not convinced that Notta is identifiable in this salacious video Smear Job. Her most distinctive feature, her beard, could have been obscured by shadows or by the angle of the camera’s view of her. And with the soon-to-fade henna tattoos as “a disguise,” she could easily enough appear in the video as “just another curvaceous unidentifiable bimbo” with whom “the disreputable detective” has hooked up for cash while supposedly on official duty in Cuba—so the accusation allegation might go. This would make it much more difficult for Tracy to knock down, whereas an identifiable Notta Fallar makes it too easy for him to disprove!Love Lizz’s shocked expression in panel 2; if this hardened cop is so shaken, the video must be some really strong stuff (no doubt liberally pixellated or black-stripped to hide the naughty bits)! Sam’s immediate reaction is blunt but honest (panel 3)….

I think that’s been Notta’s motive all along. She feels (wrongly) that Tracy is responsible for the way her marriage ended, so she wants to be the one who destroys his.

I like this reasoning. I think you may be right.

I think if I was Tracy I would immediately contact a lawyer and try to get that broadcast shut down as libel. He needs to get some of the heat off while he investigates. Hopefully he won’t be suspended and can work on the case. Considering Tracy’s reputation this video stretches credulity quite a bit. I really don’t think it’ll be that hard to prove as a fake.

I just realized….at the end of all this, Dick Tracy could be looking at a Hulk Hogan style windfall from SBN. Could Dick Tracy become the next Amos Burke?

I couldn’t reconcile why she would expose her identity.

She wants it to look as if he is consorting with criminals on the sly. That’s worse than an anonymous person.

Notta made her girlfriend film her doing god-knows-what with Putty Puss! I don’t know if I should file that under “future relationship goals” or not.