Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 27, 2016

“… and that cop is me.”

“I know myself too well.”

Nothing like shooting the breezeMakes time fly with the greatest of easeAll that’s needed is a listening earA cup of coffee and someone who’ll careStrife at home? Trouble at work?Sugar mama wants you to twerk?T-Bolt’s my name, solutions my gameTell me your need you won’t leave as you cameA minimum price and you’ll start to feel niceJust act like a rat, life’s a roll of the dice.

“There’s this cop I know.”Wow. With those words, T-Bolt/Lee is on the verge of compromising her entire undercover operation. If Blaze decides not to leave Notta and tells her what T-Bolt said, her life could be in extreme danger. She better be darn sure Blaze is going to turn before saying another word.

from a comment posted late yesterday:“As do your strips reposts, Sir Willy-um !”Thank you kindly, Sir Gweedo! Always here at your service. Any scenes from the past you’d like to see, just name them and I can usually find them.

@CharlieThis is per Charlie’s request from the other day (which I just saw, sorry). Pretty sure this is the scene you are talking about?? A delightful portrayal of Notta by Al Rio. The scene is just before Piggy’s man lathered her up for her shave (notice the shaving cup at extreme right, about halfway down).

Here’s a little preview of what I’m posting tomorrow. 38 characters have appeared or have been mentioned in this storyline so far. Do you know who they all are? (Some of them don’t have names.) Answers will be posted tomorrow.

Main characters

Secondary characters

Aside and background characters

Mentioned characters

Most of these have not been shown during this story and none of them have interacted with the current characters during the current story. One is a bit of a curve ball because I “borrowed” a cartoon from elsewhere.

T-Bolt already compromised herself with that statement. It no longer matter whether she is referring to herself, Tracy or someone else. If Blaze doesn’t agree to the proposition, T-Bolt ‘s integrity is now suspect . If Bribery hears of it, she’s done.

Here’s more of Notta from her original story (1967). It includes a few scenes I posted yesterday, but the majority are new. Some blasts from the past for the benefit of those who may not have read the original tale:

My guess is the cop she knows is Lizz……

“I’m not a man’s man, W but you know how t’ make a guy wet ! Al’s Notta looks so sweet and innocent, not like the sharp eyed scheming shrew we are saddled with today.”Gweedo, I agree, it seems Al Rio wanted to bring out the softer, more beautiful side of Notta. Staton’s portrayal is more true to Notta’s character, which right now is a mess. Maybe someday, especially if she reforms, Staton will give her a softer look, too. Hopefully without changing her costume.

Sorry, just one more, guys. This is for another poster who sent me an email requesting this. She wanted to see the full-size version of my avatar, which is of course of Notta, adapted from a scene in her original story.

“Costume’s okay, but I’m sick of seeing a woman with bad character”Ha, I caught that! Good spin on the panel where Piggy’s henchman is fondling Notta’s earring! “Joe succeeds in bringing out the seamier side of her character, Willy. We can only hope…”I agree with you, my friend. IMO Notta would be a more compelling villainess if the focus was on making her face softer and more beautiful. That’s an easy call, right? That said, I understand why Joe gives her the angrier demeanor. And yes, we can certainly hope that this will change, since my understanding is that Joe reads this forum and now knows what at least two of us would prefer to see.

.Good morning guys!

“T-BOLT” winds up… and heeeeere’s the pitch!!!!!!

Good morning Vista Bill and all! This has been an enjoyable story. Now that Tracy has cleared his name, we’re getting to the best part of the story. I never doubted for a sec that Tracy’s reputation and good name would be restored. The things I really wanted to learn are yet to come. Whether Blaze will get away from Notta. Whether Notta will finally learn the truth about how Purdy became disabled. Whether Notta is going to die (Noooooo…!). What value Notta and Purdy have to Bribery’s criminal operation. I do like Notta and Purdy, such classic and intriguing characters. I can’t think based on all we know about them that this is the last we’ll see of them. Or at least I hope not. Notta must not die! Blaze, I don’t know, she’s leaning one way it would appear and has been since the Blackhearts story.. Will she go through with leaving Notta? I hope she does since the relationship between those two isn’t healthy. Purdy to me is the real wild card. Notta said he sometimes moves around. Is he really a vegetable? Will he play a key role in the story’s conclusion? I look forward to seeing how these questions are answered. Great story!

Isn’t today’s development a little early? Don’t we normally see this sort of thing setting up a big Sunday panel?

Thanx for the blasts from the past Willy…Its All Good!!

When Blaze was delivering packages from Bribery to Notta, everyone suspected it to be drugs for Notta who is a known addict. But perhaps it is a little more complicated than than.

What if Purdy is not as much of a vegetable as he appears? What if he has come out of his stupor and the package contained drugs to keep him semi-comatose until Bribery needs him?

After all, we know Bribery is consumed with getting back to the Moon (I don’t think he knows that Moon Valley is deserted). He had his operatives try to steal a Space Coupe at the Wheaton farm. He spent millions trying to recreate Moon Maid by altering Mindy Ermine’s DNA (probably to gain leverage with and sympathy from the Moon Governor). He is aware that Purdy Fallar knew the location of several secret stashes of Moon gold.

If Purdy had regained consciousness, it would make sense for Bribery to keep him drugged and under wraps until he had a viable way of getting back to the Moon.

My view, contrary to some, is that “T-Bolt” is not compromising her cover at all by telling Blaze that she knows a cop. Most hoods cross paths with the police at some point or points in their checkered careers, and many develop a sort of love-hate relationship with particular cops. And of course that is not even taking into consideration dirty cops, of whom there must be quite a few on large and diverse force like that of Tracyville (≅Chicago). If Lee can play this out, she has a good chance of getting Blaze to roll over on Notta and maybe even to try to go straight (note that Blaze is not being totally honest in fudging that she has “a clean sheet” in panel 2)….

I don’t see Lee as being compromised. If Blaze doesn’t take her up on her offer (assuming she’s talking about Tracy and not herself), Lee is earning blaze’s trust and cultivating a good source of info.