Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for August 28, 2016

Tess and Rikki bereft, bereaved, believe their man is deadSweethearts of cops and criminals may live their lives in dreadThat at the end of a long day he won’t walk through the doorThe phone will ring, a voice will bring the news that he’s no more.Rikki tried to talk some sense into her man’s thick skullHe went away, as of today, her world is cold and dull.The death of Abner at the Falls, a fate so well foretoldViolence begets more of the same, a story true and old.Strong Tess now weeps, yet hope she keeps that Tracy may live yetServes and protects his fellow man, without doubt or regret.The river contains secrets, such tales that it may tellSome secrets keep. Survivors weep. Uncertainty is hell.

.Good morning fellow DT fans!.BMBG brings you the latest in the Tracy-Kadaver Battle of the Century. Don’t be misled by the SBN gossip that Helen G. is telling her listeners. Get the true facts from BMBG’s team. At this moment, our chief reporter, Gweedo is risking life and limb cliffside on the falls to determine what is transpiring at this very moment. The BeeGee team thanks you for listening..

All right …

… sing it with me, everyone.

Everyone is sad at the news. It’s not that far down the Reichenbach to the Aare. I hope the searchers will find something, but these things take time. I’m attempting to obtain a map. I’m sure that more witnesses will come forward.

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Watch – Day 2.

H.G. Wells? How timely of her.

well, if Abner can survive immersement in cement, then water should be a piece of cake….and Fick, of course, has comic headliner immunity, lol. Why do I figure Abner’s body, as usual, WON’T be recovered, though? Guess it’d be more fun that way though….

Dick, not Fick….grrrr

You’ll notice that Helen G. Wells of SBN broadcasts from the safety and comfort of the restaurant patio. She is not one to brave the treacherous paths of our BMBG reporters!

Next week, the big reveal of how our two heroes escaped! (OK, at least Rikki looks on Kadaver as a hero….)

Everyone gives a listen to communications eye and ear plastered to hear the morose news holding breath in abeyance aghast. It is Tracy? Is Kadaver? Is it double death dealt by the hand of fate and the hands of two men one to kill the other wants to live to do his duty for another day?

The count is one mask and two hats but nothing less. The actual deed be hidden by smoke and spray.With a prestidigitationer’s flairBut are they in the twilight land of never more?Who will be sad and who will be dancing a jig?Will it be bitter sweet and schnaps or the Funeral lilies scenting the air the final call is not yet in.The final curtain hasn’t been pulled. Pins an needles we wait.

I hope the GoComics colorist will note that Rikki’s skin is bone white, not pink and peachy, as it’s been appearing over the recent weeks.

Has Doyle left the site?

Where might he have gone?

No worries, I could recommend googling “Moriarty” ~Falls ~LOEG if you’re at all concerned. Mister Wolf-head’s Cane wants our duo in the water… However, I’m sure Dick’s pre-fight climb negated many of Abner’s dirty tricks.

Quote – Wikipedia: Reichenbach Falls incident: The next part of the story involves Holmes’s explanation of how he got out of the bind at Reichenbach Falls. Contrary to what Watson believed, Holmes won against Professor Moriarty, flinging him down the waterfall with the help of baritsu, and then he climbed up the cliff beside the path to make it appear as though he, too, had fallen to his death. This was a plan that Holmes had just conceived to defend against Moriarty’s confederates. However, at least one of them knew that he was still alive and tried to kill him by dropping rocks down on the ledge where he had taken refuge. Hurriedly climbing back down the cliff — and falling the last short distance to the path — Holmes ran for his life.____

Holmes was never in the water, Dick knows this. He has played his own trick.

Sam’s expression really emotes !

 Repeated from yesterday;I am SO disappointed with today’’s strip. It’s really just a recap of yesterday’s. It reminds me of the bad old days.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz,,,,,

I think there is a back way out that no one knows about except Abner who is related to Moriarty or Watson.

August 28, 2016

Another quick report, pending me finally getting my story analysis caught up. Today was the denouement of what I like to call the “false climax” that we’ve seen in several recent stories. That’s the part of the story where it appears that everything is lost and there is no help for the best-laid plans, but it will turn out somehow that all is not lost and we ought to be starting the final act tomorrow.

Is there a “Moran” character like in “The Empty House” ??Is this who the cane man with the mustache isWill Dick escape and go to Florence, Tibet, Persia, Mecca after leaving the the Awful Abyss, the Dreadful Chasm ? Ah, the tears of Tess…Sherlock never had one like Her…TBC

In addition to the H.G. Wells book I mentioned yesterday, I have also reviewed a couple of Sherlock Holmes-related books; this one is a thick volume of Holmes fanfic: http://www.skjam.com/2016/01/16/book-review-the-big-book-of-sherlock-holmes-stories/

Today’s installment of “Sherlock Hound” …

… also involves a river-based mystery.

Anybody else feel sorry for Rikki? :( She is soooo damn cute! Well, maybe if Abner is gone, I will finally have a shot with her, unless Neil Wick steals her first! >:O

I remember there were often times when Sam rescued Dick from a terrible fate. Guess he’s upset that he wasn’t able to do it this time.

For those of you with an hour and a half to spare …

… here’s a forty-year-old Holmesian Treat!

I’ve a case for my fellow armchair detectives …

In the mid-70’s, I believe, WGBH Radio out of Boston ran a series of superb SHERLOCK HOLMES adaptations – it was possibly heard nationwide via NPR, though I can only vouch for it having aired in that one particular outlet.

The actor who portrayed Watson would read the end credits over a strikingly upbeat orchestrial piece, during which he typically concluded with, "And my friend, __________, portrayed Sherlock Holmes.

[ Or words to that effect. ]

Alas, memory fails as to the names of any actors involved with said production.

To this day, I’ve been unable to either substantiate the existence of this series, or locate episodes.

Assistance is requested.

Also, has anyone ever heard of this …?

Elementary My Dear Watson by N. F. SIMPSON starringJohn Cleese as Sherlock Holmes and William Rushton as Dr Watson and featuring Josephine Tewson as Lady Cynthia Norman Bird as Inspector Street Chic Murray as the Constable John Wells as the Prime Minister and Bill Maynard as Frank Potter

What is the tenuous thread that links five dead solicitors with Fu Manchu and the panel of Call My Bluff?

What is the curse of the Belling-ham-Datchetts?

Is Dr Watson becoming too surreal for his own good?

Sherlock Holmes finds Edwardian solutions to these problems of 1973.

also inextricably involved are FRANK MUIR , DAWN ADDAMS, ALAN COREN , PATRICK CAMPBELL MORAG HOOD , JOHN CARSON and ROBERT ROBINSON

Music by BURT RHODES Designer RAY CUSICK Producer BARRY TOOK Director HAROLD SNOAD

… not to be confused with the likewise Cleese-featured and more readily available “The Strange Case of The End of Civilisation As We Know It.”

Finding certain things is elementary …

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Either the local police know nothing of modern evidence collection techniques, or the headgear in Panel 4 was left in a neat little row for a reason. (“WHOA! Hey, the railing is busted… wanna forget the fight and go get a beer?”)

Rikki is so damn cute, even when she is worried about her man! Anyone else agree?

Looks like someone’s remarkably popular in certain circles …

I note that Helen G. Wells is obscuring our view of the rectangular object (which some of us think may be a door).Also, where did our yodel guy go? :)

H. G. Wells??!!!

With the news of a mysterious “big” crossover coming, I was reminded of some good insights posted here a few weeks ago. Ray Toler wrote, “The cartoony style of gag-a-day strips like Popeye or Snuffy Smith don’t seem to merge well with a gritty detective strip… Others like Annie merge better and are more fulfilling as would be The Phantom, whose strip is based on action and adventure and is much closer in tone to Dick Tracy…” As a fan who appreciates humor, while preferring a gritty tone, I completely agree. The Annie story was quite successful. It wrapped up what had been left hanging when Annie was discontinued. It also provided Honeymoon with a friend who can return when needed. Punjab and Asp are also now part of the Tracy world, which I find a very satisfying development. Interesting characters are the lifeblood of a serial strip, and this duo certainly fits the bill.Wherever one stands on crossovers, there is no denying the leap in “Likes” when they happen. Attracting younger readers is a vital part of keeping the strip alive, as is tapping into the best of Gould’s rich, creative tradition. As the IDW reprints enter the 1960s, current fans are treated to Mysta, Honeymoon, Bribery, Matty Squared, Notta Fallar, the 52s and possibly the Lunarians. The July 4th Space Coupe sighting was a fun bit of foreshadowing (I hope). Meanwhile, Rikki is left to contemplate that old adage, “crime does not pay.”

Thanks to Vista Bill, Gweedo, Night-Gaunt49 (well done!), JPuzzleWhiz, Chris Sherlock and Ray Toler for the kind words. Very much appreciated.

Hmm no one’s made the connection of Helen G. Wells to H.G. Wells yet ?

hmmm…I guess I am the ONLY Rikki fan on here….what a shame. ;(

A most solemn timeAbner and Tracy vanishedViewers wait for newsAll mourning heroes farewellsNo bodies give out hope faith

H.G. Wells? Or a play on Hell On Wheels?

This sequence would be a lot more powerful if it all didn’t feel so second-hand,

H.G. Wells is just another news reader/presenter and would-be commentator, presenting a re-hash of the real reportage done by the crack BMBG staff! But we do get to see the worried face of cute killer Rikki Mortis, a contrast to the weepy Tess we lately saw. The hats and mask found at the scene are documentation of what the witnesses recount seeing but probably offer no real clues to the hazy outcome of the fight in the Fearful (I do think it should be “Fearsome”) Place. Kadaver has vanished (he’s good at that!), and Tracy is for now lost, too, though I expect he will be found, alive, quickly—long before we learn anything definitive about Abner’s fate….