Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for February 26, 2020

Good morning™, fact-checkers!

Now that she’s verified the facts, she really ought to tell her husband.

Interesting that Tess wore her wedding band today and not the other day.

Where’s Edison, she’s one cool chick!

An ominous sign that she hasn’t told Dick.

Good morning™, evidence confirmators !

Let Dicky in on this now so he can start tailing this vibrating villain starting next time he comes for your pay off.

Thanks for the link, Sisy O !

Johnny heard Tess talking to herself.

Tess….NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! She’s already in Shaky’s trap.

How is this hard? Why hasn’t she told him already? Good grief.

Holy contrived drama, Batman!

Tell him.

Hummmmm!!!

Tess called Tracy immediately after Shaky left her office, asking Tracy to stop by after his work. We know at least one day has passed, because we saw night time scenes with Shaky and Edison, and today’s narration box says it’s now early AM. So how come now she hasn’t told Dick yet? What did she tell him – “Oh, never mind,it wasn’t important.” ?? In any case, since the title of this strip is Dick Tracy, it would have been nice if we could have seen and heard that conversation.

Interesting that tess called tracy to have him stop by the office on his way home “yesterday” but didn’t mention ANYTHING to him at all. Tracy must be pretty stupid

Riffin’ Without A Script’ continues as the set-man puffs 3 cigars at a time to create billowy clouds

1-BLONDIE: Mirror, mirror in front of me; who’s as foxy as can be?

2-MIRROR: Foxy? As in sly? Well, I would’ve said Bernie Maddoff before he got busted. Let me think a minute…

3-ROCK: Hey babe. I need a ‘beard’. How about…

BLONDIE: Oh Rock. You look ok as is. Sure, that mustache went out with Burt Reynolds in the 70’s.

ROCK: It tried baby. It tried…

BLONDIE: Huh? ROCK: Huh?

Dick who? Looks like Tess is doing a stream of consciousness bit, or maybe just hearing voices? Must be some reason she’s holding her ear. Johnny, Johnny, stop the voices!!!!

Professional pride is getting in the way of Tess doing what Tess should be doing.Probably what Shaky counted on.Meanwhile,Shaky 2 enters the “Jell-O salad contest” at the County Fair.

Is she talking to herself when he walks in?

So she asked Dick to come over after work yesterday and then didn’;t tell him anything?

To whom is Tess speaking in P2?

Why didn’t Tess tell her husband? Sometimes I stop reading the strip because it becomes mind-numbingly predictable. Then I come back and it’s just dumb.

Enough story, we want Edison!

A side-bet discussion.Inspector JIm Trailer,the FBI man.Should you use him again,go back to the “white-haired Senior citizen” look from Collins’ Diet Smith/Breakdown kidnap story.Ditch the 1936-1940 look.With that shaved skull he looks more like a convict than the convicts do.

Anyone think perhaps that Dick was working an overnight shift when Tess left the message the day before, and he will show up shortly after his (overnight) shift ends and her (next day) shift is beginning? After all, someone has to take care of Joe; they can’t both work the same hours…

What’s wrong with Tess? —By which I mean, why did she not tell Tracy, as she had evidently intended to originally? Is she having second thoughts of self-doubt? And, yet, Johnny confirms her initial “read” of Shaky.

So. what’s the deal? Is this just an unmotivated plot device to get Tess involved in Shaky’s scam and create some dramatic conflict?…