Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 08, 2020

Good morning™, parole hearing participants!

I suppose that D.O.C. stands for “Department of Corrections.” Mr. Bates is looking healthy, but I’m not sure that he’s looking reformed.

That reminds me. Is Haf-and-Haf (or however it’s spelled) still around?

Two-panel strip. Another sign of stretching.

Good morning™, soon-to-be released inmates !

B-way is looking tense … and determined to get back to his usual bad guy stuff.

I wonder if Batman and Robin will show up ? /sarcasm

Wak wak wak!

Could he be Norman Bates’ grandson?

Do we get that hottie sidekick of his back too?

Can we have Charlie back now, pretty please?

Interesting.

He’s back!

I think he looks less like the Penguin than he used to https://assets.amuniversal.com/70e9971009c40130fa98001dd8b71c47.jpg (as shared by Neil yesterday) !

Maybe Mike and Joe don’t want the nuisance of a copyright infringement lawsuit.

I know there is no audio component here. The comments make me wonder if Broadway Bates can laugh like the Penguin. Oh, and that monocle is cool but so old school ( :

Where’s the Joker and Riddler?

When he was young he was known as Master Bates. (The Elephant in the room)

Whoo…maybe I need to get arrested, (giggles)

kind of looks like the penguinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin_(character)

William Bates? That’s Oswald Cobblepot!

BOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!

This marks (not including the very well done minit mystery) the SECOND interruption of the story mike had begun with B.O.‘s receiving the newspaper… what was it, like a month ago? On top of that, we get a wasted two panel strip which could more than likely have incorporated whatever is going to happen tomorrow into it.

Know what i want to see? I want tracy to show up, have the judge hear Broadway’s case, deny him parole, have Bates freak out and go into a homicidal rage, and leave tracy no other option but to shoot him dead fish dead.

Now THAT would be worth the ridiculous stretch

Anyone else google 6794528?

This Stanton guy should try to get a job working for DC Comics… he draws a pretty darn good Penguin ;) lol

Somebody quick! Dial that number.. see if Jenny answers! LOL

-1-GUARD:* Hang on. Forgot to zip up…there. Oops. Better straighten my cap. OK. C’mon. Let’s get this over with.

2-PAROLE BOARD (unseen as of yet): Well, Mr. ummm, Bates is it? We’ve reviewed your record. It seems your only infraction over the last few years has been the theft of other inmates mashed potatoes every time they’re served. From the looks of you, you won’t be contesting that. Now as to our decision…

Tune in tomorrow. Same Bat time, same Bat channel!

Seems like I’ve seen this guy before, by any chance dose he carry an umbrella?

\\//_

Change his last name from Cobblepot?

By the way, in case some of y’all forgot…

RECAP

The noose has begun tightening around Veronica Estanque. Johnny Adonis and David Washington have discovered her disguise ploy, Joe Samson and Dennis O’Copper have found a woman’s shoe at the bridge, Jim Doherty and Mugg have followed Junior’s scent to The Santa Maria Replica at the City Lagoon, Frisk and Fritz Ann..along with Fire Inspector Kevin Fuego have found a hidden tunnel beneath Estanque’s Brownstone, Sam and Tracy have gotten a tip from Pouch that Veronica Estanque may actually be Will Dnomaid, and.. there’s an OFFICER DOWN!

im scripting Chapter 12 right now… it should be up shortly

The implication that Mike made in his original Bates/Belle/Cinnamon Knight story that Bates was the brother of the Penguin is another example of why we have so many crossovers in this strip now. Mike, like many fan boys, likes to imply that all comics strips/books exist in the same universe. Consequently Tracy can visit Snuffy Smith or Alice the Goon can make a guest appearance. Fan boys always try to mash things together because they think that they are trying to improve on the thing they are a fan of (that doesn’t need improvement otherwise, they probably wouldn’t be a fan). They operate on a mantra of “Wouldn’t it be cool if _____________ (fill in the blank): …”Captain Kirk went on an adventure with Luke Skywalker"…“eMan met Dick Tracy”…“we humanize Shanda the Panda and she meets the MCU” …ad nauseum. I’m a little tired of the “Wouldn’t it be cool” style of writing which may please the other fan boys at the conventions but leaves others cold.

I have said it before that I wish Mike would look forward instead of nearly every story requiring some revived “nostalgic character” or retconned ancient plot line.

The problem with this particular arc is that it doesn’t match logic right out of the gate. The incidents between Breathless and BO took place before BO and Gertie were married and before the birth of Sparkle (who appears in the strip as apparently in her mid to late 30s. Tracy himself appears in the strip as a man in his early to mid 50s. Consequently, Tracy would have had to be in his early 20s when the original incident with Shaky and Breathless took place but we know that the strip was 15 years old when that story took place. These inconsistencies would not occur if the strip look forward to new villains and new crimes and ignore 70+ year old stories that point the inconsistencies out. In addition, most of the current readers were not alive when these “nostalgic” stories took place, so are likely lost when Gertie talks about grabbing goozles.

By the By… Chapter 12 of Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend is now posted! :)

I’ve introduced yet ANOTHER new character who will be an addition to the team that will be seen frequently, as will ONE MORE new character that will be unveiled shortly! (Tho some of you might not like the reason WHY they are introduced! lol)

https://thedicktracycrimestoppers.createaforum.com/general-discussion/diamonds-are-a-girl’s-best-friend-(part-12)/msg13/#new

AKA Oswald Cobblepot?

@Ray Toler, couldn’t agree more. I would hazard a guess that these “fanboys” you refer to never read this strip prior to the 1960’s when it went slightly off the rails. Artists must be getting feedback from these folk so expect these non-creative antics to continue, and enjoy the comments.

The Penguin? Mr Peanut? WHO!?!?

Who is this guy, peng-gwin’s grand son? I like him already!

William “Broadway” Bates will have his hearing. He either will or won’t be paroled. And that (either way) either will or won’t connect closely to the other scattered story elements here. In a true long-run tale all these diverse elements could be tied together into an entertaining story, But in the typical length of Tracy arcs of late, we are reaching the ill-fated tipping point when Mike’s Good Starts tend to unravel and dissipate into weak endings. Too ambitious, maybe, or not thought through, the end result too often doesn’t live up to the interesting beginnings. So, is Broadway’s sibling in any way to play a part in this?….

They really seem to be pushing the related to the Penguin angle here. The one thing is his last name is indeed Bates, so did he legally change it?