Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for January 22, 2021

Bringing the hammer down. Literally.

So is Tiger Lilly getting killed via blunt force trauma to the head?

Good morning™, cellar dwellers!

Tiger Lilly’s lies are not believable, unfortunately for him. I’m sure that Aquarius knows very well that T.L. is not a random burglar. I’m pretty sure Aquarius observed him following hom back at the skating rink. That hammer looks menacing!

Good morning™, smashed and bashed !

It’s hammer time !!!

Aquarius has no qualms if TL lives or dies, so he’d better quit the act and make with the facts.

Talk about getting really hammered…..

It’s not a groovy kind of love

For Maxwell’s silver hammer to come down from above

“You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling” is what the people will say

But he’ll only laugh and snarl that it’s just another day

Queue up Trini Lopez…..

I want the colors, again!

Next panel: (Goon #1) “It’s no use boss. We’ve tried beatings, the branding iron, the thumbscrew…” (Goon #2) “Heh heh…you said ‘screw’…” (Aquarius) “Shut up! Ok, see if you can get that hat off his head.” (Tiger Lilly) “NOOO! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

I can’t look!

Next panel Censored due to violence! (I am really enjoying this run!)

Yep, called it.

In the basement, with the hammer, by Colonel Mustard.

Oh, wait.

Ask for a BISHOP… quick!

Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

Glow in the dark freckles in panel three.

That is a weird hammer.

Next out from Columbia Records – “Aquarius’ Greatest Hits.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire…………

OUCH!!!!

Jeez! Okay – how long before the Trib guys jump in and change this? Any guesses? Retcon it and replace the hammer with a pillow fight? Or make him watch a Pauley Shore movie?

1-FRENCHY: It was a joke I tell ya! I didn’t mean no harm associating dirty crack with your hippie chicks!

2-NARKY MARK: You got it wrong, bro. We like you. We want you to join our commune!

3-FRENCHY: Really? So what’s going on now?

4-NARKY: PLEDGE INITIATION! CRUNCH!

Did someone fire the colorists?

Meanwhile, Dicko and Sammy still trying to get out of that Escape Room. Stay tuned.

looks like it’s a black or white situation

OK. First we start with smashing fingers one by one, & then we go for the kneecaps!

Once the hammer goes down it is like “Lucile” smashing your head.

Oy! This is gonna be messy and hurty!

Ty and Anonymous Thug #2 have set up that suddenly-turned-pussycat Tiger for some serious torture! That Aquarius is turning out to be a very mean dude (which makes me wonder even more about what the deal is with Auntie Bellum)….

Wow!!! These guys are “breaking loose with the juice!!!” The black chiaroscuro technique is perfect for intensifying the locations and the characters personalities!! The bodies seem to “move” seamlessly from panel to panel against the backgrounds so replete with amplifying details!! I am glad I am not going down those stairs except as a metaphysical observer!! Changes in camera angles (originally introduced by Orson Welles) are successful almost beyond belief!! The shift is from the comical to the intensely sinister. For me, it is difficult to be enthusiastic enough!! Here’s hoping they stick with the new interpretation and even experiment for creating even more intense effects. Now I see that Curtis and Staton had it in them the whole while they just thought their audience was numb to inventiveness and the effects of imagination and fancy. I just hope the readership who cannot watch a black and white movie do not ruin the “whole thing”!

Stop! Stop! You don’t hit liars with hammers! You set their pants on fire!

“Would you believe a babe lost in the woods? No?”

“Would you believe a Girl Guide going door to door selling cookies? No?”

“Would you believe a man with a weak bladder looking for a toilet? No?”

He likely will not hit lily with the hammer maybe he’ll hit something else like the arm of a chair tehe

There goes the first finger …