Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for January 31, 2021

Bedwell has a history. Not what we see today

Eccentrics and creatives would congregate and play.

The vibe was chill. It was a thrill to gather and commune

It’s said good things don’t last too long. The high times ended soon.

Psychedelic roadster crashed. Groovy times all ended

Some said Auntie bought the farm. Others claimed she mended.

Her nephew, Alex, killed the buzz. Brought the whole scene down

Artists, music, poetry, abandoned that young clown.

So says Tim the wild man. Organics now his thing

Shares the tale with Catchem. Some hippies sure can sing.

Sam’s instincts tell him to return. A closer look around

Just may reveal illicit deals. Who knows what might be found?

There’s a Tiger in a cage. He’s missed a meal or two

When a killer’s feeling trapped, who knows what it might do?

Good morning™, Joplin Jalopies !

That car has a certain iconic look; like one I saw at the Rock and Roll museum back in 2000.

I would say Aquarius was already going off the beam, if not in a malicious way at first.

Good morning™, farm visitors!

He used to be a good kid, but the accident changed everything, and it looks like Aquarius (Alex) was the cause of it. Tim knows the occupants of the commune because he used to live there. That’s probably why he knew all about Ty.

Wildman’s got a geodesic dome! How cool is that?!? He must also have a copy of Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth on his bookshelf.

Aunt Peggy might not have gone the way of Mother Bates after all. Is Aquarius keeping her doped up on opioids ever since the accident?

My guess is that accident has Aquarius on a guilt trip taking care of Aunt Peggy as atonement.

Maybe he got into being a drug kingpin in order to afford Peggy’s needs?

Next panel: (Wildman) “Aquarius had already lost his license after crashing his car into a Picasso mural.”

Set up for a week or so of “talking heads”?

So, when did Aquarius come of Age?

So it appears that Aunt Bellum is wheelchair bound or if not bed ridden.

I thought that first responder was a man at first, until I read the bio.

Nice car but I’m not wild (no pun intended) about the paint job.

I’m enjoying this – a story with pacing, characters, plot development – all the stuff missing from those awful 8-week “stories.”

Tracy still appears a bit bushed today, and his coat looks like he slept in it. Trouble at home, guy?

Do you suppose the coffee is Wildman’s special blend?

Honor and respect for Ms. Raether.

I notice that we see the photo again today. On Friday, several people commented on the different inking style from the rest of the strip, and thought it was a clever way to point out that it was a photo, but now I have another suggestion. Sunday strips have to be ready long before the dailies, so this was almost certainly finished first. When they came to Friday’s page, they probably cut and pasted the photo from this strip. Only they must have used the uncoloured version.

Tim doesn’t seem like much of a Wildman to me.

1-WILDMAN: ♪♫ If you got a warrant, I guess you’re gonna come in ♪♫

2- …ya know, a lotta people say my hat is ugly but those people never saw that thing you wear. I guess we got ugly hats in common. Odd…

3-SAM: Take a look at this, ’Wildman’…

4- Are you or are you not MY BROTHER who disappeared after the Monkees concert presumably to become either a Monkee groupee or roadee – depending on your leanings at the time? WILDMAN: Uhhhh…

5- Apropos of nothing AUNTIE BELLUM: DRIVE THIS CRATE FASTER, WIMP! I SWEAR YOU MIGHT AS WELL WEAR A DRESS, NANCY!

NARKY MARK: But Auntie, the road is wet and it’s dark and my lights don’t work.

AUNTIE: FLOOR IT, GIRLY BOY! NARKY: sniff Ok Auntie. Just stop yelling at me…

“The Accident” other driver must have been distracted while looking at this vehicle. It is “eye catching”. (No pun intended)

This is an MCU case?? What major crime?

A nice filling of back-story here explains a lot of what we want to know about Auntie Peggy Bellum and her probable condition (invalided by “the accident” in the psychedelic Porsche—BTW, I had a friend overseas with a multihued Beetle that I may even had ridden in; can’t remember for sure), as well as fleshing out “Aquarius” Alex’s character. Tim Wildman turns out to be, like some hippie-looking but gone essentially straight-edge people I’ve know in my profession, no wild man at all (unless some of the organics in which he deals are of varieties illegal in many states), as he cooperates with Sam and Tracy without any holding back.

Here is a meaty story with many aspects yet to be dealt with (I hope they will be treated with care rather than being rushed through)….

Tim Wildman has not said whether he was a sculptor or a painter, but Auntie Bellum probably sponsored his art shows. Or could he have been a secret lover of hers?

Is that an AMC Gremlin?