Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 09, 2021

Let it go. Do you not know that Tracy never dies

His aim is true. It shall not do. Tears fall from my eyes.

Bribery a mastermind, yet now he sits in jail

Close not nearly good enough. Skilled criminals all fail.

Flattop. Pruneface. 88 Keys. All took a fatal fall

Sawtooth is proof that getting close no guarantee at all.

Yes, I see the blowgun and know of your deadly aim

Somehow, I can’t help but feel you’ll fall short all the same.

See what you did? Hit Ketcham’s lid. Rat and Cop breathe still

Chaotic fuss. Deliver us from this attempt to kill.

It appears Abner missed his mark?

“My hat! My Glorious Green Hat!” You Fiend!!"

Good morning™, all!

His aim is not so good if he was trying to shoot Charlie 21. He almost hit Tracy. Was that by accident? I’m assuming it was.

Missed!

Abner’s incompetence once again.

Does Sam have a hat collection like Tracy’s?

And as the predicted „collateral damage“ in this arc, so far, Charlie has done nothing to endear himself to the readers.

Though, allegedly, he wowed the grand jury.

Abner’s incompetence once again: Charlie’s goods are delivered; wouldn’t his death been better if it happened before he testified?

Story grade thus far: D -

And I’m being generous!

Good morning™, missed me !

He wont get another chance after this. Security will be tight now that it is known that Chuckers really is hot property. Ab may as well eat a dart than come face to faces with Aces.

Abner is all whistles and bells

Who’s not related to the William Tells

His story arcs are really bores

They always lead to tremendous snores

A slip and fall

Off a roof that tall

Might finally end the agony for us all.

The problem is that an airgun is going to have a lower muzzle velocity than a rifle, so there’s more time for the target to move before the dart arrives. Also, you have to aim higher. Abner’s not an incompetent shot, he’s just been forced by the writer to use a more slipshod weapon. And, first rule of sniping at larger groups of enemies – never hang around after pulling the trigger to see if you hit the target. Shoot, duck, disassemble the weapon and leave while the enemy is still trying to figure out where the shot came from. Don’t stand there and let the enemy spot you before you can escape.

Whether Sam’s hat will be in a gallery like those of Tracy’s which have been shot up through the years is up for debate.

Does Abner have enough darts where he could reload and does he have the time?

What are the odds that Rikki will be the one to complete the contract?

“Sniper on that roof”….my gosh did Abner stand up where he could be seen as opposed to ducking and hunkering down.

No time to for Tracy and Sam to call for a S.W.A.T. team. Where are the magnetic air cars when you need them?

I thought Charlie 21 testimony was dull yet Sam said he held everyone in the grand jury room spellbound. Would have nice for some flies to have been in the room.

Flies in the room….that way we all would have gotten the buzz (terrible pun…..my bad)

What has top priority for Abner….the money he’ll get from the contract…..or the fact he is living on borrowed time.

Abner stories always good…..

If Sam had not taken his hat off, Charlie would be toast!

Wow, I wonder how he spotted him?

Charlie is really a lucky man.

Happy Mother’s Day Ladies.

And the day is saved, once again, not by solid police work but by Deus ex machina. This strip keeps poor Tyche working overtime.

“No, no, no! Not THAT roof, THAT roof! The one I’m pointing at! Look, do you see my finger? I’m not even close to pointing at THAT roof. Look, see the one with the purple weirdo and the skinny girl? Purple, the same color as Charlie’s underwear. Yes, THAT roof! Oh my gosh, NO! How can you still get it wrong? Well, great, now he’s gone. Just great guys.”

If the dart lacked sufficient power to even get through Sam’s hat would it have had the power to penetrate Charlie’s coat, shirt, and undershirt to hurt Charlie at all? This was a blowing a spit wad through a plastic straw level of air pressure.

Now Sam can start his own collection

I was wondering how he was going to use a blowgun with no lips

Again, I say, WHAT good is killing a witness AFTER they testify?

Well, Tracy… got room for a green bowler on your wall?

Abner CLEARLY set himself up to fail this go-round. He wanted to alert Tracy, in order to provoke a confrontation.

Ha! Now Sam’s gonna have a wall of hats :)

Naah. He just got tired of the same old hat, sees Sam in something a bit more flamboyant, and is subtly urging a change.

The bow tie is next.

1-RIKKI T.T.: I never knew you were lefty! A.B.: I’m not. This shot is only 200 yards so I’m just trying to make it challenging…

2-SAM: If anybody tries to come at you, Charlie, I’ll just “Odd Job” my hat at him like in Goldfinger. Like this!

3-A.B.: Shooting lefty, I really should be sighting in with my right eye but this way makes it more challenging still! PFFFFT!

4-SAM: WHAT THE? Is there a British Pub around here? WHO’S THE LOUSY DART THROWER????

5-DT: I SEE HIM! You’re right, Sam! He is a Brit – he’s dressed like Jack the Ripper. GET DOWN HERE AND APOLIGIZE, YOU…LIMEY!

A.B.: SORRY…… THAT I MISSED!

DT: That does it. I can’t abide a rude Brit who can’t throw a straight dart when he’s hammered on warm beer! LET’S GET HIM, SAM! Just wait here Charlie. Back in a minute…

I thought the point would be to nail the subject before he testified.

Better to be lucky than qualified.

That dart never came near Dicko. My question is, since the “blowgun” made no noise, how did DT spot this “sniper” Maybe Ab waved, and said “Hey, Dick, up here”? Hopefully (but doubtful) there will be an ensuing hot chase across rooftops.

How did Charlie keep every one spellbound?

Is this the first time Sam got his hat shot? It used to happen to Tracy all the time.

Always a good idea to wear a Top Hat when you’re trying to be a sniper…..

As the self-appointed chief of the hat police here, I feel, for continuity’s sake, that some faux bows should be visible on the cops’ chapeaus in at least a couple of panels. But four great hats, with at least one in every panel, gotta love that!

You’d think they’d have a back entrance or underground garage or something to get high-risk defendants & witnesses like Charley 21 in & out safely, instead of parading them in & out of a main entrance totally exposed to public buildings & the street.

I guess we owe an Award of Merit to Sam’s hat, which fortuitously was brandished in front of Charlie 21 at just the right moment to catch Abner’s dart! Maybe Sam should have a Hat Souvenir Gallery like Tracy’s!

Tracy spots the sniper; but that rather obvious pair, Kadaver and Mortis, ought to have been observed by security earlier! In any case, after his apparently scintillating testimony, Charlie 21 has for now escaped Abner’s attempted assassination (for a hitman with a reputation, Abner seems to fail more often than he succeeds)….

The hat got in his way after he fired.

Hat police chief again. Hands and hats are hard, and Joe does a great job at both. Sam wears a homburg-style hat, with a crease in the crown (as drawn in several strips from earlier this month). That crease is missing today, making his hat look like a derby (or bowler), as other commenters have mentioned above. Rikki wears a nice bowler. Sam’s missing crease is a bit of a continuity issue. I’ve gotten into the faux bow continuity issue, hatband-wise, on Sam’s and Tracy’s hats. I haven’t yet mentioned how Tracy’s brim is sometimes turned down in the back, sometimes turned up. I will continue to mention hat continuity issues, when obvious. I also continue to admire Joe’s hat artwork. Hat police chief out.

Really makes me wonder if Charlies drawers are still purple, after getting shot at. Even with a dart.

The ‘convenience’ of the cartoonists story-arc writers. Abner knows when Charlie 21 will be testifying, that Dick Tracy would be guarding him and was able to find a snipers’ spot to shoot from. Dick Tracy should but quite possibly doesn’t know that Rikki Mortis and Abner K. are gunning for Charlie, and had neglected to anticipate all possible sniper spots and to close them off. Etc.

If Igor Glitch were still around they might have been able to hire Matty Squared to ‘suicide’ fly a drone-bomb into Charlie.