Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for July 15, 2021

Good morning™, everyone!

Well, Archival is pretty good with tech to have faked a voicemail from Vera to his assistant. That explains why everyone is not looking for him. He has supposedly explained that he is taking a break.

I see that Mysta has removed the fake horns, fake pointy ears, and the white wig that came to a point in the middle of her forehead, so imagine her showing her own golden yellow hair now.

Nice to see Mysta again without the freaky Mars Maid horns and frizzy fright wig. The Mad Colorist needs to be told her hair is blonde, though.

“Re-runs?! They’ll think I’m lazy!!!”

~ Good morning™, …WHAT !?!?!

Ye gods man, I could get canceled !!! :-o

Looks like I am “in the loop”.

Okay then. Problem solved, they can all be friends now!

Veering off into super-villain territory…

Well, finally, we’re back to the main plot. I said yesterday that I like complex stories but even I was thinking, “Get on with it already!” And a couple of questions have been answered.

It may be that I was a bit impatient yesterday because I was still recovering from Tuesday’s trip to Hell, or what everyone else calls the dentist’s office. They removed 8 teeth; 4 uppers and 4 lowers. I go back in two weeks to have some more pulled. I hate to admit this, but I did a lousy job taking care of my teeth and now I have to pay for it, literally (well, my insurance will). Eventually, I will get dentures.

So how’s life been treating y’all?

I’m amazed the mood ring is on the same finger Two Panels in a Row!!

This is one sick puppy!

Nice to have a villain with brains who can really think and plan ahead for once, even if he is barking mad.

Does that ring block Mysta’s telepathy? I note the absence of sparks despite the shocked look on her face.

A good chop on the back of the neck, now!

I think Honeymoons telepathy will be involved somehow!

First time I feel sorry for Vera.

I’m willing to bet that the ring cannot stop an office chair from crashing down on his empty head!

mysta, take up that desk lamp and bash him across the back of the head.

so does that mean that someone will be looking for Mysta then?

There is a lot going on here , the hair color and at lest the ring is on the same finger this time . Why does it shine like that ?

Forget about Mysta’s hair color. The real issue is why she’s still wearing the Mars Maid costume (minus ears)? Archival does a deep fake of Vera’s voice, but can’t provide real clothing for Mysta? Does he want her as a Martian or a Lunarian?

Quite possibly the WORST storyline ever regurgitated by this “creative” team….and compared to the BOMBS they’ve dropped over the last few years, that’s quite a feat

Or, Hi, there! Remember us – the pair kidnapped by some nutjob?

Well we know what reruns are?

Like I said the other day, the only thing worse than a wealthy lunatic is a smart wealthy lunatic. And in this case, one who also happens to be fiendishly well equipped.

“And (and this is just a strong suggestion) you need to add The Yellow Kid and Krazy Kat to your strips. Maybe in a romantic triangle sort of thing with Prince Valiant. And I have a few other reeeallly good ideas which we’ll discuss over closed circuit after I lock you in here and throw away the key!” I get the impression his Toonerville Trolly doesn’t do all the way to the depot.

Hmm I suspect this has happened before. Waterson disappeared and stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes and left a lot of potential money on the table. Maybe this is a true crime adventure in Dick Tracy this time.?

Archival doesn’t make sense here. Vera is valuable to him because he makes comics. Yet he has the comics on re-runs, thus depreciating the value of the comics. I suppose since he has a recreation of his studio, he will have Vera make new comics from here. Two problems:

1. What quality of comic does he think he will get from an artist under duress?2. Vera’s comics are valuable because he makes public appearances to plug them. That endeavor is over if he remains in captivity.

So in short, Archival is depreciating his own collection investment, even if it’s just for his own enjoyment.

Lots of things there Vera and Mysta could use as weapons.

General Bullmoose called. He wants his Fearless Fosdick idea back.

The ring protects him from Mysta’s powers but surely there’s something in that room you can clout him with. Or does the ring prevent physical assault as well?

When Archival made Mysta and Vera his guests,(including himself) does anybody have a change of clothes, or do they just use wash & wear attire?

Surely Mysta is going to be missed. How does Archival plan to cover for her? Does she have an essential job at Smith Industries?

Somebody is going to get curious about her absence. Annie hasn’t made it to Tracy land yet for her guest appearance? I thought she, Honey Moon and Crystal would be kicking it by now.

The comics syndicate is not going to pay Vera for reruns. Has that ever crossed the mind of “their host”? Well no skin off of his nose, he is not the one who is in the workforce.

The look on Mysta’s face, Vera heard saying N-No…is this end for them? Getting stressed out?

1-STAN LEE: You cold, Vera? I can turn off the A/C if you want.

2-VERA SIMILITUDE: ARE YOU MAD? HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT THE COLD DOES TO HORNY’S LOVELY BREASTIGES? GRRRRRR-UFFFFFF!

3-STAN: Well, yes but the opposite side of that coin is what the cold does to my manly pointer. So I’m at the very least, turning up the thermostat.

HORNY: Or you could just give me a sweater and no one would get poked in the eye…

VERA: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Copy Isildur (LOTR) – chop off his fingers (along with the ring), break his power

Mysta should zap him from behind while he’s not looking in the final panel.

Maybe during one of those video interviews Alldid could blink out a message for help in Morse code, like American POWs used to do during Vietnam & the Pueblo crisis.

ARCHIVAL: “Already the strip’s online discussion board is wondering if J. Straightedge Trustworthy will be cancelled.” LOL j/k

Seems Archival is not only getting Mr. Bribery’s tech, he’s also getting it from the estate of Ernst Stavros Blofeld with that voice mimic app…..

Vile Alldone also suffers from bad grammar: Grammar Police here, citing him for “Besides Mysta and I”; should be “Besides Mysta and me,” objective case.

Pretty slick of madman Archival to cover for Alldid’s absence. But it may be more difficult to lull Mysta’s friends into a false sense of security. Naturally, I am still hoping to see Mysta message Honeymoon….