Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for September 18, 2021

Good morning™, space people!

What I’m trying to figure out is why anyone would hijack an asteroid?? I guess they’re towing it with some kind of “tractor beam”?

“It’s a challenge when you’re immortal, learning new ways to kill suspects every decade or so.”

He may be a grandpa, but he will never age enough to retire.

Good morning™, Space Balls ™ !

So, our “little girl” has no accouterments that go with her alleged profession. She is forgetful, has a fantastic memory or simply running some kind of suspected distraction on Tracy, for the Ace.

Dick, what exactly did you put in your coffee, some of Gweedo’s Moonshine Madness?

Just before 8:00 PM, we had a 4.3 earthquake here in Southern California. It was centered about 3 miles away. Damage was minor and no one was injured. Still, even the small ones can be scary until they stop.

And we just now had a minor aftershock. SHEESH! 8-O

Well, don’t know if the lady is the Queen or not but she’s managed to distract Tracy for a whole darn week. I’m sure Ace has obtained the drone by now and whatever riches it led him to and is back smoking a cigar by now.

After Diet Smith uploads his brain to the Internet and leads a robot revolution that sweeps the galaxy, Tracy and Co. , long having become heads in jars (with spider legs), will fight to either restore Smith’s sanity or destroy him, ironically using the cutting-edge android bodies he’d designed for them before his fall into madness.

One conversation shouldn’t be that much of a distraction for him, but it has distracted us from a plot for a week…m

Perhaps Tracy should treat his guest to a showing of the 1987 BBC series “Star Cops”.

I’m thinking: hunting down replicants, and preventing Professor Farnsworth from destroying the universe.

Fifty years ago, on Archie’s TV Funnies, there was a Dick Tracy story that had Tess and Moon Maid dealing with hijackers in space.

I like the fantasy in panel 2!

Some of the early books in the “Lensman” series discuss the problems of law enforcement in space and the ‘arms race’ where every technological advance by the Law gets adopted by crooks. A situation Tracy is very familiar with.

“The Future of Law Enforcement.”

Asteroid hijackers are bad, but I’m more worried about the crooks who might hijack Space Invaders or Galaxian.

That’s a future I’d like to see, honestly.

Super cool images today . And I think that the policeman’s face in the second frame is that of Tracy , I think ? And I wonder how a asteroid could be taken out of it orbit ? I hear that they move real fast . Oh , maybe they will do something like what is in the movie " OUTLAND " ?

Shouldn’t Tracy’s space helmet have a patrol car’s “cherry” light on top of it?

1-DT: Allow me a demonstration if you will. I’ll switch off the lights to give the illusion of us being in deep space…

SUKI: If this is some trick to grab my butt you’ll be in DEEP SH*T!!!

2-DT: It’s the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive…hey! I think I wrote a song there. Anyway, Earth will be a huge burned up turd of a planet and we’ll all have moved to space where I’ll be on patrol in a square shaped helmet that has 90 degree angles that have ruined my vision and driven me mad with the never ending effort to avoid looking anywhere but straight ahead! CURSE DIET SMITH’S HORRIBLE HELMET DESIGN! But that won’t matter because camera shaped police robots will be doing the real police work. Oh. And in case you’re wondering, a backpack-shaped portable waste recycler unit will turn my waste into both water and nutrients.

SUKI: YUCK! And I thought this coffee was nasty!

In the 1990’s there was a british sci fi show called -star cops, despite the lousy name it was pretty good. an example of one plot was a series of space suits suddenly malfunction. all are made by one company for uniformity of parts. is it a case that the manufacturer is cutting corners to reduce costs OR is someone sabotaging them so the first company will lose the contract and someone else can get it.

That device next to and behind the guy in orange looks a little Kirbyesque to me :)

Since a lot of people are mentioning Star Cops, I thought I’d bring up Space Precinct. Unfortunately, the only thing I can remember is that one cop got in trouble for shooting an alien they wanted captured alive in the shoulder, ‘cause that’s where it kept its brain.

The positions of Tracy and Ms. Rose in panel 1 are interesting. Is this while they are standing up to leave?

Dick Dodgers…. in the 24th and 1/2 Centurrrrry!

Rotten Starwolves! Go back to Varda and stop bothering everyone!

Is there going to be a demand on earth for asteroids? Hmm…probably jewelry.

Until they (MCU) know exactly what new venues criminals venture into, only thing they can do is anticipate.

See law enforcement agencies outside of Tracyville wait with baited breath in both urban and rural areas, “words of wisdom” coming from Dick Tracy. Miss Rose gets nominated for a Pulitzer prize.

In the future, out in space,

stationed at a lunar base,

astro-cops will be deployed

when someone ’jacks an asteroid.

Keep workin’ on that conundrum Neil, someday you’ll get a real job.

Keep your tractor beam off our mineral-rich asteroid, you dirty hijacker, or I’ll blast your environmental suit to shreds and let Space eat you! —Tough Space Patrolman in the early “wild west” days of outer space law enforcement. His name was Joe Tracy….

Asteroid Hijackers is my new band name!