Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for November 16, 2021

Good morning™, all!

Sure enough, Sam is late getting back from lunch, but I think he’ll be forgiven for that. I see from the security camera footage that Tracy was reviewing that Briar Rose said goodbye to Diet Smith at 5:30 p.m. (17:30) in the south hall. That’s about the time that I thought she would have left, right around the time that the people in the Time Drone Complex finished their day shift.

“Get some pastrami anyway.”

But that supposed murder of hers is only heresay; they really can’t charge her with a whole lot, can they?

Good morning™ FTD  deliveries !

Our girl has been plucked and suddenly Sam’s indigestion just got a whole lot better. He looks quite pleased with himself. Officer blueshirt is giving her that “you lousy scumbag” look.

The recorder might have been offsite to survive that massive explosion or it is in a bomb-proof room.

More good art today, especially Tracy’s left hand on his keyboard in panel 1.

I also like the colored word balloons for the wrist wizard. Something else; since Shelley does the art and the lettering, she can draw the panels in such a way that gives room for the balloons without obscuring important details.

In the last panel Sam looks like the cat that ate the canary!

But he had the brisket!

But who is the guy Sam shot??? They can take the mask off now!!!

Sam is calling to tell Tracy he’s on his way to the station, but the monitor clearly shows Briar … being turned over to other officers for processing, at the station?

Rose and the uniformed officer look like they’re getting pretty chummy.

Wait, Sam has Briar Rose, an Assassin and possibly the Deli guy since he was in on it…

I just love the line from sam; i’m bringing you something from the deli.

Whatever…get on with it!

Looking good!

Unrelated,: this has been a heck of a week. I found out the brother of the guy I game with almost daily has the virus. As he shares a small apartment with his ageing mother then brother, and was their sole source of income, this is a real concern. Currently trying to figure out a way to help them with expenses and get them to STOP tying to fight it with vitamins and some ‘Chinese medication’ they got off the Internet..

I’m ready for another object to materialize at Smith Industries like Sterling’s arm did.

1-DT: Wrist Wizard – what’s my Password? I forget. WRIST WIZARD: Your password is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

DT: DAG, THAT’S RIGHT! Why’d I make it so complicated?

2-SAM: Hello, Tracy? This is Sam. I’m bringing in Sukie Felatio for questioning.

DT: Huh? How? I see that she’s talking to Doit at this very minute…OH! You’re there too! Excellent!

3-SAM: Ummm sure. Anyway, we’ll be there soon.

SUKIE: I’ll make it worth your while if you get me outta here, cabbie. OFFICER: Ima cop, dummy. Also I’m gay.

DT: What’s that, Sam? Who’s gay?

SAM: I guess we’re all pretty happy to be getting this case wrapped up, Tracy.

DT: YOU’RE RIGHT! I’ll go tell the Chief why we’re all so gay right now!

SAM: Hey Officer – since you’re part of this happy occasion, maybe you can help organize a parade to celebrate it? A GAY PRIDE PARADE!

OFFICER: O.M.G. Where do you want me to take you, lady?

P2: It looks like Briar is about to service Diet.

P3: Briar and the cop want each other.

I don’t know that they ever deal with real legal issues in the strip, which is a shame since it supposed is looking at the police. But Smith’s first time device blew up. So he built a bigger one. Now, what permits does he have to allow the construction of potentially dangerous devices? Where is Smith Industries located – how close to residential districts? Was the time machinery located in a different, and reinforced building for safety, or just another floor or two of the main building? What inspections happened to check for safety? etc. Smith is apparently shown acting in a reckless manner with no concern for public safety. My guess is that none of this will be covered, and the protesters simply treated like mindless twits. (Fortunately Warbucks (name indicated he made his $ selling munitions during the Great War) is there with his hired assassins and friendship with God to defend Smith.)

“Oh, and I killed a guy, but who cares?”

Revelations from Briar Rose’s mouth and the walls of the Apparatus come tumbling down.

Tracy will get to interview HER for a change.

And will people stop making excuses for Rose just because she’s pretty??

Breathless Mahoney liked to stick scissors in your back when you weren’t looking.

One thing the past few strips have shown (at least I hope so) — the new team is going to make better use of the supporting cast.

The guy Sam shot? He’s gone and forgotten in this potpourri of an arc

I’m not sure exactly why, but I find myself incredibly tickled by the interacting gazes of Briar Rose and that uniformed officer – quirked eyebrow VS “I thought she’d be taller”, perhaps?

Briar Rose and the police officer are eying one another. Is Rose’s ‘willing to talk’ a ruse? Will the Rose try to escape?

MOVIE QUOTE—

“Over my dead body”.

“That can be easily arranged”

Boris Karloff—-“THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG”—1939

Briar Rose on Rye.

Apparently Tracy’s partner killing a gun man & capturing the most wanted fugitive in town isn’t the kind of important news that would immediately come across the wire in the MCU inner office.

no pastrami?

Good show, Sammo! And, given the problematic looks exchanged between the Redhead and the the Uniform in panel 3, Sam had better keep a tight rein during the ride to HQ lest any funny business occur and Briar Babe bust loose….