Ok, so on Tuesday, we see the two coats and what throws everyone is the fact that “Piston’s” coat looks smaller than the butler even though Piston is taller than Tracy and the butler is shorter. However, when you look at Saturday’s strip, the butler isn’t that much shorter than Piston so it’s plausible it’s his coat. We already know the coat is a male coat and can’t be the short guy, so Piston has to be the killer. I think this one actually makes sense unlike some of the later minit one’s. I think I beat Neil to comment?
L Silverman 5 days agoReading this for the first time. Now, why do I get the feeling that whoever’s coat is the first one on the coat peg is the killer.
This is only the second time in the strip’s entire 90+ year history that the strip reprint a past story. The first time was nearly 20 years ago in 2003. I’ll tell you all about that the next time I put up my list of Tracy stories available on GoComics, probably within a week.
The past story prior to this Minit Mystery left me in something of a quandary. We had two separate yet connected storylines going on at the same time: Tracy & Co’s efforts to infiltrate the Apparatus, and Mr. Bones’ plot to kill Tracy, with the same ultimate main villain of both plots, the Second Ace of Spades. I wasn’t sure whether to treat the Bones plot as a smaller part of the greater story, or as its own individual story.
If nothing else, this MM reprint resolved my dilemma. Once the loose ends of the Bones story are resolved, I expect Tracy & Co will go full bore on the Ace & Apparatus. When that happens (or even if a different story altogether starts) I will consider the Bones story to have ended, and I will repost my list of Tracy GoComics stories with the Bones story at the end.
Now let’s see if team Tracy gives us any answers for BJ’s suddenly free Chiller Thriller hand and Tracy’s; “Look Ma, I’m as good as new!” miracle shooting among other unexplained events.
Finally, my posts on cars and coats, which probably weren’t worth waiting for this long. First, the car establishes the time frame of the story and I think most people noticed it was from the 1930s.
The police car in the opening panel last Sunday (seen again today from a different angle) appears to be a Chrysler Airstream. That model was only made four years: 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1937. The slanted read panel (trunk accessible only from the inside), with the rear-mounted spare tire, was only made in 1934-35, so that situates us in time.
So, I think the fur coat that was dripping melted snow in Tuesday’s strip is a raccoon coat. They suddenly became very trendy around 1925 and continued to be popular until the mid-1930s.
You can see several interesting pictures on this web page: https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/11/26/the-1920s-college-kids-and-the-fur-pimp-coat-craze/
You might notice that almost all of the people wearing the coats in the pictures are men, although some women also caught the fashion trend. I particularly noticed this: “If a man could afford a fur coat, he had one; bankers, salesmen and students alike used the style to signify or improve their social status.” Piston Puss, as a car salesman, fits into that list. Encyclopedia.com (“Raccoon coat” article) tells us: “Raccoon coats became especially popular in the 1920s when driving became one of the most popular activities for those wealthy enough to own Henry Ford’s Model T automobile.” Again, Piston Puss falls into the category of car enthusiasts.
Most sources talk about it as a 1920s trend, but that web page tells us, "In 1935, the leading men’s fashion magazine Men’s Wear reported: “The raccoon coat is back in fashion. More were seen at the climax football games in the East this season than at any time in the past ten years.’ "
Going back to the encyclopedia.com article, it says Modern young men who listened to jazz music, used modern slang, and wore raccoon coats with straw hats called boaters and white spats (a cloth or leather covering) on their shoes, were nicknamed “collegiates” or “sheiks.” (An older doctor that I knew well still wore spats on his shoes until he died in around 2004. He had to make his own.) Given that these coats were more popular with younger men, you wouldn’t expect H.K. Kellogg to be likely to wear one, since he’s presumably older.
In the “Giant Size Harvey Comics” of October 1960, the Minit Mystery is titled, The Fatal Clue. The murder victim is Bill Philany, the conductor of an all-girl orchestra. Tracy decides that because the murder weapon is a Lugar automatic, the killer had to be a man. “Women use pocket-sized .25’s, never big guns.” He goes on to declare that women always use both hands to remove their hat. Having made two rather dubious generalizations, Tracy arrests Harry Hardhead, who indeed is decked out in women’s clothing, wig, and hat. The mad colorist of the day changes the floor from purple to blue to pink. The rationale for this is the true mystery.
While the Minit Mystery is less than satisfying, the comic contains plenty of fun filler to flesh out the Tracy tale, The Case of the Killer’s Revenge, in which Tracy’s hair is burned off when his house burns down. Blowtop is the villain and Vitamin has a supporting role. The story had run in newspapers ten years earlier. Between sections of the story, readers find “Beware of These Rackets,” “The White Deer,” “Girl Friday,” “Trapping a Murderer!” “Trapping a Killer,” “Sparkle Plenty,” “Perilous Journey,” “Black Cat” (who teaches us how to do judo tricks), and more Minit Mysteries.
Wait! There’s more. A complete set of 12 little dolls for a buck. Hi-Power binoculars (“See up to 18 miles”) for 50 cents. A frontier cabin (cardboard box) “big enough for 2-3 kids!” for a buck. 100 unbreakable polyurethane plastic toy cars for a buck. 204 Revolutionary War Soldiers for only $1.98. Not to mention the “treasure chest of fun,” where discriminating shoppers could find atomic smoke bombs, jiu-jitsu lessons, rubber snakes, the infamous whoopee cushion, and more. Regrettably, no Sea Monkeys could be purchased through this issue. All approved by the comics code authority.
The only thing worse than Dick doing no detective work is Dick trying to do detective work.
- Dick doesn’t establish that Piston’s coat is the fur coat rather than the long overcoat.
- Dick doesn’t establish that no one moved any coats, such as picking up a coat that was knocked to the floor and clumsily putting it back on the rack. (The pool of water is just baffling if it’s meant to be significant. The only reasonable interpretation is that it’s intended to be simply under the coatrack. If we try to interpret it closely, it seems to be specifically under the fur coat, supporting the idea that whoever it belonged to just recently arrived and the other dry coat was placed over it afterwards.)
- Dick doesn’t establish that any visible coats belonged to Krispies.
- At no point did Mes(z)adams say he didn’t have a coat.
- Any of these people could be lying about their coats (which could have been stained or damaged during the murder). The notion that three out of four visitors showed up without coats in the middle of a freezing winter is extremely strange. (Especially Midge. Down on your luck or not, how do you live in northern Illinois and not even have a winter coat? She can’t afford one? Wouldn’t know it from looking at the rest of her clothing and accessories.)
Wait, this makes no sense. How does Tracy know the fur coat was Piston Puss’ coat? And if Mr. Krispies didn’t go outside but was preparing to receive guests, why would his coat be on top of Piston Puss’ coat? And is nobody going to ask why the police car is from 1937, when they have Moon Coupes and wrist radios? This is why I don’t like Sherlock Holmes stories – the mysteries are always solved by some ridiculously obscure fact that is never shared with the reader. Holmes: “Aha! There was a fragment of a leaf in the pocket of Mrs. Stanton’s house coat, from the totallymadeup orchid that only grows in a cavern in Obscurastan, where the ship where Widow Stanton’s cousin served on once stopped at a coaling station, and from the smell of bay rum aftershave on the widow’s blouse, I deduce that the cousin is a secret crossdresser and therefore, the street urchin that Inspector Frump bought his morning paper from killed Stanton with the fireplace poker! Elementary, dear Watson!” Watson: “Holmes, old chap, have you been shooting up the heroin again?”
Piston Puss… to me that was assumed as soon as I saw him in the comic. That was a waste of a week. Please next time make the characters a little less stand out.
This proves absolutely nothing, since the non-coat wearers also could have been there before Krispies hung up his coat. Heck, maybe they all did it, Orient-Express style!
Um, what? Tracy is going to get sued for false arrest. How in the world is that evidence? And it’s impossible for a non-coat wearer to be the murderer? This is extremely dumb.
I have to assume that this story was originally intended to run for two weeks, then had a bunch of stuff cut out to fit it into one. As it is it makes zero sense.
Wait a minute? How did Tracy know whose coat was whose? Just by matching colors?
This doesn’t invalidate Tracy’s deduction, something great detectives do, but it does suggest that his solution might be on shaky ground when it comes to trial in court….
Brian Premium Member over 2 years ago
I know it was the butler!
I mean, Ms. Clampett.
Of course, it’s obviously Miss Gregory.
Sorry, I had tickle in my throat. As I was saying it’s Mr. Mesadams.
I’ll bet it was Piston Puss. I’m right! Naturally!!
Leo Cannyn Premium Member over 2 years ago
Ok, so on Tuesday, we see the two coats and what throws everyone is the fact that “Piston’s” coat looks smaller than the butler even though Piston is taller than Tracy and the butler is shorter. However, when you look at Saturday’s strip, the butler isn’t that much shorter than Piston so it’s plausible it’s his coat. We already know the coat is a male coat and can’t be the short guy, so Piston has to be the killer. I think this one actually makes sense unlike some of the later minit one’s. I think I beat Neil to comment?
L Silverman over 2 years ago
L Silverman 5 days agoReading this for the first time. Now, why do I get the feeling that whoever’s coat is the first one on the coat peg is the killer.
Aha! Told ya! I knew it was the coats!
pschearer Premium Member over 2 years ago
What D.A. would bring a case on evidence like this? Maybe a drunken grand jury might indict.
dalemcnamee9 over 2 years ago
I think that Piston Puss was the killer in the previous " Minit Mystery"…
boboscar over 2 years ago
This is only the second time in the strip’s entire 90+ year history that the strip reprint a past story. The first time was nearly 20 years ago in 2003. I’ll tell you all about that the next time I put up my list of Tracy stories available on GoComics, probably within a week.
The past story prior to this Minit Mystery left me in something of a quandary. We had two separate yet connected storylines going on at the same time: Tracy & Co’s efforts to infiltrate the Apparatus, and Mr. Bones’ plot to kill Tracy, with the same ultimate main villain of both plots, the Second Ace of Spades. I wasn’t sure whether to treat the Bones plot as a smaller part of the greater story, or as its own individual story.
If nothing else, this MM reprint resolved my dilemma. Once the loose ends of the Bones story are resolved, I expect Tracy & Co will go full bore on the Ace & Apparatus. When that happens (or even if a different story altogether starts) I will consider the Bones story to have ended, and I will repost my list of Tracy GoComics stories with the Bones story at the end.
avenger09 over 2 years ago
Great, we’re done with this retread.
Now let’s see if team Tracy gives us any answers for BJ’s suddenly free Chiller Thriller hand and Tracy’s; “Look Ma, I’m as good as new!” miracle shooting among other unexplained events.
Neil Wick over 2 years ago
Good morning™, everyone!
Finally, my posts on cars and coats, which probably weren’t worth waiting for this long. First, the car establishes the time frame of the story and I think most people noticed it was from the 1930s.
The police car in the opening panel last Sunday (seen again today from a different angle) appears to be a Chrysler Airstream. That model was only made four years: 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1937. The slanted read panel (trunk accessible only from the inside), with the rear-mounted spare tire, was only made in 1934-35, so that situates us in time.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/%2734_airflow_rear_2.JPG/400px-%2734_airflow_rear_2.JPG
The last two model years the design was modified to a “bustle-back trunk.”
You can see it in the fourth picture on this page: https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1934-37-chrysler-airflow
Neil Wick over 2 years ago
So, I think the fur coat that was dripping melted snow in Tuesday’s strip is a raccoon coat. They suddenly became very trendy around 1925 and continued to be popular until the mid-1930s.
You can see several interesting pictures on this web page: https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/11/26/the-1920s-college-kids-and-the-fur-pimp-coat-craze/
You might notice that almost all of the people wearing the coats in the pictures are men, although some women also caught the fashion trend. I particularly noticed this: “If a man could afford a fur coat, he had one; bankers, salesmen and students alike used the style to signify or improve their social status.” Piston Puss, as a car salesman, fits into that list. Encyclopedia.com (“Raccoon coat” article) tells us: “Raccoon coats became especially popular in the 1920s when driving became one of the most popular activities for those wealthy enough to own Henry Ford’s Model T automobile.” Again, Piston Puss falls into the category of car enthusiasts.
Most sources talk about it as a 1920s trend, but that web page tells us, "In 1935, the leading men’s fashion magazine Men’s Wear reported: “The raccoon coat is back in fashion. More were seen at the climax football games in the East this season than at any time in the past ten years.’ "
Going back to the encyclopedia.com article, it says Modern young men who listened to jazz music, used modern slang, and wore raccoon coats with straw hats called boaters and white spats (a cloth or leather covering) on their shoes, were nicknamed “collegiates” or “sheiks.” (An older doctor that I knew well still wore spats on his shoes until he died in around 2004. He had to make his own.) Given that these coats were more popular with younger men, you wouldn’t expect H.K. Kellogg to be likely to wear one, since he’s presumably older.
Pequod over 2 years ago
In the “Giant Size Harvey Comics” of October 1960, the Minit Mystery is titled, The Fatal Clue. The murder victim is Bill Philany, the conductor of an all-girl orchestra. Tracy decides that because the murder weapon is a Lugar automatic, the killer had to be a man. “Women use pocket-sized .25’s, never big guns.” He goes on to declare that women always use both hands to remove their hat. Having made two rather dubious generalizations, Tracy arrests Harry Hardhead, who indeed is decked out in women’s clothing, wig, and hat. The mad colorist of the day changes the floor from purple to blue to pink. The rationale for this is the true mystery.
While the Minit Mystery is less than satisfying, the comic contains plenty of fun filler to flesh out the Tracy tale, The Case of the Killer’s Revenge, in which Tracy’s hair is burned off when his house burns down. Blowtop is the villain and Vitamin has a supporting role. The story had run in newspapers ten years earlier. Between sections of the story, readers find “Beware of These Rackets,” “The White Deer,” “Girl Friday,” “Trapping a Murderer!” “Trapping a Killer,” “Sparkle Plenty,” “Perilous Journey,” “Black Cat” (who teaches us how to do judo tricks), and more Minit Mysteries.
Wait! There’s more. A complete set of 12 little dolls for a buck. Hi-Power binoculars (“See up to 18 miles”) for 50 cents. A frontier cabin (cardboard box) “big enough for 2-3 kids!” for a buck. 100 unbreakable polyurethane plastic toy cars for a buck. 204 Revolutionary War Soldiers for only $1.98. Not to mention the “treasure chest of fun,” where discriminating shoppers could find atomic smoke bombs, jiu-jitsu lessons, rubber snakes, the infamous whoopee cushion, and more. Regrettably, no Sea Monkeys could be purchased through this issue. All approved by the comics code authority.
brunoheisey over 2 years ago
More Minit Mysteries, please!
therese_callahan2002 over 2 years ago
I have always refused to meet those I chat online with face to face.
iggyman over 2 years ago
His file will say “Puss, Piston” !
jroggs over 2 years ago
The only thing worse than Dick doing no detective work is Dick trying to do detective work.
- Dick doesn’t establish that Piston’s coat is the fur coat rather than the long overcoat.
- Dick doesn’t establish that no one moved any coats, such as picking up a coat that was knocked to the floor and clumsily putting it back on the rack. (The pool of water is just baffling if it’s meant to be significant. The only reasonable interpretation is that it’s intended to be simply under the coatrack. If we try to interpret it closely, it seems to be specifically under the fur coat, supporting the idea that whoever it belonged to just recently arrived and the other dry coat was placed over it afterwards.)
- Dick doesn’t establish that any visible coats belonged to Krispies.
- At no point did Mes(z)adams say he didn’t have a coat.
- Any of these people could be lying about their coats (which could have been stained or damaged during the murder). The notion that three out of four visitors showed up without coats in the middle of a freezing winter is extremely strange. (Especially Midge. Down on your luck or not, how do you live in northern Illinois and not even have a winter coat? She can’t afford one? Wouldn’t know it from looking at the rest of her clothing and accessories.)
Continued…
Knightman Premium Member over 2 years ago
Okay. please let us just move on!!!
cmerb over 2 years ago
Super great images again today . When do we get back to Shelleys images ?
Ignatz Premium Member over 2 years ago
I know I shouldn’t think about this too much, but how do you know which coat belongs to Piston Puss?
Also, what are the odds that 3 out of 5 people – all the women – won’t have a coat on when there’s snow all over the ground?
trainnut1956 over 2 years ago
Wait, this makes no sense. How does Tracy know the fur coat was Piston Puss’ coat? And if Mr. Krispies didn’t go outside but was preparing to receive guests, why would his coat be on top of Piston Puss’ coat? And is nobody going to ask why the police car is from 1937, when they have Moon Coupes and wrist radios? This is why I don’t like Sherlock Holmes stories – the mysteries are always solved by some ridiculously obscure fact that is never shared with the reader. Holmes: “Aha! There was a fragment of a leaf in the pocket of Mrs. Stanton’s house coat, from the totallymadeup orchid that only grows in a cavern in Obscurastan, where the ship where Widow Stanton’s cousin served on once stopped at a coaling station, and from the smell of bay rum aftershave on the widow’s blouse, I deduce that the cousin is a secret crossdresser and therefore, the street urchin that Inspector Frump bought his morning paper from killed Stanton with the fireplace poker! Elementary, dear Watson!” Watson: “Holmes, old chap, have you been shooting up the heroin again?”
mbruni316 over 2 years ago
Couldn’t one of the non coat wearers been there first and committed the murder? I don’t get the logic.
tcayer over 2 years ago
How does that prove that the three ladies weren’t there before him?
tcayer over 2 years ago
Who had “scary looking large dude” from day one?
jrankin1959 over 2 years ago
Ripping… now can we see if Blackjack’s still breathing, please?
trimguy over 2 years ago
For some reason, I had Piston Puss tagged as the #1 suspect.
MuddyUSA Premium Member over 2 years ago
Kudo’s to guest artist Charles…nicely done!
Wichita1.0 over 2 years ago
Like a name like that wouldn’t be a clue of itself!
Raymond Powell over 2 years ago
Piston Puss… to me that was assumed as soon as I saw him in the comic. That was a waste of a week. Please next time make the characters a little less stand out.
seismic-2 Premium Member over 2 years ago
This proves absolutely nothing, since the non-coat wearers also could have been there before Krispies hung up his coat. Heck, maybe they all did it, Orient-Express style!
CRUUNER over 2 years ago
YAWWNNNNNN
Mopman over 2 years ago
Um, what? Tracy is going to get sued for false arrest. How in the world is that evidence? And it’s impossible for a non-coat wearer to be the murderer? This is extremely dumb.
LAFITZGERALD over 2 years ago
Great mini mystery presentation!! It really helps in reducing the suspense of the actual plotline in the strip – wowee!!
LAFITZGERALD over 2 years ago
As for the online dating sites, they’re a throwback to the lonely heart scam in the later previous century!
brewingbiker over 2 years ago
I’m just glad the commercial break is over with.
buckman-j over 2 years ago
For more of you wanna-be-detectives and weird endings, try Inspector Danger on Monday in Go Comics. And BTW, Wick really needs a real job.
ridenslide65 over 2 years ago
Hope Tracy has more than that. Might be tough to get a conviction on a coat rack, just sayin.
jarbain over 2 years ago
The “Piston Cup”, he did what in his cup :-)
Lucas Cristovam over 2 years ago
Really cool! I love the Minit Mysteries! Here’s for a long life to them! And on to the next storyline!
ScottHolman over 2 years ago
Wait! Someone switched the coats when no one was looking!
MDRiggs Premium Member over 2 years ago
That’ll hold up in court.
Eric S over 2 years ago
is it over?
crobinson019 over 2 years ago
Of COURSE it’s the ex con—He isn’t reformed! (I’d reform his head if I could)
dalemcnamee9 over 2 years ago
So now, we can move on and find out BJ’s fate and Dick Tracy and MCU take on Ace and the Apparatus with good police procedure…
TheRedSnifit over 2 years ago
I have to assume that this story was originally intended to run for two weeks, then had a bunch of stuff cut out to fit it into one. As it is it makes zero sense.
Maximara over 2 years ago
At least this didn’t involve a “fact” that was incorrect. I hate those mysteries.
Wichita1.0 over 2 years ago
PLEASE have a killer named I.M. KILER! It’d make a nice 1-day break between actual stories
PANEL ONE: TRACY: Sir, what is your name?
PANEL 2: I.M.K. (shifting uneasily): Er, I. M. Killer…Why?
PANEL: 3: TRACY (grinning like a fiend): Cuff him Sam.
SAM: And there’s still time to hit the sale at the Ultimate Donut Emporium!
I.H.K.: (face palm)
jaz h over 2 years ago
i twasme!
Sisyphos over 2 years ago
Aha! Piston Puss did it; he murdered Krispies!
Wait a minute? How did Tracy know whose coat was whose? Just by matching colors?
This doesn’t invalidate Tracy’s deduction, something great detectives do, but it does suggest that his solution might be on shaky ground when it comes to trial in court….
Phantomfire 01 over 2 years ago
This was pretty good.
Phantomfire 01 over 2 years ago
What do you expect from a Minute Mystery?