Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 22, 2022

Full disguise tends to surprise a criminal in action

Such a sight under moonlight a nocturnal distraction.

To thwart foul crime can be sublime. Who would deny the thrill?

Time now to cease helping police. The Knight must test his will.

Wife expecting. End detecting. Retirement at hand

Trade the throttle for baby bottle. Family so grand.

Rearrange. Make urgent change. Reach out to one who knows

Priority one’s family, as joys and burdens grow.

“Where should I send my paperwork to start the crime-fighter pension?”

Good morning™, everyone!

Okay, announcement made — in the usual place. It sounds like we won’t be seeing CK fighting crime again. Even Tracy says he doesn’t care for costumed vigilantes. It seems like a lot of people in this strip are expecting babies.

Tracy- “If you need a crib or any custom furniture for the baby’s room, I can hook you up.”

Good morning™, ‘cute kittens’ like aaaaww moment !

There should not be any announcement of Cin and Piranha’s retirement lest a certain criminal should get word and go back to work. What kind of ‘superhero’ will the kid grow up to be ?

Knight: “Well, if you could help us score some baby formula…”

A baby congratulations, it hurts that they have to retire, but the baby needs them!

I wonder what he’s got for a day job?

Great! Here’s an invite to the baby shower.

I admit I never heard of Black Piranha either, until now.

I wonder how this will tie into the villain’s story, hummmmm???

“And this represents an ‘urgent’ message because?” I mean, you just stop running around in the funny outfit and you’ve retired. You can send a note to Tracy, “We’ve retired,” if you think he’d be worried, but you wouldn’t need to label it urgent. (Unless Tracyville’s dynamic duo have been solving tons of crime, unseen, while the MCU drinks coffee and waits for coincidence to solve one case at a time – in which case CK is warning Tracy that a boatload of work will be hitting his desk now that CK & BP aren’t doing his work for him.)

It’s kind of a tradition that babies in Tracyville get kidnapped—I’m surprised young Attitude hasn’t been snatched at some point.

Super images today , thanks to Shelley for them . : )

Fighting crime in that heavy knight costume these days by bringing a sword to gunfights? And he manage to stay alive for so long?

If strip ever goes “WOKE” enough to include MALES as expectant mothers surviving Rogue’s Gallery foes can rejoice as that will accomplish what none of them could>>Tracy’s demise.

Blame the expecting babies on the pandemic! And Tracy has a favorite costume crimefighter!

Now I want a crossover with Batman.

There was a rerun of Castle on last night in Chicago. The plot involved a costumed “superhero” who was caught on surveillance video slicing his victim in half with a sword.

Believe me, the writers of that story did a much better job with an extremely similar plot—so similar that it might have been the inspiration for the premise of the original Cinnamon Knight story.

The plot was Mike’s best dream. It involved a cartoonist, several cosplaying superheroes, a comic/memorabilia store, and several twists and turns. The difference was the killer went to jail, everyone on the team was utilized in the story, and vigalantism was stopped in the city. It had a beginning, middle and ending and there were no loose ends.

I don’t know if Mike saw that episode before coming up with Cinnamon Knight but it is funny how so much here lately has been so derivative of other stories.

Did this roof top meeting take place so Tracy can provide the Knight with a character reference? Maybe this fellow is crossing over to a high tech career field.

Wait a minute! Wasn’t costumed crime fighting always risky? Now that Cinnamon Knight’s partner is expecting, he wants to opt out? She (The Black Piranha) must have been accompanying him when fighting crime.

So Tracy makes it known that he does not care for costumed crime vigilantes. Has it dawned on him that they came about due to the slow response times or lack of from police departments. Then again it could be that they get major news coverage in the media. Nay…he couldn’t be jealous. Than maybe he could.

1-DT: Whoa. Is it really after 8? Or is the Tracyville Town Clock broke again? Never mind…

2-… Well, that was bad news delivered even worse. So, Cheryl is expecting and thinks I’m the father. Bummer. Say…you look familiar. Have you delivered singing messages to me before?

3-CINNY BUN: No. I’m also a professional wrestler. You’ve probably seen me on TV.

4-DT: Nah. That’s not it…WAIT!

5-…I saw you sneaking out the back window every time I went to see Cheryl! HANG ON! Maybe YOU’RE the father. Well, well, well. I guess we will find out in a few months.

CINNY Gulp! DT: Yes sir! We’ll get a paternity test!

CINNY: Uhhhh…I think there will be another way to tell…

DT: OF COURSE! See if the kid likes yellow fedoras or weird helmets! CINNY: Ai yi yi…

Everyone is so worried about how the moon points. Why not worry about the big questions:

How do super heroes get on top of skyscrapers all the time? How many crimes are committed on top of buildings anyway?

When they swing on ropes, where do they anchor them. After they jump off of the ropes, do they just leave them hanging there? How do they carry ropes that are several stories long?

And the really important question: When CK is in his secret identity wearing his costume under his clothes, what keeps him from slicing off his tookus with that sword under his pants (not too smart if he want more children)?

The Cinnamon Knight sure looks a lot like the Scarlet Judge from Vvardenfell in Elder Scrolls. I always love the Golden Age comics side-quests that they do in Elder Scrolls and Fallout games.

Ray Toler, gotta love your comments today!

Beginning with your comment under Nick Wheel s above: A talking head Sunday about events totally irrelevant to the current story.

A concern of mine: Introduced is a super-villain worthy of 1960s Batman, and now, the equivalent of this town’s Batman is retiring. Perhaps the story is going to be about how vigilantes are needed, after all?

To me, a real bottom line is: Since when are vigilantes needed at all?

Indeed, many 2nd Amendment types see themselves as vigilantes, or at least, prepared to be one at a moment’s notice.

And yet, vigilantism is how Ahmaud Arbery ended up dead.

In addition to countless other unarmed black people, like George Floyd and Brianna Taylor, dead at the hands of the police. Heck, that’s an issue I’d love Dick Tracy to dig into: When cops go bad (and ideas of how to fix it).

I fear that I am reaching the point where I can no longer follow this comic.

Even though I have been a fan of Dick Tracy for at least sixty trips around the sun.

This strip no longer deals much with police work (what we see is usually sloppy) and doesn’t touch issues that are of real concern to some of us.

Love ya, Ray, love ya Gweedo, oh heck, even the often pompous Candle Wick!

Special shout out to our poets, Pequod and StillDaMan!

Going on vacation for now.

Here’s hoping Dick Tracy can survive Mike Curtis!

Aaah, Dicko disses Batman, Flash, Supe, GL. Aquaman. Rude. Tune in tomorrow for another episode of Mary Worthless

I’m curious as to why DT thinks they are the exceptions.

You must be joking son, where did you get those clothes?

SIR CLANKSALOT: Here’s my urgent message. Black Pirhanna is retiring due to pregnancy. I will be getting a new female partner. From now on you can refer to us as Cinnamon Knight and Raisin Buns.

COSTUMED CRIMEFIGHTERS ACADEMY – New York, London, Paris, Fresno Analysis: There is a significant number of people starting in the profession that are leaving within the first ten years of the beginning of their careers, partly because they have gone into the job with partners – often times, with the results you see depicted above. They start to have children, they realize what kind of world they are bringing kids into and they get scared. They are realizing that crimefighting is a lonely profession, where relationships are far from typical if they occur at all. (Refer to our free brochure, Hard Up? Suck it Up, Hero! ) We understand, and we usually let such cases go with our blessings. A lesser, but growing, factor is the increasing lack of workable identities available to new protagonists. Let’s face it, “Cinnamon Knight” sounds like a new breakfast cereal, and “Black Piranha” sounds more like a prom date for Aquaman or the Sub-Mariner.

You’re all heart, Tracy!

Willing to help Cinnamon Knight and Black Piranha as they begin their parenting adventure and propose to retire from crime-fighting. Well, since you don’t like costumed vigilantes like those other cities have (e.g. Gotham City and Metropolis), but were amenable to making an exception here in Tracyville, we’ll just have to see how this plays out. Sometimes warriors resume their battles after the baby is born and has has had a year or more to grow….

I don’t remember the Cinnamon Knight. A DT site gave the year as 2012. Anyone know the month?

As Hollis Mason mentions in his memoir Under the Hood, it’s very very easy for a costumed (super)hero to retire: he or she just has to stop putting the costume on.

Let’s get serious.If you KNOW somebody is honest,does their wardrobe matter THAT much?

If Cinammon has been hanging around since we last saw him,it’s because he’s been gentlemanly enough to keep Tracy briefed on his activities so there won’t be any “misunderstandings” or false identifications.

And the way that helmet is drawn,I’m wondering how he can see where he’s going.

This is getting GOOFY!