Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for February 01, 2023

Good morning™, everyone!

Kryptonite, sniping from the rooftop! Apparently, “Agent 99” is even more dangerous than she claimed. She threatened only to call Kryptonite if she didn’t get her share. Maybe Kryptonite took it upon himself to get rid of Art Dekko before Dekko could rat him out. For Dekko’s sake, it’s a good thing he moves fast!

Good morning™, unexpected assassinators !

I agree that Krapto wants to cover his tracks and now 99 will never get her cut. Did he get a call from 99 or is he just doing preemptive exposure prevention ?

Krip’s taking a hit out on Art… two shots even and he MISSED… how unprofessional…

“Hey Tracy, I just thought of somebody you might be interested in!”

Yes! So glad this story isn’t quite over (although I’m pretty sure it’s nearing its end).

Doubtful if any of Kryptonite’s bullets could ever penetrate Art’s hellacious hair treatment.

And now, for something completely unexpected!

It’s about time we get some overdue action in this story! I didn’t quite see this coming and so quickly. Was this Agent 99’s doing, or is Krypto-Killer making sure Art doesn’t rat him out to the coppers? It seems a little premature for Krypto to try and off Art unless 99 contacted him already. Something is definitely missing.

Great action strip, to be sure, but a little confusing … the first two panels seem to indicate Kryptonite is directly across the street, but in the third panel the bullet seems to be coming in from a side angle. Begin your second gunmen theories now.

Those bullets better not damage Firestrike 01’s blazer!

I love Shelley’s old school facial expression on Art’s face in P3.

Tracy and Lee didn’t anticipate someone taking pot shots at Art. The guy is going to long gone when they get to the roof top.

Another thought just occurred to me…nah…too far out. Tracy engaged the former costumed action figure now a police trainee to take a shot at Art just to shake him up. I’ll have to dismiss this theory…too far out. Egad! I’ll get laughed off of the comments section.

That yellow outfit blinded him!

Looks like 99 did get her revenge.

Quite surprising twist to the story!

Just another brick in the wall…….

It appears Agent 99 is a force to be reckoned with and Krypto knew exactly where to go. Ashame he missed. The expression on Art’s face in P3 is priceless (◠‿・)—☆

Art Dekko almost didn’t get to where he is today!

Art was going to try to turn Kyptonite against 99; perhaps the two got together, shared notes and decided Dekko was the weak link.

Kryptonite has second (hand) sight…

As Binky pointed out how did K (or perhaps the hitman K assigned to the project) know where to find Dekko? But that’s just the first question.

Since there was no profit from the fake da Vinci why did 99 follow on the threat to contact K? It’s not like she’s going to get squat and hiring a hit on Dekko calls attention to herself?

K doing it to cover his link to Paul’s death? Sure – Dekko is going to tell Tracy he hired a hitman to kill Paul, bringing a murder charge against Dekko?

In his heart of hearts K knows that the weed of crime bears bitter fruit, and a failed attempt on Dekko’s life, while in police custody, is the only way Tracy (who has gotten so dependent on coincidence he no longer can solve the ⭐ Sudoku puzzle in the morning paper) would know of K’s involvement.

He missed on purpose!!! If he was a pro then Dekko would be dead.

This isn’t Kryptonite. The 1/14 strip establishes he’s white. Today’s shooter is black.

Missed him by that much!

I also am a fan of the silent panels, which Chester Gould used very effectively. Nicely Done!

However. . .

Here is a list of just some of today’s comments, so far:

“Maybe. . .”

""I think. . ."

“I suspect that. . .”

“My guess is. . .”

I’m going to hazard a guess. . ."

Now, a sudden plot twist can also be quite effective. But these comments, and others like them almost every day, show that most of the readers here are confused about what is going on, most of the time. That isn’t good.

Also, this strip is called Dick Tracy. What did we actually see Tracy do? He visited Sue Reel one Sunday, but we have no idea what took place during that visit. He flew off to Florida and back. What did that accomplish? When he finally arrived to make an arrest, we were all left wondering what evidence he had, because we were never shown him collecting any evidence. Mike seems to have forgotten what this strip was all about.

I guess, at this point, I’m just a somewhat disappointed fan. And we know we’re facing a long LOA crossover this summer. I’m sure that will be interesting, but will we ever get a true Dick Tracy story again?

He missed! He is better with water spears!

So is the shooter trying to put Dekko in his crypt-tonight? (I just let my self out now…)

MOVIE QUOTE—

“I’ll bet it’s a warrant for my arrest!

Isn’t it wonderful,I’m going to jail!!"

James Stewart—IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946

Please stop comparing Art Dekko to a monkey. Monkeys are honest.

“Who was that?How dare anyone shoot at me,the great Art Dekko,and attempt to ruin my beautiful Hollywood profile?”

I’m laughing my head off at Panel 3—guys like Dekko always think t hey’re indestructible and bad luck only happens to the OTHER guy.

The Dick Tracy I know could fire back with a handgun and knock Kryp off the roof with the first shot

In addition(I just noticed),Dekko’s probably got his hands cuffed behind his back,so running for it isn’t an option.He’ll have to depend on Tracy to protect him,and isn’t THAT galling.

Art Dekko didn’t get to where he is by not knowing when to duck!

“Yowza, Yowza, YOWWWWWWWza, all you Hugely Hyper Hipsters and Swell, Swanky Swingers out there in Terrific Tracy Town! Isn’t Mike doing a ‘Bang’-up job on today’s strip? We here at the Big, Bold BMBG Broadcast Center know all about that! Golly Great Guns, but things have Sure-as-Shootin’ Shaped up to be real exciting in a Hot, Hectic Hurry! And your Darling, Dynamic Deejay, JPuzzle The Whiz, has a Totally Tantalizing Twin Spin for you!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRT6-957kw0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70VeElcYzZY

Another proud graduate of the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy.

1-LEE’S DAD: No daughter of mine is gonna date girls!

2-ART: Where’d you park – Chicago? I thought cops could park anywhere!

3-PIT WHEE! ART: YOWZER! DT (as he runs away): TAKE YOURSELF TO JAIL. I’LL CATCH UP!

LEE: Is that…Dad? Why would he be shooting at Art…oh. OHHHHH!

Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow,but where’s Sue?Doesn’t Lee have HER to look after?

Oh, NOW they’re incompetent!

That was so close. Did he miss or some 6th sense warn Dekko?

I doubt that Kryptonite does all those killings personally. I think he’s like Albert Anastasia and has a crew of professional killers he puts in charge of filling the “contract”.

Whoever this guy is trying to take out Dekko is a miserable shot especially considering he has a scope on his rifle.

Art Dekko didn’t get where he is without being able to move!

Kryptonite, highly regarded professional hitman, if it is he on the rooftop (and I believe it is), with a scope-equipped sniper rifle with suppressor, fires twice, and misses Art Dekko both times?! I think not! He must be missing on purpose! Why? To send a “message” to Dekko? Panel 3, with wide-eyed wussy conman, would suggest message received, if not totally understood. Meanwhile, how do Tracy and Lee Ebony react? If the sniper is shooting from a roof just across the street, they probably could reasonably return fire with their handguns, to provide cover for the three of them to fall back inside or to make a dash for their car.

Is Kryptonite acting on his own, or in response to 99? The answer is not readily clear today, But he may have been staking out Dekko’s den for a while already….

I really like panel 3… classic artwork that looks like it could have come out of a DT strip in the late 60s- early 70s

Love the look on Dekkos face in that last panel! A real coffee-spiller!

On the case

Making haste

To Art’s place

Warrant firmly in hand

Speak to Sue

What can she do

Upstairs is your man

We’ve got the dirt

Put on your shirt

No time to flirt

You’re gonna go away

Plead your case

They laugh in your face

Walk a quick pace

They won’t let you stay

You hear a hiss

See a miracle miss

No time to reminisce

Get me outta here

Shooter is bad

Tracy is mad

Capturing this cad

Never a hint of fear

“For your weekly recap viewing!”