Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for July 03, 2023

Come on, Tracy! I expected, “Yes, see that little gap on the third building over? I think you’ll find it’s an exact match.”

By a stroke of good luck, Sam and Dick stumble upon the renowned stucco thief of Tracyville, “The Evil Stuccoman!”

Sam’s question is the strips first intelligent scene since Chick Tracy knocked the phone out of Gertie’s hands!

Good morning™, everyone!

Does anyone recognize the man in the alley in the last panel? He looks familiar to me, but I may just be imagining that. What we do know is that he seems concerns that cops are there.

The character in panel 3 has a certain Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow vibe … & it must be said the artwork today is superlative.

Dig that checkered collar. I think his name should be “Checkers.”

Good morning™, checkered cop spotters !

The car door partly ajar has Sam coming out. He probably didn’t see the “alley cat” looking over their way. How will the people he reports the spotting to handle the intrusion ?

Poor Sprocket….

Crimestarter’s Notebook: Before shooting a stool pigeon take an identifiable piece of some building not your hideout to drop at the crime scene. It doesn’t matter if it is a piece large enough to defy any normal reason for it to be carried and accidentally dropped. Readers will appreciate it isn’t the clichéd matchbook, and your lawyer will thank you.

Eh when these two is non uniform ones then why they no use non marked police car?

it’s Dark Junior… LMAO…

I know, I know, get the decaf to brewing, firetrike…

ok, ok, getting some now… LOL…

nada

Divergence in the dialog. In panel one, I had Sam suddenly note that ALL the buildings were the same color (again something I’ve noticed here), thus complicating things bit.

“The cops! I’ve never seen police before, wow!”

ka-bad hair day

He looks like a freaky shadow??

Today’s artwork is just superb. This really gives today’s strip a noir feel with the shadows and reflection on the glass. Excellent.

It’s Spiketop – yet another relative of Flattop! LOL

It’s Silver Nitrate. He accidentally stuck his finger in an electric socket while escaping from prison.

1-SAM: Looks like they’re closed.

2-DT: Maybe they’re just conserving energy as ordered by the Mayor. You know Tracyville is not connected to the national grid so we gotta be careful not to blow a fuse. The mayor has already blown town 8 times this year when we lost power. The voters might remember that one of these days. SAM: Remember what? DT: Never mind. sheesh

3-SID VICIOUS: Hmmm. My “man” said he’d meet me here with my “medicine”. I didn’t expect him to get a police escort. Very classy!

I think he just wants to be friendly.

Well, well Dick Tracy is doing detection. Someone somewhere will complain. You cannot please all of the people all of the time. This does remind me of the Brit detectives especially the more intelligent and idiosyncratic. I like it.

So, this guy with the wild hair, whom some are calling “Dark Junior,” whom I’d more noncommittally call Freaky Fingers, is startled when a police squad pulls up across the street from the alley in which he is lurking? Why? Does he have a Guilty Conscience? If so, what Bad Deed did he do? Could he be the Shooter (of Anders), a low-cost novice hitman? Or is he just some petty malefactor (maybe a vandal and defacer of stuccoed buildings) with an inborn fear of and dislike for the po-po? —He’s got dialogue in the strip for some reason!

But will the stucco-centered detectives Sam and Dick even notice him (unless he foolishly does something attention-grabbing)?

Panel 2—how did Weegee get into t his?