Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for July 17, 2023

The kid likes Tracy Yellow.

Good morning™, everyone!

This must be the informant that Tracy was searching for earlier. He is not what I was expecting, but it looks like he is familiar with the streets.

So, I guess Ernesto is Tracy’s “friend” who can help him find out where that piece of stucco came from. The strip has a good hipness vibe today. & great job by Shelly on the street art.

Should be canned for that one…..

I was confused by the two last panels until I saw the thumb and forefinger.

And so finally Dick Tracy nabs the notorious grafitti vandal eh.

This is Tracy’s informant? A Graffiti artist? Who wouldn’t he not know.

Too many characters, too little progression….

a Nice Tag

Well, we’re back in my script,though significantly altered in layout and dialog.

and what does it say?… ‘WE ARE ONE’?…

Bring back Pruneface! This strip is the WORSE!

does Ernie have a bum wheel?… I notice a cane…

though graffitism seems to be an artform these days, I’m still of the mind that if the property owner doesn’t give you permission to do so and the graffitist goes ahead, it’s a criminal act being perpetrated… so IF Ernie IS the graffitist, he would be a CI, in MY eyes…

nice entrance

another day has arrived and my partner-in-crime, Gweedo, has still not made an appearance, as of yet…

‘Gweedo, Gweedo, whereforth art thou, Gweedo?’

‘HEY! GWEEDO!… LEAVE THOSE GOATS ALONE…’

LOL…

seriously, where ARE ya, Gweeds?… I hope all is cool and copacetic with you there…

Fast note for those who don’t speak Americano (as the song goes): Sick = Really good

if a garment had as many dangling loose ends as this story it would fall apart.

1-FIRE HYDRANT: BEEP ZORK…I SUGGEST WE LEAVE NOW BEFORE..BEEP…WE ARE ARRESTED. DIRTY ERNIE: Shaddap or I’ll let a dog pee on you again.

2-DT: Hello Dirty. I see you never fully recovered from that slug I put in your knee. That still bothers me that my gun fell outta my holster that day. Accidents happen, right?

3-DIRTY ERNIE: NOT YOU! Get away from me! DT: Still holding a grudge that the City ruled the lawsuit in my favor, I see. Who could a seen that coming?

FIRE: WHIRL BEEP…DETECTIVE TRACY IS CORRECT IN…ZORK BEEP…THAT YOU HAD NO CHANCE TO WIN. DT: Did that fire hydrant say something?!?!

I don’t see cans or a backpack. I’m going to guess that Ernesto’s just an admirer of the graffiti.

I’ve seen lots of colorful graffiti on the sides of passing rail cars – especially, for some reason, the auto racks. Some of it is pretty amazing. But, since the “taggers” obviously do not own the rail cars, it is, essentially, vandalism. Questions that have crossed my mind:

How much does all that paint cost, and are any of the “taggers” on any form of welfare?

Those rail cars are tall! (So are buildings.) Do these kids bring ladders with them? And, in the case of all those railroad auto racks, does any of the paint spray through the slats and mar the new cars within?

How do they manage to achieve the clean lines and precise shapes with a spray can? I have to admit, there is a lot of talent involved. I just wish they would have respect for other peoples’ property.

If this is Tracy’s informant, then Lafayette wasn’t.

As many have already stated, Ernesto appears to be an admirer of graffiti who goes around making videos of the artists’ work. He probably has some social media site dedicated to the subject.

MOVIE QUOTE—

“This is a gift from a grateful client. They hung him last year”

Groucho Marx—-THEBIG STORE—1941

Ernesto, eh?

Will “Towns Ellerbee” show up and tell him to “Be well”?

Don’t be concerned about Ray Toler.He is living comfortably off the residuals from the film NICE GIRLS DON’T EXPLODE

Tracy’s smiling in the last panel,so apparently whatever Ernesto does is OK with him.

Can’t tell the players without a scorecard. It’s a shame none of them are interesting

I think all graffiti artists should be executed by paintball firing squad !!!

Tomorow, Bob, the infamous Plaque Doctor gleefully runs amok in the unsuspecting city, ruthlessly handing out lollipops coated in epoxy to one and all. His wicked master, Doug The Dentist cackles and opens his office for considerable business.

Ernesto, cane in left hand, admires the “WE ARE ONE” mural somewhere in Tracyville. And, lo, Tracy emerges as a shadowy figure in his smartphone screen and then in the flesh and video both (panel 3; live Tracy below the phone screen). It would seem that Ernesto is the informant Tracy was seeking. Has Ernesto observed anything that will help, or is he a connoisseur of stucco bits? Will he be a contributing member of this arc’s Cast of Thousands?…