Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for January 18, 2024

Two people poisoned by Seven of Nine

Two Tracys piece things together.

Two plus Two is Four.

Seven of Nine is toast.

It’s a numbers game.

now Dick sees the connection and that Screweye is involved…

it’s only a matter of time now…

Good morning™, all!

Yes, Fata Morgana is the link between the two cases. Going to see her has to be Tracy’s next move.

I’m not sure that working at home will protect Tess from assassination attempts, though.

Ahh, Dick’s worried about Tess. How sweet!

Golly gee Shelley, stop drawing Tess so creepy looking!

Good morning™, no baiters !

Dick wants Tess out the line of fire as much as possible. I can see a warrant being crafted and if hairy Morgana has the temerity to do any more performances in Tracyville the whole MCU squad could be “covering” the event.

The images and coloring are superb. :-)

Interesting the both of them don’t take off their coats while dining indoors.

DT: The house is a mess and needs cleaning up.

That’s a mighty large font size for a phone text, Tess. Can you make my phone do it, too?

“Land shark!”

Mark this date on your calendars, Tess and Tracy talk shop so to say. Saves them both from bringing work home from the office.

“Tess, could you work at home for a while”? Great idea, Tracy but unless your home address is not listed in the city directory, what is to stop Ms. Morgana from staking out your residence?

Boy, for a professional killer, Morgana isn’t too good at covering her tracks, is she?

I’m thinking Fata Morgana is gonna be a lot easier to deal with than her mentor was.

Seems this story is moving right along!

Gee. How did that brilliant hit woman criminal even survives in this business for so long.

Work at home is probably another hint at why aren’t you in the kitchen cooking me a good meal instead of this lousy diner ??? … lol jk

C—Close the Office? But who will run the Tracy Agency?

TRACY (to Tess): And be sure to use only the safe room.

I was testifying in a criminal case, where I had detained a murder suspect at the request of another detective. The defense attorney asked me if I trusted the other detective enough to take his word on something (under the police team/fellow officer concept), I said that I did. He continued to ask me if I trusted the other officers in the department. I replied, “yes, I do.” He asked me if I had a lock on my wall locker. I stated, “Yes, I have a lock on my wall locker.” He then asked me why, if I trusted my other officers so much, why did I have a lock on my locker. “Sir,” I replied, “The Police Department is a public building and there are people besides officers that used the building, defense attorneys being some of them. I’ve seen you in the building and the locker room.” At that point the jury erupted into laughter. The attorney moved for a mistrial. The judge denied the motion and told him, “you set yourself up for that one.”

I think we found out why Fata of borg was in europe when abner got it, she’s very sloppy and leaves a trail

seems Ms. Morgana is gonna need to pull a magic trick to get out of this mess. :J

Fatty Goodness’s diner, mayhap?

They already know who the culprit is. That can mean one of three things:

1. This arc is going to wrap up quickly. (Too quickly.)

2. The primary action isn’t trying to figure out who the criminal is, but rather trying to find where she is and chasing her. This option could be pretty exciting.

3. They know who did it, but we are going to spend several weeks looking at talking heads saying very little of interest and drinking snail swill before they get around to catching her. This would be the most boring option.

So whatever became of the Superman creators in smokies that we started with? We got a couple of days to rag on their stupid crossover names and then they disappeared. Were they supposed to be part of this arc? Was it no more than an opportunity for Mike to drop their names – a vignette that went nowhere?

MOVIE QUOTE—-

“It’s a guy chasing an airplane”

“WhAT!?!?!?”

Air Traffic controllers—-THE FAMILY JEWELS—1965

OT WEIRDNESS: I just don’t get readers. I’ve received a certificate that some small outfit awarded MORABU an award as ‘best new fantasy novel’ in Kindle format. Now, aside from the fact I don’t understand awards in the first place and have never HEARD of this outfit, WHY THE HECK is the second book in the series getting noticed (and currently outselling the first)?

It’s like buyers pick it up over STORM strictly by the blurb on Amazon. I mean, you have to read the first to be up to speed on the second and third books.

Ironically, there is no need to assail Tess with a poisoned pen, salami, gopher or other lethal item. The diner food lays them both low.

Next week, look for the new strip that’ll have you hanging onto your socks! Yes, it’s PEE WEE HERMAN, ACE SLEUTH! With big goofy Barney the dino as his ‘Watson’ and wacky props funnyman Rip Taylor back from the dead as Mr. Chief.

A Sam/Bow Tie production in miraculous 2-d and monocolor!

TRACY: So, what was your first clue something was wrong?

TESS: His next text ws ‘Aaaaaaaaaaarrrggghhhhhhhhh…" That seemed suspicious, as I wasn’t aware he was studying a foreign language. Plus, the janitor called to see if it was okay to move him so he could vaccuum.

TRACY: Honey, you done me proud!

Big 3am sale at Donut-o-Rama. Didn’t have time to fully dress ht morning. Be glad they keep them on! You really want to see Tracy in powder blue Dr. Dentons with the attached feet?

Does Dick suspect that Morgana was after Tess and Johnny “got in the way?” Is the hospital coffee better than the snail swill? Will Morgana’s faceplate rust and fall off? These questions and more may be answered in the next exciting installment of… Dick Tracy! (Dum dum DUUUMMMM!)

Hospital cafeteria coffee is worse that Moon/civet coffee. Just a quick strategy conference.

The cell phone is bigger than her hand….is that to picky?

They shall allow Dom De Luise to make a citizen’s magician arrest

1-DT: I think I’ve been dosed! That gal to my left– she looks like a WWII-era member of the British Army. And your hair – YOU LOOK LIKE HARPO MARX!

2-TESS: OH CALM DOWN! You’re just reacting to all the poisoning going on. Look here – I think we have a suspect!

3-DT: Hmmm. I think I’ll work from home until Sam solves this case. TESS: Aren’t you worried that Sam will put the poison pen in his pocket like he does with all evidence???

DT: I’m worried that this time, he won’t!

BOTH: HEE HEE!!!

Time to implement plan Throw Rikki Under The Bus.

Evidence is rapidly pointing a finger of guilt at FataMorgana! First, the unlucky Throughton, then the luckier Adonis. Dick Tracy correctly anticipates possible targeting of Tess and for her safety’s sake asks that she worl from home for a while, where he or maybe Junior could keep an eye out for any trouble.

I like the crescendoing views from panel 1, medium range, to panel 2, single shot of Tess and her phone, to panel 3, intense close-up of Tracy, This suggests the psychological intensity of the scene….