Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 17, 2024

Good morning™, everyone!

In Tracy’s world every crook has a fancy name. That don’t impress him much.

Who’s phoning the burner phone?

should’ve shut your phone off, you numbskull…

Tracy may have a “pocket protector.”

“Hello? Hey hon. Bring home some milk? I can do that. I just have this one cop to shoot. Yeah, ha ha. See you about an hour. Oh, I’ll have some laundry that needs to be done.”

Good morning™, Dingalings !

Will Tracy kick water in its face ?  The distraction Dick needs to throw this guy off his game.

Trying to figure out if the “Click” was on purpose or a misfire. It was working fine a few minutes ago when he took out the other brother with it.

Let’s see if they can trigger his cell phone to explode!

Tracy is playing for time because he knows Sam is right behind him … right behind him … right behind him….

Is it just me or is that scarf showing it getting extra breezy in that sewer?

Rookie mistake. Always put your phone on vibrate before monologuing.

What does Tracy have in his pocket?

That will keep him/her distracted, so Tracy can reach deep for his own gun. And our trigger-happy fiend seems to be out of ammo.

“That’s a Smith & Wesson, and you’ve had your six.” Bond to Professor Dent in Dr. No.

“Your car warranty is about to expire”!

I think I’ve figured it all out. The smart phone did it!

Dangnabbits them spam callers!

If the cell phone is sufficient distraction to keep him from killing Tracy he deserves to get shot.

An interesting question might be, how did he know he’d killed the wrong brother… (assuming he killed the wrong brother) and know to go back for the right brother? Was that a call on the cell phone? And by whom? Or was he supposed to kill both brothers? And, if so, that doesn’t leave us a lot of suspects. Was Rosemary the beneficiary on both life insurance plans? Should have killed Marcus first, his money would go to Jay and, as his widow, Jay’s money would go to Rosemary. Killing them out of order will mess up probate.

Stupidest criminals ever theme continues.

Out of bullets .

Dick Tracy channels his internal Shania Twain.

After a striking reveal, Mr. Mirror just looks silly today. Think his glass is grass as early as tomorrow….

…..uhhhh, can this wait? I think this is Sirius Radio calling……..I mighta won a pair of tickets to someone ’r other!……..

BADDIE: Er, Tracy? It’s for you

TRACY: Take a message.

BADDIEI: Well, okay. Uh, hello? Sorry, he can’t come to the phone right now. I’m sort of threatening him. Yes. With a gun. Er, no, I DID remember the bullets. Can I take a message?

(pause)

BADDIE: Quart of low fat milk,…dozen eggs…not the big brown ones with the speckles. Got it. Chin wax and polish. Uh=huh. And, what? Sam’s been in the evidence room again, and things have gone missing? No surprise there. We pretty much all know he drill, there. Oh, and some nice crullers? I’ll suggest Th Snack Hole of Calcutta on Yancy Street They use extra glaze. That IT? Okay, bye=bye.

BADDIE TURNS TO FIND TRACY GONE.

BADDIE: Oh, nuts. SO they brought me in for a CAMEO appearance? Well, Just for THAT, I"m not passing on the message. And the’yd better pay me SCALE for this!

When, SUDDENLY , Tracy whips his hand out of his pocket and tosses a killer SmithCo. developed and approved chihuahua/shark hybrid directly AT the find!

click? does that mean it’s not loaded. what a loser! :J

and he’s a detective, he’s used to hearing fancy naming criminals.

Memo to MC: Mirrors are silvered glass, not cast iron, and thus should not be colored your inexplicably favored dull gray….

MOVIE QUOTE—

“He doesn’t mean to be dangerous. He’s just so big and clumsy”

GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE—1966

Wait. Are we supposed to think that Mr. Mirror made those shots, from across the street, from a roof, through a window, WITH A PISTOL? How about we add that he aimed while looking at the reflection of the target in his face.

I think the cops are still in possession of the burner phone, since it was in the hand of the first corpse.

Somebody is a fan of Tracy’s 1941 underground showdown with The Mole.

That might be whoever ordered the “hit” calling to check on progress. Talk loud so Tracy can hear you.

Is the click a misfire or just loading…

What’s lurking beneath the murky waters that might save Tracy? Oh yeah – Sewer Sausages!

From today’s Comics Curmudgeon:

One of the subtler conundrums created by the “comic-book time” phenomenon is the question of how the characters themselves experience it. Like, is Dick Tracy a guy in his late 40s or early 50s who’s been battling weird deformed gangsters for a couple decades? Or did he, like the comic that bears his name, come into existence in 1938, meaning that he’s been at this longer than most of us have been alive, and he’s tired, so tired, of these weirdos’ whole deal? His attitude in today’s strip really suggests the latter. “Oh, what’s that, is there a new hitman in town? A real freak with a mirror for a face who calls himself Mr. Mirror? Should I get excited? Scared? Should I even bother pulling my gun out of my pocket? No, go ahead and answer that call, I can wait.”

Clues up to this point:

The photo-in-a-mirror. – We know what’s up with that now.

The burner phone. – Tracy at least suspected something when they discovered that. It’s in evidence now. Does this go to motive? Mr. Mirror didn’t take it. What’s the connection?

The strong perfume. – Sam noticed that brother and sis-in-law were wearing the same scent. We can guess what might be up with that.

The jingle jingle of the door. – It’s been emphasized multiple times now. Why?

So here’s a guess: Mr. Mirror was hired by Jay to kill his brother for fooling around with his wife. He’s been communicating with MM using the burner phone. When he went back to the office MM mistook him for his brother. What’s “appropriate” about that I’m not sure. But now his phone rings. Police are dialing the last number? (Don’t tell me whether I’m right, Charlie.) Where the “jingle jingle” comes in, I don’t know. I’ll also guess that Jay stupidly paid MM already and earned the death of the intended mark, though killing him in front of the cops wasn’t very bright.

So I’m guessing Tracy takes MM down tomorrow and we get wrap-up and explanation Saturday with a new arc Sunday.

Very Gouldian artwork today. I like!

Mr. Mirror is really going to be p!ssed if it’s a wrong number.

Is Mr Manning cribbing story plots from the second season of Steven Moffit’s “Sherlock Holmes”?

Tomorrow,Rughead sticks his head around the corner and says “Pipe down,I’m trying to sleep”

I’m getting a definite Abner Kadaver/The Blank vibe from Mr Mirror (who, by the way, has leapfrogged his way into becoming my # 3 favorite tracy villain ever.. after the aforementioned Abner Kadaver at #1 with Mumbles at #2)

“Dave’s not here, man!” ;D