Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for February 22, 2025

Detective Anne Drogynous returns…

I happened to notice in yesterday’s installment in panel one that BritBoy, in addition to having a snowplow chin like Dick, also sports a Dick-like nose, as well…

Good morning™, everyone!

That homicide detective still doesn’t have a name. All we’ve learned today is that it might not be homicide … or murder? I’m not sure what the difference is in Tracy’s jurisdiction.

Murder most “bowel”.

“Say Detective, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Yep.”

Good morning™, Anonymous Detectives !

I’m trying to think who P.2. Tracy’s mug reminds me of; big on the bottom diminishing as it goes up. In P.2. she looks like she is thrilled by the bizarre aspect, and then next one over is on the verge of a hissy…

So I guess now every Dick Tracy is going to start with Tracy staying at HQ, talking too “Homicide”, instead of actually going out into the field & doing his own investigative work. You’d think it’d be too early in Eric’s tenure as Dick Tracy script writer to start falling into a rut.

Nice 80’s retro shoulderpads our favorite nameless character is wearing.

Tracy looks like Jethro in the 2nd panel!

Just the facts, Mam.

Oops! Sorry. Wrong detective.

We’re a week into this storyline and i’m already bored.

Panel 2, our hero seems to be putting on a little weight!

Bizarre as opposed to Bazaar!

Sometimes police get the facts from their Fax machines! (sorry)!

How did I know that Ann was gonna be involved in this

Technically that last comment, “Not even sure it is homicide, let alone murder…” is correct, but it is confusing at first blush… For those of use still able to blush.

Any killing of a person is homicide. Not all all homicides are murder.

Killing in self-defense is homicide, but not criminal. Murder is the intentional killing of another person. Manslaughter is the accidental killing of another person (which usually happens when someone is acting like a jerk). We call killing yourself suicide rather than murder, but it’s inside the homicide tent.

And apparently cause of death is still totally unknown.

Are we 100% sure the guy is even dead? Maybe in a deep meditative state? We’ve been promised something bizarre. Bizarre meaning interesting twist to the mystery, or bizarre meaning lame story telling?

The homicide unit is different than the MCU? Murder isn’t a major crime? A failed body-snatching – which would most likely be a failed college prank is? Patton caved to a whiny coroner who wasn’t doing her job?

“… a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matt 7:26, 17 ESV)

Which is simply to say this doesn’t sound like a solid foundation for the story.

And why is Tracy speaking with Homicide about it? It is the job of the coroner’s office to determine cause of death – the loud-mouthed whiny lady who wasn’t doing her job is supposed to have the answer to that question.

Maybe Tracy just doesn’t want to speak with an idiot like that.

Our Homicide cop lady has fallen into the common grammatical error so often heard (and seen in writing) today – “Here’s the facts” – contraction for “Here is the facts”, which is wrong because it sounds so awkward. “Is” should be used for singular, “Are” should be used for plural.

So the MCU’s connection to the crime will be the death of the John Doe, rather than the attempted theft of the body?

If he was killed by something other than a human, that makes it not homicide? Or can’t they say “suicide” in the funny papers?

“And…HECK…for all I know, in my ivory tower, he may not even be dead. If he doesn’t pay for his stay in the morgue, sell his suit to cover room and board! Maybe is fillings too.”

“Not even sure he is dead. He might just be a heavy sleeper.”

“Here is the facts??”

“….just-the-facts, m’am, just-the-facts”……….

1- DT: I need your help with a case, Detective. DETECTIVE: I’m not surprised. However, I can’t help you…

2- : …I’ve been fired by the current Administration for not accurately representing what a “real” woman should look like.

DT: That’s too bad since you owed me a big favor. Maybe if you “stuffed” or wore big “falsies” you could get you job back.

3- DETECTIVE: grrrrrrrrr! I do and and I AM! DT: Oh. Oopsie.

Panel 2: Dick can’t keep his hand off his…

Just the facts? Who’s she talking to, Sgt. Friday?

Somebody needs to tell the artist that eyebrows have more expressions than just frowning.

Compare today’s daily strip with this week of Chester Gould’s. Why can’t we have action like this? Rather than standing around jawing, Tracy should be finding danger around every corner as he urgently investigates. He needs to move with a sense of purpose. He needs to mobilize his own team rather than bring in interlopers as if his own team are functional morons.

Https://Postimg.Cc/JDpsrFdS

“Here are the facts.” Facts = plural requires ‘are’ for a verb. Submitted by Grammar Police!

Costello has trouble with English as well as stories. Can’t even give characters names.

I’m not a State’s Attorney, and, I don’t playone on TV. But I agree that the theft of a corpse from the morgue doesn’t rate a charge of homicide. Theft, yes. Descration, maybe.