Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for February 04, 2012

I take it The Mole is a reformed villain?

What is Lizz wearing? Gah! Salmon & purple!

The Mole’s reformation actually began before Molene’s death. Having served his sentence, the Mole was determined to go straight to avoid further jail time. He was dismayed to find his granddaughter deeply involved in stolen diamonds and when she wouldn’t take his advice to get out of a life of crime, he told everything he knew to Tracy.

Also involved in the stolen diamond business was the Pouch, who is not just a go-between and source of information, but a murderer who never faced justice for that crime. Tracy and crew never even suspected him.

Oh, wow! The Mole! Is he it truly reformed (and, if so, is he going to stay reformed)? Does he have information for Tracy? Maybe about Pouch?

That info about the Mole’s granddaughter kind of echoes the most recent story arc, with the father going to Tracy because his son was mixed up in something.

Sure that’s not Dustin Hoffman?

As a kid in the 1950s, when I read “Mad” comic book’s story of “Melvin the Mole”, I did not realize it was a parody of a Dick Tracy villain.

“Melvin the Mole,A man in a hole,Out of control,Melvin the Mole!”

He tunneled out of prison first with a spoon, then a fingernail clipping, then a nostril hair, only to dig his way into the room with the electric chair. “Have a seat, Mole.” The End.

The plot thickens with another parenthetical. The Mr. Mole is nicely drawn right down to his hairy hands. Is it raining or snowing there again? Looking out the window in panel 2 reminds me of where I live, because it seems like rain or snow here almost every dat blame day.

is Vista Bill AWOL? good morning anyway.

The Mole’s looking good! The last time we saw him (Junior’s wedding to Sparkle in 1981 I think), he looked much older. Clean living agrees with him. He’s always been my favorite villain. Thanks Team Tracy for bringing him back!

Haven’t heard from margueritem yet. That is unusual. I hope she is OK.

It does seem that ever since the current writers took over, we’ve seen a welcome return of a number of classic characters.

One is given to observe that - “ARCHAELOGY” - (as some have called the ‘revisiting’ of past characters), is not so bad after all (?)The many sounds of welcome and approval this morning seem to confirm that ! ?

In that first panel the Mole looks a lot like Dustin Hoffman. -Another great strip today by Team Tracy.

In a 50th anniversary (1981) news story about Dick Tracy, he was quoted as saying he kind of liked the Mole. Could he be the least disliked criminal?

The Mole must be a farmer. Look at that tan.

With the first anniversary of the new teams tenure approaching, does anyone know if there are plans to put the strip into print form? I would love to have their work on the shelf next to Chester Gould’s and Max Allen Collins/Fletcher runs.

What is the “Wanted Poster” about? As far as I know, Putty Puss is in the hospital or in jail…Mystère et Boule de gomme…

The interview with Wendy Wichel didn’t last long. Maybe we’ll see more of her, off and on, since she’s assigned to cover Tracy.

@Matthew Hansel:Your comment from last night : “Maybe PURE yellow is more expensive than percentages of yellow?”Could be, I guess. But PURE yellow may be a rather subjective idea. Colors on a computer screen are made with RBG, about which I know very little. But, PRINTING colors are made with CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) The yellow ink cannot be made by mixing other inks together. Yellow for process color printing is an ink that is used to mix other colors. I just looked at some old Harvey 50’s era comics, and Tracy’s hat and coat were made with yellow ink – no other color dots are in the area of the yellow coat and hat. (I checked it with my magnifier glass) I have no idea who printed the comics for Harvey, but there weren’t that many printers doing comics in the 50’s – it may even have been the same house that did work for DC, I don’t know.

@Doc1947G:I saw that too, but then it occured to me, maybe the officer is taking the poster down, now that PP is in custody.

Maybe the Mole is going to offer to help the homeless people by having them work on his farm with him.

The last time we saw the Mole was in April of 1982 when he, along with Pearshape and Influence attended Junior and Sparkle’s wedding.

Careful of that HAND on the shoulder . . . fingers strong enough to snap a collar bone !

I wonder if the Mole will be Tracy’s Mole for the Mr. Crime arc.

There is a wanted poster for Putty Puss going up in the background. I wonder how the face is portrayed.

Looks like they’re taking down the wanted poster for Putty Puss in the background.

By the wanted poster being put up in the second frame, I guess that Putty Puss got away at the hospital. Or is it being taken down?…

To think I almost quit reading this strip before S and C took over writing! WOW what an improvement! Thanks for the history guys, some of us never knew these awesome villians of old!

@Night-Gaunt49:The character known as the “Mole” was introduced in 1941, at the end of a fairly long story arc concerning the reformed Steve the Tramp. As Steve and Jr. tried to make a go of a fruit stand, they got mixed up with a couple of pick-pockets, and this eventually lead to one of the crooks seeking refuge in Mole’s underground quarters. Mole was decidedly nasty in this early story, killing his “house guest” with his bare hands, but at the end, Tracy took him a Christmas present while he was sitting in jail, and I guess that helped turn the tide of Mole’s evil ways. I don’t know if he showed up any more after that, untuil the early 70’s story where he was again underground with his grand-daughter, Molene. By this time, he was not sure where he stood. First he talked about seeking revenge on Tracy, but then ended up turning state’s evidence against his grand-daughter. I did not know, until reading the comments above, that he attended Jr.s’ wedding, and had become actually friendly with Tracy. Maybe that act of kindness all those Christmases ago paid off.

Why do people keep saying that Dustin Hoffman looks like the Mole? I thought he looked like Mumbles!Seriously, it’s great to see the Mole’s return, as he is another of my favorite DT characters as well; he’s definitely my favorite reformed villain.

Do you know how good it feels when a prediction comes true? I’m just real happy now….

They say I look like a WHAT!

I say! BAD FORM, BAD FORM!

Dustin Hoffman would have made a perfect Mole if they filmed another DT movie.

Matt,.Re your question from yesterday:.“. . . what happened to Mary Elsen at TMS? I thought she was Tracy’s editor.”.Never met the lady. AFAIK, Leigh Hanlon was on board at the time Mike and Joe were hired..Oddly, since I’m the least consequential member of Team Tracy, I’m the only one who’s met Leigh f2f..I thought you met him, too, at that celebration for Mr. Locher that was held in Naperville last October.

I am NOT a MOLE! Definitely not a mole, definitely. Definitely not a mole.Ten minutes to Judge Wapner.