Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for January 12, 2016

Oh…so Spicy may not be so dumb, after all. She’s wanting to move out of a life of crime.

And Spicy didn’t think of this BEFORE Specs went to the Apparatus? Also she doesn’t seem to realize that even though it would be “legal” that Specs having success after success could attract all kinds of the wrong attention.

“Amber Room …?”

Mike’s been studying up on “History’s Mysteries”

Also …

Specs’ “Specs” are STOLEN PROPERTY, so there’s really no way to legally use them.

Even if Spicy & Specs were to opt out …

… They’re already in too deep!

Hmmm….so Spicey is no dummy…..wants to get out of the rackets and make a legit fortune.

Trouble is, they’re using a stolen pair of x-ray specs for their work so……

Once word gets out about that glasses, it’s not only the Apparatus who would be interested on it. I believe whoever wears that could see what Specs see. He was just fortunate to have been given the glasses that was intended to be smuggled out. It was just a case of finders keepersI really think that Specs and Spicy will jump ship

Change of focus - to Move Up “higher” in the World ?Seems to imply a betrayal of the ‘powerful Apparatus Fold ?

But the Apparatus Gang that dresses like it’s become Ace’s 52 Gang of Old …wont be too pleased to lose a SKILL that could bring in $4 Billion Cash and more liquid than a Train with Gold.Well poised to hold the skill in-house, be it needed kill or fight …Already, Queen Ponytail’s duty*-* there to check them day and nightNo little boy with a migraine cock-eyed plightWill take those Power Glasses out of sight …

Seems the new (53 Gang) powers might want ‘full possession’ of the tool that so easily locates a stash . . . and those that try to betray, will be disposed of - in a flash.

What’s missing in “Amateur Hour” of the couples planIs a safe hideout for this newly ‘empowered’ married clan

Dick Tracy and and/or his MCU crew Stunningly, are still to investigate the $4 Billion robbery or even find a single ClueUnless, faster than a Speeding BulletHe has a Lee Ebony disguised there (once again) to do it ! ?

I’d mentioned that aspects of this story reminded me of John D. MacDonald’s “The Girl, The Gold Watch & Everything” …

… which has a few precursors of its own.

It’s all about the transition from jugmaker to treasure hunter in the popular culture sense, as far as Spicy Condiment is concerned. Maybe she’s not all that much smarter than Specs after all, not to consider that the Apparatus might want to retain its asset. She’s just more ambitious (read: greedy) than Specs.Golden goose time is drawing nigh….

According to the article in Wikipedia, “Oak Island is a 57-hectare (140-acre) privately owned island in Lunenburg County on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada…. The island is best known as the site of various theories about possible buried treasure or historical artifacts, and the resulting centuries of ongoing expensive exploration, and is the subject of the History Channel’s series The Curse of Oak Island.” The treasure could be anything from pirate gold to lost Shakespeare manuscripts to the lost Ark of the Covenant, according to various people.

Morning, Tracy Fans!

She’s no dummy. She’s the kind of person who is willing to consider options. Specs ought to sit down with her and have a long chat.

No one has ever recovered the treasure on Oak Island.

And let Smith Industries know just who has their prototype specs! Not to mention the guy who was SUPPOSED to pinch them for the Apparatus. You might want to do a bit more thinking on this one…

Neither of these two are exactly rocket scientists.Spicy’s idea isn’t a bad one, but it’s a little too late to try a career change after going to work for the Apparatus.If Specs weren’t a greedy jerk to begin with, he could have reported his discovery of the glasses’ effects to Smith Industries, and gotten himself a job with them, if only in R&D.

I’ve really been enjoying Joe’s art with these two, especially the way the lenses images change with Specs’ expression.

He could keep his help silent, to prevent from becoming a media target.

Of course, that’s assuming there is something to find on Oak island

interesting…tonight is a new episode of “The Curse of Oak Island” .. coincidence?

Looking back, it did not seem that Specs was an employee of the Apparatus at first. He certainly wasn’t their “mole” at Smith Industries. He balked at the idea of going there for the migraine study; Spicy had to practically drag him to the study.Meanwhile, the dialog between members of the Apparatus established that they were surprised by the taking of the goggles; they said that the goggles disappeared from under the nose of their inside man.Although we did not see it, it appears that the Apparatus found Specs and offered him a job with them. But, the last couple of days indicated that he is more or less captive to them now; they don’t want him out on the street anymore… they must think, at least, that he is the only one who can use the goggles.

Someone needs to help those boys on Oak Island. THey couldn’t find a stick in the mud.

.Good morning one and all!

Go Legit, Specs. Use the Force

Gweedo stated,Enjoy your beauty rest. Lawd knows ya need it !!! People talk abou’cha when yer not here…-————————————————————————-.Good morning Gweedo. I hope they are not saying bad things about me!

I Googled “Jug Maker”, which is the word Mike uses in today’s strip., but from the definition Mike supplies in the box at the bottom of Panel 1, I think he must have meant “Jug Marker”Jug Marker seems to have to do with careful casing before a planned crime, whereas Jug Maker is some odd term in the Urban Dictionary about being scared enough to drink a whole jug of booze.

Lesson from Godfather III, you think you can get out, but as soon as you see the light at the end of the tunnel, they’ll pull you back in.

Gweedo answered,…Just the usual graveyard gossip, Bill !-—————————————————————————-.You can’t believe what those guys are saying, Gweedo. They are living in the past!

Get him to go see what’s in the newly discovered sealed off room in King Tut’s Tomb!

I thought a “jugmaker” was a Hollywood plastic surgeon. ::rimshot:: I’ll be here all week, folks. Try the prime rib.

Google “Amber Room.” Interesting story.

Haven’t read all the comments..Remember, Specs didn’t steal the glasses; he got them by mistake. That said, that he didn’t correct the mistake may be incriminating..Later, we learn that Specs works for the Apparatus, making him a criminal at some level. Which makes his lack of attempt to return the glasses more incriminating..Most of all, moving away from Specs, does it bother anybody about the return of the Apparatus? Didn’t the Blackhearts pretty much rub them out? Now that the Blackhearts are gone, the Apparatus is back?.A power vacuum exists, I agree, but this turn of events seems somewhat strained..In the mean time, Tracy villains are getting more and more batty all the time. From fancy costumes (at the moment, Elton John sunglasses) to sci-fi induced special powers, I’m just waiting for the tilted camera angles and the huge yellow splashes of “POW”!.A day or so ago, it appeared that Cinnamon Knight was the one who tipped off Spicy that she and Specs may be playing with fire. Did anybody else catch that one?

Courtesy of The Dick Tracy Depot …

Here’s a poser:

Does the European branch of The Blackhearts Organization still exist …

… and will it ultimately bump up against “The New 52,” A.K.A. “The Apparatus?”

“One, Two, Three, Four …”

“… I declare A MOB WAR~!!”