Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for August 13, 2021

Good morning™, everyone!

Well, Archival is already under arrest, even before the door is opened. He’s still wearing the ring, too. Vera has never been happier to see Tracy, but that last push to get the word out to Honeymoon seems to have severely exhausted Mysta.

What a harrowing shootout!

Obey Tracy’s orders and don’t resist, those are good ideas!

Too easy.

“I’m going to feel like an idiot getting perp-walked wearing this toy-soldier getup."

WOW! Was I ever wrong! Here I am thinking all this time we were headed to a yet another train wreck ending and Lo and behold Team Tracy fools us and give us an ending to top all endings, a fantas,,,,,,,,,WHAT HAPPENED, OH I MUST HAVE DOZED OFF!

Let’s read today’s comic,,,AUGH!!!!!!!

I see Mad Mindy went back to being comatose. It’s great to have a writer who gets you out of jams via the implausible!

Good morning™, soon to be courts martialed soldiers !

For a guy that looks disgusted and angry in P. 1, Brock is all of a sudden sooo compliant by P. 2. I think he is looking for leniency. Hey, guys !  We were just having a little fun here (heh heh). Nobody got hurt, honest, and you should see the really fabulous chow I served my “guests”. :-)

Now if this were a standard Gould-plotted story, this would only be the end of Act II. Archival would manage to close Tracy et al inside the safe room and make his escape, leading to the climactic Act III chase.

Much different than I had guessed, and much easier!

Will Mysta warm up to Vera now after this ’adventure" ?

Hey, Vera didn’t make out too bad; all that one on one time with Mysta, lol

I see a dinner date soon !!!!

I hope the story doesn’t end like this. At least have Archival put up a fight.

If this story ends on Sunday, I’ll be disappointed.

Well, when they move, they move fast, now get Mysta into daylight, fast!

Archival is archivied.

It’s a fair cop, but society is to blame

“Where’s the Kaboom? There Was Supposed to Be an Earth-Shattering Kaboom!”

Maybe one of the guards stupid enough to hire on for a kidnapping will go for a shootout.

WOW ! , great images again today and this is big time , Tracy with gun drawn and , where is Sams tooth pick again today ?

probable cause to search, probable cause to arrest…exigence…no warrant needed for either…Know your rights!

so tracy just drove out to the house, while there got a call from his granddaughter "Mysta there’ and that resolves it?

busted! and willing to cooperate.

Alldid quit repeating things that are obvious, and, get Mysta into some direct sunlight, while Tracy and Sam cover Archival and associates, waiting for some assistance in taking them to the station.

Those guards must be paid well to break the law AND wear those ridiculous 19th century military getups.

Do the henchmen have to get their mugshots with the hats on or off?

Methinks this is not the end of this drama!

It would’ve been hilarious if Mysta and Vera hadn’t been in that safe room. “Oh. Sorry, Mr. Archival. By the power vested in me by the State of Affairs, I hereby declare you UN-ARRESTED”

He gave up rather quickly,

But is it soon enough for Mysta?

1-DT: I took my gloves off because they mute the tactile pleasure I get from shooting my gun. Now open that secret door. I have reason to suspect that it should be opened.

2-DT: AHA! Wait. What are you two doing here? And what’s with the French Gendarmes?

STAN LEE: French? OH YES, THEY’RE FRENCH! And as this room has been designated as a French Consulate, it is officially French territory and you have no authority here! Isn’t that right, officer? WINK, WINK

THE SMARTER GUARD: Wee Wee, Boss.

DT: C’mon Sam. We don’t wanna start an international incident with these snail eaters. VERA: TRACY! WAIT!

DT: Have Horny give me a call when you get back to the States.

I reminded myself of a joke in an old National Lampoon take on the soldiers in the Salvation Army:

This is my weapon, this is my gun. One is for fighting, the other I’ll shun

Jeez, so exciting, I can’t believe this snoozer will end with a super snoozer , but given the direction of this strip the last year or so, I guess it’s gonna be true. Team Tracy doesn’t even seem to be trying to do something interesting. You folks that seem to find this compelling (Neil, et al) must really enjoy watching grass grow. Sad, very sad, Gould weeps.

I hope Tracy and Sam have enough zip ties in the squad vehicle to go around.

Mystra, not having access to recharge her powers, is out like a light.

My, my, my…will wonders ever cease? Vera is glad to see Tracy? I suppose so, he was not in control of the situation and would have been drawing his comics from an island indefinitely.

The staff at the secluded island will be disappointed to hear that their guests have cancelled LOL

Maybe Archival can share a cell with the Jumbler….

Still don’t like t he close quarters in that room.Safety of hostages comes before keeping an eye on Archival.Unfortunately.

Struck just now with what a pleasure it is to see a crisp, well-defined Tracy like the one in the first panel. I think my inner child is still traumatized by decades of horrible artwork and writing on this strip.

…..now play “March Of The Wooden Soldiers” and they’ll, well…..march right out!……..Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, ta-taaaahhhh!!

It looks like this story could wrap up sooner than I thought. Normally the summer story arcs run until Labo(u)r Day weekend, then we get a new one starting the first week of September.

Are we due for another “Minit Mystery” ? Or something else?

Hurray – but what about Mystra here??

Hurrah!! But what about Mystra??

YAY!! I hope they OPEN ALL HIS SEALED COMICS and ruin all his valuable collectibles from mint condition! Wrinkle some pages, dogear a bunch, get some mustard on them, etc etc.

I just saw something Max Allan Collins won’t like.His creation WILD DOG ended up on THESUICIDE SQUAD for being part of the “Donald Trump attack” on the Capitol.Sadly,DC probably has the rights to his once honest character.

In t he prophecy department,Uppward-Lee Mobile came along BEFORE Bernard Madoff.

Mysta needs to be taken into bright light immediately, or she will ‘go into the light’, Ghost Whisperer style.

I hadn’t seen (or at least noticed) that the two henchmen are dressed as Gendarmes. Now I’m wondering why. (Maybe it was in one of the strips I missed along the way?)

ka-rescue

It appears as though Brock Archival is not so arch a villain when Tracy has his pistol pointed at him. And yet this seems just too easy to be the veritable ending of this story. I suspect Archival may yet have some trick or contingency plan at hand. That safe room seems small and crowded with Sam, Archival, Tracy, Mysta, Vera, and two Tin Soldiers. Maybe as they try to shuffle out Sam and Tracy will find themselves behind the bad guys and get trapped in the suddenly re-sealed room while Brock and his crew make off with the hostages for the private island! Or maybe not; but I’d like to think that a little more, sirs, is not out of the question….