Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 09, 2021

Good morning™, assigned names, at last !

We know who these “15 second” characters are now. A nice detail tho’ not necessary, as Neil said but adds a nice bit of depth.

Good morning™, everyone!

The real Sterling Elliott died in 1922 with 125 patents to his name. One of his most important inventions is one that allows the cars we drive today to be able to turn a corner by changing the angles of two wheels. Before that, tricycles were steered by turning only one wheel. People said that steering a four-wheel vehicle with a fixed axle couldn’t be done, because the two wheels have to be at different angles on the inside and outside of the curve. Sterling solved that problem very neatly.

He invented a lot of other things like a spring that would keep buggies level while people climbed inside, a pneumatic tire arrangement that revolutionized racing sulkies, and the world’s first metal-framed addressing plates that were critical to addressing machines that used stencils.

So Ace is now the Apparatus. Where did the other smokers who were in charge go? Looks like Ace staged a coup d’etat

You see, he could be from Cuba. Interesting name for a Cuban, though.

Is it possible the Ace is female? Body and head shape/size seem somewhat ambiguous.

Ace welcomes yet another sinister smoker to the already-crowded table, but at least rakish Mr. Eliot has the flair to use a cigarette holder….

1-BOUNCER: Candygram for Mr. Ace.

WHIPPY: That guy’s gonna have to take insulin if he keeps getting’ those things in congratulations for taking over the organization. Spread the word that he prefers flowers would ya, Bouncer?

2-SCARFY FACE: I use a cigarette holder in case you feel like whipping it out of my mouth – gives me a little more room for your error.

WHIPPY: I’m more inclined to whip those out-of-control nose hairs off – GROSS!

3-RATFACE: SCARFY! I was just thinking about you when I read about that mass grave site down in Chihuahua! What brings you here?

SCARFY: A private jet full of narco money.

RATFACE: Jet? Full of money? HEY RED! TAKE A NOTE FOR THE NEXT BOARD MEETING – SHOULD WE GET INTO THE DRUG BUSINESS? ALSO, WHAT EXACTLY DO WE DO FOR MONEY?

Coincidentally, Jake Elliott is the kicker for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. Inconsistent play has recently tarnished his once sterling reputation…

Almost like my late grandfather, A. Grover FitzGerald whose hard-wrought patents supported his wife & their brood of 14 children, including my father Charles V. II and his fraternal twin sister, Constance F. Keery (my godmother) – amen! He despised his first name Arthur and preferred to be called by his middle name from what my father told me about slightly!!

Frankenstein’s monster with a mustache?

Ah, a sterling recommendation.

This Sterling Eliot must have a reputation via the criminal grapevine. Wonder what he specializes in.

He and Ace of Spades must have collaborated on a previous shady enterprise.

Ace of Spades " Sterling, your mission is go through those books Mumbles brought back from the book store. Study them well because we are about to have a big pay day, this will make state lotteries look like child’s play.

Much as I appreciate the hard work readers like Neil put into deciphering who each character may be a reference to, wouldn’t it be swell if Joe & Mike provided us with daily strips that were fun, entertaining in & of themselves, driven by a fast-moving narrative, instead of strips that increasingly seem to be nothing more than exercises in arcane trivia & narrative Easter egg hunts?

Alright, I wanna know just how Ace is smoking a cigar while wearing a full face mask that doesn’t have a mouth hole!

Is “Sterling Eliot” his real name, or a nom de guerre? He looks like he may be Mexican, or possibly Cuban (in Cuba, one can find many improbable westernizing names). He seems to be an old buddy of New Ace of Spades. What is his special skill set? Why is he here at Apparatus HQ?

Who invited Mr.“We don’t need no stinking badges”?