Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for March 17, 2023

Top o’ the morning™, everyone!

Even with a promise of dinner, can they drag him away from his beloved black orchids? They are threatening to keep him indefinitely, but that might be better than ending his stay, depending on how they plan to do that.

Wolfe in his new job of Involuntary Consultant.

ok, now we know he’s not REALLY there of his own free will and would rather NOT be there… the orchids are a lure and a tease and a dangling carrot to insure his cooperation to something which STILL has to be revealed…

“You’re stay with us shouldn’t be much longer. We’re about due for a typical Dick Tracy rushed ending.”

Top o’ the morning™, cranky captured connoisseurs !

Wolfie might as well just enjoy the ‘ride’. Nothing he can do to change anything and he should be comforted with the knowledge that Archie will eventually catch up.

Three panels with three different scenes which give substance to the talking heads.

I don’t believe they can afford to feed Wolfe dinner much longer since it would bankrupt the criminal organization !

Zeck has an underground base of operations near New York, and goes to great lengths not to be in the same room as any possible threat. Staying unseen, out of the room, and speaking via telephone or a microphone is completely in character. When they get to their final confrontation, breaking through Zeck’s defences is a major project. It’s well worth reading with some good twists, so I won’t spoil it here.

19 days in…and we STILL have no idea what the hell this story is about

This story, to paraphrase Wolfe; “Can’t go on indefinitely!” can it???

They say his stay here would not be much longer, should be something happening soon!

And then, lumbering with lightning quickness, Wolfe turned on his captors and ruthlessly sat on them, savoring their squeals like fine wine. And we were in for literal weeks of repeats of that horrible ‘Smokey’ Stover MM. Children screamed, pets went unfed, and nations crumbled.

NOTE: No orchids were hurt or killed during this story. A representative of APLFLAP (Anxious People Loving Flora As Pretty) was in attendance at all time. Dandelion stunt flowers were substituted for the fiery car chase/crash involving the helicopter, the battleship and the mince pies. Ditto the earthquake scene when Wolfe sat down, and who cares bout THEM, anyway?

Very interesting . . . (said in my best Arty Johnson voice)

From the expression on the desk clerks face in the last panel I’m thing he left him a note instead of signing his name.

The slowness of the arc aside, the illustration of the cook taking Wolfe’s particular meal preparation orders is oddly satisfying.

Where is the forklift to move him to dinner ?

Yep, Wolfe is a dead ringer for Edward Arnold, as someone noted earlier!

1-NERO holding thumb and forefinger 2 inches apart: Mine is this big. WAITER: I only wanna know what you wanna eat, Weirdo!

2-ZECKERBURG: Be advised Mr. Wolfe, that your rations will be sharply curtailed if you continue to refuse to tell us what we want to know.

NERO: YOU HAVEN’T TOLD ME WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW, IDIOT! WHAT IS IT???

3-ZECKERBURG: That’s for us to know and for you to find out. BWA HA HAAAA!

NERO: So you don’t know either then? ZECKERBURG: Not really. But we’re working on it!

Is it just me or does Duncan look like a cross between Flat-Top and Beady-Eyes?

Hmm…on the way back to his room…Nero Wolfe will be diverted to the recreation room. With the blindfold on his captors want to see how good he is at playing pin the tail on the donkey.

Do I detect a touch of sarcasm in Wolfe’s panel 3 response?

Zeck’s mechanized taunts are disconcerting. Does he intend to kill the portly detective if he doesn’t get what (indeed, what?) he wants?

Arnold Zeck was Wolfe’s Moriarity.