Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Shelley Pleger for April 18, 2022

Tracy still chatting it up over on “Gasoline Alley.” ✨

Good morning™, everybody!

Tracy has located the dropped scarf and, from that, he has figured out what happened. Good use of clues. Tracy has pieced it all together — I think.

This is a fantastic effort from the weekday colorist. Usually, they just fill in the spaces between the lines with solid colour, but there are actually two different colours within one silhouette in Matt’s head in the last panel. That much more effort than we typically see.

It’s not that tough to figure out. ✨

I’m glad Tracy understands because I don’t get how so many holes could be in one story!

Weird drawing of Mattie in panel 3.

Does Tracy think he’s talking to the real Tonsils? He acts like it.

“They were giving out free scarves, and I just missed it.”

Good morning™, blank faces !

I wasn’t aware that Matt has been rubbed out. He tells Tracy “the new owner” when he knows darn well it was only Coffyhead and I bet he wont say anything about Dot having been there but that ship has sailed, with Dick’s discovery of her scarf. I think Matty is going to have some legal problems when this is all over, followed by some hard time.

Careful or this will turn into a buddy flick.

Tracy asks Matt about why he’s there, even though Vitamin just told him a few minutes ago.

Short-term memory loss, Tracy?

Dick Tracy is in 2 strips at the same time these last few days – Besides his own strip he’s in a Gasoline Alley arc.

1-ASTRO: Well, there goes my gig on the Dot View Show

2-…I was all set to break big too! GROOM YOUR POODLE was going to take me to the top. I was going to be bigger than Pat Boone! He made it big stealing Little Richard’s songs ya know…

3-DT: Oh well. ”We are such stuff as dreams are made on” We’ll always have Paris…and Dot’s scarf.

ASTRO: ALAS! POOR DOT! I knew her well!

DT: You hungry?

ASTRO: I could eat.

The strip is perfect, today.

Hopefully the appearance in Gasoline Alley is more interesting than this snoozer

This is all Tonsil’s fault. Tracy should run him in.

I do like the contrasting figures in the last panel, but I think it would’ve been better without the mouth drawn. Like a coloured silhouette in the background.

Tonsils has said nothing about the drug angle thingy. Then on second thought it could be embarrassing to tell Tracy his date was taken away as a hostage.

Maybe the “new owner” wanted to meet to show him where his dressing room would be.

Gee, Tonsils, the woman you supposedly love has just been kidnapped at gunpoint by a dangerous sociopath but you can’t be bothered to tell a police detective who just came through the door. When it comes to men, Dot sure can pick them.

Matt McCullar may lie a craven coward in his grave soon, or not. But his unwillingness to spill the whole story to Tracy, seeking to save his own tarnished skin, while claiming (internally) to love Dot View, certainly does not reflect well on his character.

So, it really is fortunate that Tracy has found Dot’s scarf and has been able to put together the broad outlines of what has gone down (even if he doesn’t know all the sordid details). Now, can he and his MCU team track down Coffyhead before Dot dies or is otherwise harmed?

How long will “Moka” (Coffyhead) remain on the loose?

Tracy already understood, now I hope that Tonsils also understands that if he doesn’t turn to Tracy, her friend doesn’t have many chances to get out of this!

Great art on Tonsils

No.1—Defiance

No.2—“Meh”

No.3—“Anguish”.