Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Shelley Pleger for March 25, 2023

who ARE these two individuals named Archie and Fritz?!?…

oh yeah, NOW I remember…

Good morning™, all!

Here we have the impending collision of the two threads of the story, as Archie announces plans to be picked up by Tracy right across from the bank that Flattop and Blowtop plan to hit.

Well, isn’t that conVEEENient!

If you’re as bored of this long and tedious story as I am, watch our beloved Ray Toler get wacked! Starting at the 40 second mark.

Much more action in 20 seconds than 4 weeks of this strip!

https://youtu.be/OXsNdJJIb-U

What a coincidence!

Does Mike get paid by the word???

Good morning™, “convenience” store robberies !

DT: Take the cab, Arch. I got a bank to save. That’s the one our payroll goes through and we can’t lose that !

I really had forgotten about this plot. Yuck! Now I remember it.

Wolfe went to his “Final Destination?” Da dun dunnnnnnn!!!!

- Loud Groan – After having actually seen Tracy do a minimum of work: interviewing a couple witnesses to aspects of the crime, the story falls back on the deus ex machina of incredible coincidence?

And, I only read a couple Nero Wolfe stories, years ago, but would he really turn off a reportedly brilliant mind and fall into so obvious a trap at the words “black orchid”?

Stay tuned for Next Monday. The Spanish Inquisition shows up.

Why is Fritz baking so much bread? With Wolfe and Archie away, he’s cooking for at most two people, right?

………..any minute now, folks…..any minute…………

A ka-winka-dink? I don’t think so.

1-ARCHIBALD: Hey Fritz! How’s it hangin’?

2-FRITZ: Low and slow like always. Wait a second – the cord to this phone fell off…

3-ARCHDUKE FERDBERGER: No worries – I can still hear you. Nothin’ doing here. Still no leads on Nero’s whereabouts…hang on. HA! Somebody is holding up the bank across the street! I’ll just stay here and watch.

FRITZ: Shouldn’t you call the police? ARCHIE ANDREWS: Too much trouble. They haven’t invented 911 yet and I’d have to look up the number.

If the Top brothers hit this bank while Goodwin is around, hopefully he’ll observe and report it to Tracy. Anything else he would be out of his league.

holey conflicting coincidences, Batman!

I’ll bet Fritz and Horstmann are throwing wild parties with everyone away.

A bad crossing is ahead, dead ahead.

Looks as though the straying strands of story are about to come together in a cataclysmic confrontation at the Federal Bank, as Archie archly looks on while the bullets fly. Blowtop, Tracy, and Flattop are a neat nexus for all the action a delicate tummy can handle. Meanwhile, Arnold Zeck and Nero Wolfe are mutually loopy for orchids, so long as they are black….

OT: Atomic Cat Press = sheer death. They made a complete mess of MORABU. LOOKS like they tried to change sentences and ended up leaving added or wrong words, etc. in the text.I want my editing fee back. As it is, I spent 8 hours on it today and only got 200 pages fixed. I figure 2 more days to complete the job. Then I need to make sure the Kindle, paperback and hardback files are correctly added. Might as well do it all myself from the start.

Another delightful coincidence—that window is low enough so you can shoot and nail anybody coming out of the bank.