A Minit Mystery is a short, self-contained mystery story that appears in the Dick Tracy comic strip. In a Minit Mystery, Dick Tracy (and the readers) are presented with a mystery in a Sunday strip. Over the course of the next week, Tracy is presented with series of clues and must deduce the solution, with the answer being provided on the next Sunday.
Writer Mike Curtis has stated that the concept of the Minit Mystery was inspired by features included in the Harvey Comics Dick Tracy monthly publication (which reproduced daily newspaper strips in comic book form, with supplemental material). The first three Minit Mysteries featured artwork by a guest artist (temporarily replacing Joe Staton). The fourth and fifth had artwork by Staton but was written by a guest writer. The sixth was once again written by Curtis and featured artwork by a guest artist, while the seventh was written and drawn by a guest creator.
Notes
- The first modern Minit Mystery began on Sunday, November 19th 2017, following a brief preamble the day before provided by Vitamin Flintheart. It ran until Sunday, November 26th. It was penciled by artist Charles Ettinger. It featured the official introduction of Piston Puss into the strip.
- The second Minit Mystery ran from April 1st through April 8th of 2018. It was penciled by guest artist John Lucas.
- The third Minit Mystery ran for two weeks, from August 19th to September 2nd of 2018. It was penciled by guest artist Rick Burchett.
- The fourth Minit Mystery ran for two weeks, from December 30th, 2018 to January 13th, 2019. It had artwork by the strip's regular art staff and was written by guest writer Donnie Pitchford.
- The fifth Minit Mystery was entitled "The Occam's Razor Case" and ran for two weeks, from April 28th to May 12th of 2019. The artwork was done by the strip's regular art staff, from a script by Chief of Police Jim Doherty.
- The sixth Minit Mystery ran for two weeks, from September 1st to September 15th of 2019. It featured artwork by Andrew Pepoy and introduced the character of Friday Foster into the Dick Tracy canon.
- The seventh Minit Mystery began on April 12th, 2020. It was written and drawn by Charlie Wise. It introduced the character of Scarmony Corybant.
- The eighth Minit Mystery began on August 23rd, 2020. It was written by Mark Barnard with art by Jorge Baeza.
- It has not been explicitly stated that Minit Mysteries are concurrent with the strip's regular continuity, though they seem to be.