{"id":35161,"date":"2026-03-30T17:24:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=35161"},"modified":"2026-03-30T17:24:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:24:43","slug":"dick-tracy-the-collins-casefiles-volume-1-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2026\/03\/30\/dick-tracy-the-collins-casefiles-volume-1-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Dick Tracy: The Collins Casefiles volume 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Max Allan Collins<\/strong> & Rick Fletcher<\/strong> (Checker Books)
\nISBN: 978-0-97416-642-1 (TPB)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> included for dramatic effect. <\/em><\/p>\n

Almost, sort of, Time for another anniversary celebration. Here\u2019s a superb collection crying out for revival in either physical or digital forms. Time to agitate again against the publishing powers-that-be, I think…<\/em><\/p>\n

Comics have a pretty good track record for creating household names. We could play the game of picking the most well-known fictional characters on Earth – usually topped by Sherlock Holmes<\/strong>, Mickey Mouse<\/strong>, Superman<\/strong>, Batman<\/strong> and Tarzan<\/strong> – and supplement the list with Popeye<\/strong>, Charlie Brown<\/strong>, Tintin<\/strong>, Spider-Man<\/strong> and – not so much now, but once definitely – Dick Tracy<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

At the height of the Great Depression cartoonist Chester Gould sought fresh strip ideas. The story goes that as a decent guy incensed by the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone<\/em> – who monopolised the front pages of contemporary newspapers – the callow scribbler settled upon the only way a normal man could fight thugs: Passion and Public Opinion\u2026<\/p>\n

Raised in Oklahoma, Gould was a Chicago resident and hated seeing his town in the grip of such wicked men, with far too many honest citizens beguiled by the gangsters\u2019 charisma. He decided to pictorially get it off his chest with a procedural crime thriller that championed the ordinary cops who protected civilisation. He took his proposal – Plainclothes Tracy<\/em> – to legendary newspaperman and Strips Svengali Captain Joseph Patterson, whose golden touch had already blessed The Gumps<\/strong>, Gasoline Alley<\/strong>, Little Orphan Annie<\/strong>, Winnie Winkle<\/strong>, Smilin\u2019 Jack<\/strong>, Moon Mullins<\/strong> and Terry and the Pirates<\/strong> among others. Casting his gifted eye on the work, Patterson renamed the hero Dick Tracy<\/strong>, also revising his love interest into steady, steadfast girlfriend Tess Truehart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The series launched on October 4th<\/sup> 1931 (so 95 and counting in mere months as the strip is still running today) as a Sunday addition to the Detroit Mirror<\/strong>, before spreading via Patterson\u2019s Chicago Tribune Syndicate across the USA. It quickly grew into a monumental hit, with all the attendant media and merchandising hoopla that follows. Amidst toys, games, movies, serials, animated features, TV shows et al, the strip soldiered on, influencing generations of creators (like Bill Finger & Bob Kane) and entertaining millions of fans. Gould unfailingly wrote and drew the strip for decades until retirement in 1977.<\/p>\n

The legendary lawman was a landmark creation who influenced not simply comics but the entirety of American popular fiction. Its signature use of baroque villains, outrageous crimes and fiendish death-traps pollinated the work of numerous strips (most notably Batman<\/strong>), shows and movies since then, whilst the indomitable Tracy\u2019s studied, measured use – and startlingly accurate predictions – of crimefighting technology and techniques gave the world a taste of cop thrillers, police procedurals and forensic mysteries such as CSI<\/strong> decades before the modern true crime fascination took hold.<\/p>\n

As with many creators in it for the long haul, the revolutionary 1960s were a harsh time for established cartoonists. Along with Milton Caniff\u2019s Steve Canyon<\/strong>, Gould\u2019s grizzled gang buster especially foundered in a social climate of radical change where popular slogans included \u201cNever trust anybody over 21\u201d and \u201cSmash the Establishment\u201d.<\/p>\n

The strip\u2019s momentum faltered, perhaps as much from the move towards science fiction (Tracy shifted jurisdiction into space and the character Moon Maid<\/em> was introduced) and even more improbable, Bond<\/strong>-movie style villains as any perceived \u201cold-fashioned\u201d attitudes. Even the introduction of more minority and women characters and hippie cop Groovy Groove <\/em>couldn\u2019t stop the rot. However, the feature soldiered on regardless…<\/p>\n

Max Allen Collins is a hugely prolific and best-selling author of both graphic novels (Road to Perdition<\/strong>, CSI, Batman<\/strong>, Mike Mist, Ms. Tree<\/strong>) and prose thriller series featuring crime-creations Nathan Heller<\/strong>, Quarry<\/strong>, Nolan<\/strong>, Mallory<\/strong>, Krista Larson<\/strong>, Mike Hammer<\/strong> and a veritable pantheon of others. When Gould retired from the Tracy strip, the young author (nearly 30!) won the prestigious role as scripter, and promptly took the series back to its roots for a breathtaking 11-year run, ably assisted by Gould as consultant even as his chief artistic assistant Rick Fletcher was promoted to full illustrator.<\/p>\n

This criminally scarce but splendidly enthralling monochrome paperback compilation opens with publisher Mark Thompson\u2019s informative Introduction \u2018Flatfoot\u2019<\/em>, and offers a frankly startling \u2018Dick Tracy Timeline\u2019<\/em> listing series achievements and innovations from 1931 to 1988 even before the captivating Cops-&-Robbers clashes recommence with Collin\u2019s inaugural adventure.
\n\"\"
\n\u2018Angeltop\u2019s Last Stand\u2019 <\/em>(3rd<\/sup> January – March 12th<\/sup> 1978) rapidly sidelined fantastical science fiction trappings (Tracy\u2019s adopted son Junior<\/em> had previously married aforementioned astral princess Moon Maid) whilst reviving grittily ultra-violent suspense as old friend Vitamin Flintheart<\/em> is targeted for assassination. With the senior detective\u2019s assistants Sam Catchem<\/em> and Lizz Worthington<\/em> on the case, it\u2019s soon clear the assault is part of a scheme to make Tracy suffer. Solid investigation turns up two suspects, relatives of old – and expired – enemies Flattop<\/em> Jones <\/em>and The Brow<\/em> confirming familial revenge is the motive…<\/p>\n

Sadly, the Police Department\u2019s resources are inadequate to prevent aggrieved daughter Angeltop Jones<\/em> and the new Brow <\/em>from abducting Tracy. Tragically for the vengeful felons, the grizzled crimebuster might be old but is still inventive and indomitable, and a cataclysmic confrontation leads to a fatal conflagration at the place of Flattop\u2019s demise…<\/p>\n

The next tale features an original Gould villain making a surprise comeback in the \u2018Return of Haf-and-Haf\u2019<\/em> (March 13th<\/sup> – June 11th<\/sup>) wherein manic murder-fiend Tulza Tuzon<\/em> – whose left profile had been hideously scarred with acid – is released from the asylum, seemingly rehabilitated by modern psychology and groundbreaking plastic surgery…<\/p>\n

Of course, only his face was fixed and the fiend quickly tries to murder ex-fianc\u00e9e Zelda<\/em> – who had betrayed him to the cops a decade previously. Tracy is on hand to save her, but unable to prevent Zelda from enacting grisly retribution on her attacker, leaving Tuzon woefully in need of fresh cosmetic repair. Naturally, the unscrupulous surgeon who fixed him on the State\u2019s dime wants a huge amount of clandestine cash to repeat the procedure and the stage is soon set for doom and tragedy on a Shakespearean scale…
\n\"\"
\nThis first Collins collection concludes with an epic minor classic harking back to Tracy\u2019s first published case. \u2018Big Boy\u2019s Revenge\u2019<\/em> – AKA \u2018Big Boy\u2019s Open Contract\u2019 –<\/em> ran from 12th<\/sup> June 1978 to January 2nd<\/sup> 1979, detailing the unexpected return of the thinly-disguised Al Capone analogue Tracy had sent to prison at the very start of his career.<\/p>\n

Decades later Big Boy, still a member of the crime syndicate known as The Apparatus<\/em>, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and wants to take with him the copper who first brought him down. Ignoring and indeed eventually warring with other Apparatus chiefs, the dying Don puts a $1,000,000 contract on Tracy\u2019s head and lies back to watch the fireworks as a horde of hitmen and women zero in on the blithely unaware Senior Detective…<\/p>\n

The resulting collateral damage costs the hero one of his nearest and dearest, removes most of the strip\u2019s accumulated sci fi trappings and firmly reset the scenario in the grim and gritty world of contemporary crime. The Good Guys triumph in the end, but the cost is shockingly high for a family strip…<\/p>\n

Dick Tracy<\/strong> has always been a fantastically readable feature and this potent return to first principles is a terrific way to ease yourself into his stark, no-nonsense, Tough-Love, Hard Justice world. Comics just don\u2019t get better than this…
\n\u00a9 Checker Book Publishing Group 2003, an authorized collection of works \u00a9 Tribune Media Services, 1978, 1979. All characters and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Born today in 1888, Canadian cartoonist J.R. Williams<\/strong> (Out Our Way<\/strong> sharing the natal event with iconic European grand master Edgar P. Jacobs<\/strong> (The U Ray<\/strong>, Blake and Mortimer<\/strong>) in 1904, Tex Blaisdell<\/strong> (Superman<\/strong>, Batman<\/strong>, Little Orphan Annie<\/strong>) in 1920 and Raymond Macherot<\/strong> (Clifton<\/strong>, Chlorophylle<\/em>, Sibylline<\/em>) in 1924.<\/p>\n

In 2008 we lost the ubiquitous and splendid Jim Mooney<\/strong> (Spider-Man<\/strong>, Tommy Tomorrow<\/strong>, Supergirl<\/strong>, Legion of Super-Heroes<\/strong>) whilst in reading matters, today in 1985 saw the 1555th<\/sup> and final issue of UK weekly Tiger <\/strong>come and forever go, as did comedy comic Whoopee!<\/strong> – a prized UK chuckle choice since 1974.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Max Allan Collins & Rick Fletcher (Checker Books) ISBN: 978-0-97416-642-1 (TPB) This book includes Discriminatory Content included for dramatic effect. Almost, sort of, Time for another anniversary celebration. Here\u2019s a superb collection crying out for revival in either physical or digital forms. Time to agitate again against the publishing powers-that-be, I think… Comics have … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Dick Tracy: The Collins Casefiles volume 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[78,75,418,419,225,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comic-strip-classics","category-crime-comics","category-detective-stories","category-dick-tracy","category-mystery","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-997","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35165,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35161\/revisions\/35165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}