The Complete Dick Tracy Volume 12: 1948-1950

The Complete Dick Tracy #12

by Chester Gould

Chief Brandon steps down, and wait 'til you see who's the new Chief! Then, Sam Catchem joins the force, Sparkle Plenty charms everyone, and two major characters tie the knot! And the villains? Well, Chester Gould continues to invent one grotesque, evil bad guy after another, as Wormy, Pearshape, Big Frost, Sleet, Talcum Freely, Sketch Paree, and Mousey make life miserable for Tracy and company. Plus, the first-ever color reprinting of "The Black Bag Mystery" which only appeared in a single newspaper in 1949! -The Library of American Comics is the world's #1 publisher of classic newspaper comic strips, with 14 Eisner Award nominations and three wins for best book. LOAC has become "the gold standard for archival comic strip reprints...The research and articles provide insight and context, and most importantly the glorious reproduction of the material has preserved these strips for those who knew them and offers a new gateway to adventure for those discovering them for the first time." - Scoop -

Genres: Comic Strips, Comics, Crime, Mystery, Adventure, Thriller

276 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Chester Gould was a U.S. cartoonist and the creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977. Gould was known for his use of colorful, often monstrous, villains.

Reviews

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Chief of Police retires and Pat Patton takes his place. Sam Ketcham joins the force and Tracy & Tess take the next step. Sparkle Plenty turns 2.

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

More good Dick Tracy stuff. There aren't really any classic villains here, but the ones who do appear all have their appeal, notably the coldly (and appropriately named) sociopathic Big Frost, or Mousey, the young woman who uses white rats as a distraction to carry out her thefts. There's a delightful randomness, or at any rate sense of the organic or unplanned, about many of Gould's stories that fits well with the real-world way violence and trauma can come from nowhere for reasons unknown. Gould's infatuation with B. O. Plenty (whom Gould seems to think is a lot more hilarious than he really is--kicking animals, especially, Gould seems to think is a laff riot) continues, though the stories involving him this time out don't seem quite so baldly shoe-horned into the action. We also get some key developments in the strip (e.g. Tracy's wedding to Tess Trueheart--which comes just as thoroughly from nowhere as Mousey's hit and run car and which ends up with Tracy chasing Wormy on his honeymoon, rather than snuggled up with Tess, natch), and we meet Sam Catchem, Pat Patton's replacement as Tracy's sidekick, and a far less bland character; he adds some humorous zip to the grim criminal proceedings. The violence continues to be pretty rough, though not as spectacular as in the earlier years. Nevertheless, it's impossible to imagine this appearing in the newspapers today. There are a great many implausible moments, as well, of course, and the rather chilling and Big-Brotherish introduction of surveillance television that potentially at least could put everyone under covert surveillance, presented as a boon to law enforcement; given that 1984 was published in 1948, one wonders whether this is merely fortuitous or Gould's answer to Orwell. The one-panel "Crimestoppers" Sunday feature starts up in this run, as well.

[Chumbert Squurls · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting volume in the scheme of Gould's career as he shifts to writing about dysfunctional families and goofier(if slightly more normal looking villains (Sketch Paree, Pearshape, Mousey, etc...) The line work gets bolder and more flamboyant as Gould executes strips with expressionistic panache. The opening villain, Big Frost is a tedious and time consuming dud, but Pear Shape and Sketch Paree make up for it.

[David R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is classic Chester Gould: forceful and clean. And the introductory matter sets the stage wonderfully, but this run of strips from 1948 to 1950 is mostly weak. Forgettable characters like Pearshape, Wormy, and Mousey aren't equal to the greats of the rogues gallery.

[Paul Hasbrouck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume of the series takes Tracy and gang into the 195O's. A new partner for Tracy, Sam Catchum, appears, a weird cast of villians and Tracy marries Tess Trueheart makes the part so much fun.