Existing comment:
Detective Dick Tracy
Chester Gould submitted sixty unsuccessful comic strip ideas to publisher Joseph Medill Patterson before succeeding with detective "Plainclothes Tracy." Dick Tracy debuted in the Detroit Mirror in 1931 and ran for forty-six years. Gould's use of heavy bold lines and chiseled faces combined with his convoluted plots delighted readers. Although Gould studied forensics and criminal procedures for authenticity, his improvisations sometimes led to absurd storylines. The strip introduced technology that at the time seemed outlandish -- the two-way wrist radio (1946) and the portable surveillance camera (1948). |