Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy is a sharp-witted, square-jawed detective dedicated to fighting crime and bringing criminals to justice. Originally a newspaper comic-strip hero created by Chester Gould, his adventures were later reprinted in Dell's Popular Comics.

Few characters in American comics carry the weight of history that Dick Tracy does — a Platinum Age icon whose debut stretches all the way back to 1936, when Chester Gould introduced him to the world in a Feature Book that now stands as one of the most storied artifacts in the collector's canon. Over a remarkable span touching nearly every decade of comics publishing — from the Platinum Age through today, nearly 90 years in print — Tracy has proven himself one of the medium's most enduring figures, racking up 241 catalog appearances and five key issues that serious collectors keep a sharp eye on. His adventures have run through landmark Dell titles including Super Comics and his own self-titled series, where he shares the page with luminaries like Superman, Little Orphan Annie, and Clark Kent, placing him at the very crossroads of comics history. If you want a character who practically is the American comic book tradition, Dick Tracy is your man.