Talk:Dick Tracy

Vera Alldid
Does the article need to include the story arc involving the cartoonist "Vera Alldid"? This was an ongoing story for several years, and the source of a strip-within-a-strip?

Rlquall 12:46, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Young Ms. Plenty
Wasn't she, in fact, "Sparkles" rather than "Sparkle"? Admittedly, A) we're going back over 40 years here and B) almost no one cares, but, hey, let's try to get it right. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, sorry. But I remember her as "Sparkles".

Rlquall 05:10, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Sorry to break it to you. . . but the character was, in fact, named "Sparkle." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.99.32.5 (talk) 06:38, 15 May 2005 (UTC)

Signficance of Collins' Dick Tracy going private story
I know Collins wrote a early story where Dick Tracy temporarily resigned from the police force and became a private detective.

Does anyone know if that stoy was intended to be Collins' way of making Tracy believably stop continually grousing about police procedure restrictions to the point of damaging story pacing as in him deciding he can deal with the hassle after all?

I'm asking because it could bookend with the writer's decision to kill off Moon Maid as another way of repairing the strip's premise.

--kchishol1970 15:42, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Al Collins is a friend of mine. I know that it was never his intention to have Tracy retire from law enforcement permanently.  The plot twist of having Tracy resign from the force to open his own agency in the continuity, "Who Shot Pat Patton," was part of the larger strategy involved in building an entire continuity around a "whodunit" plot, a plot in which, very unusually for Tracy, the villain's identity was kept hidden until the end. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.93.78.61 (talk) 19:42, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Cartoon Series Airings
The article says that the original cartoon series "was pulled from syndication in the mid-70's, and was not seen for years afterwards because of its slightly racist undertones and use of ethnic stereotypes and accents, but it resurfaced in 2006 on pay-per-view digital cable channels and DVD."

I know this is not entirely true as I definately remember seeing episodes of it on television in the late 80's/early 90's around the time when the movie came out, presumably to play off the popularity of the movie. I know it couldn't have been earlier than that because I was born in 1984. It also might have only been one local station instead of a national thing. But I can't find anything to back up these claims.

truthbealiar — Preceding undated comment added 18:45, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
 * You are not imagining things. Some of the UPA cartoons were reshown in 1990 in an attempt to cash-in on the Dick Tracy movie: "After 15 years on the shelf, Dick Tracy cartoons are making a controversial comeback on the airwaves; the animated '60s series began appearing on dozens of independent stations across the country last month, after the release of Warren Beatty's blockbuster movie." (Svetkey, Benjamin Television News: News & Notes, Entertainment Weekly, 1990-07-27)--BruceGrubb (talk) 12:18, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes, in the summer of 1990, it was indeed re-aired. I remember the local Los Angeles station KCAL running it. After complaints (from both the asian and hispanic communities) the show was pulled and the old UPA episodes of Underdog were put in it's place. I found the article (from the Orange County Register) concerning the show's removal. --Ocreman (talk) 18:10, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

I recall coming across one of the UPA cartoons on Australian television, possibly in the early Nineteen-Eighties. I think it was a filler and not part of a complete run. This stuck in my mind, as it was when I began getting interested in old television shows. Also, when I last saw them Australian television was only broadcasting in black and white. If there was a caveat placed on the UPA cartoons by American television networks, it would not have reached Australia. (I also remember a boardgame based on the UPA cartoons If I remember correctly it was by the Australian company John Sands, who had a licence to make American boardgames in Australia.) Eligius (talk) 03:29, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

MS-DOS game
How come the MS-DOS game by Titus entertainment isn't mentioned ? That game was a masterpiece ahead of its time —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.32.166.183 (talk) 23:35, 27 January 2007 (UTC).


 * Added some information. Kahkonen (talk) 18:56, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

No spoiler for the 1990 movie?
This is an encyclopedia, right? Hint hint - no-face has a face ;/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.241.36 (talk) 21:39, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Tribune Media Services
There's a large section at the bottom of the article listing all of the Universal Press Syndicate comic strips, including TRACY. Only thing is, TRACY isn't a Universal Press Syndicate feature. It's distributed by Tribune Media Services (formerly the Chicago TRIBUNE-New York DAILY NEWS Syndicate).

Somebody went to a lot of trouble to list all those strips along with internal links, but it's all based on a mistaken premise, and someone in authority should correct it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.93.78.61 (talk) 23:46, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Yellow trenchcoat?
Shouldn't this article mention the yellow fedora and trenchcoat that became Dick Tracy's symbols, practically? --Hnsampat 02:08, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Rogues Gallery
I think there should be a separate section just on Dick Tracy 's grotesque villains, so innovative and iconic a part of the strip. (User: rackinfrackin 5:55, 21 October 2009) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.236.243.16 (talk)

Coincidence?
Was it coincidence that actor Jack Lord character "Steve McGarrett" resembled "Dick Tracy" in looks/dress/and solving every crime on Hawaii Five-O? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.53.145.198 (talk) 14:18, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Tracyspike.jpg
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BetacommandBot 21:02, 3 December 2007 (UTC)


 * A FUR addressing WP:NFCC has been added. M URGH   disc.  00:57, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Dick Tracy Poster.jpg
Image:Dick Tracy Poster.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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=
=================================================================================== In the trivia section, there's a reference i miss. It's from the James Bond movie A view to a kill. In the scene when Bond escapes from the burning city hall, he is arrested by a police officer. And there's a line when Bond says: my name is Bond, James Bond. The officer reply: Sure and my name is Dick Tracy and your still under arrest. Watch the movie to see it by yourself. Could it be added to the section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.119.143.109 (talk) 20:53, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Comics B-Class Assesment required
This article needs the B-Class checklist filled in to remain a B-Class article for the Comics WikiProject. If the checklist is not filled in by 7th August this article will be re-assessed as C-Class. The checklist should be filled out referencing the guidance given at Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Assessment/B-Class criteria. For further details please contact the Comics WikiProject. Comics-awb (talk) 16:20, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Origin of "dick" = "detective"?
I'm trying to figure out which came first - Either Dick Tracy was named that because "dick" was already a slang word for "detective" before the character was created, or the word became synonymous with detectives because of the character. Can anyone find any references using the word "dick" to mean "detective" prior to the existence of Dick Tracy? Or is that a relatively new usage? Either way, it probably merits mention in the article, either as inspiration for the character's name, or cultural references to the character in later usage, whichever it turns out to be. Lurlock (talk) 15:00, 3 September 2009 (UTC)


 * The word goes back to the 19th century, as noted in The Word Detective. Pepso2 (talk) 03:44, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

Dick Tracy as a fake name
What about the fact that Dick Tracy is often used a a fake name. I know it shows up from time to time in debates about voter registration fraud. A character using Dick Tracy as his fake name was also used as a plot device in an episode of the closer. Schnapps17 (talk) 01:11, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Slightly biased article?
While I don't have anything against Dick Tracy, being a fan of the strips myself, I can't help but feel that parts of the article read like a review, or someone's particular opinion on the strips. The use of what I consider to be subjective adjectives, particularly in parts of the "Characters and Story" section, are what concern me here. Maybe it's all in my head though. 24.183.154.212 (talk) 11:16, 29 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes. It certainly does seem like so. Even from a neutral point of view (I have not personally seen any of the Dick Tracy media myself,) but it does seem that the initial description of the subject matter fails to exhibit a neutral point of view. I will edit in a template for the section the the basis of neutral point of view. If anyone can find a better template or can edit the article to better fit Wikipedia's quality standards, then they are welcome and free to remove the template. HydroArgentum (talk) 05:09, 10 May 2013 (UTC)
 * The language in the article may have taken from some college course online notes apparently written by Brooklyn CUNY professor John Beatty, located at http://userhome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/anthro/jbeatty/COURSES/comics/tracy.htm Kaltenmeyer (talk) 18:02, 18 July 2013 (UTC)
 * That may be, but that does not necessarily mean that those notes are unbiased, it seems to represent a single person's point of view. The article should use multiple sources from a variety of sources. And it still does not excuse that an entire subsection has no sources cited whatsoever. In fact, I would like to put a Citation Needed template on the section. However, the section may be harmful for the understanding of the details of the subject matter and I am leery about making a huge edit to remove the whole subsection. HydroArgentum (talk) 17:51, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Disputed: Inspiration for 2-Way Wrist Radio
On 12 September 2013, the "Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum" reported on their Facebook page: "In point of fact, there is absolutely zero evidence that Chester Gould was inspired by the work of Mr. Gross, despite numerous public references made to this effect. NPR and other references are entirely misinformed on this point." Totoro33 (talk) 21:11, 12 September 2013 (UTC)

According to Chester Gould's contracts with the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate, "The ARTIST warrants that all of the cartoons, drawings or other art work produced by him under this contract, including the name, title, characters, plot or plan and subject-matter thereof, shall be new and original with the ARTIST and shall not in any way infringe upon the copyright, trade-mark, trade name or the literary or artistic property right of any person, fir or corporation; that the publication of said cartoons, drawings or other art work and the exercise of any right herein granted to the SYNDICATE shall not in any way directly or indirectly infringe upon any rights of any person, firm or corporation; and that said cartoons, drawings or other art work shall not contain any libelous or unlawful matter." This stipulation precludes the claim that Al Gross or his impressive inventions served as inspiration for Chester Gould's creation and later introduction into the DICK TRACY comic strip of his 2-Way Wrist Radio. The cartoonist had just under three years previous to the Radio's appearance turned down a million dollar contract and ownership rights of his creation made to him by Marshall Field III and the cartoonist had subsequently reviewed every word in his contract (that which was in force at the time of the Radio's appearance in the strip) over many week's time with his attorneys throughout protracted negotiations over his rights with the Syndicate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ChesterGouldDickTracyMuseum (talk • contribs) 20:45, 10 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Furthermore, the disputed claim ("...having drawn inspiration from a visit to inventor Al Gross") is not substantiated by any references. Unless somebody can come up with something legitimate, that phrase should be removed. Totoro33 (talk) 07:07, 11 October 2013 (UTC)


 * I removed the disputed claim. See, for example, http://www.todaysengineer.org/2013/Oct/history.asp Totoro33 (talk) 07:22, 23 October 2013 (UTC)

Which city?
In which city is he operating (when he's not on the moon)? Is it Chicago or a fictional city? Should be in the article (imo) but I couldn't find it. Bisco (talk) 05:23, 1 January 2016 (UTC)


 * Thanks, @Bisco, I had the same question, and I came to Wikipedia to find out. I can't believe that in the six years since the question was posed, no one has been able to answer it.  It certainly seems like a detail that is essential to the article. TheBaron0530 (talk) 19:36, 12 March 2022 (UTC)

Smartphone
Article (as of 7/12/2018) claims Martin Cooper invented the smartphone. No, he invented the first handheld "phone", a smartphone is, by definition, a device which has a screen able to display pictures, videos, etc. A cell phone is a device able to transmit and receive audio (including modulation/demodulation and/or conversion from/to digital of audio input/output.72.16.99.93 (talk) 09:37, 7 December 2018 (UTC)

Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing started with Dick Tracy Monthly (Issues 1-24) which became Dick Tracy Weekly but continued the numbering until the book ended with issue #99 (Dick Tracy Monthly/Weekly (1986) comic books - mycomicshop.com.--174.99.238.22 (talk) 15:15, 3 May 2020 (UTC)

Newspaper strip in 1990
I don't see any mention between 1970s and 2000 about a short run of a newspaper comic strip at the time of the 1990 movie starring Beatty. The theme of the strips was that a film was being produced, with Tracy playing himself, but the production seemed to be plagued by "actors" filling the roles of villains trying to cause a real accident or injury to Tracy. One of the villain characters was Flattop, who either was Flattop or was a confederate made up to look like Flattop. GBC (talk) 21:19, 9 December 2021 (UTC)

Possibly irrelevant bullet
“A sample of Dick Tracy speaking is used at the beginning of the song "Amphibious" by Drone, released on White Peach Records in 2019”

There are no hyperlinks to any of this info and a Google search yields nothing of note about Drone. Looks like whoever Drone are, they probably wrote that bullet. Alexandermoir (talk) 00:58, 2 May 2024 (UTC)