Dick Tracy - Classic Comics : 1995 US

1995-Oct-01 Boca Raton FL

Dick Tracy – Chester Gould (1900-1985) Although his Sunday pages utilized flat colors, Tracy's world was black and white: good vs evil, right vs wrong. The Villains especially – Flattop, the Brow, Mumbles, Pruneface – were as ugly as their natures. The strip bergan in 1931. ©Tribune Media Services Inc. - printed on the back of the stamp

USPS Stamper Card

1947 Dick Tracy postage meter - Chicago IL

1990 - Dick Tracy Movie postage meter - Warner Brothers Transatlantic - Paris

Business envelopes - The Comics

Even though I have slowed down on obtaining hand-drawn art, I still research information for my collection. Since both of my parents worked for an envelope manufacturing company, and my father was a stamp collector, I was always had an interest in illustrated envelopes. In the late 1890s the envelopes were decorated with fantastic engraved images representing the sender's business. Recent improvements in methods of communications (e-mail, text, facebook, instagram etc) have made it easier to reach someone quickly, but the message is sterile and lacks anticipation of having to wait and then open the envelope to reveal the message. Therefore I still have a fascination for certain envelope that have been placed through the mail. 

Some of these business envelope offer a postage meter that features a slogan that may represent their business interests. I recently came across a few envelopes that are comic related:

Henry is a comic strip created in 1932 by Carl Anderson. The title character is a young bald boy who is mostly mute in the comics 

Dick Tracy meter used by Chicago News Tribune

Chester Gould - Dick Tracy business envelopes

Charles Schulz, Snoopy business envelopes

Calvin & Hobbes - Bill Watterson c 1987

Calvin & Hobbes - Bill Watterson c.1988

Calvin & Hobes - Bill Watterson c.1994

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth - 1989

Walter Lantz - Woody Woodpecker - 1972

Dik Browne - Hagar the Horrible - 1978

Buster Browne - Outcault Advertising - 1910

1994 Mirage Studios - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Joe Staton - Dick Tracy

2013.04.06 Comic Geek Speak Supershow, Reading, Pa

Dick Tracy is the story of a hard-hitting police detective created by Chester Gould in 1931. The comic strip was raw and violent, reflecting 1930's Chicago. Gould kept the comic current with new techniques that matched current police techniques.

Tracy villains were unique characters that were evil and grotesque and looked liked their names - Flattop Jones, The Mole, Pruneface, Angeltop, Splitscreen. It was not unusual for Tracy to finish a storyline in a shootout killing the villain.

Gould introduced many modern gadgets like the wrist radio and watch phone, even taking the adventure to the Moon.

Upon Gould's retirement in 1977 Max Collins took over the writing duties and Rick Fletcher the art. Gould's name would remain in the byline for many years. When Fletcher died, a long-time Gould assistant and editorial cartoonist Dick Locher would take over the art and the writing from 2006 - 2009. Mike Killian took over writing duties from Collins in 1992 until his death in 2005. Jim Brozman would begin collaborating with Locher in 2009. Locher retired in 2011 and the storyline was handed to artist Joe Staton (creator of E-Man and longtime artist DC Comics Green Lantern, Omega Men, Doom Patrol, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Scooby-Doo and many others) and writer Mike Curtis.

Joe Staton has been in the comic industry since 1971, when he started at Charlton Comics, as a writer and illustrator. He created the character E-Man with Nicola Curti in 1973. Staton would work for Marvel, DC and First Comics (serving as art director) working on titles such as Justice Society of America (All-Star Comics and Adventure Comics), Power Girl (Showcase), Superboy and ther Legion of Super-Heroes, Doom Patrol (Showcase), Metal Men, Green Lantern, Millennium, Guy Gardner, The Huntress, The New Gaurdians, Superman & Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, Richie Rich, Casper, Batman, Blackhawk, Charlton Classics, American Flagg, Grimjack, Incredible Hulk, Johnny Quest, Space:1999, Wonder Woman, Dick Tracy and the list goes on...

Staton co-created Omega Men with Marv Wolfman...

In a previous meeting with Staton a Batman sketch was obtained for my son Matt and can be seen in Matt's Collection page...

1980s' Dick Locher

Tracy by Chester Gould (1931-1977)

Tracy by Rick Fletcher (1977-1983), with writer Max Collins (1977-1992)

Tracy by Dick Locher (1983-2011) assisted by John Locher and writers Collins and Mike Kilian (1992-2005), Jim Brozman (2005-2011)

Tracy by Joe Staton (2011-  ) with writer Mike Curtis

Updated 2014.07.27

Cleaning up some files I came across this Dick Tracy comic strip from Oct 2, 1995 as Sam Catchem and possibly Tracy's wife Tess Truehart looking over the Classic comic Strip stamps. Sam's reference to Fearless Fosdick is Al Capp's parody of Tracy which ran as part of his strip Lil' Abner..