Panel Discussion: Dick Tracy Part 1

I was slowly working my way through Volume 1 of the excellent IDW "Dick Tracy" reprint series, trying to prolong the experience as much as possible, until somewhere along the way the book went from really good to great. Now I'm finding it difficult to slow down.

Part of what makes the old "Dick Tracy" so great is the violence, or sometimes the threat of it. Check out this panel from October 31, 1932:



Pretty hardcore for 1932, huh? No--it's hardcore for today. I just don't see this kind of material in the funnies today. Granted, the "adventure strip" is increasingly rare, and I could hardly expect to see Alexander Bumstead threatened with disfigurement from a hot iron, but still...

A while back, I discussed this book with one of my local comic book shop guys and we mentioned how violent the strips were. "Someone's always getting shot," I said. He responded, "Yeah, but they don't just get shot, they, like, get shot in the gut and bleed out."

And, ladies and gentlemen, I actually giggled at that--not a Pillsbury Doughboy full-on giggle, but a giggle nonetheless. But he was right.

In the next "Panel Discussion," we'll take a break from this danger and violence to explore the glamour of "Dick Tracy"--ooh, la, la! Then, in part 3, it's back to the dark side with one of the most shocking comic strip panels ever! Stay tuned!