Review of
Dick
Tracy Meets the Punks, by Max Collins and Rick Fletcher ISBN
0448171600
Four out of five stars
The tough as
nails no nonsense Dick Tracy shows a bit of a softer side in the opening of the
first story. Dick consents to taking an extended vacation, which is a bit out
of character, as he has accumulated vacation time. Dick and the very pregnant
Tess are going to Washington State to visit their daughter. However, it would
not be a Dick Tracy story without the inclusion of some weird criminals, which
are the punks in the title.
One is a
failing punk rocker that has a female sidekick, in the typical style of the
strip, their names are “Bony and Claudine.” With the help of their actor friend
Vitamin Flintheart, the Tracys manage to reach their destination, but then
encounter the two villains of the story. Naturally, it all works out in the
end, with Tess giving birth under unusual circumstances.
The villain of
the second story is Quiver Trembly, a female that suffers from continuous
shaking. Using Tracy’s child carrier as a transport mechanism, she manages to
get a gun aboard an airliner and attempts to hijack it in order to free her
imprisoned brother. Of course, the hero foils the foolishly concocted plot and
the plane lands safely.
The literally
square-jawed Dick Tracy is once again unyielding in his approach to criminals,
never hesitant to use force in order to deal with them. In both these stories,
his children and wife Tess are also involved, so he shows some emotion other
than anger, which humanizes him a bit.
Both stories
are essentially vintage Dick Tracy, yet the proximity of his family lightens
him up a bit, a positive development.
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