I’ve loved the Sunday funnies for a long time.
I’d go through all of them on a Sunday morning. One that I would always read, was Dick Tracy.
As I got older, I’d read the funnies less frequently, but still try to keep up.
I was excited when I found out that Mad Cave had a license for a new Dick Tracy comic book.
I was not disappointed in the book at all. It was the Dick Tracy of old. A nice noir take on a set of classic characters.
Under the pen of Alex Segura and Michael Moreci, we were given a tale of a town under seige. With one crime boss trying to come out on top. There was lots of things in there for long time fans, but still accessible to new readers. All the while I was reading it, I was thinking of it like a four color version of LA Confidential. One of my favorite movies.
Art by Geraldo Borges was top notch. It really brought the city to vibrant yet nuanced life. I can’t think of anything I’ve seen him do before, but I’ll definitely be looking for his name in the future.
Please bring on volume 2 soon!!!

My thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for an advance copy of this graphic novel that features one of the toughest cops to ever where yellow, his eponymously named villains, with new adventures told in classic noir style.

My parents moved from the Bronx to a small town in Connecticut, but did not give up their big city ideas of what media to consume. They watched only New York news, listened to New York radio, and on weekends bought the Times the New York Post, and the Daily News. The News was my favorite, as I loved the funnies. The smell, the colors, and the stories. Among my favorites was Dick Tracy. Grantie jawed, yellow clad, quick with a poke but big on technology and righting wrongs. Things that it seems have been forgotten. I loved the art, the color, the characters and the names. Flattop, Mumbles, Tracy had a group of rogues as good as Batman even the Flash. I still have a warm spot for Tracy, though I might question his tactics a little. That and the Warren Beatty movie. That's why I was excited to see the Dick Tracy was coming back to comics. Dick Tracy Volume 1 is written by Alex Segura and Michael Moreci with art by Geraldo Borges and looks at the early days of Tracy, as he is faced with his first big crime, his first meetings with friends and foes, and the love of his life Tess Trueheart.

The comic opens on a late night dinner with two men discussing crime in the bad City. One is a reporter the other is a politician. Suddenly the rattle of Chicago typewriters are heard, Thompson submachine guns and everyone in the diner is murdered. Dick Tracy arrives takes in the scene, and instead of going with the story of a robbery going wrong, knows something much bigger is afoot. The daughter of the dead politician confronts Tracy with evidence, daring Tracy to do something. Reluctantly at first, Tracy and Tess Trueheart begin to work together to find out what is going on. Tracy also finds a war buddy, Pat Patton who has come to the city to find out what happened to his brother. All signs are pointing to a conspiracy between the police city hall, and the crime lords who control things. A mixed bag on monikered mobsters with no fear of reprisal, nor a fear of killing. Soon the city is aflame, the dead filling the streets, and Tracy left with few options, but to keep fighting.

A good retelling of the origin story that Tracy had in the comics, with a lot more corruption added in, stuff that funny paper stories could never have dealt with. The story is bit of Sin City and the author James Ellroy, with a tad of the Spirit tossed in. The story is good, the mobsters are evil the heroes are good, and the characters are very much what they were in the comics. There was also a lot of hints dropped for future stories. Tracy's time in the war, how these mobsters got entrenched in the city. Tracy does have the watch radio, if anyone is concerned, though I don't think I saw anything about Diet Smith. The art is really good. Tracy looks like a brawler of the old school. Sort of like Don Lee in the Roundup movies. If Tracy hits someone, that person is going down. The use of shadows is well done, and the yellow of Tracy really adds to the story. The criminals look weird, the backgrounds look great, and Tracy's car is really, really well-done.

Fans will enjoy it, though older fans might be surprised at the violence of the story. Noir fans will dig it also, as the look and the feel of the comic is well portrayed in the art. Nice to see Tracy out on patrol again.

Mad Cave Studios provided an early galley for review.

I used to read the classic newspaper strips of Dick Tracy in the 1970's as a kid. I always enjoyed his outlandish rogues gallery and exciting adventures. So, this new series was right up my alley. Plus, I am very familiar with Segura's writing from other books and such; I knew this character was in good hands.

This first story opens in a very powerful fashion that sets the tone for this gritty reboot. This seems to be set very early in Tracy's time with the force, including his first meeting with Tess Trueheart. One needs no previous knowledge of the characters or the strip to enjoy this one. The art and the dialogue give it that perfect late 1940's vibe.

And if you are a fan of the rogues, they are here: Flattop, Mumbles, Itchy, Pruneface and more. The story delivers well on that whole nostalgia factor.

I am definitely looking forward to more from this team on this series.