Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Volume 7 [Hardcover]

Chester Gould (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Series: Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy | Publication Date: April 29, 2009

Volume Seven contains over 500 Dick Tracy comic strips from the series' early years, this time covering material that originally ran from January 1941 through June 1942. Also included is an introduction by Max Allan Collins, as well as the third historical feature from J.C. Vaughn looking at the evolution of Tracy merchandise.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Idea & Design Works Llc (April 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600103952
• ISBN-13: 978-1600103957
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 11.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #469,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing The (Gasp!) ROGUES GALLERY!, May 19, 2009

By 

Mike Fontanelli (Sherman Oaks, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Volume 7 (Hardcover)

As befits IDW's new format (featuring larger dimensions and a full-color dust jacket), Volume 7 represents a stylistic turning point in Chester Gould's Golden Age classic - DICK TRACY. At last, here's the "good stuff" you've been waiting for! By the early 1940s the strip's conventional, public enemy-type bad guys (like BIG BOY CAPRICE and STOOGE VILLER) gradually gave way to innovative, larger-than-life weirdness - and the American comics page would never be the same.

This volume documents the breathless transition - and I DO mean "breathless"! Tracy is hurled from one bizarre, hair-raising deathtrap to the next, by villains whose gruesome facades are more than matched by their thoroughly malignant souls. Gould's justly famous "Rogues Gallery" of grotesques (glimpsed embryonically with JEROME TROHS and MAMMA in Volume 6), springs to life with a vengeance in the saga of LITTLE FACE FINNEY, (who's ultimate fate is at least as disturbing as his unforgettable pan and moniker.) And soon to follow, in rapid succession: The MOLE, B-B EYES, PRUNEFACE, LAFFY, MRS. PRUNEFACE, FLATTOP, The BROW, etc...

Gould's work was an uneven mix of stark realism and broad, cartoony stylization. His villains - deformed, repulsive, detestable - were visual metaphors. It was Gould's way of saying, "Evil is ugly." So recognizable was the TRACY-style of criminal that by 1944, when FEARLESS FOSDICK (Al Capp's classic recurring parody from LI'L ABNER) came up against "Bombface" and "Rattop", readers would have known instantly who was being spoofed. So would audiences in 1946, when DAFFY DUCK (as "Duck Twacy" in Bob Clampett's brilliant Warner Bros. cartoon, The GREAT PIGGY BANK ROBBERY) met "Jukebox Jaw," "Pickle Puss", "88 Teeth" and "Neon Noodle"!

In addition, there's still Gould's usual cast of oddball miscreants: escaped lunatics, blackmailers and black marketeers, a crooked physician and his overgrown, cross-eyed, retarded "nurse", greedy heirs and spoiled debutantes, midgets and misfits, hypnotists and hitmen in drag, kidnappers, frauds, torturers, urban terrorists and assorted madmen. They're all here in spades.

Drawing inspiration and momentum from Hollywood's emerging Film Noir genre at the time - and in turn, influencing other wartime comic book creations like BATMAN and the great Will Eisner's SPIRIT - Gould's beloved strip would become a force to be reckoned with for the next two decades. It all starts here, in this milestone volume. Enjoy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big improvement, June 23, 2009

By 

Norm de Plume "Norm" (North Hollywood, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Volume 7 (Hardcover)

The Complete Chester Gould's DICK TRACY Volume 7 is a big improvement in publishing this series. The larger pages and the spread of a Sunday to two pages comes a lot closer to doing Gould's work justice. It should have been this way from the start. Most of Tracy's fans today have challenged eyesight, and the previous six volumes were challenging that challenge. Thanks to Dean Mullaney for seeing what needed to be done, and for doing it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TIMELESS INCREDIBLE STORIES AND ART....., January 14, 2010

By 

Harlem Champ "Harlem Champ" (New york, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Volume 7 (Hardcover)

I was first introduced to Chester Gould's Dick Tracy in the late 1970's while i was in grade school. One christmas in the fourth or fifth grade, a class mate of mine brought in gifts for everyone in the class. Most of the gifts were used, like comics, some footballs and basketballs, etc etc, but that didn't matter, it was a great gesture. I remember he hadn't wrapped the gifts and he sat next to me and tried to figure out what to give to whom. I cant remember what he had originally given me, but when i saw the big hardcover "The celebrated cases of Dick Tracy" i asked him if i could switch my gift....and as fate would have it, he said yes.

I had never before read Dick Tracy, i had seen him in the NYC daily news funny section, but it never captivated me, i guess because i was more interested in Charlie Brown and Spiderman, but then again I dont think Mr. Chester Gould was doing the strip in the late 70's ... maybe thats why i never took notice. But when I had opened that hardcover,("The Celebrated cases of Dick Tracy...") I was pulled in instantly. The characters were incredible, gruesome and captivating. The stories were genius, detailed and thrilling. The artwork was so fluid, powerful, and authentic...like nothing i had ever seen, and i had been collecting comic books since i was a child. And up until a year ago, I had read "The Celebrated cases..." once every year since grade school. There was only one thing wrong with this book, It was odd that some of the strips in this large volume seemed to be missing story boards... they connected, but the next strip many times, led to a scene already half-way developed. "Hmmm" I thought, well maybe since it was from a comic strip from the papers, maybe thats how Gould led up to his next boxes, but still i didnt believe it so because, each strip box had a date, like 1-14-1941, and some times the next strip date would read 1-17-1941 so i figured the publisher of this book left some strips out for some annoying reason. Regardless of this bothersome detail...I thoroughly dug the stories.

This Christmas I ordered Vol. 7 of "The complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy..." I was a child once again. I received the book and immediately took out my old "Celebrated Cases.." book and began comparing the comic strips. YES, I KNEW IT !!!!!! there were several strips left out as i had thought when i was younger, and this new beautiful volume of Dick Tracy, filled in all of the blanks...It is truly "Complete" in every sense of the word. The "Mole", "Little Face", and B.B. Eyes", had more scenes which had been left out and i smiled, when the missing strips visually filled in that missing puzzle piece in my comic book brain! Aside from this, there were so many characters and stories i had obviously never seen. "Tiger Lilly", "Selbert", "Trigger Doom".. they might not have been as looming as "The Mole" or "Flat top" but to me they were just as entertaining, and the story lines were brilliant. These volumes are flat-out fantastic! There is something in these books that take me to a safe place of my childhood, where although these comics were from the 30's 40's and 50's, they were similar to the ones in the 70's where all of them, had incredible story lines, with authentic art, that was never similar to any other comic strip-book artist. I have just begun volume seven and have witnessed "Prune-Face" in all his glory, i had never seen the original strip... only heard about him. These books are really a blessing to me. It is the simple things in life like this that grant me a happiness, and a sense of peace. I have put Vol. 8 down, and am waiting for a snowstorm to hit NYC, so i can dig myself in and once again get pulled into Gould's amazing world of villains and hero's. There is something about Gould's drawn, winter snow scenes that really captivate me...along with every other scene of course! I am so thankful for these COMPLETE re-productions....so thankful...In a world of madness and pain, these books are medicinal for me.
PEACE.....

P.S....... Readers forgive me hahaha !.... The book itself is PERFECT! beautiful extras and introductions, with photos of the artist, old Dick Tracy items and history and facts about Chester Gould himself. The pages are thick and solid, as is the book itself, and the icing on the cake is the attached book mark sewn into the spine....these books are MAGNIFICENT ! ! ! (Nuff Said!)