The comic strip

Comic strip

A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....

 Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...

has introduced numerous characters.

Tracy family

• Dick Tracy - The title character of the strip. Born 1909 (eight years after Creator Chester Gould). In 1931, before even joining the Police, he had captured his first villain Pinkie the Stabber. While leading a posse
  Posse comitatus (common law)
  Posse comitatus or sheriff's posse is the common-law or statute law authority of a county sheriff or other law officer to conscript any able-bodied males to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon, similar to the concept of the "hue and cry"...
  
   against The Arsons and Cutie Diamond, Tracy is seen in a Police uniform and not his regular plainclothes. He served as a lieutenant
  Lieutenant
  A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
  
   (senior grade) in US Navy Intelligence
  Office of Naval Intelligence
  The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
  
    during World War II.
• Tess Trueheart - The detective's love interest and later wife. When she was first introduced, she was kidnapped by Big Boy Caprice's men after they robbed and shot her father Emil Truehart. Served as a WAC in World War II, later on opened up her own photography agency. She is the mother of Bonnie Braids Tracy, Joseph Flintheart Tracy, and adoptive mother of Junior Tracy. Temporarily divorced her husband back in the '90s, but the two have gotten back together.
• Junior Tracy - The adopted son of Dick Tracy and later a police forensic artist. First appears in a Steve the Tramp episode. In 1937 The Blank episode he is 10 years old. It was learned early on that he was originally named John "Jackie" Steele, and that his birth parents were wealthy prospector Hank Steele and his wife Mary Steele, both of whom appeared in the strip.
• Moon Maid - first wife of Junior Tracy, a visitor from the moon who had a hard time fitting in on Earth, fell in love with Junior and took him back to the moon on Diet Smith's Space Coupe, returned to Earth to live her life with her husband. She and Junior had a beautiful daughter named Honeymoon. Unfortunately, she was later accidentally killed by a car bomb by electronics expert Little Littel who was trying to collect on a Million-dollar contract on Tracy's life, set up by Big Boy Caprice before he died.
• Sparkle Plenty - Second wife of Junior Tracy. In 1949 she is three years old.
• Bonnie Braids (Sometimes spelled Bonny) - Daughter of Dick Tracy and Tess Trueheart. Born in the back of a squad car May 4, 1951.
• Joseph Flintheart Tracy - The youngest son of Dick Tracy and Tess Trueheart, named after Vitamin Flintheart for his bravery in saving both Tess and Joseph.
• Honeymoon Tracy - Daughter of Moon Maid and Junior, born in outer space. When she was very young, she witnessed her mother get blown up by a car bomb set by a man who was trying to collect on a contract on Tracy set up by Big Boy Caprice to kill Tracy. She was later adopted by Sparkle Plenty when she and Junior got married. Half-sister of Sparkle Plenty Jr.
• Sparkle Plenty Jr. - Daughter of Junior Tracy and Sparkle Plenty, granddaughter of Dick Tracy and Tess Trueheart and B.O. Plenty and Gravel Gertie. Half sister of Honeymoon Tracy.

Professional comrades

• Chief Brandon - The first Chief of Police
  Chief of police
  A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
  
   in the strip; retired after the murder of Brilliant, an inventor who was under the department's protection. After retirement he became the owner a hardware business named "Lawn Order" (a pun on "Law and Order").
• Pat Patton - Tracy's long-time partner and later was appointed Brandon's successor as Chief of Police. Formerly a steel worker. He served as Tracy's sidekick
  Sidekick
  A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
  
   until he was eventually replaced by Sam Catchem. He was also the comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   as an inexperienced detective although that role eventually was reduced as his various adventures allowed him to grow into his profession. The introduction of B.O. Plenty/Gravel Gertie and Vitamin Flintheart would later supplant him for humor. However, with Patton's ascension to Police Chief, his character took on a much more serious tone (although still slightly bumbling). Has Irish temper. Recently reappointed as chief after successful treatment for cancer.
• Sam Catchem - (a pun on "Catch (th) em") Tracy's current partner since Pat Patton was appointed chief. The 1990 film, Dick Tracy, features both Pat Patton and Sam Catchem as Dick Tracy's partners.
• Lizz Grove (née Worthington) - A former nightclub photographer turned police
  Police
  The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
  
   officer with a particular talent for hand to hand combat
  Hand to hand combat
  Hand-to-hand combat is a lethal or nonlethal physical confrontation between two or more persons at very short range that does not involve the use of firearms or other distance weapons...
  
  . Briefly married to a newspaper reporter named "Jimmy," the marriage ending when Jimmy died. Even more briefly married to Officer Groovy Grove (see below). The ceremony was conducted as Officer Grove was on his deathbed. He died shortly after he and Lizz were declared man and wife. Served as Chief of Police during Pat Patton's temporary retirement. Her sister was murdered by Joe Period in the 50's.
• Diet Smith - An industrialist who supplied advanced equipment for Tracy and the police department. Responsible for the creation of the Space Coupe, The Wrist Radio, Wrist TV, Wrist Computer, and Wrist Genee. Originally suspected of murdering his partner in 1946 in his first appearance. Addicted to drinking glasses of Milk
• Brilliant - Son of Diet Smith, inventor of two-way Wrist radio; his murder at the hands of Mob leader Big Frost leads to Chief Brandon's retirement and advancement of Pat Patton as Chief.
• Cal Bullet (Sr) - Highway Police Chief who was murdered by his own son Cal Bullet (Jr) when the father discovered his son's treasonable involvement with Pruneface. The accidental discovery of his body by Dick Tracy leads to Pruneface's capture and Cal Bullet Jr death at the hands of his own deadly poison gas.
• J. Scotland Bumstead- A British detective, assigned to the "European Secret Police", brother of mob attorney Giorgio Spaldoni.
• Constable Ferrett-Saves Tracy's life with a blood transfusion; after his daughter is killed in a car crash caused by Trigger Doom, Ferret saves Tracy life again from a raging bull.
• Frizzeltop - One armed woman friend of Dick Tracy and Junior Tracy; after Clara
  Clara
  Clara is a town on the River Brosna in County Offaly and is the 10th largest town in the midlands of Ireland. The town has a population of 3001 , however a number of well populated housing estates lie outside the town boundary making the actual population higher...
  
   is captured, Frizzeltop impersonates Clara
  Clara
  Clara is a town on the River Brosna in County Offaly and is the 10th largest town in the midlands of Ireland. The town has a population of 3001 , however a number of well populated housing estates lie outside the town boundary making the actual population higher...
  
   to trick Cal Bullet Jr into leading law to Pruneface.
• Haku Kou - Native Hawaiian undercover cop in the Honolulu Police Department
  Honolulu Police Department
  The Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....
  
   who worked with Tracy on the Willie the Fifth and Li'l Pineapple cases.
• Dan Liu - Real-life Chinese-American
  Chinese American
  Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
  
   Chief
  Chief of police
  A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
  
   of the Honolulu PD at the time the Willie the Fifth and Li'l Pineapple cases were published, who made several prominent appearances in the strip consulting with Tracy during those cases.
• Lottie Latte - First appears on 4/8/06 as the criminal associate of Al Kinda in a plot to con The Plentys out of their lottery winnings. Lottie appears to either be a male transvestite or a transgender person. After turning the tables on Al Kinda, it is revealed that Lottie is in fact the FBI's top undercover agent and "best marksperson in the department".
• Kitty- Comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   of a Pet cat addicted to cigar smoke! Belonged to Matty Square and Mr. Bribery. Member of the Police department Zoo like Mugg the dog!
• Lil Dropout- a chimpanzee who paints! Member of the Police department zoo like Mugg the dog!
• Mugg - Boxer Dog who helped Dick Tracy bring down his own particular enemy Pear-Shape; rides on top of Police car. Member of the Police Department Zoo
• Captain Bowline - US Navy Intelligence Tracy's superior. He appears in episodes of Flattop Jones and The Brow.
• Lt. Marks - US Navy Intelligence officer (plainclothes) - helped Tracy; appears in episode of The Brow.
• Nolan - Police Clerk who helps Tracy trace ownership of Arthur "Nip" Dalton's wrecked car.
• Detective Hemlock Holmes (a British bulldog) and the Retouchables-appeared on Dick tracy cartoon series, a parody of Sherlock Holmes
  Sherlock Holmes
  Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
  
  ! See article Cheater Gunsmoke
  Cheater Gunsmoke
  Cheater Gunsmoke is a fictional character in the Dick Tracy cartoon series. He was voiced by veteran voice-over performer Paul Frees.-Fictional character biography:...
  
  .
• Detective Adonis - Hunky, mustachioed detective in a Magnum P.I. model. Appeared in the strip in the 1980s.
• Patrolman Dawson- Uniformed beat patrolman who went with Tracy and Patton to investigate "Schultze Innis" death.
• Patrolman Ferris - Highway patrolman murdered by Mumbles
  Mumbles
  Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...
  
   gang when he tried to stop them for driving a stolen car; although Tracy has to release Mumbles
  Mumbles
  Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...
  
   gang, subsequent events lead to gang's downfall. (
• Patrolman Grant-Highway Patrolman seen in 1944 "The Brow" episode.
• Patrolman Groovy Groove - Uniformed beat Patrolman and the fiancé, and briefly husband, of Lizz. Fatally wounded in the line of duty, Patrolman Groove married Lizz while he was on his deathbed, so that she would receive the "widow's benefits" traditionally paid to the spouse of a police officer killed while on duty.
• Patrolman Jenson-Unseen patrol officer who finds block message left by "The Blank" in dime store.
• Patrolman Milligan- Stock character
  Stock character
  A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
  
   of Irish Uniformed beat patrolman who figured in many of the earliest stories (and died on several occasions). Nearly had neck broken when Pop Warner's son tried to break out of jail cell; life saved by Dick Tracy.
• Patrolman Murphy - Stock character
  Stock character
  A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
  
   of Irish uniformed beat patrolman who appears in several episodes such as Flattop Jones and against spies such as The Brow and Pruneface. Although first appeared in 1930's-had late appearance such as "Haf and Haf" case in 1967.
• Officer Dennis O'Copper - Stock character
  Stock character
  A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
  
   of Irish
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
   uniformed cop; a State Trooper
  State police
  State police are a type of sub-national territorial police force, particularly in Australia and the United States. Some other countries have analogous police forces, such as the provincial police in some Canadian provinces, while in other places, the same responsibilities are held by national...
  
   who appeared in Pruneface episode.
• Patrolman O'Malley - Stock character
  Stock character
  A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
  
   of Irish Uniformed beat Patrolman sent in plainclothes by Tracy to contact B.B.Eyes gang. B.B. Eyes delivers "hot Tires" and O'Malley's body to Tracy. His murder by B.B. Eyes gang in 1942 would lead to B.B.Eyes's literal downfall and fatal doom.
• Chief Yellow Pony-Stock character
  Stock character
  A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
  
   of Native American
  Native Americans in the United States
  Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
  
   who formed posse with Dick Tracy and Pat Patton to track down Arson siblings and Cutie Diamond. Based on the Pawnee Chief Yellow Horse
  Chief Yellow Horse
  Moses J. "Chief" Yellow Horse , was an American baseball player who pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, from until...
  
  . (A stereotype
  Stereotype
  A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
  
   who can barely speak English; likewise appearance of Afro-Americans in 1940's stories were also stereotypes who speak fractured English-as in "Mary X" as "doorman" or in "88 Keyes" as railroad porters while appearance of Jewish-American such as "Jade" the cowardly salesman were also stereotype)
• Trace (2008) Police robot developed by Diet Smith industries.
• Special Agent Jim Trailer - An FBI Agent who helped Tracy in the Famon Brothers case and the Black Pearl episode. Also appears years later in further episodes, assigned to work with Tracy on the kidnapping of Diet Smith, and in other cases like Freez-Dri and the return of Pruneface
  Pruneface
  Pruneface is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Dick Tracy, drawn by cartoonist Chester Gould.-Fictional character biography:...
  
  
• Jay Waljo (1971) Narcotics officer disappeared in 1969- found by Tracy in 1971

Personal acquaintances

• Bob Oscar "B.O." Plenty - In his first appearance in 1945 he is a bachelor farmer
  Farmer
  A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
  
   who chews tobacco, lives in a mess of a house, wears torn clothes which he buys on "account"; and hasn't left his farm for thirty years; former criminal and later personal friend of the Tracys; after Shaky's body was discovered by his stepdaughter Breathless Mahoney, Breathless then stole his estate money from her mother and met "B.O." on the run. "B.O." is noted for having a rather "musky" scent that follows him around Plenty soon got caught up with Breathless efforst to elude Tracy until he finally cornered her and forced her to lead him to the bank where the money was being hidden in a safety deposit box where he then nearly strangled and robbed her in the viewing room. He then escaped with the money and attempted to enjoy his wealth, which unfortunately drew the attention of the widow of B.B. Eyes and the sadistic gangster, Itchy. The criminal captured and forced Plenty to divulge the money and then attempted to murder him tying to a board and casting him into the city sewer system to drown. However, Plenty managed to safely exit the system and entered open sea where he was rescued by a tramp steamer headed for China before returning to the city. where he eventually met Gravel Gertie and finally got his criminal charges resolved. Unable to pronounce Tracy's name correctly (usually calling him Macy or some variant thereof). He and Gertie are the parents of Sparkle Plenty, who is now married to Junior Tracy. {In an Archie TV Comics he guests stars as a captive of "Pear Shape" Tone who tries to capture Dick Tracy!}
• Gravel Gertie - former criminal and now wife of B.O. Plenty. Introduced in The Brow episode. In 1944 She is a widow for thirty years after her first husband sold her farm rights for a gravel pit and then died when his car backed into his own gravel pit. Tried to hide the Brow from the police after she found him in wrecked car; arrested when her hair from her clothes brush matched gray hair found near burning car. In a comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   the Brow flees in terror when he catches his first glimpse of his guardian angel. In his struggle to escape an old fashioned lamp is knocked over; her shack burns down and her long hair is burned off. Later married B.O. Plenty and became mother of Sparkle Plenty. In a later continuity, it was established that Gertie had spent part of her childhood in an orphanage; while she was there, criminals shaved her head and tattooed onto her bald pate a treasure map showing the location of their buried loot, then allowed her hair to regrow to conceal the map ... which was belatedly rediscovered well into Gertie's adulthood. Dick Tracy was a popular strip for the railroad workers, and Gravel Girtie is the affectionate nickname of a part of the Clifton Forge line of the C & O Railroad. It stretches from Hinton, West Virginia
  Hinton, West Virginia
  Hinton is a city in Summers County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,880 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Summers County. Hinton was established in 1873 and chartered in 1897. Hinton was named for John "Jack" Hinton, a prominent lawyer of Summers County and husband of...
  
   to Clifton Forge, Virginia
  Virginia
  The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
  
   and delivered limestone
  Limestone
  Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
  
   gravel
  Gravel
  Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
  
   quarried from Fort Spring
  Fort Spring
  Fort Spring is an unincorporated community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, USA. It is situated along the Greenbrier River within the Greenbrier River Watershed. It was once a substantial portion of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway by way of the Gravel Girtie route from Hinton in Summers...
  
   to the iron furnaces of Virginia
  Virginia
  The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
  
   as a fluxing agent.
• Vera Alldid - First husband of Sparkle Plenty, unilaterally divorced her. Cartoonist of "The Invisible Tribe" - Native American
  Native Americans in the United States
  Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
  
   tribe who speak but are never seen.
• Emile Trueheart - his robbery and murder by Big Boy's gangster "Crutch
  Crutch
  Crutches are mobility aids used to counter a mobility impairment or an injury that limits walking ability.- Types :There are several different types of crutches:...
  
  " (see below) would lead to Dick Tracy's vow to fight crime; father of Tess Trueheart.
• Mrs. Trueheart - mother of Tess Trueheart; although wounded by Pruneface, her photograph of the villain helped lead to his downfall - she also makes cameo appearances in Flattop Jones and The Brow episodes.
• Vitamin Flintheart - formerly motion picture thespian who in his heyday made over a $500.00 a week- now just a hypochondriac ham actor who when he is not quoting William Shakespeare has to take Vitamin pill{s} {which he cons Patrolman Murphy and Flattop to get for him} and Bismuth subgallate
  Bismuth subgallate
  Bismuth subgallate, with a chemical formula C7H5BiO6, is the active ingredient in Devrom , an over-the-counter FDA-approved medicine commonly used to treat malodor by deodorizing flatulence and stool. Also, it has been used to treat Helicobacter pylori infection and is used in wound therapy...
  
  . Husband of Snowflake Falls, he first appeared in Flattop Jones episode age 50 years old; also appears in episodes of The Brow and Shaky. His medicine bottle brings about Flattop Jones's doom while his fur coat also brings about Shaky's doom as well. Is unwitting accomplice to Flattop brother, Blowtop Jones. Both Vitamin and Snowflake make cameo appearance in Freez-Dri and Pruneface episode. It has been established that one of Vitamin's film appearances was in "The Bowery Boys
  The Bowery Boys
  The Bowery Boys were fictional New York City characters who were the subject of feature films released by Monogram Pictures from 1946 through 1958....
  
   Meet the Bard", presumably as the Bard.
• Buddy Rogers - Son of Wealthy parents who is kidnapped by "Big Boy Caprice" and woman accomplice who try to escape aboard an ocean liner. Chased by Dick Tracy, Caprice tries to kill Tracy by throwing him overboard (Tracy survives) and later when Caprice is cornered by Tracy, Caprice throws his accomplice overboard and is stopped by Tracy from throwing Buddy Rogers overboard as well. After Rogers is returned, this leads to Alec Penn's exposure as a forger. (Based on Lindbergh kidnapping
  Lindbergh kidnapping
  The kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was the abduction of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The toddler, 18 months old at the time, was abducted from his family home in East Amwell, New Jersey, near the town of Hopewell, New Jersey, on the evening of...
  
  ?)
• Hank Steele Sr - Blind silver miner and biological father of Junior Tracy; murdered by Stooge Viller while trying to protect his son.
• Mary Steele - mother of Junior Tracy; united with her son in 1935; instrumental in capturing Boris Arson; is seen briefly in the 1937 "The Blank" episode.
• Mary X (1940) (aka Luella Sunny) amnesia victim who (at first) could only lead Dick Tracy to the body of Freez. After Mason tried to kill her twice, the second attempt restored her memory. She becomes singer with Rudy Seton's band
• Rudy Seton-Big Bandleader and friend of Dick Tracy. (His name "Seton" spelled backward is "Notes", as in musical notes.)
• Peanutbutter Bailey (1972) 10 year old scientific genius and smart-alec addict to peanut butter sandwiches who proves to be both a help and a comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   bane to Dick Tracy.

Dick Tracy rogues gallery

• Acres O'Reilly (1948) Girlfriend of Heels Beals. Over six feet tall with long blonde hair.
• A. B. Hamlet (1943) Millionaire meat packer murdered by 88 Keys gang at request of his wife
• Alec Penn (1932) Had metal plate in skull after being shot while trying to desert from British Army in World War I; his postwar career included being a "Don Juan" thief, killer of wealthy women under the alias "Count Gordon", and forging stocks and bonds certificates. The forgeries came to light after Buddy Rogers was rescued by Dick Tracy. "Penn" is an abbreviation for "Penman" (i.e. a forger.)
• Al Kinda (2006) First tried to swindle the Plentys out of their winnings by kidnapping them (they get away) and then tries to blow up U.S. Capitol building until shot and killed by Lotte Latte.
• Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice (1931) Thug/Crime boss, after numerous attempts to kill Tracy, Caprice and Tracy go one-on-one alone after Buddy Rogers' rescue, and Caprice, who is exposed as a cowardly thug who hides behind Hired guns, gets the worst of it. Briefly escapes after associate Boss Jim Herrod is killed but recaptured again after writer Jean Penfield survives being almost killed by Big Boy's associate Jimmy White. Years after being caught and imprisoned by Dick Tracy for kidnapping Buddy Rogers, Caprice dies of a heart attack, raging because his greatest wish is unfulfilled-to kill and outlive Dick Tracy. A caricature of Al Capone
  Al Capone
  Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
  
  . In the 1990 movie Dick Tracy (film) "Big Boy" {played by Al Pacino
  Al Pacino
  Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
  
  } resembled "Sketch Paree" more than the caricature drawn by Chester Gould.
• Angeltop Jones - One of the first villains to appear in the strip following Gould's retirement. Angeltop was Flattop's daughter; her beautiful long blonde hair turned out to be a wig which concealed the hereditary flat cranium.
• Arsons, The (1935) (Boris and Nora Arson). Bank robbing and police killing brother and sister pair; she is killed and he is wounded and captured by Dick Tracy and a posse.
• Art Dekko (1980) Art forger and high class thief.
• Arthur "Nip" Dalton (1937) Slot Machine Crime Lord killed by the Blank and found by Tracy in trunk of his own car after train wreck. Member of 1926 Redrum Gang.
• B.B. Eyes (1942) Tire bootlegger, kidnapper, and head of car and truck thieves who killed Patrolman O'Malley and tried to kill Dick Tracy and Pat Patton; trying to escape from the police, it is believed he drowned in garbage scow and ends up on bottom of a bay trapped in an old tire. However, in 2011 it is shown that he escaped from the bay and has returned to crime. His trademark is unusually small eyes, which look like B.B. pellets. Brother of B.D. Eyes and Jacques.
• B.D. Eyes (1983) - Brother of B.B. Eyes and Jaques. Teamed up with Itchy Oliver's kid brother Twitchy in order to scare Stephanie Queen, horror author, out of the same house in which Itchy met his fate, for they coveted $100,000 which their older brothers hid in the house years earlier. ("Stephanie Queen" may be a spoof of horror author Stephen King
  Stephen King
  Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
  
  .) "B.D." is a pun on "beady eyes".
• Belle (1932) Broadway Bates Gang moll; accidentally shot her own gang member in a fight between Bates and Dick Tracy; later arrested.
• Big Ace (2009)
• Big Brass (1974) Conman/swindler seller of Brass "Health Rings"; kidnapper/murderer-killed by Dick Tracy
• Big Frost (1948) - Modeled after Gould's publisher Joseph Patterson; murdered Scientist Brilliant which prompted Chief Brandon to resign
• Black Pearl (1940) Gov't blueprint gang thief who nearly killed Dick Tracy and Pat Patton; captured with Horance by Jim Trailer.
• Blank, The (1937) (aka Faceless Redrum-see below)
• Blowtop Jones (1950) - Brother of Flattop, who tried to kill Dick Tracy by blowing up Tracy's house as an act of revenge for the death his brother; also tried to kill Vitamin Flintheart; captured after being caught in a barbed wire fence.
• Bolo (1976) manager of Singing star "Irma" of Sing group "Gallstones" who gets rich by secretly running off counterfeit copies of songs of singers he manages
• B.O. Plenty (1945) (See above)
• Boss Jim Herod (1933) Old time political city boss and politician who was secretly allied to thug "Big Boy" Caprice; killed by Police in gunfight.
• Braces (2008) Braces wearing Thug (such as Jaws) with woman accomplice and thugish robot tried to steal industrial secrets; electrocuted by own robot after robot wiring caught in his teeth-braces! (His accomplice is arrested on charges of Assault with battery!)
• Brain (1974) Eccentric gang leader who plays a ocarina
  Ocarina
  The ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
  
   and wears a hat whose top is made to resemble a human brain! While trying to escape Tracy and Catchem, Brain and his gang drove into a train tunnel and were killed when they crashed into a freight train January 26 1975
• Breathless Mahoney (1945) Stepdaughter of Shaky who finds his body and after inquest steals his strong-box keys; takes $50,000 hidden in strong box and on the run after killing a gardener-who found her cache of money-meets B.O.Plenty. Captured by Dick Tracy she poisons Tracy and Plenty and is again on the run after she kills her landlady who was going to the police. Accidentally meets with B.O. Plenty who nearly succeeds in strangling her and takes the money from her. Later she dies in hospital. Played by Madonna
  Madonna (entertainer)
  Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
  
   in the 1990 film, in which Breathless disguises herself as The Blank.
• Broadway Bates (1932) Looked like Batman
  Batman
  Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
  
   villain Penguin
  Penguin (comics)
  Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot III is a DC Comics supervillain and one of Batman's oldest, most persistent enemies. The Penguin was introduced by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, making his debut in Detective Comics #58 .The Penguin is a short, rotund man known for his love of birds and his...
  
  ; kidnapped Dick Tracy for ransom money; after jumping bail he tried to kill Tracy on a train in the woods but ended up with gang members thrown off the train and stranded in middle of nowhere.
• Brow, The (1944) Stereotype
  Stereotype
  A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
  
   Sadistic German spy ring master who captured the "Summer Sisters" and tried to blackmail them into working for him by alternating torturing one sister and forcing the other sister to collect his spy reports. One sister shot both of his henchmen yet the Brow escaped; he later killed both sisters and a cab driver and ended up fleeing into the welcome arms of "Gravel Girty". Tracked down, beaten up in hand to hand combat by Tracy before being arrested, Brow was later involved in another fight with Tracy in which Brow fell through a window and is impaled on a flagpole. His trademarks are his prominent brow ridges and lack of ears. His son later worked with Angeltop Jones to get revenge on Tracy in the 80's, turned out to be a disappointment. In the 90's movie, was one of the five gangsters killed by Flattop and Itchy at the beginning of the movie.
• Bud Jenkins (1943) 10 year old pickpocket and blackmailer of Flattop Jones ("evil twin
  Evil twin
  The evil twin is an antagonist found in many different fictional genres. They are physical copies of protagonists, but with radically inverted moralities. In filmed entertainment, they can have obvious physical differences with the protagonist—such as facial hair, eyepatches, scars or distinctive...
  
  " counterpart of Junior Tracy)-drowned in park pond after falling through ice after buying expensive skates with Flattop's hush money. (Ironically this is same pond in which Flattop also drowns trying to escape Dick Tracy)
• Cal Bullet, Jr (1942) Chemical genius/traitor who murdered his own father when he discovered his sons treason; tried to sell poison gas to "Boche" Pruneface. When he unknowingly led Tracy to "Boche" hideout, Pruneface kills him while sadistically remarking that Cal can test his own poison gas. Before dying Cal confess to murder of his father to Tracy and names "Boche" as head of espionage ring.
• Charlie (1944) Flattop Gang member killed in gun battle between Flattop
  Flattop
  A flattop is a type of very short hairstyle similar to the crew cut, with the exception that the hair on the top of the head is deliberately styled to stand up and is cut to be flat, resulting in a haircut that is square in shape...
  
   and Dick Tracy
• Charlie Yenom (1941) (Yenom=Money) Cold storage worker who saved Littleface Finny from icy death-for $10,000 in exchange.
• Cheater Gunsmoke
  Cheater Gunsmoke
  Cheater Gunsmoke is a fictional character in the Dick Tracy cartoon series. He was voiced by veteran voice-over performer Paul Frees.-Fictional character biography:...
  
   {See article}
• Chin Chillar (George) (1967) Chin Chillar and his wife stole a space coupe and killed Mr Bribery. They later sought asylum with the gangster Piggy Butcher, who instead took them captive and made them his slaves. Chin Chillar eventually swore an oath of vengeance
  Oath of vengeance
  In Mormonism, the oath of vengeance was an oath that was made by participants in the Endowment ritual of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between about 1845 and the 1920s, in which participants vowed to pray that God would avenge the blood of the prophets Joseph Smith, Jr...
  
   against Piggy. He was later killed in a gunfight with Dick Tracy after he and his wife killed Piggy.
• Chuck Hole (1966) Appeared in a Dick Tracy Mini-comic in Reader's Digest
  Reader's Digest
  Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
  
  , when Dick Tracy was also a spokesman for an auto shocks and car battery manufacturer. He was the smuggler who was carrying counterfeit shock absorbers. Tracy and Catchem stopped his truck with a dynamite charge and arrested "Chuck Hole". Tracy had figured out which truck in a convoy was carrying counterfeits by timing the speed between telephone poles, the truck with the lightest load (counterfeits) was the fastest vehicle between two poles. Hole's trademark is a "hole" in the top of his head. (Possibly inspired by Elvis Presley
  Elvis Presley
  Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
  
  )
• Clara (1942) Jukebox
  Jukebox
  A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
  
   operator who was part of Pruneface sabotage ring; was contact between Cal Bullet Jr and Pruneface; arrested.
• The Claw (1947) From "Dick Tracy" movie Dick Tracy's Dilemma
  Dick Tracy's Dilemma
  Dick Tracy's Dilemma is a 1947 film starring Ralph Byrd as Dick Tracy. It is the third part of the Dick Tracy quadrilogy.-Plot summary:...
  
  . Stock character villain with a hook for a hand who, after robbing fur warehouse, kills a night watchman, a fake blind peddler and his two accomplices before electrocuting himself with his hook trying to kill Dick Tracy.
• Coffyhead (1947) Killed by Chief Brandon while trying to escape from prison. He is shown constantly drinking coffee, and his head is shaped like a coffee pot.
• Crewy Lou (1951) A professional portrait photographer and criminal. Sported a crew cut
  Crew cut
  A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair at the front hairline to the shortest at the back of the crown. The hair on the sides and back of the head is usually tapered short, semi-short or medium. A...
  
   hair style with combined braids. Inadvertently kidnapped Bonnie Braids while being pursued by Tracy. Later died falling from the window of an observation tower after Tracy threw tear gas into it, in her last breath she told Tracy where the baby was.
• Crutch (1931) Big Boy gangster who killed Mr. Trueheart. First criminal killed by Dick Tracy November 26, 1931.
• Crystal {1974} Crystal ball fortuneteller/girlfriend of Big Brass. Paid bond for Fencer; killed by "Brain" after she is forced to lead his gang to Big Brass's hidden cache of loot
• Cueball (1946) From Dick Tracy Movie "Dick Tracy vs. Cueball
  Dick Tracy vs. Cueball
  Dick Tracy vs. Cueball is a 1946 film starring Morgan Conway as Dick Tracy. It is the second part of the Dick Tracy quadrilogy.-Plot summary:...
  
  " Bald thug who kills a diamond courier, a fence and an extortionist saloon owner before he is killed by a train trying to escape from Dick Tracy.
• Cutie Diamond (1935) Bank robber and cop killer; accomplice of Boris and Zora Arson; he hid in a cave guarded by wildcats; killed by Dick Tracy and posse.
• Czar Rennis (1941) (Sinner spelled backwards) Crime boss successor to Arthur "Nip" Dalton of the slot machine racket; killed by henchman Trigger Doom.
• Dan "The Squealer" Mucelli (1932) In charge, along with Texie Garcia, of the city's narcotics traffic, apparently as part of Big Boy's organization. Cousin of Ribs Mocco.
• Danny Supeena (1937) Crooked lawyer, injures and exploits his victims/accomplices (last of those Johnny Mintworth) to defraud insurance companies. He kills Mintworth's Mother who threathened to denounce him. Mortally wounded by Dick Tracy, Supeena confesses to Mrs Mintworth's killing before dying in hospital. {Surname is spoof of Subpoena
  Subpoena
  A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
  
  }.
• Deathridge (1945) Undertaker killed by "Splitface" in Dick Tracy (1945 film)
  Dick Tracy (1945 film)
  Dick Tracy is a 1945 film based on the Dick Tracy comic strip created by Chester Gould. It is the first feature film adaptation of the comic strip, and the first part of a quadrilogy...
  
  
• Deafy Sweetfellow (1940)
• Debbie Thorndike (1942) Socialite girl secretly married to Jacques
  Jacques
  Jacques is the French equivalent of James.Jacques is derived from the Late Latin Iacobus, from the Greek , from the Hebrew ...
  
  ; in comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   she is bane to Dick Tracy when Tracy, who is leaving Thorndike house, breaks his leg on ice. She reopens, with boyfriend "Sailor" Mann, "Bird Club". Nearly killed with Dick Tracy by former brother-in-law B.B. Eyes.
• "Dippy" McDoogan (1933) Thugish accomplice of "Steve the Tramp" when Brogan was on the run after kidnapping Junior Tracy {for a reward from Blind Hank Steele looking for his lost son}. Brogan and McDoogan hijacked a railroad section hand car from two railroad workers to get away from Tracy. Too late they find themselves on a railroad trestle with a locomotive engine bearing down on them. Junior and Brogan dive to safety into a river-but the train hits the handcar and McDoogan is killed.
• Dirks (1937) Supena Thug along with Neely tried to murder Junior Tracy. The Blank gassed them both in Dick Tracy's garage. Dirks and Neely were members of old Redrum Gang.
• Doc (1944) Brow's henchman who helped him kill the Summer
  Summer
  Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
  
   sisters and a cab driver; later killed in car accident while trying to flee from the police.
• Doc Hump (1934) Killed by one of the dogs he was experimenting on.
• Dr. Cyros Freezedrei (1983) Brings Pruneface back to life from freezing. Together with Pruneface tries to sell secret of "immortality" so as to set up a new Fourth Reich
  Fourth Reich
  The Fourth Reich is a term used to describe a theoretical future successor of the Third Reich.-Neo-Nazism:In terms of neo-Nazism, the Fourth Reich is envisioned as featuring Aryan supremacy, anti-Semitism, Lebensraum, aggressive militarism and totalitarianism...
  
   & also take revenge on Dick Tracy for the death of Mrs. Pruneface. Freezdri was killed in the explosion of his own laboratory.
• Dr. Klippoff (1968) Mad Scientist
  Mad scientist
  A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
  
   who tried and failed to revive a frozen Purdy Faller
• Dr. Lunquist (1944) Physician who decided to treat "Shaky's" hand after spotting a concealed gun held by a gang member. (Pistol was partly exposed -just in case doctor decided not to cooperate in treating Shaky.)
• Dr. Plain (1951)
• Dr. Rex (1942) He recognized Pruneface after Pruneface killed his dog in order to steal the dog's sweater to disguise himself after breaking his leg. Managed to leave a clue for Police leading to Pruneface's capture.
• Dr. (?) (1941) Unnamed physician called in by Charley Yenom to save Littleface Finny's life from frostbite
  Frostbite
  Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
  
  ; saved Finny's hands but amputated Finny's ears.
• Dr. (?) {1974} Killed by "Big Brass" after physician called police on Wanted Criminal
• Dubbs (1931)
• Duke (1941) aka "Duke the Dip". Pickpocket; almost succeeded in killing Dick Tracy; kidnapper and armed car robber murdered by the Mole. (Apparently member of Mole's old gang). After the body was found by police, the trail leads to Mole. (A continuity error is when Gould drew Duke's gun in one frame as an automatic pistol
  Machine pistol
  A machine pistol is a handgun-style, often magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and normally chambered for pistol cartridges. The term is a literal translation of Maschinenpistole, the German term for a hand-held automatic weapon...
  
   and in the next frame as a revolver
  Revolver
  A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
  
  .)
• Ed D. Edd aka Machine Gun Eddy (1943) Flattop Gang Member before and after the kidnapping of Jim Trailer and Rolac Bard. Was killed in gun battle between Flattop
  Flattop (Dick Tracy villain)
  Flattop Jones, Sr. is a fictional character, a villain created by Chester Gould for the Dick Tracy comic strip and is the most popular one in the strip's history...
  
   and Dick Tracy.
• Eddy (1944) Shaky Gang Member; killed by jumping to the ground in panic from apartment fire.
• Edward Nuremoh (1939) (Nuremoh=HOME RUN) A former pro baseball player, Nuremoh seriously dated Tess during the period when she was supposedly "going steady" with Tracy but Tess was annoyed that Tracy showed no signs of proposing marriage. Nuremoh dazzled Junior with his ability to hit a small target with a thrown baseball from an extreme distance, but Junior became disillusioned when he learned about Nuremoh's criminal activities. When Nuremoh accidentally killed his his sweetheart instead of his wife, he took up his mistress body and jumped off a cliff
• 88 Keyes (1943) (88 Keyes=number of Piano keyboard keys) Piano player and secret head of murder gang for hire; killed his own gang member "Jenny the Girl Singer" when she found out he was going to double cross her; eloped with Mrs A.B. Helmet and killed her for insurance money. Killed accomplice "Red Bluff"; discovery of Bluff's body by police led to Keyes' own death in a railroad shed in a gunbattle with Dick Tracy. In the movie, he was the piano player for Big Boy at the club Ritz, and with the help of the Blank, framed Tracy for the murder of D.A. Fletcher.
• Empty Williams (1951)
• Faceless Redrum (1937) (Redrum is murder spelled backward.) Real name is Frankie Redrum. 1926 Slot machine gang leader and killer who escaped from Prison in 1927; killed nearly all his old gang in revenge in 1937 because they thought he wasn't good enough for them. Tried to kill Dick Tracy, Pat Patton and Stud Brozen by blowing up Brozen's boat. Later tried to kill Tracy and Brozen on Brozen's other boat; Patton knocked out Redrum and later Tracy removed Redrum's mask to reveal the disfigured face of Redrum. In the 1990 movie Dick Tracy (film), The Blank wasn't actually Frank Redrum. It was revealed that the Blank was manipulating both Tracy and Big Boy, ending up to be none other than nightclub singer Breathless Mahoney, who was killed by Big boy before he himself met his own demise at the hands of Tracy.
• Filthy Flora (1945) Proprietor of the Dripping Dagger saloon.
• Fencer (1974) Partner of Big Brass; hid over $2,000,000 in stolen mob money in house. Just as Tracy and Catchem were recovering stolen loot, a tornado destroyed both house and loot. Committed suicide by jumping from city bridge; tired to kill his dog as well-but pet saved by Tracy
• Flattop
  Flattop (Dick Tracy villain)
  Flattop Jones, Sr. is a fictional character, a villain created by Chester Gould for the Dick Tracy comic strip and is the most popular one in the strip's history...
  
   (1943) (Aka Flattop Jones) Paid $5,000 to murder Dick Tracy. Came from Chester Gould's home state Oklahoma. In the film from the 90's, he was the last gangster to be gunned down by Tracy. Interestingly, he didn't fall down till his tommy gun clicked out of ammo.
• Flattop Jones Jr. (1956) The son of Flattop, who strongly resembled him, was a talented artist and mechanical genius. A borderline juvenile delinquent, he lived in his "hot rod" car, which he modified by installing various electrical devices (including a stove) connected to the dashboard's cigarette lighter. Driven insane by ghost of girlfriend whom he had killed.
• Flyface (1959)
• Gargles (1946) Killer of Themesong's mother, driver of glass truck, and a few henchmen, and was finally caught in a glass store where Dick Tracy used a panel of bulletproof glass to walk towards him as he wasted all of his bullets, then fell off of a platform, and was impaled
  Impalement
  Impalement is the traumatic penetration of an organism by an elongated foreign object such as a stake, pole, or spear, and this usually implies complete perforation of the central mass of the impaled body...
  
   and dismembered by several falling shards of broken glass. Gargles profited illegally by manufacturing and bottling large quantities of ineffective mouthwash (water, sugar and a few drops of mint oil), which he and his strong-arm boys would bully druggists into purchasing as merchandise. Gargles had the habit of constantly gargling with mouthwash ... but always made a point of using a legitimate brand, rather than his own worthless product.
• Giorgio Spaldoni (1934) Corrupt lawyer and Big Boy's mouthpiece. Made a last stand against Tracy in an abandoned refinery, and was subsequently killed by Tracy.
• Gravel Girtie (1944) (See above)
• Gruesome (1947) From Dick Tracy movie Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
  Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
  Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome is a 1947 thriller film starring Ralph Byrd, Anne Gwynne, and Boris Karloff. It is the fourth and last movie in the Dick Tracy series.-Synopsis:A gang of criminals discover a nerve gas, which freezes people and can make them appear dead...
  
  . Thuggish killer who by accident was exposed to a nerve gas which can simulate death. Killing the kidnapped scientist who engineered it, Prof. A. Tomic (Atomic), Gruesome maniuplates Dr. Lee Thal (Lethal) into staging a bank holdup with the gas before later killing the man after he silence his love Dr. I.M. Learned. But with deception, Dick Tracy manages to kill Gruesome and save his body before it was accidentally cremated in a furnace. Gruesome was played by Boris Karloff
  Boris Karloff
  William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
  
  , whose post-death scene was a parody
  Parody
  A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
  
   of the film Frankenstein
  Frankenstein
  Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
  
   where the monster, played by Karloff, is burned in a windmill fire.)
• Habe Corpussle (1968) Posie lawyer and owner of J & X Florist shop. Hid Posie from the Police. Also Lawyer for "Human hair gang". A play on Habeas corpus
  Habeas corpus
  is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
  
  
• Hans aka Agent 12 (1944) Brow gunman killed by June Summers
• Hawker Davis (1944) Conman and Street hawker beaten unconscious and burned to death by Flattop
• "Heels" Beals (1948) was a midget who wore platform shoes with hollow built-up heels, in which he concealed stolen jewels. Beals eluded Tracy by hiding inside a giant soda bottle that was intended for use as part of an advertising billboard; while Beals was inside the bottle, workmen attached it to the billboard several hundred feet above the ground. Beals called for help but was unheard, and died slowly from thirst and exposure. His name is a joke on the well-known expression of amazement: "Hells Bells!".
• Hed Hedges (1949) Pear Shape gang-part of Jewelry swindle ring; bitten by Mugg the dog and captured by Dick Tracy.
• Hightop Jones (1991) (Descendant of Flattop, involved in a young urban gang notorious for killing an inner-city kid (Tim Vick, a pun on "victim") for his sneakers. Sported a high-top afro hairstyle popular in the 90's)
• Horace (1940) (Black Pearl gang) Stock character
  Stock character
  A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
  
   thug-captured by Jim Trailer
• Hy Habeas (1931)
• Influence (1946) - Used special colored contact lens
  Contact lens
  A contact lens, or simply contact, is a lens placed on the eye. They are considered medical devices and can be worn to correct vision, for cosmetic or therapeutic reasons. In 2004, it was estimated that 125 million people use contact lenses worldwide, including 28 to 38 million in the United...
  
  es to mind control his victims. Was brought back thirty years later, reformed and working for the FBI. Appeared in movie from the 90s, but without his mind control abilities.
• Intro {1968} Apparent successor to "Odds Onn". Gang leader who tried to control world economy with stolen moon gold. Took pains to keep identity hidden-would only talk behind Iron grille; wore a black mesh/Chain mail mask and bulletproof underwear. Destroyed with his entire organization by Dick Tracy with atomic laser beam
• Irma (1946)
• Itchell "Itchy" Oliver (1945) - Gangster with a skin condition which caused him to consistently scratch, hence his sobriquet. Shakey's friend, was introduced by Mrs. Shakey, who hoped to recover her late husband's money. Shot dead by Tracy on December 23, 1945; both Itchy and Mrs. B-B Eyes had attempted to starve Tracy to death in Mrs. B-B Eyes' basement as a means of revenge for her husband's demise. Killed by Tracy in self-defense. Brother Twitchy would later go on to face Tracy with another brother of BB Eyes. In the film from the 90s, he was killed in a shoot out with Tracy.
• Jade {1939} Jewelry salesman who is captured and tortured by Wolley gang who almost succeed in killing him twice-the first time his life is saved by Pop Warner's son; then when Jade and Warner are about to be shot and killed their lives are saved by Dick Tracy.
• J.C. (1941) Littleface Finny gang member who was burned by Finny on chest after he used monogrammed handkerchief to commit robbery.
• Jacques (1941) Owner of Bird Club. Tried to kill Dick Tracy with a boulder; later killed by Dick Tracy when he tried to kill his wife Debbie Thorndike. Brother of B.B. Eyes and B.D. Eyes.
• Jenny the girl Singer (1943) Part of 88 Keyes gang; murdered by 88 Keyes when she discovered he planned to double cross her and Piano Turner. After her body is found by Dick Tracy, Piano Turner confesses.
• Jerome Trohs and Mama (1940) (Trohs is short spelled backwards. See also Mamma and the Midget). Public Lawyer and sadistic secret gang leader who abandons his girlfriend "Mamma" to the Police. AKA "Joe Atom" in Wild West Rodeo Comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   of story; swindles old couple out of Mountaintop Lodge; Trohs dies when scalded by "Mamma" in an outdoor shower.
• Jim Pistol (1949) Health Spa and exercise owner appears as comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   in P.S. Tone episode; reappears years later with Tone as assistant.
• Jimmy White (1933) Thief and associate of Big Boy who twice tried to kill writer Jean Penfield from writing book about Big Boy's crime org.-only succeeded in killing himself in car accident.
• Joe Period (1955) Partner to Flattop Jr. during city wide crime wave, responsible for the murder of Nothing Yonsen and the sister of Policewoman Lizz.
• Joe Turtle (1944) Brow spy henchman, killed by June Summer
• Johnny Ramm (1938) Appears briefly in the big gangster meeting in the 1990s movie.
• John Lavir (1939)
• Johnny Scorn (1971) Partner of "Pouch" and "Molene". His trademark is an addiction to popcorn. He keeps a movie-style popcorn machine in his penthouse residence, with a jumbo-size salt shaker and paper bags, and offers freshly popped popcorn to his visitors. After Molene blows herself up in an ammunition bunker, Pouch avenges her by placing blasting caps in Scorn's popcorn machine, killing Scorn.
• JoJo Nidle (1938) (Nidle is a homophone for needle)
• Jules Sparkle (1945) Jeweler.
• Junky Doolb (1940) (Doolb=Blood) Gang leader who killed Fred Mason. Later killed by Police after he is tricked by Jerome Trohs into escaping from Jail with empty gun.
• Karpse (1938)
• Kenneth Grebb (1932) Blackmailer who ended up being buried alive in landslide
• The King (1951) Powerful organized crime figure in Crewy Lou continuity who is, apparently, Big Boy's successor as boss of the city's mobs; shot by Crewey Low. The King succeeded by Mr. Crime
• Kiss Andtel (1947) (A pun on kiss and tell.) A blonde singer engaged to Mumbles until she found out he was a thief during concert gigs; in revenge Mumbles stole her car which resulted in the death of Highway Patrolman (see above.) Later she was forced to sing with his old group after he threatened to blind her. At sea in a cabin cruiser Mumbles tied her up and sent up a bomb-which Dick Tracy threw overboard at last minute. She later becomes a singing star.
• Krome (1940)
• Laffy (1943) Dies "Laughing" in jail cell when he accidentally cuts his wrist on broken ether
  Ether
  Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...
  
   bottle; his brother Lt. Kirk Smith is a hero who goes back to fighting in the China-Burma-India theater with the US Army Air Forces.
• Larceny Lu (1932) Leader of a gang of automobile thieves-until Tracy breaks up their racket. In a comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   episode Tracy is engaged in a gun battle with a member of Lu's gang in a small town police station; the other cops who are also trapped-tell Tracy in a stage whisper
  Stage Whisper
  Stage Whisper is an upcoming double album by Charlotte Gainsbourg, scheduled to be released on December 5th, 2011.-Track listing:Studio album# "Terrible Angels" # "Paradisco"# "All The Rain"# "White Telephone" # "Anna"...
  
   that there is more ammunition for his pistol in a dresser drawer. The thug opens the drawer and drops via a trapdoor into a pickle barrel in the basement where he is captured.
• Lee Ting (1938)
• Lispy (1976) Secret Head of a trio of female bank robbers gang and friend of PuckerPuss; two members of her gang are captured by police after one killed
• Lips Manlis [aka Bob Honor] (1936). Early villain in strip. Later reforms and renames himself "Bob Honor" and helps Tracy in a case. In the Dick Tracy (film) Manlis {played by Paul Sorvino
  Paul Sorvino
  Paul Anthony Sorvino is an American actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law, and is possibly best known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, a portrayal of Paul Vario in the film Goodfellas and Sgt. Phil Cerreta on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law...
  
  } is kidnapped by "Big Boy"; forced to sign over his crime "assets" and then killed by "Flattop Jones" who puts Manlis into concrete overshoes and dumps Manlis into lake.
• Littleface Finny (1941) Gang leader/murderer/car and taxi hijacker/kidnapper who tried to escape from Dick Tracy after nearly drowning in pond. He was recaptured by Tracy only after losing both his ears to frostbite trapped in a freezer. His face is covered with bee stings. His trademark is an unusually small face with large ears. In the movie, was one of the five gangsters under Lips Manlis who was killed by Flattop and Itchy at the beginning of the movie.
• Lola {1941} Secretary/Circus trapeze artist who saved Dick Tracy's Life after Littleface Finny's henchman untied window washer's platform Tracy was using to spy on Littleface. Later Kidnapped by Littleface, she was knocked unconscious in car accident after Litteface killed driver of hijacked car; found by Tracy
• Madam Parfum (1968) Partner of Posie; owns a Perfume shop "front" for hijacked perfume; arrested
• Mamma (1940) Overweight thuggish and sadistic girlfriend of Jerome Trohs who crushed Dick Tracy's Hand; escaped from prison and became a truck and car hijacker; scalded Trohs to death in an outdoor shower. In hand to hand combat, Tracy used the sling from his injured hand to subdue "Mamma" by nearly strangling her; she ended up handcuffed and back in prison.
• Mar, The (1946)
• Marrg Plainsman {1967} Secretary at research Center who stole atomic device for Piggy Butcher who killed her. A hidden tape recorder she had with Piggy before her death gives Tracy evidence of Piggy involvement
• Marty (1944) Shaky gang member shot through hand and captured by Dick Tracy.
• Matty Square (1965) Stolen car parts gang leader who has a cigar smoking cat on his shoulder. Tries to kill Moon Maid after she "Zaps" three of his gang who tried to mug her/run her down; only succeeds in killing two of his own gang; after Tracy kills hitman Square hired-Square works for Mr. Bribery-who takes Square's cat-and his sister Ugly Christine. Accidentally boiled alive trying to set a trap for Dick Tracy
• Fred Mason (1940) Factory owner who tried to kill Mary X because she was a witness to the murder of his partner Freez; murdered by Junky Doolb in revenge after Mason failed to deliver rigged gambling equipment to Doolb gang.
• Max (1931) (Big Boy Gangster)
• May and June Summer (1944) Pickpocket country identical twins who came to the city to break into Radio; Ironically they lose their biggest change at show business, when after escaping from Pat Patton, they refuse Vitamin Flintheart offer to work in his show-after seeing him hanging out at Police Headquarters they mistakenly think he is a police spy; both twins got mixed up with The Brow who blackmail them into his service by torturing one sister and forcing the other sister to collect his spy reports. But they managed to escape the Brow and were placed in protective custody. However, while leaving town, the Brow murdered their cab driver point blank as the car crashes in the river with the sisters trapped and were drowned as a result. After Tracy found their bodies, his investigation of their deaths led to Brow's capture.
• Measles Enog (1945) (Trademark is red spots on face) head of dope smuggling racket. Escaping from Dick Tracy after a train wreck, Measles boarded a train compartment and tried to take Vitamin Flintheart and his wife hostage, until Vitamin knocked him out with a liquor bottle. Escaping again from the train onto a flooded plain Measles tries to flee from Tracy using a stolen boat and a swimming horse but is captured. In comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   At the jail Measles tries to escape with smuggled tear gas capsules but only ends up tear gassed and locked in a cell by Chief Brandon.
• "Melody" Fiske (1947) Henchman in Dick Tracy Movie "Dick Tracy meets Gruesome". Hospitalized after a nasty car crash during an attempt to evade Tracey, Melody eventually died within the night.
• Micky (1941) Trolley driver part of Littleface Gang who was killed in hospital by henchman J.C. and his accomplice as he was confessing his part in robbery gang.
• Micky (1942) BB Eyes gang member-knocked out by his escaping boss and captured by police.
• Mindy Ermine (1968) Spoiled juvenile delinquent Daughter of "Posie" Ermine and evil twin
  Evil twin
  The evil twin is an antagonist found in many different fictional genres. They are physical copies of protagonists, but with radically inverted moralities. In filmed entertainment, they can have obvious physical differences with the protagonist—such as facial hair, eyepatches, scars or distinctive...
  
   counterpart of Sparkle Plenty; arrested after trying to stab Liz the Policewoman when she recognized Liz as an undercover Detective
• Miss Deal(1965) Secretary to Mr Bribery; when she unknowingly led police to Bribery's hideout he tried to kill her-she kicked him in the face before being arrested
• Miss Fire (1966) Appeared in a Dick Tracy Mini, comic in magazine
  Magazine
  Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
  
  , when Dick Tracy was also a spokesman for an auto shocks and car battery manufacturer. Miss Fire was a public night club singer and part of a diamond smuggling ring who was foiled by Tracy and Catchem; her gimmick is singing-and speaking-in rhyme
  Rhyme
  A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
  
  .
• Miss Intro (1968) see "Painted Lady"
• Miss Rinkles (1973) The discovery of a skull of a gangster who had been found beheaded in the 1920's leads Tracy and Catchem to his psychotic/eccentric
  Eccentricity (behavior)
  In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
  
   half sister- who resembles a female version of "Pruneface"- and keeps a guillotine
  Guillotine
  The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
  
   in her basement.
• Mole, The (1941) A career Criminal since 1911 and ex-Counterfeiter who was thought to have been killed by own gang in 1926; literally brought from underground from collapsed tunnel and captured by Dick Tracy. Confessed that he saved his own life by promising his gang a permanent hideout as long as he lived free of charge-instead killed them and took their money (see Duke the Dip above). The Mole reappeared 30 years later -- reformed and stricken with arthritis -- in cameo concerning his granddaughter Molene, Johnny Scorn and Pouch. During this continuity, Tracy confided to his wife Tess that he had "always liked the Mole" ... an astonishing statement, since -- when Tracy and the Mole first met -- the Mole was a homicidal psychopath.
• Molene (1971) Granddaughter of "The Mole"; trapped in an underground munitions bunker by the police, she grabbed a hand grenade from an accomplice and blew up herself, the bunker and an accomplice. She looked like a female version of the Mole, but usually kept her face veiled. Her partner Johnny Scorn escaped via a secret escape tunnel. All that is ever found of "Molene" is her hairnet on a bush.
• Momma and the Midget (1940)-see Jerome Trohs and Mamma above
• Mona Clyde (1945) Secretary to Mr. Sparkle.
• Morgancoin Aka Agent 20 (1942) Pruneface accomplice who was trapped by Police in house after he tried to escape from Pruneface; killed by Pruneface; body carried out by Dr. Rex to Police.
• Moron Plenty - Father of B.O.Plenty
• Mousey (1949) Shoplifter who created distractions by letting mice loose in shops. After serving her sentence, she reforms and opens up a pet store.
• Mr. Bribery (1965) Alias of "Joie Packet". Murderer, drug smuggler, pickpocket, influence peddler/briber and blackmailer. Perhaps the most gruesome of Tracy's villains, Mr. Bribery decapitated people and shrunk their heads. He wanted Dick Tracy to be part of his collection, and set out to kill him. He also had a cigar smoking cat and maintains discipline in his gang by branding them; had a habit of talking to his rose plant and making decisions based on a Ouija
  Ouija
  The Ouija board also known as a spirit/fire key board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" and "goodbye", and other symbols and words are sometimes also added to help personalize the board...
  
   board. On the run after stealing a space coup and escaping from Tracy-who uncovers evidence of all his crimes-Bribery was sent to the State Pen. {#620}. He escaped from prison by bribing the Chin Chillars to steal a space coup with the offer of trying to recover a fortune of his money that was lost in orbit. After recovering the loot, the Chillars gave Bribery alcohol to drink until he passed out and then "returned" Bribery to prison by dropping/killing him from a great height through the Prison carpentry shop roof. The Money was then destroyed while escaping from Dick Tracy.
• Mr. Crime (1952) Powerful organized crime figure, apparently the King's successor as head of the city's (and possibly the nation's) mob. To all appearances a legitimate businessman named George Alpha, he is, in reality, the "boss of all crime in America." After being killed in a shootout with Tracy and Catchem, he is replaced briefly by Odds Zonn.
• Mr. Kroywen (1940)
• Mr. Natnus (1939) (Suntan spelled backwards.)
• Mrs. A.B. Hamlet (1943) Hired 88 Keyes gang to murder her wealthy husband for insurance money; she was murdered by 88 Keyes-who had been an old lover of hers; he leaves the sleeping woman in a car to be hit by a train.
• Mrs. Anna Enog. {1945} {A spoof of Eggnog
  Eggnog
  Eggnog, or egg nog, is a sweetened dairy-based beverage traditionally made with milk and/or cream, sugar, beaten eggs , and liquor...
  
  } Corrupt Jail matron and Part of Dope smuggling racket at County Jail where Gravel Girty was imprisoned. When Gertie caught on to the fact that they were using her as part of the racket, Enog tried to push her into pump machinery but was killed when she accidentally slipped into machinery herself. She was the mother of gangster Measles. Enog accomplice was a jail guard who confessed about racket before committing suicide.
• Mrs. Fencer (1974) Wife of Fencer; killed by tornado
• Mrs. Jenkins (1943) Widowed Mother of Bud Jenkins- who works nights in defense plant and is heartbroken at her son's death because of Flattop Jones.
• Mrs. Kincaid (1954)
• Mrs. Mahoney (1945) Fourth wife of Shaky and mother of Breathless Mahoney; knew of Shaky after she went to school with his sister. She also figured out where Shaky had hidden and had Breathless find Shaky's remains with the unwitting help of the police. After losing a contest to Breathless over who can stay awake the longest and keep Shaky's money {due to a bad heart} she tries to stop Breathless from leaving with Shaky's money by shooting Breathless in shoulder; taken into custody by police. Later hired Shoulders to recover the money. After wanting to go straight, she was talked into helping Itchy get the money from B.O. Plenty, was killed by Itchy when she betrayed him.
• Mrs. Pruneface (1943) The wife of Pruneface, tried to avenge him by killing Tracy, but later ended up getting stupidly drowned in a pool after killing a newly wedded man. It was later discovered that Pruneface was still alive, and Mrs. Pruneface had gotten herself killed for nothing at all. Like her husband, her face is also disfigured from a gasoline fire while escaping from the "old Country".
• Mrs. Thorndike (1942) Mother of Debbie Thorndike; saves Dick Tracy and Debbie Thorndike's life twice-first by stopping runaway furnace (her late husband was a furnace contractor); and then by using her car to knock B.B.Eyes car into basement stairwell.
• Mrs. Van Hosen (1945) Wealthy recluse who appears briefly in Breathless Mahoney episode. Appears years later in same role on Archie's TV-Funnies.
• Mrs. Volts (1948)
• Mumbles (1947) Guitar player of "Mumbles Quartet" singing band who also steals women's rings off their fingers; murderer and thief, later a blackmailer/extortionist. Twice appeared after seemingly being "killed" in 1947 and 1955. Last seen in comic strip after being arrested after serving as comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   "consultant" in a Dick Tracy" movie. His trademark is never speaking clearly-"mumbling". This was indicated whenever he speaks by letters being left out of his dialogue and third persons often asking "What did he say?" Played by Dustin Hoffman in the 90s film.
• Murky Depps (1986) Involved in payola. Like Mumbles he doesn't speak clearly. This was indicated by just a squiggle in his dialogue balloons. His intent could be discerned by his close associates and they would echo what he had said.
• Mussell (1941) Littleface Finny gang member-captured by Dick Tracy along with Littleface at end of episode.
• Nah Tay (1965) Headshrinker works for Mr Bribery; when he decides to kill Bribery instead to Tracy, he is double crossed by Bribery who tips off Brother of a "headshrinking" victium; Nah Tay is kidnapped and thrown out of a borrowed space coup into outer space; body recovered by Dick Tracy
• Nat the Fur King (1939)
• Neely (1937) Supena Thug along with "Dirks" tried to murder Junior Tracy. The Blank gassed them both in Dick Tracy's garage. Dirks and Neely were members of old Redrum Gang.
• Nellie Wharton (1943) Naive farm girl tricked by 88 Keyes into helping him escape from Dick Tracy and drive her father's stolen car. When she realized who he really was (after she sees him hold up and rob a country store), she wrecked the car to try to kill herself, 88 Keyes and Red Bluff. She survives and returns to the farm.
• Nellie the secretary (1949). Part of diet swindle run by the villain Pear-Shape. Captured by Tracy.
• Nilon Hoze (1946) A pun on Nylon hose. Under arrest for murder he commits suicide by running in front of a speeding truck
• Nofel aka Agent 26 (1944) (Nofel is an anagram of felon.) An Axis spy in World War I and World War II and illegal alien who was the Brow's spy in a rooming house; captured by Dick Tracy. The Summer Sisters
  Summer Sisters
  Summer Sisters is a 1998 novel by Judy Blume. It focuses on the life of two fictional characters, the girls Victoria Leonard and Caitlin Somers....
  
   tried to pawn his field glasses and were captured by the Brow.
• Nothing Yonson (1955) Nightclub owner and employer of thug Joe Period. Shot by Flattop Jr and Joe Period during robbery
• Numbers Caprice's accountant. In the film from the 90's he was often seen working alongside Flattop. He was the second to last gangster to be gunned down by Tracey.
• Nurse. (?) (1974) Kidnapped by Big Brass who tried to use her in getaway after murdering her employer; unharmed after Brass killed
• Odds Zonn (1952) Successor to "Mr Crime". {A pun on phrase "Odds On"} His gimmick is tossing dice in one hand. Tries to get rid of Tracy by trying to kill him and then by bribery. An armored car robbery causes him and his daughter to suffer radioactive poisoning. Killed by own bullet which bounces off Tracy's bullet-proof glass.
• Oily (1941) Gas Station attendant and secret accomplice of The Mole. After being murdered by Mole, the discovery of his body by the Police leads to hidden door so Tracy can escape Mole's Tunnel. That specific strip was published the day after Pearl Harbor and is possibly the best known by those who kept December 8 1941 issues of newspapers
• Old Mike The Smuggler (1933) Tried to kill Chief Brandon and Junior Tracy by blowing his own ship up but only succeeded in killing himself.
• Oodles (1955)
• Open-Mind Monty (1954)
• Packets, The (1965) see "Ugly Christine" (Christine Packet") and her brother "Mr. Bribery" (Joie Packet)
• Painted Lady (1968) aka "Miss Intro". Daughter of Mr. Intro and the head of a crime syndicate that stole women's hair; drives her wig supplier nearly insane with demands for dozens of off white blond wiggs. She owned a night club called "The Painted Lady" which served as a front for her criminal activities.
• Palmy (1942) Part of B.B. Eyes gang who helped kidnap Patrolman O'Malley; captured by Dick Tracy after gun battle.
• Paroll Lea (1966) Ex convict killed by accomplices; found by Tracy in City park. Pun of Parole
  Parole
  Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
  
  {e}
• Peaches De Cream (1972) Born with beardless face-disguised himself as a woman. Arrested by Tracy for robbery in 1938 and exposed/arrested again by Tracy in 1972.
• Pear-shape Tone (1949) Originally a pot-bellied man who operated a mail-order diet business (a swindle) and a hot jewelry ring as well. After serving his sentence, he became a genuine health fanatic, slimmed down, reformed, and returned to the strip in a brief cameo as an assistant to Jim Pistol. He is Chester Gould's caricature of himself.
• Pedro Gonzales (1949) Pear Shape Gang-helicopter pilot who was blackmailed by Pear Shape for his part in robbery/murder of elderly widow Mrs Waldo; tried to leave Pear Shape to the lions in zoo.
• Piano Turner (1943) Part of 88 Keyes gang who murdered A.B.Hamlet for money. Confessed about the gang's activities after Jenny the Girl Singer was murdered. He claims A.B. Hamlet was gang's 4th killing.
• Piggy Butcher (1968) Murderer and stolen car gang leader. His trademark was an addiction to a transistor radio with an ear-plug. He took the Chin Chillars prisoner when they sought refuge on his farm. The Chin Chillars then helped Dick Tracy and the police to invade Piggy's "farm," and Piggy was successfully taken into custody. On the run from Dick Tracy and nearly bankrupt after his organization had been smashed by the police, he was killed by the Chin Chillars.
• Pinkie the Stabber (1931) First criminal arrested by Dick Tracy, before Tracy even joined the Police force. Ex-boxer and stick up ace who tried to disguise himself as a woman in police custody but was tricked into revealing himself by Tracy with a left hook.
• Piston Puss (1966) Appeared in a Dick Tracy Mini, comic magazine
  Magazine
  Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
  
  , when Dick Tracy was also a spokesman for an auto shocks and car battery manufacturer. Piston was an auto parts store robber whose plans are foiled by Tracy and Catchem; his gimmick is a head shaped like an auto piston.
• Pollyanna (1967) Gangster moll of Piggy Butcher whom Piggy tried to use to kidnap Moon Maid. A laser gun used in this plot accidentally went off, killing her and three others.
• Poptop Jones - The father of Flattop, Auntie Flattop, Blowtop, and Sharptop made his only appearance during the Sharptop continuity. Poptop was a laid-back rural character, similar to B.O. Plenty, with a penchant for guzzling soda (or perhaps beer?) from an endless supply of cans with "pop-top" openers. The consumption of all that carbonated beverage caused Poptop to belch constantly.
• Posie Ermine (1968) Wears dark glasses and Posie in hat; racketeer hijacker of stolen Prefume and stolen guns. Killed a cereal Company executive because his daughter didn't win a cereal contest trip to the moon. Captured after accidentally falling into his own quicksand trap
• Pouch (1971) Accomplice of Molene and Johnny Scorn. Had a face vaguely resembling a kangaroo's. Pouch was originally an immensely fat man who exhibited himself in a freakshow. He drastically lost weight but his skin did not shrink; it formed a "dewlap" at his throat and similar pouches all over his body. Pouch had snap fasteners surgically implanted into these, and used the pouches to conceal contraband.
• Prof. Emirc (1939) (Emirc is crime spelled backwards.) Aided Stooge Viller after he got out of jail
• Prof. Linwood J. Starling (1945) {Dick Tracy movie} stargazing, charlatan-seer and extortionist. Killed by "Splitface"
• Prof. Roloc Bard (1940) Scentist kidnapped by Yogee Yamma to make gas to hypnotize wealthy widows; rescued by Dick Tracy. In a 1986 Dick Tracy story Bard is kidnapped by Flattop Jones and handed over to Pruneface in 1944. This, despite Prunceface dying in 1942.
• Pruneface
  Pruneface
  Pruneface is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Dick Tracy, drawn by cartoonist Chester Gould.-Fictional character biography:...
  
   (1942, 1983) (aka Boche "German"). Stereotype
  Stereotype
  A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
  
   sadistic German sabotage agent whose plans against America are unraveled when his accomplice Cal Bullet Jr comes under investigation for murder of his own father. Other accomplices are Tojo the spy; Clara the disk jockey and Morgancoin. He kills Cal Bullet Jr and tries to kill Dick Tracy and Patrolman O'Copper but ends up with a broken leg after trying to catch Junior Tracy who made off with sabotage device belonging to Pruneface. Cornered in a freezing house by Dick Tracy and Police, Pruneface is captured nearly frozen. Reappears years later with unrepentant Nazi Dr. Cyros Freezedrei who unfroze Pruneface back to life. Pruneface again tries to kill Tracy-for the death of Mrs. Pruneface-by freezing. Tracy "dies" but is brought back to life by Sam Catchem. Pruneface is captured by an Israeli agent and taken to trial abroad for war crimes. (Years after his last appearance, the comic strip showed a movie version of Dick Tracy story being filmed which had actors playing Pruneface and Flattop Jones together firing machine guns at Dick Tracy.) His trademark is wrinkled lines down the sides of his cheeks. In 1990 "Dick Tracy" movie was killed by the Blank after the abduction of Police spy Bug Bailey.
• Prunella - Daughter of Pruneface. Partnered with fellow villainous female offspring Angeltop (Daughter of Flattop) and Quiver (daughter of Shaky).
• PuckerPuss (1976) Killer who had false teeth and a small "pucker" of a mouth. Killed after kidnapping Liz the Policewoman
• Purdy Fallar - appeared during the Moon continuity of the late 1960s. The very handsome Purdy Fallar (a pun on "pretty fellow") grew extremely long sharp fingernails on the first two fingers of his right hand; he used these legitimately to slice open "giant escargot" (the large snails native to the Moon) and to extract their meat. Purdy also kept in practice by slicing open grapefruits with his fingers. Purdy came to Tracy's attention when he used his fingernails to slice a man's throat. After committing suicide by running out into the below freezing surface of the moon, Purdy was later frozen in suspended animation. {The experiment-to revive a frozen human body back to life- was later found to have failed.}
• Putty-Puss (1986, 1990) Niav, Harley: A brilliant actor disfigured in a car "accident" created by a jealous colleague. Underwent an experimental surgical technique that allowed his face to become like putty, able to become any likeness but sagging after one hour. He decided to become a bank robber, using his skills and his face to impersonate David Letterman, Ronald Reagan, Albert Einstein and even Tracy himself. Eventually captured but has returned to plague Tracy several times.
• Queenie (2007) aka "Emerald Empress". Dresses like the "Queen of Diamonds" playing card. Held Dick Tracy at gunpoint until he throws (fake) diamond behind him off roof toward river; she leaps after it and both fake emerald and Queenie literally go down the working smokestack of a tugboat.
• Quiver (1984) Daughter of Shaky, and partner of Angeltop; stepsister of Breathless Mahoney.
• Red Bluff (1943) Navy deserter killed by 88 Keyes; discovery of his body by Police led to 88 Keyes own death at the hands of Dick Tracy.
• Ribs Mocco (1931) Big Boy Gang member. Although first criminal-along with Spike-to be arrested by Dick Tracy for payroll robbery after Tracy becomes a policeman, he is a bane to Dick Tracy throughout the 1930s decade, not only in weekly but also in the early Sunday editions of Dick Tracy as well. (The early Sunday editions had separate Dick Tracy stories from the weekly plot.) After Mocco tries to set up Dick Tracy by using Stooge Viller-and fails-after Viller is arrested 1934-Ribbs flees town-and comic strip! Appears briefly during the big gangster meeting in the 1990 movie, and is referred to as "Mocca."
• Rhodent (1959) Noted as one of the Tracy villains who openly acknowledged that he looked unusual. In the movie, was one of the five gangsters killed by Flattop and Itchy at the beginning of the movie.
• Rod Bender (1966) Appeared in a Dick Tracy Mini-comic in Reader's Digest
  Reader's Digest
  Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
  
   when Dick Tracy was also a spokesman for an auto shocks and car battery manufacturer. Bender was an underworld "Torpedo" (killer) who with an accomplice tried to blow up Tracy's squad car but was captured. Bender's trademark is bending an automobile rod in his hands.
• Rughead (1955) Wig wearing gang leader who stole furs. Killed in gun battle with Dick Tracy in Sewers
• "Sailor" Mann (1942) Boyfriend of Debbie Thorndike who was knocked unconscious when Debbie was kidnapped by "B.B. Eyes" gang in hijacked milk wagon. Both milkman and "Sailor" were found by Patrolman in the street.
• Sam "The Lever" Doty (1937) Ex-Member of "Redrum Gang" and only member of gang still in slot machine
  Slot machine
  A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
  
   racket. Slot machine gang leader who was kidnapped by The Blank; tied up and thrown out of a speeding car by the Blank into police HQ; tricked by Tracy into revealing that Blank's mug shot is in police files.
• Scardol (1939) Stolen car gang leader and Police killer gangster who kills three lawmen and who tried to bury Dick Tracy under wet concrete but ends up under concrete himself.
• Schultze Innis (1937) Gang leader killed by The Blank by being tossed out of airplane; body was found after it crashed through a farmhouse roof. Part of old Redrum gang of 1926.
• Selbert DePool (1941)
• Shaky Trembly (1944) Extortionist who tried to use Snowflake Falls to extort money from banker; she broke his hand and tried to turn him over to the police, but he escaped and kidnapped her. He fractured her bones and nearly succeeded in freezing and drowning her; After stealing Vitamin Flintheart's fur coat it caught fire; Shaky killed fireman O'Brien and tried to escape Dick Tracy; however he only succeeded in being trapped in an ice coffin His body was discovered in 1945 by stepdaughter Breathless Mohoney; after inquest on Shaky's body, Breathless stole the strong box keys which were hidden in Shaky's shoe. His trademark is the continual "shaking" of his body; father of Quiver and stepfather of Breathless Mahoney.
• Sharptop Jones - Sharptop is Flattop's twin brother and exact double except for a distinctive cowlick which makes one strand of Sharptop's hair protrude straight upwards from the familiar flat cranium. Sharptop and Flattop were raised separately and had almost no contact with each other; whereas Flattop became a notorious criminal, Sharptop had a respected career as a college professor and refused to discuss his infamous brother, whom he claimed he barely knew. During a post-Gould continuity, Sharptop was apparently possessed by the spirit of his deceased brother, causing Sharptop (allegedly Flattop inhabiting Sharptop's body) to assemble a gang of henchmen and commit a crime wave. During his criminal activities, Sharptop used hair oil to slick down his cowlick, thus becoming a double of Flattop. Tracy was able to arrest him after Sharptop apparently managed to overcome the supernatural possession and evict Flattop's soul from his body. The strip never established whether a genuine supernatural occurrence had taken place, and Tracy himself refused to comment on it ... except to note that Sharptop's long respectable academic career would be taken into consideration by the district attorney.
• Shoulders (1946) Extremely broad-shouldered handsome thug hired by Mrs. Mahoney to recover Shaky's money. He acquired a brush salesman's sample case and used this to pose as a traveling salesman. In the movie, was one of the five gangsters killed by Flattop and Itchy at the beginning of the movie.
• Short Circuit(1966) Appeared in a Dick Tracy Mini, comic magazine
  Magazine
  Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
  
  , when Dick Tracy was also a spokesman for an auto shocks and car battery manufacturer. Circuit gimmick was being a "little person" diamond thief at a millionaires ball whose plans are foiled by Tracy and Catchem.
• Shorty the Dip (1945) Part of Measles gang. Killed in auto crash after Measles tried to kill Dick Tracy who was trapped on bumper of gangster's car.
• Simon Little (1945) Diamond cutter for Mr. Sparkle.
• Sketch Paree (1949) An insane clothing designer, responsible for the death of Talcum Freely, a rival clothing designer. Paree led Dick Tracy and Sam Catchem into a death trap in the river. Used a sponge mask to drown his victims. He also talked to a little doll named Babee. Later killed.
• Sleet (1948) Featured the first appearance of Sam Catchem as Tracy's new partner.
• Snowflake Falls (1944) Model used by Shaky in a scheme to extort money from banker; married Vitamin Flintheart despite 30 year difference in age; kidnapped, suffered fractured bones, and nearly froze to death after being tossed off pier by Shaky.
• Sphinx (1951) Accomplice of Crewy Lou, was rendered a mute after drinking poison meant for one of his enemies. Alias are "John Ren" and "Beaker".
• Spike Dyke (1931) (Big Boy gang thug) arrested by Dick Tracy along with Ribbs Mocco for payroll robbery.
• Splitface (1945) Dick Tracy movie Dick Tracy. A pyscopath who went to jail for murdering he gets disguised by an inmate's knife, hence the name. After being released, he intended to kill the fourteen members of the jury who sent him to prison. However, because of an extortionist "professor" who knew of his actions, Splitface only managed to kill two of the jury along with the "professor" and the mortician whom he stole the knives from before he kidnaps Tess Trueheart is kidnapped, with Junior Tracy leaving a trail for Tracy to follow and capture Splitface.
• Spots (1960) Always shown with spots in front of his face. Attempts to secure sums of money; first by fraudulent means that lead him to commit murder and then by blackmail. Killed in street shootout with Tracy.
• Spuds Spaldoni - In 1990 Dick Tracy movie A crime boss who refuses to submit to Caprice, and dies in a car bomb.
• Steve The Tramp Brogan aka 27064 (1933) Started out as common thug guilty of assaults, prison escapes, and killing a US mailman. The Tramp tangled with Dick Tracy throughout 1933-1934 until he went back to prison in 1934. A reformed man, he was released in 1941 and opened up a fruit stand. He was framed by Duke
  Duke
  A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
  
   for an armored car robbery, but was later freed by Dick Tracy. It was revealed later on that he was the second husband of Mary Steel, and the stepfather of Jackie Steel, AKA Junior Tracy, explaining how the both of them ended up together in their first appearance in the strip. {Junior's mother had run away with him when he was a wealthy prospector} In the film from the 90s he is beaten up by Tracy to save The Kid (Junior).
• Stooge Viller (1933) Pickpocket who almost succeeded in framing Dick Tracy for a crime. He's also a vehicle hijacker and prison escapee who teamed up with Steve the Tramp. He killed Blind Hank Steele Sr who was trying to protect his son John "Hank" Steele Jr (aka Junior Tracy). He was finally captured for good by Dick Tracy in late 1933. In comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   he is in a fight with Steve the Tramp in prison after accidentally meeting his former partner (each blames the other for being in prison). After getting out of prison in 1939, he started trouble again with Tracy and also tried in vain to get to know his little daughter Binnie Viller. After trying to kill Tracy, Stooge was accidentally shot by Binnie, later on dying in the hospital, not before coming to an understanding with Tracy, and asking him to watch over his daughter. (Based on Edward G. Robinson
  Edward G. Robinson
  Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
  
  ?). In the movie, was one of the five gangsters killed by Flattop and Itchy at the beginning of the movie.
• Strip Gear (1966) Appeared in a Dick Tracy Mini comic {magazine}, when Dick Tracy was also a spokesman for an auto shocks and car battery manufacturer. "Strip" Gear was an ex-dancer and armored car hijacker those plans were foiled by Tracy and Chatchem.
• Stud Bronzen (1937) He's the only member of the Redrum gang not killed or turned over to police by The Blank. Supposedly got out of rackets but actually operated human smuggling ring under the cover of a salvage operation. Bronzen initially escaped to continue his criminal activity, but Tracy managed track him down and kill him in a gun battle.
• Sugar (1941) Girlfriend of Duke
  Duke
  A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
  
   the Dip. While escaping from the police, she dies in a car accident.
• Texie Garcia (1931) The Big Boy's mistress/moll. Left holding the bag, when the Big Boy temporarily leaves town to get clear of Tracy's gangbusting activities. Later seen helping Dan "The Squealer" Mucelli operate the city's dope business. Modeled on night-club performer Texas Guinan
  Texas Guinan
  Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
  
  . Seen a few times in the 90s movie at the big gangster meeting, portrayed by Catherine O'Hara
  Catherine O'Hara
  Catherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest...
  
  
• Tiger Lilly (1942)
• Tipp (1940) St. Bernard dog owned by Mamma and the Midget (above). After his capture by Dick Tracy, Jerome Trohs seized bag of money and "rode" his dog to escape.
• Tojo (1942) Stereotype
  Stereotype
  A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
  
   Japanese Spy associate of Pruneface. He was captured by Dick Tracy
• Tonsils (1952)
• Trigger Doom (1941) Stick-up man and killer of his own boss Czar Rennis; tried to kill Dick Tracy with an enraged bull but captured by Tracy
• Trinka (1965) Enemy pilot of Von Rhino Spy ring; intercepted famed aviatrix Lita Flight July 1, 1937 in the mid Pacific; went off course and was trapped in the Arctic Circle and froze to death; body found in ice coffin in 1965. Tracy intercepts last 2 members of Rhino spy ring who are also trying to find body-one killed and the other wounded and arrested
• Tulza "Haf-and-Haf" Tuzon (1966) Looked like Batman
  Batman
  Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
  
   villain Two-Face
  Two-Face
  Two-Face is a fictional comic book supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. and is an enemy of Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #66 , and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger....
  
  ; Born 1923. A truck driver with half of his face scarred by acid in an accident in 1943 during World War II; later became a circus "freak". Had a scam in which dozens of trained Crows would steal handbags. Murdered his wife in order to marry his lover, circus trapeze artist Zelda the Great. When Zelda discovered that Tulza had indeed killed, rather than divorced, his first wife, her threats to go the police led Tulza to attempt her murder, from which Dick Tracy rescued her. The fleeing Tulza attempted to romance the blind dowager Kora Steel (who had let her husband's body rot in a hidden room in order to cheat the inheritance tax) in order to murder her and inherit her money, but Tracy thwarted him again. Years later, Tulza, released from prison after undergoing plastic surgery at the hands of Dr. Will Carver, attempted once again to kill Zelda by means of a poisonous snake, for which Tracy provided the antidote. In revenge, Zelda hurled acid in Tulza's face, restoring his disfigurement.
• Twitchell "Twitchy" Oliver (1983) - Itchy Oliver's equally nasty kid brother, who constantly twitched as a result of a nervous tic. Masterminded scheme with the late B.B. Eyes's brother B.D. Eyes to scare Stephanie Queen, horror author, out of the same house wherein Itchy met his fate, for they coveted $100,000 which their older brothers hid in the house years earlier.
• "Ugly" Christine (Packet) (1965) Sister to Mr Bribery. Captured after she tried to kill Dick Tracy. Both Tracy and Liz the Policewoman tried to stop her but she threw herself from a Magnetic police coup into a fiery chimney and was killed
• Vitamin Flintheart (1944) (See Above)
• Wetwash Wally (1945) Laundry truck driver who tried to separate Breathless Mahoney from her money after she hid in his truck; Breathless knocked him out and met B O Plenty; Wally was revived and was picked up by Pat Patton
• Rono "Nails" Wolley (1939) Conman/swindler who with two accomplices almost succeed in killing accomplice Pop Warner's son and Jade the salesman; two accomplices killed in gun battle with Tracy and Patton; Wolley ends up being beaten up by Dick Tracy
• Wormy Marron (1949-1950). One of the most grotesque villains in the entire history of the strip; Wormy's face looks as if it is made of live earthworms. He chained Dick Tracy to the back of his car and drove at top speed down a highway, intending to drag Tracy to death but merely injuring him.
• X-RAY (1947) Comic relief
  Comic relief
  Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
  
   henchman in Dick Tracy Movie "Dick Tracy meets Gruesome". Being the only survivor of Gruesome, X-RAY is captured by Dick Tracy. Played by Skelton Knaggs.
• Yogee Yamma (1940) Con-man who uses gas to hyponitze widows for contents of their safes. Kidnapped Professor Roloc Bard to make gas; Bard is rescued by Dick Tracy; Yamma is accidentally burned alive by gas while drunk
• Zola (1943) One of three blackmarketers who hired Flattop
  Flattop
  A flattop is a type of very short hairstyle similar to the crew cut, with the exception that the hair on the top of the head is deliberately styled to stand up and is cut to be flat, resulting in a haircut that is square in shape...
  
   to kill Dick Tracy (the other two not named). All three ended up captured by Dick Tracy instead and lost their $55,000 as well.

Archie tie-ins

In the 1970s, Archie's TV Funnies

Archie's TV Funnies

Archie's TV Funnies is a Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation which appeared on CBS from September 11, 1971 to September 1, 1973...

had cartoon "shorts" of Dick Tracy episodes. Guest villains included: B.B. Eyes; The Brow; 88 Keys; the Mole; Mumbles; P.S. Tone; Shaky; Shoulders; Sketch Paree. Cameos included appearances by Tess Trueheart, Moon Maid, B.O. Plenty, Mrs. Van Hoosen, Lizz the Policewoman, Sam Catchem and Chief Patton. Likewise an episode (1/8) of the Josie and the Pussycats

Josie and the Pussycats (TV series)

Josie and the Pussycats is an American animated television series, based upon the Archie Comics comic book series of the same name created by Dan DeCarlo....

cartoon had an episode in which the musicians are chased by a "Blank" (faceless) criminal called "Mastermind".