EVENTS The Sunday Project The Chester Gould Dick Tracy Museum is proud to announce the weekly publication of the first-ever available, full-color Sunday newspaper comics pages of the Dick Tracy comic strip, reprinted from the actual newsprint in the Museum's collection and the Gould family archives. Each page is scanned in high resolution to capture the majesty of every detail and is then reprinted in roughly tabloid-page size on 11" x 17" medium-weight paper in millions of colors. We finish each page with the embossed seal of the Museum for authenticity. The pages are simply beautiful and have never before been reprinted in brilliant full-color! In honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Dick Tracy comic strip, the Museum is offering 4 specially-reprinted Sunday pages to launch The Sunday Project. These special "Launch" pages include the first published Sunday page from October 4, 1931, October 24, 1937 -featuring Junior being rescued by "The Blank" September 11, 1938 -featuring the violent end of Jojo Niddle and July 7, 1940 - featuring Tracy's dynamic battle with Mamma. These pages will be issued chronologically each Sunday from April 29, 2007 through May 20, 2007. The cost of each individual page is $12.50. Thumbnails of these pages appear on the order form CHECK THEM OUT! On Sunday, May 27, 2007, the 75th Anniversary of the publication of the first Dick Tracy Sunday page in continuity with the daily storyline, we will begin our weekly publication of The Sunday Project with our reprinting of this beautiful page from Sunday, May 29, 1932. Each following Sunday, we will release the next page from 1932, chronologically, ending 2007 with the last Sunday page published in 1932. By the end of May, 2008, we will have issued a total of 52 pages! The Sunday Project pages, beginning with Sunday, May 29, 1932, are offered individually for $15.00, at a monthly subscription rate of $55.00, or at an annual subscription rate of $625.00. All rates include shipping and handling for domestic orders only. (International buyers: please email Jeff Kersten at the address listed on the order form for more details). Please complete and mail the order form with your payment, if applicable, to us at: The Chester Gould Dick Tracy Museum, PO Box 44, Woodstock, Illinois 60098. Please make all checks payable to: The Chester Gould Dick Tracy Museum. For monthly subscriptions to The Sunday Project we would prefer Visa or Mastercardas form of payment to prevent delays in processing payments and shipping. If paying by Credit Card, you can fax your Order Request to us at (815) 338-9686 for fastestservice. All proceeds of the The Sunday Project are for the sole benefit of the Museum. If you are interested, please click here to download the order form. Chester Gould A Daughters Biography of the Creator of Dick Tracy By: Jean Gould O'Connell Available Spring/Summer 2007 In 1931, the Chicago Tribune introduced the public to an exciting new comic strip destined to become a classic: Dick Tracy. Tracy’s creator, Chester Gould, would spend the next 46 years of his life developing the dynamic, crime-fighting character, and his work on the strip won him the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in both 1959 and 1977. A revolutionary in the comics industry, Gould invented both a genre and an icon. The personal story of this pioneer cartoonist is now presented in a biography written by Gould’s only child. Beginning with his young life in a three-room house in Pawnee, Oklahoma, this book traces all the steps Gould took to eventually achieve remarkable distinction at the top of his field. The early pages relate his ancestors’ part in the Oklahoma land rush, drawing on the unpublished memoir of his father, Gilbert Gould. Chester Gould’s story is then augmented by his own personal commentary, taken directly from recorded conversations with his daughter. Throughout these conversations, Gould recollects the evolution of his career, from painting advertisements on barn roofs at age 17 to documenting the violent crime life of Chicago, from which he drew inspiration for his Dick Tracy strip. Discussion of his ambitions, disappointments, popular accomplishments, and family moments comprise a thorough account of Chester Gould’s fascinating life. Appendices include commentary from his two grandchildren and a comprehensive list of his awards and distinctions, which included formal recognition from three American presidents. About the Author Daughter of Chester Gould, Jean Gould O’Connell contributed to her father’s Dick Tracy storylines and appeared as a character in the famous comic strip. She helped create the Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum in Woodstock, Illinois. She lives in Geneva, Illinois. The Case of Dad's Dilemma By Jean Gould O'Connell The year was 1940, and I was in sixth grade when Yogee Yamma appeared in the Dick Tracy comic strip. Posing as a fortuneteller and a hypnotist in a nightclub and donning an impressive turban and goatee, he was treacherous man and thief behind the scenes. His trick was to use "nerve" gas that instantly deadened the will of a person to give into any request. He absconded thousands of dollars from wealthy unsuspecting victims in this fashion. A European chemist had developed this gas to be used in medicine. When turned down, the professor fled to the U.S. after the military demanded the formula. After Yogee Yamma discovered the chemist, he was shackled and imprisoned in a abandoned subway room where he was commanded to produce the "nerve" gas. This 3 month story saw the villain gain power over many (along with their savings). Even Tracy was overpowered by the gas, thus escaping capture. Dad found himself in trouble - not with the story - but with a possible lawsuit. A real Yogee Yamma contacted Dad and told him that the villain had hurt his business and he was ready to sue the Dick Tracy creator. I never knew how dad handled that dilemma, but luckily he managed to escape that one and only experience. From then on, his villains reflected facial or body characteristics - such as Littleface, the Mole, BB Eyes, Pruneface, 88 Keyes, Flattop, the Brow, and Mumbles. These characters proved to be more memorable and colorful anyway and certianly wouldn't get Dad into any more trouble of that nature. HOW TO DRAW By Richard Pietrzyk Police artist often sketch faces to aid police in finding people. You be the police artist and draw some infamous faces from Dick Tracy. Follow these step-by-step examples. First sketch in pencil. When the character looks right, outline the drawing with a black permanent marker (fine point). To add sparkle to your art, color with pencils or markers. Select from the following: 88 Keys BO Plenty Brain Breathless Mahoney Dick Tracy Empty Flattop Influence Itchy Mrs Prune Face Mumbles Nothing Yonson Oodles Prune Face Shaky Spots The Blank The Brow The Mole Now try creating some characters of your own. Come up with a name and what they might be saying. Remember faces can be viewed from the front (full view) or in profile (side view). Most faces start with an oval or eggshape. Look at different shapes an dobjects for your "character." Fruit (apples, pears, oranges) is a wonderful source of inspiration. Gourd, with their gnarly surfaces, make great faces. Most important hav fun creating a Dick Tracy character. Boys & Girls! Do you have drawings of the Dick Tracy characters that you would like to share with the Chester Gould-Dick Tracy museum website? Mail Artwork To: Post Office Box 44 Woodstock, Illinois 60098 Or email to: dicktracy@stans.net "FLATTOP AT 60" Taken from the Dick Tracy Newsletter From the Editors Desk: "He was one of the ugliest human beings imaginable: pug-nosed, fat-lipped, fish faced, imbecilically flat headed, the top of his dopey, truncated skull just a clean, straight, horizontal line." So went Jay Maeders description of FLATTOP JONES--the most celebrated Tracy rogue--in Dick Tracy: The Official Biography (1990). During the 1930s, Chester Gould based a number of his villains on real-life crooks: Big Boy (Al Capone), Boris Arson (John Dillinger), and Zora Arson (Bonnie Parker,) By the next decade, however, Gould had ushered in a number of grotesques--with names that aptly described them: Littleface, The Mole, B-B Eyes, and Prune-face. Though their facial features are very different, FLATTOP may have been modeled after Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, a bank robber during the Depression. Both dressed well, came from the Cookson Hills in Oklahoma, and were cold-blooded killers. Floyd was killed by the FBI on October 22, 1934. To help mark the 60th anniversary of FLATTOP'S story, Vic Wichert, on the following pages, presents his take on why this character became a national sensation. Even Gould had to cencede, "I got so fond of that little moron I couldn't bear to bump him off." FLATTOP, THE ANTI-HERO Just what was it about FLATTOP? He seemed to have caught the public's imagination, and they couldn't get enough of him. He was one of the longest stories that Chester Gould ever wrote, lasting from December 1943 until May 1944. Maybe Gould was as captivated by the big-lipped, heavy-lidded, flat-headed criminal as TRACY'S readers were, and that's why he kept him in the strip so long. TRACY even captured FLATTOP once, and Gould had him escape from jail, to make the story last longer. A Life Magazine article recounted the FLATTOP story and celebrated the phenomenon that was FLATTOP. It was war time--the hardest-fought year of the war, in fact, Servicemen and civilians everywhere took FLATTOP to their hearts and when he died, many army and navy readers wrote to Gould requesting permission to bury his body. Other writers railed at Gould for killing off their "hero" and demanded that Gould bring him back to life! FLATTOP took on the status of an anti-hero--one of the first in comic literature. In the past decade, Humphery Bogart earned a similar reputation as he played some of the most unsavory--yet popular--villains ever seen on the screen. FLATTOP was a contract killer who shot and beat his way through life. But he was cool, suave, unruffled and always in control--even while constantly on the run from TRACY. And that may have been his appeal. Heretofore in the strip, TRACY was the one readers rooted for as he worked his way out of death-trap after death-trap. The villains he tracked down put him in many a predicament, and he managed to get out of all of them. In one of the most exciting battles in the strip, TRACY managed to turn the tables just as the flat-headed killer was about to shoot him point blank. As each of his men are shot and/or killed, FLATTOP barely escapes with his life. FLATTOP ESCAPES For weeks Tracy is in hot pursuit of FLATTOP until at last FLATTOP'S final attempt to escape fails. Wedged between brasses of an old ship and caught on projecting spikes, FLATTOP breathes his last breath and drowned. A limited amount of FLATTOP books are available on the Chester Gould web site store. A big thank you to Andy Fierghery. Dick Tracy Days Woodstock's annual 5-day community festival celebrates the most famous crimestopper of all, Dick Tracy, along with his creator and longtime Woodstock resident, Chester Gould. The event, which is sponsored by The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is held each June and features fun-filled events for the entire family. LEARN MORE Hats Off Artists of all ages compete for prizes in the HATS OFF competition by decorating yellow fedoras in honor of Dick Tracy's trademark topper. The museum sponsored contest is held during Dick Tracy Days and the entries are displayed thru the end of July. Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest During Dick Tracy Days, the sidewalk in front of the museum will become the canvas for budding young artists to compete for prizes by drawing their favorite Dick Tracy or other cartoon character. Meeting with Santa Each December, the museum sponsors this popular family event. Each child has the opportunity to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus and receive a special gift. Santa's helpers work hard to create happy memories for all and this event continues to sell out, year after year. Cartooning Classes The museum offers cartoon art classes for children on an ongoing basis. Richard Pietrzyk, a professional cartoonist who has worked on Dick Tracy, Brenda Starr, Katy Keane, Archie, and other comics teaches "how to draw" classes featuring some of today's most popular cartoon characters.