Reading the headline for this article may seem a little blunt, but we’re taking a different approach for today’s Reader Poll. There are lots of characters and concepts that are fundamental to the history of comics that, for one reason or another, haven’t found a way to adapt or thrive in the modern era. Every couple of years someone makes a Flash Gordon comic and folks like, who grew up with both the Queen-soundtracked film and the Defenders of the Earth cartoon, get excited, but it seems like the audience for Flash Gordon comics is getting rather small.
Dick Tracy was a comic strip that my dad read in the 40s and 50s, but somewhat petered out, popularity wise, sometime in the pre-Nixon era. Then, Warren Beatty made his colorful, very clearly comics-inspired film in 1990, and the character had a brief resurgence. But since then, a few publishers – most notably IDW with a Mike Allred-led title – have attempted a refresh, but nothing has seemed to stick.
Enter Mad Cave, who announced a new Tracy series earlier this week. I, personally, love the film and have a lot of fondness for the old cartoons that I used to watch on a UHF station as a kid (yes, I’m old), so I’m excited to check this out. But I’m genuinely curious: do you, our readers, care about the character? Is this someone on your comics radar? Do you only know Tracy from the film?
So, vote in our Reader Poll, and check back on Monday for the results!
