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Archie’s “Dick Tracy” Reboot Canceled

By | January 16th, 2018
Posted in News | % Comments
The Tribune Content Agency, which owns the rights to the “Dick Tracy” comic strip, have announced the cancelation of Archie Comics’s forthcoming comic book reboot:

Due to an unfortunate error on our part, Tribune is sad to announce that there will not be a DICK TRACY comic book series from Archie Comics.

While we had high hopes for the book and Archie Comics negotiated the deal in good faith and is not at fault, we discovered a preexisting licensing deal that precludes us from continuing with this project.

We apologize to Archie Comics, the very talented creators and their many fans.

It is unclear exactly what pre-existing deal prevented the publication of Archie’s reboot. Blackthorne Publishing, which had the “Dick Tracy” comic book rights from 1986 to 1989, went bankrupt and folded in 1990. That same year, Disney Comics – which met its demise in 1993 – published a three issue series based on the studio’s blockbuster Warren Beatty film. Since 2007, classic “Dick Tracy” strips have been reprinted in hardcover by IDW Publishing’s Library of American Comics imprint.

The new “Dick Tracy” comic, which was set to start on April 11, was written by Archie co-president Alex Segura and Michael Moreci (“Roche Limit,” “Hoax Hunters”), and penciled by Thomas Pitilli. It would have explored Dick Tracy’s earlier years as a rookie detective. On Twitter, Segura expressed disappointment on Twitter, stating:

So, this is not-great news. Michael Moreci, Thomas Pitilli and I were very much looking forward to creating this comic for you guys. But due to a mistake on the licensor’s part, we won’t be able to make that happen. To say we’re bummed is a huge, huge understatement.

I’m not going to say much else about this. Co-writing a “Dick Tracy” comic was a dream come true for me, and getting the chance to work with Michael, Tom and Archie Comics was an amazing experience. Sometimes things just don’t line up. On to the next thing. Thanks, as always.

Fans can continue to read Dick Tracy’s adventures in his syndicated comic strip, overseen by the Harvey Award-winning team of Mike Curtis and Joe Staton.


Christopher Chiu-Tabet

Chris is the news manager of Multiversity Comics. A writer from London on the autistic spectrum, he enjoys tweeting and blogging on Medium about his favourite films, TV shows, books, music, and games, plus history and religion. He is Lebanese/Chinese, although he can't speak Cantonese or Arabic.

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