Pietrzyk explained in an interview what it was like working with “Dick Tracy” creator Chester Gould. “When I was working ‘Dick Tracy,’ Chester Gould had retired from active service at that point, and I was working with his successor artist, Rick Fletcher, and I assisted Rick on lettering. He also liked to talk about how the story would be interpreted when he drew it. I would, however, meet with Chester every two weeks, to talk about what I was doing on the strip, and also to talk about how he created ‘Dick Tracy,’ the characters, some of the mechanics of his art in the strip. How he drew snow, drew rain, and just about all the different ways he’d bring a character to life. I looked at him as my mentor, because I learned so much from meeting him while I was working on ‘Dick Tracy.'”
He continued, “One [of] his more unique styles was reflected in his way of drawing snow and rain. I recall him showing me how he did snow, and, very briefly, the thing with the rain. He would show the rain coming down over the character, and when he was done he’d take a razor blade and scrape it in the direction of the rain, over the character. He’d do that to give the scene compromised visibility. The first time I saw him do it with the razer blade, just scraping into artwork, I thought ‘oh my gosh! He’s ruining the art!’ But looking at it, that technique really created a wonderful image.”
The original “Dick Tracy” strip premiered at the time of the Great Depression, October 4,
1931. It was a groundbreaking strip which without doubt would be the benchmark for tough, hard boiled detectives. The new graphic novel is described as remaining true to the characters’ origins and take some ideas from conversations Pietrzyk had with Gould. It will take place in the 1940s and will arrive in late Summer 2019.
