Article: Happy Birthday, Dick Tracy

Just want to say Thanks so much for the article re: Dick Tracy's birthday. I began to read tracy in the comics around 1939. I knew he has been around a long time but until I read the article I did not know just how long. I was surprised to see that he is only eight days older than myself. He debuted on October 4, 1931 and I debuted on October 12, 1931. Congratulations Dick Tracy on your longevity. May we both continue for many more years.

Dr. Mr. Pie: So you will be having a birthday soon too, eh? I hope it's a happy 75th!

I enjoyed reading all about Dick Tracy's history. I remember reading it, or having it read to me when I was a child. I was especially interested to hear he had a fiancee, & that's why he became a detective. The reason I found this so interesting is because while cleaning out my parents attic after my mothers death we found a little baby doll. My older sister & cousin told me she was a "Sparkle Plenty" doll, Dick Tracy's daughter, & I had begged & begged for it for Christmas one year! I really didn't remember the doll at that time, & have tried to find out if Dick Tracy really did get married & have a daughter, but never found out. This article at least let me know he may have gotten married, & maybe someone else may know about a daughter or how to find more information how the subject.
Thank you, & Happy 75th Birthday Dick Tracy!!!

In response to g-mahermie (10/9/06), Sparkle Plenty was the daughter of B.O. Plenty and Gravel Gertie who were friends of Dick Tracy.

It is my belief that there may be a conspiracy among us. Yeah, you read that right. I would have to say, though, that my greatest fear in this whole thing is that I may very well be the only person left who knows the truth. It's a conspiracy that runs so deep within the basic infrastructure of our society that we, as Americans, have long since forgotten the truth. Now, I don't blame us, because the person responsible for this had an incredible talent for masking the truth. This conspiracy involves the man in this article; Dick Tracy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming American Profile, because this chain of events was set in motion long before their doors opened. No it's deeper than that. They, along with everyone else, just misrepresented the facts. What is the conspiracy you ask? Well, here goes, It is my belief that this man we know as Dick Tracy is indeed a superhero. Wait it gets better, I believe he was the first superhero. The problem is that at some point in history somebody sought to cover up the truth. But who would do this you ask? I'll tell you, for I believe I have the whole situation worked out. You see, Dick Tracy was revealed to the public in 1931, before any of the "real" superheroes, so to the American public he was a superhero. Now this man looked really good to a society who was in the heat of a great depression. Of course in the depression big business was not looking so hot, big business such as Wayne Enterprises. With the amount of people who were being laid off, and Bruce Wayne's steady multi-billionare status, he was bound to look bad to society. Maybe you've heard of this corporation. It's headed by Bruce Wayne, who we know today as Batman rather than CEO Bruce Wayne. I believe this Bruce Wayne saw the success of Dick Tracy and decided to have a go at the superhero lifestyle. Now at first he started with other people being superheroes, revealing Superman in 1932, and this was successful for a while. He made the public think that Superman and Bruce Wayne were friends. This worked for a while, but eventually it had to wear off, and he knew this, so he revealed another superhero, and another superhero, and more superheroes, until the world was so caught up in this "superhero frenzy" that in 1941 he could introduce himself as his own superhero, Batman. He even started a league for these magnificent people with eight core members. Of course Batman's abilities were never any better than Dick Tracy's, but America forgot this because Batman was in a "justice league." Well, it is my belief that this league is not at all out to promote justice, and I have proof, but I won't go into it here for my hand is cramping. Meanwhile, back to the conspiracy, Bruce Wayne knew the Justice League was a farce, obviously, and knowing the original, real superhero Dick Tracy was an investigator and could blow the lid off this whole operation if he ever decided that he wanted to join, he made himself and his other "heroes" look so incredible that they eventually looked so superior to Dick Tracy, that the humble Dick Tracy would never even try to join a league so amazing as the Justice League, let alone the uproar that the people of America would raise because of his seemingly small abilities compared to the rest of the superheroes if he ever did try to join. So in conclusion, it is my belief that this quote by Jim Johnson saying Dick Tracy is not a superhero in your article, is just another attempt by the Justice League to keep Dick Tracy down, when in all actualality he is the only real superhero.