In October 1931, Dick Tracy made his debut on the American newspaper pages. Through extensive research and interviews with Chester Gould (the creator of Dick Tracy), his assistants, Dick Locher (the current artist), Mark Allan Collins (who scripted the stories for 15 years), and many others associated with the strip, Dick Tracy as a cultural icon emerges. The artists are fully revealed and Dick Tracy paraphernalia and the 1990 movie Dick Tracy are discussed. Dick Tracy's appearances in other media - books, comics, radio, movie serials, B movies, television dramas, and animated cartoons - are fully covered.