TSBMR/0003 :: THE ORIGINAL DICK TRACY, No. 4 (Chester Gould, 1945/1991)

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Each week, I make a blind pull from Siri's (randomized) choice of one of the 32 alphabetically-organized shortboxes that constitute my comics collection, (re-)read it, talk about it, and, on (or about) Wednesday, post whatever emerges; you can subscribe via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast delivery system. This week: "plain boiled turnips!" / RIP cow / smurf ice cream…

complete, 34 years later

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Decided that one of my bucket list items was to complete my collection of Playmates’s 1990 DICK TRACY line. And, while an autographed Paul Sorvino action figure was a wonderful balm, it wasn’t The Blank, the unicorn of action figures.

Short version of the infamous story, to the best of my recollection: Playmates made the figure, but since it came with a removable mask revealing Madonna to be The Blank (and I’ve read different sources saying she hated the likeness) and was thus a spoiler for the film, they held off releasing the figure in the US, releasing only 3000 of them in Canada as a Sears exclusive. Unfortunately, this delightfully odd little line wasn’t generating the sales Playmates had hoped, so the line was scrapped before The Blank could make it to my grubby little hands, making it one of the rarest mass-produced action figures in the world (indeed, of those 3000, legend has it, about 2800 were opened, leaving +/- 200 carded figures in circulation).

OK, make that +/-199 figures in circulation because, after 34 years, I can cross this one off the bucket list. The Blank is mine:

As to why this particular (MOC, unpunched!) figure was worth spending an arm, a leg, and both kidneys of my first, second, and third born (which might be a problem since I don’t have kids): growing up, one of my father’s work colleagues - a writer, natch - had an amazing office: toys, comics, everything; to say it left an impression on me is an understatement. Both he and my grandfather are the sources of my love for Dick Tracy – and my lifelong love of movie serials; my grandfather with 1940’s MYSTERIOUS DOCTOR SATAN and friend with 1941’s THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL – and when Beatty’s film came out, he - dad’s friend - and I geeked out over the film and the toys, but as the story of every Dick Tracy fan in the US went at the time, we could never find The Blank. Didn’t know why, back then, of course, figured it was typical rural Ohio being typical rural Ohio; never thought of going to a Sears in Canada.

But she’s here, now. Home. In The Paintshop, the centerpiece (ok, one of several centerpieces) of The Collection. Other interesting thing: The Blank is the only one of the 14 characters in a trenchcoat in a toy line based on a movie in which most of the characters wore trench coats, notably an iconic yellow one; why they all are in shirtsleeves is another of the great mysteries of life. But for now, this search has concluded – and brought with it many fond memories.