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Dick Tracy: the first comic strip detective (A tribute to my late father)
Yesterday I had this strange urge to finish a custom which has been on my "to do" list for at least 15 years: Dick Tracy. Now everybody here knows I am a DC and Marvel guy first and foremost. I never make customs outside of those two world's, but Dick Tracy has always been the exception. You see my father was a huge Tracy fan and of course that had an strong influence on me.
So, yesterday morning I finally had all the pieces in place: Black suit with red tie, white shirt and black shoes from CTVT; CAT trigger hand; Dr Mego pistol; original Mego T2 body; yellow trench coat (a new offering from CTVT); and the most amazing head sculpt of the old detective himself from Matt Mejia (Next2LastMohican).
Probably, the biggest delay in making this figure was the head sculpt. I never could find anything I thought truly captured Chester Gould's character properly. Above all other comic strip/comic book characters I have wanted to create in action figure form, Dick Tracy was visually the most one-dimensional, almost always see as a profile, very rarely seen with any depth. In my opinion, Matt's sculpt captures the true being of Dick Tracy perfectly.
Now, here comes the irony: yesterday would have been my father's 77th birthday (and it had completely slipped my mind). I was online double-checking that I had Tracy's color-scheme correct and debating on how I wanted to paint his eyes (I decided to go with straight black lines by the way) when all-of-a-sudden this rush of melancholy came over me: I really missed by dad and I wished he was here to see the one action figure he would have wanted to see the most.
Still not remembering what day it was I went upstairs to my youngest son Connor's room. He was awake and I crawled into his bed and held him really tight. He told me that he loved me and I told him I loved him too. I told him how I think about his Grandfather every day and that I miss him every day (he passed three years ago this December) but that this day I was missing him more than usual. My eyes started to well up as I told him that I may not always be there to hold you, but I will always be there with you no matter what. And that his grandfather is still with me every day even though he isn't around to hold me anymore. He squeezed me tight and told me that he understood.
It wasn't until about an hour later that it dawned on me that it was my dad's birthday. All of a sudden it all made sense. Why I was feeling the way I was feeling. Why I was so excited to be completing Dick Tracy.
What I told Connor was the truth. My father has never left me. I feel his influence and guidance and even his presence each and every day. Some days more than others I guess. Some days not even realizing it. I only hope that I will have the same affect on my children.
Well then. Without further adieu, I present to you the world of comics first detective: Dick Tracy...
Teaming up with his buddy Batman. Little known fact: Dick Tracy taught Batman all his cool detective tricks.
and since I have no Dick Tracy villains in my collection he has to team up with Bats to take down some of Gotham's nastiest villains
I hope you enjoy my customs as much as I do, and, as always, thanks for looking.
Peace, Love, and Megos!
Austin
PS Special thanks to all of you who take the time to read my little story. It means a lot to me.
So, yesterday morning I finally had all the pieces in place: Black suit with red tie, white shirt and black shoes from CTVT; CAT trigger hand; Dr Mego pistol; original Mego T2 body; yellow trench coat (a new offering from CTVT); and the most amazing head sculpt of the old detective himself from Matt Mejia (Next2LastMohican).
Probably, the biggest delay in making this figure was the head sculpt. I never could find anything I thought truly captured Chester Gould's character properly. Above all other comic strip/comic book characters I have wanted to create in action figure form, Dick Tracy was visually the most one-dimensional, almost always see as a profile, very rarely seen with any depth. In my opinion, Matt's sculpt captures the true being of Dick Tracy perfectly.
Now, here comes the irony: yesterday would have been my father's 77th birthday (and it had completely slipped my mind). I was online double-checking that I had Tracy's color-scheme correct and debating on how I wanted to paint his eyes (I decided to go with straight black lines by the way) when all-of-a-sudden this rush of melancholy came over me: I really missed by dad and I wished he was here to see the one action figure he would have wanted to see the most.
Still not remembering what day it was I went upstairs to my youngest son Connor's room. He was awake and I crawled into his bed and held him really tight. He told me that he loved me and I told him I loved him too. I told him how I think about his Grandfather every day and that I miss him every day (he passed three years ago this December) but that this day I was missing him more than usual. My eyes started to well up as I told him that I may not always be there to hold you, but I will always be there with you no matter what. And that his grandfather is still with me every day even though he isn't around to hold me anymore. He squeezed me tight and told me that he understood.
It wasn't until about an hour later that it dawned on me that it was my dad's birthday. All of a sudden it all made sense. Why I was feeling the way I was feeling. Why I was so excited to be completing Dick Tracy.
What I told Connor was the truth. My father has never left me. I feel his influence and guidance and even his presence each and every day. Some days more than others I guess. Some days not even realizing it. I only hope that I will have the same affect on my children.
Well then. Without further adieu, I present to you the world of comics first detective: Dick Tracy...
Teaming up with his buddy Batman. Little known fact: Dick Tracy taught Batman all his cool detective tricks.
and since I have no Dick Tracy villains in my collection he has to team up with Bats to take down some of Gotham's nastiest villains
I hope you enjoy my customs as much as I do, and, as always, thanks for looking.
Peace, Love, and Megos!
Austin
PS Special thanks to all of you who take the time to read my little story. It means a lot to me.
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