The man in the yellow fedora is back in Alex Segura, Michael Moreci, and Geraldo Borges’s brand new Dick Tracy comic series from Mad Cave Studios.
With the first story arc’s trade paperback collection now in stores and the second arc currently underway, we thought it was high time that we spoke to the creative team about the return of one of the most recognizable detectives ever seen in pop culture and their hard boiled take on the no-nonsense sleuth.
What was your knowledge base like in terms of the long publication and pop culture history of Dick Tracy before starting the series?
Geraldo Borges: In my particular case, my first contact with Dick Tracy was reading the strip in the local newspaper in Brasil. And later, of course, I saw the movie starring Warren Beatty and Madonna. And as I learned I´d be Dick Tracy artist, a friend of mine gave me a book with the first classic Chester Gould DT strips.
Alex Segura: My first exposure to Dick Tracy was the film – but that opened the door for me, and led me to the newspaper strips, novelizations, comics, and more!
Michael Moreci: Living in Chicago, my gateway was the comic itself, I’m lucky to be able to say. I remember reading it all the time in the Tribune when I was a kid. I probably didn’t think much of it when I was really young, but the movie came and changed all that. I’ve been a reader ever since, even more so now as I’m writing it–a nice reward to the job!
What elements from the classic comic strip did you bring over into the new series and what elements did you need to clarify/adjust for a 21st century reader?
Borges: The original soul of all characters are still there, the readers will be capable of recognizing each classic villain from DT rogue gallery, even a little different. The story takes place in a city from the 50’s. My art style is more noir and less cartoonish than the original Dick Tracy, trying to fit with the kind of story Alex and Michael have been creating and bringing a modern approach, but still talking to hardcore DT fans.
Moreci: One of the biggest things has been to recognize how dark and, at times, weird Dick Tracy can be. The comic gets truly disturbing and violent at times, but rarely without reason. We wanted to absorb that ability to shock readers and really punctuate the stories with moments of violence and even terror. We’ll be seeing that especially in the second volume.
Other than that, the agenda is to keep Dick true to who he is while also updating him enough so that he doesn’t seem like a relic, or we’re just playing homage to what used to be.
Your Dick Tracy is a younger, more inexperienced one. Why did you make the choice to write a story from an earlier time in his career?
Moreci: Absolutely. We didn’t want to do a straight-up origin story as that type of narrative has been done to death with every character under the sun. We wanted a Dick Tracy that’s still learning, still vulnerable, still capable of making mistakes that he has to live with. That’s what fascinates us, to make Tracy less cartoonish and more realistic. Now, we never want to make him into a cliche–so many writers confuse “gritty” with “realistic,” and that’s a path we always want to avoid. It’s more about making him multidimensional.
Segura:To Michael’s point – there are some characters that don’t need another origin. What we wanted was a character-defining story, and that’s what we set out to do with the first arc of the series.
In terms of the artwork, how does it support the noir style of the story?
Borges: I do love to use black and white contrast and artists like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Eduardo Risso, and Jordi Bernet are my artistic references. It doesn’t mean I need to use light and shadow in a realistic way, but the main purpose is to serve the narrative. And we´re lucky to have Mark Englert with his gritty colors to add a different flavor.
Which villain did you most look forward to inserting in the story?
Borges: Lots of them, but I’m having so much fun drawing the villain of our 2nd arc, The Blank
Moreci: We’ve already seen Flattop, Lips, and The Blank, so we’ve checked many of the boxes at the top of my list! But we do have some surprises coming, and I love dipping into Tracy’s oddball villains.
Segura: One of the things that really resonated with me about DT and his world was his amazing rogues gallery – so Michael and I are not only keen on digging into the lore, but also adding to it. Stay tuned.
What can you tell us about the new story arc?
Borges: I’ll let Alex and Michael talk about this. But The Blank put the challenge for Dick Tracy and his team on a different level.
Moreci: This is such an exciting arc for us. Alex and I are both crime noir readers, avidly, and we’ve waded in these waters before. To take this iconic character we love and thrust him into this Michael Mann-ian world of shadows and neon, obsession and darkness. It’s not just about Tracy pursuing a serial killer, it’s about what this killer does to his psyche, and I’ve loved building our story in and around that.
Segura: The new arc is – believe it or not – even darker than our opening salvo, and much more intense and personal. We’re leaning hard into what scares Tracy and his allies, and how that plays into the landscape of The City in the wake of our opening story.
Upcoming projects for each of you?
Borges: I’ll keep working on Dick Tracy with Alex and Michael for Mad Cave, but recently we released a TPB of No/One by Image Comics, created by Kyle Higgins, Brian Bucellatto and yours truly, and we’re working on a feature film adapting the comic. Also I’m working on a 2nd volume of Last Detective: Redemption, created by Claudio Alvarez and me.
Moreci: I’m looking to make 2025 a big year! My latest movie, Holiday Hold-Up, just released (on Peacock, Prime, Pluto, and others) and I’m working on getting another off the ground this year. I wrote the pilot to the upcoming SyFy series Revival, and that should be out later in ‘25.
Other than that, Barbaric has got some big things coming soon, and I’m writing the first-ever Star Wars: Bad Batch series, which launches in February.
And my podcast, The Filmographers, is just wrapping up its first season! We’ve been studying each and every Steven Soderbergh movie (as well as the occasional new release). You can find us wherever you get your podcasts or on our YouTube channel!
Segura: I’ve got a Daredevil crime novel hitting this year from Marvel Press and I’m writing Star Wars: Battle of Jakku for Marvel, Green Hornet/Miss Fury for Dynamite, and The Question: All Along the Watchtower for DC, plus a ton of stuff that hasn’t been announced yet!
Dick Tracy Vol. 1 is currently available at finer comic shops everywhere. The start of the second arc began in Dick Tracy #6, which is also currently available for purchase.
