"Dick Tracy" has by this time passed its glory days, although I still don't hold the strip in the high esteem as most of the critics. The plot lines and villains have mainly become repetitive and unmemorable. Some of the stories in this book are based on outlandishly unbelievable plot devices. This was always a weak point of Gould's, but not to this extent. For example, in a story in which a single mother "rents out" her baby to an heiress who needs to convince her rich father to leave her in his will, the plotters don't just make the exchanges in an alley or something. They hollow out an old tree in the woods, insulate it against the cold and use it as a "baby drop". Later, the heiress smothers her ailing father to secure the inheritance.

This is still good fare for an entertaining read. It's like good quality junk food, with all the caveats that come with junk food. ( )