Dick Tracy
Before Die Hard's John McClane, there was Dick Tracy. The wisecracking, gun-wielding policeman made his comic-strip debut in 1930, at the height of Chicago's gangster era. Tracy and his yellow suit started at the Detroit Mirror, but the strip was soon distributed via the Chicago Tribune Syndicate. He got his two-way wristwatch in 1946. In 1969 he became temporary police chief of the moon. In the 1970s he grew a mustache. In 1977 Tracy's creator, Chester Gould, retired from the comic strip; the famous detective was then drawn by a series of men who came and went. Cartoonists Dick Locher and Jim Brozman have been drawing the strip since 1983 and 2009, respectively. In 2005 Tracy made a guest appearance at Blondie and Dagwood's 75th anniversary party.