Chester Gould's Dick TracyVolume 26

In these early '70s adventures, the dauntlessdetective faces off against one of the strip's best lateera grotesque villains:Pouch, who uses a repulsive hidden flap in his neck to hide anything from stolendiamonds to automatic pistols to cash.

The plot also features a rare return byan earlier villain, as the Mole is released from prison after serving nineteenyears, only to learn his granddaughter, Molene, is part of Pouch's gang!

Havingreturned to policing duty on Planet Earth, former Space Sheriff Tracy finds aworld markedly changed from the one he had left.

Feeling handcuffed by expandedlegal protections afforded suspects and stricter guidelines of evidence, Tracyall but begs bad guys to shoot first, and he may get his wish, thanks to nemesessuch as explosioncrazed Jonny Scorn, the handgrenade toting revolutionary calledEl Tigress, and the aptlynamed Dope King.

This story features Tracy's mostdirect assault on drug traffickers, coinciding with Richard Nixon's "War onDrugs!" All this, plusTracy grows a mustache, Groovy seems to be falling for acertain longlegged policewoman, and Gravel Gertie tries to figure out themysterious link between the world's oldest tattoo artist and a million dollarsin missing gems.

Meanwhile, an attempted burglary of rare metals from DietSmith's plant introduces Peanutbutter, the smartest kid in the strip sinceBrilliant, the inventor of the TwoWay Wrist Radio.

Volume 26 reprints alldailies and Sundays from December 24, 1970 to September 27,1972.