By: Dave Astor Michael Kilian, a Chicago Tribune reporter and columnist who wrote the "Dick Tracy" comic for the past 12 years, died Wednesday of liver failure after a long illness. He was 66.
The award-winning journalist, who also authored 24 fiction and nonfiction books, spent nearly 40 years at the Tribune. Kilian worked out of Washington for the newspaper.
When he became the "Dick Tracy" writer in 1993, Kilian told E&P that he wanted "to make sure the strip is up-to-date in terms of the kinds of crimes on the minds of police and citzens today." Kilian brought topical story lines to the strip involving terrorism, computer crimes, and more. He also had Tess Trueheart serve the workaholic Tracy with divorce papers, but she and her detective husband reconciled.
"Dick Tracy," created by Chester Gould in 1931, is syndicated by Tribune Media Services. John Twohey, TMS vice president for editorial and operations, told E&P that the comic will continue. He reported that Kilian had completed scripts lasting through the end of January -- giving the syndicate a lot of time to find a replacement writer. The "Dick Tracy" artist is Dick Locher, who's also a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for TMS.
Twohey said of Kilian: "He was just a remarkably versatile journalist who left a tremendous legacy at the Chicago Tribune."
A memorial service for Kilian is scheduled for Sat., Nov. 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here