Chiang/May Lin

[glammazon]

Of considerable interest to me is the character of Chiang/May Lin, the mastermind behind the human smuggling ring depicted in the Dick Tracy story at this website.  It appears, judging by how the character is portrayed in the comic, that Chester Gould did not originally intend for Chiang to be the villain; I suspect that Gould was originally planning to have Tracy gain permission from Chiang to stage a big raid on the mastermind's hideout, but was stopped by his female supervisor (as he had used that device at least once before, in the story arc involving the villain Nuremoh).  Instead, in the completed story he has Chiang exposed as the sinister May Lin, who has been impersonating the true Chiang for over a year (the real Chiang appears only as a decedent in the completed story).

[jfglade]

Could you be a little more specific about which book the story you are asking about appears?

[glammazon]

It was FOUR COLOR #21.

[jfglade]

Thank you, I'll take a look at it.

[jfglade]

I've read the story twice and I can't offer much; the story was originally written for newspaper display and it is entirely possible that when he started the story, Gould may not have known how he was going to end it or he may have decided on a different ending than he had planned. At this late date, I doubt you'll find much information on the story behind the story.