Tulza Tuzon, also known as Haf-and-Haf, had been a handsome man with dark hair and a moustache. An accident resulted in the left side of his face becoming disfigured.
Tulza Tuzon grew up in a town located near swampland. His family's home was located near the home of the wealthy Mr. Steel and his wife Kora. While in his early teens, Tuzon would do yard work and odd jobs around the neighborhood to earn money. He had a small shed on his family's property where he stored tools, supplies, and contact information for his neighbors.
Tuzon was apparently a heavyset child.
At some point, Tuzon's father passed away and his mother abandoned the property they had lived on. The house later burned down, leaving only a work shed. It was stated that Tuzon eventually inherited the land, though it was not made clear if his mother is still alive.
Tragic Accident[]
By 1943, Tuzon was an adult with a criminal record. He was working as a commercial truck driver. On one trip, he was transporting dangerous chemicals when the truck crashed. Tuzon was knocked unconscious and left with half of his face submerged in the chemicals. By the time he was treated, the left side of his face was severely damaged, and his hair had been blanched.
Unable to find other work, Tuzon took a job in the Circling Brothers Circus, where he was part of the freak show. His "stage name" was Haf-and-Haf. During his time in the circus, Tuzon developed a romantic relationship with Zelda, a beautiful high diver.
Life of Crime[]
Tuzon returned to his life of crime. He abandoned Zelda and stole money from the circus. At some point, he married a woman called Dolly and relocated to Dick Tracy'scity.
Haf-and-Haf (as he now went by at all times) had become skilled at training crows to steal purses and return them to him. Through a series of coincidences, his activities attracted the attention of Dick Tracy. Tracy's investigation became more serious when Haf-and-Haf killed Dolly, who had become jealous over his apparent fixation with Zelda. Haf-and-Haf shot Dolly to death with an automatic rifle, which he then cut into small pieces and deposited around the city.
With his wife dead, Haf-and-Haf reunited with Zelda (claiming that he had gotten a divorce) and the two were married. After a brief honeymoon, they took up residence in Zelda's apartment. Zelda discovered evidence that Haf-and-Haf had murdered Dolly. Around that time, Mr. Cherssin, the head of security for Circling Brothers Circus, had contacted Dick Tracy and told him about Haf-and-Haf's history.
Tracy suspected that Haf-and-Haf would contact Zelda, and he arrived at the circus just after Zelda had confronted her husband. Haf-and-Haf knocked Zelda unconscious with a liquor bottle and tried to flee in a small aircraft. Tracy and the police followed in a Space Coupe. Haf-and-Haf attempted to delay them by throwing Zelda out of the plane at a high altitude, but Tracy was able to save her using an Air Car.
Realizing that he could not evade the Space Coupe, Haf-and-Haf crashed the plane and made it appear that he had died.
Haf-and-Haf Hides Out[]
Haf-and-Haf survived by jumping from the plane before it crashed. He fled to his childhood home, which he had inherited from his deceased parents. He visited his neighbor Mrs. Steel, and found that she was now blind. Mrs. Steel (who remembered Tulza Tuzon fondly) agreed to let him work as her butler.
Haf-and-Haf worked for Mrs. Steel for a short time and he became very curious about a mysterious locked room that Mrs. Steel's dog Lafitte kept closely guarded. When Haf-and-Haf attempted to open the room, Lafitte activated a trap door that Haf-and-Haf fell into, dragging Mrs. Steel with him.
Haf-and-Haf and Mrs. Steel emerged in a secret passageway that Mrs. Steel had constructed to keep people out of the room. She revealed that the room contained the body of her deceased husband. She also declared that she was in love with Tuzon, the only man who had shown her any attention in years.
Haf-and-Haf saw an opportunity to profit from the older woman's affection. He spoke amorously to her, and led to her to an old associate of his who was working as a palm reader. Haf-and-Haf told the blind woman that they were at a Justice of the Peace who would marry them.
By this time, Tracy had tracked Tuzon to Mrs. Steel's home, and he used Lafitte's skill as a bloodhound to follow the couple's movements. Tracy arrived at the palm reader's and took Tuzon and his accomplice into custody. Haf-and-Haf was charged with the murder of Dolly and the attempted murder of Zelda.
The Return of Haf-and-Haf[]
The "reformed" Haf-and-Haf, as drawn by Rick Fletcher
Years later, Haf-and-Haf was the beneficiary of an attempt to reform him. The state arranged for his scarred face to be repaired by the cosmetic surgeon Dr. Will Carver. The procedure was a success, and Tuzon was placed in a job at the city zoo.
Despite his claims to being reformed, Haf-and-Haf craved revenge against Zelda, whom he blamed for testifying against him. He stole a poisonous snake from the zoo and - traveling to a nearby city where the circus was performing - planted it in Zelda's hotel room. The snake bit Zelda, but she survived.
Unaware that Zelda had not died and that the Major Crimes Unit was closing in on him, Tuzon returned to his zoo job. Zelda had now become obsessed with revenge and fled the hospital. She stole an ambulance and arrived at the zoo before the police did. Zelda threw a bottle of caustic drain cleaner at Tuzon's face, scarring him on the left side once again. Enraged, Tuzon threw Zelda into a lion pit and fled.
Desperate, Haf-and-Haf went to the home of Dr. Carver. Carver agreed to repair Haf-and-Haf's face again, but only in exchange for $50,000. While the two men were talking, Dick Tracy and Lizz arrived at Carver's home. Haf-and-Haf assaulted Tracy and kidnapped Lizz, attempting to hold her for $50,000 ransom. Tracy was able to deduce where Haf-and-Haf was holding Lizz.
Haf-and-Haf held Lizz in his hideout, placing her bound body below a table with a bottle of lye balanced precariously on it. If Lizz struggled, the bottle would fall and scar her face similar to his. Soon, Tracy and Catchem arrived to confront Haf-and-Haf and they subdued him. In their haste to find Lizz, Tracy nearly kicked down the door to the hideout and spilled the lye on Lizz. Haf-and-Haf could not resist laughing at his anticipated triumph, causing the detectives to suspect a trap. As a result, Tracy entered the hideout through another door. Lizz was rescued, and Haf-and-Haf was arrested.
The Dick Tracy Story[]
Despite the severity of his crimes, Haf-and-Haf was eventually paroled. He took up residence at a halfway house in Los Angeles, where he reunited with the woman known as Fame. Fame had grown up in the circus where Haf-and-Haf had worked, and the two had been friendly. Fame recruited Haf-and-Haf into her scheme to become even more famous.
Haf-and-Haf, as drawn by Dick Locher.
Haf-and-Haf and Fame intimidated the actress B.U. Tiffil into abandoning the role of Tess in the feature film The Dick Tracy Story. Fame then used her romantic relationship with the film's co-star Vitamin Flintheart to get herself cast in the role. Haf-and-Haf acted as Fame's "chauffeur", which gained him access to the movie studio and the film's sets. There, he committed several acts of sabotage designed to increase Fame's public profile, as well as hopefully injuring or killing Dick Tracy himself.
When the scheme was uncovered, Haf-and-Haf revealed that he felt overlooked by the production, since he was not one of the villains included in the film. Tracy appealed to Haf-and-Haf's vanity, claiming that he believed Tuzon to be one of his greatest adversaries. Appeased, Haf-and-Haf surrendered himself to police. It was suggested that he would be returned to a mental hospital. Fame later committed suicide rather than face the legal consequences of their actions.
The Mysterious Fate of Haf-and-Haf[]
During the case of Dr. Beau Tox, in which Tracy's features were surgically altered against his will, Tracy was briefly mistaken for Haf-and-Haf. Some of the arresting officers were unsure of Haf-and-Haf's status at the time, believing that he was either dead or in prison. At the conclusion of that story, Tox himself was doused with acid on one side of his face, but he has not yet returned as a "new" Haf-and-Haf.
Many years later, Dick Tracy was investigating the criminal Putty Puss' absence from the Happydale Facility. After Tracy departed, the facility's staff exchanged some cryptic words indicating that they were aware of Haf-and-Haf's secret whereabouts.
It was eventually revealed that Haf-and-Haf had been transferred to Wertham Woods psychiatric facility, under the care of (the seemingly ethical) Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Lanier. At some point, Haf-and-Haf attempted to escape through the sewers, where he was once again exposed to toxic chemicals. His face was further disfigured. Following this ordeal, he developed multiple personalities. These new identities included the original "Haf-and-Haf" as well as two other personas, the new one being the villainous "Splitface". Splitface would talk to himself, addressing each personality (Tulza, Haf-and-Haf, and Splitface) as if they were separate beings.
The New Splitface Seeks Revenge[]
When a lightning strike disabled the electricity at Wertham Woods, Splitface escaped. He intended to seek revenge against Zelda, who was performing in the City. Splitface lived on the streets, scavenging for food and money. He met another homeless man named Clybourne (which had also been the name of one of his trained crows), whom he recruited into his revenge scheme.
Clybourne and Splitface abducted Zelda from the Patterson Playhouse, where she was attending a performance of a new stage musical based on Vera Alldid's comic strip "J. Straightedge Trustworthy". They took Zelda to the warehouse where the equipment from the circus that Zelda and Tuzon had worked for was being stored. Splitface forced Zelda to the top of her high-dive platform, intending that she should dive to her death.
Dick Tracy and Sam Catchem tracked Splitface to the warehouse and a shootout ensued. Clybourne fled, Splitface was arrested, and Zelda was rescued. Splitface was returned to the mental hospital.
Splitface Seeks Revenge Again[]
Later, Splitface escaped from the mental hospital with the help of Clybourne. He stated his intention to seek revenge against the journalist Steve Roper and his associate Mike Nomad, whom Splitface blamed for the incident that resulted in his original disfigurement. Splitface planted a car bomb that he expected to kill Roper and Nomad, but both men survived the explosion with little injury.
Splitface then decided to adopt a scheme that had been used by some friends of his - Wormy and Measles. The plan involved a stolen armored car and counterfeit uniforms. His plan failed and he was once again captured and returned to the mental hospital.
Notes[]
Haf-and-Haf's appearance was very similar to the Batman villain Two-Face. In his initial appearances, Haf-and-Haf wore a suit with two different patterns like Two-Face often does (though he would later abandon this affectation). Creator Chester Gould claimed in an interview that he was unfamiliar with the Batman character, and that he had taken his inspiration from a bottle of coffee creamer that he had seen at his breakfast table.
Haf-and-Haf's real name would seem to be derived from the names of 2 American cities- Tulsa, OK and Tucson, AZ. Their relation to the character is not clear.
Haf-and-Haf's name has sometimes been spelled as "Haf n' Haf" or "Haf And Haf".
Haf-and-Haf has the distinction of being the first "classic" villain to be used by Max Allan Collins and Rick Fletcher after they took over the creation of the strip.
Despite his grotesque appearance, Haf-and-Haf was a successful ladies' man. The non-scarred side of his face resembled Clark Gable, and he was apparently quite charming despite his criminal tendencies.
Haf-and-Haf's portrayal during the 1990 "Movie" storyline does not necessarily match up with his previous depiction. Haf-and-Haf had not been portrayed as especially vain or attention-seeking. His motivations in that storyline seem to be more suited to Putty Puss (though Putty Puss would have had a weaker claim to being one of Tracy's most notorious adversaries).
In 2019, the circumstances of Tuzon's injury were retconned. Mike Nomad stated that Tuzon (who was unscarred) had been working at the Circling Bros. circus, using it as a front for his trained crow theft ring. Nomad reported Tuzon's activities to the authorities, and Tuzon attempted to flee the scene before he could be apprehended. Nomad followed him and observed as Tuzon crashed into a chemical truck and was scarred. It was not made clear what job Tuzon was doing for the circus, though it may have been some act that involved his trained birds.
