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The woman known as “Frizzletop” (real name unrevealed) was an army nurse who had lost an arm during a Japanese air raid in the Philippines. She first met Dick Tracy during his encounter with the criminal Tiger Lilly. She is a cousin of Flattop and the rest of the infamous Jones family.

Service, Injury & Return to the US[]

Frizzletop had been engaged to marry Tiger Lilly’s brother, John. John had also been stationed in the Philippines and was killed in the same raid that cost Frizzletop her left arm. She had returned to America to tell Tiger in person that his brother was dead.

She tracked Tiger to Wood City, which he had recently vacated. In Tiger’s abandoned apartment, she met Dick Tracy who was investigating Tiger’s involvement in a certain train wreck and the murder of Mr. Amard. She told Tracy a bit about her background, then left to continue her search for Tiger.

Finding Tiger Lilly[]

Consulting the Draft Board, she was told that Tiger had gone to the Tiger Rest Gold Club in a nearby town called Haver. Tiger maintained a secret hideout there, as well as operating the clubhouse and grounds. Frizzletop found him and explained who she was. Tiger did not believe her at first, but when she showed him the ring that John had given her, he changed his mind. Tiger took a liking to Frizzletop and hired her to work in the clubhouse.

Frizzletop soon discovered evidence of Tiger’s criminal activities and began to fear for her safety. She attempted to flee on a boat, but collided with Dick Tracy and Junior, who were using a raft to try to observe Tiger Lilly’s actions. Tracy and Junior had been living at the golf club, posing as a new grounds tender and caddy, respectively.

Tiger soon discovered Tracy’s identity and that Junior and Frizzletop were his allies. He set one death trap for Tracy and tied up Junior and Frizzletop in a rowboat that he had knocked a hole in. He pushed the boat out onto a river, expecting it to sink and drown the pair.

Junior and Frizzletop managed to plug the hole long enough to be rescued by a passing police officer, Dennis O’Copper. They then returned to Tiger Rest and rescued Tracy. Tracy and O’Copper resolved to track down Tiger Lilly and bring him to justice. They instructed Frizzletop and Junior to stay at a nearby hotel.

After attempting to hide out at a local hunting cabin, Tiger and two of his men had left a local game warden for dead and were trying to escape on a raft. The raft was pulled into a new water intake channel, and the three men were stranded. The channel was located very close to the hotel where Junior and Frizzletop were staying. One of Lilly’s men tried to swim to shore and was believed drowned. Junior and Frizzletop heard the commotion and called in the local constable to help pull the men to safety. After Tiger and his associate were arrested and in custody, Frizzletop returned to the city with Tracy and Junior in Dennis' borrowed car.

The Pruneface Case[]

On the trip back, the trio was in an accident and took refuge for the night in a nearby barn. There, they discovered the body of George Bullet. This led them to investigate the poison gas manufacturing scheme set up by Bullet's son Cal Bullet Jr. Cal was passing messages to the mysterious "Boche" (later revealed to be Pruneface) by way of a request jukebox operated by Clara. Tracy used Frizzletop's skill at mimicking voices and had her impersonate Clara to get information on who Cal was working with, though Frizzletop had no further involvement with the Pruneface investigation.

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The Wreath Kidnapping[]

Later, Frizzletop announced her intention to go back to Texas and help her father operate his ranch. However, she was soon offered a job as a nurse at a day-care facility for the children of war workers, which was operated by the wealthy philanthropist Mrs. Potter. One of the children, Johnny Wreath, was kidnapped by his father Nifty. Frizzletop notified Tracy, which started the search for the child. She later consoled Johnny's mother Myrtle, and was present when the family was re-united.

Frizzletop's Surprising Return[]

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Frizzletop re-appeared in 2012, having married Dennis O'Copper in the time since she was last seen. It has not been established if she took Dennis' last name.

She revealed to Chief Patton that she was cousin of the notorious criminal Flattop Jones Sr., and that Flattop's estranged wife Stiletta (aka Mrs. Flattop) was seeking revenge on Dick Tracy.

Trivia[]

  • The storyline has Frizzletop stationed at Bataan in the Philippines 1941. In real life, many US military nurses (from the Army and Navy) were at Bataan in 1941 & 1942, and they were evacuated from the island before it fell to Japanese forces. There are no official reports of any of these nurses suffering the loss of an arm.
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