Purdy Fallar was the younger brother of Notta Chin Chillar. Their father had died in prison for killing a judge, and an older brother named Fuller had been killed as part of a gang shootout. His mother had died while giving birth to Purdy.
Purdy was a charming, affable man with light wavy hair and a heavy-lidded expression. He was supposedly the honest member of the Fallar family, and Diet Smith described him as a "good production man".
Murder on the Moon[]
Fallar took a job with Diet Smith Industries on the Moon. He worked as a production supervisor in Diet Smith's mines and also as a giant escargot hunter. In this latter capacity, he grew two of his fingernails long and pointed so as to better slice through the escargots' membranes.
Upon the discovery of an unprecedented murder on the moon, Fallar confessed to the killing. He was soon extradited to Earth. Upon arriving on his home planet, Fallar recanted his confession, taking advantage of the ambiguous jurisdictional change between Earth and the Moon. Fallar claimed that he had only done so to get a trip to Earth so he could visit his sister, who had recently been incarcerated. Dick Tracy continued to suspect Fallar, since the wounds on the murdered man could easily have been made by Fallar's fingernails. There was not sufficient evidence to hold Fallar and he was released.
Dealing with Mr. Intro[]
Upon his release, Fallar visited the underworld figure Mr. Intro and arranged a scheme wherein a large amount of gold ingots that had been mined on the Moon would be transported to Earth and hidden. The gold could then be used to destabilize the world economy. Fallar also obtained narcotics for his sister, who had become a drug addict. He was able to slip them to her in her prison cell.
Tracy remained convinced that Fallar was guilty and attempted to gather evidence from Fallar's hotel room. Fallar had been practicing slashing motions with his hand on a grapefruit, which Lizz was able to obtain by going in disguise as a hotel maid. A 2-Way Wrist TV was planted in Fallar's room to observe his communications.
There was not sufficient evidence to make a further charge and Fallar was returned to the moon. While he worked in Smith's gold mine, Tracy and Smith further investigated the murder scene. They discovered a cache of gold that Fallar had hidden, intending to deliver to Mr. Intro. In the meantime, Fallar killed one of the pilots that he had recruited when the man demanded more money. Fallar vaporized the pilot with a mining laser, which was recorded by Smith's monitoring system.
Death and "Revival"[]
Tracy approached Fallar and the two men fought. Tracy was able to subdue Fallar, who confessed. Fallar momentarily distracted Tracy and Smith, and he attempted to escape onto the moon's surface. Fallar was instantly frozen in place, standing up (April 28th, 1968). It was unclear if this was a genuine escape attempt or a suicide.
Fallar's body was claimed by the scientist Dr. Klipoff, who claimed that he could revive in the man. Klipoff believed that the contribution to medical science was worth the potential cost of reviving a known killer. Notta Chin Chillar provided her consent, and Klipoff began the slow process of attempting to bring Fallar back from the dead.
While Klipoff worked on Fallar's body, Tracy disguised himself as Fallar in an effort to defeat Mr. Intro's criminal operation. One group of Intro's subordinates was lured to the Moon, where they were captured. Tracy then made Fallar's first "delivery" to Intro with a load of decoy wooden bricks painted gold. Intro discovered the ruse and fired on Tracy's Space Coupe. Tracy turned the coupe's laser on Intro's yacht, vaporizing it and everyone on board.
Klipoff was seemingly successful in his attempt to revive Fallar, and Fallar was presented to a stunned Tracy (July 5th, 1968). Fallar stood and walked under his own strength, but had hardly any pulse or heartbeat and did not respond to any sort of stimulus besides cigarette smoke blown in his face (which made his eyelids flutter). Notta was brought to see her brother, and her initial reaction was to slap him across the face. This elicited no response from Fallar, and Notta broke down crying. The experiment was deemed a failure and Purdy Fallar was declared legally dead for the second time (July 21st, 1968).
Not Quite Dead[]
Fallar (right) in 2015, with Blaze Rize (left).
Many years later it was revealed that Fallar was NOT considered legally dead, but instead continued to survive in a persistent vegetative state. He lived with and was cared for by his sister, but still showed no ability to respond to stimuli. Fallar and Notta were visited by Dick Tracy and Lizz as part of the investigation of the mysterious reappearance of "Moon Maid".
Notta later developed a romantic relationship with Blaze Rize, and Blaze took up residence at the Fallar home. Blaze developed an affection for Purdy and she became very protective of him. When Dick Tracy and Lizz arrived at the Fallar home to arrest Notta and Blaze, a shootout ensued. The commotion motivated Purdy to stand and approach Notta. Notta, stunned by her brother's movement, surrendered to police.
Dick Tracy stated that Purdy would be cared for while Notta and Blaze faced the charges against them.
Appearances in Other Media[]
Archie's TV Funnies[]
Purdy Fallar appeared in a Dick Tracy segment in an episode of the 1971 animated series Archie's TV Funnies. Purdy attempted to hijack the Space Coupe, but was stopped with the help of Moon Maid and Tess Tracy.
Notes[]
- The name "Purdy Fallar" is a play on "Purty Feller", which is itself a pigeon-English corruption of "Pretty Fellow". Fallar was depicted as a handsome, likeable sort.
- One subplot of the Moon murder story involved the victim being drained of blood, and Purdy's statement that he was in the habit of drinking beef blood for sustenance. However, these vampiric tendencies of Purdy's were not elaborated upon much further.
- When Purdy Fallar re-appeared in 2013, it was not established who had been taking care of him during the time his sister was in prison. On April 28, 2016, Notta told Blaze Rize that she "got an early release from prison to care for Purdy." Notta also claimed that "sometimes he can move about and I've heard him mumble my name."