Dick Tracy writer Mike Curtis to attend Oklahoma City’s Oafcon

The current writer of “Dick Tracy” will visit the home state of the strip’s creator, Chester Gould, this weekend as Mike Curtis attends Oklahoma City’s Oafcon.

Curtis, who works with artist Joe Staton on the strip, also plans to visit the Dick Tracy exhibit that’s part of the Oklahoma History Center’s “Uncanny Adventures of Okie Cartoonists.”

Gould is one of Oklahoma’s best-known cartoonists, and Curtis is visiting the state in the year of Tracy’s 80th anniversary. Curtis, also a noted “Superman” collector, has been a fan of Tracy since childhood.

“Being fans of Dick Tracy since the 1950s, we were so excited to have been approached by TMS to work on our comic hero,” Curtis said in a news release at the time of the announcement. He took over the Tribune Media Services strip beginning March 14.

The 2011 Classic Comic Book and Nostalgia Convention, hosted by the Oklahoma Alliance of Fans, will be Saturday and Sunday at the Biltmore Hotel, 401 S Meridian Ave. The show, called Oafcon for short, focuses on products and collectibles from 1900-1999.

“We call ourselves an ‘Old School’ type of convention,” organizer Bart Bush said via email. “All the activity takes place in the one ballroom where all the fans, dealers and collectors congregate. Most of our vendors carry older comic books, collectible toys, artwork, movie posters and other vintage and newer items. You’ll find ‘Star Wars’ and GI Joe toys as well as early issues of ‘Batman’ and ‘Spider-Man.’ Our dealers come from coast-to-coast, so you’ll see an incredible assortment of great stuff!”

This year, Oafcon has added a comic book creators’ area to highlight local and regional comic creators.