Claim: Fearless Fosdick is a long-running parody of Dick Tracy, which first appeared in 1942 and was popular enough to have a television show in 1952; newspaper editors wanted Fosdick to star in his own strip but the creator of Dick Tracy did not find the parody funny.
Evidence: Fearless Fosdick is a long-running parody of Chester Gould's Dick Tracy. Fearless Fosdick made his debut in an August 1942 Li'l Abner Sunday sequence, as the unflappable comic book idol of Abner (and of every other "100% red-blooded American boy!") Fearless Fosdick proved popular enough to be incorporated into a short-lived television program in 1952. Newspaper editors began clamoring for Fosdick to star in his own strip, something Capp briefly considered. Chester Gould, the creator of Dick Tracy, reportedly did not find Capp's parody particularly funny.