Promotional painting for a proposed Terry and the Pirates motion picture by famed movie poster artist, Drew Struzan.

Terry and the Pirates was an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff. Colonel Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate, had admired Caniff’s work on the children's adventure strip Dickie Dare and hired him to create the new adventure strip, providing Caniff with the title and locale. (The precise reason behind including "the Pirates" in the title has never been explained.) The daily strip began October 22, 1934, with the Sunday color pages beginning December 9, 1934. Initially the storylines of the daily strips and Sunday pages were different but on August 26, 1936 they merged into a single storyline. In 1946, Caniff won the first Cartoonist of the Year Award from the National Cartoonist Society for his work on Terry and the Pirates. Image File history File links Terryprts. ... Image File history File links Terryprts. ... Drew Stuzan Artist Drew Struzan with his famously distinctive signature Drew Struzan (born 1947) is an American artist. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (February 28, 1907-May 3, 1988) was an American cartoonist most famous for Terry and the Pirates. ... Joseph Medill Patterson (January 6, 1879 - May 26, 1946) was an American journalist and publisher and the older brother of fellow publisher Cissy Patterson. ... The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois and owned by the Tribune Company. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Dickie Dare was a comic strip created for Associated Press Features by Milton Caniff. ... October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (239th in leap years). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists created in 1946. ...

Our story begins

The adventure begins with young Terry Lee, "a wide-awake American boy," arriving in contemporary China with his friend, two-fisted ‘journalist’ Pat Ryan. Seeking a lost gold mine they meet George Webster "Connie" Confucius, interpreter and local guide.

Initially crudely drawn backgrounds and stereotypical characters surrounded Terry as he matched wits with pirates and various other villains. He developed an ever larger circle of friends and enemies, including Big Stoop, Captain Judas, Cherry Blaze, Chopstick Joe, Cue Ball, Dude Hennick and especially famed femme fatale The Dragon Lady. Over time, due to a successful collaboration with cartoonist Noel Sickles, Caniff dramatically improved to produce some of the most memorable strips in the history of the medium. This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Noel Douglas Sickles (January 24, 1910 - October 3, 1982) was an American commercial illustrator and cartoonist most famous for the comic strip Scorchy Smith. ...

Marooned Terry & the Pirates daily strip February 29, 1936
Terry, a bare-chested jodhpurs-wearing Pat Ryan, and Connie find themselves marooned on an island with the lovely, mysterious Burma. Note Terry's boyish appearance in this early strip.

Caniff became increasingly concerned by the contemporary Second Sino-Japanese War, but was prevented by his newspaper syndicate from identifying the Japanese directly. Caniff referred to them as "the invaders," and they soon became an integral part of the storyline. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1536x448, 911 KB) This file was excerpted by me from the February 29, 1936 strip. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1536x448, 911 KB) This file was excerpted by me from the February 29, 1936 strip. ... Combatants Republic of China Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Xue Yue, Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai Fumimaro Konoe, Hideki Tojo, Matsui Iwane, Jiro Minami, Kesago Nakajima, Toshizo Nishio, Yasuji Okamura, Umezu Yoshijiro Strength 5,600,000 4,100,000 (including 900...

After America's entry into World War II, Terry joined the United States Army Air Forces, while Pat Ryan became a naval commando and the Dragon Lady and her pirates became Chinese guerrillas. The series then became almost exclusively concerned with the war. This change of tone is considered the end of the strip's prime although it remained highly acclaimed. A notable example is the October 17, 1943 Sunday page where the recently commissioned Terry receives a speech on his responsibilities as a fighter pilot, including the need to respect his support crew and the military bureaucracy, from his trainer, Flip Corkin. In an unusual honor, the episode was read aloud in the U.S. Congress and added to the Congressional Record. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was a part of the U.S. Army during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947. ... October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with aerial warfare. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. ...

The intensely patriotic Caniff, who donated design and illustration work to the military, created a free variant of Terry and the Pirates for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. Originally starring the beautiful adventuress Burma, it was racier than the regular strip and complaints caused Caniff to rename it Male Call to avoid confusion. Male Call was discontinued in 1946. Flag ratio: 10:19; nicknames: Stars and Stripes, Old Glory The flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars... Male Call was a comic strip created and drawn by Milton Caniff exclusively for US military publications during World War II from January 24, 1943 to March 3, 1946. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Caniff leaves the strip

Although Terry and the Pirates had made Caniff famous the strip was actually owned by the newspaper syndicate and, seeking creative control of his own work, Caniff left the strip in 1946. Caniff's last Terry strip was published on December 29, and the following year he began Steve Canyon, an action-adventure strip that ran until shortly after his death in 1988. December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... Steve Canyon was a long-running American adventure comic strip by writer-artist Milton Caniff, published from January 13, 1947, after Caniff had retired from a popular previous strip Terry and the Pirates, through June 4, 1988, shortly after Caniffs death. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After Caniff's departure Terry and the Pirates was assigned to Associated Press artist George Wunder. Terry stayed in the Air Force, became a full-grown man and reached the rank of Colonel. Wunder produced the strip for twenty-seven years until its discontinuation in 1973. The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... George Wunder, (1912-1987) was a cartoonist who continued Terry and the Pirates after Milton Caniff left it in 1946. ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

Reprints

NBM, under their "Flying Buttress Comics Library" line, reprinted all of the Milt Caniff Terry strips (10/22/34 to 12/29/46) in two hardcover series as well as in a series of trade paperbacks. The first 12-volume series contained all of the dailies and the Sundays that ran concurrent storylines with the dailies (in black & white). The early Sundays that ran separate storylines (12/9/34 to 8/23/36) were not contained in this set. The second 12-volume series contained all of the Sundays in color with each page split between two pages. The daily stripes were also printed by NBM in a 25-volume softcover edition (reprinting all of the dailies and the Sundays that ran concurrent storylines) with the strips in a smaller size and much lower quality than the hardcover volumes. A publisher of graphic novels located in the State of New York in the United States. ...

Kitchen Sink Press began a new hardcover reprint series with dailies and Sundays (in color and presented complete on one page including the title bars in the strips from the first year that were omitted from the NBM series), but discontinued it after only two volumes. Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publisher in from the late 1960s until the late 1990s when it went out of business. ...

These series are out of print and can be hard to find.

In March 2007, IDW Publishing announced a new imprint, "The Library of American Comics", which will launch with a collection of six hardcover editions reprinting the Sunday strips with their original color and the weekday strips in black and white. The books will be 11” x 8.5” oblong and cost $49.99 each. The first volume will be published in July, and reprint strips from October 1934 through the end of 1936. The books will be released quarterly. [1] IDW Publishing (Idea and Design Works) is an American comic book company, created from the remenants of Dreamwave Productions, which went out of business in late 2004, early 2005. ...

Terry and the Pirates in popular culture

In 1995 the strip was one of 20 included in the Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps was issued by the US Postal Service in 1995 to honor the centennial of the newspaper comic strip. ... This 1974 stamp from Japan depicts a Class 8620 steam locomotive. ...

Lai Choi San, the Dragon Lady, Milton Caniff's most iconic character from Terry And the Pirates(©2006 by Tribune Media Services)

That same year an attempt was made to revive the strip using characters updated by Hollywood producer Michael E. Uslan and illustrated by noted artists Tim and Greg Hildebrandt. The new version debuted on March 26, but only ran for little more than a year before being discontinued. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2616x2635, 1412 KB) Fair Use, Milton Caniff This image is a single panel from a comic strip or the interior of a single issue of a comic book and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2616x2635, 1412 KB) Fair Use, Milton Caniff This image is a single panel from a comic strip or the interior of a single issue of a comic book and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher... The Brothers Hildebrandt are twin brothers who together worked as fantasy and science fiction artists. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (86th in leap years). ...

In 1953, Canada Dry offered a "premium giveaway" (freebie) with a case of its ginger ale — one minibook in a trilogy series of Terry and the Pirates strips printed by Harvey Comics. Other incarnations of Caniff's beloved work included a television series and a radio show. 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... A can of ginger ale Canada Dry Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks marketed by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, a unit of Cadbury-Schweppes. ... Casper the Friendly Ghost in Theres Good Boos To-Night (1948). ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...

In DC Comics Secret Origins #18, the explorers who bring Alan Scott's green lantern to the U.S. are drawn to resemble Terry Lee, Pat Ryan and Connnie. The scene takes place in 1934, the year Terry and the Pirates began publication. Brian Bollands cover to the 1989 Secret Origins collection. ... Alan Scott is a fictional hero from the DC Comics universe and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern. ... For the DJ, see DJ Green Lantern. ...

See also

• Terry and the Pirates (radio serial)
• Terry and the Pirates (television series)
• Terry and the Pirates (movie)

Terry and the Pirates was a radio serial adapted from the comic strip created in 1934 by Milton Caniff. ... Terry and the Pirates was a television adventure series, based on the comic strip of the same title created by Milton Caniff, shown from June 26, 1953 to November 21, 1953. ...

External links

• Milton Caniff biography
• Toonopedia entry for Terry and the Pirates
• Internet Movie Database entry for Terry and the Pirates (1940 movie)
• Internet Movie Database entry for Terry and the Pirates (1950s television series)