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Terry and the Pirates Master Collection #1
Enter the Dragon Lady: 1934 - 1935
The Library of American Comics and Clover Press are proud to publish Terry and the Pirates: The Master Collection. Reproduced from Milton Caniff’s personal set of color syndicate tabloid proofs that were unavailable for previous books, this series is the ultimate edition of Caniff’s masterpiece. We present the Sundays in an unmatched color fidelity and larger than they have ever before been reprinted—an unparalleled upgrade that no Terry fan can afford to pass up.
The complete strip will be collected in twelve deluxe 11″ x 14″ hardcover volumes, with a complementary thirteenth volume by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell that tells the behind-the-scenes story of the strip.
Terry and the Pirates debuted in October 1934. For the next twelve years, Caniff would weave a spell of exotic adventure, sex appeal, and humor. The cartoonist set the strip in exotic China, where historic events occurring in the region during the 1930s provided the raw material from which he blended fantasy and reality to create an extraordinary graphic narrative. The series introduces young Terry Lee, his adult pal Pat Ryan, their sidekick Connie, as well as an array of unforgettable brigands such as Captains Judas and Blaze, and the two toughest women to ever sail on the China Seas: the alluring Burma and the inimitable Dragon Lady.
No cartoonist has so heavily influenced his medium as has Milton Caniff, and no comic strip has had more imitators than Terry and the Pirates. Terry and the Pirates was read by 31 million newspaper subscribers between 1934 and 1946. Vol. 1 collects all dailies and Sundays from the strip’s beginning on October 22, 1934 through the end of 1935
The complete strip will be collected in twelve deluxe 11″ x 14″ hardcover volumes, with a complementary thirteenth volume by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell that tells the behind-the-scenes story of the strip.
Terry and the Pirates debuted in October 1934. For the next twelve years, Caniff would weave a spell of exotic adventure, sex appeal, and humor. The cartoonist set the strip in exotic China, where historic events occurring in the region during the 1930s provided the raw material from which he blended fantasy and reality to create an extraordinary graphic narrative. The series introduces young Terry Lee, his adult pal Pat Ryan, their sidekick Connie, as well as an array of unforgettable brigands such as Captains Judas and Blaze, and the two toughest women to ever sail on the China Seas: the alluring Burma and the inimitable Dragon Lady.
No cartoonist has so heavily influenced his medium as has Milton Caniff, and no comic strip has had more imitators than Terry and the Pirates. Terry and the Pirates was read by 31 million newspaper subscribers between 1934 and 1946. Vol. 1 collects all dailies and Sundays from the strip’s beginning on October 22, 1934 through the end of 1935
- GenresComics
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 21, 2022
This collects the Terry and the Pirates strips from 1934,-1935, dailies and Sundays.
So I've been more into reading newspaper comics this year and this one is a whopper.
Young Terry Lee and his adult friend Pat Ryan are adventuring in China, initially searching for a gold mine Terry's grandfather left to him. Basically, it's more adventure than you can shake a stick at: pirates, caves, guns, dames, etc.
So it isn't all peaches and gravy, though. The racism is balls deep and Caniff's style is still evolving, though halfway through 1935, it's very close to what other comic artists have been borrowing from for the last 70+ years. I'm going to mention the racism again because it really hampered my enjoyment. It's the racism of the time and not malicious but it's still a little hard to read at times.
Anyway, back to the good stuff. This is an influential strip in almost every way. Artwise, it's not hard to see echoes of Caniff's style in the comic art of the 1950s and the Silver age. The adventure stories are pulpy fun. The funny pages must have been a joy when Terry & The Pirates and Captain Easy were coming out regularly.
I'm giving this four stars but some of that is due to reputation and influence. The strip is a little rough in it's embryonic form but you can see where it's going by the 66% mark.
So I've been more into reading newspaper comics this year and this one is a whopper.
Young Terry Lee and his adult friend Pat Ryan are adventuring in China, initially searching for a gold mine Terry's grandfather left to him. Basically, it's more adventure than you can shake a stick at: pirates, caves, guns, dames, etc.
So it isn't all peaches and gravy, though. The racism is balls deep and Caniff's style is still evolving, though halfway through 1935, it's very close to what other comic artists have been borrowing from for the last 70+ years. I'm going to mention the racism again because it really hampered my enjoyment. It's the racism of the time and not malicious but it's still a little hard to read at times.
Anyway, back to the good stuff. This is an influential strip in almost every way. Artwise, it's not hard to see echoes of Caniff's style in the comic art of the 1950s and the Silver age. The adventure stories are pulpy fun. The funny pages must have been a joy when Terry & The Pirates and Captain Easy were coming out regularly.
I'm giving this four stars but some of that is due to reputation and influence. The strip is a little rough in it's embryonic form but you can see where it's going by the 66% mark.
January 19, 2025
I'm not sure I can say much but...damn. This one just hits the ground running, but I do know that it will actually get better. Terry, Pat and Connie are just going from adventure to adventure. The Dragon Lady is introduced in the first Sunday storyline (the Sundays and the dailies were separate at the time) and Normandie Drake runs throughout the years dailies, consistently elating and breaking Pat Ryan's heart. We also get the first appearance of Captain Blaze.
It's no real surprise that the strip starts out strong. Milton Caniff had cut his teeth on Dickie Dare for about two years before Terry was launched. And Dare had made the switch from a fantasy strip to an adventure strip shortly before Caniff jumped ship for China. It's also interesting to watch how much the strip evolved artistically over the first slightly over a year. It's particularly noticeable in the dailies. The increased influence of Noel Sickles and his inking style really began to show toward the end of 1935. I really need to find my Scorchy Smith reprint book and revisit Sickles.
Of course, the dragon in the room is that the book is just incredibly, blatantly, racist....a lot. It's not just Connie being a caricature of the buck-toothed East Asian. Every single Asian character is a stereotype of some type. Though I will allow that The Dragon Lady is, by and large, a very competent pirate and villain. So you have to allow for 1930s sensibilities or you aren't going to be able to get through this.
This is the incredibly solid start to one of the greatest adventure strip ever. And it's just going to get better from here.
It's no real surprise that the strip starts out strong. Milton Caniff had cut his teeth on Dickie Dare for about two years before Terry was launched. And Dare had made the switch from a fantasy strip to an adventure strip shortly before Caniff jumped ship for China. It's also interesting to watch how much the strip evolved artistically over the first slightly over a year. It's particularly noticeable in the dailies. The increased influence of Noel Sickles and his inking style really began to show toward the end of 1935. I really need to find my Scorchy Smith reprint book and revisit Sickles.
Of course, the dragon in the room is that the book is just incredibly, blatantly, racist....a lot. It's not just Connie being a caricature of the buck-toothed East Asian. Every single Asian character is a stereotype of some type. Though I will allow that The Dragon Lady is, by and large, a very competent pirate and villain. So you have to allow for 1930s sensibilities or you aren't going to be able to get through this.
This is the incredibly solid start to one of the greatest adventure strip ever. And it's just going to get better from here.
January 1, 2026
Caniff is a Master, takes a little bit to really get going, but this is Adventure Comics done really well, at this stage the Sundays are a different continuity than the Daily’s, which I prefer.
Beware that some of the language isn’t exactly PC nowadays, but even with that: it is certainly a better comic than the vast majority released nowadays.
Beware that some of the language isn’t exactly PC nowadays, but even with that: it is certainly a better comic than the vast majority released nowadays.
January 16, 2025
Fantastic adventure strip. The only downside I can see is that the setting and the period it was produced means it has a fair amount of racism.
July 10, 2023
🏴☠️🧐 For all the Caniff nuts out there still doubting to upgrade!
https://youtu.be/rL3Cj8FfKe8
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews