When I was offered the opportunity to read Milton Caniff's Conversations, an anthology of interviews given by the creator of Terry and the Pirates and Steven Canyon; I was hesitant, to say the least. Two hundred sixty five pages about a comic strip artist whose most famous works, I vaguely remember? It was like a death sentence. So I made up my mind, and went into reading the anthology with no expectations except boredom. Fortunately, I was very wrong!.

     Milton Caniff was born in 1907 and was raised in Hillsboro and Dayton, Ohio. He began his art career as an apprentice in the art department of the Dayton Journal while in high school. He continued working as an artist straight through college with the Columbus Dispatch. However, during the Depression, he was laid off, but was not out of work long. Three months later he was offered a job in the art department of the Associated Press in New York. While with the Associated Press, Caniff worked on comic strips like Dumb Dora, Mister Gilfeather (later revitalized by Caniff and renamed The Gay Thirties), and Puffy the Pig. However, none of these strips were his- Caniff inherited them from other artists who could no longer do them. In July of 1933, he launched his first nationally syndicated strip, entitled Dickie Dare, about a young boy who dreams of his favorite heroes, such as Robin Hood. In his dreams, he joins his heroes in their adventures. By 1934, Caniff had Dickie going on adventures of his own with a family friend.

     In the Fall of 1934, Caniff was offered the opportunity to draw a new adventure strip for the Chicago Tribune - New York Daily News Syndicate. The new colorful strip was called Terry and the Pirates and would become one of Milton Caniff's most famous work. Caniff's new strip would feature a young boy named Terry, who, along with his adult mentor, finds adventure as he travels through China. His strip was innovative with intricate storylines and magnificently drawn women. He drew his strip with an approach likened to that of a movie director, with changes in views, overhead shots, and more. The strips were filled with suspense and action. Caniff made every effort to keep Terry and the Pirates authentic, studying every aspect of China and its culture. When Japan began its invasion of China, Caniff incorporated the events in his strip. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Caniff attempted to enlist, but was rejected due to phlebitis. Instead, he enlisted his artistic skills. Terry joined the Army Air Corps. Caniff also drew a special weekly feature for the entertainment of the troops called Male Call, a slightly risqué strip with a curvaceous Miss Lace as the central character. On October 17, 1943, the character of Terry becomes a qualified flyer, receiving his wings. His commanding officer, Flip Corkin's speech about the responsibility being a member of the Air Corps entails, was so inspiring that California Representative Carl Hinshaw read it into the Congressional Record the following day.

     In 1946, Caniff made a dangerous decision. Terry and the Pirates was a widely popular strip, but Caniff was nearing the end of his contract with the Chicago Tribune - New York Daily News Syndicate, and he wanted more. The Syndicate owned the strip. Caniff wanted a strip that he owned exclusively. With that in mind, he pitched his idea of a WWII vet, who at the end of the war tries his hand at running his own cargo airline business. Steve Canyon, named for its main character, began in 234 newspapers on January 13, 1947. Out of these 234 papers, 162 bought the strip sight unseen! Steve Canyon went through many changes over the years. As his cargo business floundered and the Korean War broke out, Canyon reenlisted and once again there was a military flavor to a Milton Caniff strip. He stayed in the Air Force throughout the years, even during Vietnam, when the military flavor was not exactly welcome by the new generation of newspaper readers. Although criticized by some as being a warmonger, Caniff insisted that he was purely patriotic, and kept his main character in the military, eventually promoting Canyon to the status of special agent. Milton Caniff died on April 3, 1988. The final Steve Canyon strip was designed to be a memorial for Caniff, it was signed by 78 cartoonists.

     Reading the interviews in this book, I learned a great deal about the man behind the comic strip. Milton Caniff was at once an artist and a patriot. He interwove those two within his works. His many years of success came from his insistence on penning an authentic strip that keeps readers in suspense, wanting to buy the next newspaper to find out what will happen next.

     The added and much welcomed feature of Milton Caniff Conversations was the excerpts from Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon. Reading these strips accompanied by Caniff's explanations made me want to read more of Caniff's work. He was never afraid of experimenting with his characters and his storylines. In fact, he shocked the world once by killing off a beloved main character.

     In many interview compilations, things are often repeated. However, Robert C. Harvey did an excellent job selecting interviews which were not only entertaining, but in some way different from each other. Therefore, the reader really doesn't even notice, or care about any items that may have been repeated in other interviews. They just want to read the next one to find out more. I highly recommend this book to anyone, from the avid comic strip reader to the aspiring cartoonist.

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to wildkarrde3@cs.com.

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