Vol. 4: 1941-1942
By Milton Caniff
Decoy
Feb 3 - Apr 27, 1941
This is the sixth story (of nine) in what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, considers to be the third era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era begins in late Apr 1939 and ran through late Jan 1942 and is called Between Spear Points in the companion book.
The Wikipedia article on Terry and the Pirates breaks the entire series down into 60 arcs. This is the 32nd arc and is called Decoy. It ran from Feb 5 to Apr 27, 1941.
03/04/22
Feb 3-5, 1941 - the position from which Terry, Bucky, and Hu Shee are providing cover fire for the fleeing guerrillas is bombed by Invader planes. The invaders find Terry unconscious but still alive. A junior officer decides to have Terry executed but a senior officer overrules that decisions and has him placed with the prisoners of war.
There is no sign of Bucky and Hu Shee in these three strips. Are they dead? From what I understand Bucky will not be seen again but Hu Shee will, but probably not soon. That information comes from the companion book. I don’t know if that means that he is dead or not.
The last panel panel of the first strip is an extreme closeup of Terry partially buried under the rumble.
03/05/22
Feb 6-8, 1941 - Terry wakes up briefly and then passes out again. He is placed in a stable. A tall looking European man (who is wearing a monocle) and his female companion arrive on the scene. He is quite annoyed that he is being quartered near prisoners.
The panels where Terry wakes up are shown from his perspective. His vision is blurry. I like it.
I think the European man is German but that isn’t abundantly clear at this point. His companion’s name is Madame Lustre but he has yet to be given a name. Is he Monsieur Lustre? I have my doubts about that.
03/06/22
Feb 9, 1941 - Terry is about as low as he has ever felt. It doesn’t look good for him. He hears some music. He likes the sound of it but he doesn’t recognize it.
Terry has heard that music before. He heard it when a certain character was introduced to the strip.
03/07/22
Feb 10-12, 1941 - Terry recognizes the song and the voice of the person who is singing. He shouts for Burma. She sees him but can’t do anything at the moment.
Burma is Madame Lustre. The monocle-wearing man with whom she is traveling is named Kiel. I’m guessing that Kiel is German based on his appearance and his friendliness with the Invaders.
03/08/22
Feb 13-15, 1941 - Burma gets a blanket to Terry but he doesn’t know where it came from. Terry is transported to a concentration camp in a larger city. Kiel and Madame Lustre are with the same convoy that is transporting the prisoners. Kiel learns from his driver that Madame Lustre visited the camp after they arrived in town.
Is her cover blown? Did she get to see Terry when she visited the camp?
03/09/22
Feb 16, 1941 - Burma gets to see Terry again but she has to pretend that she doesn’t know who he is. She almost gets a chance to talk to him in private but then Kiel shows up and she once again pretends like she doors to know who Terry is.
I wonder what Kiel thinks of all this? He must be suspicious of Madame Lustre’s actions.
03/10/22
Feb 17-19, 1941 - Burma does her best to convince Kiel that he should be looking out for the interests of the young blond boy, Terry.
She is obviously trying to help Terry but I don’t exactly follow Burma’s line of reasoning. It sounds a bit racist to me.
03/11/22
Feb 20-22, 1941 - Terry is visited by two merchants. They tell him that his life is not in danger. Something he says about a woman confuses them. They report in after leaving the prison camp to Kiel who knows exactly what to make of Terry’s comment.
03/12/22
Feb 23, 1941 - Kiel suspects that Madame Lustre may be up to something. He has one of the guards at the prison camp plant a microphone in the room where she talks with Terry. Burma suspects that he may be on to her and talks in code.
I love the last panel. It is a closeup of Kiel’s face as he listens in to the conversation. It is pretty clear from the expression on his face that he is not able to follow the conversation.
03/13/22
Feb 24-26, 1941 - Kiel tries to trip up Madame Lustre when he sees her after she spends some time with Terry. She knows what he is up to and avoids falling into his trap. Terry is pulled aside by a couple guards who want tips on how to properly throw and catch a baseball.
03/14/22
Feb 27-Mar 1, 1941 - Kiel prevents Madame Lustre from going out to get supplies for Terry. Kiel suspects that Terry is a friend of Madame Lustre. He prepares another trap to ensnare them.
I’m not entirely sure what Kiel is up to but it seems like he is bored and enjoys the challenge of trying to catch Terry and Madame Lustre red-handed.
03/15/22
Mar 2, 1941 - Terry receives the package that Kiel sent him. Terry thinks that it was sent by Burma. He uses the contents to break out of the prison camp, not realizing that it is all a setup.
Very nicely handled. It feels as though Caniff has stepped up his game with this story.
03/16/22
Mar 3-5, 1941 - Terry is taken to a building. The driver helps him break into a room, via the fire escape, that looks like it belongs to Burma.
Kiel is going to show up any minute now but the final panel just shows a silhouetted woman, possibly Burma. I want to turn the page so badly and see what happens next.
03/17/22
Mar 6-8, 1941 - Terry is reunited with Burma who points out that she didn’t send the supplies or the driver who helped him to escape the prison camp. Kiel walks in and explains that it was he who helped Terry escape from the prison. Burma is suspicious of Kiel’s motivations.
There are three thought balloons in these three strips. I think it has been a while since Caniff has used thought balloons.
03/18/22
Mar 9, 1941 - Kiel wants Terry to work for him and he won’t take no for an answer. He threatens to return Terry to the concentration camp and tell the Invaders that he is a British spy unless Terry agrees to work for him. He threatens to do the same to Burma if Terry refuses.
Kiel seems to be holding all the cards right now. How will Terry and Burma break free of Kiel’s grasp? They still have yet to say what country Kiel is from but clearly it must be Germany. The war in Europe had been ongoing for about 18 months at this point. It comes as no surprise that Terry didn’t want to work for an agent of the Third Reich.
03/19/22
Mar 10-12, 1941 - Terry tries threatening Kiel with the gun only to discover that it is loaded with blanks. Kiel slaps Terry and then calls in some of his servants.
Kiel is the first character who is clearly supposed to be German.
03/20/22
Mar 13-15, 1941 - Kiel’s servants make a uniform for Terry. Kiel pushes Terry around some more and makes him polish his boots. Terry finds a key in the pocket of one of Kiel’s coats when he is helping him get ready to go out.
Is this another trap? Did Kiel want Terry to find the key?
03/21/22
Mar 16, 1941 - Terry and Burma talk while Kiel is out having lunch. They suspect that he might have the placed bugged and as it turns out he does.
There’s no sign of hope for Terry and Burma just yet but they are only around the midpoint in this arc.
03/22/22
Mar 17-19, 1941 - Kiel returns and plays the recording of Terry and Burma talking while he was out. Kiel gets ready to punish Terry, with a whip, for not following orders. Terry knocks Kiel out with a candlestick. He tries to talk Burma into leaving with him but she decides to stay.
Heavy stuff although I can see some flaws in this story. I suppose Kiel’s arrogance accounts for most of them.
03/23/22
Mar 20-22, 1941 - Terry makes it to the train station without being stopped. He boards the train but then discovers it is being held for Kiel, who laughs at Terry when he arrives at the station with Burma.
This is a weird turn of events.
03/24/22
Mar 23, 1941 - Kiel punishes Terry for his insolence by hanging him up by his wrists. Burma helps Terry while Kiel is sleeping.
What next? Where is this all going? There’s only 5 weeks left in this arc. Presumably they are going to escape but what is going to happen to Kiel? Will Terry be reunited with Pat and the others in the next arc? Don’t get me wrong, I like this arc it’s just moving kind of slowly at the moment.
03/25/22
Mar 24-26, 1941 - the train arrives at its destination. Kiel goes to meet with someone. He leaves Terry and Burma locked up while he is gone.
Kiel lets Terry know that his government has ships in ports in occupied China. The agreement that formed the formal alliance between Germany and Japan in World War II was signed in Jun 1940. It is entirely possible that Terry was unaware of the agreement considering how busy he was.
03/26/22
Mar 27-29, 1941 - Kiel talks to some some fellow countrymen, naval officers. He explains his plan to interfere with shipping operations off the coast of China. He plans for Terry to take the blame for whatever happens. The naval captain agrees with Kiel but that is just a front. He shows his doubts about Kiel’s plan when talking to another countryman.
Kiel must be from Germany but they have yet to say anything that makes it explicitly clear what country he and the naval officers are from. The plot is definitely thickening and I’m curious to see how it progresses.
03/27/22
Mar 30, 1941 - Kiel shows Terry and Burma the device that is going to lure merchant ships to their doom. Terry has his doubts about it. Kiel plans to use Terry as the bait.
Kiel seems very much like a mustache twirling villain in this strip. He feels as if nothing can stop his master plan.
03/28/22
Mar 31-Apr 2, 1941 - Kiel decides that Terry will look more convincing if he is missing a few teeth. He hands Burma a set of brass knuckles and orders her to punch Terry in the mouth while he holds Terry still. Burma takes the brass knuckles and slugs Kiel instead of Terry.
That final panel is great. It is all action as Burma’s fist connects with Kiel’s mouth. I shouldn’t be surprised with her choice given what I know about Burma.
03/29/22
Apr 3-5, 1941 - Kiel is ready to pulverize Burma when the German naval captain shows up. The device is ready. He needs Terry and he assumes that Kiel will want to come along. The unnamed German naval captain prods Kiel into agreeing to be there for the first use of the torpedo raft.
Kiel is not a happy customer. I love the final panel. All four of the character mentioned above each have a thought balloon above their heads showing what they are thinking. Excellent job squeezing so much into that final panel.
03/30/22
Apr 6, 1941 - Terry is chained to the raft which is attached to the submerged torpedo launcher. He tries to warn the merchant ship that thinks he has called for help but they misinterpret his motioning as a cry for help and walk right into the trap.
The plot sure is charging ahead. I like it. I love the next to last panel in this strip where Terry is trying to warn the merchant ship about the imminent danger. The way the elements (Terry, the ship, the clouds) in that panel are arranged and colored is really quite beautiful.
03/31/22
Apr 7-9, 1941 - Burma ponders her options and comes up with a plan.
Burma is alone for most of these three strips. She recaps the events of the Sunday strip without actually having been there to see what happened. Her plan is inspired by a street magician but there are no other hints as to what she has planned except for a throwaway reference to arnica.
04/01/22
Apr 10-12, 1941 - Kiel and Terry return from the sinking of the merchant ship. Kiel is in a good mood. Burma explains her plan to Terry while Kiel is otherwise occupied.
Burma is up to something. She has something hidden behinds her back in the first panel of the second strip. It is unclear what it is.
04/03/22
Apr 13, 1941 - Kiel puts Terry out on the “life raft” once again in the expectation of luring another merchant ship to its doom. Burma gives Terry a small tube which contains flags. Terry uses the flags to warn the merchant ship to stay away before it gets too close.
There are just 4 flags but the message as interpreted by the captain of the merchant ship seems much longer than that.
04/04/22
Apr 14-16, 1941 - the scheme is successful and the merchant ship stays away. Kiel and the German Captain don’t understand what went wrong. Terry tells them but he says it in a sarcastic way so they don’t believe him.
04/05/22
Apr 17-19, 1941 - British fighter planes approach the German ship which is flying the flag of Sweden. Someone on board signals to the fighter planes to tell them that this ship is trouble. Someone on the ship opens fire on the fighter planes.
Could that someone be Pat? He hasn’t been seen for a while. Could he have infiltrated the crew? My main reason to doubt that it is Terry is because Caniff doesn’t clearly show who is signaling the planes.
04/06/22
Apr 20, 1941 - the British fighter planes quickly shoot down a plane launched from the German ship and then drop a bomb on the ship. Terry is still aboard when the ship starts to sink.
There is a lot of aqua green in this Sunday strip. What next? Terry will survive. What about Kiel.
04/07/22
Apr 21-23, 1941 - the ship is sinking. Kiel blames the captain of the ship and then Terry for the mission’s failure. Kiel attempts to leave Terry behind on the sinking ship but the captain pulls a gun on him.
Cracking good stuff. I love confrontational moments like this. I’m so eager to go on to the next page and see what happens next.
04/08/22
Apr 24-26, 1941 - the ship lurches suddenly and a safe falls on the captain. Kiel escapes. Terry tries to help the captain but it is too late. Terry makes it off the ship. He almost drowns but he is rescued by a lifeboat full of German sailors.
My theory that it was someone other than Terry who signaled the British fighter planes seems to be supported by the dialogue in the third of these strips. Caniff seems to be hinting that the sailor who is helping Terry in the last of these strips may be the one who signaled to the fighter planes.
04/09/22
Apr 27, 1941 - the German sailors make it to shore. The man in charge decides that Terry should be drowned so he can’t reveal what happened. Two sailors are detailed to take care of Terry but one of them helps him out and gives him instructions on where to go for help.
The sailor who helps Terry seems to be a British spy. He identifies himself as Agent R-61.
That’s the end of this arc. I liked it quite a bit. It felt like there were some real stakes here. Kiel was a good villain. Presumably he is dead but maybe he will resurface in the future. Terry is on his own for now. I wonder what comes next.
It has now been about 5 months since Terry was separated from Pat, Connie, Raven, and Dude.
One thing worth noting here is the change in Burma’s appearance. I’m not sure exactly what it is about the way she drawn but Caniff has changed something significant about her. She seems a little softer than she did before and not quite as driven or intense.
Burma’s last appearance before this arc was on Oct 30, 1938 when she escaped from Inspector Gwenn’s custody. She was mentioned a couple times since then but was not shown on panel for about 2 years and 3 months.
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