Terry and the Pirates (40.A)

Vol. 6: 1945-1946

By Milton Caniff

Air Cathay

Mar 12 - Jul 21, 1946

This is the second of four stories in what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, considers to be the fifth and final era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in late Nov 1945 and ran through the end of Dec 1946 and is called On Final Approach in the companion book. 

The Wikipedia article on Terry and the Pirates breaks the entire series down into 60 arcs. It breaks this arc down into the following arcs:

57 - "Mustering the Post-War Crew" (3/13/46 to 5/17/46)

58 - "Unrequited Revenge" (5/18/46 to 7/16/46)

11/09/24

Mar 12-13, 1946 - Terry discovers that there are no flights to the place to which he is headed because the US airbase near there has been moved.

I had to go back and look but in the 11/07/45 strip when Flip gave him this mission he gave him an address but said nothing of delivering it to an airbase. 

11/10/24

Mar 14-16, 1946 - Terry finally arrives at the place where is supposed to deliver the package only to discover that the soldier to whom he was supposed give it has gone back to the United States. The men who were tailing Terry report in to Slits, their boss’s righthand man. 

11/11/24

Mar 17, 1946 - Terry delivers the package to a colonel who reveals that it contained his personnel file. The two men who were tailing Terry meet with the big boss, the Dragon Lady.

The Dragon Lady last appeared in this strip on March 25, 1945. 

11/12/24

Mar 18-20, 1946 - the Dragon Lady talks to the men who were tailing Terry, while Terry talks to the colonel to whom he delivered the package.

11/14/24

Mar 21-23, 1946 - Terry gets a job offer from the colonel. The Dragon Lady makes some plans that involve Terry. Hotshot is back.

11/15/24

Mar 24, 1946 - Terry and the colonel talk about his first assignment. Slits asks the Dragon Lady if she is in love with Terry.

11/16/24

Mar 25-27, 1946 - Terry begins his mission as an undercover intelligence operative, pretending to be a civilian who is taking a job as a pilot for a civilian airline. The Dragon Lady’s operatives continue to keep an eye on Terry and let her know what he’s doing.

11/17/24

Mar 28-30, 1946 - Terry is given a physical and has some of his old, pre-war, civilian clothes altered. The Dragon Lady continues to receive reports about Terry and meets with Chopstick Joe. He runs an airline and she wants him to hire Terry.

Chopstick Joe last appeared in this strip in Nov 1940. At that time he was torturing Hu Shee while trying to get money out of Raven Sherman.

Would altering be enough for Terry’s pre-war clothes? I would think he would have grown too much plus I don’t recall him wearing those clothes before the war.

11/18/24

Mar 31, 1946 - Hotshot tries on hats and gets a message from Terry asking him if he is looking for a job. 

11/19/24

Apr 1-3, 1946 - Air Cathay acquires some old US Army transports. Terry meets Chopstick Joe. 

11/20/24

Apr 4-6, 1946 - Terry’s meeting with Chopstick Joe ends. Terry writes his first intelligence report. Slits compliments the Dragon Lady. She lets him know where things stand between them.

11/21/24

Apr 7, 1946 - Terry meets Knout and Hisser, two of the other pilots working for Chopstick Joe. The Dragon Lady and Slits visit Chopstick Joe. 

11/22/24

Apr 8-10, 1946 - Terry continues to settle in at Air Cathay.

I love the humor in the first of these three strips. Caniff, for once, is a little more subtle with the laughs.

11/23/24

Apr 11-13, 1946 - Chopstick Joe sends Terry to talk to the Dragon Lady but doesn’t tell him that it’s the Dragon Lady with whom he will be meeting.

11/24/24

Apr 14, 1946 - Terry meets with the Dragon Lady. She seduces him with a kiss and steals some papers from him when he gets distracted by a flash of light.

11/25/24

Apr 15-17, 1946 - Terry voices his displeasure at the interruption. The Dragon Lady and Terry are ready to get back to smooching when Slits interrupts their sexy little party.

11/26/24

Apr 18-20, 1946 - Terry meets with Chopstick Joe. Preparations are made for the arrival of an “ambassador“ from Massachusetts. 

Again with the humorless humor.

11/27/24

Apr 21, 1946 - Terry mopes over the fact that the Dragon Lady has potential blackmail material of him, a picture of them kissing. A parade welcomes Hot Shot to town.

I don’t get it. What’s so special about Hot Shot?

11/28/24

Apr 22-24, 1946 - Terry and Hot Shot are finally reunited. Terry introduces Hot Shot to Chopstick Joe, Knout, and Hisser.

11/29/24

Apr 25-27, 1946 - Hot Shot picks up on the fact that Terry isn’t happy out of uniform. Hot Shot tells Terry about how he was a big hero when he first got home but how that shine quickly faded. Slits questions the Dragon Lady’s decision to insist that Terry pilot the airplane that carries her loot.

The Dragon Lady’s response to Slits reveals her insight into how Terry thinks and feels.

11/30/24

Apr 28, 1946 - Hot Shot shows Terry and the other pilots the uniforms he has designed for them to wear.

12/01/24

Apr 29-May 1, 1946 - Terry has tea with the Dragon Lady. He insults her and she slaps him. She gives him instructions which she expects him to follow because she has that picture of them kissing.

12/02/24

May 2-4, 1946 - Terry wants to tell Hot Shot some of things he knows but cannot. Terry and Hotshot fly their first load of cargo for the Dragon Lady.

12/03/24

May 5, 1946 - Hot Shot reveals that he knows that Terry is still in the army and working undercover. The Dragon Lady’s men get ready to toss the radio operator out of the plane, mid flight. 

How does Hot Shot know?

12/04/24

May 6-8, 1946 - Terry confronts the Dragon Lady’s men before they can toss the pilot out of the airplane. One of them pulls a gun on Terry.

12/05/24

May 9-11, 1946 - Hot Shot squirts one of the gangsters in the face with something that blinds him. Terry takes care of the other one and then they tie them up and radio ahead to the police.

12/06/24

May 12, 1946 - the police meet the airplane at the airport. The Dragon Lady’s men are arrested but are quickly released. 

There is a six panel showing how the two goons go from jail to being released. It is all wordless and quite well drawn. I like it.

12/07/24

May 13-15, 1946 - Terry goes to see the Dragon Lady after he learns about how quickly her goons were released from jail. Slits comes looking for Terry after he has departed and roughs up Hotshot when he learns that Terry has gone to see the Dragon Lady.

12/08/24

May 16-17, 1946 - Hot Shot gets roughed up by Slits some more. Terry returns later, reports that he was unable to meet the Dragon Lady, and finds out what happened to Hot Shot. 

That’s it for this part of this arc. So far it isn’t exactly setting my world on fire.

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For a list of all the arcs that I have read of this strip and notes about them see my Terry and the Pirates page