Here are links to all my notes on Terry and the Pirates and the extras found in the six volume, collection of the 12 years and 3 months that Milton Caniff worked on the strip.
I bought the first volume of the six volume collection in Dec 2017. It took me a year to get through the first arc in that volume. It took me almost two-and-a-half years to finish the first volume. I bought the other five volumes before I finished reading the first volume. It took me almost two years to read through all the strips from Oct 1934 to Dec 1935. I think that it was somewhere around there that I picked up the pace.
Reading
Volume 1: Dec 2017 - Apr 2020
Volume 2: Apr 2020 - Mar 2021
Volume 3: Mar 2021 - Feb 2022
Volume 4: Feb 2022 - Apr 2023
Volume 5: Apr 2023 - Apr 2024
Volume 6: Apr 2024 - Mar 2025
Vol. 1: 1934-1936
by Milton Caniff
Terry and the Pirates is a creation of its time. It opens in China. Most if not all of the Chinese characters are drawn and speak in ways that are are stereotypical of how westerners saw Chinese people at the time. Terry and Pat frequently use racist slurs when talking to the Chinese characters they encounter. I decided to read Terry and the Pirates because I remember my father telling me about his memories of reading it when he was a kid and because it is revered by many American cartoonists as a landmark in sequential art. I hope that my decision to read this series will not be taken as a passive approval of the stereotypical way the Asian characters (and possibly other non-Whites) are portrayed in this strip. I am not reading Terry and the Pirates for entertainment value but to learn.
Introduction
by Howard Chaykin
Chaykin talks about his own experiences reading Terry and the Pirates when he was a boy. It was after 1946 so it was after Caniff had left the strip and moved on to work on a cartoon strip over which he had complete control, Steve Canyon.
Chaykin’s advice is to be patient. Caniff’s work improves greatly as he gets further into it. There are some flashes of brilliance in a story from March 1935. The Dragon Lady is much more impressive in her second appearance than she was in her first appearance. Once the femme fatale named Burma gets introduced (late Feb 1936) things really start to pick up.
Reading Order
There are 60 arcs in the 12 years (10/22/34 - 12/29/46) worth of strips that Caniff wrote and drew. The Mon-Sat strip began in Oct 1934. The Sunday strip started in Dec 1934. Caniff started a new, separate story in the Sunday strip. Four of the 60 arcs are Sunday-only arcs. It wasn’t until August 1936 that he combined the storylines for both. My goal is to try and read 4-6 weeks’ worth of strips every week. At that pace I estimate that I will read a year’s worth of strips in 3 months.
Until I get to the point where the story lines are combined I have decided to alternate between reading an arc of the dailies and an arc of the Sunday strips.
Arc 1: The Lost Gold Mine
Oct 22, 1934 - Jan 19, 1935 (D)
Arc 2: Enter the Dragon Lady
Dec 23, 1934 - Mar 10, 1935 (S)
Arc 3: On a Mystery Cruise
Jan 21 - Jun 8, 1935 (D)
Arc 4: The Skull and the Dragon
Mar 17 - Aug 25, 1935 (S)
Arc 5: Thugs and Lovers
Jun 10 - Dec 19, 1935 (D)
Arc 6: Blaze and the Dragon
Sep 1, 1935 - Jan 26, 1936 (S)
Arc 7: St. Louis Blues on the Road to Mandalay
Dec 20, 1935 - Apr 24, 1936 (D)
Arc 8: In Command
Feb 2 - Aug 23, 1936 (S)
Arc 9: A Jewel of a Woman
Apr 24 - Aug 22, 1936 (D)
Arc 10: Spies and Slaves (Part 1)
Aug 24, 1936 - Jan 2, 1937
Vol. 1 - Extras
- another look back at Howard Chaykin's introduction to this volume plus Bruce Canwell's text piece about Milton Caniff's origins and the origins of Terry and the Pirates
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Vol. 2: 1937-1938
by Milton Caniff
This entire volume is part of what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, considers to be the second era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in late Aug 1936 and ran through late Apr 1939 and is called Days of High Adventure in the companion book.
Dec 31, 1936 - Jan 31, 1937
Feb 1 - Jun 23, 1937
Jun 24 - Sep 10, 1937
Sep 11 - Dec 18, 1937
Dec 19, 1937 - Apr 3, 1938
Apr 4 - Jul 17, 1938
Jul 18 - Nov 5, 1938
Nov 6 - Dec 31, 1938
- some notes about Pete Hamill's Introduction to this volume and Bruce Canwell's article (Setting the Stage: "Heightened Awareness") about Milton Caniff.
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The Complete Terry and the Pirates
Vol. 3: 1939-1940
by Milton Caniff
This volume begins with the second half of the last story of what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, considers to be the second era of Caniff’s run on the strip. The rest of this volume is part of the third era of Caniff's run on Terry and the Pirates. The third era began in late Apr 1939 and ran through late Jan 1942 and is called Between Spear Points in the companion book.
Jan 1 - Apr 23, 1939
Apr 24 - Jul 2, 1939
Jul 3 - Sep 9, 1939
Sep 10 - Nov 5, 1939
Nov 6, 1939 - Mar 9, 1940
Mar 10 - Jun 8, 1940
Jun 9 - Sep 1, 1940
Sep 2 - Nov 30, 1940
Dec 1, 1940 - Jan 1, 1941
Some notes about the Preface and Bruce Canwell's Setting the Scene article for this volume.
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The Complete Terry and the Pirates
Vol. 4: 1941-1942
by Milton Caniff
The first half of this volume, roughly speaking, continues the lead up to the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941 and the United States entering World War II. That part of the book is called Between Spear Points in the companion book and ends in late Jan 1942. The rest of the book is the beginning of the fourth era of Terry and the Pirates. It is called The War Years in the companion book and lasts for almost 4 years, until late in 1945.
Jan 2 - Feb 2, 1941
Feb 3 - Apr 27, 1941
Apr 28 - Jul 5, 1941
Jul 6 - Nov 1, 1941
Nov 2, 1941 - Jan 24, 1942
Jan 25 - Mar 29, 1942
Mar 30 - Jun 12, 1942
Jun 13 - Jul 18, 1942
Jul 19 - Aug 22, 1942
Aug 23 - Dec 19, 1942
Dec 20 - 31, 1942
Some notes about the Preface, Introduction, and Bruce Canwell's Setting the Scene article for this volume.
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The Complete Terry and the Pirates
Vol. 5: 1943-1944
by Milton Caniff
All of this this book is part of the fourth era of Terry and the Pirates. It is called The War Years in the companion book and lasts for almost 4 years, from late Jan 1942 until late in 1945.
Jan 1 - Feb 14, 1943
Feb 15 - Mar 21, 1943
Mar 22 - May 16, 1943
May 17 - Aug 27, 1943
Aug 28 - Oct 29, 1943
Oct 30 - Dec 18, 1943
Dec 19, 1943 - Feb 7, 1944
Feb 8 - May 20, 1944
May 21 - Jul 23, 1944
Jul 24 - Oct 25, 1944
Oct 25 - Dec 24, 1944
Dec 25 - 31, 1944
Some notes about the Preface, Introduction, and Bruce Canwell's Setting the Scene article for this volume.
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The Complete Terry and the Pirates
Vol. 6: 1945-1946
by Milton Caniff
The first half of this book, roughly speaking, covers Terry's adventures in the final year of World War Two. It is called The War Years in the companion book. The rest of the book concludes Milton Caniff's run on Terry and the Pirates and is called On Final Approach in the companion book.
Jan 1 - Apr 1, 1945
Apr 2 - May 23, 1945
May 24 - Sep 2, 1945
Sep 3 - Nov 5, 1945
Nov 6 - Dec 28, 1945
Dec 29, 1948 - Mar 12, 1946
Mar 13 - May 17, 1946
May 18 - Jul 21, 1946
Jul 22 - Oct 13, 1946
Oct 14 - Dec 29, 1946
Some notes about the Preface, Introduction, and Bruce Canwell's Setting the Scene article for this volume.
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