Adam Ames (Part 5)

Adam Ames

by Elliott Caplin and Lou Fine

Part Five: Helena and Harvey Harnet

Part 5: Oct 5, 1960 - Feb 11, 1961

07/10/26

Oct 5, 1960 - A woman and her adult son, Harvey, arrive at their new home, next door to the Bakins. Harvey doesn't care for the look of Malvern but his mother feels otherwise.

Adam Ames (Part 4)

Adam Ames

by Elliott Caplin and Lou Fine

Part Four: Wendy Bakin

May 11 - Oct 4, 1960

05/28/26

May 11, 1960 - Miss Blue, one of Joel’s teachers, catches him drawing in class while staring at one of his classmates.

I get the impression that Miss Blue teaches something other than art.

Adam Ames (Part 3)

Adam Ames

by Elliott Caplin and Lou Fine

Part 3: Hank Weer and Brock Emmady

Jan 22 - May 10, 1960

04/27/26

Jan 22-23, 1960 - Adam and Joel arrive home. Bessie is working on dinner. Adam wants to know where Susie and Buzz are at. Bessie has no idea. Adam goes looking for his two youngest kids. They are hiding in his studio. Susie tells Buzz to keep quiet. Their faces are dirty.

I have no idea what Susie and Buzz have been doing. Maybe they will play a bigger role in this arc than they did in the first two arcs. 

Adam Ames (Part 2)

Adam Ames

by Elliott Caplin and Lou Fine

Part 2: The Sembles

Sep 30, 1959 - Jan 21, 1960

03/25/26

Sep 30, 1959 - Bessie gets very excited when Morell Semble, the richest man in Malvern, comes to the Ames house. 

Maybe the strips from Sep 28 and 29 should be part of the second arc but I think they belong with the previous one. My guess is that Semble wants Adam to paint his portrait or something like that. Where will that lead? I have no idea.

Adam Ames (Part 1)

Adam Ames

by Elliott Caplin and Lou Fine

I recently discovered an archive of this comic strip online at ComicBookPlus. I decided to give it a try. Adam Ames was a daily strip (Mon-Sat). It ran for just over three years, from July 6, 1959 until July 28, 1962. I started by reading it for free on ComicBookPlus which has the strips through Feb 11, 1961 (about half of the total run of Adam Ames). After reading the first five weeks worth of strips I decided to order the collected edition from Lulu which includes the full run of Adam Ames.

Steve Canyon (9)

Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

Puppy Love

Nov 4, 1948 - Jan 8, 1949

01/26/26

Nov 4-6, 1948 - Reed waits with Fancy while Steve and Happy search (unsuccessfully) for Rak. Reed is heartbroken when he learns that they didn’t find his father.

Rak is actually R.A.K. or Reed A. Kimberly, so Reed Kimberly is actually Reed A. Kimberly, Jr. 

Steve Canyon (8)

Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

Plantation Sabotage 

Sep 4 - Nov 3, 1948

12/24/25

Sep 4, 1948 - Steve and Happy wash up on a beach, too tired to do anything. Nearby the sound of a radio program that is being broadcast from beneath a beach umbrella reaches them.

Steve Canyon (7)

Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

Operation Convoy

May 24 - Sep 3, 1948

11/06/25

May 24-26, 1948 - Steve and Happy escape from the police with some help from someone who might be the Maid of Nine but they are not reunited with their mysterious benefactor. They escape on a camel but quickly abandon that mode of transport. 

Steve Canyon (6)

Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

The Nine Maid

Mar 28 - May 23, 1948

10/09/25

Mar 28, 1948 - Steve and Happy try to get the advantage on the bandits but instead find themselves surprised by a masked woman in a suit of armor.

Steve Canyon (5)

Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

Medical Sabotage

Nov 25, 1947 - Mar 27, 1948

This is the fifth of sixteen stories that the Steve Canyon Companion considers to be the first era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in Jan 1947 and ran through early Oct 1950.

08/13/25

Nov 25-26, 1947 - Doc Wilderness gets word from her boss to return to HQ and bring Steve Canyon with her. Steve agrees if he can bring Happy Easter with him.

Steve Canyon (4)

Steve Canyon Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

Jewels of Africa

Sep 27 - Nov 24, 1947

This is the fourth of sixteen stories that the Steve Canyon Companion considers to be the first era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in Jan 1947 and ran through early Oct 1950.

07/15/25

Sep 27, 1947 - Steve and company depart the sandy desert of the Middle East. 

Steve Canyon (3)

Steve Canyon Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

Easter’s Oil

Jul 8 - Sep 26, 1947

This is the third of sixteen stories that the Steve Canyon Companion considers to be the first era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in Jan 1947 and ran through early Oct 1950.

06/11/25

Jul 8-9, 1947 - Steve heads to the bank to try and deposit the check that Red gave him only to discover that the authorities have placed a hold on the funds of the Black Champagne Oil Company. He heads next to the Horizons Unlimited airplane and finds out that the authorities are about to impound the air transport. 

Steve Canyon (2)

Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

Delta

Apr 10 - Jul 7, 1947

This is the second of sixteen stories in what the Steve Canyon Companion, considers to be the first era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in Jan 1947 and ran through early Oct 1950.

05/04/25

Apr 10-12, 1947 - Copper is loaded on the Horizons Unlimited air transport. A doctor and nurse are brought in to look after Copper during the flight back to the United States but they are not who they claim to be.

Steve Canyon (1)

Steve Canyon Vol. 1: 1947-1948

by Milton Caniff

Copperhead

Jan 13 - Apr 9, 1947

This is the first of sixteen stories in the Steve Canyon Companion, considers to be the first era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in Jan 1947 and ran through early Oct 1950.

03/28/25

Jan 13-15, 1947 - Mr. Dayzee, a potential client, visits the office of Horizons Unlimited. He is there to meet with Steve Canyon but Feeta, Canyon’s secretary, explains to Mr. Dayzee that her boss is not currently in the office even though Mr. Dayzee made an appointment to meet with him. Dayzee is ready to walk out but Feeta encourages him to stick around and wait for Steve.

Steve Canyon - Initial Thoughts

I was not intending to follow up my read through of Terry and the Pirates, the spiritual predecessor to Steve Canyon, by reading this strip. Milton Caniff wrote and drew Steve Canyon for more than 40 years. That’s considerably more than I want to take on. My goal at the moment is to read maybe the first nine-and-a-half years of Steve Canyon, up to mid-1956. That would take me through the first two eras of the strip as defined by the companion book.

Terry and the Pirates Vol. 6 - Extras

Vol. 6: 1945-1946

by Milton Caniff

Preface

by Dean Mullaney

The Library of American Comics began with the first volume of Terry and the Pirates. This is the final volume of Terry and the Pirates but the Library of American Comics will continue beyond the end of Milton Caniff’s run on the strip with the reproduction of other classic comic strips.

Terry and the Pirates (42)

Vol. 6: 1945-1946

by Milton Caniff

The Searcher

Oct 14 - Dec 29, 1946

This is the fourth 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:

060 - "Fanning Old Flames" (10/9/46 to 12/29/46)

There are just 33 days worth of reading left for me in this run on the strip, until Milton Caniff stopped writing and drawing it and moved on to Steve Canyon. I’m not sure who will turn up in this arc or to whom the two titles for it refer. I should be done with it by mid to late March. It’s been quite a journey. 

Terry and the Pirates (41)

Vol. 6: 1945-1946

By Milton Caniff

 

Mercy Mission

Jul 22 - Oct 13, 1946

This is the third of four stories in what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, labeled as 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:

059 - "Nasty Trouble" (7/17/46 to 10/8/46)

01/09/25

Jul 22-24, 1946 - Terry and Hotshot learn that their guest is Nastalthia Smythe-Heatherington. Terry remembers her from their previous meeting but Nasty does not remember Terry. Armed men who are looking for Nasty show up outside while the trio talk.

Terry and the Pirates (40.B)

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)

12/08/24

May 18, 1946 - Baron de Plexus returns and is looking for a way to smuggle cargo. 

The Dragon Lady claimed to be the Baroness de Plexus in early 1945. Baron de Plexus hasn’t been seen since late Jun 1939 when the Dragon Lady tried to poison him. 

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.