Milton Caniff

Biografía
During the Great Depression, Caniff and Sickles opened an art agency in Columbus that was unsuccessful and had to close. He then had to move to New York in 1932. In an election campaign he drew the portraits of thirty-five candidates, although only Franklin D. Roosevelt’s was published. He dedicated his time to humoristic drawings, creating “Puffy the Pig” and “The Gay Thirties”, but it wasn’t until 1933 when he created his first famous work “Dickie Dare”. The main character is a twelve year old who is passionate about reading and has a big imagination. So, with his dog Wags, he enters the adventures he discovers in his readings. A year later he was hired by the Chicago Tribune and he published what would be his most famous series and an essential read: “Terry and the Pirates”. The series owes its name to the fact that its main character, Terry Lee, together with his inseparable friend Pat Ryan, are kidnapped during a journey across the Chinese coast by some pirates who are led by one of the most well-known villains of the series, Lady Dragon. The series was a big success and this led the Camp Newspaper Service, which specializes in military publications, to request a series to elevate the morale of the military troops in World War II in 1942. Caniff replied with some strips starring the blonde Bulma, who already appeared in Terry’s series. However, the Tribune News Syndicate, which owned “Terry and the Pirates” didn’t like this adaptation. As a result, Caniff created a new series “Male Call” which debuted in 1943. Among the girls that were featured in the series, Miss Lace stood out, and it was published until 1946/ In January 1947, he created “Steve Canyon”, starring a Northamerican ace of aviation who, once discharged, established an aviation company, “Horizons Unlimited”. Canyon accepts the riskiest missions and fights against the most vicious individuals. His adventures take place mostly in Southeast Asia or the Middle East. The logo of the series was created by his friend Sickles who had already worked with him in Terry.