Customer Reviews

The Complete Terry and the Pirates, Vol. 1: 1934-1936

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a longtime comic strip aficionado, and a collector of reprint volumes. The popularity of Fantagraphics' The Complete Peanuts has brought a resurgence to this genre that, for me, has been no less than thrilling. First of these new reprints came Walt and Skeezix, a gorgeous reprinting of the delightful Gasoline Alley. Close on its heels came IDW's Dick Tracy reprints, featuring not only a great strip, but production values that were better than I'd seen in any other reprint book -- up till that point.
This book tops them all. How the strip itself compares to Gasoline Alley or Dick Tracy is a matter for debate (many would consider Terry superior to both, many would argue for the others -- I love them all), but the quality of this book isn't. It is a huge, solid, gorgeous book, just a joy to behold, a pleasure to hold and read. The strips might as well be brand new, they're so sharp; the coloring of the Sundays is sharp and faithful to the originals; and the filler material is first rate. It is clear that the folks at IDW who are putting out these volumes are serious comic strip fans, who want nothing but the best for the strips that they love.
Thank you, IDW. I can't wait to see what other treats the "Library of American Comics" will be bringing us.

"The Complete Terry and the Pirates--Volume 1" is a big, thick, heavy, massive, well-made, "coffee-table-size" book that contains every one of Milton Caniff's daily and Sunday strips from the series' debut on October 22, 1934, through the end of 1936. It is the first of six volumes that are planned to be released quarterly. Each one will cover a two-year period of one of the most well-drawn, technically excellent, narratively interesting and widely popular comic strips ever created.

I have a special interest in "Terry and the Pirates," since I bear the same name as, and was actually named after, the title character Terry Lee. But I had never read any of Caniff's original strips. By the time I was born, he had moved on to other projects (the most notable being "Steve Canyon," which he created in 1948), and the task of continuing to write and draw "Terry and the Pirates" had fallen to George Wunder. So it was a real treat to go back to the very beginning of the series, with the original artist/writer, and vicariously experience the Orient adventures of young Terry Lee, his older pal Pat Ryan and their nemesis, the infamous Dragon Lady.

Going back in time more than 70 years is interesting. Many of the Chinese characters in "Terry and the Pirates" are caricatures of racial stereotypes that are a little jarring in today's milieu of political correctness run amok. Buck teeth, protruding ears and typecast speech patterns ("solly" for "sorry, "Melican" for "American," etc.) reflect the culture, beliefs and prejudices of the mid-1930s. These strips are accurate depictions of the social mores of the times--even though Caniff reportedly never visited the Orient. Hyper-sensitive individuals may want to avoid exposing themselves to such "blatant racism," but anyone of normal sensitivities should be able to put the seeming slurs into their proper historical context.

The quality and production values of the book are outstanding. The dailies are crisp and sharp, and the colorful Sunday strips practically leap off of the page. Be aware that the drawings are complex and detailed--especially after Caniff hit his stride a year or so into the strip--and the text is dense, plentiful and small. Reading each page requires considerable concentration and a good, bright light. But the payoff you'll get for taking the effort to experience "Terry and the Pirates"--best handled in small doses, like a fine Port, to avoid sensory overload--is well worth it. I enthusiastically recommend this volume most highly and without reservation.

I'm a big Caniff's fan. I bought this book and I won't send it back. But I will surely not buy the following volumes.
There's no question that Milton Caniff was a true complete genius. His strip Terry and the Pirates is undoubtly one of the most outstanding artistic achievements in the literary and graphic arts of the XXth century.
But this edition just doesn't cut it.
Scanning and printing haven't been done with enough definition: The line art is unsharp and unworthy of such a smooth and inspired inker as Caniff.
The strips are reprinted too small. Especially the format of the Sunday Pages is ridiculously tiny. And graphically weird: 3 thin strips to a page, historically conceivable, but esthetically inappropriate. For a book which wants to be the definitive edition, it is pretty shocking.
The worst, yet: The art has been scanned very darkly, to the contrary of the NBM-Flying Buttress edition. The gray screens come out much too strong: You get Caniff's blacks, but his lights are gone! This printing is maybe 10% more accurate than the NBM-Flying Buttress scans, but the black & white balance ist at least 30% off... And offputing!
The extra-bonus materials are sparse and reproduced much too small. The introduction articles are totally superficial and uninteresting. The object in itself is much too big and to heavy to have an enjoyable and relaxed reading session.
Oh, please! Bring us back Denis Kitchen, Peter Poplaski, Shel Dorf and their Kitchen Sink re-editions!
In the meanwhile, try to find the (although not perfect either, but much more enjoyable) NBM-Flying Buttress edition.

I titled my review as such because at the moment I received my copy of "Terry And The Pirates" I am in the middle of reading "Meanwhile", the biography of Milton Caniff. How exciting is that to a cartoonist who is a long time admirer of Caniff and his children, Terry and Steve Canyon. Rhetorical question; extremely exciting from the standpoint of having the complete first two years to compare as I read Milt's bio. But as to the book. It is wonderful, but please take the time to read Howard Chaykin's introduction. To the uninitiated, upon first glance Terry will appear raw and naive, but understand that this was the birth of something wonderful and magic; it has growing pains. But what growth! Here is a master learning his craft. Caniff wrote and drew Terry as two distinct strips, the Sunday story and the daily story, until both coalesced on August 30th, 1936. Then there is the initial appearance of Noel Sickle's design of Terry's familiar signature on August 18th, 1935, and Caniff's artwork blazes across the Sunday page as his chiaroscuro style matures.

This book is incredible, and the promise of the succeeding five volumes in the twelve year run of Terry is akin to anxiously awaiting for Christmas in February, just too doggone long! The reproductions are from original newspaper comic strips housed in archival collections and digitally remastered, as the original art is probably now long gone, but be thankful that we even have those. I'll admit, at first glance I was a tad bit disappointed, but after sitting with the book and browsing through the wealth of the contents, I'll not complain, but give Dean Mullaney and the folks at IDW Publishing a huge round of applause for a job well done. Not only are all of the strips here in chronological order, but rare photos I haven't seen before and a nice intro to Caniff's work by Bruce Canwell, with photos and art.

If you're a Terry fan, buy this book! If you're a Milt Caniff fan, buy this book! If you a golden age comic strip fan, buy this book! Like I said earlier, I'm excited and I haven't read the first strip yet.

Fantastic stuff, beautiful thick volume, but the worst low-definition b/w print I ever seen in years! What a pity. I hope things come better in the next issues.

Now that this wonderful edition is complete, with 4 books on 6 in splendid shape (the best comic strips reprints ever done) I *strongly hope* that this reprint of vol #1 has the correct definition regarding the printing... Anyone can verify? I'd love to buy a second copy of vol. 1 & 2, if the printing is improved... thanks and forgive my english

I've bought several of the new collections of classic comic strips lately. So far, this one is my favorite. The detail behind the genesis of Terry and the Pirates is excellent, as is the reproductions (especially the colors of the Sunday strips). This strip is one I knew more by reputation than from actual exposure to it. Having bought this entertaining book makes me regret the lack of exciting, well-drawn strips in today's paper.

Terry and the Pirates vol #1 is a must have for anyone interested in this long running classic comic series. It is, as should be expected, somewhat hindered by many aspects of the source material.

For one, T&P's 6-days-a-week black and white strips and 1-a-week color strip follow two completely separate story lines for more than 12 months. This isn't a problem per-see, however IDW's decision to collect the color strips first, then back track to the beginning of the black and whites, and THEN merge the two formats by the end of the book is a bit awkward. Most significantly, because Terry & Pat's reason for being in China is explained in the black and white dailies. (as is their meeting Connie and several other characters) This is made all the more confusing when characters are referenced in the initial colors without context.

As for the actual content of the books, the artwork is well reproduced. As it features the beginning of the series, the art style starts off a bit weak but grows over time.

On a final note, readers should go into this experience expecting social outlooks (racism) to be some what dated. The Chinese are widely presented as stupid, cowardly, greedy and outright evil. Arguably not as bad as Africans are in TinTin in Congo, but it is worth knowing ahead of time.

If you are old enough to have experienced Terry and the Pirates you were still too young to have truly appreciated the art of the graphic novel in serial form as presented by Milton Caniff. That describes me who had Terry read to me by my father every Sunday. Now I can read on my own and now I can appreciate this great tale as presented in this first volume. My only question is how quickly will the later volumes be ready. I can't wait. Incidently if you are too young to have read Terry, try it now. It is a winner. FPB Ann Arbor

The Complete Terry And The Pirates Volume 1: 1934 - 1936 A Library Of American Comics Original (Complete Terry & the Pirates)
All of the daily and weekly strips, the latter in fresh full color, well-printed on heavy quality paper, well-bound with a good cloth hard cover and a ribbon place mark, a volume that will be carefully preserved and re-read many times.
The characters of the Dragon Lady and the many 'China hands,' both good and bad, awaken our sense of adventure and memories of a less sophisticated age.
The introductory material provides the history and background of the strip and a brief biography of Milton Caniff.
A real joy for fans, and heartedly recommended to all who enter the life of the great, classic comics of the past.

This is an excellent first volume to this comprehensive reprinting of the classic "Terry and the Pirates" series. I have wanted to read this series, but missed out on the previous reprint series done by NBM several years back (being a poor student at the time, I could not afford the multiple expensive volumes).

I hope the success of this series, along with the current reprint series on Peanuts, Dick Tracy, Popeye, Gasoline Alley, and Dennis the Menace will bode well for the upcoming Little Orphan Annie and Pogo series, and will lead to better reprints of other classic series.