Terry and the Pirates daily 06/12/1939 - Dragon Lady

Terry and the Pirates daily - 06/12/1939


I was really excited and grateful to add this daily to my collection. This strip is from the well known and much loved "Dancing with the Dragon Lady" story arc, in which Terry receives both dance and life lessons from our femme fatale in exchange for saving her life from some back alley thugs. Featuring classic Dragon Lady imagery, as she smokes in that infamous open chested cloak, loading her purse pistol for the upcoming governor's ball. Beautifully drawn by Caniff in '39, as he continued to elevate the quality of his strips in both story and art. I love the subtle narrative detail in panel two, as the wispy smoke from her extinguished cigarette passes between the figures. This large, 23" x 7" strip is truly a sight to behold in person, as no scan could really do it justice. I'll likely get this framed as I'm always looking at it.

The biggest of thanks to the amazing Jeff Singh who was gracious enough to part with it, and patient in letting me time-pay this beauty over the past months.


Provenance - The Bobby G. Murphy Collection