Steve Canyon was an action/adventure comic strip
written by Milton Caniff. Caniff began the strip
January 7, 1947 after retiring from the strip for
which he was most famous, Terry and the Pirates.
Steve Canyon ran until June 4, 1988, shortly after
Caniff's death.

By 1946 Caniff had developed a world-wide
reputation for brilliant writing and excellent
art. Terry and the Pirates had made him famous,
but rights to the strip were owned by the Chicago
Tribune newspaper syndicate. Seeking creative
control of his own work Caniff approached the
Chicago Sun-Times with an idea for a new comic
strip which he would own outright. Caniff's last
episode for Terry and the Pirates appeared in
December of 1946, and Steve Canyon appeared little
more than a week later in 125 newspapers
throughout the country.

Originally based on Gary Cooper, Steve Canyon was
an easy-going adventurer with a soft heart.
Originally a veteran running his own air transport
business, the character returned to the U.S. Air
Force during the Korean war and remained there for
the rest of the strip.

Initially his buddies were former veterans, and
romantic interest was provided by Copper Calhoun,
a kind of capitalist version of the popular Dragon
Lady character Caniff had created for Terry and
the Pirates. Eventually, however, Canyon developed
a permanent sidekick in crotchety millionaire
adventurer "Happy" Easter, and a permanent love
interest in Summer Olson, Calhoun's private
secretary. A young Terry replacement, Reed
Kimberley, also became a major character.

Caniff was famous for colorful villians and
intriguing female characters and these populated
the series. He was also intensely patriotic and
with Canyon's return to the military the story
began to revolve around cold war intrigue and the
responsibilities of American citizens. However
Caniff was able to maintain the picaresque
qualities of the story which ranged throughout the
world.

The popularity of Steve Canyon never equalled
Terry and the Pirates, and the popularity of
cartoon adventures in general declined through the
1960's. Meanwhile Caniff's own health was
declining. Although he continued to write and ink
the strip until his death, for the last decade the
rough pencilling was done by Dick Rockwell, a
nephew of famous illustrator Norman Rockwell.

Milton Caniff died May 3, 1988. The last Steve
Canyon strip was a tribute to Caniff in two
panels, one drawn by legendary cartoonist Bill
Mauldin, the other containing the signatures of 78
fellow cartoonists.

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