comicbooks.com Join Free
Home β€Ί Pat Ryan
Pat Ryan

Pat Ryan

143 appearances Β· Platinum Age Β· 1936–2023 Β· 3 key issues
Who is Pat Ryan?

Pat Ryan is a two-fisted adventurer who stars alongside young Terry Lee in Milton Caniff's classic strip Terry and the Pirates, battling pirates, criminals, and assorted villains across exotic Far Eastern locales. He serves as Terry's adult guardian and mentor figure.

Few characters can claim roots as deep as Pat Ryan, a Platinum Age adventurer who first leaped off the page in Popular Comics #1 back in 1936 β€” the very first issue of one of the earliest comic book anthologies ever published. Created by the legendary Chester Gould, Pat has kept remarkable company across his nearly nine decades in print, sharing pages with the likes of Terry Lee, The Dragon Lady, and Smilin' Jack in Dell's golden stable of adventure and humor strips. With 143 catalog appearances spanning Popular Comics, Super Comics, and Terry and the Pirates, and three key issues to his name, Pat Ryan is a genuine piece of comics history β€” the kind of character who reminds collectors just how rich and sprawling this medium's roots truly are.

Popular Comics
#1
β˜… First appearance
Popular Comics #1
Feb 1936

Trivia

  • Milton Caniff has drawn more of Pat Ryan's comics than any other artist in our catalog β€” 30 issues.

Top series

Covers through the years β€” 1940–2022

Four Color #9 1940
Four Color #9
Four Color #44 1944
Four Color #44
Super Comics #121 1949
Super Comics #121
The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics #[nn] 1977
The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics #[nn]
Terry and the Pirates #1 1984
Terry and the Pirates #1
Terry and the Pirates #2 1986
Terry and the Pirates #2
The Comics Before 1945 #[nn] 2004
The Comics Before 1945 #[nn]
Meanwhile... A Biography of Milton Caniff #[nn] 2007
Meanwhile... A Biography of Milton Caniff #[nn]
Terry and the Pirates: The Master Collection #1 2022
Terry and the Pirates: The Master Collection #1

Appearances

Mammoth Comics (1938)
Large Feature Comic (1939)
Four Color (1939)
Super Book of Comics [Pan-Am Oil Co.] (1942)
Dick Tracy [Popped Wheat Giveaway] (1947)
Smilin' Jack [Popped Wheat Giveaway] (1947)
Little Orphan Annie [Popped Wheat Giveaway] (1947)
Terry and the Pirates [Popped Wheat Giveaway] (1947)
Terry and the Pirates Comics (1947)
Terry and the Pirates (1970)
The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics (1977)
Terry and the Pirates [Large Feature Comic #27 Replica] (1982)
Comics Scene (1982)
#9
Classic Adventure Strips (1985)
#7
The Comics Before 1945 (2004)
Meanwhile... A Biography of Milton Caniff (2007)
The Comics: The Complete Collection (2008)
Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles (2008)
Terry and the Pirates: The Master Collection (2022)