Popular Comics #3
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freePopular Comics #3 (April 1936) is one of the earliest comic books to place Milton Caniff's celebrated cast — Terry Lee, Pat Ryan, Connie, and the Dragon Lady — before a mass comic-book readership, at a moment when the medium itself was barely established. By reprinting Chicago Tribune–New York News Syndicate Sunday pages in a standard-format comic book, the issue helped normalize the adventure anthology as a viable publishing form and extended the reach of Caniff's strip to audiences who might never have seen a big-city Sunday paper. The Dragon Lady, who debuted in the newspaper Sunday strips in December 1934, was still a relatively new and electrifyingly novel antagonist at this point — a glamorous pirate queen whose moral complexity was unprecedented in popular comics. Popular Comics as a whole was a cornerstone title that launched Dell as a major publisher, and issue #3 is an integral chapter in that story.
In "null," young Skippy struggles to nail a football field goal, only to be taunted by a passing kid who mocks his misses. When the taunter gets in range, Skippy finally kicks—right where it counts.
In "Golf Ball on String," a man takes a few drinks before teeing off, only to find his swing interrupted by a prank: Northrup has secretly attached a nail and string to the ball. As he swings, the ball shoots off—then yanks back when Northrup pulls the string. Confused and startled, the man reacts with a sudden burst of frustration, smashing his bottle against a rock.
In "null," Beansy faces a childhood dilemma: he’s eager to swim with Skippy, but his mama insists he get a haircut first. Reluctantly heading to the barber, he’s only halfway through the cut when he bolts back out—half-Mohawk and all—to race off to the water, eager to show off his new, slightly uneven style.
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Popular Comics launched in February 1936 as Dell Publishing's entry into the then-nascent standard comic-book format, packaged and edited by M.C. Gaines and Sheldon Mayer operating out of the McClure Syndicate offices. The content was drawn almost entirely from strips distributed by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate — Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley, Little Orphan Annie, Terry and the Pirates, and dozens of others — reprinted in full color for a dime, following the model Gaines had already used on Famous Funnies. Captain Joseph Patterson of the Chicago Tribune–New York News Syndicate had originally commissioned Caniff to create Terry and the Pirates in 1934, providing the title and the Chinese setting; by issue #3 the strip was already in its early Dragon Lady piracy arc, with the daily and Sunday storylines still running on separate continuities (they would not merge until August 1936).
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published April 1936 by Dell Publishing Co. as the third issue of Popular Comics, a monthly anthology that launched in February 1936.
- Reprints Terry and the Pirates Sunday strips by Milton Caniff, featuring Terry Lee, Pat Ryan, Connie (George Webster Confucius), and the Dragon Lady — all characters introduced in the newspaper strip between October 1934 and December 1934.
- The Dragon Lady (real name Lai Choi San) first appeared in the newspaper Sunday strip in December 1934; Popular Comics #1–#3 represent some of her earliest comic-book reprint appearances.
- The issue was part of a large ensemble anthology also featuring Dick Tracy (Chester Gould), Gasoline Alley (Frank King), Little Orphan Annie (Harold Gray), Smokey Stover (Bill Holman), and Ripley's Believe It or Not, among roughly two dozen strips.
- Packaged and edited by M.C. Gaines and Sheldon Mayer at the McClure Syndicate offices — the same editorial team that had pioneered Famous Funnies and would later shape DC Comics and EC Comics respectively.
- At this point in the Terry strip's continuity, the daily and Sunday pages ran separate storylines; Caniff would not integrate them into a single narrative until August 26, 1936.
- Terry and the Pirates strip reprints were a recurring anchor feature in Popular Comics from the very first issue, running through 1938 before moving to Dell's Super Comics anthology.
- The strip had been created at the direction of Chicago Tribune–New York News Syndicate editor Captain Joseph Patterson, who gave Caniff both the title and the Asian setting.
Cast · 4 characters
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Skippy's Own Book of Comics #[nn] (1934)
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