Milton Caniff: Conversations by: Robert C. Harvey (Editor), Milton Caniff (Contributor), Will Eisner (Contributor), Jules Feiffer (Contributor)
Softcover. Jackson MS, University Press of Mississippi, 1st, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 312 pages. In this collection of more than a dozen interviews one of the giants of American comic strips talks about his life and his craft. The years spanning 1937 to 1986, when the interviews were conducted, embrace almost all of Caniff's career as he was producing the legendary Terry and the Pirates and his post-World War II masterpiece Steve Canyon. In long talks with such comics luminaries as Jules Feiffer and Will Eisner, Caniff (1907-1988) discusses his signature chiaroscuro style, his passion for realism in every detail, and his relationships with such other cartooning greats as Al Capp (Li'l Abner), Noel Sickles (Scorchy Smith), and Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon) As Caniff speaks earnestly about his art, his techniques, and his intentions, he discloses his inspirations. He based his characters on real persons and his material on contemporary politics and military issues. He gives candid opinions about the effects of the marketplace, business, and sales upon his art. "I would have created Blondie if I'd known that I could have sold it, you can be damn sure." He notes that the cause for terminating his association with Terry and the Pirates and his creation of Steve Canyon was neither lack of interest nor censorship but the opportunity to exert full creative control over his work.
