Milton Caniff:  An American Master

Introduction

Milton Caniff changed the history of the American comic strip. He was expert in both the artistic and literary aspects of the medium. The graphic style that Caniff made famous influenced many other comic strip and comic book artists. He told exciting stories for adults that featured believable, and often sexy, characters.

His rigorous attention to the details of slang, dress, and social mores provides fascinating evidence of changing times over the course of the Twentieth Century. The values that Caniff espoused in his work such as patriotism and fair-play were those of his time, and his failure to understand the cultural changes of the late 1960s mirrored the confusion of many other Americans of his generation. Milton Caniff’s work provides insights into our country’s life and values, despite its exotic locales and fantastic adventures. It is also beautiful to see and fun to read—the hallmark of a good comic strip

This exhibition is a virtual version of portions of two exhibitions at The Ohio State University that celebrated the centennial of Caniff’s birth in 2007, Milton Caniff: American Master was at the Hopkins Gallery + Corridor, October 8-28, 2007 and Rarities: Unusual Works from the Caniff Collection was at the Cartoon Research Library Reading Room Gallery, September 4, 2007-January 19, 2008.