The Press: Cease Fire

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Peace on earth was two weeks old, but in the never-never land of comic strips—prepared weeks in advance—the war went on. Last week syndicated artists, caught with their paints down, struggled for quick and graceful ways to get their heroes out of uniform:

¶ Tillie the Toiler was already out of the WAC; Skeezix (home on rotation) and Harold Teen (making offstage noises from his Navy station) will soon be discharged.

¶Smilin' Jack was last seen heading out to battle in the Pacific, leaving the stage to minor characters; he will be in civilian clothes when readers see him again.

¶Milt Caniff's Terry and the Pirates, weeks after V-J day, was still in a Jap spy chase on a Pacific island, but agile Artist Caniff already has figured a way to keep 'em flying: Colonel "Flip" Corkin will organize an. air police team to patrol Jap waters.

¶ Hearst papers will drop two minor-league strips, Tim Tyler's Luck and Jungle Jim, will sneak them back in when the creators get their boys into more peaceful pursuits.

¶ Superman, who had left the war pretty much to itself since he could not cut in without winning it at once, plunged in after it was all over. An embarrassed McClure Syndicate last week was distributing strips in which a phony Japanese Superman was rising up to challenge (and be defeated by) the true Superman.