Sunday-style strip depicts Brigadier General Steve Canyon in Afghanistan, investigating Taliban activity. Characters and story Steve Canyon was an easygoing adventurer with a soft heart. Originally a veteran running his own air-transport business, the character returned to the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and stayed in the military for the remainder of the strip's run. In later years he was involved in Air Force intelligence and operations. Initially, his buddies were fellow veterans, and romantic interest was provided by Copper Calhoon, a kind of capitalist version of the popular Dragon Lady character Caniff had created for Terry and the Pirates. Eventually, Canyon developed a sometime-sidekick in crotchety millionaire adventurer Happy Easter, along with a permanent love interest in Summer Olson, initially Calhoon's private secretary. (Canyon and Olson were pronounced "man and wife" in the first panel of the April 25, 1970, daily strip.) General Philerie was based on legendary World War II hero Phil Cochran, who came from Erie, as noted in the character's name ("Phil-Erie"). Cochran had been the model for Flip Corkin from Terry and the Pirates. In the mid-1950s Steve Canyon became guardian to Poteet Canyon. Just why she was sent to him was left unanswered for many years, along with how she was related to him. She went to Maumee University, then got a job in journalism, first at a local newspaper. At the nearby airfield, she became friends with Bitsy Beekman, who worked at a high-end magazine like 'Vogue'. In the late-1960s to the late 1970s, more stories focused on Summer’s son by her first marriage, Leighton Olson Jr., who got involved with drugs, then went to Maumee University, now filled with radical anti-war types. He became steady with Stalky Schweisenberger while at Maumee U. Caniff was intensely patriotic, and with Canyon's return to the military, the story began to revolve around Cold War intrigue and the responsibilities of American citizens. Despite this shift in tone, Caniff was able to maintain the picaresque quality of his globally-set stories. During Christmas time, in Steve Canyon, as he did in Terry, Caniff made a special effort to remind readers of servicemen’s sacrifices. Models Caniff was famous for colorful villains and intriguing female characters, such as Madame Lynx and the lovely exiled ruler, Princess Snowflower. Madame Lynx was based on Madame Egelichi, the femme fatale spy played by Ilona Massey in the Marx Brothers movie Love