There are very few comic strip creators that can match Milton Caniff's level of excellence in art, writing, powerful action and moving stories, humor or snappy patter. Offhand, I can't think of any who have it all in one package as he does. "Steve Canyon" is commonly ranked a little below Caniff's great strip, "Terry and the Pirates", although sometimes I'm darned if I can see why. Here we have 2 years of strips that tell a few fine stories of action and intrigue. Miss Mizzou is introduced here, she of the college campus at Columbia, Missouri. But the main thrust of these stories revolve around Steve and Summer Olson, whom he finally proposes to, and she accepts. But of course fate throws some snags in their path to happiness, and the book concludes with the two uncomfortably still engaged after a miscommunication led to Steve leaving her on their wedding day (it's all honorable; he thought her missing and presumed dead first husband had returned from the dead), and Summer accepting a lucrative but demanding job from Copper Calhoun, who seems determined to keep the two apart. Of all the various complete reprints of various comic strip classics floating around these days, this may be the best in terms of production values; truly a handsome series. ( )