In this Chinese 'Year Of The Dragon', Sneak Peek creator Milton Caniff's 'Dragon Lady' character from the classic action adventure newspaper comic strip "Terry and the Pirates":
The character was based on a real woman pirate from the South China Sea named 'Lai Choi San'.
Inspired by movie characters played by actress Anna May Wong, the 'Dragon Lady' term has since been applied to 'powerful' women.
Caniff's 'Dragon Lady', aka 'Madam Deal', debuted in in the first "Terry and The Pirates" Sunday strip story (1934), as a beautiful seductress, who fell in love with Terry's older sidekick 'Pat Ryan'.
In the years leading up to World War II, she became a force for good, organizing resistance against the Japanese invasion of China.
During the 1940's, actress Agnes Moorehead played the character on radio.
In the "Terry and the Pirates" film serial (1940), the part was played by Sheila Darcy.
Click the images to enlarge...
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