IMAGE: Steve Canyon Sunday comic strip, August 24, 1952 – Copyright 2014 the Milton Caniff Estate. After swimming to shore, Miss Mizzou warms up with the aid of her handy trench coat.

So why did Caniff use the trench coat for the Miss Mizzou character? Trench coats primarily came into use by the armed services to stand up to the harsh weather conditions soldiers faced in the battle field during World War I & World War II. (The “Steve Canyon” strip above from August 24, 1952 makes a playful reference to the trench coat’s warming properties.) The trench coat would have appealed to Caniff readers, many who were in the military during World War II. For a military based strip like “Steve Canyon,” using a trench coat for a character would make perfect sense.

By mixing the trench coat with Miss Mizzou’s sex appeal, Caniff could also give a subtle nod to long time servicemen who remembered his work during World War II on the sexy Male Call strips with the character Miss Lace. R.C. Harvey has written an in depth article about Caniff’s struggles to convey sexuality on the comics page that’s pretty insightful in this line of thinking. My bet is that Miss Mizzou’s trench coat was yet another experiment by Caniff to test the boundaries of newspaper censorship.

After World War II, the trench coats slowly became a fashion statement worn both by men and women. (Take a look at this photo from Harper’s Junior Bazaar, July 1953; the look is remarkably like that of Miss Mizzou.) Of course eventually many characters in popular culture would don the trench coat as well. Check out this awesome Wikipedia list of trench coats in popular culture for a glimpse of how the trench coat has evolved over the years. I’m surprised at how many comic characters make the list!