Though these past few “Mitzi McCoy” posts feature rather unique black and white one-third pages, last week’s final comic was quite titillating and deserves to be seen in full color.

Yolo’s beautiful and valuable earring has been stolen and it seems that poor Jerry is going to take the fall. Stub Goodman is determined to get to the bottom of the things, and comes up with a plan where he lives up to his surname — even if it means a little blackmail and tampering with a crime scene.

In the end, Jerry is exonerated. Stub fools everyone — except Mitzi. However, in two weeks, it will all be over as “Mitzi” is about to morph into “Kevin the Bold.” Goodman, who first appeared in the prototype comic “Tom Match and Stub,” was liked enough by Collins that he would reappear in the new comic as Kevin’s squire.

The mood shifts again as the beautiful Yolo meets the staff of the Freedom Clarion. Mitzi McCoy had met Yolo while travelling to Fez with her father, and now the McCoys are hosting Yolo during her stay in Freedom. Meanwhile, Jerry has built a fine stage for Yolo’s dance performance. The benefit for a new waterfront park promised to be the town’s social event of the season.

The tension mounts quickly as an agitated and evidently left-handed Stub clobbers Jonas. A temporary open-air dressing room gives an intimate view of Yolo as she readies for her performance and disaster strikes as some of Yolo’s jewelry goes missing.

After the humor of the past two weeks’ transitional comics, a darkness sets in over Freedom as a new character is introduced. Jonas Crabtree, the “meanest man in town,” expresses his doubts to Stub about Tiny having saved a little girl from attack by wolves (in a previous sequence). He wishes the worst on Goodman’s Irish wolfhound.

Also introduced is the animal-loving ex-con Jerry Dor. After hearing his story, Stub puts him to work as stage manager for Yolo’s upcoming benefit performance. Danger comes Tiny’s way and Crabtree begins menacing Jerry, who shows a quick temper in defending his patron, editor Stub Goodman.

An interesting detail in these strips shows that in the time between the July 22 & 29 comics, Stub has returned the bantam car and gotten his hot rod back from the shop.