In 2004, I acquired my first “Kevin the Bold” comics. I purchased two years of Florida Times-Union half-pages from a woman whose husband had died. The comics were inexpensive, and I later realized that they were rather poor-quality examples. The colors printed rather garishly, there was a lot of show-through and other problems — but it was great having a two-year run of half-page comics.

The action was exciting and featured exotic, nicely-rendered  locales. In the following sequence, rooted in the history of the Hanseatic League, Kevin’s patron wants to find a trade route through the Suez. In order to gain the trust of the powers that be, he has enlisted Kevin to deliver a “priceless jewel” — the Pasha’s daughter has to get home after spending time in Europe. Kevin soon realizes how difficult his assignment will be.

Stormza is perhaps Collins’s most headstrong female character since Mitzi McCoy, and like Mitzi, she has a knack for getting into — and out of — trouble.

As usual, the transitional comics in the sequence feature light-hearted, humorous situations.