Month: September 2018

Funerary Preparations

After learning that her great uncle has died, Freya realizes exactly how vulnerable she is.

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Help is on its way, but not soon enough—the ship delivering Kevin is becalmed in the fjord.

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In an episode featuring beautifully rendered ships, Kevin learns the fate of the old man he had traveled so far to meet. What he doesn’t know are the circumstances in which the lovely Freya finds herself—bound, gagged, and close to panic.

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Kevin’s suspicions aroused, he brushes off the suggestion that he presence isn’t welcome, and defiantly stands up to Thord. The danger passes, yet Kevin suspects more trouble ahead.

For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.

The Dragon Ship

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A recent trip to Iceland (a country my blog has yet to have a visitor from) inspired me to run the following sequence, originally published 60 years ago, over the summer of 1958. The previous storyline transitions dramatically with an enormous and beautifully illustrated splash panel. (Sincere thanks to my friend in the Netherlands, Arnaud, who sent me scans of many of the comics I’ll be posting over the course of the next five weeks).

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Thord, an evil man from the east has caught the ear of the declining, yet venerable Erl Sor Nordick, and is scheming to steal everything the old man holds dear.

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It’s quite clear that Thord is the representation of evil incarnate, and an unusual graphic detail underlines this fact. Likely unintentional, in the bottom left panel of the episode above, a swastika is shown in the detailing on Thord’s left sleeve. In the next panel, the old man is dead. Fortunately, this evil will be countered by virtue, as Kevin the Bold’s arrival in Norway is imminent.

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Now available!

Mitzi cover final

Visit the Lost Art Books website to place your order for The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: Mitzi McCoy. In addition to the entire run of “Mitzi McCoy,” the book includes the opening sequence of the comic strip “Mitzi” evolved into, “Kevin the Bold.”

The book also features an extensive introduction and previously unpublished artwork and photographs.

For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.

The Sword of Courage

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I recently acquired an “Australian Edition” Atlas comic on eBay, No. 11, shown above. It is in rather rough shape; nonetheless, I was thrilled to win the auction. It contains a storyline where Kevin takes young Prince Rupert under his wing, and makes a man of him. (A previous post about Kevin’s appearances in Atlas comics can be found here.)

Not all of the comics’ dates are still included with the artwork, but at least half of them still appear. The comics included in Atlas No. 11 originally ran in Sunday comics sections from October 26, 1952 through February 22, 1953. In the story, Kevin and Brett arrive in Lutenburg, a city recently rebuilt after a disasterous fire. The rebuild was funded by Kevin’s ward Brett, who had donated his family fortune—once it was recovered. (The back story on Brett’s family fortune ran in a series of posts starting here).

Meanwhile, in Lutenburg, the orphaned Prince Rupert is under the thumb of a controlling and evil Regent.

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I used to get annoyed to find advertisements inside these comics, I wanted to see more of my grandfather’s artwork! But I soon realized that these ads were quite charming timepieces.

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The “double decker” panel from the comic on page 18 provided the issue’s cover artwork, but as was typical with Atlas, it was edited—the cover shows villain Torre Hemlar shakily fumbling his sword, whereas in the original comic, it was still sheathed.

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The sequence draws to a close (more or less), leaving three pages for Atlas to fill the 24-page self-cover comic book. The material chosen, “Mary Mixup” seems to be an odd selection to pair with “Kevin,” with its titular female lead. I had been previously unaware of this comic, but learned it was drawn by Robert Moore Brinkerhoff, ran from 1917 until 1956 (!), and was originally called “Little Mary Mixup.” (Over the course of its run, Mary aged somewhat, and at some point the strip’s title may have been abbreviated). Based on the automobiles shown in the comic, I’d guess these dailies date to the early 1940s.

Now available!

Mitzi cover final

Visit the Lost Art Books website to place your order for The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: Mitzi McCoy. In addition to the entire run of “Mitzi McCoy,” the book includes the opening sequence of the comic strip “Mitzi” evolved into, “Kevin the Bold.”

The book also features an extensive introduction and previously unpublished artwork and photographs.

 

 

For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.

Kevin Neustrasivi

What I find most enjoyable about sharing my grandfather’s comics on this blog are the connections I have made with far-flung readers across the world, and discovering the different languages my grandfather’s comics have been translated into.

The following comics were sent to me by my friend in Serbia, Marko Davidovic. They appeared in a comic book called Veseli Zabavnik. Because I cannot read Serbian, I rely on an online translator, and it yields some peculier results.

The first two pages originally were published in 1952, on April 27 and May 4. Because of the way the episodes were broken up on the comic book’s pages, the May 4 episode is incomplete. The original versions are below.

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Above, Kevin Neustrasivi translates to “Kevin Frustrating,” and below, Osveta Plave Zatocenice translates to “The revenge of a blue prisoner.” What is also interesting is that the artist’s name was listed as “Krejg Kolinsa.”

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The next comics originally ran in August, 1952. The typeset text at the bottom of the first page translates as “from the next issue of new episodes.”

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I refer to this sequence as “The Dragon,” but according to my translator, it is “Flame and Zmai.” I think I’m missing something. The original comics are below.

Now available for pre-order!

Visit the Lost Art Books website to place your order for The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: Mitzi McCoy. In addition to the entire run of “Mitzi McCoy,” the book includes the opening sequence of the comic strip “Mitzi” evolved into, “Kevin the Bold.”

The book also features an extensive introduction and previously unpublished artwork and photographs..

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For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.

Fearless Girl

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Kevin has tricked Bouchard’s henchmen, but Jacques has a trick of his own—dirty, of course.

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Love has also caused Marie to act impetuously, and Paul’s father couldn’t help but notice.

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Paul and Marie are set for their happily ever after, and Kevin departs for England. But after crossing the English Channel, Kevin lands in hot water, and the comic transitions into a new sequence.

Now available for pre-order!

Visit the Lost Art Books website to place your order for The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy. In addition to the entire run of “Mitzi McCoy,” the book includes the opening sequence of the comic strip “Mitzi” evolved into, “Kevin the Bold.”

The book also features an extensive introduction and previously unpublished artwork and photographs.

Mitzi cover final

 

For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.