A recent trip to Ireland brought back a childhood memory of a road trip taken in my parents’ old Ford Fairlane 500, c. 1966. In Ireland, I saw many narrow roads covered by canopies of trees, or what my brother Brett and I excitedly called (and chanted from the back seat), “Tree tunnel, tree tunnel!” Likely on our way from our apartment in Ann Arbor to Ada, off to visit Grandma and Grandpa Collins. Maybe we’d heard the phrase mentioned previously…
Me, Brett, and the Ford Fairlane. And of course, a Sunday comics section.
Despite last week’s flogging, Brett has recovered enough to get back in the game.
Rupert might not have caught on to Madeline’s act, but Brett certainly has.
22 weeks into the story arc, the action in the March 15 episode, above, is a bit contrived. While Brett seems nauseated by the turn of events, Madeline’s reaction is perhaps best described by Newton’s third law. Despite this interlude, trouble is imminent—and fortunately, Brett is focused on his plan.
The old, hollowed out tree provides access to an escape route (Tree tunnel!), but it’s a bit difficult to make out in the comic’s rendering. Nevertheless, it works, and now Rupert has a plan.
When we last saw Kevin (three episodes back) he had been overwhelmed and captured by the Regent’s guards as Prince Rupert escaped. Meanwhile, Rupert heads back to the palace and overhears a startling confession.
No longer the weakling he remembered, Rupert literally scares the Regent to death.
The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, The Complete Mitzi McCoy
Describing “The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy,” Bruce Canwell, of IDW Publishing’s Library of American Comics, had this to say:
Originally a painter and illustrator, artist Kreigh Collins delighted comics readers for a quarter-century with his rich compositions and distinctive characters. Collins’s series Mitzi McCoy has its roots in the small town of Freedom, echoing It’s a Wonderful Life’s Bedford Falls and pre-figuring TV hamlets like Hooterville and Mayberry. Open this collection and delight in Mitzi’s arresting artwork and solid Middle American sensibilities. Highly recommended!
In addition to the complete run of “Mitzi McCoy,” the book contains the first sequence of the comic strip it morphed into, “Kevin the Bold.” There are also never-before published comics and photographs, and the book includes a wonderful introductory essay by Eisner Award-winner Frank M. Young. It is available here.
For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.
Kreigh’s Comics 
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