On this journey south, articles often appeared in the newspapers of the towns Heather and her crew visited. I don’t know if my grandfather acted as his own publicist, or if the mere sight of his boat drew reporters looking for some interesting local news (47-foot schooners were a rarity on the Mississippi). It certainly helped if the newspaper featured KEVIN THE BOLD in their comic sections. However they came about, the articles sometimes provided some interesting information, such as this one, from the January 13, 1960 Fort Meyers News-Press.

Over the years, as my comics collection has grown, the thing that surprised me most was the number of countries in which Kreigh’s comics were published. Aside from a single Swedish Tom Mix comic book and a tear sheet from a Cuban newspaper, my research had yielded no acknowledgement of his work appearing in markets outside the US and Canada—and I always wondered if Collins was aware of (and compensated for) these additional NEA revenue streams.

Finally, that question was answered—check the top of the article’s third column. Speaking of KEVIN THE BOLD, Collins is quoted as saying, “…the strip has been surprisingly well received. It now appears in Canada, South Africa, Yugoslavia, Sweden, France and other countries on the Continent. A very fine reproduction appears in the Manchester (England) Guardian.”

I hadn’t been aware of any British papers carrying his work—it’s wonderful to learn something new after all these years of research!

Meanwhile, back to the funny pages’ version of Heather…

More obstacles—and more helpful strangers. By the time they reached New Orleans, Kevin Marlin and his crew had to be feeling pretty good about their state of affairs.

Like sailing weather, things can change change quickly, and not always for the better. Where’s David?!

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare!

_______________________________________________________________

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