Month: June 2024

Big Horn No. 4

Published in late 1957, issue No. 4 of the French comic book Big Horn follows the same format as its three predecessors. In addition to Warren Tufts’ title comic, it also features John Wheeler’s KID COLORADO, a short story, and Kreigh Collins’ KEVIN LE HARDI (“Kevin the Bold”).

Because the smallish (5-1/4″ x 7-1/8″) BIG HORN comic books are so thick (132 pages), they don’t scan very well. These images are photos I took outside with the comic book spread flat beneath a piece of plexiglass. My apologies for the glare and shadows. First up is BIG HORN, which runs for 35 pages.

BIG HORN is followed by 62 pages of KID COLORADO. I love the introductory pages found in these comic books!

A space-filling three-page short story (“Smoke Signals”), buttresses the comic book’s non-titular features.

KEVIN LE HARDI brings up the rear of the book with the action picking up where it left off in BIG HORN No. 3. Originally published on January 13, 1952, the black and white comic book version pales in comparison to the beautiful Chicago Tribune color reproductions of the early 1950s.

Kevin le Hardi’s introductory page gives some back story (“To come to the aid of Princess Léa, sovereign of Glanstark, Kevin the Bold challenged a robber baron, Von Bleet, to a duel. Despite the Baron’s treachery, Kevin manages to defeat him, but the two men have fallen into a ravine, and Stub, the faithful squire, only finds the remains of von Bleet.”)

The comic book’s next 32 pages contain the conclusion of Kevin’s fifth chapter (Baron Von Blunt/Bleet), an entire (short) chapter, “The Deathtrap,” and the beginning of chapter seven, “The Treasure Hunt.” Although the episodes are edited and rearranged to some degree, the comic book covers 10 original Sunday episodes from January 13, 1952 to March 16, 1952.

As usual, a black and white ad promoting the next issue of BIG HORN is found on the back cover. No. 5 also features Kevin le Hardi.

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

No Mere Shepherd

Captain Zinbad has decided to kidnap not only Moya and her family, but also Rory, their imposing Irish wolfhound.

In 1969, my family moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Fredonia, New York, when my father took a teaching job at SUNY-Fredonia. Along the trails in the woods behind our house, I remember digging tiger traps with my brother—knowledge passed down from my grandfather to my father to us. (We caught neither tigers nor wolfhounds).

Traitorous Bull Blackie has bad intentions with Moya, but the “witch girl” isn’t going down without a fight!

With Moya and Rory now also held captive, Kevin quickly devises a plan to set them all free.

Before diving overboard, Kevin uses his cutlass to scar Bull Blackie’s face. His Zorro-like swordplay and dialog was recycled from a story Collins had written and illustrated approximately fifteen years earlier. (I think his short story was titled “T Stands for Traitor”—alas, I cannot find the original. But trust me, it’s somewhere in the Grand Rapids Public Library’s Special Collection #56, a must-see for fans).

The introductory chapter ends with Kevin being knighted by the Moya’s father, Lord McCoy. While these roughly-assembled black and white third-page versions are interesting to see, the color half-page versions are quite an improvement—and they are included as the final chapter of The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins: The Complete Mitzi McCoy.

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The Complete Mitzi McCoy

“The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, the Complete Mitzi McCoy” features the entire run of Kreigh Collins’ first NEA feature, as well as the transitional story arc in which the strip morphs into KEVIN THE BOLD.

Mitzi McCoy Cover 150

MITZI McCOY ran from 1948 to 1950 and showcased Kreigh Collins’ skill as an illustrator and storyteller. His picturesque landscapes, lovely character designs, and thrilling action sequences brimmed with detail and charm, and the strip’s ensemble cast rotated in and out of the spotlight taking turns as protagonists in the dozen story arcs collected in this volume. The last story collected in “The Complete Mitzi McCoy” is the narrative bridge that set Collins and his characters off on a new journey, beautifully told for the next couple of decades in the much-lauded adventure strip Kevin the Bold.

The collection includes an introduction by Eisner Award-winning author Frank M. Young, an Afterward by Ithaca College’s Ed Catto, and previously unpublished artwork and photos. Longtime comics artist Butch Guice also provides a new pin-up of the character Mitzi McCoy.

The book is available for $30. For domestic shipping, add $4; for international orders, please add $25 to cover first class shipping. To place an order, leave a comment below or email me at BrianEdwardCollins1[at]gmail.com, and I will give you PayPal or Venmo information. Thank you!

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

A New Direction

In the summer of 1950, MITZI McCOY started running in the Grand Rapids Press, which was not just Collins’ hometown newspaper, but a client. He had been doing illustrations for them since the beginning of his career, which began about 20 years earlier. (Collins also did work for another local daily, the Grand Rapids Herald).

The first print example is dated July 8, 1950, and it’s the leadoff episode in MITZI’s penultimate chapter, about an exotic woman named Yolo. (That story arc appeared on this blog previously).

The chapter that followed Yolo will be featured over the next two weeks. “The McCoy Legend,” served as the transition point between MITZI and KEVIN THE BOLD. The big change in direction started innocuously enough, with Stub Goodman’s friend, Dick Dixon paying him a visit on a rainy day.

Stub loves to tell stories, and the one he relates to young Mr. Dixon is legendary—so much so that it uses a modified MITZI McCOY logo. For newspapers that had been running MITZI, this logo helped the reader navigate the change in the comic strip’s direction, whereas newspapers that were picking up Collins’ strip with KEVIN’s debut (like the Chicago Sunday Tribune) used an episode with the new KEVIN THE BOLD logo.

At any rate, readers of the Grand Rapids Press were the first to meet Kevin, as these episodes printed in the Saturday edition, scooping other Sunday readers. In it, Moorish pirates were raiding the Irish coast, looking for slaves.

Moya McCoy, Mitzi’s ancestress, has a sudden meeting with Kevin, and this overqualified shepherd soon comes to her aid. After two episodes, the “McCoy Legend” logo was replaced, and the metamorphosis was complete.

This opening chapter was an action-packed classic, and introduced a character who became a fan favorite—Rory the Irish wolfhound.

Having leaped from the cliff into the sea, Kevin makes his way to the pirates’ ship, which he hopes to capture single-handedly.

Kevin fails, but the story isn’t over yet…

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

Sunday, June 5, 1949

Having recently celebrated a milestone birthday, today I present a 75-year-old comic section from New York Sunday Mirror (no, I’m not that old!). 

As usual, Ham Fisher’s JOE PALOOKA ran on the front page, followed by Milton Caniff’s STEVE CANYON and MICKEY FINN by Lank Leonard. Next up are KERRY DRAKE (Alfred Andriola/Allen Saunders), SUPERMAN (Wayne Boring), an ad for Ludwig Bauman electric drill (boring in more ways than one), and Frank Miller’s BARNEY BAXTER IN THE AIR.

Then it’s the good stuff. No offense to THE FLOP FAMILY by Swan and Marty Links’ BOBBY SOX—I am, of course, referring to Kreigh Collins’ MITZI McCOY.

The June 5, 1949 episode of MITZI McCOY features the reunion between a runaway boy and his parents, and is notable for the absence of Mitzi herself. In lieu of the page from the Sunday Mirror comics section (which MITZI shared with a forgettable ad for Super Suds detrergent) is a version of the episode that I cleaned up for my MITZI McCOY book.

The second half of the comic section starts with a page with Roy Crane’s CAPTAIN EASY, drawn here by Walt Scott, and V.T. Hamlin’s ALLEY OOP, plus HENRY by Carl Anderson. Then it’s REX MORGAN, MD by Bradley and Edgington, BOOTS by Martin, and Merrill Blossar’s FRECKLES AND HIS FRIENDS (plus the topper strip HECTOR). Harry Hanan’s silent comic LOUIE, an ad for Camel cigarettes (I don’t think cancer sticks are advertised in the funnies anymore!), OUT OUR WAY by J.R. Williams, and OUR BOARDING HOUSE follow.

Taking its usual spot on the back cover is LIL’ ABNER by Al Capp.

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Want to See More of Mitzi?

“The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, the Complete Mitzi McCoy” features the entire run of Kreigh Collins’ first NEA feature.

Mitzi McCoy Cover 150

MITZI McCOY ran from 1948 to 1950 and showcased Kreigh Collins’ skill as an illustrator and storyteller. His picturesque landscapes, lovely character designs, and thrilling action sequences brimmed with detail and charm, and the strip’s ensemble cast rotated in and out of the spotlight taking turns as protagonists in the dozen story arcs collected in this volume. The last story collected in “The Complete Mitzi McCoy” is the narrative bridge that set Collins and his characters off on a new journey, beautifully told for the next couple of decades in the much-lauded adventure strip Kevin the Bold.

The collection includes an introduction by Eisner Award-winning author Frank M. Young, an Afterward by Ithaca College’s Ed Catto, and previously unpublished artwork and photos. Longtime comics artist Butch Guice also provides a new pin-up of the character Mitzi McCoy.

The book is available for $30. For domestic shipping, add $4; for international orders, please add $25 to cover first class shipping. To place an order, leave a comment below or email me at BrianEdwardCollins1[at]gmail.com, and I will give you PayPal or Venmo information. Thank you!

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

Sunday Driver

Stub and Tim awaken from their stupor to in front of a very interested government agent. Meanwhilke, Mitzi and Sgt. Douma are in hot pursuit of Zoe and her gang.

The June 18, 1950 episode inspired the cover of an Australian comic book—Tip-Top Special No. 3. In addition to this story arc about the Counterfeiters, Special No. 3 also includes MITZI McCOY’s two previous chapters, “Tiny to the Rescue” and “The Living Pinups.”

In an extremely dramatic episode, the surprise to me was finding out how much Mitzi prized her car! The spirited lass was certainly one of the Sunday funnies’ stereotype breakers.

In choosing the cover artwork for the MITZI McCOY collection I assembled, a solid option would be the splash panel from the August 28, 1949 episode.

However, the chapter with the counterfeiter gang was always my preference. The previous episode’s splash panel was exciting, but Mitzi wasn’t in it. I went with the chapter’s final episode. The episode itself is wonderful, and is a star performance from the comic strip’s titular character.

What MITZI McCOY artwork do you think would have best suit the cover of the book? Please let me know by commenting below or sending an email to brianedwardcollins1[at]gmail.com.

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So… about that book.

“The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, the Complete Mitzi McCoy” features the entire run of Kreigh Collins’ first NEA feature.

Mitzi McCoy Cover 150

MITZI McCOY ran from 1948 to 1950 and showcased Kreigh Collins’ skill as an illustrator and storyteller. His picturesque landscapes, lovely character designs, and thrilling action sequences brimmed with detail and charm, and the strip’s ensemble cast rotated in and out of the spotlight taking turns as protagonists in the dozen story arcs collected in this volume. The last story collected in “The Complete Mitzi McCoy” is the narrative bridge that set Collins and his characters off on a new journey, beautifully told for the next couple of decades in the much-lauded adventure strip Kevin the Bold.

The collection includes an introduction by Eisner Award-winning author Frank M. Young, an Afterward by Ithaca College’s Ed Catto, and previously unpublished artwork and photos. Longtime comics artist Butch Guice also provides a new pin-up of the character Mitzi McCoy.

The book is available for $30. For domestic shipping, add $4; for international orders, please add $25 to cover first class shipping. To place an order, leave a comment below or email me at BrianEdwardCollins1[at]gmail.com, and I will give you PayPal or Venmo information. Thank you!

_______________________________________________________________

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