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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
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 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introduction by Eisner Award-winning author Frank M. Young, an Afterward by Ithaca College’s Ed Catto, and previously unpublished artwork and photos.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.
Kreigh’s Comics 